Abstract: A method of freeing a coating of ice, snow or frost frozen on to the surface of a manufactured material, such as a metal partition, a masonry or painted structure, or a paved roadway or runway, by concentrating an intense beam of visible light on to the interface between the coating and the surface adequate to raise the temperature at the interfacial zone to the melting point so as to free the coating from the surface, and apparatus for carrying out this method. The apparatus preferably includes structure for immediately breaking and removing the coating.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for centering logs and veneer blocks by determining the largest inscribed cylinder that the veneer block can contain. Sensors located along the log length measure the critical dimensions and feed their measurements into a computer circuit for determining in less than a minute, the proper end centers of the log under examination for the maximum dimension of the cylinder which can be obtained from the log in veneering operations. The sensing elements may also be optical or accoustical, and thus avoid direct contact with the log surface.