Abstract: A lug loader includes a first shaft rotatably mounted transversely across a board flow path, wherein a board in the board flow path is aligned transversely across the board flow path. The board translates in a downstream direction on a board infeed transfer from an upstream position. A board supporting structure such as a disc is rigidly mounted to the first shaft so as to rotate with rotation of the first shaft. The board supporting structure has a shoe mounting surface extending generally orthogonally from the first shaft. The board supporting structure also has a radially outer-most rim, radially outer-most relative to the first shaft. The rim is generally circular and generally circumferentially contiguous so as to form a board supporting surface around the rim. An elongate shoe has first and second ends. A board supporting heel is mounted on the shoe. The shoe is pivotally mounted at the first end of the shoe to the shoe mounting surface.

Abstract: The stick metering device of the present invention is mountable beneath a stick conveyor, and includes an upstream gate and a downstream gate. The downstream gate is generally parallel to and spaced apart a first distance from the upstream gate. The upstream gate cooperates with a first actuator for vertical actuation of the upstream gate between an upstream elevated position and an upstream lowered position. The downstream gate cooperates with a second actuator for vertical actuation of the downstream gate between a downstream elevated position and a downstream lowered position. When in the upstream and downstream elevated positions, respectively, the upstream and downstream gates intersect a stick flow path so as to interrupt a downstream flow of sticks along the stick flow path on the stick conveyor.

Abstract: The board positioning device of the present invention is for optimally longitudinally positioning a board for trimming. The board is translated from an upstream position to a downstream position in a first direction towards the trimming saws. The board translates at a translation speed on a board translating device such as a lugged transfer chain. The board while translating in the first direction, is aligned longitudinally, that is, along its length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction so as to position the board relative to the saws. The board is urged by board ending means, such as ending rolls, in the second direction against a corresponding board positioning member, such as a shaft mounted paddle, on the board positioning device. In the preferred embodiment, the first and second directions lie in a generally horizontal plane.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatically placing lengths of poly sheet from a roll of poly sheet onto the second-from-the-top tier of a lumber package includes a poly roll holder, and a plurality of grip clamps. The grip clamps may have rubber pads for improved friction when gripping the POLY sheet. The gripping clamps are mounted on a carriage which is in turn mounted on a trolley. The trolley is selectively translated back and forth over an exposed tier in a stack of lumber. The gripping clamps grasp the free end of the poly sheet so that the ploy sheet is drawn over the exposed tier as the trolley is translated.

Abstract: A device for placing spacing sticks or lath onto an upper surface of a lumber stack includes a stick holder for holding, in gravity fed abutment, a singulated array of parallel, adjacent, elongate spacing sticks or lath, a stick presenter for receiving a lower-most spacing stick or lath, gravity fed from the array of spacing sticks or lath held in the holder, and for presenting the lower-most spacing stick or lath into alignment beneath a selectively actuable stick spiker, wherein the stick spiker includes at least one spike having a longitudinal driving axis, a driver for selectively driving the spike along the longitudinal driving axis between a retracted position and all extended position so as to penetrate, when in the extended position, the spike into releasable engagement with the spacing stick or lath when in the alignment, the spacing stick or lath positioned in the alignment when positioned adjacent and beneath the at least one spike when in the retracted position so as to intersect the longitudinal

Abstract: An active edger includes an actively positionable gangsaw or a first end saw mounted on an arbor mounted within a stationary saw box. The gangsaw or first end saw is actively positionable relative to the saw box. In a second embodiment, the gangsaw or first end saw is mounted on an arbor in fixed translational and skewing relation relative to, and within, an actively positionable saw box. The actively positionable gangsaw is selectively actively laterally translatable and selectively actively rotatable so as to skew the gangsaw relative to the saw box. In both embodiments, the saw box receives a workpiece, longitudinally conveyed in a downstream direction, longitudinally into the gangsaw or first end saw from an upstream position.

Abstract: A method of position-based integrated motion controlled curve sawing includes the steps of: transporting a curved workpiece in a downstream direction on a transfer, and monitoring position of the workpiece on the transfer, scanning the workpiece through an upstream scanner to measure workpiece profiles in spaced apart array, along a surface of the workpiece and communicating the workpiece profiles to a digital processor, computing by the digital processor, a high order polynomial smoothing curve fitted to the array of workpiece profiles of the curved workpiece, and adjusting the smoothing curve for cutting machine constraints of downstream motion controlled cutting devices to generate an adjusted curve generating unique position cams unique to the workpiece from the adjusted curve for optimized cutting by the cutting devices along a tool path corresponding to the position cams, sequencing the transfer and the workpiece with the cutting devices, and sequencing the unique position cams corresponding to the work

Abstract: A method of position-based integrated motion controlled curve sawing includes the steps of: transporting a curved workpiece in a downstream direction on a transfer, and monitoring position of the workpiece on the transfer, scanning the workpiece through an upstream scanner to measure workpiece profiles in spaced apart array, along a surface of the workpiece and communicating the workpiece profiles to a digital processor, computing by the digital processor, a high order polynomial smoothing curve fitted to the array of workpiece profiles of the curved workpiece, and adjusting the smoothing curve for cutting machine constraints of downstream motion controlled cutting devices to generate an adjusted curve generating unique position cams unique to the workpiece from the adjusted curve for optimized cutting by the cutting devices along a tool path corresponding to the position cams, sequencing the transfer and the workpiece with the cutting devices, and sequencing the unique position cams corresponding to the work

Abstract: A lumber video grading apparatus includes a vision system, processors, a grading station having visual displays, a storage and retrieval device, an identification device, and a timing system. The vision system may include cameras mounted proximate to a lumber transfer for optically acquiring real time images of exposed cut surfaces of lumber pieces conveyed on the lumber transfer. The processors process the real time images into individually identifiable retrievably storable images and also into visually displayable real time images. A selectable lumber grade is correlated at a grading station to selectable pieces of lumber on the lumber transfer. The displayable real time images or later retrieved individually identifiable retrievably storable images are displayable on a visual display at the grading station. The individually identifiable retrievably storable images are retrievably storable on, and selectively retrievably from, the storage and retrieval device.

Abstract: A workpiece positioning device for translating elongate workpieces conveyed on a first workpiece conveyor in a conveyance direction and for positioning the elongate workpieces on an adjacent second workpiece conveyor, wherein the elongate workpieces are generally laterally aligned across the first workpiece conveyor, generally perpendicular to the conveyance direction, has a selectively actuable rotatable member extending between the first and second workpiece conveyors, rotatable so as to translate workpiece engaging means, coordinated by coordinating means, into engagement with an elongate workpiece at a workpiece engaging position on the first workpiece conveyor generally at an end of the first workpiece conveyor adjacent the second workpiece conveyor, and to translate the workpiece engaging means and the elongate workpiece so engaged from the first workpiece conveyor to the second workpiece conveyor so as to position the elongate workpiece on the second workpiece conveyor.

Abstract: The eyepiece of the helmet mounted display optics is formed by a beam splitter eyepiece cube and a spherical mirror to create a magnified virtual image of a rear projection screen mounted to the eyepiece cube at a relatively large distance from the observer. The rear projection screen receives an image from a spatial light modulator display which is illuminated by a separate light source.

Abstract: A new motion cueing scheme has been found and adapted to an actual aircraft production seat to provide both transient and sustained heave acceleration cues. The mechanism is simple and compact enough to be easily implemented on G-seats. Changes in seat pan pitch angle synchronized with seat back vertical displacement result in a cue which feels realistic and reproduces consistently a number of the physiological and physical effects experienced by the pilot submitted to a real heave acceleration.

Abstract: A tier forming and handling device for forming and handling sequential tiers of lumber from a flow of elongate boards translated on a first conveyor in a first flow direction, wherein the boards are aligned along their length generally perpendicularly to the first flow direction, having a mat forming mechanism for collecting, by selectively actuable hook stops, the flow of elongate boards against the hook stops so as to form a mat of lumber having a downstream end adjacent the hook stops and an upstream end whereagainst the flow of elongate boards may continue to collect into abutting adjacent array; a mat separator for separating, along the first conveyor, at a selectively adjustable separation location, a tier of lumber from the downstream end of the mat of lumber; and, a variable speed tier accelerator for conveying and selectively variably accelerating the tier of lumber, once separated along the first conveyor, from the first conveyor to a hoist stacker, wherein the selectively adjustable separation loca

Abstract: An edging and curve-sawing saw has a selectively skewable sawbox, skewable to a workpiece infeed path so as to receive workpieces translated longitudinally along the infeed path and into the sawbox. The sawbox rotatably supports a saw arbor. A plurality of saw blades are slidingly mounted on the saw arbor in a parallel laterally spaced array. The saw blade array spacing is selectively adjustable device mounted to the sawbox. The array is slide on the arbor relative to the sawbox according to an optimized profile.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for reducing image instability in a virtual environment due to the transport delay of the image generator and other components of the system. A method is given for determining the error in the generated virtual environment and using this error for shifting the image on the display device thus providing a more accurate and more stable representation to the viewer.

Abstract: A sawguide positioning method for circular gang saws mounted on a single saw arbor shaft. A guide bar is positioned generally parallel to the saw arbor shaft. A plurality of sawguide pairs are slidably mounted on the guide bar for longitudinal axial travel thereon. The guides extend on either side of each of the circular saws. A pair of opposed sawguide positioning wedges are threadably mounted on a selectively rotatable shaft having a right hand threaded end and a left hand threaded end, the axis of the shaft being generally at right angles to both the saw arbor shaft and the guide bar. The wedges are threaded on to the selectively rotatable shaft with their vertices innermost. The threaded shaft has an enlarged diameter portion or disk intermediate the threaded ends which is rotatably positioned within matching recesses in the opposed faces of the sawguides.

Abstract: For displaying moving images on a head mounted, temporal modulation display device from a video source, without image break-up appearing in the observed image, an image shift device is provided for shifting each temporally separated component image within each display cycle of grey scale component images representing each frame of the video source. The display device is for use with head mounted displays in which an LCD or other FPD using temporal modulation is used to display video images without image break-up during head motion.

Abstract: A temperature protection device and method for an air-cooled housing containing electronic equipment is disclosed. A fan forces air to circulate through the housing with air being expelled from the housing at a normal operating temperature inside the housing and with air at an ambient temperature being drawn into the housing. A temperature sensitive element such as a temperature sensitive switch is mounted to the housing such that it is maintained cooler than the operating temperature in the housing as a result of air being drawn into the housing and such that it is exposed to the operating temperature only upon failure of the air circulation. The temperature sensitive element or switch generates an interrupt signal when it senses a response temperature which is near the operating temperature in the housing. In the case of a temperature sensitive switch, power to the electronic equipment may be shut down by the switch.

Abstract: For displaying moving images on a field sequential color display device from a simultaneous color image source, without color break-up appearing in the observed image, an image shift device is provided for shifting each color component image within each cycle of color component images representing each frame of the simultaneous color video image source. The display device is for use with head mounted displays in which an LCD or a CRT screen is used to display field sequential color images without color break-up during head motion.

Abstract: An optical image is generated by an image source and is transmitted to an optical assembly by a fiber optic cable or cables. The optical assembly includes a transmission lens or lenses, rear projection screens and an eyepiece. By using a rear projection screen in the optical assembly, a non-pupil forming arrangement is provided.