Abstract: Apparatus for the lateral feeding and transfer handling of successive cants into and through a wane scanning station, with subsequent adjusted-position placement on the infeed conveyor for an edger. Featured in the apparatus are a main carriage, which is driven reciprocally with what might be thought of as sinusoidal motion, and thereon a relatively moveable subcarriage which can translate, and rotate about a central upright axis, under the influence of a pair of conventional setworks. The subcarriage includes cant transport blades which directly support a cant, and which are rockable between raised and lowered positions and about axes which substantially parallel the reciprocation axis of the main carriage, all for the purpose of effecting a simple pick-up and final hand-off transfer of a cant as it travels and is scanned on the fly between intake and discharge stations. During cant transfer, there is no relative movement occurring between the cant and the structure directly supporting it.

Abstract: Apparatus designed to measure, within a selectively variable defined range, the distance of an object's surface from opposite sides of a predetermined datum plane. The apparatus includes two pairs of light sources which are disposed on one side of the datum plane, and on opposite sides of a reflection viewing plane which is normal to the datum plane. In each source pair, the two sources are energized alternately to create, on opposite sides of the datum plane, and with regard to the viewing plane, alternate upper and lower preferential illumination zones. A photodetector, which "looks" for reflections along the viewing plane, has its output signal coordinately gated in such a manner that the level of such signal is directly interpretable to indicate the distance of a reflecting surface from the datum plane, as well as the side of such plane on which the surface is located.

Abstract: A cant or plank is moved forwardly on a conveyor system, where its irregular leading lateral edge is measured by a plurality of fixed scanners. In response to measurement of the cant, conveyor movement is altered for orienting the cant relative to a predetermined saw line to be executed by a movable saw whereby the wane will be removed tangentially thereof. The cant is held or clamped in stationary position while the saw is moved on a carriage relative thereto, resulting in severing of the undesired irregular forward edge. The sawn edge is employed as a reference as the cant is then moved forwardly on a conveyor system, where the measurements obtained from the scanners may be further utilized in cutting the cant into desired widths.

Abstract: Plural scanners are employed for detecting the surface features of a wood cant preparatory to sawing the cant into one or more boards. A scanner includes a radiation detector disposed above the cant on the wane side thereof, and a radiation source below the cant whereby the edges of the cant may be detected. A further pair of radiation sources are also located above the cant on the wane side thereof in angular relation to the detector for producing radiation beams which intersect the detection path of the detector only at a surface level corresponding to a predetermined acceptable wood thickness, as distinguished from the forward and rearward wanes. The wanes are detected as the region between detector illumination by the source below the cant, and detector illumination from the pair of sources above the cant.