Lumber retrieval systems and methods feed a centrally located saw with a predetermined assortment of boards picked from certain stations distributed at either side of the saw. In some examples, an overhead trolley system carries individual boards in a certain sequence from chosen stations to a board-receiving apparatus. The board-receiving apparatus, in turn, feeds the boards to the saw. The saw then cuts the boards into board segments, which can be used for making prefabricated trusses and wall panels. In some examples, the trolley system has a laser-scanning feature for determining the location of the next-to-pick board while simultaneously transporting the board currently heading to the board-receiving apparatus. In some examples, the trolley system includes two board carriers each of which are dedicated or assigned to certain stations. In some examples, one carrier serves as backup for the other one when one of the carriers is broken or otherwise inactive.

The invention relates to an automatic wood sorting facility comprising a cross conveyor (3) with a conveying plane (Z0) on which sawn pieces of wood (2) are advanced, an inspection zone (5) comprising a camera (70), a camera-carrying arrangement (6) by which the camera (70) is arranged in such a manner that the pieces of wood (2) advanced on the cross conveyor (3) can be inspected by means of the camera, a robot gripper zone (8) comprising a robot (RB1) equipped with a robot gripper tool (11) by which a piece of wood (2) can be gripped and handled, a robot-carrying arrangement (9) by which the robot (RB1) is arranged in such a manner that said conveying plane (Z0) extends below the working area of the robot (RB1) with the robot gripper tool (11), a robot control unit (40) to which the camera (70) is connected. and which robot control unit further comprises a vision system (30) by which the piece of wood (2) can be identified, an image processing unit (50) and a robot control (60) configured to form a tracking system with a defined tracking area (TR1) of the length of the conveying plane (Z0), wherein the robot (RB1) is configured, with instruction from the vision system (30), to grip and handle an identified piece of wood (2) within the tracking area (TR1).

The present disclosure provides embodiments of tilt hoists and lumber unstacking systems with a rotation table, a tier alignment system, or both. The rotation table may include a base and a tilt frame supported on the base. The tier alignment system may include an alignment beam and an actuator operable to raise and lower one end of the alignment beam relative to the opposite end to thereby adjust the lateral slope of the spill edge. Optionally, a control system may include distance sensors to detect tiers of lumber as they approach the spill edge and a computer system configured to determine a difference between the lateral slope of the tier and the lateral slope of the spill edge. The computer system may also be configured to automatically adjust the slope of the spill edge to match the slope of the tier before the tier is spilled over the spill edge.

In a feeder (1) for feeding cut pieces of wood (2) from an accumulation conveyor (3) to a carrier conveyor (4), according to the invention, the feeder (1) comprises a first clamping jaw (6) that is disposed on a first moving device (5) as well as a second clamping jaw (8) that is arranged on a second moving device (7), the first clamping jaw (6) and the second clamping jaw (8) form a clamping unit (10) for clamping a cut piece of wood (2) in a conveying zone (9) and conveying the cut piece of wood (2) in a clamped state as the first clamping jaw (6) and the second clamping jaw (8) perform a movement in the same direction.

Embodiments provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for loading workpieces in a flow direction into the spaced apart lugs on a lugged conveyor with the workpieces oriented transverse to the flow direction. The lug loader includes an array of pairs of endless conveyors configured to convey workpieces toward a lugged conveyor. The first and second endless conveyors of each pair are spaced laterally apart across the flow direction and aligned substantially in the flow direction. The array can form a continuous or discontinuous transport surface. Some pairs of endless conveyors in the array may overlap one or more other pairs of endless conveyors in the array. At least one pair of endless conveyors in the array may include two or more endless conveyors that are independently driven at different speeds and/or in different directions to de-skew a workpiece.

Embodiments provide an electric lug loader system. An electric lug loader may include a shaft assembly rotatably mounted to a frame that extends across a flow path. The shaft assembly may have shafts arranged radially around, and parallel to, the rotational axis of the shaft assembly, clamp members arranged along each of the shafts, support members arranged radially around the rotational axis and across the flow path, and electric drives coupled to the shafts. Conveyors may be coupled with the frame and spaced apart across the flow path upstream and/or downstream of the shaft assembly. Additional drives may be coupled with the shaft assembly and the conveyors. A controller may be configured to synchronize the drives to engage successive workpieces between the clamp members and the support members and deposit the workpieces onto a lugged conveyor. Other embodiments provide related methods and systems.

Embodiments provide a log positioning system configured to transport a log through one or more chipper/profiler modules to produce a cant with four chipped/profiled sides. In some embodiments, a log processing system may include an infeed, a positioning feed module downstream of the infeed, and one or more chipper/profiler modules disposed proximal to the positioning feed module. The positioning feed module may include a sharp chain coupled to one or more pairs of vertical positioning rolls. The positioning feed module may be selectively skewed, slewed, and/or tilted to match the vertical and angular orientation of the infeed.

A board unscrambler for sorting a plurality of boards comprises a frame having an entrance and an exit. The frame comprises a U-shaped accumulator near the entrance and an upwardly substantially longitudinal slope connecting the U-shaped accumulator portion to the exit. The board unscrambler further comprises a powered conveyor which substantially adopts the shape of the frame, comprising driving chains and a plurality of spaced apart catches mounted on the driving chains for mating with and displacing the boards along the frame from the U-shaped accumulator portion toward the exit. Accordingly, the board unscrambler features accumulation capability, thereby increasing efficiency and regulating performance.

In a feeder (1) for feeding cut pieces of wood (2) from an accumulation conveyor (3) to a carrier conveyor (4), according to the invention, the feeder (1) comprises a first clamping jaw (6) that is disposed on a first moving device (5) as well as a second clamping jaw (8) that is arranged on a second moving device (7), the first clamping jaw (6) and the second clamping jaw (8) form a clamping unit (10) for clamping a cut piece of wood (2) in a conveying zone (9) and conveying the cut piece of wood (2) in a clamped state as the first clamping jaw (6) and the second clamping jaw (8) perform a movement in the same direction.

The postal sorting machine comprises a sorting conveyor suitable for transporting postal articles in series past sorting outlets and a postal article feed unit having a magazine for loosely storing postal articles to be sorted and a separator that has a robotized arm and a vision sensor and that is suitable for picking up the postal articles to be sorted one-by-one from the magazine and for putting them on the sorting conveyor while placing them in series at constant pitch. The sorting conveyor has a flat conveyor that slopes sideways to form a jogging edge against which the postal articles are jogged by gravity.