CA2137331A1 - Chainsaw mill - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for longitudinally cutting a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw. The apparatus generally comprises a track, a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon said track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage for longitudinally cutting said piece of wood, and a cradle for holding a piece of wood.
The cradle may have an upwardly sloping base component and a displaceable knee component, said knee component being displaceable relative to said base component such that a said piece of wood held by said cradle may be laterally moved by said knee component, upwardly along said base component, for presenting a said piece of wood to said saw for longitudinal cutting thereof.

Description

~ 2 ? ~ 733~

TITLE: CHAINSAW MILL

I'he present invention relates to sawmill type apparatuses and in particular to sawmills which use a chain saw for cutting a piece of wood such as a log into lumber and which may, if desired, be operated by a single person; such sawmills may be configured so as to be of a portable type.

10Chain saw mills have been proposed for the purpose of being able to process a felled log into lumber on site. Such devices have the potential advantage, in cases where lumber is needed at a site, of eliminating the need to transport a log (or ot:her similarly elongated piece of wood) to a distant sawmill. Such devices may thus reduce the cost of lumber needed to be used at the site.

Chain saw mills are known which comprise a chain saw attac~ment having a carriage which is attachable to the saw bar of the chain saw or to the motor casing thereof; see for examplle U.S. patents nos. 3,695,316, 4,235,140, 4,300,428, 4,640,170, 4,307,641, and 4,458,918 as well as Canadian patent no. 1,037,835. As may be seen from these patents it is known to mount the carriage on a track or guide for to and fro 2 5 movement along the track above the log to be cut such that a log may be longitu~;n~lly cut or ripped by the chain saw so as to produce lumber therefrom.

A log or other piece of wood to be cut into lumber must 30 be sufiEiciently stable during the cutting process. If a log is not sufficiently stabilized vibrational forces may be transmiLtted to the log by the saw bar of the chain saw. Such forces may cause undesired movement of the log increasing the possibi`lity of a pinching force being exerted on the chain saw during cutting and hence a risk of chain binding which may expose the operator to risk of injury. Thus it is known as may be seen from some of the above mentioned patents to rigidly fix the log or piece of wood in place, for example by means of clamps engaging opposite ends of the piece of wood.
In order to cut a plurality of slabs or pieces of lumber from a log, it is also known to use a carriage configured such that the chain saw itself may be laterally displaced in order to be able to cut a new piece of lumber from the log or piece of wood; this has led to the suggestion of various types of rather complicated chain saw carriage mPch~n;~ms; see for example U.S. patent no. 3,695,316, 4,300428 as well as other of the above mentioned patents. Additionally, for known saw mills~which clamp the ends of the log, in order to be able to cut at least a substantial part of the log into lumber, it is necessary to reset or change the position of end clamp elemen~s; this increases the amount of labour necessary in order to cut the log into lumber, i.e. the log will usually have to be realigned longitll~;n~11y with reference to the saw blade.
It would be advantageous to be able to use a chain saw with a relatively simple carriage mech~n;cm wherein the carriage need not be configured if so desired so as to be able to laterally reposition the saw for each piece of lumber cut from a log or elongated piece of wood (e.g. a beam of rectangular cross-section).

It would be advantageous to be able to cut a log or piece of wood without having to use end clamping elements to hold the log in place, i.e. so as to be able to have a whole log available for cutting without having to remove the log from the en,d clamp elements.

It would be advantages to have a simple and quick releasable means for connecting a chain saw to a carriage for 7 ~ ~ 1 displacement of the saw to and fro along a track.

Thus in one general aspect the present invention provides an apparatus for longitll~;n~lly cutting a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw, said apparatus comprising a track, a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon æaid track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage for longitll~; n~l ly cutting said piece of wood, and a support for holding a piece of wood for presentation to said saw for longitll~;n~l cutting thereof, characterized in that said chain saw attachment component comprises a member defining a wedging cavity for releasably engaging a wedge member fixed to a chain saw, said wedge member being fixed to the chain saw such that the saw is able to longitll~; n~ 1 ly cut said piece of wood.

The above apparatus may take advantage of any type of support for holding onto a piece of wood such as described in the above mentioned patents or more particularly with a cradle as described herein. The wedge type of saw attachment arrangement can provide for a simple quick release mer-h~n;~m for securing the saw to the carriage.

The present invention in another aspect provides an apparalus for longitll~;n~lly cutting a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw, said apparatus comprising a track, ~ 2~373~1 - a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon said track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, - a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage for longitll~;n~lly cutting said piece of wood, and - a cradle for holding a piece of wood, said cradle having an upwardly sloping base component and a displaceable knee component, said knee component being displaceable relative to said base component such that a piece of wood held by the cradle may be laterally moved by said knee component, upwardly along said base component, for presenting said piece of wood to said saw for longitudinal cutting thereof.

In accordance with the present invention the knee component may be manually displaced. However, if desired or necessary the apparatus may include a displacement component configured to displace the knee component for so moving a piece of wood held h~y the cradle. This displacement component may, for exampl,e, be attached to the base component or it may, if desired, be anchored in any other way relative to the base componlent, i.e. be anchored to the ground beside the base compon,ent.

In accordance with the present invention the chain saw attachment component for a cradle type apparatus as described herein may comprises a member defining a wedging cavity for releasably engaging a wedge member fixed to~a chain saw, said wedge member being fixed to the chain saw such that the saw is able to longitll~;n~lly cut said piece of wood. This type of arrang~ament can provide for a simple quick release mech~n;sm for securing the saw to the carriage.

2~ 37331 .~
In accordance with the apparatus of the present invention a timber milling jig may, for example, be provided which is portable and which may, if desired, be used by a single operator. Since the apparatus has a cradle which has a movable knee component which can laterally displace the log so as to present it to the saw it is not necessary to attach the chain saw to a complicated carriage system having a capacity to provide for lateral movement of the saw itself.
Additionally, since the ends of the log need not be clamped, it is relatively easy to be able to use the whole or substantially the whole of the log for lumber without having to readjust end clamps; it is to be understood however, that the knee member may be provided with dog members for engaging the log and that these may be disposed so as to engage opposil:e ends of the log at peripheral edges thereof. The provisiLon of a slopping base member means that gravity may be exploit;ed as part of the system to hold the log in place during cutting thereof; the cradle may in effect have a cross-sectiorl resembling a V-shape wherein one arm of the V may be definecl by the moveable knee member and the other arm by the base m~ember, the log being held in place in abutting relationship to both members due to gravity, i.e. the logs own weight contributes to its being held in place.

In accordance with the present invention the knee component may be slideably secured to the base component such that said knee component may be displaced upwardly and downwardly along said base component.

In accordance with the present invention - the support component and the carriage may be configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage above a piece of wood for longitll~;nAlly cutting said piece of wood, - the displacement component may have a motion configuration whereby movement of said piece of wood is restricted to .~ 7 :~3 1 movement upwardly along said base member, and - the displacement component may comprise release means whereby said displacement component is releasable from said motion configuration so as to allow a said piece of wood to be moved downwardly along said base member.

In accordance with a particular aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for longitll~;n~lly cuttin,g a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw, said apparatus comprising o a track, - a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon said track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, - a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage so as to be o:Efset from said track and so as to be disposed above a said piece of wood for longitll~;n~lly cutting said piece o* wood, - a cradle for holding a piece of wood, said cradle having an upwardly sloping base component and a displaceable knee component slideably secured to said base component such that said knee component may be dilsplaced upwardly and downwardly along said base component, and a ratchet component secured to said base component, said ratchet component comprising a displaceable bar for engaging said knee component, said knee component being di.splaceable by said bar such that a piece of wood held by said cradle may be laterally moved by said knee component, upwardly along said base component, for ~ 2 1 3 7 3 3 :1 presenting said piece of wood to said chain saw for longitudinal cutting thereof, said ratchet component having a motion configuration wherein movemelnt of said knee component is induced by said bar and wherein movement of a said piece of wood as induced by said knee component is restricted to movement upwardly along said base member, said ratchet component comprising a ratchet release configuration whereby said bar may be moved so as to allow said knee member to be moved downwardly for displacing a said piece of wood downwardly along said base component.

In accordance with the present invention a chain saw may be suppor~ed by any suitable carriage/track arrangement which allows a piece of wood to be cut longit~ lly.

In accordance with the present invention the track may compri'se an upper carriage support rail member and a lower carriage support rail member, each rail member having a front side and a rear side. The carriage may of simple construction and may be configured such that when the chain saw is secured to the carriage the saw is disposed so as to be opposite the front sides of said rail members; i.e. the saw may be disposed so as 1;o be offset from said front sides of the rail members.
The carriage may comprise one or more rollers engaging said upper rail member on said rear side thereof and one or more rollers engaging said lower rail member on said front side thereoiE; due to the presence of the moveable knee member the carriage need not provide for lateral displacement of a chain saw atl:ached thereto.

In accordance with the present invention a chain saw may be support:ed by any suitable carriage/track arrangement which allows a piece of wood to be cut longitudinally.

s ~1~7~31 In accordance with the present invention the cradle may comprise a single element. Alternatively, the cradle component may comprise two or more parts suitable disposed with respect to the longitll~;n~l length of the piece of wood to be cut. Each part will of course de~ine a corresponding part of the sloping base component and the knee component.

The cradle component may for example comprise two parts one disposed at each side of the apparatus. In this case the means employed to move a piece of wood (such as a log) laterally may comprise two independent parts such that their operation has to be coordinated so that each end of the piece of wood may be moved the same distance prior to presenting the log to the saw.
In drclwings which illustrate example embodiments of the present invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an example apparatus in accordance with the present invention wherein the knee compom~nt is not shown:

Figure 2 is a top view of the apparatus as illustrated in figure l;
Figure 3 is a front view of an apparatus as illustrated in figure 1;

Figure 4 is a side view of the apparatus shown in figure 1, including a knee member of a knee component;

Figure 5 is a partially cut away front view of a knee member shown in figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional view along 6-6 of figure 4 g illustrating the knee member with respect to the upwardly inclined base member;

Figure 7 is a side view of an example apparatus in accordance with ~he present invention showing a knee member and a ratchet type displacement me-ch~n;sm for displacing the knee member;

Figure 8 is a sectional view along 8-8 of figure 7, but wherein the ratchet type mech~n;sm and knee member are not shown:

Figure 9 is an enlarged illustration of the ratchet type displacement mPch~n;~m as seen in figure 7;

Figure 10 is a schematic illustration of an end part of a handle for a ratchet type mec-hAn;cm shown in figures 7 and 9;

Figure 11 is a schematic illustration of a further enlarged view of part of the ratchet type mec.h~n;~m of the apparatus shown .in figure 7;

Figure 12 is a schematic illustration of the ratchet gripping member~; of the ratchet mech~n;~m shown in figure 7, the gripping members being shown in an at rest position;
Figure 13 shows the disposition of the two ratchet gripping members of figure 12 for the start of displacing a ratchet bar in one direction under the influence of a pivotable ratchet handle (not shown);
Figure 14 shows the disposition of the two ratchet gripping members of figure 12 at a point just prior to reaching a predetermined maximum displacement of a ratchet bar to an extended position under urging of a pivoting handle (not shown), ~ ~137~1 Figure 15 shows the disposition of the ratchet elements just prior to the ratchet members being taken back to the at rest configuration shown in figure 12;

Figure 16 illustrates a further ratchet type mech~n;sm for inducing displacement of a knee member;

Figure 17 is a schematic partial view of a handle system for the ra~chet mec-h~n;~m illustrated in figure 16;
Figure 18 illustrates a spring bias mech~n;Rm for a ratchet element shown in figure 16;

Figure 19 shows the spring element of figure 18 in combination with a ratchet key for use as a ratchet or a pawl element of the ra-tchet mech~n;Rm shown in figure 16;

Figure 20 is a side view of an apparatus as shown in figure 7 but in~luding a rail or track member;
Figure 20a is an enlarged view of the rail or track member of the apparatus shown in figure 20;

Figure 21 is a side view of a carriage for use with a track member as shown in figure 20;

Figure 22 is a front view of the carriage member shown in figure 21;

Figure 23 is an enlarged view of one of the upper track engagement members of the carriage shown in figures 21 and 22;

Figure 24 is an enlarged view of the other upper track engagement member of the carriage illustrated in figures 21 and 22;

Figure 25 is a schematic illustration of the installation of the carriage member of figure 21 onto a track shown in figure 20a;

Figure 26 is a side view of an apparatus as illustrated in figure 20 with a carriage member mounted in place on the track;

Figure 27 is a front view of a bayonet engagement member (e.g.
split ,sleeve) for engaging a bayonet type member attached to a chai.n saw for securing the chain saw to a carriage as illust:rated in figure 21;

Figure 28 is a top view of the bayonet engagement member shown in figlare 27;

Figure 29 is a front view of a portion of the carriage body of the carriage shown in figure 21 used for the purpose of attach:ing, to the carriage body, the bayonet engagement member seen in figures 27 and 28;

Figure 30 is an enlarged side view of a portion of the carriage body of the carriage shown in figure 21 used for the purpose of attaching, to the carriage body, the bayonet engagement member seen in figures 27 and 28;

Figure 31 is an enlarged view of an orientation adjustment bolt and nut arrangement;

Figure 32 is a front view of a bayonet element for fixing to the saw bar of a chain saw:

Figure 33 is a bottom view of the bayonet element shown in figure 32:

~ 21373~1 Figure. 34 is a schematic illustration of the process whereby a bayonet member of figure 32 may be attached to a chain saw:

Figure! 35 is a schematic illustration showing a bayonet elemen.t of figure 32 in the process of being connected to two thread.ed bolt elements used to normally secure the saw bar to the main body of the chain saw;

Figure 36 is a schematic illustration of a bayonet element shown in figure 32 connected to a chain saw;

Figure 37 is a side view illustrating the process of attaching a chain saw to an apparatus as illustrated in figure 32;

Figure 37a is a schematic illustration of a bayonet element of figure 32 engaged in the wedge opening of a bayonet engagement member shown in figure 27:

Figure 38 shows the apparatus of the present invention wherein a chain saw is in the process of being aligned with respect to the base member and the rail;

Figure 39 is an enlarged schematic illustration showing the bayonet member in place in the bayonet sleeve with the adjustment screws available to adjust the orientation of the saw blade; and Figure 40 is a front view illustrating the apparatus of figure 26 with the chain saw mounted in place thereon;
Figure 41 is a schematic illustration of a front view of another example bayonet engagement member;

Figure 42 is a top view of the bayonet engagement member shown in figure 41;

~3~3~

Figure 43 is a schematic illustration of a front view of another example bayonet member;

Figure!44 is a side view of the bayonet member shown in figure 43; an,d Figure 45 is a rear view of the bayonet member shown in figure 43.

Figures 1 to 3 illustrate an example of a basic framing structure of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention. The basic frame structure has an upper track component 1, a support component comprising two spaced suppor~s standards or stands 2 and 3 and a base component comprising two base or ramp members 4 and 5; the ramp members each have an upwardly slopped surface, namely surfaces 6 and 7 respectively. The track component 1 is shown with only part of its criss cross bracing members.

The ra~p members 4 and 5 form the base component of the cradle for supporting a log or piece of wood (shown in dotted schematic outline). The upwardly slopping surfaces 6 and 7 of the two ramp members 4 and 5 are intended to engage the wood or log as the wood is being pushed up the ramp towards a saw blade by the knee component of the cradle. In the frame structure shown in figures 1, 2 and 3, the other wood support component of the cradle namely, two knee members, are not shown; such a knee member is shown in the following figures.

Although the structure as shown in figures 1 to 3 has two ramp members it is to understood that the structure could have a single suitably elongated ramp structure or alternatively it may have three or more of such ramps for defining the base component; e.g. a third ramp disposed centrally between the ~ 21~73~1 outer side ramps. The additional ramp members could, for example, each be fixed to additional respective s~An~rds or supports such as supports 2 and 3.

The various parts of the apparatus shown in figures 1 to 3 may be made of metal (e.g. in the form of tubing) except for the end elements 8 and 9 which preferably are made of wood or analogous material; the parts may be attached in any suitable way. In the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 3, the ramp members 4 and 5 are suitable fastened to the respective suppor~s 2 and 3 (e.g. welding, nuts/bolts, adhesive, etc).

In figure 2, the carriage 10 for supporting a chain saw is shown in general outline whereas in figure 3 a chain saw is shown (in dotted outline) mounted to the carriage 10. As may be appreciated from figure 3, the carriage 10 and the track compon,ent 1 are configured such that the chain saw, once attach,ed to the carriage 10, may be moved to and fro along the track 1 as shown by the arrows 11 and 12 so as to longit~ ;n~lly cut a piece of wood such as a log; the displal-ement of the carriage 10 along the track 1 preferably is carried out manually while grasping carriage handle 13;
howeve:r, some type of automatic m~ch~;cal system for the displa~ement of the carriage 10 could of course be used.
Figure 4 illustrates in schematic fashion a side view of a frame as shown in figure 3 wherein the ramp member 5 includes a knee member 15. The knee member 15 comprises two compone~nts, namely a knee element 16 and a split sliding sleeve element 17. The other ramp member 4 includes the same type of knee member such that the following description applies thereto as well.

As may be seen from figures 4 and 6, the base or ramp member 5 includes an inclined tubular member 18 of rectangular or ~ ~13733:1 square cross section.

The knee element 16 is intended to engage the log and to cooperate with the tubular member 18 to support the log in cradle fashion in the upwardly open V-shaped space 19 defined by the tubular member 18 and the knee element 16.

The split sleeve element 17 of the knee component 15 is configured and sized so as to allow the knee member 15 to slidingly engage the tubular member 18. As may be seen from figure 6, the split sleeve element 17 is disposed around the rectangular shaped tube member 18 such that the knee element 16 may be displaced upwardly and downwardly along the tubular member 18 member as shown by the arrow 20. In this manner, a log (not shown) disposed in the upwardly open V-shaped space 19 may be pushed toward the saw blade 21 of the chain saw so as to ]be presented thereto for longitl~in~l cutting (e.g. to be cut or ripped parallel to the longitll~in~l axis of the log or oth,er longitudinally shaped piece of wood e.g. a beam of wood). It is to be understood that a uniform thickness of the piece of lumber to be cut will of course depend upon the extent to which both of the knee elements 16 respectively associilted with the ramp members 4 and 5 have pushed a log up the slope of a respective base member to the same degree.
As may be seen in figure 4, the knee element 16 of the knee component is disposed so as to be more or less perpendicular to the tubular member 18, i.e. it is at right angles to the tubular member 18.
It is to be understood that the knee member 15 need not engage the tubular member 18 but could be disposed to one side thereoP so as to engage a similarly configured rectangular bar which is disposed more or less horizontally and which is suitably anchored relative to the base member, e.g. by a ~L3~

separate support element able to oppose a vertical and horizontal force vector induced by engaging the knee element with a piece of wood. In this latter case, the knee element will not move upwardly and downwardly in a direction more or less parallel with respect to the slopping support surface of the tubular member 18 but would be horizontally displaceable forwardly and backwardly with respect to the frame structure:
a forward motion will cause a log to move upwardly along the inclined base member support surface; a movement rearwardly will cause a log to be movable downwardly of such inclined support surface.

As may be appreciated, the fact that the tubular member 18 is inclinled to the horizontal means that a log or other similarly shaped piece of wood is held in place by its own weight, i.e.
due to gravity the piece of wood will engage both the slopped tubular member 18 and the knee element 16.

If desired the knee member 15 may be configured so as to be manual:Ly displaceable by grabbing the knee element 16 for example and pulling it up or down the tubular element 18 as desired; the knee member 15 may be maintained in place in a forwar<l position by means of a spring biased pawl. The pawl may be fixed to the outer side of the split sleeve element 17, and be engageable in suitably configured and disposed openings in the side of the tubular member 18 and the split sleeve elemen1; 17; the pawl may thus be manually withdrawable from engagernent with such openings so as to allow the knee element 16 to be forwardly or rearwardly displaced. Instead of being so manually displaceable a knee element 16 may be moveable by some t~pe of intervening mechanical mechanism.

Thus turning to figure 7, this figure schematically illustrates a side view of a frame structure as shown in figures 1 to 3 but provided with an example embodiment of a ~1~73~1 .

ratchet type displacement mechAnicm for urging the knee element 16 to move; the ramp member 4 is shown but the opposite ramp member 5 is provided with a similar ratchet mechAn;~m. The same reference numbers are used to designate those elements which are common to the apparatus as illustrated in figures 1 to 6.

The aplparatus as shown in figure 7 does not for purpose of illustration include the upper track component l.
The apparatus shown in figure 7 as mentioned includes a ratchet type means configured so as to be able to urge the knee element 16 to be displaced upwardly or downwardly along the base member; i.e. the knee member 15 includes a split sleeve 17 which allows the knee member 15 to be slidingly displa,ced upwardly and downwardly along the surface of the inclin,ed tubular support member 18.

Figure 8 illustrates a partial sectional view of the device shown in figure 7, the ratchet type member not being shown.
As may be seen, the device is provided with a ruler portion just b,elow the ratchet element. This ruler portion will be explained in more detail with respect to figure 40 referred to below.
Turning now to figure 9, this figure illustrates a schematic enlarged view of the operating portion of the ratchet type structllre shown in figure 7. The m~chAn;~m is configured to be usèd for the purpose of displacing the knee element 16 upward:Ly and downwardly with respect to the base member. The ratchel type member shown is different from a conventional ratche1 m~r-hAn;sm in that the ratchet bar 25 does not include saw tooth type notch openings. The ratchet bar 25 is of circular cross section and has a relatively smooth surface.
A ratc]het and pawl notch system may, however, as explained ~1~73~ 1 below, also be used for urging the bar 25 to move unidirectionally, i.e. up the slope of a tubular member 18.

Referring to figures 9 to 11, the ratchet rech~;cm includes a handle member 26 which is provided with a pivot pin 27 and an urging pin 28. The end portion of the handle comprising pins 27 and 28 is shown in more detail in figure 10; as seen the end portion of the handle member 26 has a form similar to a U-shaped tuning fork with the pins 27 and 28 being disposed lo betwee]n opposed arms thereof.

Referring to figure 11, this igure schematically shows the example ratchet mech~;sm. The handle 26 is pivotally secured to a ratchet support element 29 which connects the ratchet mech~nicm to the ramp member 4. The ratchet mech~ m is provided with an housing member 30 which when seen from above also has a U-shape: the opposed side walls of the housing member 30 are spaced apart by a wall member 31 which is provided with an opening therethrough for passage of the bar 25. The wall member 31 splits the ratchet mechAn;sm into a first housing side 32 and a second housing side 33. A small urging or ratchet plate 34 is located in the first housing side and a pawl plate 35 is located in the second housing side 33; each plate floats in a respective housing side, i.e. the plates are not fixed to other members . The ratchet plate 34 is provided with a lower flange member 36 having an edge 37.
The first housing side 32 includes a bias spring 38 which engages the ratchet plate 34 and the second housing side 33 includes a bias spring 39 which engages the pawl plate 35. In the at rest configuration as shown in figure 11, the bias spring 38 urges the edge 37 against the wall member 31.

As seen in figure 11, the U-shaped end part of the handle member 26 straddles the ratchet support member 28 and is pivotally connected to the ratchet support 28 by means of pin ~1~7~i -27 di~;posed in an eyelet member 40; one of the side arms defining the U-shaped structure at the end of the handle is cut away to expose the pins 27 and 28 disposed therebetween.
If desired this eyelet 40 may be dispensed with and the end of the handle 26 allowed to float; in this case, the handle 26 may be maintained in place by the pins 27 and 28, the adjacent portion of the ratchet support element noted generally at 31 (which is disposed between the pins) and by the wall member 31. I]n this latter case, the handle 26 may be urged to abut the wa]Ll member 31 and pivot about such abutting contact point so as to urge the pin 29 forwardly as described below. The action of the handle 26 will however, be further described with the eyelet 40 being present such that the pin 27 can rotate therein.
As may be seen, from figure 11, the urging pin 28 abuts the small urging or ratchet plate 34. The plate 34 has an oblong shaped opening through which the bar 25 passes: the plate 34, as ment:ioned, floats about the bar 25, i.e. it is not fixed to pin 28 or to any other member. The oblong hole has side portions (one of which is designated by the reference numeral 41 in figures 12 to 15): these side portions 41 are spaced apart just somewhat more than the diameter of the circular bar 25. The upper and lower portions of the oblong opening on the other hand are spaced apart sufficiently such that when the plate :34 is more or less perpendicular to the longitll~;n~l axis of the bar 25 (as shown in figure 11), openings 42 and 43 are pre!sent.

In a rest position such as shown in figures 11 and 12, the spring 38 biases the upper part of the plate 34 against the pin 28 whereas the edge 37 is urged against the wall member 31 (i.e. in the at rest position shown, the pin 28 is disposed and the flange member 36 is sized such that the plate 34 is disposed at right angles to the longitll~;n~l axis of the bar `~ 21~3~1 25 and does not grip the bar 25).
Referring to figures 12 to 15, the pawl plate 35 is provided with an oblong opening through which the bar 25 may pass. The oblong opening is configured or shaped the same as the oblong opening for the ratchet plate 34. The pawl plate 35 also floats about the bar 25 and under the biasing influence of the spring 39 may abut pin 45. The pawl plate 35 is not fixed to the pin 45: the pin 45 is fixed to the side wall elements of the housing member 30. While the ratchet mech~n;~im is in a rest position as seen in figures 11 and 12, the pawl plate 35 is pushed rearwardly against the pin 45 due to the biasing action of the spring 39 and pivots thereabout so as to be in stopping engagement with the ratchet bar 25; i.e. the plate 35 is disposed such that it defines an acute angle with the longitl~inAl axis of the bar 25. The disposition of the pawl plate 35 in the at rest position as shown in figures 11 and 12 is such that it prevents movement of the ratchet bar 25 backwards in the direction of the arrow 46 is shown in figure 12. As may be appreciated from figure 12, the upper and lower portions of the oblong opening of the pawl plate 35 grip the outer surfaces of the ratchet bar 25; any backward motion, for example, due to the weight of a log which is engaged in the cradle is effectively inhibited thereby (the cradle being defined by the knee elements and the adjacent slopping portion of the respective ramp members as seen in figure 7).

In the at rest position as illustrated in figure 12, the opposit:e ends of the oblong opening for the urging plate 34 do not bitingly engage the adjacent upper and lower surfaces of the ratchet bar 25. In order to cause the ratchet bar 25 to move in the direction of the arrow 47, the ratchet pin 28, as seen in figure 13, is caused to move in the direction of the arrow 47. This motion causes the urging plate 34 to pivot somewhat about the pin 28 until the upper and lower ends of the oblong opening bite into the bar 25. Once the opposite ~ ~-137~31 ends of the openings are in biting engagement with the surface of the ratchet bar 25, continued movement of the ratchet pin 28 in the direction of the arrow 47 causes the bar 25 to move in the direction of the arrow 47 as well.

As may be appreciated from figures 13 and 14, the movement of the bar 25 in the direction of the arrow 47 pulls the pawl plate ~5 in the direction of the arrow 47 against the biasing action of spring 39; this motion causes the rearward locking pawl pLate 35 to become disengaged from the bar 25 since such forward motion causes the pawl plate 35 to pivot about the bar 25 uncler the biasing action of spring 39. The forward displacement of the bar 25 in the direction of the arrow 47 causes the pawl plate 35 to be disposed in a more or less right angle disposition with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ratchet bar 25 such that the ratchet bar 25 may slide through the oblong opening of the pawl plate 35 more or less on unhindered.

Turning to back figure 11, this figure illustrates in more detail the at rest position which is also shown in figure 12.
The urging motion of the ratchet pin 28 is effected by rotating the handle 26 in the direction of the arrow 48 which causes the handle 26 to pivot about the pivot pin 27. This motion induces the ratchet pin 28 to move in the general directiLon of the arrow 49 pushing against the upper part of the ratchet plate 34. This movement in turn causes the ratchet: plate 34 to likewise rotate in the direction of the arrow 50 so as to cause the opposite ends of the oblong opening to grip the surfaces of the bar 25. The continued movement of the handle 26 about the pivot 27 causes the bar 25 to move a predetermined maximum incremental distance. The predetermined maximum distance will of course depend upon the distanc:e the pin 28 is able to pivotable travel when the handle rotates about pin 27.

~1~73~

It is to be noted that the lower flange member 36 may be sized so that not only will rotation of the ratchet plate 34 cause the upper and lower portion of the oblong opening thereof to engage the surface o~ the bar 25 but so that the edge 37 of the flange member 36 itself may bite into the lower surface of the bar so as to increase the gripping power of the ratchet plate 34 for the movement of the bar 25 the predetermined distance.

Once t:he bar 25 has been moved the maximum predetermined incremental amount the rotation of the handle 26 about the pin 27 is reversed i.e. the handle is caused to move in the opposite direction to that as shown by the arrow 48 in figure 11. This reversal of the movement of the handle causes the pin 28 to move backward in the direction of the arrow 46.

Figure 15 illustrates the configuration of the front ratchet plate :34 and rear pawl plate 35 just as the ratchet pin 28 is being retracted backwards to the initial at rest position. As may be seen, at the extended predetermined incremental position, the front ratchet plate oblong opening is disengaged from the bar 25 under the biasing action of spring 38 whereas the sliLght rearward motion of the bar 25 caused for example by the presence of the log in the cradle, induces the pawl plate 35 to rotate somewhat backwards about pin 45 under the influence of the bias spring 39 so as to reengage the ratchet bar 25 for preventing any further backward movement thereof;
the bac:kward motion of the pin 28 allows the biasing spring 38 to urge the plate 34 to rotate out of engagement with the bar 25 and as the pin 28 is further retracted to the rear at rest position, ~he spring 38 pushes or urges the plate 34 back to its at rest position as seen in figures 11 and 12.

The above process may be repeated many times so as to cause the rat:chet bar 25 to be displaced a desired distance upwards ~ 2~3~331 along the tubular member 18.

In order to retract the ratchet bar 25 downwardly along the slope of the tubular member 18, the knee element 16 may be pushed forward slightly so as to disengage the rear pawl plate 35 from the bar 25. At the same time, the pawl plate 35 is manually griped at the end 55 thereof so as to pivot the pawl plate 35 such that it is in a more or less perpendicular position with respect to the longitll~; n~l axis of the bar, i.e. so as to disengage the pawl plate 35 from the bar 25.
The bias spring 38 keeps the ratchet plate 34 in a similar position. With the two plates 34 and 35 in this perpendicular disposition, the ratchet bar 25 is released and can be moved rearwardly downwardly of the slope of the base member by pushing on the knee element 16.

In the arrangement shown in figure 7 the bar 25 is disposed in an opening in the knee element 16 and is attached to the knee elemen~ 16 by a side nut and bolt arrangement indicated generally by the reference numeral 59.

Any other type of ratchet type mechAn;~m may of course be used in place of that shown in figures 11 to 15. Such mech~n;~ms are known. Another example ratchet type urging mechA~ism is shown in figures 16 to 19.

As seen in figure 16, there is a ratchet bar 60, which is provid,ed with a bent over end portion 61, the purpose of which will be explained below. The ratchet bat is essentially of circular cross-section and is provided at a lower side thereof with a plurality of saw tooth type notches, one of which is designated by the reference numeral 62.

As may be seen from figure 17, as in the case of the ratchet mechAnism shown in figure 11, a handle 63 is provided with two ~.3733~

pins, namely a pivot pin 65 and a pin 66. A ratchet 67 is rotatably attached about the pin 66; as seen in figure 16, the ratchet 67 is used to engage the notches 62 on the under side of the~ ratchet bar 60. The pivot pin 65 is attached to a ratchet support member (only a portion of which is shown and designated by the reference numeral 68) by an eyelet 69 in which the pin 65 may rotate. This embodiment also includes a pawl 70 which is rotatably secured to a pin 71 which is attached to the ratchet support member (only a portion of which ;is shown in the diagram in outline and designated by the reference numeral 72) .

The ratchet 67 and pawl 70 are each biased by a spring means 73 and 74 so as to be urged into a notch 62. The biasing mechanism and pin structure for the ratchet and the pawl are essentially the same. The structure for the ratchet is illustrated in figure 19, namely a pin 66 and a ratchet 67 which is biased by a spring element 73.

Turning back to figure 16, the pawl 70 will engage a leading notch of bar 60, whereas the ratchet 67 will engage a rear notch. In the position shown, the ratchet is at an at rest position. In order to urge the ratchet bar 60 in the direction of the arrow 75, the handle 63 is moved in the direct;ion of the arrow 76 so as to cause the handle 63 to rotate about the pin 65. This rotation causes the ratchet 67 to bite into its respective notch opening and forces the ratchet bar 60 forwardly in direction of the arrow 75 as the ratchet 67 is moved forwardly a predetermined distance.
During this time, the forward pawl 70 disengages its notch and clicks over the various notches behind it due to the biasing presence of the spring 74. When the ratchet 67 has been moved its predetermined distance (as indicated in dotted outline in figure 16) the bias spring 74 causes the pawl 70 to enter and engage a respective notch for maintaining the ratchet bar 60 21~73~1 ~, in the new extended position. The rotation of the handle 63 in the direction opposite to that shown by arrow 76 causes the ratchet 67 to click backwards over the various subsequent notches due to the biasing of its spring 73 until such time as it rea~_hes its at rest position at which point the bias spring 73 causes the ratchet 67 to click into its new at rest notch opening. The process is repeated in order to cause the bar to advancle slowly in the direction of the arrow. As may be appreciated the notches have a saw tooth type form which allows the ratchet 67 and pawl 70 to slide into a rear notch but not into a forward notch.

As menlioned, the ratchet bar 60 shown is of a circular cross section with the lower portion of the circular cross section being used to define the saw tooth type notch openings. This means ~hat the sides and the upper part of the bar 60 are relatively smooth thus do not provide any gripping opening for the pawl or ratchet teeth.

For this ratchet mech~n;~m, the end of the ratchet bar opposi1e to the knee element 16 may rotatably engage the knee element 16. This rotational engagement can take any form. It may take the form of a mere abutting of a flat end of the ratchel: bar 60 with the knee element 16 or, alternatively, it may be any type of pivotable joint. In any case, in order to cause t:he ratchet bar to be withdrawn so that the knee element 16 may descend downwardly along the slope of the tubular member 18, the handle portion 61 of the ratchet bar 60 will be turned so as cause the bar 60 to rotate in the direction of the arrow 80 until the bar 60 present a smooth rounded surface to the pawl and ratchet teeth. In this position, since the pawl and ratchet teeth may not bite into the bar, they will slidingly engage the rounded smooth surface of the ratchet bar and the ratchet bar 60 can then be withdrawn downwardly by 5 pullin~ on the handle 61 so as to cause rearward movement of .~

a log if present in the cradle support.

Turning to figure 20, this figure shows the apparatus of figure 7, but with a track component 1 in place; the track component 1 has an upper rail member 85 and lower rail member 86. Figure 20a shows the mechAn;sm of attachment of the rail to the upper part of the stAn~rd 2, i.e. by nut and bolts.
The upper rail 85 has a front part indicated generally by the reference numeral 87 and a rear part indicated generally by the reference numeral 88; similarly the lower rail member 86 has a Eront part indicated generally by the reference numeral 89 and a rear part indicated generally by the reference numeral 90.

Figure 21 to 26 illustrate an example carriage for engagement with the rail system shown in figures 20 and 20a, the carriage being configured such that a chain saw can be quick release attached thereto. The upper and lower rail elements are to be slidingly engaged by various elements of the carriage as shall be explained hereinafter. The carriage is of relatively simple construction in that it does not provide for the lateral displacement of the chain saw in order to cut successive pieces of lumber from a piece of wood in the form of a log or a beam.
Returning to figures 21 to 24, the carriage 95 is provided with an upper roller component and a lower roller component.
The upper roller component engages the upper rail element on the outside or rear part of the upper element, whereas the lower roller elements engages the front and lower part of the lower rail element.

Figures 23 and 24 illustrate the two roller elements of the upper roller component of the carriage 95. The figure 23 is an enlarged view of the encircled portion of figure 22 2~ 373~t indicated by the reference numeral 96; the figure 24 is an enlarged view of the encircled portion of figure 22 indicated by the reference numeral 97. As may be seen, each roller element includes a notched roller 98 or 99 which is rotatable about a respective pin element 100 or 101. Each roller element is attached to a respective arm 102 or 103 of the carriage 95.

The roller element shown in figure 23 includes an additional roller 104 for engaging the front surface of the upper rail 85; this roller 104 is rotatably mounted by a pin element 105 to an,extension piece 106. The other roller element shown in figure 24 includes a guide plate 107; the guide plate 107 is disposed so as to be able to just float over the front surface of the upper rail 85. The additional roller 104 and the guide plate 107 are present to inhibit the disengagement of the carriage 95 from the upper rail 85.

The lower roller element, as may be seen from figure 22, includes two rollers 108 and 109 which are disposed for rotation about pin elements 110 and 111. The rollers 108 and 109 ar~e more or less disposed for rotation at right angles to each other; thus roller 108 Will engage the front face of the lower rail element 86, whereas the lower roller 109 will engage an underlying face of the rail element 86. The lower roller element is also provided with a guide element 112 which is disposed so as to be able to just float over the rear surface of the lower rail 86 and is present to inhibit the disengagement of the carriage 95 from the lower rail.
As may be seen from figures 25 and 26, the roller carriage 95 is rol:Led onto the track component at one end thereof and once it is in place, a stopper pin 115 is inserted at the end of the upper rail 85 to prevent the carriage 95 from being withdrawn from the track component; a similar pin is being 3 5 added ~o the other end of the track. As may be appreciated 21373~1 from figures 25 and 26, the carriage body 120 to which is attached the various rollers and guide plates is sized such that the disposition of the various rollers and guide plates will hinder the removal of the carriage from the rail due to rotation, about, for example, the upper rail element, i.e. the lower roller element will impede such motion.

Turning back to figures 21 and 22, as may be seen, the carriage body 120 is provided with a bayonet engagement member 125 configured to cooperate with a bayonet element (described below) for the quick releasable attachment of a chain saw to the carriage 9 5.

Figures 27 and 28 illustrate this bayonet engagement member 125 in more detail. The member 125 comprises a rectangular base pllate 126 and side wing members 127 and 128. The wing members 127 and 128 are disposed at an angle to the surface of the base plate 126 and also taper towards each other so as to define a central wedge cavity 129 having a side opening 130 communicating with the wedge cavity 129. The side opening 130 extends the length of the cavity 129 from an upper large opening 131 to a lower smaller opening 132. Thus as may be appreciated, the bayonet engagement member 125 for this example bayonet engagement member 125 has a central wedge cavity 129 which has more or less trapezoidal type form; the form could however take on any other suitable wedge type shape. As mentioned the opening 129 extends entirely through the body of the engagement member 125 such that there is a large mouth 131 therefor at one end and a smaller mouth 132 at the opposed end thereof; if desired however, the opening 129 need not pass entirely through the body of the bayonet engagement member 125 such that there will only be present the larger mouth opening for receiving the bayonet member described below. The wedge cavity may take on any other suita~le form but the bayonet member mentioned below will have `~ 21373~

to be reconfigured accordingly.

The side wings 127 and 128 of the bayonet engagement member 125 define inner groove elements 133 and 134 which as shown in the diagram slope downwardly toward each other and are used for gripping correspondingly shaped side edges of a bayonet member attached to a saw bar of a chain saw as shall be explained below. The bayonet engagement member 125 includes a cent;rally disposed threaded projection 135 which may be welded to the rear of the base plate 126. This threaded projection 135 is used for attaching the member 125 to the body 120 of the carriage 95 as shown in figure 21, i.e. see the encircled portion designated with the reference numeral 140 in figure 21.
Figure 29 shows in more detail the structure of the underlying portion 144 of the carriage body 120 to which the bayonet engagement member 125 is attached. As may be seen, there is a central opening 145 for receiving the threaded bolt part 135 of the bayonet engagement member 125. This portion 144 of the carriage body 95, however, also includes three additional openings 146, 147 and 148. These three additional openings are each sized to as to each receive a respective orientation adjustment nut and bolt system for orienting the spacial disposition of the base plate 126 and thus in turn the spacial disposition of a chain saw blade attached to the carriage 95.

Figure 30 illustrates the bayonet engagement member 125 attached to the carriage body 120 with the adjustment systems in pla,ce; the adjustment bolts (one of which is designated by the re~erence numeral 150) as shown each have a bolt head end which abuts the underside of the base plate 126 on the same side as the threaded member 135. The central bolt member 135 (in conjunction with nut 151) of the bayonet engagement member 21~73~1 125 ke,eps the bayonet engagement member 125 in place on the plate portion 144. Referring by way of example to figure 31 this i-`igure shows in more detail adjustment bolt 150; the following description with respect to the adjustment bolt 150 applies equally to the other two adjustment bolts.

As may be seen from figure 31, the bolt head 152 of bolt 150 abuts ~he underside of the plate 126. Adjustment bolt 150 is associated with two opposed nuts 153 and 154 which are disposed on opposite sides of the plate portion 144 to which the bayonet engagement member 125 is attached. The presence of this pair of bolts, means that the distance that the adjustment bolt 150 projects from the base plate 144 can be manipulated by appropriately loosening the nuts 153 and 154 and rctating the adjustment bolt 150. For example, if the length of the bolt 150 is to be increased, the bolt 150 is rotated in the loosened nuts 153 and 154 such that the bolt head :L52 is displaced away from these nuts the desired distance and then the nuts are tightened towards each other so as to ~rice grip the plate portion 144; the reverse may be done to sho.rten the length of the bolt between the plates 126 and 144. As may be appreciated, a change in the length of an adjustment bolt extending out of the plate portion 144 may induce a change in the orientation of the bayonet support engagei~ent member 125. These adjustment bolt members thus allow for the adjustment of the orientation of the blade saw when a chain saw is attached to the carriage. The openings 147, :L48 and 149 are appropriately disposed so as to facilitate such adjustment in orientation of the base plate 126.

Turning to figures 32 and 33, a bayonet member 160 is shown for at1achment to a chain saw such that the saw may in turn be attached to the carriage 95. The bayonet member 160 has a main body 161 and side wings 162 and 163: the side wings ~ ~t~733~

project at an angle from the main body away from each so as to define a central cavity or opening 164. The main body 161 also has two opening 165 and 166 for receiving respective bolts as explained below with respect to figure 34. The bayonet member 160 has a wider top part 167 and a narrower lower part 168 and has a generally trapezoidal shape. The main body and the wings are thus configured such that the narrower part 168 of the bayonet member may fit into the large opening 131 of the bayonet engagement member 125 and the bayonet member 160 slipped into the opening 129 until the bayonet member 160 is wedgingly engaged in the trapezoidal opening 129 of the above mentioned bayonet engagement member 125. Accordingly, the trapezoidal shaped bayonet member 160 may be slipped into the opening 129 so as to be wedged therein such that a chain saw attached thereto may be secured to the carriage 95.

Turning to figure 34 this figure illustrates an example attachment system for attaching the bayonet member 160 to a chain saw with reference to opening 165; the description applies equally to the opening 166. In figure 34 only a portio~ of a root part of a chain saw bar is shown and is designated generally by the reference numeral 170. A bolt member 171 projects from an opening in the root part 170.
This bolt member 171 is normally used to fix the root part 170 to the main part of the chain saw by cooperating with a nut (not shown); such attachment is for example provided on a chain saw available from the firm Husgvarna in Sweden (e.g.
model no. 061). An elongated spacer or extension nut 172 is tightly screwed onto bolt member 171 such that the saw bar is firmly attached thereby to the main body of the chain saw.
The spacer nut 170 has a length such that the bayonet member 125 may be spaced from the chain saw sufficiently so as to allow the bayonet member to slip into the opening 129 and wedgingly engage the bayonet engagement member 125. The 3733~

extension nut 172 is internally threaded throughout its entire internal length but may if desired be threaded only at end parts sufficiently to allow for firm attachment of the saw bar and the bayonet member 125 to the chain saw. The bayonet member 160 is attached to the chain saw by being oriented with the opening 164 facing away from the root part 170. A bolt 173 is passed through the opening 165. The bolt has a head part 174 and a threaded part 175. The length of the threaded part 175 is sized relative to the length of the internally thread.ed part of the extension nut 172 such that the bolt 173 may be screwed into the extension nut 172 such that the bayonet member 160 is tightly or firmly fixed to the chain saw thereb~y. The head 174 of the bolt 173 is sized such that when the bolt is screwed in place the head 174 will sit within the opening 164 such that it will not interfere with the slippi.ng of the bayonet member 160 into the opening 129 of the bayonet engagement member 125.

Referring to figure 35 this figure shows schematically the disposition of the various elements for attaching the bayonet member to the saw 176; as may be appreciated there are two pairs of extension nuts 172 and bolts 173, one pair of nuts and ba,lts being used with a respective opening 165 and 166 of the baLyonet member 160. Once the bayonet member is in place on a s.aw bar, then as may be seen in figure 36, the extension nuts ~.72 as mentioned space the bayonet member 160 away from the maLin body of the saw sufficiently so as to allow the bayonet member 160 to be inserted into the openings 129 and 130 of the bayonet engagement member 125. As may also be seen from t:he figure 36 the bayonet member is attached to the saw 175 such that the bayonet member is oriented with the smaller part ~L68 facing the saw bar 177, the larger part 167 being disposed farther away from the bar 177.

Once t:he bayonet member 150 is in place on a chain saw, then ~ 21373~t the chain saw may be attached to an apparatus of the present invention such as seen in figures 37 and 38. The chain saw is attached to the carriage 95 by placing the smaller part 168 of the bayonet member 160 into the larger opening 131 of the bayonet engagement member 126. The rest of the bayonet member is then slid into the opening 129. It will be appreciated that the extension nuts 172 pass into the opening 130 as the bayonet member 160 is wedged into the opening 129: the orientation of the bayonet member 160 in the opening 129 is seen in the schematic figure 37a. The chain saw 176 is configured such that during use the portion of the chain which rips t:he wood is that part which moves in a direction back towards the saw; thus the chain motion will have a t~n~ency to pull t:he saw towards the piece of wood causing the bayonet member 160 to wedge even more strongly into the opening 129 during use of the apparatus.

Once the chain saw is engaged with or secured to the carriage 95, it will then usually be necessary to adjust the orient:ation of the saw blade; see figures 38 and 39. The purpose of the adjustment is to ensure that the saw bar 177 is more or less disposed so as to be at a right angles to the slope of the support member and to be displaceable essentially paral]el to the longitudinal direction of movement of the saw along the track, i.e. so that the sawwill longit~ n~lly cut out from a log disposed in the cradle a piece of lumber which is essentially of uniform thickness along its entire length.
During the adjustment process the nut 151 engaging threaded member 135 so as to hold the bayonet engagement member 125 in place may be loosened just enough to allow the orientation of the bayonet engagement member 125 to be manipulated by use of the above mentioned abutting adjustment bolts 150. As shown in figure 38 the adjustment may be verified by use of square rulers disposed against the saw bar 177 to verify the orien1 ation thereof. Any required adjusting is carried out by ~ L
changing, as described above, the length of one or more of the above mentioned adjustment bolts which projects from the portion 144 of the carriage 95, their bolt head 152 abutting the underside of the bayonet engagement member 125. Each of the adjustment bolts is used in turn or as necessary to cause the bayonet engagement member to pivot about the nut 151 and threaded member 135 so as to change the orientation of the bayonet engagement member in one spacial direction and consequently induce a corresponding change in orientation of the saw blade which can be verified using the square ruler 180. I~nce the required orientation is achieved the nut 151 is tightened in place so as to urge the bayonet engagement member tightly against the head ends of the adjustment bolts; the vice nuts 153 and 154 of the bolts 150 are likewise tightened in place.

Figure 39 shows an enlarged view of the portion of the appara~tus manipulated for adjusting the orientation of the saw blade, one of the adjustment bolts being designated with the reference numeral 150.

Turning to figure 40, this figure shows a chain saw secured to the ca~rriage of an example apparatus of the present invention as described herein. Although the apparatus of figure 37 is seen in side view, so as to show, for example, the ramp member 4, as explained, above the other side of the apparatus inclucles the same type of ramp member and associated elements (i.e. ramp member 5, a ratchet mech~n;sm as shown in figures 11 to 15, etc.): any comments with respect to this side apply equal]Ly to the other side of the apparatus. The cradle support ~or a log for the embodiment as shown, will comprise ramp members 4 and 5 and the knee elements associated with each of these ramps. Thus, for example, the apparatus has two handles 26 each of which independently can be used to actuate respective ratchet means to urge a respective end of a log 7 3 3 :~

laterally up the slope of a respective tubular member 18; the manipulation of these handles can be coordinated such that the overall lateral displacement of a log is such that a piece of lumber of uniform thickness may be cut from the wood.

As shown in figure 40, the knee element 16 is provided with a dog member 181 for providing additional gripping of the piece of wood or log. As may be appreciated, the dog member 181 slidably engages the knee element 16 and may, if so desired, be made to be maintained in a desired position by means of a locking pin 182 disposed in the side of the portion thereof which slidingly engages the knee member.

The arrow 184 shows the distance between the saw bar 177 and the knee member 16. The ratchet bar includes a small pin elemen,t 185 which is disposed above the ruler element mentic,ned previously with respect to figure 8.

As may be appreciated from figure 40, and previous figures, the front portion of the ramp member 4 is provided with a slot or kerf 187 for receiving the distal end of the saw blade.
The s]Lot 187 is sufficiently deep so that the saw may pass theret:hrough, i.e. so as to ensure that the entire depth of the log is cut.
A log may be placed longitll~;n~lly in the cradle defined by the raLmp members 4 and 5 and the knee elements 16 so as to be supported and held in place thereby. The chain saw will norma]ly have been previously manually pushed to one end of the track 1 such that the saw is clear of the log being placed in the cradle; additionally the knee elements 16 will have been retracted to the lowest downward position on a tubular member 18. Once the log is in place, in order to cause the log to be urged upwardly of the slope of the tubular elements 18 it will be necessary to individually activate the ratchet ~1~7~1 mech~nisms on each side of the apparatus; in this way the log may be pushed laterally forwardly for manipulating its presentation to the saw for being longitll~;nAlly cut.

In order to assist the placement of the log at the appropriate disposition with respect to the saw, i.e. namely more or less parallel to the path of travel of the saw, there is, as mentioned previously, placed on the apparatus a section comprising a ruler.

Referring to figure 40, as men~ioned previously the ratchet bar 25 is provided with a pin 185. The pin 185 is disposed above the ruler shown in figure 8 such that displacement of a log can be controlled. As may be appreciated from figure 37, the distance of travel of the knee members 16 for each side of the a~pparatus can be followed by the use of the above mentioned ruler (figure 8) and ~he pin 185. In order to move a log a required distance, it is necessary to note the initial position of the pin with respect to the ruler; the bar 25 is moved (e.g. forwardly) until the pin 185 has been displaced relative to the ruler a desired distance e,g, 2.5 cm. This will movement will cause a similar displacement of the log.
It is to be understood that in order to cut a log of a particular thickness, it is necessary to push the log 2S laterally up the slope until it more or less abuts the saw at that point the disposition of the pointer on the ruler of both support members is noted. The saw is then either pushed to one en,d so as to be clear of the piece of wood but adjacent one end thereof. The handles of the ratchet mech~n;sms are then manipulated so as to cause the knee elements to urge the log upwardly of the slope, i.e. in a forward manner the required distance as verified by reference to the ruler/pin combination. After this required distance has been reached by both ends of the log, the saw is then activated. The carriage is then manually gripped at the handle 13 and rolled such that ~1373~

the saw teeth bite into the piece of wood until the piece of lumber or board has been cut from the piece of wood. This process is then repeated until the piece of wood or log is cut into 1:he desired number of pieces of lumber. It can be appreciated herein that with the use of an apparatus as shown in the illustrated drawings, it is not necessary to laterally re-position the saw itself. The attachment mech~n;cm for the saw is therefore quite simple in relation to those small portable saws which require that the saw itself be displaceable laterally. It is also to be appreciated that since the ends of the log are not fixed to the supports or standards, that it is not necessary to have to continually fix and unfix the ends of the log to the st~n~rds as the saw approaches the position at which the ends of log are fixed to the supports. In this manner, as desired, with the use of the above mentioned dog element, the substantial majority of the piece of wood can be easily cut into the deeired lumber or board.

Referring back to figure 40, the example apparatus is shown as being on a more or less horizontal surface 200 such that the tubular member 18 is disposed at an acute angle alpha (~) with respec~ to the horizontal surface 200; as shown, the alpha angle is about 18. The acute angle alpha may, however, take any desired value above 0 and below 90 keeping in mind however that the larger the alpha angle the more weight that must be borne by the knee member 15 which must as a consequence be configured to be able to bear such weight. The alpha angle may range from about 10 to about 45; the alpha angle may be from 10 to 38, for example, from about 15 to about 25. The saw bar 177 is shown in figure 40 as being at right angles to the tubular member 18; it also may be disposed at some other desired or necessary angle relative to the tubular member 18 but this would of course require a corresponding change in the configuration of the carriage 95.

213733:~

The knlee member 16 is shown at right angles to the tubular member 18; it may be disposed at any other acute or obtuse angle keeping in mind its function, i.e. to support and push a log or other piece of wood for cutting.

Figures 41 to 45 show another possible example configuration for the bayonet engagement member and the bayonet member; to the extent that elements are common with those as shown in figures 27 to 34 the same reference numerals are used. For this a:Lternative arrangement the bayonet engagement member 190 does not have side opening 130 such as for the version shown in figures 27 and 28 but still has opening 129. To take this into account the bayonet member 191 shown in figures 43, 44 and 45 has a first body part 192 and a second body part 193;
these ]parts are connected together solely at one end thereof by a wl_b element 194 such that when viewed from the side the bayonet mem~ber 191 has a U like shape. The first body part 190 has a trapezoidal shape corresponding to that of the opening 129 and is sized so as to be able to be wedged therein. The bayonet member 190 is provided with two openings 195 which are large enough such that the bolts 174 may pass theretl~rough for disposition in openings in the body part 193.
The two body parts are spaced apart sufficiently such that the first ]body part may be wedged into the opening 129 and the second body part and bolt heads 174 are clear of the side of bayonet engaging member. Although the second body part 191 is shown as having a rectangular shape, this body part may take on any suitable desired shape or configuration as long as it does not interfere with the purpose of the bayonet member.
The knee component may of course take any other form keeping in mincl its function.

Claims (12)

1. An apparatus for longitudinally cutting a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw, said apparatus comprising a track, a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon said track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage for longitudinally cutting said piece of wood, and a cradle for holding a piece of wood, said cradle having an upwardly sloping base component and a displaceable knee component, said knee component being displaceable relative to said base component such that a piece of wood held by said cradle may be laterally moved by said knee component, upwardly along said base component, for presenting said piece of wood to said saw for longitudinal cutting thereof.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said knee component is slideably secured to said base component such that said knee component may be displaced upwardly and downwardly along said base component.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 including a displacement component configured to displace said knee component for so moving said piece of wood.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said support component and said carriage are configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage above a piece of wood for longitudinally cutting said piece of wood, wherein said displacement component has a motion configuration whereby movement of said piece of wood is restricted to movement upwardly along said base member, and wherein said displacement component comprises release means whereby said displacement component is releasable from said motion configuration so as to allow a said piece of wood to be moved downwardly along said base member.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said chain saw attachment component comprises a member defining a wedging cavity for releasably engaging a wedge member fixed to a chain saw, said wedge member being fixed to the chain saw such that the saw is able to longitudinally cut said piece of wood.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said base component is configured such that it defines relative to a horizontal plane an acute angle of from 10° to 38°.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said knee component and said base component define a right angle.

8. An apparatus for longitudinally cutting a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw, said apparatus comprising - a track, - a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon said track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, - a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage so as to be offset from said track and so as to be disposed above a said piece of wood for longitudinally cutting said piece of wood, - a cradle for holding a piece of wood, said cradle having an upwardly sloping base component and a displaceable knee component slideably secured to said base component such that said knee component may be displaced upwardly and downwardly along said base component, and - a ratchet component secured to said base component, said ratchet component comprising a displaceable bar for engaging said knee component, said knee component being displaceable by said bar such that a piece of wood held by said cradle may be laterally moved by said knee component, upwardly along said base component, for plresenting a piece of wood to said chain saw for longitudinal cutting thereof, said ratchet component having a motion configuration wherein movement of said knee component is induced by said bar and wherein movement of a said piece of wood as induced by said knee component is restricted to movement upwardly along said base m.ember, said ratchet component comprising a ratchet release configuration whereby said bar may be moved so as to allow said knee member to be moved downwardly for displacing a said piece of wood downwardly along said base component.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said chain saw attachment component comprises a member defining a wedging cavity for releasably engaging a wedge member fixed to a chain saw, said wedge member being fixed to the chain saw such that the saw is able to longitudinally cut said piece of wood.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said base component is configured such that it defines relative to a horizontal plane an acute angle of from 10° to 38°.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said knee component and said base component define a right angle.

12. An apparatus for longitudinally cutting a piece of wood into lumber with a chain saw, said apparatus comprising a track, a carriage mounted to move back and forth upon said track, said carriage comprising a chain saw attachment component for releasably securing a chain saw to said carriage, a support component supporting said track, said support component and said carriage being configured such that a chain saw is securable to said carriage for longitudinally cutting said piece of wood, and a support for holding a piece of wood for presentation to said saw for longitudinal cutting thereof, characterized in that said chain saw attachment component comprises a member defining a wedging cavity for releasably engaging a wedge member fixed to a chain saw, said wedge member being fixed to the chain saw such that the saw is able to longitudinally cut said piece of wood.