SAWMILL METHOD AND APPARATUS WITH MOVABLE SCANNING MEANS

A flitch or cant is successively transported by a pair of differentially operated clamps, first to a scanning station, and then to a sawing station where the wane is removed. A series of flitches are processed in this manner such that as the wane edge from a first flitch is sawn, a next flitch in succession is optically scanned. The sawing and scanning is accomplished by means of a combination saw and scanner which moves in a direction longitudinal of the flitch as respective flitches are held in stationary positions at the sawing station and at the scanning station. Between passes of the saw-scanner combination, the sawn flitch is conveyed away and the next flitch in line is conveyed forwardly to the sawing position while being skewed by the clamps in accordance with the characterization generated by the scanner. The scanner extends outwardly from the side edges of the flitch to provide a radiation beam directed obliquely inwardly and downwardly from a point displaced along the flitch from the location where the radiation image intersects the flitch and provides a line image. Television cameras also disposed to the side of the flitch view the line image at an oblique angle, but the cameras are positioned along the flitch in a second direction opposite the direction where the radiation source was located. The cameras "see" the line images on the side edge of a flitch substantially face on.