Portable wood recovery and de-leading system

Abstract

A wood recovery and de-leading system is provided for de-leading deconstructed wood into clean, sized, and optionally profiled stock. The system preferably includes a container such as a mobile trailer, having an inlet opening and an outlet opening disposed therein and housing a wood de-leading device. The system is particularly effective in that it can process an inletted woodpiece through to the outlet openings in a single automatic pass, while containing the hazardous waste for safe and efficient disposal. While the system is described for de-leading wood, it can be used to clean, size, and optionally profile any number of materials regardless of coatings thereon.

1 . A wood de-leading device for de-leading a woodpiece, comprising: 
 a container having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;    a plurality of rotatable wood removal cutters disposed between the inlet and outlet openings, and configured to remove wood from different orientations of the woodpiece while the woodpiece is being fed along a feed path substantially aligned between the inlet and outlet openings; and    a drive mechanism adapted to automatically drive the woodpiece inserted through the inlet opening, along the feed path, towards the plurality of rotatable wood removal cutters, and towards the outlet opening in a single pass.    
   
   
       2 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters comprise a first cutter and second cutter configured to remove portions from a top and one side of the woodpiece, respectively, thereby defining the height and width of the outputted woodpiece.  
   
   
       3 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters further comprise a third cutter configured to remove wood from an opposed side of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       4 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters further comprise a fourth cutter configured to remove wood from a bottom portion of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       5 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters further comprise a third cutter configured to remove wood from a bottom portion of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       6 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters is adjustable to remove a desired amount of wood from the woodpiece.  
   
   
       7 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters is adapted to cut a desired profile into the woodpiece.  
   
   
       8 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters comprises a soft carbide blade.  
   
   
       9 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters is a hogging cutter.  
   
   
       10 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism is adapted for distributed driving contact along a first surface of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       11 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 10 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises a feeding conveyor having a traction surface for said driving contact.  
   
   
       12 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 11 , wherein the traction surface having traction enhancing devices selected from a group consisting of cleats, barbs, hooks, and spikes.  
   
   
       13 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 11 , wherein the traction surface is positioned adjacent to at least one of the plurality of rotatable wood removal cutters.  
   
   
       14 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 11 , further comprising an urging device adapted to increase frictional forces between the woodpiece and the traction surface.  
   
   
       15 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 14 , wherein the urging device is configured for automatic conforming adjustment.  
   
   
       16 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 15 , wherein the urging device comprises a roller and a bias-mechanism adapted to urge the roller against the woodpiece with a range of travel sufficient to accommodate irregularity in the woodpiece topology.  
   
   
       17 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , further comprising an anti-kickback mechanism configured to allow passage of the woodpiece in a feed direction while preventing movement of the woodpiece in an opposite direction.  
   
   
       18 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein the container is a mobile trailer.  
   
   
       19 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein the container further comprises a waste containment cell and a side conveyor, the side conveyor having a first end adjacent to the plurality of wood removal cutters and having a second end adjacent to the waste containment cell.  
   
   
       20 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , wherein the container further comprises a waste containment cell and a vacuum channel , the vacuum channel having a first end adjacent to the plurality of wood removal cutters and having a second end disposed in the waste containment cell.  
   
   
       21 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 19 , further comprising a mechanized loader having a sealed connection with the container and being operable to transfer the waste containment cell to and from the container.  
   
   
       22 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , further comprising a filter configured to filter airborne debris from air within the container.  
   
   
       23 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 1 , further comprising a vacuum mechanism that maintains the trailer at a pressure lower than the ambient pressure.  
   
   
       24 . A wood de-leading device for de-leading a woodpiece, comprising: 
 a mobile trailer having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;    a plurality of rotatable wood removal cutters between the inlet and outlet openings, adapted to remove wood from different orientations of the woodpiece traveling in use along a feed path substantially aligned between the inlet and outlet openings;    a drive mechanism adapted to automatically drive the woodpiece from the inlet opening along the feed path towards the plurality of rotatable wood removal cutters to the outlet opening in a single pass; and    a vacuum mechanism adapted to maintain the trailer at a pressure lower than the ambient pressure.    
   
   
       25 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters comprise a first cutter and second cutter configured to remove portions from a top and one side of the woodpiece, respectively, thereby defining the height and width of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       26 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 25 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters further comprise a third cutter configured to remove wood from an opposed side of the woodpiece  
   
   
       27 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 26 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters further comprise a fourth cutter configured to remove wood from a bottom portion of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       28 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 25 , wherein the plurality of wood removal cutters further comprise a third cutter configured to remove wood from a bottom portion of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       29 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters is adjustable to remove a desired amount of wood from the woodpiece.  
   
   
       30 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters is adapted to impress a desired profile to the woodpiece.  
   
   
       31 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters comprises a soft carbide blade.  
   
   
       32 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wood removal cutters is a hog cutter.  
   
   
       33 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein the drive mechanism is adapted for distributed driving contact along a first surface of the woodpiece.  
   
   
       34 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 33 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises a feeding conveyor having a traction surface for said driving contact.  
   
   
       35 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 34 , wherein the traction surface includes cleats having any of barbs, hooks, and spikes.  
   
   
       36 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 34 , wherein the traction surface is positioned adjacent to at least one of the plurality of rotatable wood removal cutters.  
   
   
       37 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 34 , further comprising an urging device adapted to increase frictional forces between the woodpiece and the traction surface.  
   
   
       38 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 37 , wherein the urging device is configured with automatic conforming adjustment.  
   
   
       39 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 38 , wherein the urging device comprises a roller and a bias mechanism adapted to urge the roller against the woodpiece with a range of travel sufficient to accommodate irregularity in woodpiece topology.  
   
   
       40 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , further comprising an anti-kickback mechanism configured to allow passage of the woodpiece in a feed direction while preventing movement of the woodpiece in an opposed direction.  
   
   
       41 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , wherein the mobile trailer further comprises a waste containment cell and a side conveyor, the side conveyor having a first end adjacent to the plurality of wood removal cutters and having a second end adjacent to the waste containment cell.  
   
   
       42 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 41 , further comprising a mechanized loader having a sealed connection with the mobile trailer and being operable to transfer the waste containment cell to and from the mobile trailer.  
   
   
       43 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , further comprising a filter configured to filter airborne debris from air within the container.  
   
   
       44 . The wood de-leading device of  claim 24 , further comprising: 
 an urging device adapted to increase frictional forces between the woodpiece and the drive mechanism;    a waste containment cell to contain waste produced during cutting of the woodpiece;    a filter configured to filter airborne debris from air within the container;    an electrical generator; and    a fire suppression system.    
   
   
       45 . A method for removing paint from a woodpiece, using a container having an inlet opening and an outlet opening and having a wood de-leading device housed therein, the method comprising the steps of: 
 receiving the woodpiece through the inlet opening;    driving the woodpiece from the inlet opening through the wood de-leading device;    de-leading at least two surfaces of the woodpiece; and    outputting the woodpiece through the outlet opening;    wherein the driving, de-leading, and outputting are preformed in a single pass of the woodpiece along a feed path of the de-leading device; the feed path is in substantial alignment with the inlet opening and outlet opening.    
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the receiving includes receiving a plurality of woodpieces in successive abutment to facilitate the driving step.