Adaptive lumber management

Abstract

Lumber sorting systems and methods that use adaptive lumber management to tailor the distribution of lumber to improve the yield and aesthetic properties of a product are disclosed. An adaptive lumber management system in accordance with the present disclosure may comprise a lumber scanner configured to record one or more characteristics of each board and create a data file for each board comprising information regarding the characteristic of the board. A processor may be configured to determine a target tray for each board based on the data files. The processor may be further configured to generate at least one mapping. The system may further comprise a sorting mechanism configured to sort the plurality of boards into their respective target trays and at least one tipple configured to select each board or the plurality of boards from the plurality of trays according to the at least one mapping.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An adaptive lumber management system comprising:
 a lumber scanner configured to:
 record at least one characteristic of each board of a plurality of boards; 
 create a data file for each board of the plurality of boards comprising information regarding the at least one characteristic of each board of the plurality of boards; 
   a processor configured to:
 receive the data file for each board of the plurality of boards from the lumber scanner; 
 determine a target tray of a plurality of trays for each board of the plurality of boards based on the data file for each board of the plurality of boards; and 
 generate at least one mapping based on the data file for each board of the plurality of boards; 
   a sorting mechanism configured to sort each board of the plurality of boards into their respective target tray; and   at least one tipple configured to select each board or the plurality of boards from the plurality of trays according to the at least one mapping.   
     
     
         2 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes one or more of the following: wane, splits, or shake. 
     
     
         3 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 2 , wherein the data file comprises a distribution profile of the at least one characteristic. 
     
     
         4 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 1 , wherein the lumber scanner, the processor and the sorting mechanism communicate via a communications bus. 
     
     
         5 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of trays comprise one or more first-tier trays and one or more second-tier trays. 
     
     
         6 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mapping is a virtual layup of a layer of boards. 
     
     
         7 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one tipple selects boards from different trays of the plurality of trays. 
     
     
         8 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mapping comprises a designated orientation for each board of the plurality of boards and at least one manipulator is configured to manipulate each board of the plurality of boards to be in their designated orientation. 
     
     
         9 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one manipulator comprise a robotic arm with an end effector. 
     
     
         10 . The adaptive lumber management system of  claim 8 , wherein the manipulation comprises at least one of flipping, rotating and transposing. 
     
     
         11 . A method for adaptive lumber management comprising:
 recording, by a lumber scanner, at least one characteristic of each board of a plurality of boards;   creating, by the lumber scanner, a data file for each board of the plurality of boards, the data file comprising information regarding the at least one characteristic of each board of the plurality of boards;   receiving, by a processor, the data file for each board of the plurality of boards from the lumber scanner via a communications bus;   determining, by the processor, a target tray of a plurality of trays for each board of the plurality of boards based on the data file for each board of the plurality of boards;   sorting, by a sorting mechanism, each board of the plurality of boards into their respective target tray;   generating, by the processor, at least one mapping; and   selecting, by at least one tipple, each board from the plurality of boards from the plurality of trays according to the at least one mapping.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises one or more of the following: wane, splits or shake. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the data file comprises a distribution profile of the at least one characteristic. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the target tray is a first-tier tray or a second-tier tray. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one mapping is a virtual layup of a layer of boards. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one tipple selects boards from different trays of the plurality of trays. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one mapping comprises a designated orientation for each board of the plurality of boards and at least one manipulator is configured to manipulate each board of the plurality of boards to be in their designated orientation. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one manipulator comprises a robotic arm with an end effector. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the manipulation comprises at least one of flipping, rotating, and transposing. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the processor, if a density of the at least one characteristic in the at least one mapping meets a specification. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising generating a modified at least one mapping on a condition that the at least one mapping does not meet the specification.