APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INCREASING THE FLEXIBILITY OF AND STRAIGHTENING FLOORING STRIPS

摘要

An apparatus for increasing the flexibility of and straightening wooden flooring strips of the type having a top surface having a decorative finish and a base surface opposed to the top surface. The base surface has a multiplicity of closely spaced-apart scores extending into the flooring strip from the base surface transverse to the length of the flooring strip along substantially the entire length of the flooring strip to relieve stress and increase flexibility in the wood strip for more closely adhering to irregularities of a sub-floor. The apparatus has an infeed zone for feeding flooring strips downstream from an upstream processing station and an outfeed zone for discharging the flooring strips to a downstream processing station. A conveyor conveys the flooring strips downstream from the infeed zone to the outfeed zone. Bending rollers are positioned between the infeed zone and the outfeed zone for applying a progressive bend to the flooring strips as they move downstream on the conveyor of a magnitude to break a quantity of wood fibers in the flooring strip sufficient to equalize tension between the top surface and base surface to thereby straighten the flooring strip along its length.