Woodworking – Special-work machine – Tree felling
Patent
1989-09-13
1991-02-05
Bray, W. Donald
Woodworking
Special-work machine
Tree felling
92106, 92116, 144336, A01G 2308, B66C 1308, F15B 1312
Patent
active
049896520
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a rotator for crane-mounted working implements, especially tree-processing units, comprising a housing swingably connectable with the tip of the crane via a joint, and a pivot shaft connectable with the working implement and pivotal relative to said housing by means of at least one vane or flap operating in a chamber and dividing said chamber into two operating or sub-chambers which can be supplied with, or evacuated of, hydraulic medium via two first ducts provided in said housing, said pivot shaft including second hydraulic medium through-ducts opening into annular hollow spaces in a swivel connection incorporated in said housing.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventional rotators of the above type comprise two types of conduits, viz. a first pair of hoses for supplying (supply and evacuation) the rotor working chamber with hydraulic oil, and a second pair of hoses for supplying one or more hydraulic cylinders for the moving parts of the working implement, viz. via the swivel connection and the ducts opening thereinto and extending inwardly through the pivot axis of the rotator down to suitable connections on the implement. Both pairs of hoses are connected to the outer side of the rotator top via protruding angular nipples which of necessity are mounted on the outside of the essentially cylindrical surface extending downwardly a distance from the flat upper side of the rotator housing because the space above the flat upper side is mainly taken up by the joint by which the rotator is attached to the crane tip. In the last few years, the hydraulic oil supply hoses to the working implement have been run from the pump and the associated tank on the vehicle which carries the crane, directly to the working implement, and not via the swivel connection in the rotator. In these cases, the connection holes for this pair of hoses were plugged. Nevertheless, there always remained on the housing or the top of the rotator the two nipple-connected oil supply hoses to the rotator proper, and in practice these hoses constitute a problem of considerable difficulty when the working implement is a tree-processing unit, for example a grapple harvester which, on certain occasions, must hold a stem in a vertical position during movement from one angular position to another by means of the rotator. On such occasions, it frequently happens that the stem comes into contact both with the nipples radially protruding from the rotator top and with the hoses connected with the nipples. As a result, damage is done not only to the stem (gashes in the surface wood with the ensuing loss of quality) but also to the hoses and the nipples. This means that the nipples must be frequently serviced, which is expensive, and if the damage is so serious that leakage occurs, the tree-processing unit is no longer safe to operate.
BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPT
The present invention aims at obviating the above-mentioned problem and at providing, by simple means, a rotator with which hose damage of the type referred to is positively precluded. This is achieved, in accordance with the invention, in that there are provided, between said first ducts in the housing and the annular hollow spaces of said swivel connection, branch ducts establishing communication between said first and said second ducts for supplying hydraulic medium to the rotator working chambers via said shaft, thereby eliminating the need for any hydraulic medium connection on the outside of the rotator housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a simplified lateral view of a grapple harvester connected with the tip of a crane by means of a rotator according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the rotator according to the invention; and
FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view on line III--III in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 generally designates a working implement in the form of a grapple harv
REFERENCES:
patent: 4083463 (1978-04-01), Ericsson
patent: 4800936 (1989-01-01), Pomies et al.
Bray W. Donald
OSA AB
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