Excavating – Land clearer – Tree or stump remover
Patent
1994-06-14
1996-01-02
Melius, Terry Lee
Excavating
Land clearer
Tree or stump remover
254132, 172438, A01G 2306
Patent
active
054797314
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a tree harvester which is intended to be fitted to a crane jib or the like for the purpose of uprooting trees.
Several advantages are afforded when forests are logged with the air of a forest harvester (see for instance SE-C-327 856). One advantage is that when trees are pulled up with their roots attached, i.e. uprooted, the ground is prepared automatically for the plantation of young trees, which can be planted directly in the exposed soil, without requiring further measures to be taken.
When planting new trees, however, it is often necessary to scarify or cultivate patches of ground between the uprooted trees when this is necessary because of the distances between the uprooted trees. To this end, there may be used a scarifier or cultivator in the form of pivotal diggers or buckets fitted to the arms and jibs of cranes. This separate scarification or cultivation of the ground, however, is encumbered with additional costs for the work carried out and the machine equipment used.
One object of the present invention is to enable such complementary scarification or preparation of the ground to be effected in conjunction with the work of uprooting trees, such as to enable the machine operator to create fresh scarified patches between separate individual uprooting operations, without needing to change machine equipment to this end.
This is achieved with a tree harvester of the aforedescribed kind which has the characteristic features set forth in the following claims.
Because, in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, the ground-support of the tree harvester is constructed, preferably on its underside, with an earth scraping or deep cultivator unit which scarifies or prepares the ground for planting as the ground-support is moved along the ground, the operator may permit the ground-support to slide along the ground at a selected position thereon as the tree harvester is moved to the nest tree to be uprooted, so that a planting area or possibly two planting areas is/are prepared with the aid of the scraper or deep cultivator.
When the scraper or deep cultivator unit is constructed in the form of at least one essentially V-shaped implement, or plough, a ditch of desired length can be produced during the ground scarifying work and one or more plants planted on the raised banks of the ditch.
When, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the upper parts of the blades or sides of the cultivator are curved or angled downwardly therefrom, the, layer of soil exposed along the sides of the ditch can be compacted in a manner favourable for tree planting purposes.
According to one advantageous further development of the invention, the scraper or cultivator unit may be brought into active engagement with the ground by moving the ground-support angularly from a tree uprooting position to a ground scarifying position.
Further features of the invention and advantages afforded thereby will be apparent from the following description of exemplifying embodiments made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 illustrates, in side view, a tree harvester equipped with a deep cultivator unit constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view which shows a deep cultivator fitted to the tree harvester, in larger scale; and
FIG. 3 is a side view of a ground-support provided with an alternatively arranged deep cultivator unit.
The tree harvester 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a frame structure 12 which carries, among other things, a pair of gripping arms 14, 16 which are intended to be placed around the tree to be harvested, and a cutting device 18 by means of which the root is separated from the tree.
The frame structure 12 of the illustrated tree harvester 10 is connected to a holding device 20 and a device 30 which functions to firmly hold and store trees adjacent the tree harvester, said devices 20 and 30 being connected to the frame structure 12 by means of respective columns. These latter described features of the tree
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Melius Terry Lee
Pezzuto Robert
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