Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a soi:l preparing device
for a traction machine :for forest planting, said preparing
device comprising at least one preparing element supported
by said traction machine for contacting the ground and for
preparing in the ground a plan-ting path of loosened soil.
The preparing elements of a soil preparing device
used in forest planting usually comprise disk-shaped ploughs
or cutters which operate either singly or in pairs and which
are either freely rotating or rotated by power means. The
10 front element in a pair of preparing elements serves the
purpose of removing broken twigs and the like, and the rear
one serves the purpose of exposing the mineral soil.
A soil preparing device of this type is usually
utilized in conjunction with forest planting for preparing
forest soil to a substrate suitable primarily for mechanical ~ -
planting. The soil preparing device is usually mounted on
the planting machine itself which acts as the traction machine.
It is also known to carry out the soil preparation and plant~
ing of plants separately by means of separate devices in which -
20 case, for example, a forest tractor is used as a traction
machine for the soil preparing device. In both cases, the .
soil preparing device is mounted in relation to the traction
machine so that the preparation takes place either behind
or in front of the wheels, caterpillar chains, multiple wheel
bands or any other carrying elements of the traction machine, .
but on the sides of the path of movement of the carrying
elements.
The planting path prepared in the ground by means ;:
of the known preparing elements is most often too loose for
30 an immediate subsequent planting. A too loose planting
path is not biologically the best possible for a plant
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because the evaporation of mols-ture is high and the plant
may dry. A porous soil is also subjec-ted to the flushing
action of rain, and a loose path is uneven, thereby making
the planting more difficult. Therefore, it is recommendable
to compact the prepared path before planting. It has been
proposed previously to let the prepared soil be compacted
under the winter snow before planting, but in this case the
growth period is lost. It has also been proposed to use
special rolling compacting wheels which move behind the
preparing elements and compact the freshly prepared soil.
As the planting takes place simultaneously with the pre-
paration, a forest planting machine comprised of a -traction
machine, soil preparing device, compacting wheel and plant-
ing device, however, will turn out to be a relatively long
vehicle which impairs the manoeuvrability of the vehicle
and the efficiency of planting.
It is the object of this invention to provide a
soil preparing device which eliminates said disadvantages
and permits the prepared soil to be compacted in a simple
and space-saving manner. This object is achieved by means
of a soil preparing ~evice according to the invention,
which is characterized in that said preparing element is
mounted in front of at least one carrying element of the
traction machine so that said carrying element runs substan-
tially upon and along the planting path prepared in the
ground by said preparing element in order -to compact the
loosened soil of the path.
The invention is based on the idea of utilizing
already existing wheels, caterpillar chains, multiple
wheel bands or any other carrying elements of the traction
machine for compacting the prepared soil whereby each
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prepariny element or group of preparing elernents is posi-
tioned in relation to the CarryinCJ elements of the trackion
machine so that the track of at least one carrying element
coincides with the planting path prepared in the ground
and thereby compacts the freshly prepared soil. In this
way, no special compacting wheels or any o-ther compacting
means are req~lred so that a shorter and more flexlble
planting vehicle is obtained. The preparing elements
are preferably mounted between the front set of wheels and
the rear set of wheels of the traction machine and in this
way, the soil preparing device does not at all increase
the length of the planting machine.
It is possible to mount the preparing element
to operate on the path of movement of the wheel of the trac-
tion machine, in which case the preparing element primarily
only loosens the positioned soil directly below and makes
a planting path of loosened soil in the same location.
Alternatively, it is possible to mount the preparing
element to operate laterally of the path of the movement
of the traction machine, in which case the preparing element
moves the soil positioned directly below laterally to said
path of movement so that the planting path also in this
case is made on the path of movement of the traction
machine.
The invention will now be described in more
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a perspective side and rear view
of a forest planting machine provided
with soil preparing device according
to a first embodiment of the invention.
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Figure 2 is a schematic top view of the preparing
device and -the wheels of the traction
machine.
Figure 3 is a schematic top view of the preparing
device according to a second embodiment
of the invention and of the wheels of
the traction machine, and
Figure 4 is a vertical section along the llne
IV-IV of E'igure 3.
The forest planting machine shown in Figure 1 of the
drawing comprises a forest tractor 1, a plant feediny device
2 and a transportation container 3 for plan-ts mounted on
the tractor, a planting device 4 mounted behind the tractor
- and a soil preparing device 5 mounted underneath the tractor. ;
Because the forest tractor 1, the feeding device
2 and the planting device 4 may be o~ any type known per
se, their construction and operation shall not be des-
cribed in more detail in this connection.
The traction machine 1 includes a fron-t set of
wheels 6 and a rear set of wheels 7. The soil preparing
device 5 is mounted between hoth sets of wheels, as appears
from Figure 1. The preparing device includes a frame 8
fastened to the chassis 9 of the traction machine.
The ~rame supports two disk-shaped preparing '
elements 10, 11 located after each other in the direction
of movement of the traction machine, the front element
10 comprising a cutting plate and the rear element 11
comprising a ploughing plate. The preparing elements are
supported on the frame by means of support arm structures
12 known per se and vertically pivotable around pivot shafts
14 so that the preparing elements are, against the action
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oE dampi.ng cylinders 15, able to be displaced upwardly clear
of any stationary obstacles on the ground~ A similar group
of preparing elements is mounted also on the other side of
the traction machine.
According -to the invention, the preparing elements
10, 11 of the preparing device 5 are positioned in relation to
the rear set of wheels 7 so that a planting path A made in
the ground by preparing elements 10, 11 coincides with the
path of movement B of the rear wheels. In this way, the
rear wheels of the traction machine will run upon and along
-the prepared planting path and will compact the freshly
prepared soil. Thus, no special compacting wheel is re-
quired. ;
In this embodiment, both the front plate 10 andrear plate 11 are mounted to be positioned right in -front of
the rear wheel 7. Due to this, the rear element 11 will
only loosen the soil located directly below said element
without displacing the soil laterally so that the preparing
groove of the rear plate ].1, the planting path A and path
of movement B of the wheel 7 all colncide with each other.
Pre~arably the preparing device 5 is so con-
structed that the group of preparing elements 10, 11 is
displaceable transversely of the traction machine 1, as -
shown by broken lines in Figure 2. Because of this, the
position of the group of preparing elements can be changed :
in relation to the rear wheels 7 of the traction machine
so that the planting path made in the ground by the pre-
pariny elements will be located partly lateral.ly of the
path of movement of the rear wheels. Such an operation is
desirable when the prepared planting path for some reason
must be left partly uncompacted. This kind of adjustment
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of the preparing device in the transverse direction of the
traction machine can be ach:ieved by means of well ~nown
constructions.
In the embodiment shown in Fi.gures 3 and 4, the
rear disk-shaped element ll in each group 15 of preparing
elements of the preparing device is mounted to opera-te
laterally of the rear wheel 7 of the traction machine,
said element loosening the soil positioned di.rectly below
said soil from its own preparing element and displacing
said loosened soil laterally in front of the rear wheel.
Thus, in this case, the preparing groove C of the element
ll does not coincide with the planting path A nor wi.th the
path of movement B of the rear wheel 7, but the planting
path A as well as the path of movement B still coincide
with each other.
The drawings and the specification xelating
thereto are only intended to illustrate the idea of the
invention. In its details, the soil preparing device .
according to the invention may vary considerably within
the scope of the claims. When the preparing elernents are
positively rotated, an auxiliary machine 13-is positioned
on the traction machine, said auxiliary machine supply-
ing mainly energy for rota-ting the preparing elements.
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