Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
This invention relates to an attachment for a vehicle
for picking up, and cutting into pieces, residue such as
branches, tree tops and the like left behind after a tree
harvesting operation.
The invention also relates to the foregoing attachment
mounted on a mobile, self-propelled vehicle and preferably
wherein such vehicle has conveyor and collecting means thereon
for collecting the cut-up debris.
Land clearing machines are disclosed in United States
Patent 4,232,719, issued November 11, 1980 to Robert R.
Payton; 4,234,554, issued December 3, 1980 to Thomas W.
Nicholson; and 4,043,366, issued August 23, 1977 to Kyosti
Pallari.
The apparatus disclosed in each of the foregoing
patents includes cutters for cutting standing vegetation,
such as large brush or small trees, and further cutters
and/or chippers to cut up the vegetation into relatively
small chips. Conveyor means is also provided for conveying
the cut-up material to a container or collector of some
nature.
One object of the present inven-~ion is to provide an
operative apparatus for picking and cutting into smaller
pieces branches, tree tops and the like substantially without
risk from clogging as was experienced with an earlier design.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a mobile, self-propelled vehicle having an operative resi-
due pick-up and processing apparatus mounted thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a mobile residue pick-up and processing apparatus having
container collecting means thereon for the cut up residue.
; A still further object of the present invention is
to provide a mobile residue pick-up and processing apparatus
of the foregoing type wherein the container collecting means
- is movably mounted for self-dumping.
The attachment for the vehicle provided in accordance
with the present invention comprises in general, a housing
having a driven pick-up assembly thereon for picking up
residue such as branches, tree tops and the like left on the
ground followinq a tree harvesting operation and which
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peration with cutting knives to cut up the
' '```` i d~l~' i Tlt~.O smaller pieces. Means are provided to insure
~he sll~aller cut up pieces do not accumulate and clog the
Elassage through which they move during operation of the
machine. The accumulation prevention means in one instance
comprises impeller means for propelling the cut up debris
through the passage and in another instance comprises addi-
tional cutting knives mounted at the base of a slot through
which the pick-up arms pass. The accumulation prevention
means also comprises a combination of the impeller and
additional cutting knives.
In keeping with the foregoing there is provided in
accordance with one aspect of the present invention an
attachment for use on a mobile vehicle for picking up debris
such as branches, tree tops and the like left lying on the
ground following a tree harvesting operation and processing
the same by cutting the residue up into smaller pieces, said
attachment comprising a housing having an opening extending
across the front thereof; a pick-up assemblv mounted on
said housing and extending across the open front thereof,
said pick-up assembly comprising a plurality of spaced-apart
arms extending outwardly from a hub driven to rotate by
suitable power means about a horiztonal axis; a passage ex-
tending through said housing and having an inlet thereto
adjacent the front of said housing and an outlet therefrom
adjacent a rear portion of said housing; a plurality of
cutting knives in said passage co operating with the arms
of the pick-up to cut into smaller pieces branches, tree
tops and the like residue introduced into said passage by the anms
of said pick-up assembly, and means in said passage to
reduce the likelihood of cut-up debris remaining therein
during operation of the apparatus. The debris accumulation
prevention means in one instance comprises impeller means
for propelling the residue through said passage and discharge
the same through the outlet therefrom and in another instance,
the addition of further knives at the root or base of a slot
through which the arms of the pick-up means pass durinq
rotation of the pick-up.
In accordance with another aspect of the present
invention there is provided a machine for picking up and
processing resi~lue such as branches, tree tops and the like
following a tree harvesting operation comprising:
a) a mobile self-propelled vehicle;
b) an attachment as defined in the foregoing paragraph
attached thereto;
c) a collected mounted on said vehicle; and,
d) conveyor means for moving the cut-up residue from
said attachment to the collector.
In a preferred form the collector is pivotally mounted
on the vehicle and movable by power means for dumping the
cut-up residue collected therein.
The invention is illustrated by way of example in the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a machine con-
structed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a partial front elevational view of
Figure l;
Figure 4 is a partial top plan view illustrating the
rotary pick-up and cutter with the cut-up residue propelling
means removed;
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken e$sentially along
line 5-5 of Figure 3; and,
Figure 6 is a partial side elevational view illus-
trating the mounting of the attachment and conveyor on the
. front chassis of the vehicle~
Referring now in detail to the drawings there i~
i,llustrated in Figure 1, a mobile,self-propelled residue
pick-up and processing machine comprising essentially an
' articulated vehicle 100 having mounted thereon a self-
- dumping container 200, a residue pick-up and cutting attach-
~' 35 ment 300 and a conveyor 400 for conveying the cut-up residu~
from the attachment 300 to the container 200.
ll-f~
- 4
The mobile vehicle 100 is a modified version of a
common articulated vehicle having respective front and rear
chassis 101 and 102 hingedly interconnected at 103 by way
of a rigid frame extension 104. The frame extension 104 is
rigidly secured to the front chassis 101 and projects rear-
wardly therefrom. The container 200 is pivotally mounted,
adjacent one edge thereof, on the rigid frame 104 by a pair
of trunions 105. One or more hydraulic powered cylinder
means 106 is anchored at one end to the frame 104 and at the
other to the container 200 for pivoting the same to dump the
cut-up re0~due collecte,d'in the container. The front cllassis has
an operator's protective cage or cab 107 mounted thereon and
in which are located controls 108 for operating the machine.
The power source, not specifically illustrated, is located
within the enclosure on the rear chassis 101. The vehicle
is a rubber tired vehicle having four wheels 109.
The attachment 300 is pivotally mounted as at 301 on
the front chassis 102 and is controllably raised and lowered
by a hydraulic piston cylinder unit 302. The residue pick-up
assembly of the attachment 300 comprises: a hub 303 (or
shaft) journalled for rotation about a horiztonal axis and
driven by a pair of hydraulic motors 304 by way of belts or
chains 305. A plurality of arms 306 are mounted on the hub
303 at positions spaced circumferentially therearound and
longitudinally therealong. The arms 306 are preferably
curved forwardly in the direction of the rotation and pass by a
plurality of laterally spaced cutting knives 307. The hub
303 is journalled for rotation in opposed side walls 310 of
a housing having a top wall 311 spaced upwardly from a bottom
plate 308 providng therebetween a passage for the residue.
Residue picked up by the arms, rotating counterclockwise as
viewed in Figure 1, enters the passage through a front
opening at 312 and is cut into smaller pieces through the
co-operation of the rotating arms 306 and the cutting knives
307.
, The knives 307 are detachably connected in any con-
venient manner to the bottom plate 308 and the top wall 311
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-- 5
of the housing. The cutting knives 307 may have a cutting
edge that slopes backwardly as illustrated in solid line in
Figure 5 or have a straight edge transverse to the channel
as illustrated by broken line in Figure 5 and designated
by the reference numeral 307a. In addition to the cutting
knives 307 in the passage a pair of cutting knives 307b are
located respectively at opposite sides of the entry 312 to
the pa 5 sage.
An impeller designated generally by the reference
numeral 320 for propelling the cut-up residue through the
passage is mounted on the housing in proximity of the
fixed knives 307. The impeller has a shaft 321 journalled
for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation
of the hub 303 of the residue pick-up. The shaft 321 is
driven either by a separate hydraulic motor or hydraulic
motors 304 by way of belt or chain drive 322. Fixed to the
shaft 321 are a plurality of hubs 323 each of which have
arms 324 mounted thereon. The arms preferably are pivotally
attached to the hubs 323 by, for example, pins 325 and are
equi-spaced about the axis of rotation of the shaft. The
shaft is rotated clockwise, as viewed in Figure 5, and the
arms in sequence enter the passage between the plate 308
and the wall 311 and move to the left, as viewed in Figure
5, before leaving the passage. The arms, in sequence, propel
the cut-up residue through the passage and cause it to be
discharged through an outlet 313 onto the conveyor 400.
Each of the different sets of impeller arms are covered by
an individual guard 326 mounted on the top wall 311 of the
housing.
The impeller 320 was found most effective during field
tests and substantially eliminated any accumulation of cut-
up residue in the passage and thus avoided clogging.
The arms 306 of the pick-up pass through slots 309
in the bottom plate 308. Field test operations also showed
that the accumulation of residue in the passage was reduced
by fixing cutting knives 350 to the plate 308 at the end
or base of the slots 309. The cutting knives 350 have a
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cutting edge located closely adjacent the free end of the
arms 306 as they pass through the slot.
The conveyor 400 is a conventional belt conveyor
driven to rotate by a hydraulic motor 401. The conveyor
400 is pivotally mounted by a pin 402 on the front chassis
102 of the vehicle and the pivot axis is in axial alignment
with the pivot axis of pivots 301 mounting the attachment
300 to the vehicle. The conveyor 400 is raised and lowered
by one or more hydraulic piston cylinder units 403 connected
in any convenient manner to the chassis 102 and the conveyor.
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