Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RIGHT OF WAY TREE LINE TRIMMER
This invention relates to a right of way tree line
trimmer for shearing branches and limbs from standing
trees long rural power line right of ways.
In the past most tree trimming along right of ways
has been done with trucks with limited off road mobility
having a boom which carries at its end a gondola or
"cherry picker. The gondola is positioned adjacent to
the tree line and a man in the gondola or "cherry
picker utilizes a chain saw to severe the branches and
limbs along the tree line. This procedure is expansivity
time consuming end dangerous to the operator of the
vehicle as well as the operator of the chain saw.
In accordance with this invention, a motorized
vehicle has a cab for the operator and a articulated
boom mounted at the front end of the vehicle. The end
of the boom carries a plurality of circular jaws and by
pivoting the boom sections vertically relative to the
vehicle and to each other the operator of the vehicle is
able to cut a swath of branches or limbs from
substantially at ground level to a height of over 50
feet along the face of the right of way. It has been
found that the one operator of the tree trimmer of this
invention can equal or better the production of three
two-man crews operating tree vehicles with gondolas and
chain saws.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention
to provide a limb and branch severing apparatus which may
be operated from a remote position by the operator on a
vehicle to severe the face of the tree line along a
power line right of way.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tree
trimming vehicle which is relatively inexpensive to
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manufacture, durable in structure and efficient in
operation.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide a tree trimming vehicle which requires no great
skill to operate and which will eliminate the need for
elevating a person into the vicinity of a limb to be
severed.
A further object of the present invention is to
provide a boom mounted gang of overlapping circular saw
blades which cut a relatively wide swath of limbs and
branches in one stroke of the boom.
Another object of the invention is to provide a boom
mounted gang saw for cutting the tree vine along power
right of ways which is capable of cutting the face of
the tree line in a substantially vPrticle plane even
though the vehicle may be moving or positioned on the
side of a hill or incline.
Other objects and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following
description when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings wherein the characters of
reference designate corresponding parts throughout the
several views.
FIG. 1 of the drawings is a side elevation of the
vehicle of the tree trimmer of this invention showing
the boom and its lower most position and showing in
phantom lines the upper boom in a raised position.
FIG. 2 of the drawings is a side elevation Al view
showing both booms in a raised position.
FIG. 3 of the drawings is a side elevation Al view
showing the boom in a lower most position but viewed at
the side opposite to FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 of the drawings is a rear elevation Al view of
the tree trimmer of this invention positioned on the
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side of a hill with the boom moved to a vertical
position.
FIG. 5 of the drawings is a plan view of the cutter
head.
FIG. 6 of the drawings is a side elevation Al of the
cutter head.
FIG. 7 of the drawings is a cross sectional view of
the saws taken along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 of the drawings is a plan view of the cutter
head with the housing broken away showing the drive
train to each of the saws.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the
lower boom raised.
The tree line trimmer constructed in accordance with
the present invention includes an articulated vehicle 10
having a front section 11 which is pivotal connected
at 12 with a rear or trailing section 13. The vehicle
10 forms a base upon which the tree trimming assembly is
disposed. An operators cab is mounted on the front
section of the vehicle 10.
The vehicle 10 is self-propelled with a wide track
of approximately 90 inches and a long wheel base of
approximately 12 feet and a ground clearance at the axle
housing and at pivot point 12 of approximately ED
inches. Wise I inch diameter logger tires 16 provide
excellent ground support and all weather traction. The
weight, width and wheel base of the vehicle 10 combine
to provide excellent stability without outriggers an
the vehicle is capable of moving over rough terrain
The cab 15 is mounted on the front section 11 and is
generally made of a box-like construction having a
plurality of uprights 17 connected at their upper ends
by cross members 18 which supports a Lean domed roof
providing the operator with good visibility both
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horizontally and vertically and protection from falling
debris. The cab is mounted on the rear portion of the
front section 11 so that it is positioned approximately
over the pivot 12 which in turn is positioned
approximately midway between the wheel axles 20, 21.
The tree trimming assembly 14 includes a base 22
having an extension 23 which projects well forward of
the front portion 24 of the vehicle section 11 and in an
upward direction so that the terminal end I is
positioned above the upper portion 26 of the front
section 11 of the vehicle to provide a first axis 27 for
the articulated or knuckle boom 28. The knuckle zoom 28
includes a lower boom 29 pivoted about the frisk axis 27
at its lower end 30 and an upper boom 31 which is
pivoted about a second axis 32 located at the upper end
33 of the lower boom 29.
The lower boom 29 is moved about the first axis 27
by means of a pair of hydraulic cylinders 34 each
pivotal attached at one end to a bracket aye attached
Jo the base 22 and at the other end to a bricked 35b
attached to the lower boom 29 adjacent the lower end 30
thereof. The upper boom 31 is pivoted about the second
axis 32 by a pair of hydraulic cylinders 36 pivotal
connected to a bracket aye on the lower boom 29 and at
the upper end to a bracket 37b attached to the upper
boom 31 adjacent the second axis 32. The pair of
cylinders 34 may be actuated by hydraulic fluid supplied
through hoses aye independently of the cylinders 36
which is supplied with hydraulic fluid through hoses 38b
and controlled by the operator as will be more fully
described hereinafter.
Each of the booms 29 and 31 are preferably
substantially square in cross-section and are hollow.
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Also, the central portion of each boom for a substantial
distance of the length of each zoom is constructed of
fiberglass reinforced plastic so that the operator is
fully protected against short circuiting should the boom
touch an overhead wire.
A cutter head 39 is mounted at the upper end 40
of the upper boom 31. The cutter head 39 includes a bar
41 having a pivot 42 at the inboard end 43 which is
mounted on similar pivots 44 a the upper end 40 of the
boom 31 so that the bar may be moved by actuation of the
cylinder 45 in the plane of the boom 31. The cylinder
45 is pivot ably connected to a bracket 46 attached to
the upper end of the boom 31 and at the other end to a
bracket 47 attached to the bar 41. hydraulic fluid is
supplied to the cylinder 45 by hoses AYE Upon actuation
of the cylinder 45, the cutter blade 39 may be pivoted
unto or away from the race of the tree line to prune
individual limbs that my extend in various directions.
The bar 41 is provided with a plurality of
arbors or shafts 49 mounted on bearings 50 which are
equally spaced along the length of the bar 41 and
parallel to each other in the same plane. Each shaft 49
is provided with a circular saw blade 51 which is offset
axially from the adjacent lades. The saw blade shafts
49 are each provided with a pair of dual v-belt pulleys
52 secured to the shafts 49 and driven by par of
V-belts 53~ Each pair of V-belts 53 connect the shafts
49 in series and the V-belts aye on the shaft aye are
revved around a dual V-belt pulley 54 secured to the
shaft 55 of a hydraulic motor 56 which is supplied with
pressurized fluid by suitable hoses 57, 58 passing
internally through the upper boom 31 and lower boom I
to a hydraulic pump mounted on the vehicle 10.
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The saw blades So are mounted on a shaft 49 in
offset relationship to the next adjacent saw blade so
that the blades are positioned in overlapping but
staggered tandem overlapping relationship. The blades
preferably have a wide diameter of 16 inches and
preferably six saw blades are provided to form an
effective cutting length of over five feet.
Furthermore, all of the blades 51 extend above and below
the upper and lower edges 59 and 60 of the bar 41 for
approximately 1/2 the radius of the blades so what limbs
up to four or five inches thick may be cut by vertical
movement of the cutter head in either the up or down
direction. The long effective cutting length of the
"ganged" saws and the capability of cutting limbs by
movement of the cutter head 39 in either the up or down
direction results in greatly increased productivity.
In accordance with a feature of the present
invention, the tree trimmer base 22 is movable about an
axis longitudinally of the vehicle lo to provide for
pivotal movement of the tree trimming assembly 14 to
either side of vertical on the longitudinal fore and aft
axis. The tree trimmer base 22 includes two downwardly
extending projections 61 and 62 which terminate in front
of an behind the front and back of the front tire 16
Each extension 61 and I includes a pivot 63 and 64
which form a pivot axis extending longitudinally of the
vehicle 10. At the rear end of the base 22 an upwardly
projecting support 65 is provided on which the lower
boom rests when it is in its lowermost position as shown
in Figure 1. A cylinder 66 is connecter to the upper
surface 67 of the base 22 at one end and the other end
of the cylinder is connected to the engine hood 68 of
the vehicle. Upon actuation of the cylinder 66 the tree
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Renoir base 22, the lower boom 29, upper boom 3û and
the cutter head 3g may be moved about the axis formed by
the pivot 63 and 64 approximately 15 degrees to either
side of vertical. This feature of the invention enables
the operator to cut the face of the tree line in a
substantially vertical plane when the vehicle is located
on the side of a hill, for example, as shown in Figure
4. This feature also aids in trimming limbs which may
extend above and across the power line by eating such
limbs in sections and progressing inwardly towards the
trunk of the tree simply by successive movement of the
tree trimmer base 22 around the pivots 63 and 64.
From the foregoing description, the operation
of the present invention should be apparent. When the
tree trimmer of the present invention is to be employed,
it is driven by the operator to the cite along a power
line right-of-way where trees are growing over or near
and even through the power lines. The vehicle 10 is
driven so that the cutter head 39 is parallel to the
vertical plane along which the limbs of the trees are to
be cut. With the vehicle in this position, the lower
boom 29 may be raised to its full upright position until
stops 69 and 70 abut, as shown in Figure 9 and the
hydraulic motor 56 actuated to rotate the gang saws.
The hydraulic cylinder 36 may then be actuated raising
the upper boom so that low limbs and underbrush
immediately in front of the vehicle 10 may be cut to a
height approximately that of the front axle of the
vehicle. The operator would then continue to actuate
cylinder 36 to raise the upper boom 31 to its uppermost
position until stops 71 and 72 abut so that the cutter
head cuts an arcuate swath vertically through the tree
limbs which extend across the vertical plane in which
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the cutter head is operating The vehicle 10 is then
moved slowly forward with the upper boom continuing to
be raised and lowered and the cutter head cuts
successive swaths through the overhanging tree limbs,
branches J etc.
As indicated previously, since the gang saws
extend above the eyes of the cutter bar 39, cutting
will take place ho the saws extending above the cutter
bar when the cutter head is moved vertically upward and
conversely, below the cutter bar 41 when the cutter head
is moving vertically downwardly. The upper boom may be
moved alternatively upwardly and downwardly and the
truck moved slowly forward so that the cutting action is
done continuously, thereby increasing the productivity
of the tree trimmer.
Should the operator encounter a rather thick
branch extending at an odd angle to the vertical plane
in which the limbs are to be cut, he may actuate the
cylinder 45 to pivot the cutter head 39 so that it is at
substantially right angles to the particular branch and
thus cut the branch at more or less right angles.
Also as previously indicated, should the
terrain over which the vehicle is moving change so the
vehicle is passing over the side of a hill, the tree
trimmer base 22 may be moved about the pivots 63 and 64
so that the booms and cutter head lie in a vertical
plane and thus the tree limbs may be trimmed in a
substantially vertical plane even though the vehicle
passes over hilly terrain.
Furthermore, since the axis 57 is located well
forward of the front portion 24 of the vehicle, and the
cutting swath is well forward of the cab 15, branches
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and limbs that are cut fall in front of the vehicle for
the most part so that the safety ox the operator is
enhanced.
It is seen from the foregoing description thaw
a novel tree lone trimmer is provided which is
relatively simple to operate with the operator in a safe
remote position on the vehicle to cut limbs in a
vertical plane along a right of way in a wide swath with
each stroke of the boom at greatly increased
productivity.
I claim:
