HYDRAULIC BUSH-FLAIL

DEBROUSSAILLEUSE HYDRAULIQUE

English Abstract

The present invention is a flail of a size
and solidity making it capable of cutting and
shredding bushes and small trees such as are
encountered on transmission line right-of-ways and
other locations where it is necessary to
periodically control the growth of the vegetation.
This bush-flail can also be used for clearing land
by shredding the bushes and debris left after the
merchantable wood has been taken out. The said
flail consists of a generally horizontal rotating
shaft with a plurality of chains attached to said
shaft and a knife attached at the outward
extremity of each such chain. The entire flail is
supported by a frame adapted to be mounted on the
articulated arm or boom of a crane-type carrier.
The said flail is equiped with a guard that
prevents the debris from flying from the immediate
proximity of the bushes and trees being cut.

Claims

CLAIMS
The embodiments of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are
defined as follows:
1) An hydraulic bush-flail capable of cutting
bushes and small trees, said bush-flail capable of
being mounted on the articulated arm of a
crane-type carrier. Said brush-flail consisting
of:
a) a generally horizontal axle or shaft,
b) a drum mounted on and rotating around the
said shaft or axle,
c) a plurality of chains mounted on the said
drum so that when said drum rotates, said chains
flail away in a generally perpendicular direction
in relation to the axis of said drum,
d) a plurality of heavy knives, one of said
knives to be attached to the outward extremity of
each said chain,
e) an hydraulic motor mounted on said shaft
and giving movement of rotation to said drum, and
f) a frame supporting the extremities of the
said shaft and adapted to be suspended to the
outward extremity of the articulated arm of a
crane-type machine.
2) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 1 with the said drum being longer than the
said axle, the part extending past the extremity
of the said axle being hollow and leaving a cavity

in which the hydraulic motor is situated.
3) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 2 equipped with a strong semi-circular guard
and enclosing the said brush-flail to a point at
the front on a level with the said axle and at the
back to a level with the lower extremities of the
said chains and knives. The rear edge of said
guard to be equipped with a double row of guard
chains to stop any debris from escaping underneath
the solid guard.
4) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 3 where the hydraulic motor is connected to
the hydraulic pump of a crane-type carrier.
5) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 3 where the hydraulic motor is connected to
an auxilliary pump activated by an auxilliary
diesel motor mounted on the crane-type carrier
vehicle.
6) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 3 with an hydraulic cylinder mounted between
the said frame of the said bush-flail and the
articulated arm of the crane-type carrier to
permit tilting the said bush-flail away from or
towards the said carrier in order to position the
bush-flail to conform to the slope of the surface
of the ground where the bushes and small trees are
being cut.
7) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 6 equipped with an hydraulic adaptor where
the said frame connects with the said articulated
arm to permit the entire bush-flail to rotate on
the horizontal plane 180 degrees in order to face

in the right direction on the backswing of the
said articulated arm.
8) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 7 with an hydraulic valve to cause the
automatic rotation of the said 180 degrees when
the operator commands the articulated arm to
reverse its direction.
9) A plurality of the hydraulic bush-flails
as described in claim 3, each said bush-flail
mounted on an articulated arm, the plurality of
the said articulated arms being mounted on the
same carrier permitting the said bush-flails to
engage with the bushes and small trees to be cut
by the forward movement of the carrier alone
without having to swing the articulated arms back
and forth.
10) An hydraulic bush-flail similar to the
bush-flail described in claim 3 but with the
hydraulic motor mounted on the frame and imparting
a movement of rotation to the shaft, such shaft
turning in conjunction with the drum.
11) An hydraulic bush-flail as described in
claim 10 with the flailing chains attached
directly to the shaft, thus eliminating the need
for a drum.

Description

DISCLOSURE~
This invention consists of a rotating flail
adapted to be mounted on the articulated arm or
boom of a crane-type carrier such as an excavator
and provides a machine capable of clearing the
vegetation from a wide swath of ground by swinging
such arm or boom to which such flail is attached
from side to side while the entire machine moves
forward. The flail consists of: a) a shaft, b) a
drum mounted on said shaft and capable of rotating
around said shaft, c) a plurality of chains
attached to said drum, d) a heavy knife attached
at the outward extremity of each said chain, e) an
hydraulic motor capable of rotating said drum at a
sufficient speed to enable the said chains and
knives to efficiently cut and shred brush and
small trees, said hydraulic motor being connected
to a source of circulating hydraulic fluid, f) a
frame adapted to mount the said bush-flail to the
end of the articulated arm of a carrier
An object of the invention is to provide an
efficient machine that will not only cut but also
shred the bushes and small trees over a wide area
with one pass of the machine. A further object is
to have a machine that can withstand without
damage encounters with stones and large stumps and
other obstructions that are often hidden among the
bushes being cut. A further object is to provide a
machine that can clear large areas, four hectares
(l0 acres) or more per hour.

2134790
Some bush-cutting devices mounted on crane
type vehicles are in existence. They are generally
rotary mowers with cutting knives rotating in an
horizontal plane around a vertical axle or shaft
as in the bushwood chopper invented by Armand G.
Plante, number 2028676 or circular saws as in
2066291. These machines are often severely damaged
by encountering obstacles such as rocks and large
stumps that are hidden by the surrounding brush.
They are also generally inefficient, having to cut
and shred one bush at a time. The hydraulic
bush-flail, turning in a vertical plane around a
generally horizontal axle or shaft, can cut and
shred brush over and around such obstacles with
ease thanks to its flailing chains equipped with
heavy knives. Furthermore, it is a more efficient
machine that cuts and shreds bushes and small
trees encountered as it sweeps from one side of
the right-of-way to the other. It does the job
rapidly and neatly leaving the ground in an
esthetic condition.