Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02703392 2010-05-07
TITLE: BRUSH CUTTER MOUNTED AS A WING PLOW
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to brush cutters for clearing shrubs and other
vegetation from road shoulders, and more particularly it pertains to brush
cutters that are mountable to road graders and snow-plow trucks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The maintenance of roadways in the countryside and along wood lots
require periodic cutting of alders, poplar trees and other fast growing
shrubs along the road shoulders, to prevent vegetation from spreading onto
the roadways. This work is done by various apparatus including brush
cutters mounted on farm tractors and front-end loaders. Examples of these
brush cutters are disclosed in the following documents.
US Patent 5,123,462 issued on June 23, 1992 to T.A. Davision.
The brush cutter described in this document has a large cutting disc
mounted on a frame that is supported to a front-end loader. The disc can
be swung side-to-side in the front of the loader.
US Patent 6,311,464 issued to H. Neuerburg et al. on Nov. 6, 2001.
This document discloses a series of disc-like cutters mounted inline on a
bar. The bar is suspending at its middle to an arm mounted to the back of
a tractor. The arm can be swung sideways to mow grass alongside the
tractor.
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CA Patent 510,271 issued to Earl W. Holmes on Feb. 22, 1955.
The apparatus disclosed in this document comprises a sickle bar extending
from an arm having a pivot at each end. The arm extends from a turntable
on the frame of a truck. The sickle bar is movable to cut grass along the
near slope and the far slope of a ditch.
CA Patent 914,430 issued to V.D. L. Cornelis on November 14, 1972.
This document discloses a pair of mower rotors mounted side-by-side on
the three-point hitch of a farm tractor. The mower rotors are mounted
offset from the line of travel of the tractor, such as to mow a strip of grass
alongside the tractor.
CA Patent 1,004,858 issued to Pieter A. Oosterling et al. on Feb. 08, 1977.
This document discloses a series of disc-like cutters mounted inline on a
bar extending from the three-point hitch of a farm tractor. The bar-type
cutter extends sideways from the tractor such as a conventional sickle bar-
type hay mower.
Although the apparatus of the prior art deserve undeniable merits, it is
believed that a more convenient way for clearing brushes along road
shoulders is to do it using a brush cutter mounted as a wing plow on a road
grader or on a similar snow-plowing vehicle. Advantages of such
mounting are numerous and include the fact that its operation is as easy as
operating a wing plow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, there is provided a brush cutter mounted as a
wing plow on a road grader, a snow plow truck or other snow-plowing
vehicle.
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Broadly, in one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a road
vehicle having wing-plow attachments and a brush cutter mounted as a
wing plow to the wing-plow attachments. The brush cutter has an
elongated frame and a series of cutting discs mounted in line along that
frame. The wing-plow attachments comprise a wing-plow mast having a
first raisable connection and a wing-plow push bar having second raisable
connection. The elongated frame is connected at both ends thereof to the
first and second raisable connections respectively, such that both ends are
independently adjustable in height by the wing-plow mast and the wing-
plow push bar.
This mounting of the brush cutter is as agile as a wing plow to clear road
shoulders. The brush cutter can be manipulated to leap over mail boxes,
fence posts, large rocks, stumps and driveway markers, whether these
obstacles are located at the near end or the far end thereof.
In another aspect of the present invention, the hydraulic valves used to
operate the brush cutter are the same valves as those used to operate a wing
plow and these valves are used in a same way as to operate a wing plow,
such that the brush cutter is easily workable by snow-plow operators.
This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of the invention
may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding of the
invention can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description
of the preferred embodiment thereof in connection with the attached
drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts
throughout the several views, and in which:
FIG.1 illustrates a partial side view of a road grader and a preferred brush
cutter mounted to the road grader as a wing plow;
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective side view of the road grader and the
preferred brush cutter mounted to the road grader;
FIG. 3 is a front view of the road grader and the preferred brush cutter
adjusted to different positions;
FIG. 4 is a partial top view of the road grader and preferred brush cutter;
FIG. 5 is a detail view of the near connection on the snow plow mast and
on the preferred brush cutter, as shown in detail circle 5 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a detail view of the far connection on the snow-plow push-bar
and the preferred brush cutter, as shown in detail circle 6 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of the preferred brush cutter illustrating a
preferred alignment of the preferred brush cutter relative to its
direction of movement.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring back to FIG. 1 there is illustrated therein, the preferred brush
cutter 20 mounted as a wing plow on a road grader 22. The preferred brush
cutter 20 has a bar-type elongated frame 24 and a series of cutting discs 26
mounted in-line to this frame 24. Each cutting disc 26 is driven by a belt
and sheave system (not shown) mounted inside the elongated frame 24, and
by a single hydraulic motor 28 driving the belt and sheave system.
Each cutting disc 26 preferably has replaceable hardened-steel teeth 30
thereon and is made of thick steel plates, (1 inch thick or so), to prevent
deformation in use. The rotational speed of these cutting discs 26 is
selected to provide cutting and mulching of the material being cleared.
The preferred brush cutter 20 also has a brush deflector bar 32 mounted on
the front side thereof to deflect small trees downward in the front of and
under the brush cutter 20.
The brush cutter 20 is supported to the road grader 22 at two connection
points. The connection point closer to the road grader 22 is referred to as
the near end connection 40 and the other connection point is referred to as
the far end connection 42. Similarly, the portion of the brush cutter closer
to the road grader 22 is referred to as the near end 44 and the portion
farther away from the road grader is referred to as the far end 46
Referring to FIGS. 1- 5, the near end connection 40 has a portion thereof
that is integrated in the snow plow mast 48 of the road grader 22. The
snow plow mast 48 has an hydraulic cylinder mounted therein, such that the
near end connection 40 can be lifted up and lowered down using an
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hydraulic valve in the cab of the grader 22. The hydraulic valve mentioned
above is one that is normally used to control the movement of a wing plow.
This hydraulic valve belongs to the wing-plow valve bank. The snow
plow mast 48 is of a conventional type for supporting a wing plow, and
therefor no further explanation is deemed necessary to describe this mast.
The near end connection 40 consists of a clevis 50, a plate 52, and a pin 54
passing through the clevis 50 and through the plate 52. Preferably, the
plate 52 is mounted to a pivot 56 having a vertical axis of articulation,
although this is not essential. The pivot 56 is mounted to a block that is
movable inside the mast 48.
Referring back to FIG. 1, the preferred brush cutter 20 has an extension 58
on the near end 44 thereof. This extension has a desired length for
positioning the brush cutter 20 at a desired lateral distance from the road
grader 22. Similarly, the total length of the elongated frame 24 and the
number of cutting discs 26 in the preferred brush cutter 20 are determined
by choice of the designer.
The articulation of the brush cutter 20 is limited to vertical displacement
along the mast 48; a horizontal angular sweep as indicated by arrow 60 in
FIG. 4 about the pivot 56, and a vertical angular movement in the direction
of arrow 62 in FIG. 3, about the pin 54. A restriction in the movement of
the preferred brush cutter 20 along these orthogonal planes ensures that the
cutting discs 26 remain parallel to the ground surface being cleared.
It will be appreciated that the expression "parallel to the ground" as used
herein may also include a setting of each disc 26 where the leading edge
thereof is slightly closer to the ground that the trailing edge, for providing
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a relief in the cut being made.
The movement of the brush cutter 20 about the pivot 56 is provided to set
the brush cutter 22 at an angle from the direction of travel of the road
grader 22 such that the path of each cutting disc 26 overlap each other
slightly as illustrated by arrows 64 in FIG. 7. It will be understood that
once this position is set, there is no need for further movement of the brush
cutter 20 about the pivot 56, and therefore, this pivot may be replaced by
an appropriate curvature in the plate 52, for example.
The far end connection 42 retaining the far end of the brush cutter 20 to the
road grader 22 is better illustrated in FIG. 6. The far end connection 42 is
made in a similar manner as the near end connection 40. The far end
connection 42 is made of a first clevis 68 on the push bar 70 of the road
grader 22; a second clevis 72 mounted to the frame 24 of the brush cutter
20, and a linkage 74 joining the first and second clevises 68,72. A
horizontal pin 76 extends through the linkage 74 and through the second
clevis 72 for providing articulation of the push bar 70 in a vertical plane
relative to the position of the brush cutter 20. The linkage 74 is mounted
to the first clevis 68 on a vertical pivot 78 for accommodating horizontal
angular movement of the push bar 70 relative to the position of the brush
cutter 20.
The push bar 70 on the road grader 22 is of the type being extensible by
way of a first hydraulic cylinder 80 and raisable by way of a second
hydraulic cylinder 82. The push bar 70 is of the type where actuation of
both hydraulic cylinders 80, 82 are controlled by hydraulic valves in the
wing-plow valve bank as mentioned before.
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The push bar 70 on the road grader 22 preferably has a shock absorber 84
thereon to absorb shocks that might be encountered during the operation of
the brush cutter 20.
The push bar 70 is mounted to the road grader in a way that is conventional
for supporting a wing plow, and therefore no further explanation is deemed
necessary relative to this element.
Referring particularly to FIG. 3, it will be appreciated that the structure of
the connections 40 and 42 makes it possible to move the brush cutter 20 in
many different positions while maintaining the cutting discs 26 in a
substantially parallel alignment with the ground surface being cleared.
Some of these positions are illustrated in FIG. 3.
The first position of the brush cutter 20 shown at label 90 is a horizontal
position where the cutting discs 26 are maintained parallel to a road
surface. The second position 92 has the far end 46 of the brush cutter 20
adjusted lower than the near end 44, for clearing a road shoulder that is
sloping downward, below a horizontal alignment from the road surface for
example. The third position 94 has the far end 46 raised higher than the
near end 44 for use when the road grader 22 has one side riding into a ditch
for example. The fourth position 96 has both the near end 44 and the far
end 46 raised relative to the road surface, for use when the road grader is
riding with both sides thereof into a ditch for example. The fifth position
98 has the near end much higher than the far end, for leaping over a
driveway marker for example. The position labelled as 100 is a stow away
position with the brush cutter 20 raised in a near-vertical alignment.
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Although a preferred embodiment of the brush cutter 20 and its mounting
have been illustrated on a road grader, those skilled in the art will
understand that a same mounting can be done on a snow plow truck, a front
end loader or another road vehicle having wing-plow attachments. Also,
a sickle-bar type brush cutter or other brush mower may also be mounted
to the wing-plow attachments in a similar way as described herein for
providing similar results as those described herein. Therefore, the above
description should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
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