Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention relates to a
method and apparatus for detaching and collecting
cones from conifer trees and depositing the
collected cones in a cone storage container.
A wide variety of methods and apparatus
are known for harvesting fruit from trees, ranging
from the relatively simple, to the very complex. .
Such methods and apparatus generally depend upon
the existence of well ordered, relatively small
trees in a localized area and road accessibility
and conditions which allow ground vehicles access
; to those trees. The tall height of many conifer
trees, together with the remote forest conditions
existing where such trees are generally found,
requires different methods and apparatus for the
harvesting of their cones than are used in the
fruit industry.
One method and apparatus for stripping
cones from conifer trees is disclosed in U.S.S.R.
20 Patent Number 556,745, granted on June 26, 1977,
to E. M. Vredenskii et al, which involves fixing
guide ropes between a beam affixed to the ground
below a conifer tree, and a second beam affixed to
the top end of the tree trunk. A combing bar is
raised up the guide ropes by means of a hand-
operated pulley, thereby detaching cones from the
branches of the tree. Obviously, the latter
method requires considerable time and effort, both
to install the apparatus and to detach the cones
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by raising the comb~ -
It is an object of the invention to
provide an apparatus and method for harvesting
cones from conifer trees that is adapted for use
in remote locati.ons and over rough terrain.
It is a urther object of the invention,
to provide a method and apparatus for harvesting
cones which is more efficient than hitherto known
methods.
These and other objects of the present
invention are accomplished by surrounding a conifer
tree at a level below at least a portion of the
cones attached to the branches of the tree with
means for stripping the cones from the tree, and .
;~ then raising the cone stripping means upwardly
through the branches of the tree to strip cones . .
therefrom.
Advantageously, the cone stripping means
is a wall enclosure which defines a passageway for
permitting passage therethrough of the trunk of
the tree and at least some of its branches with
the upper portion of the wall enclosure being
upwardly and inwardly inclined towards an entrance
aperture of the passageway.
In a further aspect of the invention,
the cones may be collected by a cone receptacle
. formed by a lower portion of the outside of said
wall enclosure and a receptacle wall fastened to
and extending upwardly from a lower periphery of
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said wall enclosure. Collected cones are tran-
sported to a cone storage container where they are
deposited by removing an outer receptacle wall of
the cone receptacle from at least a portion of the ~
lower periphery of the wall enclosure. ~ ;
; Although the method may utilize a crane
~ affixed to a moving ground vehicle to suspend the
- wall enclosure and cone receptacle, it is more
efficient to employ a helicopter for this purpose.
Use of the helicopter, as well as considerably
accelerating collection time, allows access to
remote forested areas over rough terrain that is
inaccessible to ground vehicles.
The apparatus for stripping cones from a
conifer tree according to the invention, comprises
a wall enclosure defining a passageway adapted to
permit the passage therethrough of the trunk and
' at least some of the branches of the tree. At , !
- least a portion of the upper surface of the wall
enclosure is upwardly and inwardly inclined toward
the entrance aperture of the passageway~ Means
are provided on the wall enclosure for connecting
the latter to upwardly extending support cables.
Cones detached by the wall enclosure are ~`
conveniently held in a cone receptacle formed
; around the lower periphery of the wall enclosure.
A further aspect of the invention is the
provision for a plurality of elongated teeth,
spaced apart and affixed at the upper end of the
wall enclosure around the entrance aperture. The
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latter teeth project upwardly from the ~ntrance
aperture so as to assist in stripping cones from
the tree branches by virtue of their combing
effect on the branches when the wall enclosure is
raised, upwardly through the branches.
The wall enclosure may be formed in a
variety oE ways, for example, by solid sheet
material or by a plurallty of interconnected
members. The wall enclosure may also be designed
to provide a variety of different overall shapes,
having different shaped entrance apertures.
Moreover, the upper portion of the wall enclosure
may be made expandable to permit easier emplace-
ment over a conifer tree.
Preferably, the cone receptacle is
formed by the lower portion of the outside of the
wall enclosure together with a receptacle wall
seated around the lower periphery of the latter,
i and extending upwardly therefrom. However, it is
, 20 clear that such a receptacle might also be ~ormed
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` as a separate structure apart from the wall enclosure,
; but supported from the bottom thereof.
Advantageously, cones collected in the
cone receptacle, are removed by pivoting away the
receptacle wall from the lower periphery of the
wall enclosure. Obviously, any me~thod of removing
the receptacle wall from the lower periphery of
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the wall enclosure would work as would an arrange~
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ment of opening the bottom of the cone receptacle
- 30 while leaving the receptacle wall in place.
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FIGURE 1 is an elevation view showing a
truncated substantially conical aevice for stripping
and collecting cones suspended over a conifer tree
by a helicopter hovering over the tree, and being
raised up through the branches of the tree.
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the
truncated, substantially conical device seen in
FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a
rectangular-shaped second embodiment of the inven-
tion for stripping and collecting cones.
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a
third embodiment of the invention for stripping
and collecting cones.
FIGURE 5A is a detailed drawing showing
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the method of mounting each of the spokes seen in
FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 5B is an alternative view showing ~ ;
the mounting rim seen in FIGURE 5A in cross- ~
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section.
FIGURE 6 is a fourth embodiment of the
invention for stripping and collecting cones.
Referring to FIGURE 1, the device for
stripping and collecting cones 10 r is shown sus-
pended over a conifer tree 26 from a plurality of
cables 24, the lower ends of which are connected
to corresponding brackets 22 affixed to the outside
; surface of a truncated substantially conical wall
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enclosure 12. The upper ends of cables 24 are
supported Erom a helicopter 28 hovering over the
tree. The device is initially lowered over the
tree 26 to a level below a substantial num~er of
the attached cones, with the opening 15 permitting
the passage therethrough of the trunk 34 of the
tree 26. As the wall enclosure 12 is raised,
branches 30 slide through the plurality of upwardly
projecting and outwardly curved teeth 18, affixed
to the interior surfa~e of the wall enclosure 12 ..
at a point spaced apart from the upper end 14
thereof. The teeth when affixed in this way may
be bent inwardly tow~rds the central passageway
against the restorin~ force of the material out of
which the teeth are formed. The combing effect of
: the teeth 18 assists in stripping cones 32 from ~ .
: the branches 30, which then fall down along the
sloping sides of the wall enclosure 12 into a cone
receptacle formed by the lower portion of the wall
enclo~ure 12, and an upwardly directed receptacle
wall 20. The receptacle wall 20 is seated on an ::
outwardly extending flange 16 formed around the ; `
lower periphery of the wall enclosure 12 as seen
.~ in FIGURE 2.
Following ~he raising of the device 10 :~
upwardly through a tree, the helicopter 28 trans-
ports the device to a cone storage container
whereat the receptacle wall 20, affixed to the
flange 16 of ~he wall enclosure 12 by a hinge 36,
is pivoted away from the lower periphery 16
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permitting collected cones 32 to fall away fxom
the device 10 into a cone storage container (not
shown). Upon removal of the collected cvnes 32,
the receptacle wall 20 is pivoted back onto flange
1~, and may either be ~a~tened in place or held in
place by the receptacle wall's own weight.
FIGURE 3 illustrates a rectangular~
. shaped alternative device for stripping and collecting
cones, having a wall enclosure formed by two
.~ 10 generally parallel spaced vertical walls 36 and
38, together with two opposed spaced inwardly and
upwardly inclined walls 54, each extending from
one vertical wall 36 to the other 38. The upper
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.:. ends 62 of tha inclined walls, define a substantially
;I rectangular entrance aperture to a central passage-
way 55. Inclined walls 54 are pivotally attached
by means of hinges 56 to the upper periphery of a
base 52, which forms a lower portion of the wall
enclosure. This pivotal attachment permits inclined
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. 20 walls 54 to rotate from a closed position, at
which the entrance aperture 55 is a minimum outwardly
to anopen position, at which the entrance aperture
is a maximum. Arcuate slots 40, formed in the two
. vertical walls, in combination with pins .42 passing
through the slots and affixed to the edges of the
inclined walls 54, limit the angular range of
pivotal motion of the latter walls. A plurality
of teeth project above the upper edges of the
inclined walls 54, and are curved away from the
central passageway 55. The teeth are affixed to
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the interior surface of the inclined plates at a
point spaced apart from khe upper edge thereof to
permi.t inward flexing of the teeth against the
restoring force of the teeth material. A re-
ceptacle wall 58 is seated around the lower periphery
46 of the base 52, and is pivotally attached by
means of a hinge 48 to one end thereof. The
~ vertical walls are stabilized by a plurality of
:~ struts 44, extending from the base 52 to the
exterior sides of the vertical walls 36 and 38.
The inclined plates 54 are each reinforced by a
horizontal rib 64, inteEmediate of the height of
the plates 54..
A third embodiment of the device is
illustrated in FIGURE 4, in which a plurality of
spokes 68 each run from an outer rim 94 upwardly
and inwardly to an entrance aperture 80 of a -
central passageway. Upper ends of the rods 68 are : ~
wound around the tubular rim 94 and spring mounted ~.:
. 20 in position, about an upper and lower retaining ~ : :
ring 74 and 76, respectively. The upper and lower :
:~' retaining rings 74 and 76 are, in turn, positioned .`
by a plurality of radially outwardly projecting
arms 70. As seen in FIGURES 5A and SB, each spoke
68 is spaced apart on tubular rim 94 from adjacent
spokes by ribs 72. The base 86 extending outwardly
from rim 94 is formed by a plurality of radially
~ outwardly and downwardly directed frame members . :~
.: 92, affixed at one end to arms 70, and at the
~ 30 other end to a circular lip 32. Reinforoing
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stru~s 71 extend from the outer extremity of arm
70 down to the outer extremities of frame members
92. The floor of the base structure is formed by
a circular expanded metal strip, supported by
frame members 92. At the outer extremity of the
base there is a circular lip 82, on which
is seated a lower ring 84 to the latter of which
is attached a plurality of spaced upwardly extending ~ :
ver~ical members 88. The upper ends of vertical ~
members 88, in turn, are affixed to a corresponding ~.
upper ring 90. Netting or expanded metal stretched
around vertical members B8, between lower clrcular
ring 84 and upper circular ring 90 act to retain
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` cones collected on the base 86. Lower ring 84 is
pivotally attached to lip 82 by means of a hinge
~ 96. Rotation of the receptacle wall about hinge
; 9~ causes collectad cones 87 to fall away from the
base into a cone storage container (not shown).
A fourth embodiment of the device is
o seen in FIGURE 6 which illustrates a wall.enclosure
formed by a base 124, and two opposed portions of
respective generally downwardly and outwardly
i extending surfaces 100 and 112. The two opposed
portions 100 and 112 are horizontally telescoped
into one another, and snugly overlap aiong their
sides 114 with each portion pi~otally affixed at
its lower periphery to diametrically oppose portions ~ :
of the upper periphery of the base 124 by mPans of .
`~ hinges 116 and 126, respectively. Thus, the two
~ 30 rotatable portions 100 and 112 may rotate from a
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normally closed position, as .illustrated i.n FIGURE
6 outwardly to an expanded position whereat the
entrance aperture 101 is made wider. Such expansion
of the entrance aperture 101 is made against
spring bias provided by a spring 102, thxeaded
through a plurality of eyelets 104, circumferentially
spaced around the wall enclosure at a level intermediate
the height thereof. An outwardly extending flange
128 formed around the lower periphery of the base
124 provides vertical support to a rotatable
receptacle wall 118, pivotally attached thereto by
a hinge 120.
; In operation, the embodiments illustrated
in FIGURES 3 and 6 having expandable entrance
; apertures 55 and 101, respectively, when lowered
over a tree more readily pass through the branches
:~ thereof by virtue of the facility of having the
entrance aperture capable of expansion. Upon
. raising of the device, however, the forces on the
opposed rotatable wall portions thereof~ is such
.: as to maintain them in their normally closed
~ position at which the entrance aperture is a
: minimum. Otherwise, the operation of each of the
embodiments disclosed above is basically similar.
Other obvious variations, modifications
and departures from the specific method and embodi-
ments described above which~ do not depart from the ~;
spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in
the accompanying claims, will readily occur to
those skilled in the art.
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