ENGIN SERVANT A RAMASSER LES ARBRES ABATTUS ET A LES COUPER

BLADE-EQUIPED VEHICLE WITH TREE GRIPPING MEANS

Abrégé anglais

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE:
An improved vehicle for working in a forest, of
the type comprising a pusher blade movable up and down.
This vehicle is improved in that it further comprises tree
gripping means mounted on the blade, preferably at one end
thereof, in a position to pick up a tree lying on the
ground. Means are provided for actuating the tree gripping
means from the cabin of the vehicle.

Revendications

The embodiments of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined
as follows:
1. In a vehicle for working in a forest having
a pusher blade at one end and means for moving the pusher
blade up and down relative to the vehicle, the improvement
comprising:
tree gripping means outwardly mounted at one end
of the pusher blade, in a position to pick up trees lying
on the ground, said tree gripping means comprising a base
fixed to said one end of the blade in a vertical position,
said base having a lower portion forming a fixed jaw, and a
movable jaw mounted by a pivot pin on the base above the
portion of said base forming the fixed jaw, and
means for operating the tree gripping means to
grip a tree lying on the ground, said operating means
comprising an actuator for moving the movable jaw relative
to the fixed jaw.
2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
movable jaw actuator is pivotally mounted at one end to
the top end of the base and at the other end to a point of
the movable jaw positioned outwardly of the pivot pin of
said movable jaw.
3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein the
tree gripping means is mounted at a slight angle on the
pusher blade to extend slightly forward of said blade.
4. A vehicle as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3
including stop plate mounted on the blade adjacent the
movable and fixed jaws of the gripping means, said stop
plate having a convex side facing the ground so as to
prevent a tree from tilting up when gripped by the
gripping means.

Description

The present inven-tion is concerned with improve-
ments in handling felled trees.
More particularly, the invention relates to an
improvement in a blade-equipped vehicle for handling felled
or fallen trees.
Skidders used -to haul a group of felled trees,
are often equipped with a blacle at one end so that the
skidder can also be used to push the trees or to clear
brush or tree limbs. When the skidder is hauling a group
of elled trees, it often happens that one or more trees
falls off the skidder. I-t is very consuming to collect
these fallen trees and they often are left where they lie
resulting in waste.
Bulldozers are often employed in forestry opera-
tions to clear parts of forested land~ Fallen trees however
often make the cleaning operation difficult, of at least
awkward, since the fallen trees are moved transversely by
the bulldozer blade and catch standiny trees. It is
uneconomical to use a skidder to handle such fallen trees
on an individual basis.
The object of the present invention is to provide
an improvement on blade-equipped vehicles, such as skidders
or bulldozers, whereby one or two felled or fallen trees
can be easily handled by such vehicles.
In accordance with the present invention, tree
gripping means are mounted on one end of the blade of the
vehicle and are positioned -to grip a tree lying on the
ground. With the blade of the vehicle raised, the vehic]e
is moved to position the tree gripping means above the tree.
The blade is then lowered to place the tree gripping means
about the tree and the gripping means are then actuated to
grip the tree. The ~lade is then raised and the vehicle
moved to move the gripped tree to a desired location.
When the tree-gripping means are mounted on a
blade on a skidder, the skidder operator can easily pick up
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one or two ~allen trees during each trip. When the tree-
gripping means are mounted on a bulldozer blade, the opera-
tor can easily maneouver the machine to pick up a Eallen tree
and move it out of the way without damaging standing trees.
The invention is particularly directed toward an
improved vehicle for working in a forest, of the type com-
prising a pusher blade at one end with means for moving -the
blade up and down relative to the vehicle. This vehicle is
improved in that it further comprises tree gripping means
outwardly mounted at one end of -the pusher blade in a posi-
tion to pick up a tree lying on the ground, and means for
operating the tree gripping means to grip a tree l~ing on
the ground.
The tree gripping means comprises a base fixed to
the one end of the blade in a vertical position. This base
has a lower por-tion forming a fixed jaw. The tree gripping
means also comprises a movable jaw mounted by a pivot pin on
the base above the portion of said base forming the fixed jaw.
The operating means comprises an actuator forming
the movable jaw with respect to the fixed one. Preferably,
this actuator is pivotally mounted at one end to the top end
of the base and at the other end to a point of the movable jaw
positioned outwardly of the pivot pin of said movable jaw.
The invention will now be described in detail with
reference to the following non-restrictive description of a
preferred embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a blade-equipped
vehicle according to the invention in operation;
Figs. 2a, 2b are plan views of the vehicle in
operation showing how a tree can be picked up with the
crown facing in either direction; and
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of -the vehicle blade
with the tree gripping means thereon.
The vehicle 1 as shown in the drawings, has a
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pusher blade 3 mounted at its front end. The table 3 is
used to move brush and/or tree limbs. A pair of arms 5 and
7 extend rearwardly from the blade 3, one on each side of
the vehicle 1 as shown in Fig. 2. The free ends 9 and 11
of the arms 5 and 7 respectively are pivotally connected to
the vehicle frame by pivot pins 13 and 15. Hydraulic
actuators 17 and 19 are pivotally connected at one end to
the arms 5 and 7 respectively between the blade 3 and their
ends 9 and 11. The other ends of the actuators 17 and 19
are connected to the frame of the vehicle 1 above the arms
5 and 7. Operation of the actuators 17 and 19 in one
direction will lower the blade 3 to the ground, and in the
other direction will raise the blade 3 up off the ground,
as is well known.
In accordance with the invention, means 21 are
mounted on the blade 3 in a position for gripping a tree 23,
lying on the ground by its trunk 25. The gripping means 21
is mounted at one end 27 of the blade 3 as shown in the
drawings. The gripping means 21 as shown in Fig. 3, has a
vertical extending base 29 the lower portion of which forms
a fixed jaw 31. The base 29 is fixedly mounted to the end
27 of blade 3 by welding or other suitable means. A movable
jaw 33 is pivotally mounted to the base 29, just above the
fixed jaw 31, by a pivot pin 35. The jaw 33 is curved to
extend outwardly and downwardly Erom the base 29. A
hydraulic actuator 37 is pivotally mounted at one end 39,
by a pivot pin 41, to the top end 43 of the base 29. The
other end 45 of the actuator 37 is pivotally mounted by a
pivot pin 47 to the movable jaw 33 at the point positioned
outwardly of the pivot pin 35. Operation of the actuator
37 will move the jaw 33 toward or away from the fixed jaw
31.
If desired, a stop or abutment plate 49 can be
provided, adjacent the jaws 31 and 33. The plate 49 is
curved about an axis which extends parallel to the pivot

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pins 35, 41 and 47 to have the convex side of the plate
face the grouna. A brace 51 connects the pla-te 49, via its
top side to a brace 53 extendlng rearwardly from the
blade 3.
In operation, the vehicle operator maneouvers the
vehicle 1 to place the open gripping means 2I above a fallen
or dropped tree 23 lying on the ground while the blade 3 is
rai~ed. Once the gripping means 21 are properly located,
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the blade 3 is lowered via actuators 17, 19 to position the
jaws 31 and 33 of the gripping means 21 on either side of
the trunk 25 of the tree 23. The actuator 37 is then
operated by the vehicle operator to move the jaw 33 toward
the jaw 31 to securely grip the tree, and the blade 3 is
then raised. The gripped tree is held against the stop
plate 49. The stop plate 49 prevents the tree from tilting
up while gripped. The vehicle 1 is then moved carrying the
tree 23 just picked up. More then one tree can be picked
up in this manner.
Preferably, the base 29 is mounted at a slight
angle on the end of the blade so that the gripping means 21
angles slightly forwardly of the blade 3 as shown in Figs.
2a, 2b. This permits the tree picked up to stay clear of
the vehicle 1.
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