Sod roll forming mechanism
AssigneeFireFly Automatix, Inc.
InventorsSteven R. Aposhian, Eric E. Aston, William M. Decker, Mark C. LeBlanc, Austin J. Neuner, Seth W. Jeppson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sod harvester can employ a roll forming mechanism that includes a roll starter that is configured to initiate the formation of rolls. The roll starter can include pivoting supports and front and rear slab flippers that also pivot to cause the rolls to be tightly and consistently formed. The roll forming mechanism can also include a roll advancer that continues the formation of the rolls. The roll advancer can be suspended to cause it to conform to the shape and size of the rolls as they advance.
Claims20
A sod harvester comprising:
- a cutting head that removes slabs of sod from the ground;
- an inclined conveyor that receives the slabs of sod from the cutting head and advances the slabs of sod towards a stacking conveyor;
- a roll forming mechanism positioned above the inclined conveyor, the roll forming mechanism forming the slabs of sod into rolls and including a roll starter comprising:
- pivoting supports positioned on opposing sides of the inclined conveyor, each pivoting support having a front end and a back end, the front end being connected to a frame of the sod harvester via a pivoting connection such that the rear end is configured to pivot upwardly away from the inclined conveyor;
- and
- a front slab flipper having a vertical blade that extends across the inclined conveyor, the front slab flipper being configured to pivot relative to the pivoting supports;
- the stacking conveyor that receives the rolls;
- and
- a stacking head that removes the rolls from the stacking conveyor for stacking.
A roll forming mechanism for a sod harvester comprising:
- a roll starter comprising:
- pivoting supports positioned on opposing sides of an inclined conveyor of the sod harvester, each pivoting support having a front end and a back end, the front end being connected to a frame of the sod harvester via a pivoting connection such that the rear end is configured to pivot upwardly away from the inclined conveyor;
- and
- a front slab flipper having a vertical blade that extends between the pivoting supports, the front slab flipper pivoting relative to the pivoting supports;
- and
- a roll advancer positioned rearward from the roll starter, the roll advancer comprising:
- opposing suspended supports;
- and
- blades that extend between the opposing suspended supports.
A roll forming mechanism for a sod harvester comprising:
- a roll starter comprising:
- pivoting supports positioned on opposing sides of an inclined conveyor of the sod harvester, each pivoting support having a front end and a back end, the front end being connected to a frame of the sod harvester via a pivoting connection such that the rear end is configured to pivot upwardly away from the inclined conveyor;
- a front slab flipper having a vertical blade that extends between the pivoting supports and a horizontal blade that extends frontward from the vertical blade of the front slab flipper, the front slab flipper pivoting relative to the pivoting supports;
- and
- a rear slab flipper having a vertical blade that extends between the pivoting supports and a horizontal blade that extends frontward from the vertical blade of the rear slab flipper, the rear slab flipper pivoting relative to the pivoting supports;
- and
- a roll advancer positioned rearward from the roll starter, the roll advancer comprising:
- opposing suspended supports;
- and
- blades that extend between and are spaced along the opposing suspended supports.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.