Tree harvester and processor
AssigneeJ. I. Case Company
InventorFrank J. Tucek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for harvesting, delimbing and cutting trees into sections is disclosed herein. The harvesting apparatus includes grapple means and cutter means on a mast which is supported on a boom of a vehicle. The delimbing and cutting into sections is accomplished with a separate frame that may be in the form of a trailer processor attached to the vehicle and positioned so that the mast and boom may be utilized for forcing the tree into engagement with a tree advancing mechanism on the trailer and the cutter means on the mast may be utilized to cut the delimbed tree into sections. The system is also designed so that the hydraulic circuitry for driving the vehicle may be used as the power source for the processor.
Claims12
A tree harvesting apparatus including an articulated power actuated boom pivoted thereon by a first fluid ram, and elongated mast pivoted on the outer end of said boom by a second fluid ram, tree gripping means and tree severing means on said mast, said articulated boom and fluid rams adapted to be manipulated to position said mast adjacent the base of a tree, so that said tree may be gripped by said gripping means and severed adjacent the base by said severing means, a frame adjacent said mast, a tree advancing roll on said frame for engaging and supporting said tree on said frame, drive means for rotating said tree advancing roll, tree delimbing means on said frame adjacent said tree advancing means for encircling said tree, and tree engaging means on said mast for pressing said tree into engagement with said tree advancing roll so that said power actuated boom or said fluid rams may be utilized to press said tree into engagement with said tree advancing roll and actuation of said drive means will pull said tree through said delimbing means, said tree engaging means being positioned on said mast so that said severing means is aligned with said tree to sever said tree into sections.
A method of harvesting trees with a vehicle having a boom pivoted thereon with an elongated tree harvesting mast pivoted on the boom and a tree gripping assembly and a cutting assembly supported on the mast, comprising the steps of positioning the elongated mast adjacent the base of a standing tree, gripping the tree with the tree gripping assembly, severing the tree adjacent the base with the cutting assembly, repositioning the mast so that the severed tree is in a generally horizontal position with the base end above a drive mechanism, releasing the gripping assembly to deposit the base end of the tree onto the drive mechanism, encircling the tree with a delimbing mechanism, forcing the base of the tree into engagement with said drive mechanism by engaging an opposed portion with tree engaging means on said mast, intermittently operating said drive mechanism to pull said tree through the delimbing mechanism, and intermittently operating said cutting assembly on said tree harvesting mast to sever the tree into sections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.