Method and apparatus for handling and laying strips of sod
OwnerRaphael J. Szarkowskiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sod handling machine similar to fork lift truck which permits the handling of pallets of sod without loss of sod from the pallet, and further includes flotation tires arranged to permit the machine to be used for packing the sod after it has been laid. Thus the machine serves as a transport and as a packer.
Claims9
A sod handling apparatus for loading and unloading pallets of sod, including a mobile machine frame having means for supporting and propelling the machine over the ground, a lift fork member at one end of said frame including means for lifting and lowering pallets generally vertically, a pair of uprightly extending guide members mounted to said frame adjacent the sides of said lift fork member for guiding sod stacked on a pallet held on said lift fork member and preventing substantial movement sideways of said sod on a pallet being held, means to mount said guide members on said frame independently of said lift fork member and adjacent the lateral sides thereof, said means to mount said guide members on said frame including means to pivotally mount said guide members about substantially vertical axes, lever means connected between said lift fork member and said guide members to cause said guide members to be pivoted about said vertical axes toward each other in response to the pivoting of lift fork member about said horizontal axis by said power means, means to mount said lift fork member to said frame about a generally horizontal axis and power means to tilt the lift fork member about said generally horizontal axis relative to said frame and said guide members from a position wherein a substantial portion of said lift fork member extends outwardly from said frame beyond said guide members to a position wherein substantial portions pf said lift fork member are between said guide members.
A sod handling apparatus for loading and unloading pallets of sod, including a mobile machine frame having means for supporting and propelling the machine over the ground, a lift fork member at one end of said machine including an uprightly extending mast pivotally mounted to said frame about a generally horizontal axis, means for lifting and lowering said lift fork member relative to said mast for handling pallets of sod, and guide plate members adjacent the sides of said lift fork member for guiding sod stacked on a pallet held on said lift fork member and preventing substantial movement sideways of said sod on a pallet being held, means to pivotally mount said guide plate members on said frame about generally upright axes adjacent to and independent of said lift fork member, tilt means connected between the frame and mast to tilt said lift fork member about said generally horizontal axis, said tilt means including means connecting one end thereof to the upper portion of said lift fork member, means mounting the other end of said tilt means to said frame at substantially the same level as said one end when said lift fork member is in a substantially vertical position and means connected between said lift fork member and each of said guide plate members to cause pivoting of said guide plate members, whereby outwardly extending edges of said guide plate members move toward said lift fork member in response to the tilting of the upper portion of said mast toward said frame.
The method of transporting and laying strips of sod with a pallet, a vehicle having pivotal lift fork means, clamping means, forward and rear support flotation tire means comprising the steps of:
- stacking flat unrolled strips of sod side by side on top of each other on said pallet until a desired height is reached;
- placing said pallet on the lift fork means, pivoting said lift fork means, pallet and strips of sod thereon from a first position to a second position substantially between said clamp means and simultaneously clamping said stacks of sod strips with said clamping means;
- transporting the pallet and sod strips to a location where the sod strips are to be laid;
- pivoting said pallet and strips of sod from said second to said first position and simultaneously releasing said clamping means from said stacks;
- removing individual strips of sod from the respective stacks;
- laying the removed strips of sod on the ground and compacting the strips of sod into the ground by travelling over the laid strips with said fork lift vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.