Sod laying machine
AssigneeBrouwer Turf Equipment Limited
InventorsGerardus J. Brouwer, Henry Zwambag
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sod laying machine having front rear sections articulated together. A boom on the front section has arms extending forwardly, with gripper arms extending downwardly from the boom to grip a roll of sod. A control roller connected to the boom arms drives the sod roll to control its speed of unwinding. The sod roll has its grass side facing outwardly and its top unwinds rearwardly so an operator in a seat at the front of the machine, between the boom arms, has an unobstructed view of the critical area of sod extending in the air from the roll to the ground, to reduce the likelihood of buckles and tears therein. The machine passes over the sod after it is laid, to roll the sod.
Claims35
A sod laying machine comprising:
- (a) a frame,
- (b) means mounted on said frame for driving said machine forwardly along a path of travel,
- (c) means for steering said machine,
- (d) support means mounted on said frame for suspending a roll of sod above the ground with the axis of said roll horizontal and perpendicular to said path of travel and with the outer periphery of said roll substantially free of support,
- (e) drive means for engaging the surface of said roll of sod for power unwinding said roll during travel of said machine,
- (f) said drive means including means for rotating said roll in a direction such that the top of said roll rotates rearwardly during travel of said machine forwardly, so that sod will leave said roll at the rear of said roll as said roll unwinds.
A sod laying machine for travel forwardly along a path of travel to lay a sod strip and comprising:
- (a) a frame having a front section and a rear section,
- (b) means connecting said front and rear sections together and having a vertical pivot axis for pivoting of said front and rear sections relative to each other for steering of said machine,
- (c) said front section including a plurality of front wheels having a common transverse front axis and spaced laterally apart to define at least one front gap therebetween, said rear section including a plurality of rear wheels having a common transverse rear axis and spaced laterally apart to define at least one rear gap therebetween,
- (d) one of said front wheels being aligned with each said rear gap and one of said rear wheels being aligned with each said front gap,
- (e) means mounted on said frame for laying said sod strip so that said sod passes beneath said front and rear wheels and the entire width of said strip is rolled thereby,
- (f) the distances between said vertical pivot axis and said front and rear axes being substantially the same,
- (g) power means on said frame for driving at least some of said wheels, and
- (h) means connecting said front wheels to each other for permitting each said front wheel to rotate at a different speed from the other said front wheels as said machine turns a corner, and means connecting said rear wheels to each other for permitting each said rear wheel to rotate at a different speed from the other said rear wheels as said machine turns said corner so that said machine may roll without gaps sod laid by said machine with a reduced likelihood of scuffing of such laid sod by said wheels.
A sod laying machine for laying a roll of sod, said roll having a central axis, said machine comprising:
- (a) a frame,
- (b) support means mounted on said frame for suspending said roll of sod above the ground at said central axis,
- (c) said support means comprising a pair of elongated gripper arms, each of said gripper arms having a longitudinal axis and each being adapted for engaging one end of said roll, and means for moving said gripper arms inwardly toward each other to grip said roll and outwardly away from each other to release said roll,
- (d) each said gripper arm including roller means mounted thereon, said roller means having an axis of rotation parallel to said longitudinal axis of said gripper arm on which it is mounted and having a rotatable roller surface parallel to said longitudinal axis and facing inwardly toward the other said gripper arm, said roller means being elongated in the direction of its axis and extending longitudinally along the gripper arm on which it is mounted to reduce jamming of the sides of said roll of sod on said gripper arms.
A sod laying machine comprising:
- (a) a frame,
- (b) means connected to said frame for driving said machine forwardly along a path of travel,
- (c) means for steering said machine,
- (d) support means mounted on said frame for suspending a roll of sod above the ground,
- (e) drive means for engaging the surface of said roll of sod for power unwinding said roll during travel of said machine,
- (f) said drive means including first means for sensing the ground speed of said machine and for normally driving the surface of said roll of sod at the ground speed of said machine, and second means for superimposing on the speed normally imparted to said roll by said first means, one of an increase and a decrease in the speed of the surface of said roll of sod, and
- (g) operator actuator means operable by an operator of said machine for manually operating said second means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.