CA1214976A - Tree felling apparatus - Google Patents

Tree felling apparatus

Info

Publication number
CA1214976A
CA1214976A CA000385817A CA385817A CA1214976A CA 1214976 A CA1214976 A CA 1214976A CA 000385817 A CA000385817 A CA 000385817A CA 385817 A CA385817 A CA 385817A CA 1214976 A CA1214976 A CA 1214976A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
tree
cut
felling
saw
felling head
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000385817A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Per-Gustaf Mellgren
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Original Assignee
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada filed Critical Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Priority to CA000385817A priority Critical patent/CA1214976A/en
Priority to NZ20176082A priority patent/NZ201760A/en
Priority to AU87991/82A priority patent/AU556263B2/en
Priority to FI823123A priority patent/FI72636C/en
Priority to SE8205169A priority patent/SE456306B/en
Priority to JP15826082A priority patent/JPS5881718A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1214976A publication Critical patent/CA1214976A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01GHORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
    • A01G23/00Forestry
    • A01G23/02Transplanting, uprooting, felling or delimbing trees
    • A01G23/08Felling trees
    • A01G23/091Sawing apparatus specially adapted for felling trees
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B27WORKING OR PRESERVING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; NAILING OR STAPLING MACHINES IN GENERAL
    • B27GACCESSORY MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIALS; TOOLS FOR WORKING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIALS; SAFETY DEVICES FOR WOOD WORKING MACHINES OR TOOLS
    • B27G19/00Safety guards or devices specially adapted for wood saws; Auxiliary devices facilitating proper operation of wood saws
    • B27G19/08Accessories for keeping open the saw kerf, e.g. riving knives or wedge plates

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A method for use in felling a tree using a circular saw mounted on the bottom end of a felling head frame. The tree is cut by the saw and allowed to drop on a butt plate carried by the frame after which it is gripped by gripping means carried on the frame. The invention is also directed toward an apparatus for carrying out the above method.

Description

.D

rhis inverl-tion is directed toward a me-t~lod of felling a tree.
rhe invention is also directed toward a method ~or felling a stand o~ trees.
The invention is fur-ther directed -toward felling apparatus for ~elling a tree.
nhe invention is also further directed toward felLing equip-ment for felling a stand of trees.
Felling heads for ~elling trees are well known. 'he known felling heads in one embodiment employ shears to sever the trees to be harvested. The shears however must be quite thick in order to have the necessary strength to shear a tree. I:i`he thiek shears comprise the tree at the butt end while cutting it however and this compressive ac-tion can damage the wood at~ and adjacent9 the butt end. If the tree is to be used to make lumber, the damaged portion of the tree at the but-t end mus-t be removed resulting in considerable waste.
Felling equipment employing shears is also relativel~ slow in operation. I'he felling head must be carefully positioned adjacent each tree so that the tree can be gripped be~ore it is sheared. This pos;tioning takes time. In addition9 the actual acts o~ gripping and o~ shearing are relatively slow since they are hydraulic operations.
Another embodiment o~ known feLling heads employs a chain-saw :Eor severing a tree. Ghain saws have ~everal disadvantages however. They are slow cutting. With many moving partsc they require frequent maintainence and lubrication. !l'hey also jam easily when encountering underbrush during tree ~evering. In addition, when using the chain saw~ the tree must be securel~
gripped to minimize binding. This initial gripping action ta~es time thereby slo~Jing the harvesting operation.
The present invention, in one embodiment, is direc-ted toward providing a felling head with improved tree severing means. In "
accordance with the present invention, a ~elling head is provided -1- ' with a circular saw a-l; its bottom end, rotata~le about a ge-nerally vertical axis, to cu-t a tree. The circular saw provides a fast, clean cut of the tree. rhe butt end o~ ~he -tree is not damaged and the saw requires little maintainence. Mos-t importantly, the tree ean be cut without having to grip it prior to cutting thereby greatly speeding up the harvesting operation.
The ~elling head o~ the present invention employs means to grip a tree being harvested. However the gripping means are nor~
mally operated after the tree has been cut, and while the head is moving to the next tree being cut~ thereby saving considerable time. The ~elling head also pre~erably employs collecting means which collects the trees as they are cut into a group which group can -then be moved by the ~elling head to a storage loca-tion where they are unloaded. rhe ~elling head further includes means for minimizing the toppling o~ just cut trees, since the~
are not held during cutting.
The ~elling head of the present invention is employed with a carrier vehicle in a manner permitting 2 wide strip of trees to be harvested from a s-tand of trees in successive swaths across the strip- Harvesting the trees in swaths across a strip greatly improves produc-tivity.
In one embodiment, the felling head is mounted on the end o~
a knuckle boom which in turn is pivotally mounted on a carrier vehicle. The boom is operated to swing tne head across a strip in an arc, the head moved slightly back and forth across the arc by the boom and/or vehicle to delimit a swath and to pick up all the trees in the swath. Since the ~rees need not be gripped prior to severing, the head can be quickly moved to each tree, quickly severing it, and then gripping the severed tree while the head is moving -to the nex-t tree in the swa-th. Since the gripping action normally occurs during movement from one tree to the next9 the - speed of the harvesting operation is quickly increased.

'7~.

I-t is known to use circular saws in harvesting et~ipmentO
Canadian Patent 1~029,283 by way of example shows the use of a circular saw on a carrier vehicle. This ecluipmen-t however is only good ~or cuttLng a very narrow strip of trees from a ~tand since the saw is fixed on -the vehicle and is not mounted on a movable felling head. In addi-tion, separatee~uipment must be employed to gather -the cut trees.
L'he present invention is broadly directed toward an apparatus for felling a tree~ comprising a circular saw for cutting through the tree, and gripping means for clasping the tree substantially immediately a~ter it has been cut through~ the gripping means being adap-ted to hold the severed tree in a s-tanding position.
The invention is also broadly directed toward a method of felling a tree including the step~ of cutting through -~he tree with a circular saw and substan-tially immediately after the tree has been cut through, clasping the tree by use of gripping means adapted to hold the severed tree~
The present invention is particularly directed toward a tree ~elling head adapted to be mounted on a earrier vehicle. The head has a main ~rame, and a circular saw to cut tree~ mounted a-t the bottom end of the main frame ~or rotation in a plane generally parallel to ~he ground when -the hsad is mounted on the vehicle. Means are provided to rotate the saw. Means are further provided on the main frame ~or gripping a tree a~ter i-t has been cut by the saw.
In a more specific embodiment means are also provided just above the saw for supporting the butt end of a cut tree.
The invention is further directed toward felling equipment employing the above felling head. rrhe felling equipmen-t includes a carrier vehicle, the felling head, and means connec-ting the ~ felling head to the vehicle in a manner that the felling head ' ! ~ ~
can be moved in a swath ~ransverselY across a strip o~ trees to be cut.

'7~;i The invention is also directed -toward a method ~or felling a ~ree using the felling head which comprises the s-teps of moving the head a~acent the tree to have -the saw cut through ~he tree, let-ting the butt end of the cut tree drop on -the butt end supporting means~ and gripping the cut -tree while on the bu-tt end supporting means.
The invention is still further directed toward a method ~or using the felling equipmen-t which comprises moving the felling head in a swath across a strip of trees to be cut and cu-tting through each tree encountered in the swath with the circular saw.
The butt end of each cut tree is allowed to drop onto the butt end supporting means after which the cut tree is gripped.
The invention will now be described in detail having reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ~elling head, Fig. 2 is a partial cross-section view of the felling head;
Fig. 3 is a side view of ~elling equipment employing the feLling headi Fig. 4 is a plan view of the felling equipment in opera-tion;
and Fig. 5 appearing on the same sheet as Fig. 2, is a plan view of another embodiment of the felling equipment.
The -tree felling head 1 of the present inven-tion, as shown in Fig. 1, has a main ~rame 3. Support means are provided on the bottom end o~ the main frame 3. The suppor-t means includes means ~ for supporting a circular saw 7 on the frame 3 and means 9 for supporting the butt end of a tree cut by the saw just above the saw 7. The saw support means 5 comprises a circular support plate 11 mounted on the bot-tom end of the main ~rame 3.
The pla-te 11 extends transverse to the main frame 3. A cut-out 13 extends inwardly from the peripheral edge 15 o~ the plate 11 ;~. towards its center, on the side of the plate opposite to the main ~rame 3 connection. The cut-out 13 is generally U-shaped and can extnnd through an arc encompassing between 45 and 90 of the peri-phery o~ the plate.

L?

The circular saw 7 is mounted beneath -the support plate 11 and parallel to i t . ,'he saw 7 is ro~ated about an axis 17 which extends transverse to both it~ and support plate llo by a motor 19 mounted on top o~ p~ te 11, A drive shaft 21 exten~s from motor 19 beneath plate 11 as shown in Fig. 2. A collar 23, fixed on the cen-ter of the top side 25 o~ saw 7~ receives the end of drive sha~t 21. Means (not shown) detachably connect -the collar 23 to the drive shaft 21. The saw 7 is slightly smaller in dia-meter than the diameter of -the support plate 11. A protective skirt 27 extends down from -the peripheral edge 15 of the plate 11 to just below the saw 7.
Th~ means 9 on the felling head for suppor-ting the butt end o~ a cut tree comprises a butt plate 29 mounted to support plate 11 in the cut-out 13. The butt plate 29 is located parallel tol and closely adjacent ~2, the top side 25 of saw 7, below the level of support plate 11. l'he bu-tt pla-te 29 also lies close to but does not cover the saw tee-th 31. Side pla-tes 33 connect the inner edge 35 of butt plate 29 to the edge 37 of support plate 11 defilling cut-out 13.
The felling head 1 inclwdes tree holding means 41 mounted on the frame 3 above the support plate 11. The -tree holding means l~l comprîse a pair of curved arms 43 each pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 45 carried by ~rame 3. ~he pins 45 extend parallel to each other and to saw axis 17. Means (not shown) are provided for moving the arms 43 toward each other to oYerlap and cross to hold a tree between them.
lrhe ~elling head 1 also preferably includes tree collecting means 51. rhe -~ree collecting means 51 comprise a pair of curved arms 53, each mounted by a pivot pin 55 to the end of a short 3o straight arm 57 which in -turn is moun~ed at its o-ther end by a ~ pivot pin 59 to ~rame 3. Pivot pins 55, 59 extend parallel to , ..
pivot pins 45. Means (not shown) are provided for moving the arms 43 and 53 toward each other to hold a pl~lrality o~ cut trees.

~a~

~o-th the tree holding means 41 and the -tree collecting means 51, and -their operation! are well known in -the art.
Felling head 1 further includes means 61 a-t the top end of the frame 3 to minimize the tendency of a just-cut tree to topple of~ the bu-tt plate 29. hese means 61 can comprise a support bar 63 ex~ending inwardly from the frame 3 and having a concave surface 65 facing generally in the same direction as the cut-out 13. The surface 65 is loca-ted between axis 17 and frame 3 and a jus-t-cut -tree, while resting on butt plate 29, will move toward sur~ace ~5 as the head moves f'orward and will lead against surface 65 to prevent the tree from toppling o~f plate 29. The height o~ frame 3 can be extended as compared to the height of frames in known felling heads so a~ -to locate the support bar 65 further above the butt plate 29~ and thus further minimize toppling.
The ~elling head 1 incl~Ades means 71 on the frame 3 for use în a-ttach.ing the apparatus to a carrier vehicle. These means 71 can cornprise an attachment bracket 73 which extends rearwardly from the frame 3 generally midway between its ends.
The felling head 1 forms part o~ felling equipment 79 and is mounted on a carrier vehicle 81 using bracket 73 as shown in Fig. 3. 'l'he carrier vehicle 81 preferally carries a knuckle boom 83 which .is mounted on a base 83 rotatable about a pivo-t 87 mounted on the vehicle body 89. An operator's cab or sta-tion 91 is mounted on base 85 adjacent boom 83. 'rhe base 85 carries the power unit 93 for providing power to operate the boom 83 ~ld the ~elling head 1. fl'he felling head 1 is moun~d via bracket 73 on the outer end 95 o~ the ou-~r arm 97 o~ boom 83. Conventional hydraulic means 99, 101~ 103 are used to move the felling head 1 relative -to -the outer arm 97, the ou-ter arm 97 relative to the inner arm 10~, and -the inner arm 105 rela-tive -to the base 85, ~-~, respectively, as is well kno~. .he operation of one or more of the hydraulic means 99~ 101, 103 will move the felling head 1 with the saw 7 close to the ground to cut trees within the inner and --6~

outer range of the boom 83. `he boom can be moved -to move the felling head 1, or more par-ticularly the saw 7 either in a shallow arc, close to the ground, or parallel and close -to -the ground.
As shown in ~ig. 4 the boom 83 is ro-tated to one outer edge 109 of a s-trip 111 of trees 113 to be harvested from a stand 115 by ro-ta-ting base 85 on the vehicle body 89. The boom 83 is then swung across the strip 111 to the other ou-ter edge 117 of the strip moving the felling head 1 generally in an arc 119 across the strip 111. The head 1 is moved slightly ~orwardly or rearwardly -to pick up each tree in or ad3cent the arc by actua-ting any or all of the boom hydraulio actuating means 99, 101~ 103 to thereby cut a swath 121 across the s-~ip 111. As the head 1 encou-nters each -tree 113 the circular saw 7~ projecting past butt plate 29, cuts through the tree close to -the ground. The -teeth 31 on the saw 7 are set -to produce a wide kerf 123 through the tree as shown in Fig. 2 50 that the butt plate 29, closel~ adjacent the teeth 31 on the saw 7, and the side 25 of the saw, can move into the ker~ 123 as the saw cuts -through the tree. In addi-tion, the wide kerf 123 minimizes binding if the saw is not quite parallel to the ground while cu-tting. During cutting o~ the tree, the -tree is not held, As a resultp the tree is cleanly cut through with li-t-tle or no damage to the butt end 125. Once the tree is cut through i-t drops a very short distance onto the butt plate 29 while support bar 63 prevents the tree from toppling. While moving the boom 83 -to swing the saw 7 to the next -tree, the cut tree is gripped by the gripping means 41 and the collecting means 51 are actua-ted to hold the tree along with other trees already cut. The next -tree is cut in a similar fashion as are the other -trees encoun-tered in -the swath 121 travelled by the head 1. Once the head reaches the other side 117 o~ -the strip 111~ the head is swung back to the one side 109, advanced slightly either by extending boom 83, or by advancing the vehicle 81 and a next swath 121 is cut across strip 111 by head 1 to cut the trees encountered in -this nex-t swa-th.

'rhe above method of tree cuttinF~ is ex-tremely fast. Since the trees need not be held for cut-ting~ no time is wasted prior to cu-tting in griPping -the trees. Also~ since the trees need not be held ~uring cu~ting, the butt ends are not ~amage~. The s~Nin~
movement permits a wide strip to be quickly cut in swaths with li-ttle was-ted motion of the equipment. Ofken, more th~n one small tree can be cut, if -the trees are close together before -the gripp-îng means need ba actua-ted.
Once the collecting means 51 are ~u:Ll of trees~ -the head 1 is positioned by the boom 83 at an unloa~ing sta-tion and the collec-ting means 51 are opened up to unload the collected group of trees.
While -the felling head 1 has been shown moun-ted on the end of a knuckle boom 839 it can also be mounted via a bracke-t 133 on a cross-bar 135 extending transversely across the front o~ a vehicle 137. Means 139, such as a cable drive, are prov;ded for moving the felling head 1 transversely across the front o~ the vehicle on the cross-bar 135, cutting a str~ght swath 141 across a strip 143 of -trees. Means 145 can be provided for moving the cross-bar 135 rearwardly and forwardly relative to -the vehicle to cut all the trees 113 in the swath 141~ or for moving the vehicle back and forth to cut the trees in the swath 141. rhe head 1 can be rotatably mounted on the cross-bar L35 to unload collected trees on one side of the strip 143. O-ther unloading me,~ns can be employed.
The felling head 1 can be mounted on other types of booms as well other ~than knuckle booms provided they can move to tra-verse a strip.

Claims (41)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or priviledge is claimed are defined as follows:
1: A tree felling head adapted for mounting on a carrier vehicle in a manner that the felling head can be moved transversely, for-wardly and rearwardly, the felling head having: a main frame, a circular saw to cut trees, means for mounting the saw on the main frame to position the saw for rotation in a plane generally parallel to the ground; means for rotating the saw; means operatively con-nected to the main frame for gripping a tree above the butt end if the tree after cutting.
2: A felling head as claimed in Claim 1 including means just above the saw for supporting the butt end of a cut tree.
3: A felling head as claimed in Claim 1 further comprising a butt plate for supporting the butt end of a cut tree, the butt plate positioned adjacently above the saw and covering some portion of the saw, but not covering at least some of the saw teeth.
4: A felling head as claimed in Claims 1, 2 or 3 including means on the main frame adjacent the gripping means for collecting a group of cut trees.
5: A felling head as claimed in Claims 1, 2 or 3 including fixed support means on the main frame above the gripping means for use in minimizing the tendency of a cut tree to topple.
6: A felling head as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the butt plate does not cover any of the saw teeth and at least some of the saw teeth are set to extend above the butt plate.
7: A tree felling head adapted for mounting on an extensible, laterally swingable boom connected to a carrier vehicle, the fell-ing head having: a main frame, a circular saw to cut trees, means for mounting the saw on the main frame to position the saw for rotation in a plane generally parallel to the ground; means for rotating the saw; means operatively connected to the main frame for gripping a tree above the butt end of the tree after cutting.
8: A felling head as claimed in Claim 7 including means just above the saw for supporting the butt end of a cut tree.
9: A felling head as claimed in Claim 7 further comprising a butt plate for supporting the butt end of a cut tree, the butt plate positioned adjacently above the saw and covering some portion of the saw, but not covering at least some of the saw teeth.
10: A felling head as claimed in Claims 7, 8 or 9 including means on the main frame adjacent the gripping means for collecting a group of cut trees.
11: A felling head as claimed in Claims 7, 8 or 9 including fixed support means on the main frame above the gripping means for use in minimizing the tendency of a cut tree to topple.
12: A felling head as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the butt plate does not cover any of the saw teeth and at least some of the saw teeth are set to extend above the butt plate.
13: Tree felling equipment comprising:
A carrier vehicle;
A tree felling head comprising:
a main frame;
a circular saw to cut trees;
means for mounting the saw on the main frame to position the saw for rotation in a plane generally parallel to the ground;
means for rotating the saw;
means for gripping a tree above its butt end after it has been cut by the saw; and means for moving the felling head at least trans-versely, forwardly and backwardly relative to the carrier vehicle.
14: Equipment as claimed in Claim 13 wherein the moving means comprises an extensible, laterally swingable boom.
15: Equipment as claimed in Claim 13 wherein the means for moving the felling head includes at least a transverse frame mounted on the front of the carrier vehicle, the felling head mounted for transverse movement along the transverse frame.
16. Equipment as claimed in claim 15 wherein the transverse frame is adapted for forward and backward movement.
17. Equipment as claimed in claims 13, 14 or 15 including fixed support means on the felling head main frame for use in minimizing the tendency of a cut tree to topple off the butt end support means.
18. Equipment as claimed in claims 13, 14 or 15 including means just above the saw for supporting the butt end of a cut tree.
19. Equipment as claimed in claims 13, 14 or 15 further com-prising a butt plate for supporting the butt end of a cut tree, the butt plate positioned adjacently above the saw and covering some portion of the saw, but not covering at least some of the saw teeth.
20. A method of felling a tree using a felling head having a circular saw, a butt plate above the saw, and tree gripping means; the method comprising the steps of: moving the felling head adjacent the tree to have the saw cut through the tree;
supporting the butt end of the cut tree on the butt plate; and subsequently contacting and gripping the cut tree with the tree gripping means.
21. A method of felling a plurality of trees employing the method as claimed in claim 20 including the additional step of collecting the cut trees in a group on the felling head.
22. A method of felling trees from a stand of trees using felling equipment having: a carrier vehicle; a felling head having a circular saw mounted for rotation in a plane generally parallel to the ground; a butt plate above the saw, the tree gripping means above the butt plate; and means connecting the felling head to the carrier vehicle; the method comprising the steps of: moving the felling head substantially transversely across a strip of trees to be cut, cutting substantially for-wardly through each tree encountered by the felling head in the strip with the circular saw, supporting the butt end of each cut tree on the butt plate, and gripping each cut tree while it is on the butt plate.
23: A method as claimed in Claim 22 wherein the carrier vehicle is moved in a substantially forward direction to cut each tree encountered by the felling head in the strip with the circular saw.
24: A method as claimed in Claim 20 including collecting the cut trees in a group on the felling head, and moving the felling head to unload the group as collected.
25: A method as claimed in claim 20 including moving the vehicle forwardly in the strip after one or more transverse swaths have been cut
26: A method of felling trees from a stand of trees using felling equipment having: a carrier vehicle; a felling head having a circular saw for rotation in a plane generally parallel to the ground; and tree gripping means; said felling head connected to the carrier vehicle by an extensible laterally swingable boom; the method comprising the steps of: moving said boom in a shallow arc across the strip of trees to be cut, moving the felling head substantially forwardly to cut each tree encountered by the felling head in the strip with the circular saw, and subsequently gripping each cut tree.
27: A method as claimed in claim 26 including the further steps of collecting the cut trees in a group on the felling head, inter-mittently moving the carrier vehicle centrally and longitudinally along the stand of trees; and periodically unloading the collected trees.
28: A tree felling head for attachment to a boom, the felling head comprising a main frame having an upper and a lower part, the upper part including at least one support adapted to contact an upright severed tree, along with tree gripping means adapted to clasp a tree trunk against said support, the lower part having a circular saw blade mounted thereon in a plane perpendicular to the longi-tudinal extent of a tree clasped between the support and the grip-ping means, and a stationary plate provided adjacently above the circular saw blade, said saw blade having peripheral cutting teeth extending beyond the periphery of the stationary plate and having its leading edge projecting beyond the location of the support by a distance such that a typical tree being felled can be cut through by the saw blade before the tree comes into contact with any other part of the felling head, except the stationary plate.
29: A felling head as claimed in Claim 28, in which the tree gripping means include one pair of arms adapted to move toward and away from the support in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the saw blade.
30: A felling head as claimed in Claims 28 or 29 wherein the boom is extensible and laterally swingable.
31: A felling head as claimed in Claims 28 or 29 wherein the boom is a knuckle boom.
32: A method of felling trees, including the steps of: cutting through the tree with a circular saw oriented in a plane substant-ially perpendicular to the axis of the tree 3 and substantially immediately after the tree has been completely cut through?
clasping the tree above the cut by the use of gripping means adapted to set the tree down in a desired location.
33: A method of felling trees, comprising the steps of: providing a felling head on a boom attached to a carrier vehicle, the fell-ing head including a main frame having an upper part and a lower part, the upper part including at least one support adapted to contact an upright severed tree, along with tree-gripping means adapted to clasp the tree trunk against said support, the lower part having a circular saw blade mounted thereon in a plane per-pendicular to the longitudinal extent of a tree clasped between the support and the gripping means, and a stationary plate pro-vided adjacently above the circular saw blade 3 the saw blade having peripheral cutting teeth extending beyond the periphery of the stationary plate and having its Leading edge projecting beyond the location of the support by a distance such that a typical tree being felled can be cut through by the saw blade before the tree comes into contact with any other part of the felling head, ex-cept the stationary plate;
cutting through a tree with the circular saw of the felling head oriented in a plate substantially perpendicular to the axis of the tree and, after the tree has been completely cut through but be-fore the part of the tree above the cut has been significantly displaced from its position prior to the cut, clasping the tree above the cut between the support and the tree gripping means.
34: A method of felling a standing tree, utilizing a felling head on an extensible, laterally swingable boom on a carrier vehicle, the felling head including tree gripping means and a circular saw blade, the method comprising cutting the tree with the saw blade and supporting the severed tree in a standing position by the gripping means.
35. A method for felling a tree,including the steps of:
cutting through the tree with a circular saw and sub-stantially immediately after the tree has been cut through, clasping the tree by use of gripping means adapted to hold the severed tree.
36: Apparatus for felling a tree, comprising a circular saw for cutting through the tree, and gripping means for clasping the tree substantially immediately after it has been cut through, the gripping means being adapted So hold the severed tree in a standing position.
37. A felling head for attachment to a boom, the felling head comprising:
an upper part and a lower part, the upper part including at least one brace portion adapted to contact a tree being felled, along with tree grappling means adapted to clasp a tree trunk against said brace portion, the lower part having a circular saw blade mounted thereon in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal ex-tent of a tree clasped between the brace portion and the grappling means, the circular saw blade having its Leading edge projecting beyond the location of the brace portion by a distance such that a typical tree being felled can be cut through by the saw blade before the tree comes into contact with any other part of the felling head, including the brace portion.
38: The felling head claimed in claim 37, in which the tree grappling means includes one pair of arms adapted to move toward and away from said brace portion in a plane sub-stantially parallel to the plane of the saw blade.
39: The felling head claimed in claims 37 or 38, in which a stationary plate is provided adjacently above the circular saw blade, the saw blade having peripheral cutting teeth extending beyond the periphery of the stationary plate.
40. A method of felling a tree, including the steps:
a) cutting through the tree with a circular saw oriented in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of the tree, and b) substantially immediately after the tree has been completely cut through clasping the tree above the cut by the use of a grapple means adapted to set the tree down in a desired location
41: A method of felling trees, comprising the steps:
providing a felling head on a boom, the felling head including an upper part; and a lower Part, the upper part in cluding at least one brace portion adapted to contact a tree being felled, along with tree grappling means adapted to clasp a tree trunk against said brace portion, the lower part having a circular saw blade mounted thereon in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of a tree clasped between the brace portion and the grappling means, the cir-cular saw blade having its leading edge projecting beyond the location of the brace portion by a distance such that a typical tree being felled can be cut through by the saw blade before the tree comes into contact with any other part of the felling head, including: the brace portion, cutting through a tree with the circular saw of the felling head oriented in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of the tree, and after the tree has been completely cut through but before the part of the tree above the cut has been signi-ficantly displaced in translation or angulation from its position prior to the cut, clasping the tree above the cut between the said brace portion and the said tree grappling means,
CA000385817A 1981-09-14 1981-09-14 Tree felling apparatus Expired CA1214976A (en)

Priority Applications (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000385817A CA1214976A (en) 1981-09-14 1981-09-14 Tree felling apparatus
NZ20176082A NZ201760A (en) 1981-09-14 1982-08-30 Tree felling head for mounting on carrier vehicle:circular saw has plate for supporting butt end of tree while cutting
AU87991/82A AU556263B2 (en) 1981-09-14 1982-09-03 Tree felling head
FI823123A FI72636C (en) 1981-09-14 1982-09-09 Tree felling head and tree felling procedure.
SE8205169A SE456306B (en) 1981-09-14 1982-09-10 TRIPLE DEVICE
JP15826082A JPS5881718A (en) 1981-09-14 1982-09-13 Method and apparatus for feeling trees

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000385817A CA1214976A (en) 1981-09-14 1981-09-14 Tree felling apparatus

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1214976A true CA1214976A (en) 1986-12-09

Family

ID=4120940

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000385817A Expired CA1214976A (en) 1981-09-14 1981-09-14 Tree felling apparatus

Country Status (6)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS5881718A (en)
AU (1) AU556263B2 (en)
CA (1) CA1214976A (en)
FI (1) FI72636C (en)
NZ (1) NZ201760A (en)
SE (1) SE456306B (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4793389A (en) * 1986-08-08 1988-12-27 Roger Sigouin Tree harvester
US4909291A (en) * 1987-08-31 1990-03-20 Les Operations Forestieres Rejean Tremblay Inc. Cutting head for a tree-felling vehicle

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP5773324B2 (en) * 2010-01-19 2015-09-02 独立行政法人国立高等専門学校機構 Bamboo logging machine and bamboo logging method
JP2015223086A (en) * 2014-05-26 2015-12-14 博 小野寺 Continuous logging apparatus for timber, and continuous gripping apparatus

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH595584A5 (en) * 1974-07-17 1978-02-15 Weishaupt Max Gmbh
US4095631A (en) * 1977-02-10 1978-06-20 Clark Equipment Company Holding arm
JPS56109525A (en) * 1980-02-05 1981-08-31 Shirota Tekko Kk Working machine for forest

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4793389A (en) * 1986-08-08 1988-12-27 Roger Sigouin Tree harvester
US4909291A (en) * 1987-08-31 1990-03-20 Les Operations Forestieres Rejean Tremblay Inc. Cutting head for a tree-felling vehicle

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FI72636C (en) 1987-07-10
SE8205169D0 (en) 1982-09-10
SE8205169L (en) 1983-03-15
FI823123A0 (en) 1982-09-09
AU556263B2 (en) 1986-10-30
SE456306B (en) 1988-09-26
FI823123L (en) 1983-03-15
JPS5881718A (en) 1983-05-17
NZ201760A (en) 1986-10-08
AU8799182A (en) 1983-03-24
FI72636B (en) 1987-03-31

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4491163A (en) Method and apparatus for felling trees
US6135175A (en) Tree harvester provided with a rotatable worktable
US3974866A (en) Tree harvesting method and device
US6152201A (en) Tree felling disc saw head with large tree accumulation area
US4569379A (en) Tree harvester
US5979518A (en) Tree harvesting apparatus with transversely acutated saw chain
US4909291A (en) Cutting head for a tree-felling vehicle
JPH084432B2 (en) Jib-mounted suspension for timber harvesters
CA1214976A (en) Tree felling apparatus
CA2083365C (en) Tree felling head with combination tree accumulator and tree abutment
CA1131548A (en) Feller director
US4382457A (en) Tree harvester
US3976111A (en) Tree-cutting device for lumbering machine
US4921024A (en) Method and apparatus to fell a tree
US3796241A (en) Tree harvesting apparatus and method
US4127152A (en) Mobile tree processor
WO2002071833A1 (en) An apparatus for cutting a tree trunk
US3952783A (en) Method and apparatus for harvesting trees
US3986542A (en) Tree harvester
US5291926A (en) Cutting and sawing unit provided with a timber handling arrangement
US3838721A (en) Tree harvesting apparatus and method
EP0572497B1 (en) Arrangement in tree-processing assembly
US3812892A (en) Tree harvester and method
CA1130174A (en) Tree-felling apparatus
CA1252025A (en) Tree felling apparatus

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
MKEX Expiry