JP2012139198A - Wood cutting-out apparatus and wood cutting-out method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wood cutting-out apparatus usable in mountains and forests where heavy machines for felling and lumbering work cannot enter, and capable of manufacturing wood machined to sizes that can be easily carried out by performing a series of felling, lumbering and sawing steps all together on the spot.SOLUTION: The apparatus is mounted to a tree in a standing state and raised while pruning first to cut out the tree from an instructed position toward a root part. In this work step, work of storing, in a storage part, wood subjected to vertical cutting, cross cutting and cutting-out after cutting off a treetop part of the upper part of the tree only the first time, is made one first cycle of operation, and thereafter, vertical cutting, cross cutting and wood storing are made one cycle. This cycle is repeated down to the root of the tree to cut out wood of planned dimensions. The wood cut out into sizes that can be easily carried out is manufactured in this method.

Description

In the present invention, a series of work steps that are conventionally performed to produce specified timber through tree cutting, tree building, transport, and subsequent sawing, the same process is performed on trees in a standing state at a forest site. Uses a device that creates wood by repeatedly cutting from the treetop part to the root according to a tree-cutting plan of dimensions set arbitrarily in consideration of shrinkage due to drying, and a wood cutting device. The present invention relates to a method for cutting wood.

The following devices are used to cut and plant trees in mountain forests. Patent document 1 describes a harvester. A felling and tree-building machine with functions for tree felling, pruning, cutting, and trunk measurement, but it is limited to use in areas where heavy machinery is used, and it is a machine for large-scale operations. Therefore, the cost burden of equipment is also large.
Patent Document 2 describes a small and lightweight pruning machine. This is only for pruning work and does not perform other work at the same time.
Patent Document 3 describes log division and its method. This is a fixed-type dedicated sawing machine that puts logs transported through the cutting and tree-making processes on a table and presses and cuts the blades against the logs hydraulically, but it is a large-scale device that is brought to the forest site for use. is not.
Patent Document 4 describes a mobile lumber machine. The raw wood that has undergone the process of logging, tree making and gathering is brought into the gathering place and only sawing is performed, and multiple processes are not performed simultaneously at the felling site.
Patent Document 5 describes a tree cutting device. A device that can only be used for thinned trees that have already been pruned, cut logs to a size that is limited to the wood that is used for firewood, and repeatedly cut the balls from the top to the bottom of the trees. It is a single-function machine, not a piece of wood of any shape and size.
In addition, there is Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-194349 by the present applicant. This is a device that cuts wood from a standing tree repeatedly by cutting and vertical cutting, but this application aims to reduce weight and improve safety for the same purpose.

JP 2009-247353 A JP-A-10-52181 JP-A-5-237814 ACT 7-21301 JP 2010-110292

To create a method of operation that can cut timber without using large-scale logging and timber unloading machines. A device devised for this purpose is Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-194349 of the present applicant. The present application, on the other hand, improves the weight and safety of the device and adds a method for cutting wood, while maintaining the same purpose.

This wood cutting device has a lifting drive unit that moves the device up and down, a pruning / upper cutting unit that cuts off branches and chops treetops, and a ball that cuts tree trunks to an arbitrary length. A cutting section, a vertical cutting section that performs vertical cutting according to the size of the wood to be taken out, a wood storage section that stores the cut wood, a wood storage mechanism section that guides the wood to the wood storage section, Equipped with a posture stabilization auxiliary unit that assists in stabilizing the posture of the device during operations such as cutting balls, a control unit that instructs and monitors various operations of the device, and a remote controller that operates the device from the outside. Each function is operated in accordance with a predetermined procedure in accordance with the instructions of the program, and the tree cutting planned for the range from the treetop portion to the root portion is performed on the standing tree.

The method of combining the steps of the wood cutting method is defined as follows.
In the first wood cutting method, vertical cutting is performed with an arbitrarily set length in accordance with the tree cutting plan, and then ball cutting is performed at the set length position. This is a process of one cycle, and this cycle is repeated up to the final final tree-cutting position.
In the second tree cutting method, vertical cutting is started at the top of the tree and a long distance to the final position of the root portion is performed by one vertical cutting, or the length of two cycles or more of the first method is vertically cut. When it finishes, it rises to the cut end where it started vertical cutting, then enters the ball cutting operation, and the portion where vertical cutting has already been completed is the final ball cutting position of the root part only according to the length set in the tree cutting plan Repeat until the method.
The third wood cutting method is a method in which vertical cutting is omitted and only the ball cutting is performed.
The fourth tree cutting method is a method for tree cutting planning by arbitrarily combining the first or second method and the third method.
Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the first tree-cutting method that requires the most explanation of processes and operations will be described.

The wood cutting device in this application is not a conventional tree cutting method that cuts a tree and debranches and crushes the tree, but attaches the device to a standing tree and A machine with a function to repeat the process multiple times, cutting vertically to an arbitrary width and thickness in the longitudinal direction, and omitting the vertical cutting from the tree cutting method In contrast, it is defined as a wood cutting device including a device that only cuts balls to an arbitrary length and cuts logs.

The raising / lowering drive unit rotates, while a plurality of driving wheels press the tree trunk from a plurality of directions, to raise, lower, and stop the device. The direction of rotation of the drive wheel and its operation and stop can be arbitrarily and individually designated as necessary.
The driving wheel can apply pressure to the trunk in a range where the thickness of the trunk keeps a certain thickness, and when the tree trunk gets narrower as it approaches the treetop, it does not generate pressure and cannot raise the device. is there.
In addition, it is provided with a driving roller for azimuth correction that changes the direction to an initial azimuth appropriate for operation specified by the operator when attached to the trunk.
It has the function of changing the direction of the drive wheels so as to maintain a certain direction in the east, west, south, and north directions even while the device is in operation, and changing the traveling direction of the device to the surrounding direction of the tree when moving up and down.
In addition, the drive wheel has a shape in which the central portion of the trunk, which is a contact surface with the trunk, is recessed to increase the contact area, and an uneven shape is provided to increase the frictional force.
The elevating drive unit is provided with a governor that regulates the speed when the apparatus is lowered to a certain level.
In this description, the driving wheel is pressed against the tree trunk by rotating the screw with a motor to generate a pressing force. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the hydraulic mechanism is used to generate a pressing force on the tree trunk. May be used.

The pruning / upper cutting part performs pruning using a chainsaw when raising the device at the beginning of a series of operations. A sensor that can detect the progress of pruning cutting is provided at the attachment and holding portion of the chain saw. A circular saw or a flat saw may be used as the branch cutting tool in place of the chain saw described herein.

The longitudinal cutting section vertically cuts the trunk of a tree as it is in the longitudinal direction of the tree in a longitudinal direction at a plurality of locations using a wood cutting tool.
The vertical cutting part is taken out from the vertical cutting saw storage box along the guide rail and attached to a predetermined part of the housing at the time when the rising pruning and the upper bead cutting at the tree-cutting start position in the treetop direction are completed, Returned to the vertical saw storage box.
When the casing starts to descend at a constant speed, a vertical saw unit that operates while being fixed to the casing cuts the trunk vertically.
When vertical cutting progresses and the ball cutting part reaches a position where it can be cut by a certain distance through the position of the predetermined length specified in the tree plan, the descent operation is stopped and the ball is cut at the position of the length of the tree plan Before carrying out, it is raised to house the vertical saw, and after being housed, it is lowered to the ball cutting position to perform ball cutting. When the ball cutting is completed, each piece of wood can be separated and removed, and one cycle of wood cutting is completed.
The cutting interval of the vertical saw is set so that the cut wood has a specified size after drying, and the wood of the set size is cut out.
As another method, it is also possible to cut out and store a log that has been cut only by omitting vertical cutting and to carry out vertical cutting in a separate process, and to advance the apparatus to the next work process.

The lower bead cutting part is attached by taking out the ball cutting chainsaw at the position of the ball cutting, and usually cuts the trunk, which has already been cut vertically, to an arbitrary length using the chainsaw.
At this time, after the lower driving wheel is fixed, the upper driving wheel is used to drive the tree trunk above the cutting portion upward. This prevents an obstacle in the cutting operation of the chainsaw due to the load of the wood being applied to the slicing chainsaw being cut from above.
A circular saw or a flat saw may be used instead of the chainsaw for the ball cutting.

The control unit has a power control unit that supplies or stops power to each operation mechanism, collects operation instructions, monitoring and other various sensor information according to the function of the built-in program, and uses that information to perform work. Proceed. In an abnormal situation, it has a function of issuing an urgent alarm to the surroundings and issuing an operation instruction for avoiding danger to the apparatus.
The control unit has a function of creating a tree plan based on information such as the thickness and length of each tree and the degree of damage, and also has a function of receiving a command from an operator and creating a tree plan.
An abnormal situation has occurred, such as when the power supply is cut off or an unexpected operating situation occurs, with a display and sound source on the outside of the equipment that display the operational status and abnormal status of the equipment to the outside. When it is determined that it is determined that it has a function to instruct danger avoidance, such as forcibly stopping all operations and waiting for instructions, or performing a low-speed descent operation.

The main sensors of each functional operation part provided in the apparatus are a pruning turning unit position sensor (86), a branch detection sensor (77), a pruning / upper chain saw chain saw state detection sensor (87), and a lower ball cutter chain saw state detection sensor. (88), ground surface approach detection sensor (81), chassis trunk distance sensor (79), tree flaw detection sensor (78), movement distance count sensor (83), posture stabilization assist unit state detection sensor (89), device orientation A detection sensor (80) and the like are provided and each has a function of monitoring the state.
The optical sensor, electromagnetic sensor, switch, and contact of each sensor may be replaced with a sensor having other functional elements.

The remote controller has a function of issuing an operation instruction by the operator to the control unit, receiving information from the control unit, monitoring the operation, and receiving and displaying information that alerts the operator to an abnormal situation.

The wood storage unit stores either individual wood that has been trimmed after vertical cutting and slicing, or logs that have been subjected to only slicing and omitted vertical cutting in the storage unit. The storage capacity has a capacity to store almost one whole tree, and when the stored wood is released, the wood can be taken out by opening the vertical and bottom surfaces of the wood storage section.
The wood storage unit has a function of moving its position with respect to the attached housing.

The wood storage mechanism section has a function of guiding the wood cut into the wood storage section using a mechanism for holding and holding the wood.

The posture stabilization assisting part performs an operation of storing the vertical cutting saw before performing the ball cutting, but the posture stabilization assisting part is taken out from the casing when it is raised before the first ball cutting. After that, it functions in a state where it is taken out until it is stored during the final vertical descent.
The function of the posture stabilization assisting unit is a state in which the upper drive wheel cannot press the trunk when the lower bead cutting is completed, and only the lower drive wheel presses and holds the trunk, and the posture stability of the entire apparatus is insufficient. Therefore, an auxiliary wheel is provided to assist the lower drive wheel to increase the stability of the apparatus.
The storage is detected by the surface approach detection sensor, and the approaching operation of the posture stabilization auxiliary unit is started.
The auxiliary wheel has no drive function, and the compression force is an elastic arm with a tension applied to the support arm.
In this description, a total of four wheels are provided on the front and back sides, but they may be increased or decreased.
The power for taking out and storing the posture stabilization auxiliary part is transmitted by the clutch from the drive motor of the lower drive wheel.
The posture stabilization assist unit is monitored for removal and storage by a posture stabilization assist unit state detection sensor.

The wood cutting device according to the present invention can cut a standing tree into a piece of wood of any length and thickness, so that it is cut out as compared with a single whole tree or a log by a conventional cutting method. In addition, the weight of each individual timber is light and easy to carry out to the forest road.
As a result, it is possible to operate even in forests that are left unoperated in areas where heavy machinery cannot be used, and can be widely used for cutting main trees from trees to be thinned, thereby effectively utilizing forest resources.
Since this device can be disassembled and transported, it can be used even in areas where forest roads are not established, and work can be safely carried out with a small number of people.

The whole external appearance perspective view is shown. An overall configuration schematic diagram is shown. A conceptual diagram of use is shown. The work progress conceptual diagram is shown. (A) shows a state of rising while pruning. (B) shows the state where the treetop portion is cut into pieces. (C) shows the state in which the wood is stored after vertical cutting and cutting. (D) shows the state which took out the wood which carried out the wood removal. A conceptual diagram of attaching to and removing from a tree is shown. (A) The state of attachment / detachment to / from a tree is shown. (B) The case opening part at the time of attachment / detachment to a tree is shown. The housing | casing open part top view at the time of a wood storage part is shown. The elevation drive part top view is shown. Explanatory drawing of a raising / lowering drive part is shown. An explanatory view of another elevating drive unit (hydraulic pressure) is shown. A pruning motion conceptual diagram is shown. Fig. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of a ball cutting operation. Explanatory drawing of vertical cutting and ball cutting. (A) A vertical cutting operation is shown. (B) The vertical cutting is completed and the ball is being cut. (C) The vertical cutting and the ball cutting are finished and the separated state of the wood is shown. A vertical cutting mechanism (band saw) conceptual diagram is shown. (A) A vertical cutting mechanism (band saw) plan view is shown. (B) A vertical cutting mechanism (band saw) front view is shown. The other vertical cutting mechanism (band saw) conceptual diagram is shown. The conceptual diagram of another vertical cutting mechanism (flat saw) is shown. The conceptual diagram of another vertical cutting mechanism (circular saw) is shown. (A) Another vertical cutting mechanism (circular saw) top view is shown. (B) Another longitudinal cutting mechanism (circular saw) front view is shown. (C) The side view of another vertical cutting mechanism (circular saw) is shown. The wood storage operation progress conceptual diagram is shown. (A) The state before the wood storing operation is shown. (B) The first wood storage operation is shown. (C) A state in which wood is stored on both sides. The operation | movement conceptual diagram of a wood storage mechanism part is shown. (A) The top view of a wood storage mechanism part is shown. (B) The wood storage mechanism part front view is shown. An explanatory view of a posture stabilization auxiliary part is shown. (A) The explanatory top view of a posture stabilization auxiliary | assistance part is shown. (B) The explanatory front view of a posture stabilization auxiliary part is shown. The main flowchart of the whole operation is shown.

(Overall Operation) A series of work progress will be described with reference to FIG. (A) shows pruning while ascending, (b) shows pruning / upper cutting chainsaw when the thickness of the trunk (11) reaches a position below a certain level or reaches the top position of the tree plan ( 22) shows a state where the top of the tree is cut off by changing the mounting state to a ball cutting operation, and (c) shows a pruning / upper chain saw chain saw (22) and a vertical cutting saw (32) at the end of the tree. When the whole device is slowly lowered in this state, the trunk (11) is cut vertically by the vertical saw (32), and the ball cutting portion is defined. After reaching the length position, the machine continues to cut vertically until it reaches a position that has passed a certain distance from the specified position. After that, the device is lifted to rise to the tip of the tip and the vertical saw (32) is stored. , Reaching the specified ball cutting position To the lowered and therefore the lower ball cutting chain saw is accommodated in device (42) is taken out again bucking that houses the ball cutting chainsaw Upon completion of ball cutting. This separates the timber individually and cuts out the timber of the specified size.
(C) shows a state in which individually separated timbers are stored in the timber storage unit (06), and the work is repeated until the ground surface position while the timber storage units (06) are alternately used.
(D) shows the state where the operation of (c) is repeated to continue cutting to the ground surface and the wood in the wood storage section (06) is taken out at the final stage, and then the casing (01) is removed from the trunk (11). Removal Completes a series of operations on this tree.
In the process of this series of operations, the control unit (07) starts the lifting operation based on the basic work procedure, starts and stops each functional unit such as longitudinal cutting and ball cutting, monitors the progress of the work, and copes with abnormalities. Do.

(Whole structure) This wood cutting device has an elevating drive unit (05) that moves the device up and down, and posture stability that assists in stabilizing the posture of the device during operations such as elevating, vertical cutting, and ball cutting. Depending on the dimensions of the auxiliary part (09), the pruning / upper part cutting part (02) for cutting off the branch (12), the lower parting part (40) for cutting the trunk of the tree to an arbitrary length, and the size of the wood to be taken out Various operations of the apparatus, a vertical cutting section (03) for performing vertical cutting, a wood storage section (06) for storing the cut wood, a wood storage mechanism section (62) for guiding the wood to the wood storage section (06), and Control unit (07) for instructing and monitoring the system and a remote controller (74) for operating the apparatus from the outside, and each function operates according to a predetermined procedure in accordance with a program instruction provided in the control unit (07) Let the standing trees stand against Performing planned Kidori for the range from treetops portion to the root portion.

(Portability of apparatus) The ease of transporting the entire apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. In order to facilitate transportation such as when the distance to the felling site is long, in FIG. 2, the pruning / upper cutting part (02), vertical cutting part (03), lower cutting part (04), wood storage part (06 ) Etc. and the cover for storing them can also be removed and carried.
In addition, as a means of facilitating movement between trees, as shown in FIG. 5, a method of moving by using a dedicated wire stretched between trees after being placed on a dedicated sled corresponding to the shape of the apparatus and as assembled A transport mechanism with wheels is attached to the above apparatus, and the power supplied from the generator (72) is used as power, or is transported using a transport mechanism that moves and transports by hand.

(Removal / attachment to / from the tree) When attaching / detaching the device to / from the trunk (11), the wood storage unit (06) is removed and the trunk (11) corresponding part of the casing (01) is removed as shown in FIG. 5 (b). The opening (16) when attaching the case and the opening (15) when storing the wood are opened and attached. Further, in order to facilitate the attachment work, it is preferable to attach the tree using a rope and a pulley as shown in FIG. A belt is wound around the tree trunk (11), and a pulley is attached and fixed there. The lower part of the chassis (01) is equipped with a mounting bracket for attaching and removing the apparatus to the tree, and the entire apparatus is unstable. Even if the position changes around (11), it is possible to perform a safe work, and after the attachment is completed, the wood storage portion (06) is attached.
When removing the device from the trunk (11), it is usually easy to remove the device after removing the mechanical part such as the vertical cutting and cutting the weight first.

(Mounting direction of the device) When attaching to a tree, the operator instructs with the remote controller that the vertical direction can be cut in the direction most suitable for cutting the wood to be taken in consideration of the inclination, warp and bending of the tree. The orientation of the apparatus is corrected by the operation (13). When the orientation of the device is determined, a plurality of device orientation detection sensors (80) are directed toward the orientation fixing indicator (76), and if detected, they are fixed at that position. Thereafter, the apparatus is operated while correcting the direction of the apparatus with reference to the direction of the direction fixing indicator (76).

(Power supply) The power necessary for the operation of each mechanism section is generated by the generator (72) on the surface as shown in FIG. 3, and is received by the power supply device in the control section (07) via the power supply cable (73). . The transmitted electric power is used for various mechanism operations such as a lifting / lowering motor and a chain saw, and is used for the control unit (07), various sensors (08), illumination, and the like.

(Raising / lowering drive part) The raising / lowering drive part (05) is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the drive unit. In this example, the drive wheels (52 and 53) of FIG. 8 press the tree trunk (11) from two opposite directions. As shown in FIG. 2, an elevating drive unit (05) is provided at the lower part of the housing (01), and the elevating operation is performed by pressing the trunk (11). In this description, the number of driving wheels used is four, but a design in which the position of the driving wheels and the number of used driving wheels are changed according to the use situation is also possible.
In FIG. 2, in order to press the drive wheels (52 and 53) against the tree trunk (11) with a constant pressure to ensure frictional force, the casing of the elevating drive unit frame (50) according to the thickness of the tree trunk (11). The mounting position to (01) can be changed, so that the range of the pressing operation on the trunk (11) of the drive wheels (52 and 53) is maintained within a certain range regardless of the thickness of each tree, and a stable pressing force Can be secured.
The trunk-corresponding portions of the drive wheels (52 and 53) have a shape in which the center of the trunk is recessed as shown in FIG. 7 in order to increase the contact area with the trunk (11), so that a larger frictional force can be obtained. The contact surface has an uneven shape.
FIG. 8 is an exploded explanatory view simply showing how the drive wheels (52 and 53) press the trees. The structure that compresses the drive wheels (52 and 53) against the trunk (11) is to increase or decrease the compression force based on the information of the drive wheel tension arm position sensor (84) and the tension screw plate sensor (85). According to the judgment, the tension screw gear (57) is rotated forward or backward by the tension screw motor (56), and the drive wheel tension arm (51) supported by the drive wheels (52 and 53) is passed through the tension screw plate (54). By applying pressure with moderate pressure, the driving wheels (52 and 53) generate and hold a pressing force on the trunk (11).
The distance the device has moved up from the root is displayed on the external display unit (75) and remote controller (74) shown in FIG. 2 and shown to the operator. The operator uses the remote controller (74) to instruct the entire tree cutting plan. can do.

(Elevation drive unit) In order to respond immediately to fluctuations in the compression force of the drive wheels (52 and 53) due to irregularities due to scratches or residual branches on the surface of the tree, the drive unit maintains an appropriate compression force, The drive wheel tension arm (51) has an elastic function of absorbing impact.
In FIG. 8, a driving wheel tension arm position sensor (84) is provided. When the driving wheel moves in response to changes in unevenness and thickness of the trunk (11), the driving wheel tension arm (51) operates to drive the driving wheel. The tension arm position sensor (84) detects the magnitude of the compression force, and based on the detected value, the tension screw motor (56) is activated to rotate forward or backward to set the compression force on the trunk (11) of the drive wheel to an appropriate value. Correct it.

(Raising / lowering drive unit) In order to cut the tree to a correct size, it is necessary to position the tree trunk (11) in the center of the casing (01) and to maintain the orientation of the apparatus in a certain direction. Therefore, the orientation is detected by the orientation detection sensor (71) in FIG. 2 so that the orientation of the driving wheel is corrected by changing the orientation of the drive wheels so that the orientation of the device does not change from the initially set orientation due to the lifting operation of the device. It has a function to correct the orientation and keeps the safety and the proper size and shape of the wood to be cut out.
In addition, a movement distance count sensor (83) is provided to measure the movement distance when the apparatus is accurately moved up and down and to make the start / end position of the vertical cutting / ball cutting operation appropriate.
The raising / lowering drive unit (05) has a structure in which the trunk (11) cannot be pressed any further when the trunk (11) reaches a certain thickness, and even if it becomes out of control and runs out of control, it reaches a certain thickness position. It has a structure that can only rise.
To keep the pressure on the trunk (11) of the drive wheel so that the device does not slide down in an emergency situation where normal operation cannot be continued, such as when the power is cut off, in order to regulate the descending speed of the device below a certain speed Although not shown, the elevating drive unit (05) includes a governor.

(Another elevating drive unit) In the elevating drive unit (05), the structure in which the drive wheels (52 and 53) are pressed against the trunk (11) is obtained by rotating the tension screw by the tension screw motor (56). Although the mechanism for generating the compression force to the trunk (11) of the drive wheels (52 and 53) by compressing the plate (54), another lift drive unit (05) is a tension screw plate (see FIG. 9). It is also possible to adopt a structure in which a drive cylinder (58) and a drive piston (59) using hydraulic pressure are used as a mechanism for generating a compression force on the drive force 54).

(Posture Stabilization Auxiliary Section) At the time when the lower ball cutting is completed, the upper drive wheel (52) is not pressing the trunk (11), and only the lower drive wheel (53) is pressing and holding the trunk (11). The posture stability of the entire device is insufficient. Therefore, auxiliary wheels are provided to assist the lower drive wheel (53) to increase the stability of the device.
The posture stabilizing auxiliary wheel (91) does not have a driving function and the compression force is obtained from an elastic arm in which a tension is applied to the support arm.
The power for the take-out and storage operations is transmitted from the lower drive wheel drive motor through a clutch, and the take-out and take-out operations are monitored by the posture stabilization auxiliary part state detection sensor (89).
The timing of the take-out and storage operations is that the vertical saw (32) is stored before performing the ball cutting, but the posture stabilization assisting part (09) is moved to the housing (01) before the first ball cutting. It is taken out more. Thereafter, when the vehicle is lowered during the final vertical cutting, the approach of the ground surface is detected by the ground surface approach detection sensor (81), and the posture stability is assisted in the state of being taken out until the storage is started.
The number of posture stabilization auxiliary wheels (91) is a total of four wheels on each side in the present description, but may be increased or decreased depending on the environment used.

(Pruning / Upper Bead Cutting Section) The pruning / upper ball cutting section (02) will be described with reference to FIGS. The pruning / upper bead cutting part (02) is located in the upper part of the housing, and the pruning / upper beading part turning unit (23) to which the chainsaw is attached turns and prunes.
The branch detection sensor (77) ascends while monitoring whether the branch (12) is present in the upper part of the traveling direction of the apparatus. When the approach of the branch (12) is detected, the ascent speed of the apparatus is changed to a low speed and turns. When the pruning / upper beading chain saw state detection sensor (87) provided in the chain saw holding part detects that the pruning / upper beading chain saw (22) hits the branch (12), the cutting operation state is monitored. .
Since the chain saw cover part slides in contact with the trunk (11), the branch (12) is always cut at a portion close to the trunk, so the remaining branches are short.

(Pruning / upper cutting part) The attachment / holding part of the pruning / upper cutting chain saw (22) has a cushion mechanism that can absorb the resistance received from the cutting branch (12), and the branch (12) starts cutting and cutting. And a pruning / upper bead chain saw state detection sensor (87) for detecting the state of cutting completion.
In this description, a chain saw is used for cutting the branch (12), but a flat saw or a circular saw may be used.

(Upper bead cutting) The pruning / upper bead cutting part (02) will be described with reference to FIGS. When the casing trunk distance sensor (79) detects that the trunk thickness is below a certain level at the end of the operation in which the device ascends while pruning in FIG. 4 (b), the movement distance from the root partial committee is taken into consideration. In accordance with the tree cutting plan, the tree is lowered to the first bead cutting position to start the tree cutting, and the mounting housing of the pruning / upper bead chain saw (22) is changed for the bead cutting operation to cut off the upper part of the tree.
At this time, the cutting direction of the tree tip is set and operated at the initial stage so that the power supply cable (73) housed in the control unit (07) is cut from the retracted position side toward the opposite side. .

(Wood Cutting Method) Prior to the description of the vertical cutting and the ball cutting, the relationship between the vertical cutting, the ball cutting and the wood storing operation will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 12 (a), when the vertical cutting operation advances to a position slightly advanced from the intended cutting position, the vertical cutting is finished, the apparatus is raised, and the vertical cutting saw (32) is stored, and then the ball is cut. Then, the wood is separated into wood that can be stored as shown in FIG. 12 (c).

(Vertical Cutting Section) The vertical cutting section (03) will be described with reference to FIGS. When the above-described pruning ascent and upper ball cutting are finished, the vertical saw is moved up to the position where the vertical saw can be set, and the unit of the vertical saw (32) is taken out from the vertical saw storage box (31) of FIG. 2 along the guide rail. Are attached to a predetermined position of the housing (01).
The vertical cutting saw unit fixed to the housing (01) starts vertical cutting from the end portion of the upper end of the ball cutting. When the apparatus starts a low-speed descending operation and the vertical saw (32) attached to the housing (01) advances while vertically cutting the tree trunk as shown in FIG. 12 (a), it reaches a predetermined length position according to the tree cutting plan. The vertical cutting is continued until it has passed a certain distance from the specified position, and then the device is moved up to accommodate the vertical cutting saw (32) before moving to the ball cutting operation. The distance sensor (79) rises up to the end of the tip where the tree trunk (11) is no longer detected, and stores the vertical saw unit so as not to be an obstacle when storing wood.
The operation at this time is performed by the lower drive wheel (53) ascending power, and the compression force of the upper drive wheel (52) is weakened to prevent the vertical saw from being tightened by the trunk. When using any of a band saw, flat saw, or circular saw, the saw is prevented from being caught on the wood in the longitudinally cut place by raising it while rotating as in the case of cutting.
After storing the vertical cutting saw, the lower ball cutting part (04) descends until it reaches the specified ball cutting position, and the lower ball cutting chain saw (42) stored in the housing (01) is taken out and shown in FIG. 12 (b). Cut the ball as you like.
When the ball cutting is completed, each wood can be separated and taken out as shown in FIG. This completes one cycle of wood cutting, and moves to the storage operation in the wood storage unit (06).
As described above, the operation of storing the vertical saw (32) is performed before the ball is cut, but the posture stabilization auxiliary portion (09) is taken out from the housing (01) when it is raised before the first ball cutting. . After that, the posture stability is assisted in a state where it is taken out until it is stored during the last vertical descent.

(Vertical cutting part) FIG. 13 is a conceptual view of a vertical cutting mechanism, (a) is a plan view (b) is a front view, and (b) is a vertical cutting of a total of four vertical cutting saws. It shows that. The saw spacing used is set so that the wood is trimmed to a size that takes into account the shrinkage of the wood due to drying so that the specified size is obtained after drying, and the wood is dimensioned according to the saw spacing. cut.
In the longitudinal cutting, the saw unit attached to the casing (01) advances by the low-speed descending operation of the apparatus to cut the wood.
The saw unit attached to the housing (01) has a mounting structure with a margin in the vertical and horizontal directions forward and backward with respect to the housing (01), and bends, scratches, branches and nodes of trees. Even if the movement of the housing (01) changes temporarily due to the influence of the above, the movement is not transmitted as it is to the vertical saw, and the cutting can be continued without changing the current cutting position. It has.

(Vertical cutting section) In FIG. 13, vertical cutting is performed only at a position initially set in one direction. However, before the ball cutting operation, the apparatus is raised to the position of the vertical cutting start and then the apparatus is rotated 90 degrees or the same direction. But it is also possible to change the saw distance from the center of the tree and then cut it again, and then slicing will produce a different shape of wood. At this time, it is also possible to operate by changing the number of saws by detaching a part of the plurality of vertical saws (32) attached.
Alternatively, the log cutting process can be omitted and the log cut can be stored in the same way as the wood that has been cut, and the work can be carried out separately. Only a thick part close to the root is cut vertically, and the thin part at the top remains a log and can be selected arbitrarily.
In this description, vertical cutting using a band saw has been described. However, it is also possible to use a flat saw as shown in FIG. 15 or a vertical cutting using a circular saw as shown in FIG. It is also effective to reduce the overall size by using a plurality of pulleys as shown in FIG.

(Vertical cutting part) The last vertical cutting near the ground surface is switched to a lower speed when the vertical cutting progresses and the device descends to near the ground surface, and the positional relationship between the casing (01) and the trunk (11) is individually set. By adjusting the compression force of the drive wheels (52 and 53) individually to adjust the cutting position to keep constant the cutting position corresponding to the bending of the tree, etc. finish. At this point, the wood in the storage section is taken out and lightened as a whole, and then moved to the operation of storing the vertical cutting saw unit. Therefore, the tree trunk rises until the band saw reaches the upper end of the vertical cutting saw (11). At the position where the band saw is removed from the machine, the rising of the device is stopped and the vertical saw unit is stored. An operation of storing the posture stabilization auxiliary portion (09) that has been taken out and used when the apparatus is lowered by the final vertical cutting operation is performed. This operation starts when the surface approach detection sensor (81) provided in the apparatus detects the approach of the surface.

(Vertical cutting part) When an emergency situation occurs during the vertical cutting operation by the band saw and it is necessary to lower the device, the pulley tension mechanism (35) is operated to narrow the interval of the band saw driving pulley (34) and It has the function of removing the pulley and leaving the band saw to lower the device.

(Lower bead cutting part) The lower bead cutting part (04) will be described with reference to FIGS. When the vertical cutting is finished, the vertical saw (32) is housed and lowered again after the apparatus is raised, and when the lower ball cutting part (04) reaches the length position determined in the wood plan, the moving distance count sensor The ball cutting unit is taken out at the exact length position measured in (83), and ball cutting is performed. When the ball cutting unit is finished, the ball cutting unit is stored in the original position.
During cutting, the lower drive wheel (53) is fixed so that the weight of the wood above the cutting part hits the lower cutting chain saw (42) during cutting and does not obstruct cutting, such as teeth. The drive wheel (52) is used to drive the wood above the beading position upward. When the lower chopping chain saw state detection sensor (88) detects the completion of cutting, the driving of the upper drive wheel (52) is stopped and fixed at the position where the load of wood is not applied to the lower chopping chain saw (42).
Even if it is attached to the last round of the root part, it is cut as usual after being vertically cut and stored in the wood storage section (06), and the final round process is performed, but it is effective up to the root part of the trunk (11). It is possible to select the ball cutting by hand only at the base portion, for example, to cut wood. In this case, after the vertical cutting is finished, the wood stored in the wood storage section (06) is taken out to the ground surface, then the device is raised, the vertical cutting saw (32) is stored and then lowered again to stop and the device is removed from the tree. It is possible to cut the ball manually.

The function of the control unit (07) provided in the (control unit) device is as follows. First, the elevating drive unit (05), the pruning / upper ball cutting unit (02), the vertical cutting unit (03), the ball cutting unit (40), etc. Power supply control for supplying or stopping power to each operation mechanism, and a function of maintaining a control function even in the event of a power failure by including a battery. Secondly, raising / lowering operation, cutting operation, taking out each functional unit, fixing to a predetermined position, and instructing and stopping the storage operation at the end of the operation. Using the third related sensor information, monitoring the progress of the operation, detecting the presence of the branch (12), the cutting operation state of the chain saw, the operation state of the lifting drive unit (05), the device and each mechanism unit It is to monitor the operation by collecting information of each sensor indicating the status.
Fourthly, the operation of the apparatus is advanced while communicating with the remote controller, and if necessary, it operates using a display unit (75) and a sound source that are provided in a plurality of lower portions outside the apparatus and display the state of the apparatus. It is to inform the outside of the state and abnormal state.
When starting work on a target tree, first, the operation of each functional unit of the entire apparatus and the information on the sensor are confirmed. If there is no abnormality, the apparatus can be operated.
When it is determined that the power supply is cut off or other abnormal situation has occurred, the control unit (07) forcibly stops all operations and waits for an instruction, or the control unit (07) It has a function to prioritize operations that avoid danger, such as moving down.

(Safety of the device) Regarding operational safety performance, the mechanical element has a structure in which the lifting mechanism does not function when the thickness of the trunk (11) is below a certain thickness, and a governor is provided for the speed of the lowering operation of the device. It is set to stop the operation urgently or to descend slowly when it is judged abnormal during operation. At that time, when lowering due to an abnormal situation during vertical cutting, the band saw can be removed from the pulley and the device can be lowered leaving the band saw.
Regarding the control and monitoring of the equipment, the state monitoring of each mechanism etc. is substantial and the abnormality can be discovered early so that the abnormality can be dealt with in a minor state, even if the battery (71) is provided and the power supply is cut off The control unit (07) and some mechanism operations are allowed to function, and in order to secure a control system, communication between the control unit (07) and the remote controller (74) can be performed by cable or wireless communication. Even if one is defective, it can be switched to use the other.

(Remote controller) Although not shown, the remote controller (74) includes an operation unit, a display unit, and a communication unit. The remote controller (74) issues an operation instruction by the operator to the control unit (07) and the control unit (07) It has a function to receive information, display and call attention.

(Various sensors) If we take up the pruning action as an example in explaining the main sensors provided in the device, the pruning detection sensor (77), the pruning swivel unit position sensor (86), the pruning / upper cutting There is a chain saw state detection sensor (87), and similarly, a sensor for monitoring the operation is provided for each mechanism.
Regarding the operation of the entire apparatus, the case trunk distance sensor (79), the apparatus orientation detection sensor (80), the ground surface approach detection sensor (81), the movement distance count sensor (83), and the posture stabilization assisting part state detection sensor (89) , Etc.
Each sensor provides current status information.
Each sensor may be replaced with an optical sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, a switch, a sensor having other functional elements without specifying a contact or the like.

(Wood Storage Unit) The wood storage unit (06) accepts the timber from the wood cutting unit after the vertical cutting and ball cutting operations are completed while alternately using the wood storage units on both sides. The capacity of the wood storage unit (06) has a capacity for harvesting and storing almost the entire tree. It is also possible to resume the cutting operation by avoiding storage above a certain level and rising after releasing the timber to the ground surface.
The wood storage unit (06) has a function of changing the attachment position with respect to the housing (01) upward in order to facilitate the storage operation of the wood before the first longitudinal cutting.
The housing portion is pulled upward with respect to the housing (01) attached using the upper drive wheel (52), and is fixed at that position. This position is maintained until the last storage is completed.
When the wood is taken out from the wood storage unit (06) at the ground surface position, the safety mechanism is released to open the vertical and bottom surfaces of the storage unit, thereby facilitating the removal of the wood.

(Wood storage mechanism) The wood storage mechanism (62) will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 17A shows the initial state of the wood storage mechanism section (62), where longitudinal cutting is in progress. (B) is a state in which the wood storage mechanism section (62) operates and the clamp plate (63) holds the wood from both sides and moves it to one storage section after finishing vertical cutting and ball cutting. Indicates. FIG. 17 (c) shows a state in which wood is stored in the wood storage sections (06) on both sides by repeating the above steps. FIG. 18A is a plan view showing the state of FIG. 17B, and shows a state where the wood is cut and clamped by the clamp plate 63 and is moved to one storage portion. Thereafter, the clamp is released and the wood is stored in the storage unit.
Before moving to the wood storage operation, the vertical cutting saw (32) unit is first stored in order to secure a passage for storing the cut wood after finishing vertical cutting and ball cutting, and then FIG. ) As shown in FIG. 18B and FIG. 18B, an operation of opening the side corresponding to the storage of the side surface of the housing (01) is performed, and after the passage of the wood storage is secured, the operation moves to the wood storage operation.

01 case
02 Pruning / Upper cutting part
03 Vertical section
04 Lower ball cutting part
05 Lifting drive
06 Wood storage
07 Control unit
08 Various sensors
09 Posture stability assisting part
11 trunk
12 branches
13 Direction correction drive roller
14 Upper illumination lamp
15 Opening when storing wood
16 Opening when mounting the chassis
21 Pruning / Upper part cutting box storage box
22 Pruning / Upper chopping chainsaw
23 Pruning / Upper chamfer turning unit
24 Pruning unit swivel rail
25 Pruning and upper ball cutting base plate
26 Post-pruning / upper cutting switch
31 Longitudinal saw storage box
32 Vertical saw
34 Band saw drive pulley
35 Pulley tension mechanism
36 Pulley drive motor
37 Circular saw mounting frame
38 Flat saw mounting frame
39 Flat saw assembly
41 Lower ball cutting part storage box
42 Lower ball cutting chainsaw
43 Lower chopping chainsaw plate
45 Ball cutting motor
46 Ball feed motor
50 Lifting drive part frame 51 Drive wheel tension arm
52 Upper drive wheel
53 Lower drive wheel
54 Tension screw plate
55 Lifting drive motor
56 Tension screw motor
57 Tension screw gear
58 Drive cylinder
59 Drive piston
61 Wood storage skirt
62 Wood storage mechanism
63 Clamp plate
64 Clamp plate rail
71 battery
72 Generator
73 Power supply cable
74 Remote controller
75 Display section
76 Direction fixed indicator
77 Branch detection sensor
78 Tree wound detection sensor
79 Case trunk distance sensor
80 Device orientation detection sensor
81 Ground approach detection sensor
82 Moving distance detection roller
83 Moving distance count sensor
84 Drive wheel tension arm position sensor
85 Tension screw plate sensor
86 Pruning and swivel unit position sensor 87 Pruning / upper ball sawing chain saw state detection sensor 88 Lower ball cutting chain saw state detection sensor 89 Posture stability auxiliary part state detection sensor 91 Posture stability auxiliary wheel 92 Posture stability auxiliary wheel support arm 93 Posture stability auxiliary wheel support Arm guide rail 94 Posture stability auxiliary wheel engagement clutch

Claims (16)

Use a wood-cutting device to cut the wood by cutting into a tree that has been cut in the longitudinal direction of the tree in the longitudinal direction of the standing tree and the tree trunk that has been cut vertically, or cut vertically. Or cut the wood to any length and cut out the wood, or cut the wood to any size by cutting the wood that mixes the vertical cutting portion and the non-cutting portion of the whole tree. A method of cutting out wood by cutting the whole tree using either method.
Vertical drive according to the width and thickness dimensions of the wood to be taken out, a lifting drive unit that raises and lowers the device, a pruning unit that cuts off the branches, a ball cutting unit that cuts the trunk of the tree to an arbitrary length A vertical cutting section for storing the cut wood, a wood storage section for storing the cut wood, a wood storage mechanism section for guiding the wood to the wood storage section, a control section for instructing and monitoring the operation, and a remote for operating the apparatus from the outside A wood cutting device that includes a controller, operates in accordance with a predetermined procedure according to a program instruction of a control unit, and cuts a tree in a standing state into an arbitrary size.
The elevating drive unit rotates while a plurality of driving wheels press the tree trunk from a plurality of directions, and ascends, descends, and stops the apparatus. The wood cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the operation, rotation direction and stop of the driving wheel can be arbitrarily and individually designated as necessary.
The ascending / descending drive unit has a structure in which the function of the ascending operation is limited to a range in which the thickness of the tree has a certain thickness, the thickness of the tree trunk does not function in a range narrower than the setting, and when descending, The wood cutting device according to claim 2, further comprising a mechanism that regulates the speed to a predetermined speed or less.
The up-and-down drive unit has a function of pushing up the wood above the beaded portion during the ball cutting to prevent the cutting tool from being loaded with the wood and becoming an obstacle to cutting. 2. The wood cutting device according to 2.
The said raising / lowering drive part was equipped with the function which corrects the direction of the apparatus which changes at the time of raising / lowering so that the direction of a drive wheel may be changed and the fixed direction of the east, west, south, and north initially set may be hold | maintained. Wood cutting device.
The timber cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the elevating drive unit includes a wheel for turning a casing attached to the tree at a ground surface position in a surrounding direction of the tree trunk on the spot.
The ball cutting section has a function of taking out the wood cutting tool from the storage section and cutting it to cut the trunk of the tree as it is to an arbitrary length, and storing the cutting tool when the cutting is completed. The wood cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the device is a wood cutting device.
The longitudinal cutting part has a function of longitudinally cutting a plurality of places into arbitrarily set dimensions by using a wood cutting tool in the longitudinal direction of the trunk from the treetop to the root of the standing tree. The wood cutting device according to claim 2.
The wood cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the vertical cutting portion includes a mechanism that is taken out of the storage case before use and attached to a predetermined portion of the housing, and is returned to the storage case after use. .
According to the function of the built-in program, the control unit performs operation instruction and monitoring and monitoring of various sensor information, proceeds with the operation, issues an emergency warning to the surroundings in the event of an abnormal situation, The wood cutting device according to claim 2, further comprising a function of issuing a danger avoidance operation instruction.
The control unit has a function of creating a tree plan based on information such as the thickness length of a tree and the position of a wound that has been earned at the time of rising, and a function of creating a tree plan according to an operator's instruction The wood cutting device according to claim 2.
The wood cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit has a function of displaying an operation state and an abnormal state of the device to the outside of the device by using a display and a sound source provided in the device. .
The wood storage unit has a function of storing either wood that has been trimmed after vertical cutting and cutting, or logs that have only been cut and omitted vertical cutting in the wooden storage unit. The wood cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the device is a wood cutting device.
The wood cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the wood storage portion has a function of moving its position up and down with respect to an attached housing.
3. The wood cutting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the wood storage mechanism section has a function of guiding the wood to the wood storage section using a mechanism for holding and holding the wood.

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