JP7485327B2 - Felling attachment, work vehicle and tree felling method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a felling attachment used for felling trees, etc. The present invention also relates to a work vehicle used for felling trees, etc. The present invention further relates to a method for felling trees.

Chainsaws are often used to cut down trees.
When a tree is cut down using a chainsaw, a stump is left behind. When cutting down a tree using a chainsaw, the blade needs to be pressed against the above-ground part of the tree, so the stump is often several tens of centimeters above the ground.
When forests are cleared for use as farmland or parks, tree stumps must be removed. Conventionally, stumps have been removed by digging them up manually or using construction machinery such as excavators.
Patent Document 1 discloses a power machine in which a handheld auger or a hand drill is attached to a vehicle. In the power machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, the auger or the hand drill is held by the operator and used by the operator, and is not attached to a vehicle.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-252104

The task of removing a tree stump is extremely difficult and requires several times the time and effort required by using a chainsaw.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for easily disposing of tree stumps.

An embodiment for solving the above-mentioned problems is a felling attachment that is attached to a vehicle in a rigid manner and used, characterized in that the felling attachment has one or more drill-shaped rotating bodies, and that the drill-shaped rotating bodies are capable of causing damage to a target tree sufficient to fell the tree.
A specific embodiment for solving the above-mentioned problems is a felling attachment that is attached to a vehicle in a rigid manner and used, the felling attachment having one or more drill-shaped rotating bodies, the drill-shaped rotating bodies being capable of causing damage to a target tree sufficient to fell the tree, the vehicle having a blade, and the felling attachment being attached to the blade.
Another specific embodiment for solving the above-mentioned problems is a felling attachment that is attached to a vehicle in a rigid manner and used, characterized in that the felling attachment has a blade and one or more drill-like rotating bodies attached to the blade, and that the drill-like rotating bodies are capable of causing damage to a target tree sufficient to fell the tree.

The tree-felling attachment of this embodiment is used by being attached to a vehicle such as a backhoe or a tractor.
When felling a tree with the tree felling attachment of this embodiment, the drill-shaped rotating body is pressed against the tree to cause damage such as holes in the tree, and the tree is then pushed down or pulled down by, for example, a vehicle.
For example, a drill-like rotating body can be pressed against the base of a tree to drill a hole or the like underground, and then the tree can be felled, thereby reducing the portion of the stump exposed above ground.
Furthermore, a drill-shaped rotating body can be pressed against the underground part of a tree to drill a hole or the like in the underground part, and then the tree can be felled, thereby removing a part of the underground part of the tree.

In the above-mentioned aspect, it is preferable that the vehicle has a blade and the felling attachment is attached to the vehicle in place of the blade.

In one of the above-mentioned aspects, the vehicle has a blade, and the felling attachment is attached to the blade.

In each of the above aspects, it is desirable to have a motor that drives the drill-shaped rotor and a storage battery that supplies power to the motor.

In each of the above aspects, it is preferable that the drill-shaped rotating body is an end mill-shaped rotating body having cutting edges on the side as well.

The working vehicle is characterized by having a self-propelled vehicle section and a felling attachment of any of the above-mentioned aspects.

Another aspect of the work vehicle is a work vehicle that has a self-propelled vehicle section and one or more drill-shaped rotating bodies, and is characterized in that the drill-shaped rotating bodies can cause damage to a target tree that is sufficient to cause the tree to fall.

The invention relating to a tree felling method is characterized by having a step of using the above-mentioned work vehicle and damaging the target tree with the drill-shaped rotating body.

In the above-mentioned aspect, it is desirable to have a step of moving the drill-shaped rotating body laterally after piercing the target tree to cut laterally into the tree.

In the above-mentioned aspect, it is desirable to have a step of applying an external force to the target tree using the work vehicle and/or another work machine after damaging the target tree with the drill-shaped rotating body.

This invention makes it easy to process tree stumps.

1 is a perspective view showing an overview of a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a front view of a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front view of a felling attachment according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a front view of a target tree and the work vehicle showing a procedure for felling a standing tree using the work vehicle of FIG. 1. (a) is a front view of the target tree and work vehicle showing the felling procedure following Figure 3, (b) is a plan view thereof, (c) is a left side view of the target tree, and (d) is a right side view of the target tree. (a) is a front view of the target tree and work vehicle showing the felling procedure following Figure 4, (b) is a plan view thereof, (c) is a left side view of the target tree, and (d) is a right side view of the target tree. (a) is a front view of the target tree and work vehicle showing the felling procedure following Figure 5, (b) is a plan view thereof, (c) is a left side view of the target tree, and (d) is a right side view of the target tree. FIG. 7 is a front view of the target tree and the work vehicle showing the felling procedure following FIG. 6; 10A and 10B are explanatory views showing another work procedure when felling standing trees using the work vehicle of FIG. 1 . 9(c), (d), and (e) are explanatory diagrams showing the felling procedure following FIG. 8. FIG. 2 is a front view of the work vehicle before modification.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described further below.
A work vehicle 1 of this embodiment has a tree-cutting attachment 10 attached to a vehicle section 2 as shown in Fig. 1. The work vehicle 1 is, for example, a hydraulic excavator 100 as shown in Fig. 10 with the blade 102 removed and replaced with the tree-cutting attachment 10.

That is, the vehicle section 2 is the main body of a known civil engineering work vehicle, and has a lower traveling body 15 and an upper rotating body 16 .
The lower traveling body 15 includes a known crawler 12 and can travel in a desired direction. The vehicle section 2 can rotate when in a stopped position and change its position.
The upper rotating body 16, like a known civil engineering work vehicle, has a driver's seat 17, a boom 18, and an arm 20. A bucket 101 is attached to the tip of the arm 20.

The felling attachment 10 is composed of a blade 21 , a drill-shaped rotating body 22 , and a drive mechanism 23 that drives the drill-shaped rotating body 22 .
The blade 21 is a pusher plate having a considerable rigidity similar to that of a bulldozer.
The drill-shaped rotating body 22 has a structure similar to that of an end mill, and has cutting edges at the tip and sides. The drill-shaped rotating body 22 has a length of 50 cm or more, preferably 80 cm or more, and has a thickness that can withstand lateral forces. In other words, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 has considerable rigidity not only in the axial direction but also in the lateral direction, and will not break even if it is pried into the trunk of a tree. In addition, the hole can be widened by moving the drill-shaped rotating body 22 in the lateral direction.

In this embodiment, the drive mechanism 23 is a chain transmission mechanism, and is composed of sprockets 27, 32, a motor 30, and a chain 35. The motor 30 is a geared motor with a reduction gear.

The drill-shaped rotating body 22 is attached in a cantilever manner to the lower end of the blade 21 via a bearing 26. The drill-shaped rotating body 22 protrudes from the front surface side of the blade 21 toward the tip side.
A sprocket 27 is attached to the drill-shaped rotating body 22 .
A retaining plate 28 is provided on the rear surface of the blade 21, and a motor 30 and a storage battery 31 are mounted on the retaining plate 28. A sprocket 32 is attached to the output shaft of the motor 30. A chain 35 is wound between the sprocket 32 on the motor 30 side and the sprocket 27 on the drill-shaped rotor 22 side.
In this embodiment, the storage battery 31 is connected to the motor 30, and the motor 30 rotates by receiving power supply from the storage battery 31. Then, the rotational force of the motor 30 is transmitted to the drill-shaped rotating body 22 by the chain transmission mechanism described above, and the drill-shaped rotating body 22 rotates.

The work vehicle 1 of this embodiment is a hydraulic excavator 100 as shown in FIG. 10 in which the blade 102 is replaced with a felling attachment 10.
The felling attachment 10 is attached integrally to the vehicle portion 2 in a rigid manner.
Like the blade of a bulldozer, it can be moved up and down by hydraulic pressure, and its angle and position can also be changed by hydraulic pressure.

Next, a procedure will be described for felling the tree 200 using the work vehicle 1. When felling the tree 200, as shown in Fig. 3, the work vehicle 1 is driven to move close to the tree 200 to be felled.
As described above, the drill-shaped rotor 22 is located at the lower end of the blade 21 .
In this embodiment, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 is placed at a boundary portion of the ground surface or at a height slightly embedded in the ground.
In this state, the drill-like rotating body 22 is rotated and the work vehicle 1 is moved forward to pierce the drill-like rotating body 22 into the tree 200, and a hole 40 is drilled at a position just above the ground surface A of the tree 200, as shown in Figure 4. It is desirable to penetrate the tree 200 with the drill-like rotating body 22.

Next, the work vehicle 1 is rotated at that position as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4(b), for example, turned clockwise.
As a result, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 rotates horizontally as shown in FIG. 5, and the tree 200 is cut into a fan shape in a plan view.
Furthermore, the work vehicle 1 is turned counterclockwise, and the cut in the tree 200 is widened as shown in Figure 6. That is, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 moves laterally inside the tree 200, cutting into the tree 200 laterally.

7, the work vehicle 1 pushes the tree 200 to fell the tree 200. For example, as shown in FIG.
Since the trunk of the tree 200 is deeply cut near the ground surface and the trunk is considerably damaged, the tree 200 will break near the ground surface. Therefore, it is unlikely that a stump will remain on the ground.
In this manner, the work vehicle 1 of this embodiment can cut down the tree 200 without leaving a stump.
Furthermore, even if the tree 200 falls towards the work vehicle 1, the tree 200 is supported by the arm 20 etc. and will not fall onto the operator's seat 17. This ensures the safety of the worker.

The fallen tree 200 is cut to a specified length using a chainsaw or similar tool and transported.

Next, another work procedure for felling a tree 200 using the work vehicle 1 will be described.
In this method as well, the work vehicle 1 is driven and moved close to the tree 200 to be felled, as shown in FIG. 8(a).
Then, as shown in Fig. 8(b), the attitude of the felling attachment 10 is tilted downward. In this state, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 is rotated and the work vehicle 1 is moved forward, so that the drill-shaped rotating body 22 is driven diagonally into the ground, and a hole is made in the underground portion of the tree 200 as shown in Fig. 9(c).
If necessary, a plurality of holes are drilled underground of the tree 200 as shown in FIG. 9(d).

9(e), the work vehicle 1 pushes the tree 200 to fell the tree 200. Since the underground part of the trunk of the tree 200 has many holes drilled therein and the trunk is considerably damaged, the tree 200 breaks from the underground part. Therefore, it is difficult for a stump to remain on the ground.
In this manner, the work vehicle 1 of this embodiment can cut down the tree 200 without leaving a stump.

Although the felling attachment 10 of the embodiment described above has only one drill-shaped rotating body 22, it may have a plurality of drill-shaped rotating bodies.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 is advanced by moving the work vehicle 1 itself forward, but the felling attachment 10 itself may be provided with a feed mechanism for advancing the drill-shaped rotating body 22 .

Also, the felling attachment 10 may be attached to the arm side.
In the embodiment described above, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 has a structure similar to that of an end mill and has cutting edges at the tip and sides, but it may also have cutting edges only on the tip side.
The mechanism for driving the drill-shaped rotating body 22 is arbitrary, and may be one that transmits power to the drill-shaped rotating body 22 via a belt or gears. Also, the drill-shaped rotating body 22 may be directly connected to the motor 30.
The motor may be a hydraulic motor.

The felling attachment 10 described above has a blade 21 to which a drill-shaped rotating body 22 and the like are attached, and the work vehicle 1 is a hydraulic excavator 100 with the existing blade 102 removed and replaced with the felling attachment 10.
However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the drill-shaped rotating body 22 and the drive mechanism 23 that drives the drill-shaped rotating body 22 may be integrated into an attachment, which may be attached to the existing blade 102.
Furthermore, the work vehicle 1 may be completed by attaching the drill-shaped rotating body 22 or the like to the existing blade 102 .

1 Work vehicle 2 Vehicle section 10 Felling attachment 21 Blade 22 Drill-shaped rotating body 23 Drive mechanism 30 Motor 31 Storage battery

Claims (9)

A tree felling attachment that is attached to a vehicle in a rigid manner and used, the tree felling attachment having one or more drill-shaped rotating bodies, and capable of causing damage to a target tree by the drill-shaped rotating bodies to the extent that the tree can be felled;
The vehicle has a blade, and the felling attachment is attached to the blade. A felling attachment that is attached to a vehicle in a rigid manner and used, characterized in that it has a blade and one or more drill-shaped rotors attached to the blade, and that the drill-shaped rotors can cause damage to a target tree that is sufficient to fell the tree. The felling attachment according to claim 2, characterized in that the vehicle has a blade, and the felling attachment is attached to the vehicle in place of the blade. A felling attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the drill-shaped rotating body is an end mill-shaped rotating body having cutting edges on the sides as well. A felling attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has a motor that drives the drill-shaped rotating body and a storage battery that supplies power to the motor. A work vehicle having a self-propelled vehicle section and a felling attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A tree felling method comprising a step of using the work vehicle described in claim 6 to damage a target tree with the drill-shaped rotating body. The tree felling method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of moving the drill-shaped rotating body laterally after the drill-shaped rotating body is inserted into the target tree to cut the tree laterally. The tree felling method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that it includes a step of applying an external force to the target tree with the work vehicle and/or another work machine after damaging the target tree with the drill-shaped rotating body.

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