JPS60102122A - Pruning machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a pruning machine, and more particularly, to a pruning machine that can quickly, lightly and reliably cut off branches located at a considerable height from the base of the branch along the trunk without having to climb the tree. This invention relates to a pruning machine that can perform the following operations and requires only a small operating force.

In the field of forestry, in order to obtain high-quality straight-grained wood with no knots, pruning is carried out during the tree growing process, in which the upper branches and leaves of the tree are left and the lower branches are knocked off. This pruning work requires that the branches be completely removed from their active parts along the trunk without leaving any incision-like protrusions on the trunk surface.

This is because if the protrusions are left, curved growth rings will be formed to cover the protrusions, which will reduce the quality of the water for architectural use.

In traditional pruning work, branches were removed using a machete. However, in this traditional work,
As mentioned above, in order to completely knock off the branches from the planting area, it is necessary to move the machete along the trunk.
! This work is extremely difficult and dangerous as it requires climbing up the tree and holding onto the branches.
Since all the rooms had to be placed on each tree, it was inefficient and caused severe worker fatigue, making it impossible to continue the work for a long time.

In addition, various types of power-type pruning machines have been developed in the past, which use power to obtain the force for knocking down branches.
There is a pruning machine described in Publication No. 58. This pruning machine is
In order to operate the circular saw along the bark of the tree at the base of the branch, the U has a guide surface that covers the periphery of the circular saw in a semicircular arc shape and is located in approximately the same plane as one side of the circular saw. It is characterized by the provision of a letter-shaped guide member. As shown in Fig. 5 of the above-mentioned publication, this pruning machine is designed so that the pair of guide parts of the U-shaped guide part are sandwiched between the branches to be cut in the vertical direction of the trunk. When the circular saw is moved in the horizontal direction, the circular saw, which has a side surface that is almost coplanar with the guide surface of the guide member, moves the branch from its base without leaving a knob-like protrusion ( It is designed to be cut.

However, with this kind of branch cutting machine, the circular saw cuts the cross section of the branch in the horizontal direction, so if the branch is swayed towards the circular saw side due to wind, etc., it will not connect to the trunk of the branch. Due to the lever action using the part of the tree as a fulcrum, the cut surfaces of the bases of the branches that are opposite to each other with the circular saw in between press down on the circular saw with great force, stopping the rotation of the circular saw and making it impossible to continue the work. Not only does it disappear, but it often happens that the circular saw cuts halfway through the cut and becomes stuck in the cut, making it impossible to remove the circular saw.

When cutting off a branch, the knife should cut through the branch from top to bottom.In traditional machete work, the machete is always swung from top to bottom. It is clear from this. Even if the machete is applied from below or from the side, the machete will dig into the cut due to the branch's own weight or lateral sway.

Workers who use the pruning machine shown in the above publication have no choice but to cut the branch from above, as the circular saw often bites into the cut end of the branch if the pruning machine is used according to the instructions. I have no choice but to use a circular saw to cut through. In this case, the reason for the existence of the U-shaped guide member, which allows the circular saw to be positioned along the trunk only when the -if guide portions sandwich the branch to be cut above and below, is lost. When the circular saw of the branching machine is operated to cut the branch from top to bottom, the pair of guide parts will be positioned so as to sandwich the branch from side to side. This is because the surface is cylindrical, so even if you do this, the circular saw will not fit along the surface of the trunk.

In addition, a so-called chainsaw is sometimes used as a power source for pruning, but in this case as well, a person stands on a tree with the chainsaw as a tool, just as in the traditional work using a machete. However, the overall efficiency remains unsatisfactory.

As I mentioned earlier, tree branches are cut from the top to the bottom, and the branch gradually tilts downward due to its own weight, causing the cut to widen and become misaligned. It should be scaled down so that the knife does not get caught in the cut. In addition, in order to perform pruning work more efficiently, it is preferable to perform the work while standing on the ground, rather than having to perform the work by climbing up on the tree.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and its purpose is to quickly, lightly, reliably and easily knock down even fairly high branches completely from their roots while standing on the ground. The aim is to provide a pruning machine that can.

In order to achieve such an objective, the present invention takes the following technical measures.

That is, the output of the engine supported on the backpack frame is transmitted to the rotary blade attached to the tip of the operating tube via a flexible tube or a transmission shaft inserted through the operating tube,
In a pruning machine configured to move the rotary blade along the trunk and cut the base of the branch to be cut from top to bottom, the flexible tube and the operating tube are removably connected. At the same time, by preparing an auxiliary tube that can be interposed between the flexible tube and the operation tube, and by appropriately interposing this auxiliary tube between the flexible tube and the operation tube, the total length of the operation tube can be extended. That's what I did.

The pruning machine of the present invention basically uses a rotary blade to take the base of the branch from top to bottom along the trunk, so the operation of cutting the branch is not possible. It is for seasonal use. In the present invention, the engine, which accounts for most of the total weight of the branching machine, is supported by the worker's shoulders or back via the backpack frame, so the weight that should be supported by the arms is supported by the flexible tube. It is possible to support only the weight of the operating tube or rotational force connected to this for a long time.
It is extremely light in weight. Therefore, while holding the yam pipe, operate the rotary blade as described above to cut the branch.
You can perform tasks easily. In addition, since the pruning machine of the present invention is basically designed to perform work while standing on the ground, it can be used to perform pruning work while standing on the ground. There is no need to place all the rooms on the tree, and the work efficiency is excellent.

Furthermore, the operating tube of the branching machine of the present invention can be easily extended by adding an auxiliary operating tube, so that even branches located at fairly high places can be removed from the ground.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the entirety of 11 branches according to the present invention.

The engine 2, which is the power source for the rounding that drives this branching machine, is
It is supported by a backpack frame 3 configured to be carried on the worker's back. The backpack frame 3 has a roughly L-shape when viewed from the side, including a horizontal portion 3a on which the engine 2 is placed and a vertical portion 3b on which the back support ζ pad 4 is attached. The engine 2 is supported in the horizontal part 3a so as to be rotatable around a substantially vertical axis, and the upper and lower ends of the vertical part 3b are equipped with shoulder rests for the upper and lower ends of the hand 5. .A shoulder rest band 6 is attached to the band 5 of this shoulder strap.

The rotational output of the engine 2 is transmitted by a flexible wire 8 (Fig. 4) inserted into a flexible tube 7, or by a rigid transmission inserted into a rigid operating tube 9 connected to the tip of the flexible tube. The power is transmitted to the rotary blade 11 attached to the tip of the operation tube 9 via the shaft 10, and the blade is rotated. In the present invention, the tip portion 7a of the flexible tube 7 and the operating tube 9
It is detachably connected to the base end 9b of the flexible tube 7, and when an auxiliary tube 13 with a rigid transmission shaft 12 inserted therein is connected between the flexible tube 7 and the operating tube 9,
The entire length of the rigid operating tube 9 is extended.

The diameter of the tip n1 of the operating tube 9, which is equipped with the rotary blade 11, is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

A gear housing 14 is fixed to the tip of the operation tube 9, and inside the gear housing 14, a rotary blade support shaft 15 supported almost orthogonally to the operation tube 9 passes through the inside of the operation tube 9. The inserted rigid transmission shaft lO is connected to a pair of bevel gears 16.
．． It is linked by 17. A rotary blade 11 is attached to the tip of the support shaft 15. Note that as a result of making the transmission shaft lO and the support axle load 5 substantially perpendicular to each other,
The rotary blade 11 becomes parallel to the operating tube 9 at an angle of .degree.ζ. In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, the rotary blade 1
By inserting and supporting the support shaft 15 through the tip of the support shaft 15 through the support hole 1B which is opened in the U-lever part, the support shaft 15 and the tightening to be screwed onto it are tightened by the nut 1.
9 does not protrude from the outer surface 2a of the rotary blade.

In this example, by adopting the following configuration, the rotary blade can be easily guided to the base of the branch along the trunk.

That is, the gear housing 14 is located within a plane P that substantially coincides with the outer surface 11a of the rotary blade 11, and
Half fJi of the rotary blade 11 with respect to the outer circumferential edge extending approximately in the front half of the rotary blade 11 (the upper half of the rotary blade shown in FIGS. 2 and 3)! The first guide part 2 is located slightly outward in the direction.
On the other hand, the operation tube 9 is provided with a plane P that substantially coincides with the outer surface 11a of the rotary blade 11 at the rear of the rotary blade 11 (below the rotary blade shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). A second 54-dove portion 21 is provided which is located at , and extends in a direction that substantially coincides with the operation tube 9 .

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first guide portion 20 has a base portion 23a fixed to a flange 22 provided on the gear housing 14, and extends along the side surface of the rotary blade 11. Rotating blade 11 radially outward
It is preferable to bias the peripheral edge of the plate-shaped cover 23 extending to the peripheral edge of the rotary blade 11 so that this biased portion functions as an arcuate guide portion 20 having a constant width in the radial direction of the rotary blade 11. In the illustrated example, the circular arc formed by the first guide portion 20 has a center angle α of 180°, which is divided by 90° to the left and right with respect to the direction of the operating tube 9. Note that this intermediate flood angle α may vary slightly from 180°. Further, in the illustrated example, the radial edge of the cover 23 is greatly hollowed out in a semicircular shape. This is so that even fairly thick branches can be cut without any inconvenience by allowing the branches to escape into this hollowed out area (see Figure 6).

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the second 54-domain portion 21 may be constructed by fixing a strip-shaped plate material 24 having a constant width to the operation tube 9 with a plurality of support portions 25. Can be done. Note that the second 54-doped portion 21 does not need to be plate-shaped as in the illustrated example;
A rod-shaped member may be attached to the operation tube 9.

In this way, the first guide portion 2o, the rotary blade 11, and the second 54th dot portion 21 are located side by side in the direction of the operation tube 9 within a plane substantially parallel to the operation tube 9.

Next, we will discuss the structure of the detachable connection section 26 between the distal end 7a of the flexible tube 7 and the base 9b of the operating tube 9 or the base 13b of the auxiliary tube 13, and the distal end 1 of the auxiliary tube 13.
3a and the base 9b of the operating tube 9 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, the flexible tube 7
A connecting pipe 28 having a receiving hole 33 capable of accommodating and holding the base 9b of the operating tube 9 to be connected is rotatably inserted into the tip 7a of the bracket, and inside the connecting pipe 28 of the bracket,
A wire connector 29 fixed to the tip of the flexible wire 8 inserted through the flexible tube 7 is rotatably supported by a pedal ring 30. A spline hole 31 in the direction is provided so that a spline shaft 32 formed at the base of the rigid transmission shaft 10 inside the operation tube 9 to be connected can be fitted and held.

Thus, the operating tube 9 is inserted into the receiving hole 33 of the connecting pipe 28.
When the flexible tube 7 and the operation tube 9 are connected by inserting the base 9b of the flexible tube 7, the flexible wire 8 and the rigid transmission shaft lo are also connected through the wire connector 29.

In addition, in order to extend the total length of the operation tube 9, the 11th section 13b of the auxiliary tube 13, which is connected to the connection pipe 28, has the same structure as the base of the operation tube 9.
By removing the operating tube 9 from the flexible tube 8 and inserting the base 13b of the auxiliary tube 13 in its place, the auxiliary tube 13 can be connected to the flexible tube 7.

On the other hand, at the tip 13a of the auxiliary pipe 13, as shown in FIG. A rigid transmission shaft 12 capable of rotating 1J is installed inside the auxiliary pipe 13.
A shaft connector 37 having a spline hole 36 and fixed to the tip thereof is located inside the connecting pipe 35. When inserted into the receiving hole 34 of the hidden connection pipe 35, the rigid transmission shaft 12 in the auxiliary pipe 13 and the rigid transmission shaft 10 in the operation pipe 9 are also connected by the shaft connector 37.

Thus, in the pruning machine of the present invention, the base of the operating tube 9 is directly connected to the tip of the flexible tube 7, and the operating tube 9 is connected to the tip of the flexible tube 7 via the auxiliary tube 13 of a predetermined length. By selecting "Connect", the rotary blade 1 can be connected from the tip of the flexible tube 7.
The length of the rigid operating tube up to 1 can be varied. Note that by increasing the number of auxiliary tubes 13, it is possible to further extend the rigid operation tube.

Next, how to use the pruning machine of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings from FIG. 7 onwards. FIGS. 7 to 9 show members or parts that directly contact the branch B in the branching machine according to the present invention, that is, the first guide part 20,
Only the rotary blade 11 and the second 54-doped portion 21 are schematically shown.

FIG. 7 shows a case in which pruning work is performed with the operating tube 9 in its most upright position. First, as shown by the solid line, the rotary blade 11 is located on the upper blade of the branch B to be cut, and both the first guide part 20 and the second guide 1' part 21 are positioned on the branch B to be cut.
The trunk A should be brought into contact with the trunk A on the lateral track C including the At this time, the relationship of the rotary blade 11 to the trunk A is determined. However, if the upper or lower part of the rotary blade 11 is close to the trunk (=t
The rotary blade 11 will not swing like this, and the rotary blade 11 will not inadvertently scrape or scratch the bark. At this time, as shown in the figure, By leaning against the branch B to be cut, the sliding direction of the operating tube 9 is guided and determined by the branch B, making it easier to perform the work.

Next, when the operation tube 9 is slid in its axial direction (arrow Q direction), the rotary blade 11 cuts into the base of the branch B from top to bottom, as shown by the imaginary line, and further cuts in the direction of the arrow Q.
By sliding the operation '@9 in the direction, the branch B is finally cut off completely.

FIG. 8 shows that even if the operating tube 9 is tilted further than the state shown in FIG. 7, the branch B can be dropped t1 in exactly the same manner. That is, in this example, since the first guide part 20 is provided over a wide range so as to cover almost the outer periphery of the front half of the rotary blade 11, even if the operation tube 9 is tilted sharply as shown in FIG. , both the first guide part 20 and the second 54th do part 21 can be brought into contact with the person on the side line C that includes the branch B to be cut.

FIG. 9 shows that even if the operating tube 9 is tilted in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 7 or 8, the branch B can be cut in exactly the same way. As a result, workers can easily cut branches that extend from the front side to the back side of a tree while standing in a fixed location by switching hands with the operating tube, resulting in extremely high work efficiency. Trees like this are often planted on fairly steep mountain slopes, but with the pruning machine in this example, you can, for example, plant trees on the mountain side while standing on the contour line passing through the tree. It is very easy to cut both branches that extend to the valley side.

In addition, as shown in Figure 1O, in the case of a branch located at a relatively low position, the base of the operating tube 9 can be connected directly to the tip of the flexible tube 7 to perform pruning work, while the When cutting a branch at a target position, the auxiliary tube 13 can be added to the flexible tube 7 and the operation tube 9 to extend the entire length of the rigid operation tube 9. You can shoot down a wide range of branches vertically, from low branches to high branches, while standing on the ground. However, in the pruning machine of the present invention, the engine, which accounts for most of its total weight, is supported by the worker's JFI or back via a backpack frame, and only the relatively light operating tube or rotary blade is supported by the arm. This allows the worker to continue working for a long time with less fatigue, and the rotary blade is easy to aim and operate.

As a result of the above, the pruning machine of the present invention greatly facilitates the inefficient pruning work that has been traditionally performed for a long time and which had to rely on a machete and the skill of the operator who operates it. can be replaced with more efficient work.

It goes without saying that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings. In particular, various known structures can be adopted for the configuration of the attachment part of the rotary blade and the configuration of the connection part of the flexible tube and the operation tube.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram, FIG. 2 is a f-plane view of the rotary blade mounting section, FIG. 3 is a partial sectional side view thereof, and FIG. , a sectional view showing details of the connection between the flexible tube and the operation tube or the auxiliary tube, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing details of the connection between the auxiliary tube and the operation tube, and FIG. 6 is a front view for explaining the function. , FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 are schematic diagrams for explaining the method of use and operation, FIG. 10 is an overall view of the pruning machine of the present invention before adding an auxiliary pipe, and FIG.
FIG. 1 is an overall view of the pruning machine of the present invention after adding an auxiliary pipe. 1... Branching machine, 7... Flexible tube, 9...
... Operating tube, IO... (rigid) transmission shaft, 11... Rotating blade, 13... Auxiliary tube, 26... Connection part (between flexible tube and operating tube), 27... ( Connection between auxiliary pipe and operation pipe Applicant Yamada Kikai Kogyo Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Toyoharu Higuchi Two idiots Figure 2, 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 0

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The output of the engine supported on the backpack frame is transmitted to the rotary blade mounted at the tip of the operating tube via a flexible duplex or a transmission shaft inserted through the operating tube,
The rotary blade is moved along the trunk, and the flexible tube and operating tube are detachably attached to a pruning machine configured to cut the base of the branch to be cut from top to bottom. At the same time, prepare an auxiliary pipe interposed between these flexible tubes and the operation pipe, and insert this auxiliary pipe as appropriate between the flexible tube and the operation pipe. A pruning machine characterized by being able to extend the total length of the operating tube.