Waratah Nz Limited

Deere + Company

Alex James Stevenson

Justyn Peter Smythe

Peter Quirke

Brett James Kaye

Eugene Stytsenko

Paul David Harris

Paul Gamble

Boele De Vries

Russell John Petherick

Eberhard Juergen Deuss

Frederic Lecarpentier

Paul Gambie

Michael Kenneth Andrews

A timber-working device comprises a frame having a feed axis and a drive system configured to feed at least one stem along the feed axis. The drive system comprises a first drive arm pivotally attached to the frame on a first side of the feed axis, having a first rotary drive having a first wheel. A second drive arm is also pivotally attached to the frame on a second side of the feed axis, having a second rotary drive having a second wheel. The drive system also comprises a third rotary drive having a third wheel, and a fourth rotary drive having a fourth wheel, mounted on the frame on the first and second sides of the feed axis respectively. At least one processor controls operation of the rotary drives, such that in a first mode the speed of the respective wheels of the rotary drives on the same side of the feed axis is substantially the same, and in a second mode the speed of the respective wheels of at least two rotary drives on opposing sides is substantially the same.

Timber-working device and method of operation

A tree harvester head includes first and second saws, each of which comprises a cutting chain, and a lubrication system configured to lubricate the cutting chains of the first and second saws. The lubrication system comprises a source of pressurized lubricant and a diverter valve configured to divert flow of pressurized lubricant, from the source of pressurized lubricant, between the first and second saws for lubrication of the respective cutting chains.

Tree harvester head with lubrication system for multiple saws

A timber-working head comprises a frame, first and second delimb arms pivotally coupled to the frame, a delimb cylinder, and delimb cylinder hosing. A torso of the frame comprises a box enclosure, and a hosing channel extending through a cavity of the box enclosure. The delimb cylinder is mounted to both the first delimb arm and the second delimb arm and operable to pivot the first and second delimb arms relative to the frame to open and close them. The delimb cylinder is oriented in its longitudinal dimension laterally relative to the torso, and is positioned in front of and floatable laterally relative to the torso. The delimb cylinder hosing is routed from the delimb cylinder through the hosing channel. The hosing channel expands laterally relative to the torso as the hosing channel extends along its length forwardly through the box enclosure.

Protective routing of delimb cylinder hosing

A timber-working head comprises a first motor, a second motor, a feed wheel, and an adaptor plate. The first motor comprises a first rotary output element. The second motor comprises a second rotary output element. The feed wheel is fixed to the first rotary output element for rotation therewith. The adaptor plate fixed to the second rotary output element for rotation therewith. The adaptor plate comprises radial projections arranged about the periphery of the adaptor plate and received respectively within corresponding axially recessed portions of the feed wheel so as to provide an operational interface between the adaptor plate and the feed wheel.

Timber-working head with feed wheel adaptor plate

Harvesting head

A method and apparatus for determining a characteristic, such as the stiffness, of a portion of a wood specimen characterised by the steps of a) producing an acoustic signal in the wood specimen part way along the length of the wood specimen, and b) sensing a response in the wood specimen part way along the length of the wood specimen including a reverberation from a first end of the wood specimen, and c) calculating a characteristic of a portion of the wood specimen from analysis of the sensed response. A related method and apparatus may be used to determine a characteristic of a portion of a tree stem during harvesting of a tree and the characteristic used to optimise the value of a log cut from the stem.

Method and apparatus for assessing or predicting the characteristics of wood

Growing community of inventors

Papamoa, New Zealand

Alex James Stevenson