Deere + Company

Andrew Paul Redman

Garn Farley Penfold

Gary Lee Schulte

Lynn E Kurt

Victor C Pierrot

Alvin Lewis Menzel

Lee Everett Tucker

James Knox Dunn, Iii

Eugene S Zirker

A tree shear head includes a shear, a grapple tong and an accumulator tong which are positioned by respective double-acting hydraulic actuators controlled by selectively actuatable solenoid-operated valves such as to place the shear head either in a non-accumulate mode wherein both tongs operate concurrently to grasp and release trees one-by-one or an accumulate mode wherein the tongs are individually operated in a sequence resulting in the accumulation of a plurality of cut trees.

Tree shear head and controls therefor

A tree shear head includes a frame which supports a pair of parallel crank shafts which are respectively linked to a pair of shear blades for moving the latter together into the trunk of a tree being sheared. The crank shafts are rotated by means of an actuator including a cylinder in which a pair of piston and piston rod units are mounted with the rods projecting oppositely and being respectively pivotally connected to a pair of crank arms respectively formed integrally with the pair of crank shafts. To prevent the cylinder of the actuator from shifting axially along the piston rods, a pair of links are connected between the cylinder and the frame, and for preventing the cylinder from rotating about the piston rods, a pair of rollers are mounted on the cylinder and engage the frame.

Tree shear actuator restraint system

A tree shear blade is formed by pressing a pre-shaped flat metal plate or blank into a die shaped to turn up opposite side and rear tabs of the blank to form mounting portions of the blade and to cylindrically curve a central portion of the blank to form a cutting portion of the blade. The side and rear tabs are then welded together.

Single piece tree shear blade having cylindrically curved cutting

An articulated, four-wheel drive tree harvesting machine includes a front frame section upon which a felling boom assembly, a delimber assembly, and a feed assembly are mounted. The felling boom assembly is operable for severing a tree and lowering it into a generally horizontal position. The tree is released into the opened knives of the delimber assembly which close to encircle the trunk and into the opened feed rolls of the feed assembly which close to engage the trunk. The feed rolls are then rotatably driven to draw the tree trunk through the knives while the felling boom may be operated to sever and position a second tree. Two solenoid-operated valves control the operation of hydraulic cylinders which respectively open and close the delimber knives and open and close the feed rolls. Two other solenoid operated valves respectively control the operation of a clutch and a transmission to drive the feed rolls in a forward or reverse direction of rotation. A delimbing sequence and cycle may be automatically or manually controlled. Once the sequence is chosen, the frame sections are in line, and the cycle initiated, electronic logic circuitry will energize the appropriate solenoids to either close the knives, then close the rolls, and then engage the drive or close the rolls, then engage the drive, and then close the knives. Upon completion of the delimbing cycle, the cycle may be reset so that the electric logic circuitry will open the knives and rolls. Manual control circuitry is provided to permit individual control of the solenoids by manually-actuated switches.

Growing community of inventors

Dubuque, IA, United States of America

Andrew Paul Redman