The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 20, 1978
Filed:
Feb. 10, 1977
Eugene James Kielb, Spokane, WA (US);
Clark Equipment Company, Buchanan, MI (US);
Abstract
An accumulating mechanism is provided for use in conjunction with a shear mechanism used in forestry applications. A tree harvesting apparatus employs a shear mechanism to cut the trees, a grapple mechanism to hold the trees while they are being cut, and an accumulator mechanism to accumulate several trees before depositing a load thereof. The accumulator mechanism of the present invention comprises an elongated base portion having a forward edge thereof aligned with a rear edge of the shear blade as well as the rear edge of the grapple mechanism. Pivotally mounted on the base portion of the accumulator mechanism is a holding arm which is pivoted forwardly to grasp cut trees and hold them in place as the harvesting machine moves from place to place to cut subsequent trees. The holding arm has a curved inner surface and is engageable with a forward projection of the accumulator base to retain trees in the space provided therebetween. The outer surface of the holding arm is concentric with the pivot axis of the accumulator mechanism to readily enable the holding arm to be extracted from between a newly cut tree and the group of trees already accumulated. The arm is then closed to encompass both the newly cut tree and the trees already accumulated. A hydraulic cylinder is disposed between the base of the accumulator mechanism and the holding arm to extend and retract the holding arm during the accumulation process.