Patent Application
20240065175
This invention relates to the field of mechanical pruning apparatuses. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide dual arm mechanical pruning apparatuses capable of simultaneously hedging and/or skirting trees in two adjacent tree rows.
Conventional mechanical pruners available today typically have only a single arm and/or are capable of hedging or skirting only one row of trees per pass. Although pruning may also be accomplished by hand, it has become increasingly expensive and difficult to find workers willing to hand prune. Even if workers are available to prune, the labor costs are significant, and workers may not be available for the entire duration of a pruning job.
Single arm mechanical pruners may take the place of hand labor but are replete with inefficiencies. Single arm mechanical pruners require multiple passes because they can prune only one side of one tree at a time, and in a single pass can only perform either a hedging or skirting, but not both. As a result of these inefficiencies, the single arm mechanical pruner takes additional time since workers operating the single arm mechanical pruner must make multiple passes to prune the trees, which increases the cost.
Moreover, there is a risk that pruning will not be uniform on either side of the tree rows because a single arm mechanical pruner may only prune one tree in one row at a time.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an efficient mechanical pruner that (1) reduces the need for hand labor, (2) reduces the cost of labor to operate the mechanical pruner, (3) reduces the time spent pruning trees, (4) has the capability to provide both hedging and skirting in the same pass, and (5) provides more uniform pruning.
The present invention advantageously provides dual armed mechanical pruning apparatuses that simultaneously hedge and/or skirt trees in two adjacent tree rows in one pass.
Specifically, embodiments of the invention generally comprise: (1) a mast assembly; (2) a lift carriage assembly; (3) two front arm assemblies, each front arm assembly comprising one or more saw blades; (4) two lower arm assemblies, each lower arm assembly comprising one or more saw blades; (5) two swing arms, each swing arm rotatably attached to the lift carriage, one of the two front arm assemblies and one of the two lower arm assemblies, where the two swing arms rotate, thereby extending and retracting the two front arm assemblies and the two lower arm assemblies relative to the lift carriage assembly, and where the two front arm assemblies hedge, and the two lower arm assemblies hedge or skirt trees. In some embodiments the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus also comprises a vehicle mounting assembly.
One of the two front arm assemblies may hedge one row of trees and the other one of the front arm assemblies may simultaneously or nearly simultaneously hedge an adjacent row of trees. Similarly, one of the lower arm assemblies may either skirt or hedge one row of trees and the other one of the lower arm assemblies may either skirt or hedge an adjacent row of trees. Thus, the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus may simultaneously or nearly simultaneously hedge, skirt and hedge, or hedge and top adjacent tree rows without the inconvenience and inefficiency of having to make two or more passes.
The arms of the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus may be positioned (by vertical movement of the lift carriage assembly) to skirt or hedge at a height as low as a few inches above ground or may hedge or top trees at a height as high as approximately 16 feet above ground level, or anywhere in between. The angle of the two front arms assemblies may be positioned to an angle between approximately minus 45 degrees to approximately plus 75 degrees or anywhere in between. As used throughout this application, all references to a number of degrees are based on 0 degrees being vertically upwards. The lower arm assemblies may be positioned to an angle between approximately 90 degrees from vertical to approximately 225 degrees or anywhere in between. Rotating the swing arms assemblies from approximately 0 degrees to 90 degrees extends the front arm assemblies and the lower arm assemblies by approximately about 6 feet in each direction. The swing arms may be rotated anywhere from 0 degrees to 90 degrees.
In typical embodiments, the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus may be operably connected and/or attached to a transport vehicle via a vehicle mounting assembly, which may also be operably connected and/or attached to the mast assembly.
Although typical embodiments of the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus are hydraulically driven from hydraulic systems on the transport vehicle, the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus may also be powered by a variety of different energy sources including, but not limited to, pneumatic or electrical sources.
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will readily be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
Embodiments of the present invention advantageously provide dual-arm mechanical pruning apparatuses that permit hedging and/or skirting of two trees or two rows of trees simultaneously or nearly simultaneously, thus eliminating the time and labor costs to make more than one pass through a row of trees, or to hand prune rows of trees.
Typical embodiments of the invention generally comprise: (1) a mast assembly; (2) a lift carriage assembly; (3) two front arm assemblies, each front arm assembly comprising one or more saw blades; (4) two lower arm assemblies, each lower arm assembly comprising one or more saw blades; (5) two swing arms, each swing arm rotatably attached to the lift carriage assembly, one of the two front arm assemblies and one of the two lower arm assemblies, where the two swing arms rotate, thereby extending or retracting the two front arm assemblies and the two lower arm assemblies relative to the lift carriage assembly, and where the two front arm assemblies hedge, and the two lower arm assemblies hedge or skirt trees. In some embodiments the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus also comprises a vehicle mounting assembly.
In some embodiments, the mast assembly of the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus comprises (1) an outside mast; (2) and inside mast; and (3) at least one mast cylinder operably attached to the inside mast to move substantially vertical relative to the outside mast, thereby raising or lowering the lift carriage, lower arm assemblies and swing arms relative to the outside mast.
The following component list provides reference numbers for each component described in the exemplary embodiments below and shown on the accompanying drawings.
1071B
1080B
Exemplary Operational Embodiments
Various positions of the front arm assemblies, lower arm assemblies and swing arms, as well as related components may be seen in
Simultaneous Hedging/Skirting Narrowly Spaced Tree Rows
Referring first to
The lower arm assemblies 150A, 150B of
Simultaneous Hedging/Skirting Widely Spaced Tree Rows
Referring to
The two swing arms 240A, 240B may operate at any position between approximately 0 degrees (substantially vertical) and approximately 90 degrees (substantially horizontal; e.g., 0, 2, 8, 15, 22.5, 30, 38, 45, 59, 66, 75, 82, 90, etc. degrees) such that the lower arm assemblies 250A, 250B and the front arm assemblies 270A. 270B may be in any position between fully retracted and fully extended. When fully retracted, the swing arms assemblies 240A, 240B may be as close as approximately 2.5 feet apart from centerline to centerline of the swing arms, and the front arm assemblies 270A, 270B may be as close as approximately 4 feet apart from outside face of saw blade to outside face of saw blade. When the swing arms 240A, 240B are fully extended, the front arm assemblies 270A, 270B may be as far apart as 20 feet from outside face of saw blade to outside face of saw blade.
Hedging Widely Spaced Tree Rows
In
The lower arms assemblies 350A, 350B of
Hedging Narrowly Spaced Tree Rows
Referring now to
Like the lower arm assemblies 350A, 350B of
Vehicle Mounting Assembly
Generally, a vehicle mounting assembly connects and/or attaches a mast assembly of a dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus to a transport vehicle (e.g., a tractor).
Referring now to
Typically, as shown in
Vehicle mounting plates 504A, 504B of
As best shown in
Generally, the vehicle mounting assembly may comprise a variety of plates, angles, channels, tubing, etc., and its various components may comprise, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and or other types of metals.
The coupling manifold 506 may be used to connect a plurality of hoses (e.g., hydraulic and/or pneumatic hoses) from a pump or other components located on a vehicle (e.g., a tractor) to cylinders, valves, motors and/or other components on the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus. The coupling manifold 506 may comprise conventional couplings and/or fittings as necessary to make the appropriate connections or may comprise a premanufactured device for coupling of a variety of sizes and types of hoses.
Mast Assembly
Generally, the mast assembly (at its back) is attached to a vehicle mounting assembly and (at its front) to a lift carriage assembly. In operation, the mast assembly moves the lift carriage assembly and components attached to the lift carriage assembly (e.g., the swing arms) vertically up and down to adjust the height at which hedging and/or skirting of tree rows is performed.
In
In the embodiment shown in
The plurality of linear bearings 613 permit the inside mast 612 to travel freely, and without binding vertically up and down within the outside mast 611 such that the inside mast 612 may be substantially contained within the outside mast 611 (when the inside mast is in its fully lowered position) or may extend upwardly such that the majority of the inside mast 612 is above the outside mast 611 (when the inside mast is in its fully raised position).
Cylinders 617 may be hydraulic or pneumatically actuated and are each operably attached and/or connected to the outside mast 611 (e.g., at the base of the cylinder) and operably attached to the inside mast 612 (e.g., at the piston end of the cylinder), such that when actuated, the cylinders move the inside mast 612 from a fully lowered position to a fully raised position (or anywhere in between). The top of the inside mast 612, when in its fully raised position, may be approximately 16 feet from the ground (approximately 12 feet from a bottom of the outside mast 611) and when in its fully lowered position may be 8 feet from the ground (approximately 4 feet from the bottom of the outside mast 611). Most typically, the top of the inside mast 612 is 14 feet in its fully raised position and 10 feet in its fully lowered position relative to the ground. Each of the cylinders 617 may be operably connected at its base to outside mast 611 by a lower pin 625 and may be operably connected at its piston end to the inside mast 612 by upper pin 626 and/or other conventional fasteners. Although the embodiment of the mast assembly 610 shown in
First and second hose rollers 614, 615 permit the effective length of hoses 620-622 to lengthen and shorten as needed as the inside mast 612 moves up and down within the outside mast 611. In other words, when the inside mast 612 is in its fully lowered position, the extra length of hoses 620-622 is taken up because hoses 620-622 are effectively doubled over hose rollers 614, 615, thereby decreasing their effective length by approximately one half. In contrast, when the inside mast 612 is in its fully extended position, the effective length of hoses 614, 615 is effectively increased because very little, if any, of hoses 620-622 are doubled over rollers 614, 615, and most, if not all, of the length of hoses 620-620 are extended. Although the embodiment of the mast assembly 610 shown in
Similarly, chain rollers 616 allow chains 618 to “lengthen” and “shorten” as needed as the inside mast 612 moves up and down within the outside mast. The chains 618 are attached and/or connected to the outside mast 611 and assist and/or aid in stabilizing the inside mast 612 as it moves up and down within the outside mast 611. In some embodiments, each of chains 618 may comprise a chain tensioner 624 to adjust the tension on the chain at the initial commissioning of the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus, or as the chains 618 wear and/or elongate. Like the hoses 620-622 and hose rollers 614, 615 described above, the number of chain rollers and the number of chains may vary. Chain rollers, chains and tensioners may be of conventional construction and materials.
Some embodiments have one or more mast proportional valves 623 to control the direction, pressure and flow of fluid within the cylinders 617. Alternatively, or in addition, some embodiments may comprise counterbalance valves 627, 628 to manage pressures and help prevent uncontrolled or uninitiated movement of the inside carriage 612 as well as to prevent damage to the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus 610.
Generally, the mast assembly may comprise a variety of plates, angles, channels, tubing, etc., and its various components may comprise, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, tool steel, and or other types of metals. In some embodiments, some components may be comprised of one or more types of plastic, including but not limited to Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), or Polypropylene (PP), and/or Polystyrene (PS).
Lift Carriage Assembly
Generally, the lift carriage at its rear is attached to inside mast of the mast assembly and moves up and down as the inside mast moves up and down relative to the outside mast. The swing arms and swing arm cylinders (which operate to rotate the swing arms) are attached to the front of the lift carriage assembly, and as the lift carriage assembly moves up and down, the swing arms and the components connected to swing arms (e.g., the lower arm assemblies and the front arm assemblies) move up and down as well, thereby adjusting the height at which hedging and/or skirting is performed.
Referring now to
As best seen in
Additionally, the carriage body 731 may comprise inside mast mounting plates 734A, 734B for attaching and/or connecting the lift carriage assembly 730 to the inside mast and linear bearings (see e.g., inside mast 611 and linear bearings 613 of
The carriage body 731 may be constructed of various plates, angles and/or channels and may comprise chain holes 738 (typically two) for connecting and/or attaching one or more chains (e.g., chains 618 of
Generally, the lift carriage assembly may comprise a variety of plates, angles, channels, etc., and its various components may comprise, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, tool steel, and or other types of metals and/or plastics.
The carriage body 731 may also comprise bushings 739 to which swing arms (see e.g., swing arms 140A, 140B of
Swing Arms
Generally, the swing arms are operably attached at one end to the front of the lift carriage and, thus, move up and down as the lift carriage moves up and down. The other ends of the swing arms are operably connected to several other components of the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus. Specifically, each of the other ends of the swing arms are operably connected to a swing cylinder (typically, the piston end of the swing cylinder), which rotates the swing arm from a vertical position to a horizontal position, and two actuators, one of which is connected to and rotates the front arms and the other of which is connected to and rotates the lower arms. In operation, the rotation of the swing arms from a vertical position to a horizontal position and back extends and retracts the lower arm assemblies and front arm assemblies to accommodate varying distances between tree rows.
Referring now to
The right swing arm assembly 840B typically comprises two swing arm plates 841A, 841B, a swing plate connector 842, a swing tube 843, two swing arm ears 844, two actuator mounting plates 845A and 845B and two center plates 846A and 846B.
The swing arm plate 841A typically comprises a plurality of actuator holes 847A at or near one end, a slot 848 near the plurality of holes, and a larger single hole 849 at the other end (as best seen in
The swing plate connector 842 fits into slots 848 and connects the two swing arm plates 841A, 841B. The swing plate connector 842 may be attached and/or connected to the swing arm plates 841A, 841B by welding, tack welding, brazing, soldering or other conventional means. In other embodiments, the swing plate connector 842 may snugly fit into the slots 848 and no further connection may be required.
Swing tube 843 fits through the larger holes 849 at the opposite end of the swing arm plates 841A, 841B, and may be attached and/or connected to swing arm plates 841A, 841B by welding, tack welding, brazing, soldering, or other convention means. Alternatively, swing tube 843 may snugly fit through holes 849 and no further connection may be required.
The center plates 846A, 846B fit between swing arm plates 841A, 841B to add strength and reinforcement to the swing arm 840B and may be attached and/or connected to the swing arm plates, 841A and 841B by welding, tack welding, brazing, soldering, etc. The swing arm ears 844 serve as an attachment point for a swing arm cylinder (described below) and, likewise, may be attached and/or connected to center plate 846A by the conventional means described above.
The right swing arm assembly 840B may be operably connected to the lift carriage assembly (see e.g., lift carriage assembly 130 of
The actuator mounting plates 845A and 845B may be attached and/or connected to, respectively, the swing arm plates 841A and 841B (e.g., by welding, tack welding, brazing, soldering, etc.) The actuator mounting plate 845A in conjunction with the swing arm plate 841A, is utilized to operably attach the right swing arm assembly 840B to the front actuator (not shown, see e.g., front actuator 181 of
The swing arm ears 844 may be utilized to operably attach the right swing arm assembly 840B to a swing arm cylinder (not shown, see e.g., swing arm cylinder 185 of
Generally, the swing arms may comprise a variety of plates, angles, tubing, etc., and its various components may comprise, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, tool steel, and or other types of metals.
Lower Arm Assemblies
Generally, the lower arm assemblies, which comprise one or more saw blades, are attached to the swing arms via a rotary actuator and may operate anywhere from 90 degrees to 225 degrees to skirt or hedge tree rows.
Referring now to
Typically, the left lower arm assembly 950A comprises a left lower arm 951A having a lower arm bracket 960, a motor 952, a saw drive/pulley 953, belts 954A, 954B, 954C, blade drives 955, saw blades 956, a shock mount 957, a tree guard 958 and a saw beam skid 959.
The left lower arm 951A is operably attached and/or connected to a pivot (not shown; see e.g., pivot 184A of
The rear actuator rotates the left lower arm assembly 950A from approximately 90 degrees (approximately horizontal) to approximately 225 degrees and back again. When at approximately 90 degrees the lower arm assembly 950A skirts one side of a row of trees, and when between approximately 135 and 225 degrees the left lower arm assembly 950A hedges one side of a row of trees.
The rear actuator is also connected to the left swing arm (not shown; see e.g., left swing arm 140A of
The motor 952 drives the saw drive shaft/pulley 953. In typical embodiments and as shown in
The shock mount 957 is utilized to connect and/or attach one end of a shock absorber (not shown; see e.g., shock absorber 183 of
The beam skid 955 protects the motor and saw drive/pulley from debris or objects on the ground, and the tree guard 958 acts as a “bumper” to protect the trunks of trees from contact with saw blades 956.
Generally, the lower arm assemblies may comprise a variety of plates, angles, channels, tubing, etc., and its various components may comprise, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, tool steel, and/or other types of metals and/or plastics.
The saw blades may be made of steel, high carbon steel, high-speed steel, and may be hardened, carbide or tungsten tipped.
Front Arm Assemblies
Generally, the front arm assemblies, which comprise one or more saw blades, are attached to the swing arms via a rotary actuator and may operate anywhere from minus 45 degrees to plus 75 degrees to hedge tree rows.
Referring now to
Typically, the right front arm assembly 1070B comprises a right front arm 1071B comprising a mounting bracket 1080B, a motor 1072, a saw drive/pulley 1073, belts 1074A, 1074B, 1074C, blade drives 1076, and a motor guard 1079.
The right front arm 1071B attaches and/or connects to a front actuator (not shown; see e.g., front actuator 181 of
The front actuator rotates the right front arm assembly 1070B to position the right front arm assembly anywhere from approximately minus 45 degrees (counterclockwise 45 degrees from vertical) to approximately plus 75 degrees (clockwise 75 degrees from vertical). The front actuator is also attached and/or connected to the right swing arm (not shown; see e.g., right swing arm 140B of
The motor 1072 drives the saw drive shaft/pulley 1073. In typical embodiments and as shown in
The motor guard 1079 protects the motor 1072 and saw drive/pulley 1073 from damage due to debris or obstructions that may exist in a row of trees.
Generally, the lower arm assemblies may comprise a variety of plates, angles, channels, tubing, etc., and its various components may comprise, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, tool steel, and/or other types of metals and/or plastics.
Exemplary Methods of Using a Dual Arm Mechanical Pruning Apparatus
In an exemplary embodiment, a method of hedging, topping and/or skirting rows of trees using a dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus is disclosed.
At step 1201 the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus is attached to a transport vehicle (e.g., a tractor), by bolting (or other conventional means of connection/attachment) a vehicle mounting assembly (e.g., the vehicle mounting assembly 102 of
At step 1203, a lift carriage assembly (see e.g., lift carriage assembly 130 of
At step 1205, the lower arm assemblies are positioned (e.g., using hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electronic controls on the transport vehicle) to between 90 degrees and 225 degrees depending on the hedging, topping and/or skirting operation to be performed. At step 1206, the front arm assemblies are positioned (e.g., using hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electronic controls on the transport vehicle) to between minus 45 degrees and plus 75 degrees, depending on the hedging operation to be performed.
At step 1207, the motors (see e.g., motor 952 and 1072 of
The steps of the method above may be performed in any order, and in some embodiments, not all steps are necessary for operation of the dual arm mechanical pruning apparatus.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments disclosed. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
