Shaker head

Claim 2

In a mechanical shaker head for use in dislodging tree-borne objects, the improvement comprising: a pair of coaxially related energy wheels having relatively different diameters supported for free rotation by a common bearing pin, a pair of masses, each mass of said pair being affixed to one of said energy wheels adjacent a peripheral segment thereof, a drive unit including a drive shaft supported for driven rotation in spaced parallelism with said bearing pin, means including an hydraulic motor coupled to said drive shaft for imparting to the drive shaft a predetermined rate of driven rotation, a pair of commonly dimensioned coaxially related drive sheaves rigidly mounted on said drive shaft, an endless, deep-notched double-V belt trained in a common direction about the periphery of said drive sheaves and trained in opposed directions about said energy wheels for imparting thereto opposed directional rotation at common instantaneous tangential velocities, whereby the masses are driven in counterrotation at relatively different angular velocities for periodically applying radially directed shock forces to said shaker head through 360* of stepped progression.

Claim 3

The improvement of claim 1 further comprising: A. a frame pivotally coupled at its base to the distal end of a supporting boom; B. a carriage supported for rectilinear reciprocation within said frame; C. a selectively operable clamp, including a pair of pivotally supported clamping arms extended from said carriage, and a pair of coaxially related, fluid driven actuators coupled to said arms for imparting pivotal motion to the arms for operatively grasping a selected portion of a given tree; and D. means mounting said bearing pin and said drive shaft within said carriage.

Claim 4

The improvement of claim 2 further comprising: means for selectively varying the angular position of said frame relative to a horizontal plane.

Claim 5

A shaker head for use in dislodging tree-borne objects comprising: A. means defining a housing adapted to be mounted at the distal end of a shaker beam; B. a paIr of energy wheels, each having an eccentric mass affixed thereto near the periphery thereof; C. means for supporting the energy wheels within said housing for rotation about a common axis in substantially parallel planes, including a shaft affixed at its opposite ends to said housing and bearing means mounting said pair of energy wheels on said shaft for free rotation between the opposite ends thereof; D. means for simultaneously imparting dissimilar rates of opposed angular velocities to said wheels, whereby vibratory motion is imparted to the housing through said shaft; E. means defining a pair of arms extended forwardly from the opposite sides of said housing for gripping between the distal end portions thereof a selected portion of a given tree; F. means supporting at least one arm of said pair of arms for pivotal motion about its base, whereby said arm is adapted to be displaced from a diverging relationship with the other arm of said pair into a substantially parallel relationship therewith for gripping between the distal end portions thereof a selected portion of a given tree; and G. means including a hydraulic ram having a barrel pivotally coupled at its base to said housing and an axially reciprocable output shaft connected at its distal end to said arm for imparting pivotal displacement to the arm as rectilinear motion is imparted to the shaft.

Claim 6

A shaker head for use in dislodging tree-borne objects comprising: A. means defining a housing adapted to be mounted at the distal end of a shaker beam; B. a paIr of energy wheels, each having an eccentric mass affixed thereto near the periphery thereof; C. means for supporting the energy wheels within said housing for rotation about a common axis in substantially parallel planes, including a shaft affixed at its opposite ends to said housing and bearing means mounting said pair of energy wheels on said shaft for free rotation between the opposite ends thereof; D. means for simultaneously imparting dissimilar rates of opposed angular velocities to said wheels, whereby vibratory motion is imparted to the housing through said shaft; E. means defining a pair of arms extended forwardly from the opposite sides of said housing for gripping between the distal end portions thereof a selected portion of a given tree; F. means supporting at least one arm of said pair of arms for pivotal motion about its base, whereby said arm is adapted to be displaced from a diverging relationship with the other arm of said pair into a substantially parallel relationship therewith for gripping between the distal end portions thereof a selected portion of a given tree; and G. means including a hydraulic ram having a barrel pivotally coupled at its base to said housing and an axially reciprocable output shaft connected at its distal end to said arm for imparting pivotal displacement to the arm as rectilinear motion is imparted to the shaft.