Tree harvesting apparatus

Claim 2

A tree harvesting apparatus comprising a vehicle and a felling assembly supported by said vehicle, said felling assembly including a frame, cutting means for severing a standing tree from its root, said cutting means being mounted on the low portion of said frame, two grapple means, each adapted for grasping and holding a tree close to its thicker end, and movably mounted on said frame side by side and mutually spaced above said cutting means with the center axes of said two grapple means parallel to each other and to the center axis of said cutting means, and means for moving said two grapple means relative to said frame in such a manner that alternatively the one or the other grapple means can be moved to a position immediately above and aligned with said cutting means, each of said two grapple means being mounted on said frame of said felling assembly by means of two mutually parallel and equally long pivot links, each of said links having one end pivoted in said frame about pivot axes perpendicular to and substantially intersecting the center axes of said cutting means, the opposite ends of said links being pivoted in the respective grapple means.

Claim 3

A tree harvesting apparatus comprising a vehicle, a retractable and extendable boom mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said vehicle, and a felling assembly carried at the outermost end of said boom, said felling assembly including a support structure mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis at the outermost end of said boom, cutting means for severing a standing tree from its root and being mounted on said support structure with a center axis of the cutting means perpendicular to said horizontal axis, a first grapple means and a second grapple means, each adapted for grasping and holding a tree at its root end with the longitudinal axis of the tree substantially coinciding with a center axis of the grapple means, said grapple means being movably mounted on said support structure with center axes mutually spaced and parallel to each other and to the center axis of said cutting means, and means for translationally moving said first and second grapple means relative to said support structure in directions oblique to the center axis of said cutting means so that either one of said first and second grapple means is movable both laterally and axially towards said cutting means to a position in which the center axis of said grapple means and the center axis of said cutting means substantially coincide, the other one of said first and second grapple means being moved simultaneously both laterally and axially away from said cutting means.

Claim 4

A tree harvesting apparatus comprising a vehicle, a retractable and extendable boom mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said vehicle, and a felling assembly carried at the outermost end of said boom, said felling assembly including a support structure mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis at the outermost end of said boom, cutting means for severing a standing tree from its root and being mounted on said support structure with a center axis of the cutting means perpendicular to said horizontal axis, a first grapple means and a second grapple means, each adapted for grasping and holding a tree at its root end with the longitudinal axis of the tree substantially coinciding with a center axis of the grapple means, said grapple means being movably mounted on said support structure with center axes mutually spaced and parallel to each other and to the center axis of said cutting means, and means for translationally moving said first and second grapple means relative to said support structure in directions oblique to the center axis of said cutting means so that either one of said first and second grapple means is movable both laterally and axially towards said cutting means to a position in which the center axis of said grapple means and the center axis of said cutting means substantially coincide, the other one of said first and second grapple means being moved simultaneously both laterally and axially away from said cutting means.

Claim 5

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said first and second grapple means is mounted on said support structure by means of two mutually parallel and equally long pivot links, each of said links having one end pivoted in said support structure about pivot axes perpendicular to the center axis of said cutting means, the opposite ends of said links being pivoted in the respective grappLe means.

Claim 6

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first and second grapple means are mounted on said support structure by means of two substantially identical triangular members, having each a first corner pivoted in said support structure about spaced pivot axes perpendicular to and intersecting the center axis of said cutting means, a second corner pivoted in said first grapple means about pivot axes perpendicular to the center axis of said first grapple means, and a third corner pivoted in the second grapple means about pivot axes perpendicular to the center axis of said second grapple means.

Claim 7

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 2, comprising further a processing assembly including a telescopic boom having at least an innermost section mounted on said vehicle and an outermost section, gripping means mounted at the outermost end of said innermost section of said telescopic boom for gripping and holding two parallel trees at a predetermined fixed mutual distance, and delimbing means mounted at the outermost end of said outermost section of said telescopic boom and adapted for simultaneously delimbing two trees held in said gripping means on said innermost boom section, said delimbing means being moved along the trunk of the trees by extension of the telescopic boom, said gripping means on said innermost boom section being capable of receiving and gripping two severed trees held in said first and second grapple means of said felling assembly and brought to said gripping means on said innermost boom section of said processing assembly by operation of said rotatable and retractable and extendable boom carrying the felling assembly.

Claim 8

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said processing assembly includes cross cutting means mounted on said innermost section of said telescopic boom substantially close to said gripping means for cross cutting two tree trunks held in said gripping means at the side of said gripping means facing the innermost end of said telescopic boom.

Claim 9

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said processing assembly includes shearing means mounted on said outermost section of said telescopic boom substantially close to said delimbing means for cutting off the two tree trunks being delimbed by said delimbing means when the diameter of said tree trunks falls below a predetermined value.

Claim 10

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 6, comprising further log collecting means mounted on said vehicle for receiving and collecting delimbed and cross cut logs from said processing assembly.

Claim 11

A tree harvesting apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said telescopic boom is mounted on said vehicle in an inclined position.