US3914883A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Sonic tree harvester and method
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1973-11-26
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Granted: 1975-10-28
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Expires: 1993-11-26
Abstract
Abstract A cutter blade structure is placed around the trunk of a tree to be harvested, and the blades thereof are driven vertically downwardly into the earth to sever the roots of the tree. Such downward driving action is achieved by imparting high level sonic energy to the blade structure in unidirectional pulses; this energy being generated by means of a sonic oscillator and fed to the cutting blade structure through a sonic rectifier. After the tree roots have been severed, a puller member is clamped to the trunk of the tree and the tree pulled out of the ground along with its taproot, while simultaneously applying sonic energy so as to facilitate the separation of the taproot from the ground.
Inventors
- 👤 Albert G Bodine
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 13:33
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02D; E02D7/00; E02D7/18; A; A01; A01G; A01G23/00; A01G23/02; A01G23/06; A01G23/062; A01G23/065
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
176 words
A device for harvesting a tree comprising: a frame structure, a clamping mechanism mounted on said frame structure, means for selectively driving said clamping mechanism into clamping engagement with said tree, means including a resonant vibration system for generating high level sonic energy, means for transferring said sonic energy to said clamping mechanism to cause resonant vibration thereof, cutter means supported on said frame structure, said cutter means being positioned around the trunk of said tree and Having blades placed in the earth around said trunk, means for transferring unidirectional pulses of sonic energy from said generating means to said cutter means to cause resonant vibration thereof, and means for exerting an upward pulling force on said clamping mechanism to lift the tree out of the ground, whereby the cutter means is driven downwardly by said sonic energy to sever the roots of the tree and the clamping mechanism is driven into clamping engagement with the tree so as to transfer resonant sonic energy thereto to facilitate the lifting of the tree out of the ground.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
176 words
A device for harvesting a tree comprising: a frame structure, a clamping mechanism mounted on said frame structure, means for selectively driving said clamping mechanism into clamping engagement with said tree, means including a resonant vibration system for generating high level sonic energy, means for transferring said sonic energy to said clamping mechanism to cause resonant vibration thereof, cutter means supported on said frame structure, said cutter means being positioned around the trunk of said tree and Having blades placed in the earth around said trunk, means for transferring unidirectional pulses of sonic energy from said generating means to said cutter means to cause resonant vibration thereof, and means for exerting an upward pulling force on said clamping mechanism to lift the tree out of the ground, whereby the cutter means is driven downwardly by said sonic energy to sever the roots of the tree and the clamping mechanism is driven into clamping engagement with the tree so as to transfer resonant sonic energy thereto to facilitate the lifting of the tree out of the ground.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
The device of claim 1 wherein said cutter means comprises a pair of cutter blades shaped in the form of half-cylinders, means for pivotally supporting said blades and means for driving said blades between a first position away from the tree trunk and a second position around the tree trunk.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
The device of claim 1 wherein said means for generating high level sonic energy comprises an orbiting mass oscillator driven at a speed such as to cause resonant vibration of said vibration system.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The device of claim 3 wherein said resonant vibration system is formed by first and second resonators each formed from a pair of plates with hydraulic springs mounted therebetween, one of said resonators operating in sympathetic relationship to the other of said resonators.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
The device of claim 1 wherein said clamping mechanism comprises a fixed clamping jaw and a pair of movable clamping jaws, the means for transferring the sonic energy to the clamping mechanism including means for transferring said energy to said fixed clamping jaw.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The device of claim 1 wherein the means for transferring unidirectional pulses of sonic energy to said cutter means comprises sonic rectifier means.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
197 words
A device for harvesting a tree comprising: a frame structure, a clamping mechanism mounted on said frame structure comprising a fixed clamping jaw and a pair of movable clamping jaws, means for selectively driving said clamping jaws into clamping engagement with said tree, means including a resonant vibration system for generating high level sonic energy, said resonant vibration system being formed by first and second resonators each formed from a pair of plates with hydraulic springs mounted therebetween, said resonators operating in sympathetic relationship to each other, means for transferring sonic energy from said resonant vibration system to said clamping jaws, cutter means supported on said frame structure, said cutter means being positioned around the trunk of the tree and having blades placed in the earth around said trunk, and sonic rectifier means for transferring unidirectional pulses from said resonant vibration system to said cutter means, whereby the cutter means is first driven downwardly by said sonic energy to sever the roots of the tree and the clamping mechanism is then driven into clamping engagement with the tree so as to transfer resonant sonic energy thereto to facilitate the lifting of the tree out of the ground.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
197 words
A device for harvesting a tree comprising: a frame structure, a clamping mechanism mounted on said frame structure comprising a fixed clamping jaw and a pair of movable clamping jaws, means for selectively driving said clamping jaws into clamping engagement with said tree, means including a resonant vibration system for generating high level sonic energy, said resonant vibration system being formed by first and second resonators each formed from a pair of plates with hydraulic springs mounted therebetween, said resonators operating in sympathetic relationship to each other, means for transferring sonic energy from said resonant vibration system to said clamping jaws, cutter means supported on said frame structure, said cutter means being positioned around the trunk of the tree and having blades placed in the earth around said trunk, and sonic rectifier means for transferring unidirectional pulses from said resonant vibration system to said cutter means, whereby the cutter means is first driven downwardly by said sonic energy to sever the roots of the tree and the clamping mechanism is then driven into clamping engagement with the tree so as to transfer resonant sonic energy thereto to facilitate the lifting of the tree out of the ground.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
51 words
The device of claim 7 wherein said cutter means comprises a pair of cutter blades shaped in the form of half cylinders, means for pivotally supporting said blades and means for driving said blades between a first position away from the tree trunk and a second position around the tree trunk.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
127 words
A method for harvesting trees comprising the steps of: placing a cylindrical cutter mechanism around the trunk of the tree with the cutting blades thereof pointed downwardly, sonically driving said cutter mechanism into the ground at a frequency such as to resonantly vibrate the mechanism so as to drive the cutter blades with unidirectional pulses to sever the roots of the tree, when the roots have been severed, attaching a clamp mechanism to the trunk of the tree, transferring sonic energy to the clamp mechanism at a resonant frequency, said energy being transferred to the tree trUnk to loosen the tree trunk from the ground while simultaneously exerting a pulling force on the tree trunk to pull the trunk from the ground along with its tap roots.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
127 words
A method for harvesting trees comprising the steps of: placing a cylindrical cutter mechanism around the trunk of the tree with the cutting blades thereof pointed downwardly, sonically driving said cutter mechanism into the ground at a frequency such as to resonantly vibrate the mechanism so as to drive the cutter blades with unidirectional pulses to sever the roots of the tree, when the roots have been severed, attaching a clamp mechanism to the trunk of the tree, transferring sonic energy to the clamp mechanism at a resonant frequency, said energy being transferred to the tree trUnk to loosen the tree trunk from the ground while simultaneously exerting a pulling force on the tree trunk to pull the trunk from the ground along with its tap roots.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the sonic driving of said cutter member and transferring of sonic energy to said clamp mechanism is accomplished by means of a sonic oscillator, the output of which is transferred to said cutter member and clamp mechanism.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 9 wherein said sonic oscillator is an orbiting mass oscillator.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 11 and further including resonantly driving a resonant vibration system with said oscillator, the output of said resonant vibration system being coupled to said cutter member and clamp mechanism.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 9 wherein said cutter mechanism comprises a pair of half-cylindrical cutter blades, said blades being placed around the tree trunk by pivotally driving the blades from an upward position away from the tree trunk downwardly to a position where they surround the trunk.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-10-27 | 1979-04-28 | 1979-10-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-10-27 | 1983-04-28 | 1983-10-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-10-27 | 1987-04-28 | 1987-10-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |