Machine for cutting down and shaping trees

Claim 1

In a tree-felling and shaping machine consisting of a support unit and a working unit adapted to be fitted to a self-propelling vehicle, said working unit comprising a movable frame supporting members for working on the tree, in which the working members comprise at least two bi-conical rollers mounted on the frame for moving the tree through stripping blades together with at least four pivoting stripping blades mounted on the frame for surrounding the tree trunk, and wherein said rollers and blades are so arranged that the axis along which the tree trunk is moved between the rollers coincides with the axis of the tree trunk between the blades, the improvement comprising: a cutting tool mounted on the frame and disposed below said rollers and said stripping blades, said cutting tool consisting of two cutting blades articulated about a common axis; two hydraulic jacks and tie rods respectively articulated on the cutting blades, the rods of each of said jacks actuating a corresponding tie rod; and winding rollers, one on each blade; a chain having opposed ends fixed to each of said rollers, whereby actuation of the connecting rods by means of said jacks causes the chain to wind on the rollers thereby closing the cutting blades, and another hydraulic jack, the body of which is fixed to one of the cutting blades with its rod being fixed to the other cutting blade, said other jack opening the cutting blades.