Machine for felling and shaping trees

Claim 1

A machine for felling and shaping trees, said machine being attachable at the end of a support arm, said machine comprising: a yoke having an upper portion for attachment to said support arm and a lower portion rotatable around a vertical axis with respect to the upper portion, a mounting bracket pivotally connected to said lower yoke portion along a first horizontal axis, a beam, with a U-shaped cross section, having flanges defining a housing for said yoke, said beam being pivotally connected to said bracket along a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the first axis, said beam having connected thereto driving means and trimming means for shaping a tree, and gripping means and cutting means for felling a tree, means connected between said bracket and said beam for moving said beam between a horizontal position for shaping trees, and a vertical position for felling trees, and further comprising means, operable only when said beam is in its vertical position, both for preventing said beam from rotating about said first horizontal axis and for permitting only limited movement of said beam about said vertical axis.