JP7682536B2 - Pruning and branch cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pruning and branch chopping device that can chop pruned tree branches in fields and other locations.

Trees in orchards and private homes are pruned regularly.

In this case, the pruned branches are left in the field to dry and then collected in a designated location for incineration. However, the smoke generated when the pruned branches are burned has led to complaints from nearby residents.

In response to this, there is a method in which pruned branches left in the field are shredded using a shredding device connected to a tractor or the like (see Patent Document 1).

This shredding device is comprised of a casing connected to the rear of a tractor, a rotary blade attached to the outer circumference of a left-right rotating shaft provided inside the casing, and a fixed blade attached to the inside of the casing, and the pruning branches taken in by the tractor are shredded by the rotary blade and fixed blade. By using such a device, pruning branches collected in rows in a field can be shredded by the tractor, which has the advantage of eliminating the need to transport them to an incineration site and incinerate them.

JP 2001-238512 A

However, even with this type of shredding device, there are problems such as:

In other words, when cutting pruned branches with the device shown in Patent Document 1, the rotary blade rotates while overlapping with the fixed blade, and the pruned branches are pinched between the fixed blade and the rotary blade to cut them into pieces. However, if the rotary blade is fixed to the rotating shaft, when cutting thick branches, they will be pinched between the fixed blade and the rotating shaft, which will not move. To address this, the torque of the rotating shaft could be increased to forcibly cut thick branches, but small tractors that can travel through the narrow paths in an orchard do not have the horsepower to increase the torque.

On the other hand, if the fixed blade and the rotating blade are arranged so that they do not overlap, thick branches will not get caught, but if such a gap is left, thin branches will slip through the gap and will not be able to be shredded.

The present invention was made with a focus on the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a pruning branch shredding device that can easily shred even thick branches when shredding pruned branches, and can also finely shred thin branches.

In other words, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a pruning branch chopping device that includes a casing that houses pruning branches, a rotating shaft that is rotatably arranged within the casing, a rotating blade that is swingably arranged on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft, and a fixed blade that is arranged within the casing and chops up pruning branches that are caught between the rotating blade and the fixed blade, in which the maximum rotational area when the rotating blade is rotated overlaps with the fixed blade by a first overlap amount, and when the rotating blade is swung to the maximum extent so as to move away from the fixed blade, it overlaps with the fixed blade by a second overlap amount that is smaller than the first overlap amount.

With this configuration, even when chopping thick branches, the rotating blade can be retracted to maintain rotation of the rotating shaft, and by reducing the amount of overlap with the fixed blade, it is possible to gradually cut into the surface of the thick branch and chop it up. Moreover, even when the rotating blade oscillates to its maximum extent, it overlaps with the fixed blade, so thin branches do not slip through the gap with the fixed blade, and thin branches can be chopped reliably.

In addition, in such an invention, a curved portion is provided on the side of the rotary blade so that the tip side advances in the direction of rotation.

This configuration allows the pruning branches to be held by the curved section, preventing the centrifugal force of the rotating blade from blowing the branches outside the rotation area and making it impossible to chop them.

Furthermore, a pointed portion is provided at the tip portion along the direction of rotation of the curved portion.

This configuration allows the pointed part to make incisions into thick branches, gradually cutting them into smaller pieces.

The rotary blade is also made of a flat thin plate aligned in the direction of rotation.

With this configuration, even when rotating with a small rotational torque, the side edge of the thin plate can make cuts in a direction approximately perpendicular to the stem of the pruned branch.

In addition, an opening is provided in the casing, and a mounting part is provided on the casing to fix the fixed blade housed in the casing through the opening, and an adjustment part is provided on the mounting part to adjust the height position of the fixed blade.

With this configuration, the amount of overlap with the fixed blade can be adjusted according to the thickness of the branch, making it possible to chop up even thick branches.

According to the present invention, even when chopping thick branches, the rotating blade can be retracted to maintain the rotation of the rotating shaft, and by reducing the amount of overlap with the fixed blade, it is possible to make incisions from the surface of the thick branch and chop it gradually. Moreover, even when the rotating blade oscillates to the maximum extent, because it overlaps with the fixed blade, thin branches do not slip through the gap with the fixed blade, and thin branches can be chopped reliably.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a pruning branch chopping device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Schematic plan view of the same configuration (without the fixed blade frame attached) FIG. 2 shows a curtain in the same configuration. FIG. 13 shows the overlapping state of the fixed blade and the rotary blade in the same configuration. FIG. 13 shows the position of the fixed blade attached in a spiral shape to the rotating shaft in the embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a fixed blade in the same embodiment. FIG. 13 shows the arrangement of the rotary blade and the fixed blade in the same embodiment.

Below, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the pruning branch chopping device 1 is connected to the rear of a tractor (not shown) and is capable of chopping pruning branches arranged in a row while traveling in a field. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the device is configured to include a casing 2 connected to the rear of the tractor, a rotating shaft 4 attached to the casing 2 and driven by the rotational force from the tractor's PTO to rotate around an axis extending across the left and right direction of the casing 2, a rotating blade 5 provided along the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 4, and a fixed blade 6 provided opposite the rotating blade 5. Characteristically, the rotating blade 5 is attached so as to be able to swing, and the maximum rotational area of the rotating blade 5 overlaps with the fixed blade 6 by a first overlap amount S1 (see Fig. 4), and when the rotating blade 5 is swung to the state where it is most retracted from the fixed blade 6, it overlaps with the fixed blade 6 by a second overlap amount S2 smaller than the first overlap amount S1. This allows thin branches to be chopped by the rotating blade 5 that rotates with an overlap amount equal to or greater than the small second overlap amount S2, while thick or hard branches can be chopped gradually by making incisions with the tip of the retracted fixed blade 5. This embodiment will be described in detail below. In the description, the direction of travel of the tractor is defined as the forward/rearward direction, and the direction perpendicular to this in the horizontal plane is defined as the left/right direction.

First, the casing 2 is long and connected to the rear of the tractor, and is opened downward. The casing 2 is hung at the top center from the top link of the tractor, and is attached to the lower link of the tractor at the left and right parts. The front of the casing 2 is provided with an intake 21 for taking in pruned branches from the field, and the pruned branches are taken in through a curtain 22 attached to the intake 21. The curtain 22 has a slit portion 22b (see FIG. 3) for taking in the pruned branches inside the casing 2, and the front and rear curtain elements 22a are attached so that the slit portions 22b are staggered to prevent the pruned branches chopped inside the casing 2 from scattering forward. As a result, even if the curtain element 22a is bent when taking in the pruned branches through the intake 21, the front curtain element 22a can be kept hanging, so that the pruned branches will not scatter forward from inside the casing 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a return section 23 for returning chopped pruned branches into the casing 2 is removably attached to the rear side of the casing 2. This return section 23 is provided so as to bend the rear lower end side of the casing 2 inwardly, thereby returning the chopped pruned branches into the inside of the casing 2 so that they can be chopped even finer.

This casing 2 is connected to the PTO of a tractor (not shown) and is provided with a drive unit 3 (see Figures 1 and 2) to convert the rotational force of the PTO into the rotational force of a shaft along the left-right direction. This drive unit 3 is configured to convert the rotational force of the PTO into the rotational force of a shaft in the left-right direction, and to rotate the rotating shaft 4 via a sprocket (not shown) provided on the side.

The rotating shaft 4 provided inside the casing 2 is arranged along the left-right direction of the casing 2, as shown in Figures 5 and 7, and is configured with a rotating blade 5 on its outer periphery.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotary blade 5 is arranged in a spiral shape along the rotating shaft 4, and is configured as a thin plate parallel to the surface along the direction of rotation, so that the side part can chop the stem of the pruned branch in a direction approximately perpendicular to the direction of rotation. The rotary blade 5 is attached to the swinging shaft 51 of the shaft support part 51a provided on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 4, and can swing along the direction of rotation around the swinging shaft 51. It can rotate while swinging within the range of the first rotation area A1 that is expanded to the maximum by centrifugal force and the second rotation area A2 that is the smallest and most retreated (see FIG. 4). The tip side of the rotary blade 5 is provided with a sharpened pointed part 52 at the tip part toward the direction of rotation, and a curved part 53 that is curved inward from the pointed part 52 is provided. The pointed part 52 can make an incision on the surface of the thick pruned branch, and the curved part 53 holds the pruned branch and allows it to be sandwiched between the fixed blade 6 and chopped. The rotary blade 5 is constructed symmetrically, so that even if the side of the rotary blade 5 becomes worn, it can be flipped back and forth to shred with a new blade.

On the other hand, the fixed blade 6, which is provided at a position opposite the rotary blade 5, is attached to the inside of the casing 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and is configured so that the pruning branches can be pinched between the fixed blade 6 and the rotary blade 5 to chop them up as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 7, the fixed blade 6 is provided below the fixed blade frame 61 so that the rotary blade 5 can rotate inside with a predetermined gap in the left-right direction, and is inserted into a slit-shaped opening 24 provided at the top of the casing 2 and attached to the mounting plate 25 of the casing 2 via mounting plates 63 provided at the left and right ends of the fixed blade frame 61. When attaching the fixed blade frame 61 to the casing 2, the grip part 64 provided in the center is lifted by hand to adjust the height, and bolts and nuts are attached to the long holes 26 of the mounting plates 25 provided on the left and right sides of the casing 2 to secure it.

The side of the fixed blade 6 is pyramidal in shape, with the front-to-back width gradually decreasing as it goes downwards, and the pruning branches are chopped by sliding them along the pyramidal step 62, which applies an impact to the pruning branches. The fixed blade 6 is also symmetrical, so that by attaching the fixed blade frame 61 in reverse, it is possible to chop the branches using an unworn blade.

Next, we will explain how the pruning branch chopping device 1 configured in this way works when chopping pruning branches that have been collected in rows in a farm field.

First, when pruning, the pruning and branch chopping device 1 is attached to the top link and lower link provided at the rear of the tractor, and the PTO and drive unit 3 are connected to rotate the rotating shaft 4.

The tractor is then driven while rotating the rotating shaft 4 in this manner, and the pruned branches that have been left in rows are taken in through the intake 21 of the casing 2. At this time, the pruned branches are taken in through the curtain 22 of the intake 21 in a direction that is approximately perpendicular (left-right direction) to the direction in which the tractor is moving.

Then, the lower part of the pruned branch taken in through the curtain 22 hits the rotary blade 5 which rotates forward, and at that time, it is held by the curved part 53 on the side of the rotary blade 5 as it rotates.

Thus, among the pruning branches that are rotated while being held by the curved portion 53, thin branches are pinched between the fixed blade 6 and the rotating blade 5, which overlaps with the first overlap amount S1, and chopped.

On the other hand, when a thick branch is taken in, as shown in Figure 4, the rotary blade 5 is swung around the swing axis 51 to retreat from the fixed branch, and at that time, an impact is applied by the stepped portion 62 of the pyramid-shaped fixed blade 6, which makes a cut in the surface. Then, in the most retreated state, the pointed portion 52 of the rotary blade 5 makes a cut in the surface of the pruned branch as the rotary blade 5 rotates. Then, the succeeding rotary blade 5 gradually makes deeper cuts in the thick branch, until it is finally chopped into pieces.

When the rotary blade 5 is retracted in this manner, if thin branches are mixed in, the fixed blade 6 and the rotary blade 5 are always overlapping, so that the thin branches can also be pinched between the fixed blade 6 and the rotary blade 5 and chopped into small pieces.

The pruned branches thus chopped are then rotated within the casing 2 and returned to the forward rotation area by the return section 23 provided at the rear of the casing 2, where they are similarly sandwiched between the fixed blade 6 and the rotating blade 5 and chopped.

If the next pruned branch is taken in through the intake 21 while the pruned branch is being chopped in this way, the chopped pruned branch will be scattered forward by the rotating blade 5 rotating forward. However, because the two curtain elements 22a are arranged in a staggered pattern, the front curtain element 22a can always be kept hanging down, preventing scattering towards the driver's seat.

According to the above embodiment, in the pruning branch chopping device 1, which includes a casing 2 for accommodating pruned branches, a rotating shaft 4 rotatably mounted within the casing 2, a rotating blade 5 oscillably mounted on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 4, and a fixed blade 6 mounted within the casing 2 for chopping up pruned branches caught between the rotating blade 5 and the fixed blade 5, the maximum rotation area when the rotating blade 5 is rotated overlaps with the fixed blade 6 by a first overlap amount, and when the rotating blade 5 is oscillated to the maximum extent so as to retreat from the fixed blade 6, it overlaps with the fixed blade 6 by a second overlap amount smaller than the first overlap amount. Therefore, even when chopping thick branches, the rotating blade 5 can be retracted to maintain the rotation of the rotating shaft 4, and by reducing the overlap amount with the fixed blade 6, it is possible to make an incision from the surface of the thick branch and gradually chop it up. Moreover, even when the rotating blade 5 swings to its maximum extent, it overlaps with the fixed blade 6, so thin branches do not slip through the gap between the rotating blade 5 and the fixed blade 6, and thin branches can be reliably chopped.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented in various ways.

For example, in the above embodiment, the device is configured to be connected to the rear of the tractor, but it may also be connected to the front of the tractor. In this case, the drive unit 3 may be hydraulically driven.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the device is connected to a tractor, but it may be attached to a vehicle other than a tractor, or it may be used as a stationary pruning branch chopping device without being attached to such a vehicle. When used as such a stationary pruning branch chopping device, the pruning branches are fed from above, chopped by the same rotating blade 5 and fixed blade 6, and discharged from below.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the rotary blade 5 is configured to be roughly T-shaped, but it may be configured as a thin plate with straight sides, or the sides may be provided with saw-like steps to shred the material.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the fixed blade frame 61 is attached via the long hole 26 in the mounting plate 25, but it may be attached to the casing 2 in a different manner. In this case, the height position of the fixed blade frame 61 may be adjusted by the amount of rotation of a screw, rather than by the long hole 26.

In addition, in the above embodiment, two curtains 22 are attached in close contact with each other, but they may be attached to the casing 2 with a gap at the front and back.

Reference Signs List 1: Pruning branch chopping device 2: Casing 21: Inlet 22: Curtain 22a: Curtain element 23: Return section 24: Opening 25: Mounting plate 26: Slot 3: Drive section 4: Rotating shaft 5: Rotating blade 51: Oscillating shaft 52: Pointed section 53: Curved section 6: Fixed blade 61: Fixed blade frame 62: Step section 63: Mounting plate

Claims (5)

a casing for accommodating the pruning branches;
A rotating shaft rotatably provided within the casing;
A rotary blade provided on an outer periphery of the rotary shaft so as to be capable of swinging;
A fixed blade provided in the casing for chopping pruning branches sandwiched between the fixed blade and the rotary blade;
In a pruning branch chopping device comprising:
This pruning branch chopping device is characterized in that the maximum rotation area when the rotating blade is rotated overlaps with the fixed blade by a first overlap amount, and when the rotating blade is swung to the maximum extent to move it away from the fixed blade, it overlaps with the fixed blade by a second overlap amount smaller than the first overlap amount. The pruning and chopping device according to claim 1, in which a curved portion is provided on the side of the rotary blade so that the tip side advances in the direction of rotation. The pruning and chopping device according to claim 2, in which a pointed portion is provided at the tip portion of the curved portion along the direction of rotation. The pruning and chopping device according to claim 1, wherein the rotary blade is made of a flat thin plate aligned in the direction of rotation. The pruning and chopping device according to claim 1, in which an opening is provided in the casing, and an attachment part is provided on the casing for fixing the fixed blade housed in the casing through the opening, and an adjustment part is provided on the attachment part for adjusting the height position of the fixed blade.

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