DISC SAW FELLING HEAD FOR A FELLER BUNCHER

• US 20170094915A1
• Filed: 10/05/2015
• Published: 04/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: DiSabatino, Benjamin
• Granted Patent: US 10,448,583 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 23/081 Feller-bunchers, i.e. with bunching by felling head A01G23/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 23/091 Sawing apparatus specially adapted for felling trees A01G23/081, A01G23/083, A01G23/093 take precedence

Abstract

A disc saw felling head and a method of assembly for the disc saw felling head including a saw mandrel and bearing arrangement. The saw mandrel and bearing arrangement includes a housing, a mandrel, and first and second preset roller bearing packs. One of the roller bearing packs is a tapered roller double-row preset bearing pack and the other of the roller bearing packs is a cylindrical roller single row preset bearing pack. The housing includes a bore and a first and second shelf, wherein each of the shelves defines a depth of the bearings with respect to the housing to accurately locate the mandrel within the housing. The use of preset bearing packs and a housing having predetermined locations for placement of the present bearing packs provides an assembly which requires fewer adjustments.

Claims

1. A felling head for a forestry machine configured to cut timber with a rotating saw blade subjected to axial forces and radial loads during cutting of the timber, the felling head comprising:

a housing including a bore;

a saw motor supported by the housing;

a mandrel disposed in the bore and defining a longitudinal axis, the mandrel including a flange to mount the saw blade and being operatively coupled to the motor to be rotationally driven by the saw motor within the bore of the housing;

a first roller bearing; and

a second roller bearing disposed adjacently to the first roller bearing, wherein the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing are arranged in an opposed configuration, such that one of the first and second roller bearings is configured to resist upward forces along the longitudinal axis and the other of the first and second roller bearing is configured to resist downward forces along the longitudinal axis.

2. The felling head of claim 1 further comprising a third roller bearing spaced a distance from both of the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing along the longitudinal axis, wherein the third roller bearing is configured to resist radial loads.

3. The felling head of claim 2 wherein the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing each include tapered roller bearings, wherein opposed ends of the tapered roller bearings of each of the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing are radially closer to the mandrel than the adjacent ends of tapered roller bearings are to the mandrel.

4. The felling head of claim 3 wherein the third roller bearing includes one of a cylindrical roller bearing or a needle bearing.

5. The felling head of claim 4 wherein the housing includes a first substantially cylindrical bore and a second substantially cylindrical bore.

6. The felling head of claim 1 wherein the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing comprise a tapered roller preset bearing pack configured as a one-piece assembled unit, wherein each of the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing includes an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein the each of the tapered roller bearings are disposed between the respective inner ring and outer ring with a predetermined clearance.

7. The felling head of claim 6 wherein the third roller bearing comprises a cylindrical roller preset bearing pack.

8. The felling head of claim 7 wherein the mandrel further includes a first shelf disposed adjacently to the first substantially cylindrical bore and a second shelf disposed adjacently to the second substantially cylindrical bore.

9. The felling head of claim 8 wherein the first shelf is disposed a first distance from a first end of the mandrel and the second shelf is disposed a second distance from a second end of the mandrel, wherein the first shelf determines a location of the tapered roller preset bearing pack along the longitudinal axis and the second shelf determines a location of the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack along the longitudinal axis.

10. The felling head of claim 9 wherein the location of the tapered roller preset bearing pack is closer to the motor and the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack is closer to the flange operatively connected to the mandrel.

21. The felling head of claim 2 wherein the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing each include tapered roller bearings, wherein adjacent ends of the tapered roller bearings of each of the first roller bearing and the second roller bearing are radially closer to the mandrel than the opposed ends of tapered roller bearings are to the mandrel.

11. A felling head for a forestry machine configured to cut timber with a rotating saw blade subjected to axial forces and radial loads during cutting of the timber, the felling head comprising:

a housing including a bore;

a saw motor supported by the housing;

a mandrel disposed in the bore and defining a longitudinal axis, the mandrel including a flange to mount the saw blade and configured to be operatively coupled to the motor to be rotationally driven by the saw motor within the bore of the housing;

a tapered roller preset bearing pack located on the mandrel at a first location, the tapered roller preset bearing pack including a first row of tapered roller bearings and a second row of tapered roller bearing, the first row and second row of tapered roller bearings being arranged in an opposed configuration, such that the first row is configured to resist upward forces along the longitudinal axis while the second row is configured to resist downward forces along the longitudinal axis; and

a bearing located on the mandrel at a second location, the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack displaced from the tapered roller preset bearing pack and configured to resist radial loads applied to the mandrel.

12. The felling head of claim 11 wherein the mandrel further includes a first shelf disposed adjacently to a first substantially cylindrical bore and a second shelf disposed adjacently to a second substantially cylindrical bore.

13. The felling head of claim 12 wherein the bearing includes a cylindrical roller preset bearing pack and the first shelf is disposed a first distance from a first end of the mandrel and the second shelf is disposed a second distance from a second end of the mandrel, wherein the first shelf determines a location of the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack along the longitudinal axis and the second shelf determines a location of the tapered roller preset bearing pack along the longitudinal axis.

14. The felling head of claim 13 wherein the location of the tapered roller preset bearing pack is closer to the motor and the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack is closer to a flange operatively connected to the mandrel.

15. The felling head of claim 13 wherein the location of the tapered roller preset bearing pack is closer to the flange of the mandrel and the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack is closer to the motor end of the mandrel.

16. A method of assembling a felling head of a feller buncher comprising:

placing a spacer on an outside surface of the mandrel;

fitting a cylindrical roller preset bearing pack within a housing;

fitting a tapered roller preset bearing pack within a housing; and

inserting the mandrel, and the spacer in a bore of the housing, wherein the mandrel is located within the tapered roller preset bearing pack and within the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the housing includes a first shelf and second shelf and the fitting the tapered roller preset bearing pack within the housing includes fitting the tapered roller preset bearing pack against the first shelf.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the fitting the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack within the housing includes fitting the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack against the second shelf.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising providing a flange and fixing the flange at a first end of the mandrel.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising providing a second spacer and locating the second spacer between the cylindrical roller preset bearing pack and the flange.