DE102019214871A1 - Root ball undercutting and lifting device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a root ball undercutting and lifting device with an arch guide, which comprises an arch-shaped guide bearing and an arch-shaped knife carrier, which can be rotated about a substantially vertical axis of rotation A by means of a motor mounted on the arch guide, on which two knife guides, each with one arcuate undercutting knives are held diametrically opposite, the arcuate guide bearing and the arcuate knife carrier each having a closed annular segment-shaped section and an open annular segment-shaped section, the closed annular segment-shaped sections each having an arc angle in the range of 210 ° to 340 ° and the open circular segment-shaped sections correspondingly have an arc angle in the range of 150 ° to 20 °, the arcuate knife carrier being movably mounted laterally on the arcuate guide bearing.

Description

The present invention relates to a root ball undercutting and lifting device for self-sufficient use and / or for attachment to a carrier vehicle for cutting and lifting plants with root balls with two undercut knives, which are rotatably mounted on a circular path about a vertical axis.

In known root ball undercutting and lifting devices, also called bale cutters, the undercut knives are always dimensioned in such a way that the maximum performance of the device can be used. These devices are correspondingly large and heavy, which in turn requires a large carrier vehicle. Due to the size, large distances between the trees, conifers or shrubs must be taken into account, which leads to a larger space requirement, which is economically disadvantageous. Keeping devices of different sizes always ready means considerable costs and / or retrofitting.

The U.S. patent US 3,017,707 discloses a single bale lifting device for mounting on a carrier vehicle, which comprises six equally spaced undercutting knives, which are mounted on a closed, ring-shaped carrier frame. The single bale lifting device is driven there exclusively via mechanical transmission elements by the carrier vehicle. On the drive side, the device is very complex and prone to failure as well as complicated to use. In addition, the device is very heavy due to the closed support frame and the large number of undercutting knives.

From the U.S. patent US 5,081,941 a bale cutter is known, which is also referred to as a spade machine. The spade machine disclosed there comprises four spades arranged on linear guides, which penetrate the soil at an angle. Interchangeable spade blades are provided for different bale sizes, which means that four heavy spade blades are always required and may need to be replaced. A rotation of the spade blades around a vertical axis is not provided there. The spade blades are also unsuitable for use as rotatable undercutting knives, since vertical T-shaped reinforcement profiles on the back considerably increase the resistance in the ground and do not produce a clean cut.

The European patent specification EP 0 022 733 B1 describes a root ball undercutting and lifting device which has only a single undercut tool which is rotatably mounted on a one-piece, solid ring segment-shaped carrier. The root ball undercutting and lifting device disclosed there requires an additional lifting tool, since the undercut tool alone is unsuitable for lifting a root ball. Due to the arrangement of the device on the side of the carrier vehicle, the required distance between the plants and thus the space requirement are very large. Use of the root ball undercutting and lifting device in nurseries with small planting distances is therefore ruled out.

The German published application DE 10 2017 214 290 A1 shows compared to the aforementioned bale cutters an improved, narrower and lighter bale cutter with a pair of - under a vertical axis - rotatable undercutting knives, which can be used advantageously with small planting distances in connection with a narrow carrier vehicle, but which is relatively expensive to manufacture.

Starting from this prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a root ball undercutting and lifting device of a light and compact design which can be used universally for differently sized and differently shaped root balls and is easily adjustable to a different ball size and / or ball shape, all motor drive means are arranged on the root ball undercutting and lifting device itself and are characterized by a low power requirement for a particularly self-sufficient operation.

The object is achieved according to the present invention by a root ball undercutting and lifting device according to claim 1, namely a root ball undercutting and lifting device with an arc guide, which has an arcuate guide bearing and a, by means of a motor held on the arc guide about an axis of rotation A. rotatable, arc-shaped knife carrier, on which two knife guides, preferably diametrically opposed, are held, in each of which an arc-shaped undercut knife is movably mounted in its longitudinal extent, the arc-shaped guide bearing and the arc-shaped knife carrier each extending over an arc angle in the range from 210 ° to maximum Extend 340 ° and thus have a resulting opening on the circumference in the range of 150 ° to 20 °, and wherein the arcuate knife carrier is laterally movably mounted in groove rolls on the arcuate guide bearing, and that the arcuate knife carrier is at least one arcuate it comprises the drive element and at least one curved guide profile with a convex running surface facing the curved guide bearing, the arcuate guide profile can be brought into engagement with the grooved rollers in such a way that the arcuate knife carrier can be rotated about the essentially vertical axis of rotation A such that the opening on the periphery of the arcuate guide bearing can be closed by the arcuate knife carrier.

The groove rolls have a concave, v-shaped or trapezoidal groove on the circumference or a combination of these groove shapes.

The arcuate guide bearing thus forms a bearing ring segment of 210 to 340 angular degrees, preferably of 270 to 300 angular degrees, and the arcuate knife carrier quasi forms the associated turntable segment of 210 to 340 angular degrees, preferably of 270 to 300 angular degrees, the arcuate knife carrier or the rotating ring segment laterally can preferably be mounted on the inside of the guide bearing or the bearing ring segment - based on the axis of rotation A -. The axis of rotation A is oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface of the terrain during the intended use of the root ball undercutting and lifting device.

The root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention thus has for the first time a sum of advantageous, in particular handling advantages or features. First, the arc-shaped knife carrier, which is open on the circumference, offers the possibility of penetrating continuously into the soil without interruption with the arc-shaped undercutting knives in a continuous multiple rotation in the arc-shaped guide bearing, which is open on the circumference. In connection with an actuator, a successive lowering of the arcuate undercutting knives is possible, and thus a determinable torque of the knife carrier drive as well as of the actuator can be achieved, taking into account the ground conditions. Furthermore, compared to a centrally driven root ball undercutting and / or lifting device, there is the great advantage that the space above the undercutting knife is free for the plant or is not obstructed by drive means. Due to the circular-arc design, in particular the arc-shaped outer contour, gentle treatment of neighboring plants is ensured during operation and damage to neighboring plants with proper operation is excluded.

In a particularly preferred development, the arcuate guide bearing comprises a plurality of grooved rollers arranged one above the other, in particular in pairs, and the arched knife carrier comprises at least two arched guide profiles arranged one above the other, which have a convex tread on the circumference, the upper guide profile with the upper grooved rollers and the lower guide profile can be brought into engagement with the lower grooving rollers.

In a first embodiment of the guide profiles, the upper guide profile and the lower guide profile have the same cross section or diameter. In a second embodiment of the guide profiles, the upper guide profile and the lower guide profile have different cross sections or diameters; the upper guide profile is preferably larger in cross section or diameter than the lower guide profile. This is particularly useful because the knife guides held thereon can advantageously be inclined. The guide profiles are made of a tube, angle profile, round material or semicircular material, preferably made of steel, in a particularly cost-effective manner, training from, in particular, a round steel tube also bringing considerable cost and weight savings. The guide profiles can also be made of aluminum, plastic or a composite material, provided the required wear resistance and load-bearing capacity are ensured.

In a particularly expedient embodiment of the arcuate guide bearing, the grooved rollers can be moved radially transversely to their axis of rotation, in particular resiliently in the arcuate guide bearing in a roller bearing and / or a roller cassette between an annular segment-shaped cover plate and an annular segment-shaped base plate. The upper and lower grooving rollers arranged one above the other are expediently mounted on a common vertical axis in the curved guide bearing. The top and bottom grooving rollers arranged one above the other can have both the same and different diameters and groove shapes, the latter being particularly advantageous if the top and bottom guide profiles have different effective diameters. In a further embodiment, the upper and lower grooving rollers are designed as compact, one-piece rotating bodies. The multi-part construction of the guide bearing, namely with an upper annular segment-shaped cover plate and a lower annular segment-shaped base plate, which are detachably connected to one another by spacer elements, creates a light and maintenance-friendly design.

In an advantageous embodiment of the drive system of the root ball undercutting and lifting device, the motor and a gear arrangement for driving the knife carrier are held on the sheet guide, the gear arrangement having at least two gear wheels which are in a horizontal plane parallel to the grooved rollers in the arcuate guide bearing like that are mounted so that the arcuate drive element, which is arranged on the knife carrier, is always in engagement with at least one of the toothed wheels. The arcuate drive element can be designed as an arcuate rack, as an arcuate rail with rectangular openings, as a one-piece gear rim segment or as a plurality of composite gear rim segments, the arcuate drive element preferably between the upper guide profile and the lower guide profile or above the upper and / or below of the lower guide profile can be arranged and connected to them.

In a first preferred development of the drive system, the motor can be connected to a compact reduction gear or can be designed as a geared motor. Furthermore, the gear arrangement comprises a gearwheel mounted on the output side of the reduction gearbox, which drives a roller chain, which in turn drives two further gearwheels which are mounted in a gearbox in a horizontal plane above the arcuate guide bearing, the two further gearwheels each being connected to one of the drive shafts by a drive shaft Gears are connected in the arcuate guide bearing. The "raised" motor-gearbox combination and gearbox described above are at a sufficient distance from the floor surface, so that gearbox elements cannot get dirty, even in unfavorable weather and soil conditions.

In a second preferred development of the drive system, two motors are provided, in the form of so-called direct drives, torque motors, geared motors or electrohydraulic motors, spaced directly on or in the arcuate guide bearing in such a way that the first motor with the first gear and the second motor with the second gear in the arcuate guide bearing are each connected via a clutch. This “integrated” motor-gear combination described above requires a minimum of gear elements and thus wear parts. A suitable encapsulation ensures that contamination of gear elements is excluded even in unfavorable weather and soil conditions.

In a particularly expedient development of the invention, the knife guides each comprise an adapter unit and a knife bearing for an arcuate undercutting knife. The knife bearing can be inserted from above and is detachably mounted in the adapter unit and is arranged on the arc-shaped knife carrier directed radially inwards to the axis of rotation A. The adapter unit comprises cheeks arranged on the side and at least one holding element which is fastened to the curved knife carrier. To accommodate the knife bearings, the cheeks each have at least one open groove still facing upwards on their sides facing one another. The or each knife bearing comprises two spaced cheeks, each of which has a web on its outward-facing sides, which can be inserted into a groove of a cheek from above. The bearing plates are connected to one another by a rear wall and / or spacer elements, it being possible for at least two spacer elements to be designed as roller axes for receiving guide rollers and / or a drive pinion. This makes it possible in a simple, in particular tool-free manner, to position the knife bearing along with a curved undercutting knife along a horizontal linear axis X by means of various parallel grooves in the cheeks, as a result of which the radial distance between the knife bearing and the knife carrier and thus the effective diameter of the rotating undercut knife can be changed . As a result, it was also possible to position the adapter unit in a simple, in particular tool-free manner by means of different angles of the grooves in the cheeks of the knife bearings, in addition to arc-shaped undercutting knives, so that the angle of the knife bearings to the axis of rotation A can be changed. Through a suitable choice of cheek and / or bearing plate pairings - which are specially adapted to the different bale sizes and / or bale shapes of the different trees - the root ball undercutting and lifting device can be easily, quickly and specifically converted to other bale sizes and / or bale shapes .

A particularly expedient embodiment of the root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention is characterized in that at least one guide roller is convexly spherical and one guide roller is concave, the spherical guide roller and the convex guide roller being designed and set up, an arcuate undercut knife, which is also arcuate in its transverse extension, that is to say between the cutting edges, between them and to be guided optimally by friction. This is connected according to the invention that the undercutting knives, which are arcuate in their longitudinal extent, are likewise arcuate in their transverse extent and have a curvature which corresponds to a curvature of the arcuate knife carrier. In particular, a curvature of the arcuate undercutting knives advantageously corresponds in the transverse direction to the curvature of an arc of a bale to be undercut, as a result of which the resistance in the ground is or is considerably reduced. The curvature of the arcuate undercutting knife in the transverse direction is also referred to as palling or cupping, which is the rigidity the undercutting knife, which is curved in the longitudinal direction, is significantly increased. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the arcuate undercutting knives can have a crescent-shaped cross section with two laterally opposite, tapering cutting edges.

Appropriately, an actuator, in particular an electric actuator in connection with the drive pinion, for moving and positioning the arcuate undercutting knife along a guide path Y, Y 'is arranged on the knife carrier - adjacent to each knife guide or on the knife guide itself, the guide path Y, Y 'runs at an acute angle to the axis of rotation A. Corresponding to the design of the drive pinion, each undercut knife has a drive element, in the form of a plurality of equally spaced openings, depressions or elevations for establishing an operative connection with the drive pinion and thus with the actuator. The electric actuator advantageously comprises an electric motor, in particular a torque motor or geared motor. The electric actuator can also be designed as an electric cylinder or as an electro-hydraulic drive. The electric actuator is controlled by a control device and supplied with energy by a battery unit, so that the electric actuator or the electric actuators are in turn independent of external energy. In this embodiment, the electric actuators are advantageously arranged on the knife carrier that is movable on a circular path. In other words, the electric actuators run with, the electrical energy being able to be supplied via slip rings.

In order to improve interference immunity and reduce costs, an advantageous further development provides for the electric drives to be shifted from the rotatable knife carrier to the stationary guide bearing.

For this purpose, at least one drive device is advantageously arranged on the curved guide bearing, which comprises a roller chain guided in an curved chain guide and an input-side gear and / or an input-side, in particular directly coupled motor. Downstream of the drive device, a mechanical actuator for moving and positioning the arcuate undercutting knife along the guideway Y, Y 'is arranged on the knife carrier on each knife guide, the guideway Y, Y' running at an acute angle to the axis of rotation A. To fix the knife carrier in a predetermined position, at least one braking element is arranged on the arcuate guide bearing.

In one embodiment, the actuator comprises a chain pinion and a worm gear which is operatively connected to the chain pinion and which has a worm shaft and a worm wheel, the worm wheel preferably being designed and set up to engage in equally spaced openings in an undercutting knife or acting on the undercutting knife by means of a further gearwheel. Correspondingly, each undercutting knife preferably has a drive element for establishing an operative connection with the actuator, for example a plurality of equally spaced openings, depressions or elevations.

In a further alternative embodiment, the actuator comprises a chain sprocket and a spindle operatively connected to the chain sprocket and a spindle nut, a driver being arranged on the spindle nut for establishing an operative connection with an undercut knife. The driver can, among other things, be designed as a bolt, pin, sword, pin or hook. Accordingly, each undercutting knife advantageously has a corresponding drive element for establishing an operative connection with the actuator and the driver, namely a bore, a cutout, a recess or a projection.

With the purely mechanical actuators described above, in connection with the drive devices, an electrical and / or hydraulic energy supply to the rotatable knife carrier can be dispensed with due to the roller chain guided in the curved chain guide.

To support the undercutting process, at least one vibrating device can optionally be arranged on the curved guide bearing, as a result of which the undercutting knives cut through the soil with slight vibration.

For the sake of clarity, it should be pointed out here that the axes A, B, B ', C, C', X and Y, Y 'are virtual axes.

A particularly preferred development of the invention is characterized in that, in order to set a predetermined distance from the surface of the terrain on the arcuate guide bearing, at least one, in particular releasable, annular segment-shaped support plate is attached to adjustable supports. This means that it can easily be exchanged for two smaller circular ring-shaped or plate-shaped support plates, which ensures optimum adaptation to the respective soil conditions. The supports can each have an electric cylinder as a drive. With, in particular, stepless adjustment of the distance to the terrain surface is particularly in the bale size can be varied in a simple manner, because when the device is lifted, the entire cutting profile is also increased by the amount raised and the undercutting knives cut much flatter through the soil. Contamination of the arcuate guide bearing and the knife carrier is also countered by producing a predetermined distance. Finally, the counterforce when lifting a root ball is transmitted via the support plate (s), so that the curved guide bearing and the curved knife carrier cannot come into contact with the ground.

A particularly advantageous development of the invention is characterized in that the root ball undercutting and lifting device has a running gear with at least two wheels or chains driven by an electric motor. In addition, handles, electrical actuating elements and control devices, in the form of buttons, switches and / or a touch panel, are arranged on the frame of the root ball undercutting and lifting device. This enables manual movement, control and steering of the root ball undercutting and lifting device in a particularly advantageous manner. Furthermore, a battery unit for supplying energy to the motors and / or electric cylinders is held on the frame of the root ball undercutting and lifting device, an electrical charging device for the battery unit preferably being included. This ensures self-sufficient operation of the root ball undercutting and lifting device. In addition, the root ball undercutting and lifting device can be used by using suitable e.g. Pressure, distance and position sensors (GPS) are largely automated, thus enabling at least partially autonomous work in a tree nursery.

An alternative embodiment of the undercarriage is distinguished by the fact that the undercarriage has a centrally arranged wide roller-shaped wheel or a centrally arranged chain.

The particularly compact, simple design with integrated drive system and energy supply enables high mobility and very space-saving dimensions, which makes it possible to use it for many plant types and plant sizes as well as tight plants. The use of the root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention is thus also possible in existing plant crops and nurseries where known bale cutters could not be used due to their dimensions.

In addition, a sling or a drawbar can be held on the bow guide or on the frame, which enables simple transportation with any simple towing vehicle and / or a cable winch at low cost.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the root ball undercutting and lifting device, a coupling element, which can also have a pivot axis, can, optionally also for coupling to a carrier vehicle, for example a tractor or an excavator, on the frame of the root ball undercutting and lifting device - Be provided for a mechanical coupling and / or a further coupling element for hydraulic drives. For the coupling to the carrier vehicle, a so-called rotator can be provided on the pivot axis, which is designed and set up to pivot the curved guide bearing and the curved knife carrier together with undercutting knives in a horizontal plane to the right and left around the pivot axis. This makes it possible to drive parallel to a row of plants and between two rows of plants and to undercut and lift out a certain plant from the side.

In a particularly preferred development, the root ball undercutting and lifting device has at least one coupling element in the form of at least one electrical connector for the control panel, the electrical control means, motors, electric cylinders and / or the battery unit.

The electrical control panel can be designed, for example, as a tablet computer, and the data can be transmitted wirelessly to the electrical control means, for example using a Bluetooth or near-field communication interface. For this and for an at least partially automated work process, such as setting the bale size and or the bale shape, at least one control means expediently has suitable software.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the root ball undercutting and lifting device, the arcuate guide bearing has at least one telescopic arch piece, preferably two telescopic arch pieces, in each of which at least one grooved roller is supported to support the knife carrier. This makes it possible to variably design and reduce the open angle of the arcuate guide bearing, which ensures greater stability.

Furthermore, the root ball undercutting and lifting device is equipped and set up to carry out various undercutting processes, namely firstly an undercutting process in which the undercutting knives are extended continuously during the rotation of the Undercutting knife takes place and secondly an undercutting process in which the undercutting knives are extended alternately with the rotation, ie after each partial revolution or complete revolution. Due to the superimposed movements of the knife carrier and the undercutting knife, the torques and cutting forces to be applied are considerably reduced compared to a pure puncturing or undercutting process.

• a) Heranführen des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts an die auszuhebende Pflanze, bis die auszuhebende Pflanze im Zentrum des bogenförmigen Messerträgers steht,
• b) Absenken des bogenförmigen Führungslagers und/oder der Stützplatte entsprechend einer vorgegeben Wurzelballengröße, bis die Unterschneidemesser Bodenkontakt haben,
• c) Rotieren des bogenförmigen Messerträgers mit den daran in Messerführungen gelagerten Unterschneidemessern, sodass diese jeweils in den Wirkbereich einer Rollenkette eine der Antriebsvorrichtungen gelangen, wobei ein jeweils an den Messerführungen gelagertes Kettenritzel in die Rollenkette eingreift,
• d) Fortgesetztes Rotieren des bogenförmigen Messerträgers oder Stoppen des Rotierens des bogenförmigen Messerträgers,
• e) Aktivieren der Antriebsvorrichtungen im Wirkbereich der Rollenkette und Bewegen der Unterschneidemesser um einen vorbestimmten Betrag abwärts entlang der Führungsbahn Y, Y', wobei diese in eine vorbestimmte Tiefe in den Boden eindringen,
• f) Rotieren des bogenförmigen Messerträgers um 180 Grad oder um ein ganzzahliges Vielfaches von 180 Grad,
• g) Wiederholen der Schritte d) bis f) bis eine vorbestimmte untere Endlage der Unterschneidemesser erreicht ist,
• i) Anheben und/oder Ankippen des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts mit der auszuhebenden Pflanze nebst Wurzelballen über die Geländeoberkante und Absetzen der Pflanze mit dem Wurzelballen,
• j) Aktivieren einer Bremselement zum Fixieren des Messerträgers,
• k) Aktivieren der Antriebsvorrichtungen und Bewegen der Unterschneidemesser um einen vorbestimmten Betrag aufwärts entlang der Führungsbahn Y, Y', vorzugsweise bis in eine obere Endlage.

The object is also achieved according to the invention by a method for tree nurseries, in gardening and landscaping and in forestry for undercutting and digging out plants with root balls with a root ball undercutting and lifting device, the two arched undercutting knives, two drive devices for moving the undercutting knives along an essentially vertical guide track Y, Y ', an arcuate guide bearing and an arcuate knife carrier and at least one motor drive for rotating the arcuate knife carrier in the arcuate guide bearing about a substantially vertical axis of rotation A, with the steps

• a) bringing the root ball undercutting and lifting device to the plant to be lifted until the plant to be lifted is in the center of the arcuate knife carrier,
• b) lowering the arcuate guide bearing and / or the support plate according to a predetermined root ball size until the undercutting knives have contact with the ground,
• c) rotating the arc-shaped knife carrier with the undercut knives mounted thereon in knife guides, so that they each come into the effective range of a roller chain of one of the drive devices, wherein a chain sprocket mounted on the knife guides engages in the roller chain,
• d) continued rotation of the arcuate knife carrier or stopping the rotation of the arcuate knife carrier,
• e) activating the drive devices in the effective area of the roller chain and moving the undercutting knives downward by a predetermined amount along the guide path Y, Y ', these penetrating into the ground to a predetermined depth,
• f) rotating the arcuate knife carrier by 180 degrees or by an integer multiple of 180 degrees,
• g) repeating steps d) to f) until a predetermined lower end position of the undercutting knives has been reached,
• i) lifting and / or tilting the root ball undercutting and lifting device with the plant to be lifted together with the root ball over the top of the terrain and setting the plant down with the root ball,
• j) activating a braking element for fixing the knife carrier,
• k) Activating the drive devices and moving the undercutting knives upward by a predetermined amount along the guideway Y, Y ', preferably up to an upper end position.

• - Einstellen der Neigung der Unterschneidemesser und/oder des Abstandes der Unterschneidemesser zueinander.

The steps are expediently carried out before step a):

• - Setting the inclination of the undercutting knives and / or the distance between the undercutting knives.

Prior to step a), the steps of setting the root ball size and / or setting the root ball depth can preferably be carried out by means of a control panel on the root ball undercutting and lifting device or on an operating device on a carrier vehicle.

• Erste Variante: Der Messerträger führt fortlaufend eine 360° Bewegung aus, wobei die Unterschneidemesser bei jeder Umdrehung zweimal, nämlich im Wirkbereich der Rollenketten um einen definierten Betrag weiter in das Erdreich eindringen, bis sie ihre untere Endlage erreicht haben, quasi bis sich die Spitzen der Unterschneidemesser berühren und damit vollständig zusammengefahren sind. Dieser Vorgang erfolgt vorzugsweise gesteuert durch eine ersten Softwareroutine in Form einer Ablaufsteuerung.

In other words, the method according to the invention includes two variants, namely:

• First variant: The knife carrier continuously executes a 360 ° movement, whereby the undercutting knives penetrate the soil twice, namely in the effective range of the roller chains, by a defined amount until they have reached their lower end position, almost until the tips of the Touch the undercutting knife and are therefore completely drawn together. This process is preferably controlled by a first software routine in the form of a sequence control.

Second variant: The knife carrier first performs a 180 ° circular movement and stops at a defined position in the effective area of the first roller chain or in the first chain jacking zone, the undercutting knives move into the ground along the guide path Y, Y 'at a predetermined speed . Then the next 180 ° circular movement takes place until the defined position in the second chain jacking zone is reached. The undercutting knives then again move into the ground along the guide path Y, Y 'at a predetermined speed. This process is repeated until the lower end position of the undercut knife is reached. This process is preferably controlled by a second software routine in the form of a sequence control.

• - Verankern des bogenförmigen Führungslagers durch an der Stützplatte angeordnete Ankerbleche und/oder
• - Verankern des bogenförmigen Führungslagers durch Dorne oder Ankerbleche, die unterseitig an Fußrasten angeordnet sind.

The step before step c) is particularly preferably:

• - Anchoring the arcuate guide bearing by means of anchor plates arranged on the support plate and / or
• - Anchoring the arcuate guide bearing by means of mandrels or anchor plates, which are arranged on the underside of footrests.

• - Ankoppeln des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts an ein Trägerfahrzeug und
• - Verbinden des Hydrauliksystems des Trägerfahrzeugs mit dem Hydrauliksystem des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts.

In connection with a carrier vehicle, the following steps take place before step a):

• - Coupling the root ball undercutting and lifting device to a carrier vehicle and
• - Connect the hydraulic system of the carrier vehicle with the hydraulic system of the root ball undercutting and lifting device.

In addition to the first embodiment of the root ball undercutting and lifting device described above, the invention encompasses a second advantageous embodiment. The root ball undercutting and lifting device in the second embodiment also has two opposing arcuate undercutting knives, which are arranged together rotatably about an axis of rotation A on a movable arcuate knife carrier, which in turn is movable in a stationary arcuate guide bearing on the side facing the axis of rotation A. is stored. The difference from the root ball undercutting and lifting device in the first embodiment is that the knife guides can be pivoted about horizontal axes C, C 'or are designed with pivotable knife bearings. This advantageously makes it possible for the arcuate undercutting knives to be pivoted through 90 °, so that they are aligned horizontally on the knife carrier in the guide bearing in a space-saving manner, which is particularly advantageous when starting up a broad bush plant. The design opens up a completely new way of undercutting a root ball, namely by rotating the undercutting knives in the same or opposite direction about the horizontal swiveling axes C, C 'in conjunction with a rotating movement of the knife holder about the vertical axis of rotation A.

• 1 eine perspektivische Vorderansicht eines Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts gemäß der Erfindung in einer ersten Ausgestaltung,
• 2 eine Rückansicht des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts aus 1,
• 3 eine Draufsicht des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts aus 1,
• 4 eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Messerführung mit einer Adaptereinheit und einem Messerlager,
• 5 eine perspektivische Seitenansicht des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts mit dem aus der Adaptereinheit entnommenen Messerlager,
• 6 eine perspektivische Rückansicht eines Rollenlagers des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts gemäß 1,
• 7 eine Ansicht des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts aus 1 in einer zweiten Betriebsstellung schräg von vorn,
• 8 eine perspektivische Draufsicht eines Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts gemäß der Erfindung in einer zweiten Ausgestaltung,
• 9 eine perspektivische Vorderansicht eines Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts gemäß der Erfindung in einer dritten Ausgestaltung,
• 10 eine perspektivische Teilansicht einer Bogenführung mit einem Messerträger und einem Unterschneidemesser in einer Messerführung aus 9,
• 11 eine perspektivische Rückansicht einer Bogenführung im Ausschnitt mit einer Antriebsvorrichtung gemäß der Erfindung aus 9,
• 12 eine perspektivische Teilansicht einer Bogenführung mit einer Messerführung aus 9 schräg von oben,
• 13 eine perspektivische Rückansicht eines bogenförmigen Führungslagers im Ausschnitt mit Rollenlagern aus 9,
• 14 eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts gemäß der Erfindung in einer vierten Ausgestaltung schräg von vorn,
• 15 eine perspektivische Vorderansicht des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts aus 14,
• 16 eine perspektivische Untersicht einer Bogenführung im Ausschnitt mit einer Antriebsvorrichtung aus 14,
• 17 eine perspektivische Teilansicht einer Bogenführung mit einem Messerträger und einer Unterschneidemesser-Verstelleinrichtung aus 14,
• 18 eine perspektivische Rückansicht des Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts in der vierten Ausgestaltung und
• 19 eine perspektivische Teilansicht eines Wurzelballen-Unterschneide- und Aushebegeräts gemäß der Erfindung in einer fünften Ausgestaltung schräg von vorn.

The invention is explained below on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached figures. It shows

• 1 2 shows a perspective front view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention in a first embodiment,
• 2nd a rear view of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 ,
• 3rd a plan view of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 ,
• 4th 1 shows a perspective view of a knife guide with an adapter unit and a knife bearing,
• 5 2 shows a perspective side view of the root ball undercutting and lifting device with the knife bearing removed from the adapter unit,
• 6 a rear perspective view of a roller bearing of the root ball undercutting and lifting device according to 1 ,
• 7 a view of the root ball undercutting and lifting device from 1 in a second operating position diagonally from the front,
• 8th 2 shows a perspective top view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention in a second embodiment,
• 9 2 shows a perspective front view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention in a third embodiment,
• 10th a partial perspective view of a sheet guide with a knife carrier and an undercut knife in a knife guide 9 ,
• 11 a rear perspective view of a sheet guide in the cutout with a drive device according to the invention 9 ,
• 12th a partial perspective view of a sheet guide with a knife guide 9 diagonally from above,
• 13 a rear perspective view of an arcuate guide bearing in the cutout with roller bearings 9 ,
• 14 a perspective view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention in a fourth embodiment obliquely from the front,
• 15 a perspective front view of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 14 ,
• 16 a perspective bottom view of a sheet guide in the cutout with a drive device 14 ,
• 17th a partial perspective view of a sheet guide with a knife carrier and an undercut knife adjustment device 14 ,
• 18th a rear perspective view of the root ball undercutting and lifting device in the fourth embodiment and
• 19th a partial perspective view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device according to the invention in a fifth embodiment obliquely from the front.

They show 1 a front perspective view that 2nd a rear perspective view and the 3rd a top perspective view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 according to the invention in a first embodiment with two diametrically opposed arcuate undercutting knives 20 , 30th . As the 1 , 2nd and 3rd are the undercutting knives 20 , 30th in knife guides 21 , 31 rotatable together about an axis of rotation A on a movable arc-shaped knife carrier 10th arranged, which on a stationary arcuate guide bearing 4th is movably mounted on the side facing the axis of rotation A. The arcuate guide bearing 4th and the arcuate knife holder 10th form an arch guide 3rd made with a frame 2nd connected is. In the basic position of the knife holder shown 10th shows the bow guide 3rd an opening angle of approx. 80 °. For manual movement and positioning of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 are at the top of the frame 2nd two handles 52 arranged and at the bottom of the frame 2nd two wheels 75 on a shaft or axis 76 rotatably mounted. The drive of the wheels 75 done by a traction motor 77 . A plant to be lifted can thus be easily approached, the stem or the center of the plant being positionable in the axis of rotation A. The drive of the arcuate knife carrier 10th done by a motor 42 , which in the exemplary embodiment as an electric motor 42e is formed and a gear arrangement, which is a gear 41 a gear box 40 , two cardan shafts 43 and at least two axially parallel gears within the guide bearing 4th includes. The gears, not explicitly shown, within the guide bearing 4th act in a common horizontal plane directly with one on the knife carrier 10th arranged arched rack 13A together so that in the lead camp 4th clamped knife carrier 10th is rotatable by any angle about the axis of rotation A. To control the angle and speed of the knife holder 10th are adjacent to the handles 52 a control panel 51 with command devices and at least one control lever 53 provided on the handlebar. Furthermore, a display unit - not shown here - can be in or on the control panel 51 be provided. Like especially that 2nd reveals is for the energy supply of the drive motor 77 , the electric motor 42e , the control panel 51 and a control unit integrated there, a battery unit 44 on the frame 2nd releasably supported, which ensures self-sufficient operation. Like especially that 1 are recognizable by the frame 2nd two swiveling and lockable T-shaped footrests 74 stored. The footrests 74 can be locked in three positions, namely the first, as in 1 shown in the folded up position, secondly in a horizontal position so that the operator can stand on it and thirdly in a lowered position so that the web of the T-shaped footrests pointing downward 74 penetrates into the soil, with which the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 is secured against twisting during operation.

In an embodiment not shown, the drive system can be designed with direct drives, with two electric motors on the guide bearing 4th , are arranged symmetrically about a central axis running transversely to the axis of rotation A, at an arc angle of approximately 60 °. The one below it inside the lead camp 4th Mounted gears are each connected to the motor shaft of the electric motors and act directly on the knife carrier 10th arranged, arched rack 13A together. Instead of the arched rack 13A can also be a one-piece ring gear segment 13A or multi-part ring gear segment 13B or an arcuate rail with rectangular openings for engagement of the gears can be provided.

Like especially that 3rd is the mean diameter d ₂ of the curved knife holder 10th smaller than the average diameter d ₁ of the arcuate guide bearing 4th . The arc length of the guide bearing 4th , the knife holder 10th , Leadership profiles 11 , 12th and the rack 8th in the exemplary embodiment are slightly more than 3/4 of the respective diameter times n (Pi), or in other words the arc angle is approximately 280 °. This means, on the one hand, that there is a sufficient opening angle of approx. 80 ° for passing a stem of a plant to be lifted, and, on the other hand, that the arch guidance is very rigid 3rd ensured overall. Because of the arrangement of the engine according to the invention 42 , the cardan shafts 43 and the lower gears, which are connected to it in an articulated manner and are at an arc angle of approximately 60 °, the knife carrier 10th with the knife guides attached to it 21 , 31 and the undercut knives stored in it 20 , 30th several times on a circular path around the axis of rotation A and the opening angle of the guide bearing 4th by approx. 80 °.

As the 1 to 3rd can be seen further, are on the guide camp 4th two vertically extendable supports 71 , 72 with an annular segment-shaped support plate attached to it 73 arranged, the arc angle of which is substantially equal to that of the guide bearing 4th is. The pillars 71 , 72 are mechanically adjustable and lockable and / or preferably have electric actuators, that according to the desired distance of the guide bearing 4th are extendable and lockable to the floor. This allows the bale size and shape to be determined. The annular segment-shaped support plate shown in the exemplary embodiment 73 is on the supports 71 , 72 releasably supported, so that it can be easily against two smaller ring segment-shaped or plate-shaped support plates if necessary 73 is interchangeable, so that an optimal adaptation to the respective soil conditions can be produced. The pillars 71 , 72 are in the embodiment as an electric cylinder 71e , 72e educated.

Around the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 To be able to optimally use both deep and flat root balls, ie only digging as much soil as necessary, the root ball undercutting and lifting device has two adjustable knife guides 21 , 31 on. The 4th shows a perspective side view of the knife guide 31 of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 diagonally from the front. The knife guides 21 , 31 each include an adapter unit 22 , 32 and a knife store 23 , 33 for an arched undercut knife 20 , 30th , the knife bearing 23 , 33 detachable in the adapter unit 22 , 32 is stored. The 4th shows the knife guides 31 with the, in the adapter unit 32 added knife bearings 33 . The 5 shows, however, the knife guide shown in the figure on the right 31 with that from the adapter unit 32 removed knife bearing 33 , while the knife guide shown in the figure on the left 21 with inserted knife bearing 23 is shown. The adapter units 22 , 32 are on the curved knife carrier 10th , directed radially inward to the axis of rotation A, arranged. Any adapter unit 22 , 32 includes a pair of cheeks 24th , 34 and at least one holding element 25th , 35 that on the arcuate knife carrier 10th is attached. The cheeks 24th , 34 have on their mutually facing sides in the exemplary embodiment three open grooves directed upwards 14 , to hold a bridge 17th a knife bearing 23 , 33 on. The grooves 14 run at different acute angles and / or parallel to the axis of rotation A, which results in different application angles and distances for the respective knife bearings 23 , 33 and therefore for the undercutting knives 20 , 30th surrender. However, fewer or more grooves can also be used 14 per cheek 24th , 34 be provided. As the 4th and 5 can be seen further include the knife bearings 23 , 33 at least one leading role each 27 , 37 on the front and at least one guide roller hidden here 28 , 38 on the back of an inserted bow knife 20 , 30th . Furthermore, on the back of each undercut knife 20 , 30th a drive pinion 29 , 39 in the knife store 23 , 33 stored, which with its tooth flanks in breakthroughs 19th of the undercut knife 20 , 30th engages and thus with rotation of the drive pinion 29 , 39 the respective undercut knife 20 , 30th moved along the guideways Y, Y '. The drive sprockets 29 , 39 are each in the exemplary embodiment, by means of an encapsulated toothed belt, transmission or a clad chain, by an electric motor 49e driven, which for example via a plug connection, not shown here, with a slip ring on the knife carrier 10th connected for power supply. In an embodiment not shown, the undercutting knives are moved 20 , 30th along the guideways Y, Y 'purely mechanically, namely every 360 ° rotation of the knife carrier 10th by a predetermined amount. The drive sprockets 29 , 39 become intermittent at a predeterminable angle by means of a cam on the guide bearing 4th through the knife holder 10th self-propelled, whereby the "passing" cam acts on a spring-loaded lever, the movement of which in a limited rotary movement of the respective drive pinion 29 , 39 he follows.

The 6 shows a detailed view of the open arcuate guide bearing 4th diagonally from the outside with the two roller bearings 7 that with the upper circular segment-shaped cover plate 5 and the bottom circular segment-shaped base plate 6 are screwed. In the roller bearings 7 are two grooving rolls each 9 rotatable one above the other and by a compression spring 8th spring loaded. The roller bearings arranged in a circular arc 7 form together with the grooving rolls 9 a radial bearing for the knife holder 10th , with the upper grooving rolls 9 with their concave grooves on the upper tubular guide profile 11 with its convex tread 11A press and the bottom grooving rolls 9 with their concave grooves on the lower tubular guide profile 12th with the convex tread 12A press, causing the knife holder 10th is clamped rotatably about the vertical axis A. As the 6 can be seen between the upper tubular guide profile 11 with the convex tread 11A and the lower tubular guide profile 12th with the convex tread 12A the drive element 13 in the form of an arched rack 13A or a gear segment 13B arranged, the drive element 13 or the rack 13A or the ring gear segment 13B with two in the lead camp 4th stored gears not shown cooperates. As the 6 and especially the 7 further visible is below the base plate 6 the annular segment-shaped support plate 73 on the support 72 - The in the embodiment as an electric cylinder 72e is designed - detachably supported so that it can be easily replaced if necessary.

The 7 shows a perspective view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 according to the invention in an operating position in which the support plate 73 by means of the supports 71 , 72 through the electric cylinders 71e , 72e is lowered. How the 7 can be seen, the guide bearing 4th and those on the leadership profiles 11 , 12th the knife holder 10th held knife guides 21 , 31 in addition to the arched undercutting knife 20 , 30th by raising or lowering the support plate 73 can be easily set for both deep and flat root balls, so that only as much soil needs to be excavated. As the 7 are recognizable, are on the frame 2nd the swiveling and lockable T-shaped footrests 74 shown in the raised position.

The 8th shows a perspective view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device 101 according to the invention in a second embodiment. The root ball undercutting and lifting device 101 in the second embodiment also has two opposing arcuate undercutting knives 120 , 130 on which together rotatable about an axis of rotation A on a movable arc-shaped knife carrier 10th are arranged, which in turn in a stationary arcuate guide bearing 104 is movably mounted on the side facing the axis of rotation A. The arcuate guide bearing 104 and the arcuate knife holder 110 form an arch guide 103 . The difference to the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 in the first embodiment according to the 1 to 6 is that the knife guides 121 , 131 are pivotable about horizontal axes C, C 'or are designed with pivotable knife bearings. This makes it possible for the arcuate undercutting knife 120 , 130 are pivotable by 90 °, so that this is horizontal on the knife carrier 10th in the lead camp 4th are stored to save space. The design opens up a completely new way of undercutting a root ball, namely by rotating the undercutting knives in the same or opposite direction 120 , 130 around the horizontal swivel axes C, C 'in connection with a rotary movement about the vertical axis of rotation A. Because the curved undercutting knives can be swiveled through 90 ° into a horizontal position and are thus oriented to save space on the knife carrier, it is particularly important to start off a broad-bushed plant in the lower region particularly well possible.

It shows the 9 a top perspective view of a root ball undercutting and lifting device 201 in a third embodiment according to the invention obliquely from the front, again with two diametrically opposed arcuate undercutting knives 20 , 30th , the elements specific to this third embodiment being identified by 2xx. As the 9 are the undercutting knives 20 , 30th in knife guides 221 , 231 likewise rotatable together about the vertical axis of rotation A on a movable arc-shaped knife carrier 10th arranged, which on a stationary arcuate guide bearing 4th is movably mounted on the side facing the axis of rotation A. The arcuate guide bearing 4th and the arcuate knife holder 10th form an arch guide 3rd made with a frame 2nd connected is. The arcuate guide bearing 4th has an annular segment-shaped cover plate 5 and an annular segment-shaped base plate 6 on, between which, in the exemplary embodiment, nine evenly spaced roller bearings 7 are arranged. In the basic position of the knife holder shown 10th shows the bow guide 3rd an opening angle of approx. 80 °. For manual movement and positioning of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 201 are at the top of the frame 2nd two handles 52 arranged and at the bottom of the frame 2nd are two wheels 75 rotatably supported on a shaft or axle. The drive of the arcuate knife carrier 10th is carried out by an electric or hydraulic motor, not shown, which, as in the first embodiment of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 according to 1 to 7 , on the frame 2nd is supported and a gear arrangement, which a gear box 40 and two cardan shafts 43 includes. The cardan shafts 43 are each with a drive device 250 , 260 connected by means of the knife carrier 10th is rotatable by any angle about the axis of rotation A. The drive devices 250 , 260 , each have a chain guide 252 , 262 on in an endless roller chain 251 , 261 are guided in an arc in a horizontal plane around a drive pinion and a deflection wheel (cf. 10th ). The chain guides 252 , 262 are on the cover plate 5 of the arcuate guide bearing 4th arranged.

For controlling the angle of rotation and the speed of the knife holder 10th are adjacent to the handles 52 a control panel 51 with command devices and at least one control lever 53 provided on the handlebar. As the 9 are recognizable by the frame 2nd two swiveling and lockable footrests 74 stored. The footrests 74 can be locked in three positions, namely a first, as in 9 shown in a horizontal position, secondly in an upward position and thirdly in a lowered position, so that the downward-facing pins of the footrests 74 can penetrate into the soil, with which the root ball undercutting and lifting device 201 is secured against twisting during operation.

In an embodiment not shown, the drive systems 250 , 260 be connected to direct drives or include such, instead of the propeller shafts 43 two direct drives in the form of hydraulic or electric motors on the guide bearing 4th , would be arranged at an arc angle of about 60 °, each with the input shaft of a gearbox 254 a drive device 250 , 260 would be connected.

As the 9 to 11 further visible is below the base plate 6 of the guide camp 4th again a lowerable ring-shaped support plate 73 arranged, the arc angle of which is substantially equal to that of the guide bearing 4th is. The support plate 73 can be adjusted and locked at a distance from the floor. This makes it very easy to vary and determine the bale size. Around the root ball undercutting and lifting device 201 The root ball undercutting and lifting device shows that it can be used optimally for both deep and flat root balls and only dig as much soil as necessary 201 also two adjustable knife guides 221 , 231 on.

The 10th shows a partial perspective view of the sheet guide 3rd with the knife holder 10th and the undercutting knife 20 in a knife guide 221 . As the 10th can be seen is between the upper tubular guide profile 11 and the lower tubular guide profile 12th the drive element 13 , in the form of an arched rack 13A or at least one ring gear segment 13B , arranged, the drive element 13 namely the rack 13A or the ring gear segment 13B with the one in the lead camp 4th stored drive device 250 cooperates. The upper tubular guide profile acts accordingly 11 and the lower tubular guide profile 12th with the grooved rolls 9 together, which in the roller bearings 7 are stored in pairs. Furthermore, the 10th the course of the roller chain 251 in the chain guide 252 refer to. The 10th continues to show the knife guide 221 and the arched undercutting knife 20 which is in a knife store 23 in an adapter unit 22 is guided laterally. The front of the undercut knife 20 is through the leadership role 28 guided. The arched undercutting knife 20 shows breakthroughs 19th in which the worm wheel 243 over a worm shaft 242 of a worm gear 241 ( 11-13 ), to move the undercutting knife 20 engages along the guideways Y, Y '.

The 11 and 13 each show a detailed view of the open arcuate guide bearing 4th the bow guide 3rd with the cover plate 5 and the bottom plate 6 , between which components of the drive device 250 , especially a gearbox 254 and the roller bearings 7 are arranged. In the roller bearings 7 are two grooving rolls, as in the first embodiment 9 rotatable one above the other and by a compression spring 8th spring loaded. The roller bearings arranged in a circular arc 7 form with the grooved rolls 9 a radial bearing for the knife holder 10th , causing the knife holder 10th is clamped rotatably about the vertical axis A. Like especially the 11 can be seen, includes the drive device 250 The gear 254 with a first gear shaft 257 on the first gear 255.1 is slidably mounted, which is in a predetermined position with the arcuate rack 13A for the purpose of rotating the knife carrier 10th interacts with the gear shaft 257 on the input side again with the cardan shaft 43 is rotatably connected.

On the first gear shaft 257 is another gear 255.2 slidably mounted, which with a gear 256 , on a second gear shaft 258 cooperates. In extension of the second gear shaft 258 up there is a clutch 259 arranged, which in a further extension upwards with one of the roller chain 251 concealed sprocket 253 connected is. The roller chain 251 runs with her - the knife holder 10th facing drive or load strand curved in the curved chain guide 252 that on the arcuate cover plate 5 is arranged. In other words, the roller chain has in its effective area or the so-called chain driving section a circular arc section, the center of which lies in the axis of rotation A. The roller chain 251 can thus in the corresponding angular position of the knife holder 10th via a chain sprocket 253 and the gears 244 with the worm shaft 242 of the worm gear 241 be connected, the tooth flanks of the worm wheel 243 Breakthroughs on the output side 19th of the undercut knife 20 intervention. Depending on the direction of rotation of the worm wheel 243 on the drive roller 229 is the undercut knife 20 movable upwards or downwards along the guideway Y, Y '. To the knife holder 10th especially during the upward movement of the undercutting knives 20 , 30th is to be fixed or fixed in the curved guide bearing 4th arranged at least one brake element, not shown. Again 13 can be seen the partially open guide bearing 4th from the outside through sheets 17th be or will be completely closed, only a few sheets in the exemplary embodiment 17th are shown.

The 12th shows a perspective partial view obliquely from above of a sheet guide 3rd with a knife guide 221 , with a knife bearing 23 and an adapter unit 22 which have a pair of cheeks 24th includes the bow-shaped knife carrier 10th are attached. The cheeks 24th have on their mutually facing sides in the exemplary embodiment three open grooves directed upwards 14 , to hold a bridge 16 the knife bearing 23 , on. The grooves 14 run at different acute angles and / or parallel to the axis of rotation A, which results in different application angles and distances for the respective knife bearing 23 and therefore for that Undercutting knife 20 , 30th surrender. Every knife store 23 includes at least one leadership role 28 on the front side ( 10th ) and at least one guide roller hidden here on the back of the undercut knife used 20 , 30th . Also on the back of the or each undercut knife 20 , 30th a driving role 229 in the knife store 23 stored, the worm wheel 243 on the drive roller 229 is applied and the teeth of the worm wheel 243 in the breakthroughs 19th of the undercut knife 20 , 30th intervene and thus when the drive roller rotates 229 the respective undercut knife 20 , 30th is movable along the guideways Y, Y '. In extension of the worm shaft 242 down is a rotary encoder 245 stored, which on the angular position of the worm shaft 242 the position of the undercut knife 20 , 30th detected and made available for further control processing by wireless signal transmission.

A fourth embodiment of a root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 according to the invention show the 14 , 15 and 18th , namely 14 a perspective front view obliquely from above, 15 a perspective view from the front and 18th a rear perspective view obliquely from above. The root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 again has two diametrically opposed arcuate undercutting knives 320 , 330 on. The elements specific to the fourth embodiment are marked with 3xx. Like the one in particular 15 are the undercutting knives 320 , 330 again in knife guides 321 , 331 on the rotatable arc-shaped knife carrier 10th arranged, which is on the inside of the arcuate guide bearing 4th is movably mounted and clamped on the side facing the axis of rotation A. The root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 in the fourth embodiment differs from the root ball undercutting and lifting device 201 in the third embodiment, in particular in the design of the feed drives for the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 as well as the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 self.

The drive devices 350 , 360 point towards the root ball undercutting and lifting device 201 in the third embodiment, one motor each 359 , 369 on the chain guide 352 , 362 and thus on the arcuate guide bearing 4th is stored on. By means of the motors 359 , 369 are respective roller chains 251 , 261 separate from each other and therefore independent of the central motor 42 on the frame 2nd drivable. This results in a separation of functions on the drive side for the rotary movement of the knife carrier on the one hand and the infeed of the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 along the guideway Y, Y 'on the other hand. To the knife holder 10th , especially during the upward movement of the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 to fix or fix, is in the arcuate guide bearing 4th arranged at least one brake element, not shown.

Again 16 can be seen, points below the base plate 6 arranged support plate 373 a plurality of sloping anchor plates 375 which are arranged and aligned in a circular arc. These anchor plates 375 dig into the ground when lowering and prevent twisting of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 during the rotation of the knife holder 10th , with the anchor plates 375 are aligned in the exemplary embodiment in such a way that their action, in particular when the knife carrier rotates 10th counterclockwise (in plan view according to 14 and 15 comes into play.

The 17th shows a partial perspective view of one side of the sheet guide 3rd with the guide camp 4th and the knife holder 10th as well as those on the knife carrier 10th arranged knife guide 321 . Again 17th can be seen, is a spindle drive 341 trained undercutting knife adjustment device for the essentially vertical movement of the undercutting knife 320 provided along the guideway Y, Y '. The spindle drive 341 includes next to a spindle 342 a wave 345 and a spindle nut 343 at which a driver 346 is arranged. The driver 346 is through an opening in the undercutting knife 320 guided so that this turns when the spindle rotates 342 depending on the direction of rotation along the guideway Y, Y 'moved down or up. The drive of the spindle 342 takes place on the right side of the sheet guide shown 3rd or the arcuate guide bearing 4th by the engine 359 who is in the chain guide 352 running roller chain 251 drives, which in turn on the knife guide 321 stored chain sprocket 353 drives that over the wave 345 finally the spindle 342 drives or rotates. The driver 346 is designed in the present embodiment as a pin. The driver 346 However, it can also be cone-shaped, bolt-shaped, sword-shaped or hook-shaped.

As the 18th are recognizable by the frame 2nd two swiveling and lockable footrests 374 stored, which in this embodiment are angled and pointed at their end, so that they penetrate the soil under load and thus the root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 can fix.

Using the example of the fourth embodiment of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 according to the 14 to 18th the operation of the root ball undercutting and lifting device is described below. After starting up the plant, the bale size is controlled via the control panel 51 selected and the knife guide 21 , 31 , 221 , 231 , 321 , 331 by means of the adapter unit 22 , 32 set. Then the adjustable support plate 73 , 373 lowered as necessary and through the anchor plates 375 fixed in the ground. The tips or the front edge of the undercutting knife 20 , 30th , 320 330 due to the weight of the root ball undercutting and lifting device 1 , 101 , 201 , 301 pressed into the ground. The part of the undercutting knife that is not extended, depending on the size of the root ball to be cut out 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 is still above ground at this time.

The undercut process of the undercut knife 20 , 30th , 320 330 begins with the knife holder 10th rotated in plan view clockwise or counterclockwise around the vertical axis of rotation A, in other words around the center of the plant for at least half a turn (180 °) in a first step. Taking into account the type of soil or the "soil type", the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 330 successively within the effective range of the roller chains 251 , 261 continuously with the knife carrier rotating 10th or stationary with the knife carrier standing 10th at a defined working point in the effective range of the roller chains 251 , 261 by means of the drive devices 250 , 260 , 350 , 360 or the so-called chain jacking units are driven into the ground at a defined speed along the guideway Y, Y ', the speed and depth being controlled by separate drives with the motors 359 , 369 can be controlled.

A fifth embodiment of a root ball undercutting and lifting device 401 according to the invention shows the 19th . This is a further development of the fourth embodiment according to the 14 to 18th , the elements specific to the fifth embodiment being identified by 4xx. The root ball undercutting and lifting device 401 again has two diametrically opposed arcuate undercutting knives 320 , 330 on. As the 19th are the undercutting knives 320 , 330 also in knife guides 321 , 331 on the rotatable arc-shaped knife carrier 10th and on the curved guide profiles 11 , 12th arranged, which on the inside of the arcuate guide bearing 404 are movably mounted. The rotatable, curved knife holder 10th with the curved guide profiles 11 , 12th and the arcuate guide bearing 404 together form the arch guide 403 . The root ball undercutting and lifting device 401 The fifth embodiment differs from the root ball undercutting and lifting device 301 in the fourth embodiment by two additional telescopic arch pieces 480 , 490 , each at the free ends of the arcuate guide bearing 404 between the cover plate 405 and the bottom plate 406 are movably mounted. For retracting and extending the telescopic arch pieces 480 , 490 is an actuating cylinder 481 provided that in the guide camp 404 is stored. The formation of the feed drives for the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 as well as the undercutting knives 20 , 30th , 320 , 330 are essentially the same as the fourth embodiment, only the driver 446 is deviating like a sword. The drive devices 350 , 360 each have a motor 359 , 369 on that on the chain guide 352 , 362 and thus on the arcuate guide bearing 404 is stored.

Reference list

1, 101

Root ball undercutting and lifting device

2nd

frame

3, 103

Bow guide

4, 104

Guide bearings

5

Cover plate

6

Base plate

7

Roller bearings

8th

Compression spring

9

Nutrolle

10th

Knife holder

11

Leadership profile

11A

Tread

12th

Leadership profile

12A

Tread

13

Drive element

13A

Rack

13B

Sprocket segment

14

Groove

15

cover

16

web

17th

sheet

19th

Breakthroughs

20, 120

Undercutting knife

21, 121

Knife guide

22, 32

Adapter unit

23, 33

Knife bearings

24, 34

cheek

25, 35

Holding element

26, 36

Bearing plate

27, 37

Leadership role

28, 38

Leadership role

29, 39

Drive pinion

30, 130

Undercutting knife

31, 131

Knife guide

40

Gear box

41

transmission

42

engine

42e

Electric motor

43

PTO shaft

44

Battery unit

49

engine

49e

Electric motor

51

control panel

52

Handle

53

Operating lever

71, 72

support

71e, 72e

Electric cylinder

73

Support plate

74

Footrest

75

wheel

76

axis

77

Traction motor

201

Root ball undercutting and lifting device

221

Knife guide

229

Drive roller

231

Knife guide

241

Worm gear

242

Worm shaft

243

Worm wheel

244

gear

245

Angle of rotation encoder

250, 260

Drive device

251, 261

Roller chain

252, 262

Chain guide

253

Chain sprocket

254

transmission

255.1, 255.2

gear

256

gear

257

Gear shaft

258

Gear shaft

259

coupling

301

Root ball undercutting and lifting device

320

Undercutting knife

321

Knife guide

330

Undercutting knife

331

Knife guide

341, 351

Spindle drive

342

spindle

343

Spindle nut

344

gear

345

wave

346

Carrier

350, 360

Drive device

352, 362

Chain guide

353

Chain sprocket

359, 369

engine

373

Support plate

374

Footrest

375

Anchor plate

401

Root ball undercutting and lifting device

403

Bow guide

404

Guide bearings

405

Cover plate

406

Base plate

409

Nutrolle

446

Carrier

480, 490

Bow piece

481

Actuating cylinder

A

Axis of rotation

B, B '

axis

C, C '

Swivel axis

X

Linear axis

Y, Y '

Guideway

d ₁

average diameter of the guide bearing

d ₂

average diameter of the knife holder

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• US 3017707 [0003]
• US 5081941 [0004]
• EP 0022733 B1 [0005]
• DE 102017214290 A1 [0006]

Claims (29)

Root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 101, 201, 301, 401) with an arch guide (3, 103, 403), which has an arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) and one, by means of a on the arch guide (3, 103, 403) held motor (42) rotatable about an axis of rotation A, arcuate knife carrier (10) on which two knife guides (21, 31, 121, 131, 221, 231, 321, 331) are diametrically opposed, in which In each case an undercut knife (20, 30, 120, 130, 320, 330) which is curved in its longitudinal extent is movably mounted, characterized in that the curved guide bearing (4, 104, 404) and the curved knife carrier (10) each extend over an arc angle extend in the range from 240 ° to a maximum of 340 ° and thus have an opening on the circumference in the range from 120 ° to 20 °, the curved knife carrier (10) being movable laterally on the curved guide bearing (4, 104, 404) in grooved rollers (9 ) is stored, and that the arcuate knife Carrier (10) comprises an arcuate drive element (13) and at least one arcuate guide profile (11, 12) with a convex running surface (11A, 12A) pointing towards the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104), the arcuate guide profile (11, 12 ) can be brought into engagement with the grooving rollers (10) in such a way that the arcuate knife carrier (10) rotates about the essentially vertical axis of rotation A and the opening on the circumference of the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) through the arcuate knife carrier (10) is lockable. Device after Claim 1 , characterized in that the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) comprises a plurality of grooved rollers (9, 409) arranged one above the other in sets, in particular in pairs, which have a concave, V- or trapezoidal groove on the circumference and that the arcuate knife carrier ( 10) comprises at least two arched guide profiles (11, 12) arranged one above the other, which have a convex tread (11A, 12A) on the circumference, the upper guide profile (11) with the upper groove rollers (9, 409) and the lower guide profile (12 ) can be brought into engagement with the lower grooving rollers (9, 409). Device after Claim 1 or 2nd , characterized in that the grooved rollers (9) can be moved radially transversely to their axis of rotation, in particular resiliently in the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) in a roller bearing (7) between an annular segment-shaped cover plate (5, 405) and an annular segment-shaped base plate ( 6, 406) are stored. Device after Claim 2 or 3rd , characterized in that the motor (42) and a gear arrangement for driving the knife carrier (10) are held on the arc guide (3, 103, 403), the gear arrangement having at least two gear wheels which are axially parallel in a horizontal plane in the arcuate Guide bearings (4, 104, 404) are mounted at a distance such that the arcuate drive element (13) arranged on the knife carrier (10) can always be brought into engagement with at least one of the gear wheels. Device after Claim 4 , characterized in that the arcuate drive element (13) can be designed as an arcuate rack (13A), arcuate perforated rail or as a ring gear segment (13B) or as a plurality of ring gear segments (13B), the arcuate drive element (13) between the upper Guide profile (11) and the lower guide profile (12) is arranged and connected to this. Device after Claim 4 or 5 , characterized in that the gear arrangement has at least two further gear wheels which are mounted axially parallel in a horizontal plane at a distance above the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404), each of which is connected to one of the gear wheels by means of a drive shaft (43) within the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) are connected. Device after Claim 4 or 5 , characterized in that the first motor (42) and a second motor (42) are spaced apart on or in the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) that the first motor (42) by a first clutch with the first Gear and the second motor (42) are connected by a second clutch to the second gear in the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404). Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the or each knife guide (21, 31, 221, 231, 321, 331) has an adapter unit (22, 32) and a knife bearing (23, 33) for an arcuate undercutting knife (20, 30, 120, 130, 320, 330), the knife bearing (23, 33) being detachably mounted in the adapter unit (22, 32) and the adapter unit (22, 32) on the curved knife carrier (10) radially inward to the axis of rotation A is arranged directed. Device after Claim 8 , characterized in that the or each adapter unit (22) comprises two cheeks (24, 34) and at least one holding element (25, 35), the holding element (25, 35) being fastened to the arcuate knife carrier (10) and the cheeks (24, 34) on their mutually facing sides each have at least one open groove (14) for receiving the knife bearing (23, 33). Device after Claim 9 , characterized in that the or each knife bearing (23, 33) comprises two spaced-apart bearing plates (26, 36), each of which has a web (16) on their outward-facing sides which fits into a groove (14) of a cheek (24 , 34) and that the bearing plates (26, 36) are connected to one another by spacer elements and a rear wall, at least two spacer elements being able to be designed as roller axes for receiving guide rollers (27, 28, 37, 38). Device after Claim 10 , characterized in that the or each knife bearing (23, 33) can be positioned along a linear axis X, which runs transversely through the axis of rotation A, in various adjacent grooves (14) of each cheek (24, 34) of the adapter unit (22, 32) , whereby the radial distance of the knife bearing (23, 33) to the knife carrier (10) can be changed. Device after Claim 10 or 11 , characterized in that the or each knife bearing (23, 33) between the cheeks (24, 34) in pairs of grooves (14) in the cheeks (24, 34) with different inclinations, at different angles in the adapter unit (22, 32) can be stored. Device according to one of the Claims 8 to 12th , characterized in that on the knife carrier (10) adjacent to each knife guide (21, 31, 221, 231, 321, 331) or on the knife guide (21, 31, 221, 231, 321, 331) an actuator, in particular a electric actuator for moving and positioning the arcuate undercutting knife (20, 30, 120, 130, 320, 330) along a guide path Y, Y ', the guide path Y, Y' being at an acute angle to the axis of rotation A. Device after Claim 13 , characterized in that each undercut knife (20, 30, 120, 130) has a drive element for establishing an operative connection with the actuator, wherein the drive element as a plurality of equally spaced openings (19), depressions or elevations, for establishing the operative connection with a Drive pinion (29, 39) or a worm shaft of the actuator is designed and set up. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the arc-shaped guide bearing (4, 104, 404) for setting a predetermined distance from the terrain surface, at least one, in particular annular segment-shaped support plate (73, 373) held on length-adjustable supports (71, 72) ) is arranged. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 101, 201, 301, 401) comprises a chassis with at least two wheels (75) or chains, which preferably by a drive motor (77) are drivable. Device after Claim 16 , characterized in that the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 101, 201, 301, 401) comprises a frame (2) on which handles (52) for manual movement of the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 101) and / or that the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 101, 301, 401) has a drawbar for coupling to a towing vehicle. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 101, 201, 301, 401) comprises a frame (2) on which a coupling element for a releasable mechanical coupling and at least one plug connection for an electrical and / or hydraulic coupling with a carrier vehicle are arranged. Device according to one of the Claims 8 to 12th , characterized in that at least one drive device (250, 260, 350, 360) is arranged on the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404), preferably the drive device (250, 260, 350, 360) having an arcuate chain guide ( 251, 261, 351, 361) guided roller chain (251, 261) and an input-side gear (254) and / or an input-side, in particular directly coupled motor (359, 369). Device after Claim 19 , characterized in that the drive device (250, 260, 350, 360) is followed by an actuator held on each knife guide (21, 31, 221, 231, 321, 331) for moving and / or positioning the arcuate undercutting knife (20, 30, 320, 330) is arranged along a guideway Y, Y ', the guideway Y, Y' preferably running at an acute angle to the axis of rotation A. Device after Claim 20 , characterized in that the actuator comprises a chain sprocket (253) and a worm gear (241) operatively connected to the chain sprocket (253), which has a worm shaft (242) and a worm wheel (243), preferably the worm wheel (243) for direct Intervention or by means of a downstream drive pinion for indirect engagement in evenly spaced openings (19) of an undercutting knife (20, 30) is formed and set up. Device after Claim 20 , characterized in that the actuator comprises a chain sprocket (253) and a spindle drive (341) operatively connected to the chain sprocket (253), which has a spindle (342) and a spindle nut (343), preferably on the spindle nut (343) Driver (346, 446) is arranged to establish an operative connection with an undercut knife (320, 330). Device after Claim 21 or 22 , characterized in that each undercut knife (20, 30, 320, 330) has a drive element for establishing an operative connection with the actuator, preferably the drive element as a plurality of equally spaced openings (19), recesses or elevations for establishing the operative connection with the Worm wheel (243) or as a bore, cutout, recess or projection for establishing an operative connection with the driver (346, 446) is formed and set up. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) has at least one telescopic arch piece (480, 490) in which at least one grooved roller (409) is supported for supporting the knife carrier (10). Process for nurseries, in gardening and landscaping as well as in forestry for undercutting and digging out plants with root balls with a root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 201, 301, 401) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising at least two arcuate undercutting knives ( 20, 30, 320, 330), at least two drive devices (250, 260, 350, 360) for moving the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) along a substantially vertical guide path Y, Y ', an arcuate guide bearing (4, 104 , 404) and an arcuate knife carrier (10) and at least one motor drive for rotating the arcuate knife carrier in the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) about an essentially vertical axis of rotation A with the steps: a) bringing the root ball undercut and lifting device (1, 201, 301, 401) on the plant to be lifted until the plant to be lifted is in the center of the arcuate knife carrier (10) t, b) lowering the curved guide bearing (4, 104, 404) and / or the support plate (73, 373) according to a predetermined root ball size until the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) come into contact with the ground, characterized by the further steps: c) Rotating the arcuate knife carrier (10) with the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) mounted thereon in knife guides (21, 31, 221, 231, 331), so that they each fall into the effective range of a roller chain (251, 261) one of the drive devices (250, 260, 350, 360) arrive, wherein a chain sprocket (253, 353), which is respectively mounted on the knife guides (21, 31, 221, 231, 321, 331), engages in the roller chain (251, 261), i ) Continued rotation of the arcuate knife carrier (10) or stopping the rotation of the arcuate knife carrier (10), e) activation of the drive devices (250, 260,350, 360) and movement of the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) in the effective area of the roller chain (251, 261) by a predetermined one Downward amount along the guideway Y, Y ', which penetrate into the ground to a predetermined depth, f) rotating the arcuate knife carrier (10) by 180 degrees or by an integral multiple of 180 degrees, g) repeating steps d) to f) until a predetermined lower end position of the undercutting knife (20, 30, 320, 330) is reached, i) lifting and / or tilting the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 201, 301, 401) with the plant to be lifted together with the root ball over the top of the terrain and setting down the plant with the root ball, j) activating a braking element to fix the knife holder, k) activating the drive devices (250, 260, 350, 360) and moving the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) by a predetermined amount upwards along the guideway Y, Y ', preferably up to an upper end position. Procedure according to Claim 25 , characterized in that before step a) the step is carried out: - adjusting the inclination of the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) and / or the distance of the undercutting knives (20, 30, 320, 330) to one another. Procedure according to Claim 26 , characterized in that before step a) the step of setting the root ball size or the root ball depth is carried out by means of a control panel (51) on the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 201, 301, 401) or on an operating device on a carrier vehicle. Procedure according to one of the Claims 25 to 27 , characterized in that before step c) the step is carried out: - anchoring the arcuate guide bearing (4, 104, 404) by means of anchor plates (375) arranged on the support plate (73, 373) and / or - anchoring the arcuate guide bearing ( 4, 104, 404) by means of mandrels or anchor plates (375) which are arranged on the underside of footrests (74, 374). Procedure according to one of the Claims 25 to 28 , characterized in that the steps are carried out before step a): - coupling the root ball undercutting and lifting device (1, 201, 301, 401) to a carrier vehicle and - connecting the hydraulic system of the carrier vehicle with the hydraulic system of the root ball undercut - and lifting device (1, 201, 301, 401).

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