TECHNICAL FIELD:

The present invention relates to an arrangement for cutting of roadsides, which is arranged to be conveyed by a vehicle movable either along or to the side of a roadway in a chosen direction of travel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

A machine is known for example for cutting of roadsides which scrapes or planes the roadside and deposits the material on the roadway. This requires an extra machine to take care of the material on the roadway. The roadside material which is to be cut and removed can vary greatly in its consistency and the roadside can sometimes include large stones, rocks, etc., which place extremely high demands on the strength and adaptability of the device.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM:

It is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement which can meet the above-described high demands when cutting of roadsides.

SOLUTION:

Said object is achieved by means of an arrangement according to the present invention which is characterized in that the arrangement is in the form of a unit which is adjustable into various positions relative to the ground which is to be cut, in that said unit comprises a cutting tool facing towards the direction of travel with a cutting edge and adapted to cut said ground to a set depth, and a rotatably driven scarifier positioned in front of the cutting tool, which scarifier presents a plurality of tearing elements which tear up the ground to a

predetermined depth relative to the set depth of the cutting tool, and a collecting drum situated behind the cutting tool within which a conveyor is positioned and arranged to laterally expel collected, cut-off material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

The invention will be described in greater detail the following by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings, in which

Fig. 1 schematically shows the principle for the arrangement according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a schematic view from the front of the arrangement; Fig. 3 shows a view from above, and

Fig. 4 schematically shows the principle for suspending the arrangement according to the invention.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION: The arrangement according to the invention consists primarily of two active parts which interact with the ground 1 which is to be treated, i.e. a verge next to a roadway, so that the verge can be cut. These two parts are in the form of, on the one hand, a cutting tool 2 with a cutting edge 3 which is maintained at a set depth in the ground and displaced in a chosen direction of travel 4 and, on the other hand, a scarifier 5 which is intended to be rotated in front of the cutting tool 2 so as to tear up the ground and facilitate the cutting of the material with the cutting tool. The cutting tool 2 is located on the leading edge of a lower section 6 of a collecting drum 7 which is designed to receive the cut-off material through a receiving opening 8, see Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The scarifier is provided with a plurality of rod-like tearing elements 9 which are arranged around the periphery of an axial tube 10. This is arranged to be rotated by means of a motor 11

which advantageously can be a hydraulic motor. This is adapted to rotate the scarifier 5 at such a speed that the peripheral ends of the tearing elements on contact with the ground move in a direction opposite to the principal direction of movement 4 of the arrangement (i.e. clockwise in Fig. 1) and with a speed which is greater than that of the arrangement so that the material is not only pulled up, but is also fed backwards so that in practice it is spread over the cutting tool 2 and into the collecting drum 7. The reach of the scarifier should correspond to the depth of cut of the cutting tool.

As is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the arrangement consists of an assembled unit 12 which includes a frame 13 by means of which the unit is adjustably carried by a not shown vehicle which is intended to travel in the direction of the arrow 4 on a roadway 14 whose verges 15 are to be cut. The vehicle can be a tractor provided with suitable means for carrying the unit 12, or a vehicle which is provided with special equipment to take care of the collected material. .An example of such a vehicle is described in Swedish patent application no. SE 8305652-3 (publication no. 451 207) , in which the conically-shaped collectors can be replaced by the arrangement according to the present invention.

The collecting drum 7 is in the form of a cylindrically- shaped tube with an outer, closed end in the form of a gable piece 16 which projects forwardly to the scarifier 5 and is provided with an outer bearing for its axial tube 10. The collecting drum 7 houses a transport tube 17 which, in the shown example, is in the form of a screw transporter rotatably carried in the gable piece 16 and, by means of a not shown motor, is rotated in a principal direction of rotation which implies that the material in the collecting drum 7 is transported laterally for collection in the

vehicle which carries the unit. For this purpose a discharge opening 18 is provided in the collecting drum, below which in the shown example there is arranged an additional transporter 19 in the form of a conveyor belt for further transport to a larger collection container in the vehicle. As is shown in said patent document, the collection container can either be a closed container or formed as a separation drum for separation of material and return of fine granular material to the roadway when this is, for example, a dirt road. An inner gable piece 20 is arranged to form an inner mounting for the scarifier 5 or, more exactly, its motor 11 so that the scarifier is supported in a certain relationship to the adjustment movement of the collecting drum 7. The scarifier 5 should have an operating width which to as great an extent as possibl.e is adapted to the operating width of the receiving opening 8 and should not exceed this width unless converging guide walls or similar are arranged towards the opening. The said adjustment is achieved by means of the collecting drum being suspended on its frame 13, which in turn is pivotally suspended from the vehicle about an axis 21 which, in the mounted condition of the arrangement, is substantially horizontal. The drum itself is pivotally carried in the frame 13 about a second axis 21 which lies principly transverse to the horizontal axis 21 and in the mounted state can be either vertical or, as shown, somewhat angularly positioned so that a pivoting of the drum in a rearwards direction simultaneously brings about a lifting thereof from the ground. This contributes to the resiliency of the arrangement when encountering increased resistance in the ground, but increases the load on the hydraulics, as detailed below.

For positional adjustment of the unit 12 relative to the ground and in order to permit resiliency of the drum 7 and associated operational components which work the ground,

the unit 12 is provided with adjustment devices 23, 24 such as, for example, hydraulic rams which form a part of a hydraulic system and which are manoeuvrable from a cab on the vehicle. The one hydraulic ram 23 is held between a fixed point on the vehicle at a distance from the horizontal axis 21 and the drum 7 for adjustment of the drum and thereby the cutting tool 2 and scarifier 5 to various operating depths. Alternatively, the hydraulic ram 23 can be secured in a suitable manner between the frame 13 and a fixed part of the vehicle for pivoting of the frame about the. horizontal axis 21. The second hydraulic ram 24 is held between a fixed part of the vehicle and the drum in order to administer rotation of the drum and associated components about the transverse axis 22 to offer resiliency of the unit when momentarily increased resistance in the ground arises, for example through contact with larger stones, rocks and the like. This corresponding resiliency can also be incorporated into the first hydraulic ram 23 by means of, for example, a pressure-sensitive bypass valve or similar.

As mentioned above, the scarifier 5 is advantageously set to such a depth that its tearing elements 9 more or less reach down to the working depth of the cutting tool 2 , but no deeper, in order to permit as level a cutting as possible. The cutting edge 3 is advantageously swaged so that effective cutting is achieved. Both the screw transporter 17 and the scarifier 5 can also be adapted to be reversible in order to dislodge clinging material or for reversing of the vehicle. In addition, both the screw transporter and the scarifier can be provided with transmission systems, such as belt drive, so that the motors will not be damaged by overloading since the transmission is allowed to slip.

The invention is not restricted to that described above or to the embodiment shown in the drawings, but may be varied within the scope of the appended claims. For example, it is conceivable that the screw transporter 17 be replaced by a conveyor belt, bucket conveyor or similar. Furthermore, the scarifier 5 can be given a different form with more blade¬ like tearing elements so that a more forceful feed effect is achieved. The hydraulic ram 24 can be located in a different way, for example behind the drum 7 so that the ram is under compressive force when in operation.