The present invention relates to a combination of a loader and a tree handling unit, which combination can be mounted on an agricultural tractor, its lifting gear or body.

It is preferable in tree harvesting to employ the same equipment both in producing timber (felling, lopping, cutting) and in its transportation (loading, driving) . This is the case especially in small areas of timber marked for cutting or when employing a one-man working sequence, e.g. when a farmer does his own tree harvest¬ ing. This is a way to eliminate unnecessary shifting of the equipment and to organise tree harvesting more effectively.

In the prior art loader and tree handling unit combinat¬ ions, the handling unit (lopper, cutter) is fitted to the end of the boom mechanism to replace a clamp or grab. Then, however, the weight of a handling unit and the forces created by timber handling burden the load¬ er.

In order to eliminate this drawback, the arrangement in a loader and tree handling unit combination of the in¬ vention is such that the tree handling unit is secured to the loader fastening member, the latter in turn being secured to the lifting means or body of an agricultural tractor.

In a design of the invention, a conventional type load¬ er is fastened to the conventional three-point lifting mechanisms of an agricultural tractor or by means of a fitting mounted on the body of a machine. A tree handl¬ ing unit (lopper, cutter or the like) is fastened with

bayonet catches to the loader fastening means in a manner that the operating range of a loader facilitates the use of a loader for delivering timber to said handling unit.

In a solution of the invention, the weight of a handl¬ ing unit and timber being handled acts near the work¬ ing machine and, thus, the handling forces do not burden the loader boom mechanism. Working can be further accelerated by using a loader with increased reach. At the same time, a loader can be freely used for picking up the next tree for handling.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference made to the accompanying drawing, in which the figure shows a diagrammatic view of a combination of a loader and a tree handling unit of the invention fastened to the rear end of an agricultural tractor.

Referring to the accompanying figure, the loader sect¬ ion of a combination of loader and tree handling unit fastened to the rear end of an agricultural tractor is generally designated with reference numeral 1 and the tree handling unit generally with reference numeral 2.

Loader 1 is fastened to the rear end of tractor 3 and to its conventional three-point lifting mechanisms 4. A fitting to the tractor body is also plausible. The fastening techniques are known as such in this field, so a detailed description thereof is not necessary in this context.

The fastening member 5 of loader 1 is removably and as such conventionally, e.g. by means of suitable bayonet catches 6, fitted with a bracket beam 7. The

tree handling unit 2 is by means of a support arm 8 pivotably mounted on the free end of bracket beam 7.

The tree handling unit 2 carried by support arm 8 can be swung freely either around a vertical axis at the end of bracket beam 7 designated with reference numeral 9 or it can be swung hydraulically to a desired posit¬ ion and locked therein by means of conventional hydraul¬ ic means (not shown) .

The tree handling unit 2 comprises a base designated by reference numeral 10, on which are adjustably mount¬ ed lopping tools 11 on either side of and surrounding a tree for carrying out the lopping. Base 10 is further fitted in a similar adjustable manner with two drive gears 12 for squeezing a tree trunk therebetween and pulling it in axial direction, said lopping tools 11 cutting off the branches of a tree trunk. Finally, a cutoff unit 13 chops the tree into logs of desired length.

During the operation, said tree handling unit 2 is pre¬ ferably swung circa 90 ^* from the position shown in the figure, a line of traction defined by lopping and pull¬ ing equipment 11, 12 extending crosswise relative to the lengthwise direction of tractor 3. Thus, follow¬ ing the lopping effected by lopping tools 11 and the chopping effected by cutoff unit 13, the resulting logs from a tree trunk picked up to tree handling unit 2 by means of the grab 14 of loader 1 fall conveniently on the side of a driveway.

The invention has only been described above in refer¬ ence to one preferred embodiment thereof. However, this is by on means to limit the invention just to this example but a lot of modifica ions can be made within the scope of an inventive conception defined in the annexed claims.