The present invention relates to logging carriages and their methods of manufacture and service.

In particular, though not solely, the present invention is directed to logging carriages for use with high line logging and similar operations. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The technology is for logging, specifically "highline" logging. This is where a steel cable, a "highline" is suspended and tensioned between two end points above the ground. This may be needed when the ground to be logged is difficult to access, or it is more efficient or desirable to access the ground from above.

A carriage, typically rectangular in side profile, can move along the line using pulleys or sheaves located on the top of the carriage which run on the highline which the carriage hangs from - there is normally a haul line attached to the carriage to pull it up and then allows gravity to pull it back down the highline, though there may also be a back haul line to pull it back down the highline, for example where the gradient of the highline is insufficient to do so, or where greater speed of operation is needed. Normally there is a haul winch at one of the two, or both end points to pull the haul line(s) in and out and thus move the carriage along the highline. The normal operation is the carriage moves along the highline by the haul lines, to above where there are felled logs, or similar load, that need moving. The logs are then attached using a vertical line from the carriage - the vertical line can be reeled in or out from the carriage to lift or lower the logs. The logs are attached to the vertical line by workers using choker lines. The choker line goes around the log(s), and attaches to the vertical line. The choker line becomes tight around the log when tensioned.

The log carriage is often operated remotely, typically by radio frequency. The person at the top of the hill where the logs are dropped can operate it, as can the person where the logs are, both will have controllers for the haul line (to move the carriage along the highline), as well as in and out for the vertical line. In this way logs can be connected to, lifted and then hauled to a common point. At the common point, normally called a skid pad, the logs are disconnected from the choker and the carriage can resume haul operations. Meanwhile the delivered logs can de-branched, sized, and cut into manageable logs. They are then loaded onto a truck, or similar for removal.

The controller in the carriage receives the radio signals and controls the winch for reel out/in of the vertical line. The winch is driven by a diesel motor through a gear box. There may also be a clutch/brake.

Typical log carriages have a main frame, which has two rectangles, side by side, there are cross braces and connections between each rectangular frame. Within the resulting box frame is housed the components of the carriage, such as the receiver/controller, diesel motor, gear box winch for the vertical line, fuel tank, oil tank, and a battery.

This combination has a fundamental weakness in that these carriages often are dropped to the ground roughly (whether by accident or on purpose). This requires a very heavy frame, as above, to protect them. However, while the frame itself may survive, the gearbox can still break or come out of alignment with the winch. When this happens the log carriage becomes unserviceable, or will have reduced functionality until it then breaks and becomes unserviceable. This then requires repair. This leads to the other issue of the prior art. Access to the internals of the prior art is difficult because all the internals are mounted to, protected by, and therefore obscured by the rectangular box steel frame which they are mounted in. Traditionally side panels are removed, or there are small side doors, to gain access. However, this still prevents or reduces clear access, and creates great difficulty if a component needs to be removed for replacement or servicing or repair Normally this leads to protracted maintenance time, even for a small job due to the reduced access and may require the entire unit to be sent to a remote location for repair and then return. This leads to increased down time of the highline operation with associated costs. In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved logging carriage and its method of manufacture and service, or to overcome the above shortcomings or address the above desiderata, to provide a carriage with increased reliability and robustness, that has improved access to its internals for service or similar, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect the present invention consists in a highline carriage capable of moving along a highline from one location to another and connect to, and transport, a load underneath by a vertical line, comprising or including,

a lower frame,

an upper frame, the upper frame pivotally connected to the lower frame at a first point and releasably connected to the lower frame at a second point so that the upper frame can swing up and away from the lower frame,

at least one pulley attached to the upper frame to connect the carriage to, and allow it to move along, the highline,

a winch, attached to the upper frame to reel in and out the vertical line, at least one hydraulic motor, attached to the upper frame, to drive the winch, wherein the at least one hydraulic motor is driven by at least one prime mover mounted to the lower frame.

Preferably the prime mover is a hydraulic pump, which in turn is driven by a diesel motor.

Preferably the lower frame also has mounted from it a fuel tank for the diesel motor, oil tank for the hydraulics and controllers and electrics for the winch and diesel motor.

Preferably when the upper frame is swung up and away the internals of the log carriage are easily accessible along the diagonal line between the upper frame and lower frame. Preferably the lower frame and upper frame are substantially "L" shaped in side view.

Preferably the lower frame and upper frame when connected form a rectangle in side view. In another aspect the present invention consists in a method of service or maintenance of a logging carriage or part thereof, comprising or including the steps of,

providing a lower frame, providing an upper frame,

pivotally connecting the upper frame to the lower frame at a first point and releasably connecting the lower frame at a second point, the first point and second point at diagonal opposing corners of the upper and lower frames,

so that when the upper frame is released from the lower frame, the upper frame can swing up and away from the lower frame, to allow access into the internals of the carriage along the now created diagonal opening,

at least one pulley attached to the upper frame to connect the carriage to, and allow it to move along, a highline,

a winch, attached to the upper frame to reel in and out the vertical line, at least one hydraulic motor, attached to the upper frame, to drive the winch, wherein the at least one hydraulic motor is driven by at least one prime mover mounted to the lower frame,

and when maintenance or service is complete the upper frame is swung back into place on the lower frame and the releasable connection is reconnected.

In yet another aspect the present invention consists in a kit for retrofitting to an existing logging carriage, comprising or including,

an upper frame which can accommodate the winch of the existing carriage, pulleys or sheaves of the existing carriage, the upper frame having an upper connection point, and a lower connection point on diagonally opposing corners of the upper frame,

a lower frame which can accommodate the diesel motor or similar, electronics, fuel tank, and oil tank of the existing logging carriage,

a hydraulic pump which can be driven by the diesel engine or similar, mountable in the lower frame,

a hydraulic motor to drive the winch, the hydraulic motor mountable in the upper frame,

hydraulic couplings to extend between the lower frame and the upper frame between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic motor,

wherein an existing logging carriage can be converted to a hydraulic driven winch system, with the upper and lower frame connected to each other via the upper connection point, and the lower connection point, and wherein releasing the connection at either the upper connection point, or the lower connection point allows the upper frame to swing up and away from the lower frame for access to the internals of the logging carriage, for maintenance, service or similar. Preferably the kit includes adapter brackets for existing logging carriages to enable mounting of their existing components in the upper and lower frames.

In another aspect the present invention consists in a logging carriage as described herein with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

In another aspect the present invention consists in a method of service or maintenance of a logging carriage or part thereof as described herein with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

In another aspect the present invention consists in a kit for retrofitting to an existing logging carriage as described herein with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings. As used herein the term "and/or" means "and" or "or", or both.

As used herein "(s)" following a noun means the plural and/or singular forms of the noun.

The term "comprising" as used in this specification means "consisting at least in part of. When interpreting statements in this specification which include that term, the features, prefaced by that term in each statement, all need to be present, but other features can also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprised" are to be interpreted in the same manner. It is intended that reference to a range of numbers disclosed herein (for example, 1 to 10) also incorporates reference to all rational numbers within that range (for example, 1 , 1 .1 , 2, 3, 3.9, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 8, 9 and 10) and also any range of rational numbers within that range (for example, 2 to 8, 1 .5 to 5.5 and 3.1 to 4.7). The entire disclosures of all applications, patents and publications, cited above and below, if any, are hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more of said parts, elements and features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.

Other aspects of the invention may become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a one form of the present invention, Figure 2 shows a side view of one form of the present invention of Figure 1 , Figure 3 shows the lower frame and internals in isometric view,

Figure 4A shows the upper frame, and hydraulic motor in top isometric view, Figure 4B shows the upper frame, and hydraulic motor in lower isometric view,

Figure 5 shows the upper frame pivoted relative to the lower frame, Figure 6 shows a lower isometric of the logging carriage, and Figure 7 shows a typical highline set up with the carriage located thereon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to Figures 1 through 7. In a typical highline arrangement shown in Figure 7, the carriage 1 is mounted on a highline 2 suspended and tensioned between two points 3, for example a high and low side of a valley. The highline is typically a tensioned steel cable that a carriage can then run up and down on. Typically at one of the end points 3, there is a highline winch for tensioning the highline. This also allows the highline to be lowered for example to bring any carriage 1 to the ground. Lowering the carriage is normally necessary when maintenance or other work need to be done to the carriage 1 . The carriage 1 can move along the highline 2 between the two points 3 using

pulleys/sheaves 10 (see for example Figure 1). In one form there is a haul line 19 attached at a front connection 24A of the carriage 1 that pulls it up or along the highline, and the carriage 1 can return under gravity. A rear connection 24B is present also if necessary for a back haul line (not shown). In other forms there may just be the one connection 24 which serves for both haul line connections if necessary.

Shown in Figure 3 the carriage 1 has a lower frame 6 with a first connection point 8 and a second connection point 9. As can be seen the connection points 8A and 9A are diagonally opposed on opposing corners of the lower frame 6. Mounted on the lower frame 6 is the diesel motor 15, hydraulic pump 14, controller (hydraulic and electronic) 18, battery 19, fuel tank 16 (with side protection covers 21 (visible in Figure 1) removed), hydraulic manifold 33, and hydraulic oil tank 17. Present also is an exhaust 22 (for in this case the diesel engine 15), air intake 23. A strut 20 is also present to stiffen the lower frame 6 and to hold the hydraulic oil tank 17 and fuel tank 16 in place. The hydraulic lines 28 can also be seen running from the manifold, in this view they are disconnected from the hydraulic motors 12, and only shown on one side.

In the expected way the fuel tank 16 holds fuel for the motor 15, in this case diesel. The oil tank 17 holds reserve hydraulic fluid for the pump 14 which in turn drives the hydraulic motor 12 described later.

An upper frame 7 is present also shown in Figure 1 , 2 and 4A and 4B for example. The upper frame 7 has corresponding connection points 8B (connecting fastener removed) and 9B (connecting fastener 27 shown slide out) to those on the lower frame 6. Mounted on the upper frame 7 is the winch 1 1 and a hydraulic motor 12 to power the winch 1 1 . The winch 1 1 is driven by two hydraulic motors 12, one each side of the winch 1 1 , the motors driving on to the winch axle in the preferred form shown. The winch 1 1 also, in the preferred form has one or more brake drums 32 to control the feed out of the vertical line 5, and lock it when hauling the load 4. As the pulleys 10 and winch 1 1 all mount from the top frame 7 then all loading is on the top frame 7 with the lower frame 6 of the carriage 1 only supporting the prime mover, supporting components and ancillary equipment, for example electrics and electronics. Seen in Figure 4B is the path of the vertical line 5 from the winch 1 1 , over a roller and behind a cowl and shroud (line 5 is in dashed line here) to protect the line and components from each other. The line 5 then passes over the winch jockey 30. The winch jocket 30 is pivoted about the longitudinal axis of the carriage, is parallel with the highline, to allow for movement side to side of the vertical line 5.

Shown also is the connection 24 for the haul line 19 when used. Also the sheaves or pulleys 10 are connected to the upper frame 7 from one side only via mounting arms 25, which the pulleys 10 can rotate on. In the preferred form shown in Figure 4 the first mounting arm 25A extends upwards to one side only of its pulley 10, likewise the second mounting arm 25B extends upwards to the other side of its pulley 10. Pulley guards 26 locate on the other free, or non-mounting arm side of the pulleys 10. The pulley guards may connect in known ways to the upper frame 7, for example by threaded fasteners 34, pins or a combination thereof. To mount the carriage 1 to an already installed highline 2 the pulley guards 26 are removed and the highline 2 is located under the pulleys 10 from each opposing side, which is free and open. The pulley guards 26 are then put back in place, locking the highline under the pulleys. Removing the carriage 1 is the reverse procedure. Alternatively if the highline 2 is being strung up, then its clear end may be passed through under the pulleys 10 from one end of the carriage 1 to the other without removing the pulley guards 26.

The diesel motor 15 and hydraulic pump 14 form a prime mover that creates hydraulic fluid pressure. This hydraulic pressure is transmitted to the hydraulic motor 12 via hydraulic lines 20, for example from the controller 18 as a hydraulic valve manifold 33. The flexibility of the lines 28 allows the upper frame 7 to be pivoted out and away from the lower frame 6 without disconnecting any of the components. In the preferred form the hydraulic lines 28 are not exposed when the upper frame 7 is locked down on the lower frame 6. This also overcomes a major disadvantage of prior art carriages, where the winch is driven by a belt or geared connection.

Disconnection of one of the connection points 8 or 9, for example by removing a latch fastener 27, by sliding it out, at the second point 9, allows the upper frame 7 to pivot up and away from the lower frame 6, much like a bonnet as shown in Figure 5. In the preferred form the upper frame 7 pivots about the second connection 9 upwards to open and reveal the interior of the carriage 1 and its components. When the upper frame 7 is swung away all the internals are easily accessed for repair, inspection and servicing, as can be seen in Figure 5 and 3. This overcomes another disadvantage of the prior art, as prior art carriages are side access and the frame reduces or precludes access to the internals. In contrast the present invention allows full access to all the internal components, and if necessary removal, servicing and replacement of them with ease and no, or very little disassembly required. Servicing and replacement can take place on site, as opposed to needing to remove the carriage to a remote service location with specialist tools. The winch 1 1 has a store of vertical line 5 which passes along the interior of the upper frame 7 and exits at or near the opposing end, in the preferred form, via a winch jockey(s) 30, as seen in Figures 2, 4B and 6. In the preferred form there are two winch jockeys 30 either side of where the vertical line 5 exits the top frame 7. The lower frame 6 also has a base plate 29 that gives protection to the carriage 1 should it hit anything, for example logs being pulled up, or when resting on the ground. There is also a cooling vent 31 to allow cooling air into the interior of the carriage 1 to cool the engine 15 and other components. The winch 1 1 reels the vertical line 5 in and out. The vertical line 5 is used to attach the load 4 for example logs to the carriage 1 , as seen in Figure 7. The carriage 1 is operated remotely on radio frequency by a user as shown in Figure 7 which activates the controllers 18 to pay the winch 1 1 in and out. One advantage of the present invention is to use an hydraulic motor 12 to drive the winch 1 1 , instead of through a gearbox. In the present invention the diesel engine 15 is still present, however this drives a hydraulic pump 14 as described which in turn drives 2 hydraulic motors 12 on the winch 1 1 , one each side of the winch 1 1 directly onto its axle. This removes the frailty of the gear box, and reduces the carriage 1 weight somewhat. If the carriage 1 is dropped there is no gearbox to come out of alignment. Also repair of a hose, if damaged, is easier than repair of a gearbox. Use of a hose, which is flexible, allows movement of the winch and motors, relative to the diesel engine and pump, thus allowing the upper frame 7 to easily pivot away from the lower frame 6 for maintenance and service.

The invention solves this by effectively breaking the rectangular frame in two, diagonally along the length of the carriage 1 , from top corner to partway, in the preferred form, to the bottom corner. The top frame 7 is effectively a bonnet, from which is mounted the pulleys/sheaves 10 and the winch 1 1 and motors 12. This pivots about a bottom corner upwards to open and reveal the interior of the carriage 1 , and the motor, pump, controller, battery and tanks. These are mounted on the bottom frame 6. The winch motors 12 connect by hydraulic line 28 allowing the movement of the winch/motors away from the hydraulic pump.

Effectively in use, the carriage 1 may be hauled along the highline 2 to a convenient service location and lowered to a place where it can be serviced and accessed, for example, but not limited to, the ground. The releasable connection point is then released, and if the carriage is lifted off the ground, for example by tensioning the highline a little, the carriage 1 is lifted and the upper frame 7 moves away and the lower frame 6 pivots down to allow access. Persons skilled in the art will understand the highline is one way to do this, and a digger or other equipment can be used to lift the carriage to achieve this. Alternatively the carriage 1 may be eft at the desired height, and the releasable connection undone and the lower frame 6 allowed to swing clear from the upper frame. The swinging clear of the lower frame may be in a controlled manner such as with a rope, hydraulic equipment or similar, or may simply be allowed to swing down and hit the ground or soft dirt. The greater the height separation of the upper frame 7 to the lower frame 6 the greater the access that is available to the interior.

In some situations where even further greater access is required, any connections between the upper frame 7 and the lower frame 6 may be disconnected, for example hydraulic lines 28, and any electronics, and the other connection between the upper and lower frame that was serving as the pivot for the two frames may also be disconnected to allow partial or full separation of the frames as necessary.

This may be needed for greater access, or where one or other of the frames 6 or 7 is damaged and needs to be replaced, or any of the components therein and is it more convenient to just replace that entire frame and subassembly. This modularity affords greater flexibility and lower downtime for the carriage 1 and the highline operation.

It is also possible that a carriage 1 that is modular in this way can have differing equipment or functionality. For example if greater haul capacity is needed for a job, then part of the carriage for example the upper frame 7 and its associated winch 1 1 and motors 12.

A user, or users, can then perform any maintenance required, remove or replace components and similar. The process is reversed to bring the lower frame 6 to meet the upper frame 7 and the releasable connection is then reconnected. The carriage can then be remounted to the highline 2 if necessary, the highline 2 re- tensioned and the carriage put back into service.

In addition the invention may be supplied as a kit including an upper 7 and lower frame 6 with brackets and hydraulic motor 12 and pump 14, lines 28 and tank 17, whether separate, partially or fully assembled, as necessary to allow an existing carriage components to be retrofitted into the upper and lower frame and form the invention.

The foregoing description of the invention includes preferred forms thereof. Modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.