Abstract:
A machine to facilitate sod laying, having a pair of tracks spaced apart to define an open-ended space between them, with a low platform over each track and a forklift supporting a pallet load of sod or other materials located in the space between the tracks. Persons laying sod can stand on the platforms and can without obstruction place sod or other materials from the pallet on the forklift onto the ground. The forklift carriage has wheels which are guided by a pair of channels having downwardly and rearwardly extending lower portions, so that when the wheels enter the lower portions, the fork tines will be tilted downwardly and forwardly without needing a costly tilt cylinder.

Description:
PRIOR APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/612,162, filed Sep. 23, 2004 entitled “MACHINE FOR LAYING SOD”. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to a sod laying machine. The machine of the invention can also be used for laying other landscaping products, and other types of products.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     It has been common practice for approximately the last half century to cut sod from a field of sod, stack the cut sod on a pallet (usually in the form of rolls or slabs), and then to transport the pallet (usually by truck) to a site where the sod is to be laid. The steps involved in the foregoing procedure have been largely automated, and improved efficiencies in cutting, stacking and handling the sod are continually being developed.  
         [0004]     However the task of laying the sod on ground to be sodded remains almost entirely an intensive manual labor task. Various machines have been developed for laying sod, in an attempt to automate the process, but so far as is known, no one has been able to develop a successful machine for laying small rolls and slabs of sod. All of the sod laying machines introduced to date have been too complicated, or too expensive, or have suffered from other major limitations which made them unacceptable in the marketplace. For example, in many instances the machines were too large to travel through the narrow passageways which are often the only way to access yards and other locations where sod is to be laid.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     It is therefore an object of present invention, in one of its aspects, to provide a machine which is relatively simple and inexpensive, and which facilitates the laying of sod and reduces the time spent in manually laying the sod. In one aspect the invention provides a vehicle for facilitating the laying of a landscaping material on the ground, said vehicle comprising: (a) first and second movable supports for supporting said vehicle on the ground and for driving said vehicle over the ground, said movable supports being spaced apart laterally to leave an open-ended space there between, (b) a forklift located in said space and having fork tines to support a pallet laden with said landscaping material, and (c) a pair of platforms, one located over each of said movable supports and each adapted to support a person such that said person while on said platform can reach landscaping material on said pallet and can place said landscaping material on the ground.  
         [0006]     Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     In the drawings:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a machine according to the invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the machine of  FIG. 1 , with a pallet in place thereon, the pallet being close to the ground;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 2  but with the pallet raised;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the machine of  FIG. 1  with the pallet in position thereon;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the machine of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view from above of the controls for the machine of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  is an end view of the machine of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  is a diagrammatic side view of a portion of a preferred forklift mechanism for the  FIG. 1  machine; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 9  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 8  but showing the forklift mechanism in position to pick up a pallet. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     As shown in the drawings, the machine  10  according to the invention, is preferably a tracked vehicle, having a pair of relatively wide tracks  12 . The tracks  12  are of conventional design, typically being formed of a rubberized material with short projecting ridges  14  or knobs for traction, and are supported on a conventional support structure  16  at each side of the machine  10 . The track support structure  16  includes the usual guide wheels  18  and sprockets  20  to guide and drive the tracks  12 , and a track support frame  21 . The tracks  12  are relatively wide, so as to apply a low pressure to the ground over which they travel, and are spaced laterally apart, leaving an open-ended space  22  between them. The support structures  16  for each track  12  are joined by a cross-frame structure  24  at one end  26  of the machine  10 . Any suitable track design can be used.  
         [0018]     Located between the tracks  12 , in the open-ended space  22 , is a conventional forklift  30 . Forklift  30  typically has a fork  32  with a pair of tines  34 , which can be raised and lowered on a mast  36 , using any desired conventional elevating mechanism. For example, since only a fairly small lift is required for the tines  34 , a simple piston and cylinder mechanism  38  can be used to raise and lower the fork.  
         [0019]     The fork  32  can be used to engage and support a pallet  40  on which sod (not shown) is stacked. The sod can be stacked on pallet  40  in the form of folded or unfolded slabs, or in rolls, as desired.  
         [0020]     Located on each side of the open-ended space  22 , over each track  12 , is a platform  42 . The two platforms  42 , one on each side of the machine  10 , are mirror images of each other. Each platform includes a horizontal perforated metal foot plate  44  which extends lengthwise of the machine for approximately the length of the pallet, and also extends laterally outwardly slightly beyond each track  12 , as best shown at  45  in  FIG. 7 . Each platform  42  also includes a vertical upwardly extending guard plate  46  at the inner edge of the foot plate  44 , to prevent a person standing on the foot plate from inadvertently stepping through the narrow space between the inner edge of the foot plate  44  and the sod laden pallet  40 . Each platform  42  is supported adjacent the open end of the space  22  by a laterally extending support beam  48  attached to a vertical downwardly extending flange  50 . The flange  50  is connected, e.g. by a screw  52 , to the track support frame  21 . At the other end of the machine  10 , the platforms  42  are connected to a pair of railing structures  54 , one on each side of the machine  10 . The railing structures  54  are connected to two laterally spaced posts  56  which form vertical guides for the fork  32 . The posts  56  are connected to the cross-frame structure  24  by a set of beams  58  ( FIG. 5 ).  
         [0021]     The driver of the machine  10  stands on a platform  60  which extends from the end of the machine opposite from the open-ended space  22 . The platform  60  may be connected very simply to the machine  10 , e.g. by a pair of support bars  62  connected between the cross-frame support structure  24  and the outer end of the platform  60 .  
         [0022]     The machine  10  includes a motor and hydraulic pump (hidden from view by covers) to move the machine and operate the forklift  30 . Conventional controls  66  are provided to operate the machine  10 , by driving each track  12  forwardly or rearwardly at desired speed to propel the machine and to steer it, and also to control the forklift  30 . Since the machine  10  normally operates at low speed, with numerous stops and starts, it preferably has a conventional hydrostatic or other automatic transmission.  
         [0023]     In use, the fork  32  will support a pallet  40 , the pallet being loaded with sod. Because the machine  10  is small, it can be driven into yards and other restricted spaces which cannot be accessed by larger machines. Even on wet ground, the wide tracks will cause minimal damage.  
         [0024]     A sod laying person will stand on each platform  42  at each side of the machine  10 , and as the machine  10  travels over the ground on which sod is to be laid, the sod laying persons will be able to reach sod pieces stacked on the pallet  40  and will be able to throw the sod pieces onto the ground on each side of the machine  10 , or in front of the machine (the front being the pallet). After the sod laying persons have thrown an appropriate number of sod pieces onto the ground from each side of the machine  10 , these persons can easily step off the machine  10  (since the platforms  42  are low) and can use rakes or other long handled tools to place the pieces of sod in the exact locations desired. In many cases this task can also be performed by other people already on the ground. However, if the persons on the platforms  42  have stepped off them to adjust the location of the sod pieces on the ground, then they can easily step back on the platforms  42  to lay further pieces of sod as the machine  10  moves through the area where sod is being laid.  
         [0025]     When a pallet  40  full of sod is initially placed on the machine  10 , and when sod is being laid, the pallet  40  will normally be in a low position, close to the ground, so that the top pieces of sod stacked on the pallet  40  are readily accessible to the sod laying persons standing on the platforms  42  on each side of the pallet  40 . As the sod at the top of the pallet  40  is laid, the fork  32  and hence the pallet  40  will be raised, to bring the new and lower top of the sod stacked on the pallet within easy reach of the persons standing on the platforms  42 .  
         [0026]     Because the machine  10  provides a platform  42  on each side of the pallet  40 , with ready access to the sod stacked on the pallet, and because the platforms  42  are low (close to the ground) and access from them to the ground in a forward or sideways direction is not obstructed, the machine  10  makes the task of lifting sod pieces off the pallet  40  and placing them in the desired locations on the ground very simple and enables this task to be performed rapidly and efficiently by persons standing on the platforms  42 . In addition, because the machine  10  is small and lightweight, it can easily pass through small passageways and any damage which it may do to earth which has been prepared to receive sod will usually be minimal.  
         [0027]     Because the platforms  42  are over the tracks  12 , and are next to the sod to be laid (stored on pallet  40 ), and because the platforms  42  extend laterally outwardly beyond the tracks  12 , access to the ground by the persons standing on the platforms  42  is maximized, and interference with this access by the tracks  12  is minimized.  
         [0028]     It will be understood that various changes can be made in the machine described. For example, while a tracked vehicle is preferred because of its minimal impact on soft earth, a wheeled vehicle could also be used, provided that the tires are relatively wide and low and do not concentrate pressure on the ground. In addition, while the machine  10  has been described for use in laying sod, it can be used to lay other landscaping products, e.g. other plant materials, or even paving stones, or other non-landscaping products.  
         [0029]     While a conventional forklift mechanism  30  can be used, a forklift mechanism such as that shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  is preferred. In the forklift mechanism there shown, the fork  32  is carried on a fork carriage  100  having four guide wheels  102  (only two are shown) which ride in the channels formed by vertical guideposts  56 . These channels, indicated at  104  in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , have a downwardly and rearwardly extending bottom portion  106 . Thus, as the forks are lowered, the lower fork carriage wheel  102  will move into the downwardly and rearwardly extending channel portion  106  and will move to the rear, as shown in  FIG. 9 . This rearward movement of lower wheel  102  tilts the fork tines  34  downwardly and forwardly, thus facilitating pick up of a pallet laden with sod. Since no tilt cylinder or associated mechanism is required for the downward tilt described, the cost of the tilt mechanism is kept very low.  
         [0030]     It will be appreciated that various changes can be made in the machine as described, and all such changes are intended to be included in the invention.