It was customary to have an arborist or tree surgeon to cut down large trees that were located in close proximity to structure, fence and the like, as not to allow a loader truck near enough to remove the debris. The usually large and often awkward logs and limbs would have to be transferred manually by up to or in excess of five (5) persons, by lifting and maneuvering the peculiar logs or limbs onto a standard dolly or hand cart or transferring by hand from a close quartered location to where the debris could be loaded onto a truck for disposal. Most often the logs and limbs would have to be removed over rough terrain such as mud, sand and the like as well as steep inclines or carefully maintained lawns or decks.
In the prior art, it has been proposed to provide wagons or carts of this type, to be utilized especially in transporting logs. The removal of logs from the site at which a tree has been cut has, in this situation, been a continuing problem, because of the cramped quarters, rough terrain, or other factors militating against ready loading and transportation of logs, particularly those of great in diameter and weight. For example, it is often necessary to cut down a large tree, the diameter of which may be perhaps two feet or more. The common practice is to cut the fallen trunk, and the branches thereof, into relatively short lengths, to facilitate removal from the site, and ultimate transport them to a selected destination. The means whereby the logs, after they have been cut into short lengths, are removed from the site are haphazard at best. In some instances, the logs are bodily lifted by the workers and carried. In other instances they may be dragged on skids, or with chains, or rolled along the ground if possible. These expedients, of course, leave much to be desired. Carts have been devised, in this connection, whereby large trunks are suspended from overhead yokes, to be pulled to another location. Such arrangements, however, are not satisfactory; since they still require chaining of the logs, and often result in the logs have one end dragging along the ground, thereby making the task of removal difficult. In other instance, carts designed to be elevated or lowered to facilitate loading or unloading have includes relatively complicated linkages, which may be quite satisfactory when the device is being used in a warehouse, or other location having a relatively level floor surface and loads taking the form of crates or other regularly shaped objects. However, carts of this type are not, in general, operable with desired efficiency. It is, accordingly, the main object of the present invention to provide a cart or a wagon that is especially adapted for use in confined terrain, for transporting logs of large diameters, while yet being dragged and capable of manufacture at a low cost.
In its most general sense, the present invention relates to a cart or a wagon that can be pulled by hand, and that is provided with a receptacle which can be lowered into engagement with the ground to facilitate loading and unloading.
In a more particular sense, the invention has reference to a log cart or wagon, particularly designed for transporting logs of great diameter and weight, that ordinarily resist easy handling, especially in confined areas in woods, residential lawns, or the like where a large tree has been cut down and cut into logs of perhaps two or three feet in length.
The invention has great utility, especially when used by tree cutters engaged in one or two-man operations, cutting trees in residential areas and the like for individual homeowners. It is often impossible, in these circumstances, to bring a truck directly to the site, and as a result, the tree must be cut into small pieces, and carried across the homeowner's property. It is also true, in many instances, that the areas through which one can carry the cut sections of the tree, and the debris resulting from the tree cutting operation, may be very narrow or otherwise restricted. This cart can help remove logs and limbs of a downed problematic tree from a confined area.