Tree harvester guide bar

A guide bar for a saw chain mounted to the boom of a tree harvester. As typical for such guide bars, oilhole holes are provided to receive oil for channeling of the oil to the edge grooves wherein the saw chain is entrained. Not typical of such guide bars is the provision of a pattern of inter-connecting oil channels in the bar for channeling oil to various positions on the bar edge including the bar edges adjacent each oil hole and at the bar nose. C-shaped valves in the oil holes are manually adjusted to control the flow of oil to the various positions.

What is claimed is:

1. A guide bar for guiding a driven saw chain comprising;

a planar elongate bar having one end adapted to be mounted to a motor mount, an opposite nose end, and side edges extended between said ends, edge grooves formed in the side edges and around the nose end for guiding a saw chain from one side edge adjacent the motor mount end toward and around the nose end and back along the opposite side edge to the motor mount end,

said bar having a fluid inlet hole adjacent said motor mount end for receiving fluid injected into the hole from a fluid source, a plurality of fluid carrying channels provided within the elongate bar and in communication with said fluid inlet hole and in communication with said edge grooves at a plurality of positions along said edge grooves, said plurality of channels having a common juncture wherein fluid is received and disbursed to said channels, and

a valve in said juncture, said valve being adjustable for selectively controlling the flow of fluid to said channels.

2. A guide bar as defined in claim 1 wherein said plurality of channels includes one of said channels extending from said fluid hole to the edge groove of said one edge adjacent said motor mount end, and a bar nose channel extending from said fluid hole to the bar nose.

3. A guide bar as defined in claim 2 wherein said fluid hole is located adjacent said one edge and a second fluid hole located adjacent said opposite edge, said fluid holes symmetrically located relative to the bar center line whereby the bar edges can be reversed on the motor mount housing, a second set of channels extending from said second fluid hole, one channel of the second set of channels extending to the opposite bar edge and a second channel of the second set of channels extending to merge with the bar nose channel, and a second valve in said second fluid hole to selectively control fluid flow to and from said fluid hole through said second set of channels.

4. A guide bar as defined in claim 3 wherein the merging of the second channel with the bar nose channel forms a juncture, a third valve provided in the bar nose channel at a position beyond said juncture, said third valve selectively and manually opening and closing fluid flow through the bar nose channel.

5. A guide bar as defined in claim 4 including intermediate channels extending from said bar nose channel to the bar edges intermediate the bar nose and motor mount ends, said intermediate channels forming a juncture with said bar nose channel, and said third valve positioned at said juncture to control fluid flow through said bar nose channel and intermediate channels.

6. A guide bar as defined in claim 2 wherein said valve is a C-shaped valve positioned in said fluid hole, said C-shaped valve being manually rotatable in said fluid hole to position the open side of the C-shaped valve selectively to close and open flow of fluid to said channels.

7. A guide bar as defined in claim 3 wherein both of said valves are C-shaped valves positioned in said fluid holes, said C-shaped valves being manually rotatable in said fluid holes to position the open side of the C-shaped valves selectively to close and open flow of fluid to said channels.