Abstract: A drive wheel assembly includes a rim for supporting a resilient tire made of a material a high coefficient of friction and a high degree of elasticity. The assembly includes a sprocket attached to the rim and cooperating with the resilient tire to limit the penetration of the sprocket teeth. The assembly is designed for frictional driving surfaces of the drive wheel assembly to transmit substantially all of the driving force to an endless belt under normal conditions and for the sprocket teeth engaged in openings in the endless belt to prevent slippage of the drive wheel assembly relative to the endless belt under exceptional conditions.

Abstract: An idler wheel assembly includes a resilient tire and a rim for supporting the tire and for attaching the assembly to an axle. The resilient tire includes a centrally disposed rib with guide grooves on either side thereof disposed between the rib and load supporting surfaces. The rim includes an inner cylinder adapted to mount the assembly on an axle and an outer cylinder maintained in spaced relation to the inner cylinder by spacers. Clamping plates are part of the rim and cooperate with rigid spacer sleeves disposed in bores in the resilient tire to prevent compression of the tire wherein resiliency of the tire is lost. The rib is of a slightly larger diameter than the portion of the tire defined by the load supporting surfaces and cooperates with apertures in an endless belt tensioned therearound to self-center the assembly relative to the belt.

Abstract: A drive system for a track type vehicle includes a drive wheel assembly having a rim with a sprocket attached thereto and a resilient frictional driving tire, at least one idler wheel assembly having a rim and a resilient tire with a central rib of a larger diameter, and an endless track having a plurality of serially spaced openings and protrusions extending generally perpendicularly from an inside surface. The protrusions cooperate with guide grooves in the wheels to maintain the alignment of the endless track with the wheels when the endless track is tensioned around the wheels. Frictional driving tires transmit substantially all of the driving force under normal conditions and sprocket teeth engaged with openings in the endless track prevent slippage under exceptional conditions.

Abstract: A truck-mounted, tree-transporting machine of the type including a plurality of powered spades which, when forced into the earth about a tree to be moved, serve to sever the roots and form a pod surrounding the tree's root ball. The pod, with the root ball encased therein, is elevated by a hydraulically operated mechanism and loaded onto the truck bed with the pod being rotated during the loading process so as to be disposed toward the front end of the truck bed, the tree branches thus extending from the rear of the truck.

Abstract: An attachment device for a fork lift and a support structure, such as a truck bed, includes a track on a truck bed. A carriage engages and is movable along the track. The carriage engaging member is mounted on the lift frame of the fork lift and is engageable with the carriage to permit the fork lift to lift itself upon the truck bed or lower itself therefrom by vertical shifting of the fork lift frame.