Attachment devices having rotating cutters are used to cut, chip, and mulch material such as trees, bushes, roots, stumps, vegetation, and other debris. These types of devices are often combined with prime mover vehicles such as excavators or skid steer loaders. In operation, these devices are typically combined with the boom of a prime mover vehicle allowing them to reach upwards to remove the lighter tops from standing tees and then grind the remaining tree trunk down to the ground. Examples of these types of cutter devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,315 (Esposito et. al.) and 5,555,652 (Ashby).
One problem associated with these types of devices is that it can be difficult to control and maintain consistent contact with the materials being cut (e.g. trees) as their trunks are being cut and mulched due to the forceful impact of the rotating cutting elements and the springiness of the tree trunk. As illustrated in
This invention comprises a device and method for cutting and mulching material such as trees, bushes, roots, stumps, vegetation, and other debris. The device includes a frame adapted to be combined with a prime mover vehicle such as the boom of an excavator or the arms of a skid steer loader. The frame supports a rotating cutting element having a plurality of cutters that are used to engage and cut the material. The cutting element is actuated by a power source such as an electric, hydraulic, or gasoline motor which is operatively combined with the cutting element to spin the cutting element at a speed and with a force suitable for cutting, grinding, and mulching trees and other material.
The frame includes a supporting surface that helps to support the material and guide it toward the cutter device as the device is moved downward to cut and mulch the material. In use, when the device is lowered onto material such as a standing tree trunk, the cutting teeth contact the tree trunk and push it toward the supporting surface thereby securing it between the rotating cutting element and the supporting surface. With the tree trunk captured between the supporting surface and the rotating cutting element, the machine operator is able to smoothly lower the device down the tree trunk maintaining consistent contact between the cutting element and the tree trunk. The consistent contact will result in smoother control of the boom allowing the operator to run the device at peak performance without stalling. Smoother motion also reduces the amount of stress induced on the excavator boom.
This invention comprises a device and method for cutting and mulching material such as trees, bushes, roots, stumps, vegetation, and other debris. Although a tree trunk 18 is used throughout this specification as an exemplary type of material, the device may be used to cut any suitable material. As shown in
The frame 10 further includes a supporting surface 12 that helps to support the material (e.g. tree trunk 18) and guide it toward the cutting element 14 as the device is forced downward to cut and mulch the material. A pocket 20 is created between the cutting element 14 and the supporting surface 12. The pocket 20 is a space suitable for receiving a portion of the material to be cut. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the supporting surface 12 extends below the horizontal plane H. In an alternate embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In use, the device is used to grind/cut the upper portion of a tree trunk 18 with the rotating cutting element 14. Then, the apparatus is pushed against the tree trunk 18 at a point above the ground until the upper portion of the tree trunk 18 breaks off. As indicated by direction arrow D in
Having thus described the invention in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various revisions can be made to the preferred embodiments described herein with out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is my intention, however, that all such revisions and modifications that are evident to those skilled in the art will be included with in the scope of the following claims.
This application is based upon U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/150,648 filed on Feb. 6, 2009, the complete disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by this reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4121777 | Kolstad et al. | Oct 1978 | A |
4260114 | Herder | Apr 1981 | A |
4848423 | Yoder | Jul 1989 | A |
5158126 | Lang | Oct 1992 | A |
5355918 | Lang | Oct 1994 | A |
5431350 | Purser | Jul 1995 | A |
5555652 | Ashby | Sep 1996 | A |
5641129 | Esposito et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
5743315 | Esposito et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
6848244 | Northcutt | Feb 2005 | B2 |
7748421 | Everett | Jul 2010 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61150648 | Feb 2009 | US |