Patent Application
20200130225
Splitting logs and wood has traditionally been a time consuming activity that is labor-intensive and possibly dangerous. Powered wood splitters have been developed, typically comprising a bed to hold a log placed there by a person, a backstop to hold the log in place during splitting, and a ram forced into the log to thereby split the log. Such devices, however, are generally not highly mobile, still require significant human strength to lift the logs into place and remove them after splitting, and can still be unduly dangerous.
Thus, there has gone unmet a need for improved systems and methods, etc., that improve efficiency, economy and/or safety of wood splitting. The present systems and methods, etc., provide one or more of these and/or other advantages.
The present systems, and methods, etc., provide wood splitters disposed on a mobile power machine that has an articulating arm that holds a removable bucket opposed to a thumb. Such mobile power machines include, for example, backhoes, tractors, excavators, bulldozers, or any other mobile power machine comprising a powered arm that comprises a bucket or end-device comprising opposable elements that open and close. One typical arrangement is a digging bucket opposed to a thumb wherein at least one of the digging bucket and/or thumb can be reciprocated toward or away from the opposed element. The power to the articulating arm and/or bucket can be provided by any desired suitable approach such as hydraulics or pneumatics. Typically, the removable bucket is removed and replaced with a pusher comprising a wood holder area and a splitter knife attached to the opposed thumb, then the power of the mobile power machine is activated to squeeze (close) the pusher and knife together, thereby splitting the wood held between them.
In some aspects, the present systems, devices and methods, etc., provide mobile machines having at least one powered articulating arm, the powered articulating arm comprising a powered wood splitter disposed thereon wherein the powered wood splitter can comprise at least a pusher reciprocatingly opposed to a knife. The powered wood splitter can be operably connected to controls for the mobile machine that controllably reciprocate the pusher and the knife toward or away from each other, which machine can be a tractor, backhoe or excavator and the controls can be located in a cab of the mobile machine. For example, the controls can be the typical controls that control the opening and closing of the bucket that is typically attached to the powered articulating arm.
The knife and the pusher can be disposed on a distal end of the powered articulating arm, and the knife can be removably attached to a thumb opposed to the pusher. The pusher can be removably attached to a bucket connector on the powered articulating arm, which bucket connector is sized and configured to hold an excavating bucket to the powered articulating arm. The bucket connector can be an excavator coupler. The knife can comprise a plurality of blades disposed at about 90° to each other.
Also provided herein are wood splitting systems comprising the pusher and the knife, as well as each of the pusher or the knife separately as a stand-alone device. The pusher can comprise a wood holder area and a plurality of pusher connection elements sized and configured to removably attach the pusher to a first side of a distal end of a powered articulating arm of a mobile machine, the pusher connection elements having a configuration consistent with an excavator coupler. The knife can comprise an edged side and a second side, the second side having a plurality of knife connection elements comprising at least one of sliding brackets or spaced holes, such knife connection elements are sized and configured to removably attach the knife to a thumb located at a second side of the distal end of the powered articulating arm wherein the second side can be substantially opposed to the first side of the powered articulating arm. The knife connection elements can comprise both sliding brackets and spaced holes. The sliding brackets and spaced holes can be disposed such that the knife connection elements can be adjusted for both height and width to attach to thumbs of different sizes.
The edged side of the knife can comprise a plurality of blades disposed at about 90° to each other. The pusher connection elements can comprise a rotatable arm sized and configured to be rotated to attach to differently sized powered articulating arms. The pusher connection elements can comprise a rotatable arm sized and configured to be rotated to attach to differently sized coupler pin widths and diameters disposed on different powered articulating arms.
The aspects herein also include certain methods that can take advantage of the systems, devices, etc., herein. For example, one such method comprises splitting wood by:
In such methods, the mobile machine can be a tractor, backhoe or excavator and the squeezing can be activated via controls located in a cab of the mobile machine. The pusher and the knife can be opposed to each other at a distal end of the powered articulating arm of the mobile machine, and the knife can comprise a plurality of blades and the squeezing creates more than two pieces of split wood in a single squeeze. The methods further can comprise lifting the split wood between the pusher and the knife and then placing the split wood in a pile of split wood pieces.
Also provided herein are methods comprising operating the mobile machine containing the wood splitting systems discussed herein to split wood, as well as methods comprising attaching the wood splitting systems herein to the mobile machines herein.
Also included herein are methods comprising making or using the devices, systems, etc., herein.
These and other aspects, features and embodiments are set forth within this application, including the following Detailed Description and attached drawings. In addition, various references are set forth herein, including in the Cross-Reference To Related Applications, that discuss certain systems, apparatus, methods and other information; all such references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and for all their teachings and disclosures, regardless of where the references may appear in this application.
The present systems, devices, methods, etc., provide powered wood splitters. The wood splitters are configured and sized to be removably attached to an articulating arm on a mobile power machine such as backhoes, tractors, excavators, bulldozers, or any other mobile power machine comprising a powered arm that comprises a bucket or end-device comprising powered opposable elements that open and close. One typical arrangement that can be replaced by the current powered wood splitters is an excavator bucket opposed to a thumb, wherein at least one of the digging bucket and/or thumb can be reciprocated toward or away from the other element. The power to the articulating arm and/or bucket can be provided by any desired suitable approach such as hydraulics, electronics or pneumatics.
In some embodiments herein, the removable bucket is removed from the articulating arm and replaced with the powered wood splitter, which comprises a pusher comprising a wood holder area and an opposed splitter knife attached to the opposed thumb. The power of the mobile power machine is then activated to open the powered wood splitter to either capture/grab a piece of wood or to release it, or to close, or squeeze, the pusher and knife together, thereby splitting the wood held between them.
The powered wood splitter can be operably connected to controls for the mobile machine that controllably reciprocate the pusher and the knife toward or away from each other, which machine can be a tractor, backhoe or excavator and the controls can be located in a cab of the mobile machine. For example, the controls can be the typical controls that control the opening and closing of the bucket that is typically attached to the powered articulating arm.
Thus, in some embodiments, the systems, etc., herein provide wood splitters utilizing a mobile machine with an articulating arm/thumb. Turning to a brief initial discussion of the figures, as shown in exemplary
The splitter knife 3 is placed on the underside of the thumb 5 of the articulating arm 12 of the mobile machine such as the excavator/backhoe 4 in
The splitter knife 3 can be held, as shown in
As shown more fully in
Referring more fully to
The removable bucket or other end device is removed and replaced with a pusher 1 comprising a wood holder area 13 and also a splitter knife 3 attached to the opposed thumb 5 of the articulating arm 12. The power of the mobile power machine 15 is activated to close/squeeze, the pusher 1 and splitter knife 3 together, thereby splitting the wood, such as log round 11 in
The wood splitter 20 is typically disposed at the distal end 16 the articulating arm 12 where a bucket, etc., would normally be. In
The present application is further directed to methods of making the various elements of the systems and apparatus herein, including making the systems and apparatus themselves from such elements, as well as to methods of using the same, including for example attaching or removing the wood splitter 20 to an articulating arm 20 or other suitable holding device. Such methods also include splitting wood, such as log round 11, or other suitable substrate using the wood splitters 20 herein.
All terms used herein are used in accordance with their ordinary meanings unless the context or definition clearly indicates otherwise. Also unless expressly indicated otherwise, in the specification the use of “or” includes “and” and vice-versa. Non-limiting terms are not to be construed as limiting unless expressly stated, or the context clearly indicates, otherwise (for example, “including,” “having,” and “comprising” typically indicate “including without limitation”). Singular forms, including in the claims, such as “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless expressly stated, or the context clearly indicates, otherwise.
Unless otherwise stated, adjectives herein such as “substantially” and “about” that modify a condition or relationship characteristic of a feature or features of an embodiment, indicate that the condition or characteristic is defined to within tolerances that are acceptable for operation of the embodiment for an application for which it is intended.
The scope of the present devices, systems and methods, etc., includes both means plus function and step plus function concepts. However, the claims are not to be interpreted as indicating a “means plus function” relationship unless the word “means” is specifically recited in a claim, and are to be interpreted as indicating a “means plus function” relationship where the word “means” is specifically recited in a claim. Similarly, the claims are not to be interpreted as indicating a “step plus function” relationship unless the word “step” is specifically recited in a claim, and are to be interpreted as indicating a “step plus function” relationship where the word “step” is specifically recited in a claim.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments have been discussed herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the discussion herein. Accordingly, the systems and methods, etc., include such modifications as well as all permutations and combinations of the subject matter set forth herein and are not limited except as by the appended claims or other claim having adequate support in the discussion and figures herein.
The present application claims the benefit of copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/751,268 entitled “EXCAVATOR/THUMB WOOD SPLITTER”, filed Oct. 27, 2018, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62751568 | Oct 2018 | US |
