Portable stump remover

Abstract

A portable, self-contained stump remover, that may be hand held by the operator, has an engine driven cutting device whose cutting teeth rotate through a circular path at least a part of which lies below a lower base surface that engages and rests on a tree stump when the stump remover is placed on the stump by the operator. By manually moving the stump remover across the stump so that the rotating cutting teeth follow the base surface, which surface serves to support, guide and stabilize the stump remover, the stump will be cut away and ground down to the cutting depth determined by the extent to which the cutting teeth project below the base surface.

Description

Claims

1. A portable, self-contained stump remover which is manually movable by an operator across a tree stump to effect grinding thereof, comprising;

a base element having a lower base surface for engaging and resting on the top of the tree stump when the stump remover is placed on the stump;

at least one rotatable cutting device having a plurality of cutting teeth;

and driving means for rotating said cutting device to rotate said cutting teeth through a circular path at least a portion of which path extends below said lower base surface, a cutting depth being defined by the extent to which the rotating cutting teeth project below the base surface,

the lower base surface engaging the tree stump and supporting, guiding and stabilizing the stump remover as the stump remover is manually moved by the operator across the stump, the stump thereby being cut away and ground down to the cutting depth as the stump remover traverses the stump.

2. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein the stump remover may be hand held by the operator as it is moved across the stump.

3. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a pair of handles to facilitate manual holding and guiding of the stump remover as it is moved across the stump.

4. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said cutting device is adjustably attached to said base element in order to facilitate adjustment of the cutting depth.

5. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a dead man's switch for manually controlling the operation of said driving means.

6. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said driving means includes a motor having a rotating output shaft couples to said cutting device to effect rotation thereof.

7. A stump remover according to claim 6 wherein said cutting device is mounted on and secured to said output shaft so as to be driven directly by said motor.

8. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said driving means includes a gasoline internal-combustion engine.

9. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said cutting device includes a cutting wheel having a series of cutting teeth around its circular periphery.

10. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said lower base surface is on one side of said cutting teeth, cutting of the stump down to the cutting depth being achieved when the stump remover is manually moved across the stump by the operator in the direction which permits the base surface to precede the rotating cutting teeth and ride on the top of the stump.

11. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said lower base surface provides a planar surface for interfacing with the surface of the stump in order to enhance the stability of the stump remover as it grinds the stump.

12. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said lower base surface is a flat surface that conforms to a flat surface of the stump.

13. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said base element is a flat base plate that extends across a substantial portion of the stump remover.

14. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said cutting teeth are removably secured to said cutting device to facilitate replacement of the teeth.

15. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein the rotating cutting teeth follow the moving base element, when the stump remover traverses the stump, to mill away the stump down to the cutting depth.

16. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including means for varying the amount by which said cutting teeth project below said lower base surface, thereby permitting adjustment of the cutting depth.

17. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein the circular path through which said cutting teeth rotate is effectively fixed relative to said driving means, and wherein said driving means is mounted on said base element by means of a bracket arrangement that may be adjusted to vary the distance bwtween the driving means, and thus the cutting teeth, and the lower base surface, thereby to adjust the cutting depth.

18. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a shroud around said cutting device to provide a guard over the cutting device and a protective shield against flying wood debris, created during the stump cutting process, that may otherwise injure the operator of the stump remover.

19. A stump remover according to claim 18 wherein said shroud has one portion which covers and encloses substantially all of said cutting device but has a downwardly extending open end through which said cutting teeth may project downward to engage and grind the stump, and wherein said shroud has another portion which is pivotally connected to and normally encloses and guards the open end of said one portion to completely envelop said cutting device, said other portion thereby normally extending below both said cutting teeth and said lower base surface, and wherein said other portion engages the tree stump and is pivoted and camed by the stump out from under the cutting teeth as the operator moves the stump remover across the stump, thereby permitting the cutting teeth to cut the stump.

20. A stump remover according to claim 18 wherein said shroud has an opening through which the flying wood debris may exit from the shroud, and including a debris flap connected to the outside of the shroud and normally covering the opening, said flap being pushed out by the force of the flying wood debris to uncover the opening during the cutting process to allow the debris to escape from the shroud.

21. A stump remover according to claim 20 and including a debris guide within said shroud to guide the flying wood debris to said opening.

22. A stump remover according to claim 21 wherein said debris guide has a pair of guide tracks to provide a channel-shaped guide leading to said opening.

23. A stump remover according to claim 21 wherein said debris guide includes two non-parallel, converging guide tracks that effectively funnel the flying wood debris to said opening.

24. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a shroud surrounding said cutting device, and in a fixed position relative to said base element, to provide a guard over the cutting device and a protective shield against flying wood debris created during the stump cutting process, and biasing means for normally retracting said cutting device upwards and further into said shroud to the extent that the lowermost projections of the cutting teeth are positioned above said lower base surface, said biasing means being operable by the operator of the stump remover to effect lowering of the cutting device so that the cutting teeth will extend below the lower base surface in order to effect grinding of the tree stump.

25. A stump remover according to claim 24 wherein said biasing means includes at least one spring for spring mounting said driveing means on said base element and normally biasing said driving means and said cutting device upwards in a direction away from the base element, and wherein the biasing force of said spring may be overcome by the operator by pushing down on the driving means, thereby causing the cutting teeth to extend below the lower base surface.

26. A stump remover according to claim 25 wherein the spring mounting arrangement between said driving means and said base element guides the movement of said cutting device, as it is retracted further into said shroud when the operator releases downward pressure on the driving means, so that the cutting device moves in an angular direction both upwards and sideways in order to maximize the separation from the base element.

27. A stump remover according to claim 25 and including a lever, attached to said driving means, which may be depressed by the operator to facilitate pushing down of the driving means.

28. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said driving means is adjustably attached to said base element in order to facilitate adjustment of the cutting depth.

29. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein said driving means is pivotally interconnected to said base element to permit varying of the position of said cutting device relative to the lower base surface to adjust the cutting depth to a selected setting in a predetermined range, and including locking means for locking the interconnection between the driving means and the base element to hold the cutting depth at the selected setting.

30. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a shroud covering and surrounding said cutting device to provide a guard over the cutting device and a protective shield against flying wood debris, said shroud having a downwardly extending open end through which said cutting teeth may project downward in order to engage and grind the stump, and wherein the position of said shroud, relative to the position of the cutting device, is adjustable by the operator to vary the extent to which the cutting teeth project down through the shroud's open end.

31. A stump remover according to claim 30 and including biasing means for normally biasing said shroud in its position providing maximum coverage and enclosure of said cutting device.

32. A stump remover according to claim 31 wherein the positions of said driving means and said cutting device are fixed relative to each other, and wherein said shroud is attached to said driving means by a flexible spring bracket which may be flexed by the operator to raise the shroud and increase the amount by which said cutting teeth extend down through the shroud's open end.

33. A stump remover according to claim 32 and including a lever, attached to said shroud, which may be depressed by the operator to bend said flexible spring bracket to raise the shroud, release of the pressure by the operator causing the shroud to lower to increase the enclosure around said cutting teeth.

34. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a shroud covering and substantially enclosing said cutting device to provide a guard over the cutting device and a protective shield against flying wood debris, said shroud having a downwardly extending open end through which said cutting teeth may project downward in order to engage and grind the tree stump, and wherein an edge portion of the open end of said shroud also functions as and constitutes said base element, the lower surface of said edge portion thereby engaging the tree stump, and supporting, guiding and stabilizing the stump remover, as the operator manually moves the stump remover across the stump, the cutting depth being determined by the distance that the cutting teeth extend below the lower surface of said edge portion.

35. A stump remover according to claim 34 wherein the positions of said driving means and said cutting device are fixed relative to each other, while the position of said shroud is adjustable relative to said driving means in order to vary the extent to which the cutting teeth project below the lower surface of said edge portion, thereby to facilitate adjustment of the cutting depth.

36. A stump remover according to claim 35 wherein said shroud is fastened to said driving means by an adjustable bracket arrangement which permits the shroud to be vertically adjusted to, and locked in, a selected vertical position relative to the driving means.

37. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein the plane, defined by said circular path through which said cutting teeth rotate, is generally perpendicular to the direction in which the operator moves the stump remover across the tree stump.

38. A stump remover according to claim 37 wherein the stump remover is usually moved across the tree stump by the operator in a generally horizontal direction, the plane defined by said circular path thereby being generally vertical with the stump being cut by the rotating cutting teeth as they rotate through the lowermost portion of the circular path, which portion lies below said lower base surface.

39. A stump remover according to claim 1 wherein the plane, defined by said circular path through which said cutting teeth rotate, is generally parallel to the direction in which the operator moves the stump remover across the tree stump, the entire circular path thereby lying below said lower base surface to effect cutting of the stump.

40. A stump remover according to claim 1 and including a plurality of rotatable cutting devices simultaneously rotated by said driving means and each device having a plurality of cutting teeth that rotate through a different circular path.

41. A stump remover according to claim 40 wherein the rotational axes of said cutting devices are parallel to each other, and wherein the different circular paths lie in the same plane and are below said lower base surface.

42. A stump remover according to claim 41 wherein there is an even number of said cutting devices, and wherein half of the cutting devices are rotated in one direction while the other half are rotated in the opposite direction in order to balance the opposing torques produced by the cutting devices.

43. A stump remover according to claim 41 wherein each of said cutting devices includes a generally vertical, cylindrical shaped body which rotates around the body's longitudiual axis, the cutting device's teeth being attached to the body's lowermost end.