Harvesters – Motorized harvester – With plural sources of power
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-22
2001-10-16
Shackelford, H. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Motorized harvester
With plural sources of power
C056S012700, C056S013700, C056S017400, C056S295000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301863
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to line trimming devices and, more specifically, to a device having a plurality of cutting members being mounted onto a frame and connected to a motorized central shaft by a number of pulleys and belts and wherein said frame is rotatable around said central shaft.
The cutting members are comprised of a rotatable shaft being mounted to the periphery of a rotatable frame and having a pulley attached thereon that is connected by a belt to a central motorized shaft providing means for rotating said cutting member shaft and wherein said cutting member shaft has a rigid cutting blade attached thereto and said blade having a length of flexible line attached thereon whereby when said cutting member shaft is rotated the circumference of the rigid blade will be exceeded by the circumference of the attached rotating flexible line.
Further each cutting member has a guard ring mounted over the rigid blade being of substantially similar diameter as the rigid blade.
When a cutting member encounters a stationary object the cutting member guard ring will prevent the stationary object from making contact with the rigid blade as the stationary object causes the cutting member's frame to rotate. As the cutting member passes the stationary object the flexible line attached to the rigid blade, having a rotatable circumference greater than the guard ring, will trim the vegetation from said stationary object whether said stationary object is basically round, such as pipes, flag poles, and trees or rectangular, such as, fence posts.
Still further said device having height adjustment means can easily be positioned whereby one of the cutting members can travel beneath fencing rails thereby removing vegetation until encountering a fence post whereupon said cutting member will trim said vegetation from said fence post as it is rotated away from said fence post and another cutting member rotates into position under said fence rails until encountering another fence post whereupon the process is repeated.
In addition, another embodiment has been provided wherein said device can be incorporated into the hydraulic system of a motorized vehicle such as a tractor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other line trimmer housing attachments designed to convert line trimmers to wheeled cutting assemblies. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,683 issued to Smith on Feb. 22, 1994.
Another patent was issued to Savell on Jul. 12, 1988 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,147. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,701 was issued to McGuerty on May 10, 1994 and still yet another was issued on May 24, 1994 to Smothers as U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,770.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,683
Inventor: Walker M. Smith
Issued: Feb. 22, 1994
A line trimmer is converted to a lawn trimmer/mower so that it can be used to mow areas of grass like a conventional mower; however, the line trimmer retains its functionality as a line trimmer and edger. The conversion device is a wheeled platform that holds the cutting assembly at a specified height above a lawn. The platform has an opening in its forward portion for the intake of grass and weeds and the exhaust of clippings. The opening also serves the functions of allowing the user to see the cutting line to determine when more should be advanced, allowing the line trimmer to be moved next to objects in a lawn for trimming weeds and grass, and allowing the line trimmer to be rotated to a horizontal orientation where edging can be performed. The wheels are preferably multidirectional so that the line trimmer can be swept across the lawn in a semi-circular pattern. Locking mechanisms associated with the wheels allow the sweeping motion to be performed more comfortably and quickly. A means is provided for orienting the shaft of the line trimmer at different locations relative to the opening in the platform so that the platform can be comfortably moved back and forth parallel to a wall or fence.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,147
Inventor: Kenneth J. Savell
Issued: Jul. 12, 1988
A conventional hand-held weed trimmer of the type including a motor with a flexible cutting line fixed to the output of the motor is provided with a carriage for converting the trimmer into a wheel-mounted lawnmower. The lawnmower consists of a wheel-mounted planar deck having an open interior portion for receiving the housing of the weed trimmer, and means for supporting the lower skirt portion and protective shield of the motor housing below the plane of the deck. The supporting means comprises means for clamping the rear portion of the skirt to the deck, and a toe piece for supporting the front portion of the skirt. The deck, or at least the bottom flange of the toe-piece, is flexible enough to allow the forward portion of the trimmer to be tilted downwardly when a downward force is exerted on the trimmer housing. In a first embodiment of the invention, the deck of the carriage is essentially circular, with a key shaped aperture formed therein. In a second embodiment, the deck comprises a frame made up of a plurality of bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,701
Inventor: Frank J. McGuerty
Issued: May 10, 1994
A conventional four wheeled lawn motor carriage having a vertically mounted electric motor with flexible cutting, lines attached to the bottom end of the motor axial drive shaft. A hand lever is attached to the electric motor enabling the electric motor to rotate from a vertical position to a transverse horizontal position wherein the flexible cutting lines rotate in a vertical plane parallel to and outside of the carriage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,770
Inventor: Odis B. Smothers
Issued: May 24, 1994
A rotary weed cutter or trimmer establishes two cone shaped guard volumes about the drive shaft to prevent weeds or vines, whether cut or uncut, from wrapping around the shaft during operations. A motor-driven weed cutting machine drives a main filament spool mounted on the drive shaft. When the spool is rotated at high speed by the motor the filaments a conventional cutting plane. An auxiliary spool is employed to create a guard zone comprising two cone shaped guard volumes coaxial with the drive shaft. The auxiliary spool is mounted on the shaft between the main spool and the frame of the machine. The hub of the auxiliary spool defines a central orifice to accommodate the shaft. An upper disk and a lower disk extend from the hub. A plurality of holes are drilled about the periphery of the disks. Cutting line or braided wire is disposed through the holes. Each of the bitter ends of the line or wire are left unanchored to provide cutting action in the vicinity of the shaft. When rotated at high speeds the auxiliary spool's cutting lines create an impenetrable guard zone about the drive shaft that cannot be traversed by weeds or the like.
While these line trimmer attachments may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention discloses a 360 degree rotatable trimmer assembly mounted on the side of a conventional lawn tractor having a plurality of cutting members mounted onto a platform being connected to a motorized rotatable shaft by a plurality of belts and pulleys. A bumper guard ring is provided above each cutting member to act as a guide around obstacles such as trees and poles. A multiple lobed cam member having a communicating cam roller is provided for properly re-positioning the platform following rotation of the platform around an object. A gasoline motor and alternatively a hydraulic motor are disclosed for providing power to the rotatable shaft.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a multi-cutting member trimmer device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-cutting member trimming device wherein said cutting members are attached to a rotatable platform.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-cutting member trimming device where
Kroll Michael I.
Shackelford H.
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