Harvesters – Cutting and catching – Catchers
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-09
2003-12-09
Kovács, Aŕpád F. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Cutting and catching
Catchers
C056S016600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06658833
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for collection and reduction of yard debris in thick layers and deep piles.
BACKGROUND
Homeowners, commercial-property owners, and companies who provide care for lawns have an ongoing challenge of how to remove leaves, grass clippings, and other debris from lawns, gardens and paved surfaces, particularly when the debris accumulates to a depth of over an inch. Several companies now manufacture and sell combination vacuum-chipper-shredder machines intended for this purpose. Some U.S. patents illustrating the range of these machines are as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,931,396 and 5,799,365, both assigned to MTD Products; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,381,970 and 5,231,827, both assigned to Garden Way Incorporated; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,864, assigned to Simplicity Manufacturing, Inc. However, the dilemma with many prior-art units is that while they are reasonably adapted to vacuum a thin layer of debris from the ground, they do not function well when there is a thick layer of leaves or other debris. When there is a covering of several inches of leaves, the collector duct merely pushes a stack of leaves ahead of the unit instead of drawing the leaves into the machine. If the collector duct is raised to be able to take leaves from the top of the overlayer, it is no longer so effective in collecting the leaves and other debris close to the ground. Accordingly, while the available machines are somewhat effective in removing the thin layers of debris, the task of collecting thick layers of debris, particularly deep piles of leaves, remains quite problematic. Typical prior art machines, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,799,365 and 5,231,827, have a vacuum pick-up opening wherein the plane of the opening is parallel to the ground, while the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,864 has its opening disposed at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the ground. Such devices are poorly adapted to the tasks for which machine assistance is needed most.
Many existing machines depend primarily on flow of air to lift and entrain the leaves and other debris for transport through chipper shredder devices, and then to blow the reduced debris into accumulation units. To separate the debris from the air in which it is entrained, the machines rely on some form of filtration, with either fabric bags or screens. However, as leaf fragments and other debris collect on the filter, resistance to the flow of air increases, diminishing the air flow rate, and thereby, reducing the effectiveness of the vacuum pick-up opening.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine which effectively removes deep piles of leaves and other debris. In preferred embodiments, the thin layer of residual debris which might otherwise be left for later removal in another step is cleanly removed at the same time.
Another object of the invention is to provide a unit combining a front-facing vacuum-assisted opening with a rotor which serves to impel heavy leaves and debris toward a vacuum slot while creating air flow close to the surface to be cleaned in a direction which is generally parallel to that surface for picking up finer debris.
Another object of the invention is to provide a rotor-vacuum combination which both frontally engages piles of leaves and other debris and also brushes the leaves and other debris from the surface to be cleaned while entraining the debris in an air stream whence the debris may be reduced in size.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means for separating the air stream with entrained debris into a solids-depleted stream and a solids-enriched stream for collection and disposition of the debris.
It is another object of the present invention to remove deep piles of leaves and other debris.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects are provided by an apparatus for collection and reduction of yard debris comprising a combination of a frontally facing rotor-assisted vacuum pick up, a chipper-shredder-blower unit which (i) induces an airflow for entraining the debris collected at said pick up; (ii) reduces the debris entrained in the airflow to a more manageable volume and (iii) impels the reduced debris to a free-flow-separator device for removing the debris from the air in which it is entrained.
More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus for collecting yard debris comprising: a frame having a shredder blower unit mounted thereupon; a collector-rotor mounted on the frame comprising impeller elements adapted to: (i) engage a surface, (ii) collect yard debris thereupon, and (iii) impel the yard debris toward the shredder blower unit; an air-solids separator mounted on the frame operatively connected to the shredder blower unit for separating the yard debris into a debris-enriched stream and a debris-depleted stream by action of body forces thereupon; and an accumulation chamber adapted to receive the debris-enriched stream from the air-solids separator; wherein the collector rotor means is configured for substantially untrammeled engagement with yard debris having a depth of at least about two (2) inches.
In another aspect this invention relates to an apparatus for collecting yard debris comprising: a frame; a shredder blower unit mounted on the frame; a collector rotor mounted on the frame comprising impeller elements adapted to: (i) engage a surface, collect yard debris thereupon, and (ii) impel said the debris toward the shredder blower unit; an air-solids separator mounted on the frame operatively connected to the shredder blower unit for separating the yard debris into a debris-enriched stream and a debris-depleted stream; and an accumulation chamber adapted to receive the debris-enriched stream from the air-solids separator; wherein the collector rotor is configured for substantially untrammeled engagement with yard debris having a depth of at least about two (2) inches.
In still another aspect this invention relates to an apparatus for collecting yard debris comprising: (A) a frame; (B) a shredder blower unit mounted on the frame; (C) a collector rotor mounted on the frame comprising impeller elements adapted to: (i) engage a surface, collect yard debris thereupon, and (ii) impel the yard debris toward the shredder blower unit; (D) an air-solids separator means mounted on the frame operatively connected to the shredder blower unit for separating the yard debris into a debris-enriched stream and a debris-depleted stream by action of body forces thereupon; and (E) an accumulation chamber adapted to receive the debris-enriched stream from the air-solids separator.
Yet another aspect of this invention relates to an apparatus for collecting and reducing yard debris comprising: (A) a frame adapted for movement in a principal direction upon a surface; (B) a first duct mounted on the frame having an entrance and an exit; (C) a collector rotor assembly comprising: a collector rotor body disposed at the entrance to the first duct having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation generally normal to the principal direction; and a plurality of impeller elements mounted upon the collector rotor body, wherein the impeller elements extend radially from the collector rotor body by at least about one quarter of an inch and are adapted to: (i) sweep over the surface, (ii) collect yard debris thereupon, and (iii) impel the yard debris toward the duct entrance, wherein the collector rotor assembly and the first duct are configured for substantially untrammeled frontal engagement with yard debris having a depth of at least about two (2) inches; (D) a second duct mounted upon the frame having an entrance and an exit; (E) a shredder blower unit, disposed between the exit to the first duct and the entrance to the second duct, adapted to: (i) provide suction at the entrance of the first duct; (ii) induce a flow of air through the first and second ducts; and (iii) reduce yard debris entrained in the flow of air as it passes through the shredder blower unit; (F) an air-solids separator disposed at the exit
Dunning Charles E.
Saathoff Richard B.
BestRake, LLC
Kovács Aŕpád F.
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