Ground cover cutter

Details Ground cover cutter Ground cover cutter

1999-12-28

2001-04-10

Bray, W. Donald (Department: 3725)

Cutting

Rotatable disc tool pair or tool and carrier

With means to support work relative to tool

C144S002100, C144S379000, C083S490000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06212985

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cutting devices and, more specifically, to an Improved Ground Cover Cutter.
2. Description of Related Art
Bark and wood chips have long been used by landscapers and home gardeners as decorative textured cover for bare soil and for mulch for plants. Such ground cover is desirable for soil conservation, water retention, weed suppression, and protection from the heat of the sun and from extreme cold. The common commercial ground covers in use today are made from redwood bark or wood chips. While these materials are attractive and perform the various functions reasonably well, they are also expensive and therefore not very economical. Further, and particularly in the case of wood chips, they are not necessarily environmentally friendly because they deplete the soil of nitrogen and generate acetic acid. What would be as attractive, more economical, and more beneficial from an environmental standpoint would be using ground cover material made from the home garden green waste, if such plant material could be efficiently cut to a size suitable for such purposes. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter that is specifically configured to provide this ground cover.
Other cutters known as chippers or shredders have been available for processing green waste, however, they don't really fill the aforementioned need, since the main idea behind the chipper or shredder is to significantly reduce the volume of the material being processed as an aid in disposal. The main problem with the end product of the shredder or chipper is that such finely chopped, highly condensed material does not make a desirable ground cover material because it mats down and smothers the soil. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter that will cut otherwise undesirable plant waste matter into pieces that are large enough to be suitable for use as ground cover.
Another common problem with the shredder or chipper is that fibery, wet, and hard gummy waste materials are difficult, if not impossible, for these machines to process. Most shredders and chippers employ a perforated screen to keep the work material in a chopping or processing chamber until it is small enough to pass through. A common problem is the clogging of the screen and the chopping chamber when processing such materials. Another common problem is that there is no clearing mechanism for removing the clogged material. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter that can process fibery, wet, and hard gummy material without employing a screen and further that has a mechanism for clearing clogged material.
Another common problem with the shredder or chipper is that these devices discharge the product onto the ground, resulting in the need to collect the product for disposal. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter designed to be used over a receptacle so that there is no need to collect the product off the ground upon completion of the cutting step.
Another common problem with the chipper or shredder is that it is usually a large, heavy, gasoline-powered machine that exposes the user to loud noise, exhaust, dust and grit and harsh vibration. What is needed, therefore, is a compact, highly portable, cutter that does not expose the user to excessively loud noise, exhaust, harsh vibration or excessive dust and grit.
The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for a compact, highly portable, non-polluting cutter for producing suitable ground cover material from home garden green waste having the desirable features of a noise- and dust-reducing case, ability to cut fibery and hard, wet, gummy material without exposing the user to harsh vibration, a clearing mechanism, and the ability to be used over a receptacle, is now fulfilled by the invention disclosed hereinafter and summarized as follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the aforementioned problems associated with the prior devices, it is an object of the present invention to provide an Improved Ground Cover Cutter. The preferred device will permit the user to cut normal home garden green waste and other plant material into plugs that can then be used as a highly efficient and decorative ground cover. It is an object that the cutter be configured to be portable and further include a collapsible platform that is configured to permit the cutter to rest atop a receptacle, such as a standard trash can, while in use. It is a further object that the device and method provide the ability to cooperatively use a standard off-the-shelf hand circular saw to cut the plugs. It is a still further object that the device includes a saw chamber for reducing the emission of environmental noise and dust. It is also an object that the device include a feed stabilizer means for restrain materials being fed down the device's feed tunnel and into the cutting chamber. It is a final object that the device include a clearing bar for easily and safely clearing jammed plant material from the cutting chamber without the need for stopping the saw motor.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2171024 (1939-08-01), Coates
patent: 3626783 (1971-12-01), Jagers
patent: 3827325 (1974-08-01), Ward et al.
patent: 3832928 (1974-09-01), Copeland
patent: 4679475 (1987-07-01), Antezana
patent: 5408907 (1995-04-01), Mains

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