Presses – With flexible or deformable pressure surface – Circumferentially tightened loop
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-06
2001-02-20
Gerrity, Stephen F. (Department: 3721)
Presses
With flexible or deformable pressure surface
Circumferentially tightened loop
C100S008000, C140S09300R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189443
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to articles and implements used to facilitate the handling and disposal of branches trimmed from trees or shrubs. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus that facilitates baling tree or shrub prunings into bundles sufficiently compact to permit an individual to conveniently transport and dispose of the prunings.
B. Description of Background Art
Branches pruned or cut from trees or shrubs can be somewhat of a nuisance to handle and dispose of. Thus, homeowners as well as professional tree trimmers and gardeners are confronted with the problem of bundling stacks of bulky, irregularly-shaped tree or shrub branches into bundles which are sufficiently compact to allow them to be picked up by hand and transported to a disposal site or truck with reasonable convenience.
One method of bundling prunings which is in common use consists simply of looping a length of twine or rope around a pile of branches, tightening the loop to compact the pile into a roughly cylindrically-shaped bundle, and tying the ends of the rope into a knot to secure the bundle. Oftentimes, especially when bundling prunings that are relatively long, two ropes or cords, one at each end of the bundle, must be used to secure the bundle in a compacted state. A disadvantage of this method of compacting bundles for prunings it that it often requires substantial tension to be exerted in the tie rope to compress the bundle to a desired size. Thus, people with limited physical strength cannot conveniently use this method to compress prunings into small bundles. Also, since the amount of tension required to compress a bundle of prunings is greater than that required to retain the bundle in a compressed state, the rope used to compact as well as secure a bundle must be substantially stronger than that required for merely securing the bundle at a desired girth.
The following two United States Patents disclose devices which may be used to compact tree trimmings.
Knutsen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,355, Jul. 16,1986 discloses an apparatus for compacting a stack of tree limbs to facilitate sawing the limbs which uses a windlass having two cables.
Gray, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,765, Mar. 1, 1994 discloses a device for applying a radial compression force on a stack of tree trimmings to compact the stack, facilitating carrying the stack or lying a rope around the stack to retain its compacted shape.
Other references know by the present inventor to relate generally to his invention include the following U.S. Patents: Richmond, U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,099, Jan. 31, 1984, Tensioning Apparatus; Backmore et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,776, Jan. 6, 1987, Branchy Compactor; Rampe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,700, May 9, 1989, Method And Apparatus For Wrapping Round Bales; Pope, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,203, Feb. 13, 1990, Load-Tie-Down System And Winch Assembly; Shuker, U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,232, Jun. 2, 1992, Quick Tie; and Shuker, U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,298, Aug. 10, 1993, Quick Tie Load Binding System.
All of the references know by the present inventor to be related generally to the problem of compacting bundles of prunings are of rather specialized designs which limit their suitability for general purpose use by gardeners and homeowners. At best, compacting and securing piles of tree or shrub prunings into reasonably manageable bundles by prior art methods can be an annoying and time consuming task The present invention was conceived of to provide a low-cost apparatus for baling tree and shrub prunings which may be easily stored and transported and which overcomes certain limitations inherent in prior art devices while providing additional advantageous features over prior art devices.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for compressing stacks of tree or shrub trimmings into compact bundles or bales, and for securing the bales in a compacted shape to facilitate their handling and transportation.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler apparatus which may be readily used by a single individual to compact tree and shrub cutting into tight bales which may be easily handed and transported to a disposal site or pickup location for a trash hauler's subsequent removal.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler having a substantial mechanical advantage which allows an individual to exert substantially greater compressive force on a pruning bundle than could be achieved by merely tightening a rope loop around the bundle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler which employs a winch mechanism to simultaneously tighten two tensioning ropes around longitudinally spaced-apart locations of a stack of prunings, thereby compacting and maintaining the stack in a compacted bundle while string is subsequently tied around the bundle to secure it in a compacted state.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler having an apertured shield plate through which a tensioning rope is pulled as it is wound on the shaft of a winch, the shield plate preventing pruning debris from becoming entangled with rope wound around the winch shaft.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler having a hand crank coupled to a rope tensioning windlass by means of a coaxal tubular safety clutch which limits tension in the rope to values low enough to prevent damage to the baler or injury to the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler having an anchor rod provided with two longitudinally spaced apart tension ropes attached at one end thereof, the other ends of the ropes being attached to a winch shaft rotatably supported in a pair of longitudinally spaced apart support structures, each provided with an upstanding hook adapted to receive the anchor bar.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler which utilizes a pair of disposable tensioning tie wraps used both to compact and secure a pruning bundle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pruning baler which uses a pair of disposable self-ratcheting tensioning tie wraps used both to compact and secure a pruning bundle.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention, and its most novel features, will become apparent to those skilled in the art by perusing the accompanying specification, drawings and claims.
It is to be understood that although the invention disclosed herein is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages described, the characteristics of the invention described herein are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments. Accordingly, I do not intend that the scope of my exclusive rights and privileges in the invention be limited to details of the embodiments described. I do intend that equivalents, adaptations and modifications of the invention reasonably inferable from the description contained herein be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly stated, the present intention comprehends a device which may be used to compress and secure a stack of branches pruned from a tree or shrub into a compact bundle or bale of sufficiently small girth to facilitate convenient handling and disposal of the prunings by a single individual.
The pruning baler according to the present invention includes a winch having an elongated shaft terminated at one end by a hand crank. The winch is of novel construction, in which the shaft thereof is rotatably supported by a pair of multi-function support structures, one located near the mid point of the winch shaft, and one located near the end of the shaft opposite that of the crank. Each multi-function support structure includes a transversely elongated rectangular base plate, and a pair of longitudinally spaced apart inverted U-shaped bearing clamps that protrude upwards from the base plate and serve as rotatable supports or bearings for the winch shaft. A pair of collars of larger diameter than the bearin
Chapin William C.
Gerrity Stephen F.
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