Harvesters – Motorized harvester – Having motor on ground-supported carrier
Patent
1996-09-13
1998-12-22
Novosad, Christopher J.
Harvesters
Motorized harvester
Having motor on ground-supported carrier
56DIG12, A01D 3468, A01D 3482
Patent
active
058507280
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to hand held brush cutters and more particularly to a device to enable a hand held brush cutter to be used as a lawn mower.
Brush cutters are generally of a type having an electric or internal combustion engine driving a cutting "blade". For ease of use the motor is usually mounted at one end of a hollow rod (the boom) and the blade at the other. A flexible shaft mounted within the boom enables the motor to drive the blade. The boom is usually angled near the blade so the blade may be held roughly parallel to the ground whilst the reminder of the boom is at about 45.degree. to the ground. The blade usually comprises one or two strands of a flexible polymer. In use the strands wear and the device automatically plays out more line. While flexible line type blades are popular due to their safety, conventional rigid metal bladed models are available.
In the following description and claims, the term "blade" is to be understood to include both types of cutting device.
Brush cutters are intended for use in cutting vegetation where a conventional lawn mower cannot cut, such as against a fence line, around trees or against a walled garden. While they can be used to cut large expanses of grass, it is not practical. This is because the blade cannot be held at a constant height and angle relative to the ground, resulting in an uneven height of grass. Furthermore, if the blade is angled so as to hit the ground, it will tend to cut a groove, resulting in an unsightly appearance.
In an attempt to allow a brush cutter to be used successfully as a lawn mower, the invention, in one broad form, provides an attachment for use with a brush cutter having a boom, the attachment comprising: the front end and diverging toward the rear end; the ground, the wheels comprising a front wheel mounted at or adjacent the front end and two spaced apart rear wheels mounted at or adjacent the rear end; brush cutter substantially parallel to the ground, the mounting adapted to firmly and rigidly grip the boom of the brush cutter and to locate the centre of the blade within an area bounded by the wheels; generally parallel to a line joining the front wheel to the respective rear wheel so as to allow a blade of sufficient size to extend sideways of the frame whilst clearing the wheels.
The device is preferably sized so that, at least for some blades, the blade extends beyond the frame.
The device may have a mounting which allows the center of the blade to be moved relative to the frame. This aids in allowing a wider range of blade sizes to be used and, in preferred embodiments, still extend beyond the frame.
The separation of at least one of the wheels of the device may be varied relative to at least one of the other wheels. This may be by changing the mounting position of one or more wheels on the frame or by providing frame members which telescope. That is the length and/or width of the frame and/or the longitudinal and/or transverse separation of the wheels may be adjusted to accommodate the different sized blades.
Preferably, the mounting attaches to the boom of the brush cutter, but other mounting arrangements may be used.
Optionally, a second mounting attached to the frame remote from the first may be used to provide extra rigidity to the mounting of the cutter to the device. Preferably the primary mounting is adjustable to accommodate booms at different angles to the blade. This may be achieved by providing a pivoting clamp member.
In preferred forms of the invention, the frame is triangular with two straight sides and an outwardly curved rear side. The rear side is curved outwardly to accommodate the safety guard whilst allowing the blade to extend beyond the two straight sides. Use of a triangular shape allows the device to be compact but able to cut deeply into comers.
Preferably one of the wheels, most preferably the front wheel, can be mounted at a greater separation from the others. This allows a larger size blade to be used whilst retaining the small overall size.
The invention shall be better understood fr
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