Collector and separator apparatus for lawn and garden
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for collecting and reducing twig-containing yard debris comprising:
- a. a frame adapted to be advanced over a surface;
b. a duct mounted on said frame having a duct entrance and a duct exit;
c. twig-arrestor means mounted on said frame;
d. a collector-rotor assembly comprising;
i. a rotating collector-rotor body rotatably mounted on said frame adjacent said surface, said twig-arrestor means, and said duct entrance;
ii. a plurality of impeller elements mounted upon said collector-rotor body extending radially from said collector-rotor body by at least about one half inch and defining crenels and merlons having at least one circumferential alignment of crenels, said impeller elements being adapted to;
(a) engage yard debris disposed on said surface, (b) impel said yard debris toward said duct entrance, and (c) transport twigs encountered on said surface against said twig-arrestor means;
said twig-arrestor means protruding into said circumferential alignment of crenels and, in combination with said impeller elements mounted upon said rotating collector-rotor body, constituting means for fracturing twigs transported against said twig-arrestor means by said impeller elements by impact therewith;
e. a blower unit operatively connected to said duct and adapted to induce a flow of air through said duct and provide suction at said duct entrance;
f. means for providing power to said blower unit; and
g. means for providing power to said collector-rotor assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for collection and reduction of twig-containing yard debris combining a frontally facing twig breaker with a chipper-shredder-blower unit to induce airflow for entraining debris collected at the vacuum pick up; reduce the entrained debris to a more manageable volume; and impel the reduced debris to a free-flow-separator device for removing the debris from the air in which it is entrained.
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Citations
70 Claims
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1. An apparatus for collecting and reducing twig-containing yard debris comprising:
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a. a frame adapted to be advanced over a surface;
b. a duct mounted on said frame having a duct entrance and a duct exit;
c. twig-arrestor means mounted on said frame;
d. a collector-rotor assembly comprising;
i. a rotating collector-rotor body rotatably mounted on said frame adjacent said surface, said twig-arrestor means, and said duct entrance;
ii. a plurality of impeller elements mounted upon said collector-rotor body extending radially from said collector-rotor body by at least about one half inch and defining crenels and merlons having at least one circumferential alignment of crenels, said impeller elements being adapted to;
(a) engage yard debris disposed on said surface, (b) impel said yard debris toward said duct entrance, and (c) transport twigs encountered on said surface against said twig-arrestor means;
said twig-arrestor means protruding into said circumferential alignment of crenels and, in combination with said impeller elements mounted upon said rotating collector-rotor body, constituting means for fracturing twigs transported against said twig-arrestor means by said impeller elements by impact therewith;
e. a blower unit operatively connected to said duct and adapted to induce a flow of air through said duct and provide suction at said duct entrance;
f. means for providing power to said blower unit; and
g. means for providing power to said collector-rotor assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for collecting and reducing twig-containing yard debris comprising:
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a. a frame adapted to be advanced over a surface;
b. a duct mounted on said frame having a duct entrance and a duct exit;
c. a collector-rotor assembly comprising;
i. a rotating collector-rotor body rotatably mounted on said frame adjacent said surface and said duct entrance, having a length generally spanning said duct entrance; and
ii. a plurality of impeller elements mounted upon, and distributed along the length of, said rotating collector-rotor body, said impeller elements extending radially from said collector-rotor body by at least about one half inch, and being adapted to;
(a) engage yard debris disposed on said surface and impel said yard debris toward said duct entrance, and (b) transport twigs encountered on said surface about the axis of said collector-rotor body;
the cylindrical volume swept amongst said impellers and generally coinciding with said length of said collector-rotor body defining rotor-occluded volume;
d. means for fracturing twigs being transported about said axis of said collector-rotor body by said impeller elements, said means being mounted on said frame and protruding into said rotor-occluded volume;
e. a blower unit operatively connected to said duct, adapted to induce a flow of air through said duct and provide suction at said duct entrance;
f. means for providing power to said blower unit; and
g. means for providing power to said collector-rotor assembly. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. An apparatus for collecting and reducing twig-containing yard debris comprising:
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a. a frame adapted to be advanced over a surface;
b. means defining a duct mounted on said frame having a duct entrance and a duct exit;
c. a collector-reducer assembly comprising;
i. a rotating collector-rotor assembly rotatably mounted on said frame adjacent said surface and disposed at said duct entrance, comprising;
(a) a rotating collector-rotor body;
(b) a plurality of impeller elements mounted upon said rotating collector-rotor body, said impeller elements extending radially therefrom and being adapted to;
(i) engage and impel yard debris disposed on said surface toward said duct entrance, and (ii) transport twigs encountered on said surface about the axis of rotation of said rotating collector-rotor body;
ii. twig-fracturing means for breaking twigs, said twig-fracturing means being mounted on said frame adjacent said rotating collector-rotor body and adapted to, upon rotation of said rotating collector-rotor assembly, pass between ones of said plurality of impeller elements so as to engage and fracture twigs being transported about said axis of rotation of said rotating collector-rotor body by said impeller elements;
d. a blower unit operatively connected to said duct, adapted to induce a flow of air through said duct and provide suction at said duct entrance;
e. means for providing power to said blower unit; and
f. means for providing power to said rotating collector-rotor assembly. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. An apparatus for collecting and reducing twig-containing yard debris comprising:
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a. a frame adapted to be advanced over a surface;
b. a duct mounted on said frame and having a duct entrance and a duct exit;
c. twig-breaking means including twig-arrestor means disposed adjacent said duct entrance and a plurality of impeller elements movably mounted on said frame, said impeller elements defining crenels therebetween and being adapted to;
i. engage yard debris disposed on said surface, and ii. impel said yard debris encountered on said surface against said twig-arrestor means;
d. said twig-arrestor means comprising at least one fracturing member;
i. protruding into said crenels; and
ii. adapted to break twigs being transported against said fracturing member by engagement therewith;
e. a blower unit operatively connected to said duct adapted to induce a flow of air through said duct and provide suction at said duct entrance;
f. means for providing power to said blower unit; and
g. means for providing power to said impeller elements.
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52. An apparatus for collecting yard debris disposed on a surface comprising:
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a. a chassis frame;
b. a blower unit mounted on said chassis frame and adapted to induce entraining air flow;
c. a collector-rotor means rotatably mounted on said chassis frame adapted to;
i. engage said surface and yard debris thereupon, and ii. impel said yard debris toward said blower unit;
d. conduit means for conducting said yard debris in said entraining air flow from said collector-rotor means to said blower unit;
e. an air-solids separator means operatively connected to said blower unit for separating said entraining air flow into a debris-enriched stream and a debris-depleted stream;
f. a detachable accumulation means adapted to receive said debris-enriched stream from said air-solids separator means; and
g. said detachable accumulation means having at least one attached roller means adapted to support said accumulation means upon detachment of said accumulation means from said frame. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54)
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55. An apparatus for collecting yard debris disposed on a surface comprising:
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a. a chassis frame;
b. a blower unit mounted on said chassis frame and adapted to;
i. induce air flow adjacent a surface, and ii. entrain yard debris disposed on said surface in an entraining air stream;
c. conduit means for conducting said yard debris in said entraining air stream from said surface to said blower unit;
d. an air-solids separator means operatively connected to said blower unit for separating said entraining air flow into a debris-enriched stream and a debris-depleted stream;
e. a detachable accumulation means adapted to receive said debris-enriched stream from said air-solids separator means; and
f. said detachable accumulation means having at least one attached roller means adapted to support said accumulation means upon detachment of said accumulation means from said frame.
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56. A free-flow apparatus for separating entrained yard debris from a transporting air stream by action of body forces thereupon comprising:
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a. means for delivering a stream of air bearing entrained yard debris;
b. a vessel having an outer vessel wall and means defining an opening therethrough, a roof, and a bottom;
c. a duct having an outer duct wall, an interior duct wall, a duct entrance, and a duct exit, said duct being disposed generally horizontally about an upper portion of said vessel;
d. a portion of said outer duct wall of said duct adjacent said duct exit being generally tangential to said outer vessel wall of said vessel in one location adjacent said opening, and a portion of said interior duct wall of said duct adjacent said duct exit defining an acute angle with said outer vessel wall at a location generally opposed to said one location adjacent said opening;
e. said duct being adapted to;
i. receive said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris through said duct entrance, ii. conduct said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said duct entrance to said duct exit, and iii. direct said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into said vessel in a direction-generally tangential to said outer vessel wall;
f. said roof having defined therein a substantially centrally located passage with a passage entrance and a passage exit;
g. a baffle extending generally outwardly from a point below said passage entrance, said baffle separating said vessel into an upperly located separation chamber and a lowerly located accumulation chamber, the outer periphery of said baffle being spaced inwardly from said outer vessel wall;
h. said separation chamber being adapted to separate said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into an outerly located debris-enriched stream and an innerly located debris-depleted stream;
i. said substantially centrally located passage being adapted for;
i. receiving said innerly located debris-depleted stream from said separation chamber through said passage entrance, and ii. exhausting said innerly located debris-depleted stream into the atmosphere; and
j. said baffle being disposed to impede movement of fine particulates from said accumulation chamber into said innerly located debris-depleted stream. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. An apparatus for lifting and collecting lawn thatch comprising:
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a. a frame;
b. a first duct mounted on said frame having a first-duct entrance and a first-duct exit;
c. a second duct having a second-duct entrance and a second-duct exit, with said second-duct entrance operatively connected to said first-duct exit;
d. a rotating collector-rotor means comprising a collector-rotor body rotatably mounted on said frame having yieldable dethatching elements mounted thereupon, said yieldable dethatching elements being adapted to;
i. sweep over a surface, ii. penetrate, engage and lift thatch from among standing shafts of grass on said surface, and iii. impel said lifted thatch toward said first-duct entrance;
e. a blower unit operatively connected to said first and second ducts and adapted to;
i. induce air flow adjacent said first-duct entrance entraining said lifted thatch, and ii. induce flow of said entrained lifted thatch through said first and second ducts;
f. an air-solids separator means operatively connected to said second-duct exit and adapted for separating said entrained lifted thatch into a thatch-enriched stream and a thatch-depleted stream;
g. an accumulation means adapted to receive said thatch-enriched stream from said air-solids separator;
h. means operatively connected to said blower unit and adapted to provide power to said blower unit; and
i. means operatively connected to said rotating collector-rotor means and adapted to provide power to said collector-rotor means.
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66. An adaptor kit for mounting on a vehicle comprising:
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a. a positionable suction head;
b. a conduit operatively connected to said positionable suction head and having a conduit exit;
c. means for generating a flow of air inwardly through said suction head and said conduit while collecting a stream of entrained yard debris;
d. a separation chamber having an outer chamber wall, a roof, and an opening means for receiving said stream of entrained yard debris, said roof having defined therethrough a substantially centrally located passage;
e. a duct having a duct entrance, an outer duct wall, and a duct exit connected to said opening means, said duct being adapted for;
i. accepting said stream of entrained yard debris from said conduit exit, ii. conducting said stream of entrained lawn debris from said duct entrance to said opening means in said separation chamber, and iii. directing said stream of entrained lawn debris into said separation chamber in a direction generally tangential to said outer chamber wall;
f. said separation chamber being adapted to separate said stream of entrained lawn debris into an outerly located debris-enriched stream and an innerly located debris-depleted stream;
g. said substantially centrally located passage being adapted to exhaust said debris-depleted stream from said separation chamber into the atmosphere;
h. an accumulation chamber mountable on a vehicle for receiving said debris-enriched stream; and
i. a baffle means being disposed between said separation chamber and said accumulation chamber for inhibiting secondary flow from said accumulation chamber into said separation chamber and impeding re-entrainment of fine particulates from said accumulation chamber into said debris-depleted stream, said separation chamber having means providing an opening around said baffle into said accumulation chamber permitting passage of said outerly located debris-enriched stream from said separation chamber into said accumulation chamber. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68)
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69. An apparatus for collecting yard debris disposed on a surface comprising:
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a. a chassis frame;
b. a blower unit mounted on said chassis frame and adapted to;
i. induce air flow adjacent a surface, and ii. entrain yard debris disposed on said surface in an entraining air stream;
c. conduit means having a conduit entrance and adapted for conducting said yard debris in said entraining air stream from said surface to said blower unit;
d. an air-solids separator means operatively connected to said blower unit for separating said entraining air flow into a debris-enriched stream and a debris-depleted stream;
e. an accumulation means adapted to receive said debris-enriched stream from said air-solids separator means; and
f. a passage having a passage entrance and a passage exit, wherein;
i. said passage entrance is operatively connected to and adapted to receive said debris-depleted stream from said air solids separator, ii. said passage is adapted to conduct said debris-depleted stream along its length, and iii. said passage exit is adapted to direct said debris-depleted stream toward said conduit entrance. - View Dependent Claims (70)
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Specification