Lawn and garden chipper/shredder vacuum apparatus
First Claim
1. Lawn and garden maintenance equipment for collecting leaves and garden debris and the like comprising:
- a base housing, said base housing having downwardly extending sidewalls and ground engaging support wheels;
motor drive and top housing means supporting said motor drive on said base housing with an output drive shaft of said motor drive supported for rotation about a vertical axis, said base housing and top housing forming an open bottom chamber;
a horizontally disposed disc connected to said drive shaft for rotation therewith within said housings and provided with radially extending air movement blades, each blade having a tip;
substantially horizontally extending, removable, arc-shaped screen means spaced inwardly from said downwardly extending sidewalls of the base housing and having a total arc length greater than 180°
;
the tips of said blades rotating within a circumference described by said screen means;
a forward facing air inlet and a bottom closure for said chamber, said forward facing inlet cooperating with said bottom closure for said housing and forming an inlet passageway for air and entrained debris, said passageway terminating in a central opening generally coaxial with the motor drive shaft, said disc and said blades with the bottom closure forming an axial inlet blower for air and entrained debris;
an outlet for debris drawn through said inlet and forced through said screen means; and
said outlet being in a rear facing portion of said housing whereby air and other debris is reduced in size by engagement with the screen means and discharged through the screen means to an exit opening, said screen means being of a sufficient total arc length to prevent its complete removal from said housing through said outlet.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Lawn and garden maintenance equipment for collecting and shredding debris and chipping branches is provided with wheel support, a housing, and a handle for guiding the apparatus, the housing having a substantially closed bottom wall below a motor-driven disc for rotation about a vertical axis, which disc is capable of chipping branches because of a knife on one side and of moving air because of blades on the other side. A circumfirentially extending screen within the housing is supported in a vertical orientation relative to the ground, which screen is formed of at least two segments, both of which are supported radially inwardly and spaced from the sidewalls of the housing. The air and entrained debris are drawn into and enters the housing through an inlet extending to a centrally disposed axial opening whereby the entrained air and debris are driven against the screen to be broken up into smaller pieces. The debris thereafter is propelled from the space between the screen and the sidewall to a rear exit from the housing. Cleaning of the screen and replacement of the screen are facilitated by creating a screen comprised of two arcuate segments, one of the segments being supported adjacent an access door provided in the housing. The access door is removable by disabling a safety interlock through removal of a special fastener captive on the access door, the fastener upon initial withdrawal serving to actuate a switch to disable the engine drive to the disk, the fastener being of such a length as to require more than the average amount of time for its full withdrawal, thereby permitting the disk (and engine) to achieve its rest position.
26 Citations
18 Claims
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1. Lawn and garden maintenance equipment for collecting leaves and garden debris and the like comprising:
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a base housing, said base housing having downwardly extending sidewalls and ground engaging support wheels; motor drive and top housing means supporting said motor drive on said base housing with an output drive shaft of said motor drive supported for rotation about a vertical axis, said base housing and top housing forming an open bottom chamber; a horizontally disposed disc connected to said drive shaft for rotation therewith within said housings and provided with radially extending air movement blades, each blade having a tip; substantially horizontally extending, removable, arc-shaped screen means spaced inwardly from said downwardly extending sidewalls of the base housing and having a total arc length greater than 180°
;the tips of said blades rotating within a circumference described by said screen means; a forward facing air inlet and a bottom closure for said chamber, said forward facing inlet cooperating with said bottom closure for said housing and forming an inlet passageway for air and entrained debris, said passageway terminating in a central opening generally coaxial with the motor drive shaft, said disc and said blades with the bottom closure forming an axial inlet blower for air and entrained debris; an outlet for debris drawn through said inlet and forced through said screen means; and said outlet being in a rear facing portion of said housing whereby air and other debris is reduced in size by engagement with the screen means and discharged through the screen means to an exit opening, said screen means being of a sufficient total arc length to prevent its complete removal from said housing through said outlet. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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2. Lawn and garden maintenance equipment for collecting leaves and garden debris and the like comprising:
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a base housing, said base housing having downwardly extending sidewalls and ground engaging support wheels; motor drive and top housing means supporting said motor drive on said base housing with an output drive shaft of said motor drive supported for rotation about a vertical axis, said base housing and top housing forming an open bottom chamber; a horizontally disposed disc connected to said drive shaft for rotation therewith within said housings and provided with radially extending air movement blades; substantially vertically supported generally circular screen means spaced inwardly from said downwardly extending sidewalls of the base housing and extending a substantial distance thereabouts; the tips of said blades rotating within a circumference described by said screen means; a forward facing air inlet and a bottom closure for said chamber, said forward facing inlet cooperating with said bottom closure for said housing and forming an inlet passageway for air and entrained debris, said passageway terminating in a central opening generally coaxial with the motor drive shaft, said disc and said blades with the bottom closure forming an axial inlet blower for air and entrained debris; an outlet for debris drawn through said inlet and forced through said screen means; said outlet being in a rear facing portion of said housing whereby air and other debris is reduced in size by engagement with the screen means and discharged through the screen means to an exit opening; wherein said screen means is comprised of two screen portions; support means are provided to removeably attach said two screen portions in end to end relationship within said housing; and and a removable access panel is provided in said housing in alignment with one screen portion to permit removal of said one screen portion for cleaning and replacement. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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11. Lawn and garden maintenance equipment for collecting and shredding debris comprising:
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housing means having ground engaging wheels thereon and supporting a motor having a vertical shaft with a horizontally extending disc affixed thereto, said disc having air movement blades on its lower surface; a bottom closure for said housing, said housing and bottom closure forming an inlet and an outlet for air and entrained debris; and screen means supported horizontally in said housing means perpendicular to said vertical shaft and spaced from the sidewalls of said housing means and positioned so that debris must pass through said screen means before reaching said outlet, said screen means extending at least 270°
about the circumference of said disc.
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12. Lawn and garden maintenance equipment for collecting and shredding debris comprising:
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a housing; drive means mounted on the housing and having a shaft extending into the housing for rotation about a vertical axis; a disk mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith and positioned within a chamber in said housing; an arcuate screen assembly disposed within said chamber in said housing, said arcuate screen assembly comprising a first arcuate screen portion and a second arcuate screen portion, said first arcuate screen portion and said second arcuate screen portion together defining a total arc length for said arcuate screen assembly of greater than 180°
about said shaft, said first arcuate screen portion and said second arcuate screen portion each being removable from said housing through a different access opening;an inlet in said housing in communication with said chamber for collecting debris to be shredded; and an outlet from said housing in communication with said chamber for removing shredded debris from said chamber through said arcuate screen assembly. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification