AU2008100335A4

AU2008100335A4 - Mid-sized mulcher

Info

Publication number: AU2008100335A4
Application number: AU2008100335A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Nabil Youssef Makari
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-03-02
Filing date: 2008-04-17
Publication date: 2008-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2015-03-02
Also published as: AU2007100175A4

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATION PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors: Address: Nabil Youssef Makari Nabil Youssef Makari 90 Sherwood St., Revesby NSW 2212

AUSTRALIA

Mid-Sized Mulcher Invention Title: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 00 FIELD OF THE INVENTION N The present invention relates to powered tools and in particular to powered tools for use in garden maintenance.

The invention has been developed primarily for use as a device for comminuting green waste and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be C appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.

00 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

Presently, the only mulchers on the market have either a very small capacity or are very large commercial machines costing tens of thousands of dollars and suitable for large volume jobs. Furthermore, the blades on smaller machines are designed in such a way that they have a relatively poor life cycle, being mostly designed as a substantially circular plate with sharpened protrusions, exclusions or attachments. These blades are very lightweight and as a virtue of their construction and manner of use, they dull quickly, are not easily resharpenable, and require a relatively high amount of power to operate effectively. They are also often not capable of mulching larger diameter branches.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

00 It is an object of the invention in its preferred form to provide a mulching device S affordable to the domestic operator, which is inexpensive to maintain, modular in design and e efficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ¢3According to the invention, there is provided a mulching device including: a body; 00 Cand mulching means including; a first rotary drive shaft rotatably attached to said body; said drive shaft fixedly detachably supporting a plurality of axially spaced arms; said arms being positioned upon said shaft such as to achieve substantial dynamic balance when said shaft and arms are in free rotation; said arms each having a cutting blade, positioned at a free end of said arms, such that a cutting surface points in the orientation of the direction of rotation of said drive shaft and arms, and an end of the cutting surface is coincident with said free end of said arms; said cutting blades each having a resharpenable cutting surface, and each having at a surface opposite the cutting surface a flyweight operatively associated with said cutting blades for increasing momentum when in operation; a support means fixedly attached to said body, said support means passing interstitially between said arms and having a surface being substantially laterally adjacent to said cutting blades at a point in their rotation, for supporting an object in opposition to motion of said arms.

Preferably, the arms and support means are housed in an enclosure, said enclosure having at least one aperture positioned to allow the intrusion of objects such that an intruding object 00 must pass into interference between the support means and the arms, for comminution.

C Preferably, the enclosure includes at least one further aperture positioned to allow the expulsion of an intruding object from the enclosure after the intruding object has been conmmiinuted.

Preferably, at least one aperture positioned to allow the intrusion of objects extends elongatedly outwards from the enclosure in the form of a chute, hingedly rotatable at the e aperture, and at least one further aperture positioned to allow the intrusion of objects extends and expands outwardly from the enclosure in the form of a funnel, and has placed in it a second 00 rotary drive shaft rotatably attached to said body. This second shaft preferably fixedly supports a plurality of axially spaced, resilient arms for providing a barrier against direct contact with the cutting blades.

Preferably, an adjustable mounting plate is fixedly attached to the body for mounting a rotary drive that provides motive power for the first and second rotary drive shafts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a mulcher according to the invention; Figure 2 is a sectional side view of a mulcher according to the invention, showing the relative position of the main assemblies; Figure 3 is an exploded view showing the relative position of all components as they are mounted on the body; Figure 4 is an isometric view of the rotatable portion of the cutting means according to one aspect of the invention; and Figure 5 is an isometric view of the butterfly assembly according to one aspect of the invention.

00 PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION a Referring to the drawings, the mulcher 1 includes a body 2, and mulching means including a first rotary drive shaft 3 rotatably attached to the body. Upon the drive shaft are attached six axially spaced arms 4 made of solid steel, arranged three abreast and diametrically opposed, S though in other embodiments, both the number and arrangement of the arms may vary.

Upon each arm at the free end is a cutting blade 5, fashioned from tool steel in an "L" 00 shape. Advantageously, each blade is easily resharpenable, simply by using a blade sharpening tool, the type of which is commonly available in the market.

Upon each arm at the free end, but on the trailing side of the cutting blade is fashioned a heavy flyweight 6, operatively associated with the cutting blade 5. The flyweight serves to increase momentum of the rotating arms, thereby increasing the amount of comminuting energy delivered to any items of greenwaste being mulched. This is advantageous as it allows a lower powered motor to be used to mulch stronger greenwaste than would be otherwise possible in other designs, without causing the motor to stall.

Interstitial to each arm is a circular spacer 7, also fixedly attached, for spacing the arms out such that a support means fixedly attached to the body 2 passes interstitially between the arms.

Upon the body 2 is fixedly attached support means, in the form of a plurality of gussets 8.

The gussets are positioned such that they pass interstitially between the arms 4 when the arms are in rotation, and have a surface which is substantially laterally adjacent to the cutting blades at a point in their rotation. The support means receives greenwaste and supports it as it is being comminuted, allowing it to fall interstitially once it has been reduced to the desired size.

The mulching means as described so far is housed in an enclosure 9 having two apertures and 11 positioned to allow the intrusion of greenwaste into the enclosure, such that the greenwaste must pass into interference between support means 8 and arms 4 for comminution.

00 The enclosure includes a further aperture 12 positioned to allow the expulsion of the now N comminuted waste from the enclosure.

Aperture 10 is approached by an elongate chute 13 hingedly connected at the aperture.

The chute has cross-sectional dimensions substantially equal to the largest size of solid greenwaste that can be safely comminuted by the mulcher, and the aperture 10 at the end of the chute leads directly onto the gussets 8. This ensures that solid greenwaste is securely supported during comminution, and allows the operator to adjust the working height for comfort.

00 SAperture 11 extends and expands outwardly in the form of a funnel 14, and has placed in it a second rotary drive shaft 15 rotatably attached to the body 2. Upon the drive shaft 15 are mounted a plurality of resilient plastics arms 16, similar in number and arrangement to arms 4.

This ensures that leafy greenwaste is well-stripped prior to conmminution, aiding in the quick intrusion of such waste into enclosure 9, and further provides a barrier against direct operator contact with blades 5, limiting the chance of serious injury due to accident or misuse.

The rotary drive 17, which powers drive shafts 3 and 15, is mounted by an adjustable mounting plate 18 fixedly attached to the body. This plate allows the drive 17 to be easily removed, replaced or upgraded simply by releasing or adjusting the position of the mounting points.

The drive power is delivered by a pulley and belt system 19 in the preferred embodiment, however in other embodiments the power may be delivered by shaft, chain, gear or other means.

In some embodiments, the mulcher 1 sits upon four wheels 20 for ease of movement, and can be raised upon four stilts 21 to provide a steady footing during operation.

In operation, the rotary drive 17 is powered on, and allowed to bring the mulching means up to a steady rotating velocity. The chute 13 is adjusted to a comfortable and safe working height. Greenwaste is then fed through the mulcher. Leafy or voluminous waste is dropped through the funnel 14 while solid waste (for instance larger branch sections) is fed through the 00 chute 13, taking care not to force too much through in order to keep the operating velocity C relatively constant.

The comminuted greenwaste is then collected from under and around the mulcher, and used as desired.

It will be appreciated that the illustrated mulching device is affordable to the domestic Cc operator, inexpensive to maintain, modular in design and efficient.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific example, it will be 00 appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims

2. A mulching device according to claim 1 wherein said arms and support means are housed in an enclosure, said enclosure having at least one aperture positioned to allow the intrusion of objects such that an intruding object must pass into interference between said support means and said arms, for comminution; and wherein said enclosure includes at least one further aperture positioned to allow the expulsion of said intruding object from said enclosure after said intruding object has been conmminuted. 00 3. A mulching device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least one aperture Cr positioned to allow the intrusion of objects extends elongatedly outwards from said enclosure, said extension being in the form of a chute, hingedly rotatable at said aperture, and at least one further aperture positioned to allow the intrusion of objects extends and expands outwardly from said enclosure, said further extension being in the form of a C c funnel, and having placed in it a second rotary drive shaft rotatably attached to said body, Ssaid second shaft fixedly supporting a plurality of axially spaced, resilient plastics arms for 00 Sproviding a barrier against direct contact with said cutting blades.
4. A mulching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein an adjustable mounting plate is fixedly attached to said body for mounting a rotary drive, said rotary drive providing motive power for said first and second rotary drive shafts. A mulching device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.