Limb cutting apparatus and methods
View Patent ↗The embodiments described herein are directed to a cutting apparatus incorporating anti-pinching and anti-snag structures called anvils in conjunction with cutting means such as a cutting chain or series of circular saw blades. In one embodiment, the cutting apparatus may be incorporated into a cutting head connected to a vehicle by an articulated boom for use as part of an overall limb-cutting apparatus for use in utility or public easements that can prune hundreds of limbs quickly in a single plane, and then process the tree limbs efficiently.
1 . A limb cutting apparatus, comprising:
a cutting head, comprising:
a front wall comprising:
a motor-driven linear cutting means disposed in an upper edge of the front wall; and
a first set of anvils and cutting channels disposed in the upper edge of the front wall adjacent to the motor-driven linear cutting means;
a rear wall; and
a receptacle defined by the front wall and opposing sidewalls.
2 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the motor-driven linear cutting means is a motor-driven chain constrained to translate about a perimeter of a cutter bar.
3 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the motor-driven linear cutting means is a plurality of motor-driven circular cutting blades disposed in the upper edge of the front wall.
4 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an articulated boom coupled to the cutting head, wherein the articulated boom comprises one or more telescoping jib sections, wherein a first end of the articulated boom is coupled to a vehicle.
5 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the receptacle additionally comprises a rear wall.
6 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the rear wall is disposed substantially parallel to the front wall in a first configuration, the rear wall comprising a rear wall upper edge and a rear wall lower edge, wherein the rear wall upper edge is adapted to translate linearly relative to the rear wall lower edge, and wherein the rear wall is hinged at the rear wall lower edge.
7 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an anti-pinching bar disposed parallel to and proximate to the cutter bar.
8 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a chipping drum disposed in the receptacle.
9 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cutting apparatus further comprises a pivot disposed in a first end of the cutter bar, wherein the pivot joins the cutter bar to the cutting head such that the cutter bar has one degree of rotational freedom relative to the cutting head.
10 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a second set of anvils, wherein the first set of anvils is adjacent to the substantially flat front face of the cutter bar and the second set of anvils is adjacent to the substantially flat rear face of the cutter bar.
11 . The limb cutting apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the receptacle rear wall is articulated relative to the front wall.