US3747652A

US3747652A - Flexible pruning saw

Info

Publication number: US3747652A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Meadows
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-01-03
Filing date: 1972-01-03
Publication date: 1973-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-24

Abstract

A saw for use in cutting limbs from a standing tree, wherein the saw is constructed of a plurality of blade elements pivotally attached to each other in serial fashion to form an elongated flexible saw means. Each blade element includes a plurality of cutting teeth, with the blade elements being connected to each other so that the first cutting tooth of adjacent pivotally connected blade elements overlap each other. Elongated rope means are attached to opposite ends of the flexible saw means whereby the flexible saw means can be reciprocated around a limb to cause the cutting teeth to sever the limb from the standing tree. The flexible saw means is propelled into position over a limb of a standing tree by attaching a weight means to an elongated flexible rope means and by throwing the weight and rope over the limb, thereafter pulling the flexible saw into position around the limb to be cut.

Description

United States Patent 1 Meadows 1 21 App]. No.: 214,844

[52] US. Cl. 145/31 R, 83/830 [51] Int. Cl B27b 21/00 [58] Field of Search 143/135 R, 133 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 349,833 9/1886 Aspen; 143/135 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 65,857 12/1892 Germany 143/135 R 2,170 8/1866 Great Britain 143/135 R 3,747,652 [4 1 July 24,1973

Primqry Exarrriner-Donal d R. Schran A ttorney Ed ward Taylor Ormsby, Jr. et a].

[5 7] ABSTRACT A saw for use in cutting limbs from a standing tree, wherein the saw is constructed of a plurality of blade elements pivotally attached to each other in serial fashion to form an elongated flexible saw means. Each blade element includes a plurality of cutting teeth, with the blade elements being connected to each other so that the first cutting tooth of adjacent pivotally connected blade elements overlap each other. Elongated rope means are attached to opposite ends of the flexible saw means whereby the flexible saw means can be reciprocated around a limb to cause the cutting teeth to sever the limb from the standing tree. The flexible saw means is propelled into position over a limb of a standing tree by attaching a weight means to an elongated flexible rope means and by throwing the weight and rope over the limb, thereafter pulling the flexible saw into position around the limb to be cut.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Newton. William J.

1 FLEXIBLE PRUNING SAW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a saw limbs from a tree to maintain the for use in pruning surrounding areas safe for use and attractive in appearance. More particularly, this invention is concerned with a pruning saw which can be propelled into position over limbs located out of reach of a person standing on the ground or on a ladder, and wherein the saw can be used to sever the limbs from the tree.

In maintaining the yards around our homesites attractive in appearance and safe for use, it is often necessary to remove some of the dead limbs from the trees. Also, it is often necessary to pruhe certain other limbs from the trees to improve the growth of the trees.

In the past, most of these limbs that should be pruned have been severed by using an arcuate-shaped pruning saw which is attached to the end of an elongated extension rod, with the limb being severed by reciprocating the elongated extension rod sufficiently to cause the pruning saw to sever the limbs. Another method of pruning unwanted limbs is by climing the tree and utilizing a bow saw to sever the limbs to be out. Other limbs to be severed are often cut by utilizing a ladder propped against the tree and by climbing the ladder to an area adjacent the limb and utilizing a bow or other saw means for severing the limbs.

However, sometimes the limbs that should becut are located at a height inthe tree which will prevent the use of ladders or'elongated extension rods for supporting pruning saws and should this be the case, the only other way of cutting these limbs is by climbing the tree with some type of saw means to remove these limbs. Climbing a tree to sever limbs therefrom is hazardous unless the person doing the job is an experienced tree surgeon.

There have been a number of flexible saw means constructed which include a plurality of pivotally connected link elements wherein certain of the link elements are provided with cutting teeth. However, these prior art flexible saw means are complex in construction, expensive to manufacture and unreliable in operation.

Further, these prior art flexible cutting elements are not adapted for use in cutting or severing limbs from a standing tree because the link elements having the cutting teeth thereon are not properly located to effectively make a cut through which the chain element can pass in a cutting operation.

Another problem with these prior art flexible saw means is that it is difficult to properly position these saw elements in a cutting operation, since the pivotal location of the chain elements relative to the cutting teeth does not enable the cutting teeth to be properly oriented in a cutting operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1 attached to opposite ends thereof, with the flexible saw means being manipulated in a sawing operation by applying alternate tension force to the two elongated rope means, whereby the flexible saw means will be moved in a reciprocating motion around a limb causing the cutting teeth to effect a continuous removal of wood chips from the limb until a cut is made through the limb.

One important feature of the present invention is the detailed connection of the blade elements wherein the blade elements are overlapped relative to each other so that adjacent teeth are superimposed when the flexible saw means is oriented in a longitudinally extended relationship.

Another important feature of the present invention is the location of the connection between the elongated rope means and the cutting teeth of the flexible saw means, with the location detailed such that a tension force applied to the opposite ends of the flexible saw means will pass along a line intersecting an intermedi ate portion of the cutting teeth, and wherein this location is spaced relative to the pivotal connections of the blade elements for aiding in orienting the flexible saw means relative to a limb in a cutting operation.

A further important feature of the present invention is the method in which a limb is severed utilizing the flexible saw means of the present invention. The method is performed by attaching an elongated rope having a weight means to one end of the flexible saw means, throwing the weight over a limb to be cut, thereafter pulling the flexible sawmeans into position around the limb and applying alternate tension force to the two flexible handle means. t

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a pruning saw which will permit a limb to be severed from a standing tree at a remote location from the ground supporting surface.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for severing limbs at remote locations in a standing tree without the use of ladders and extensible handle elements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible saw means detailed in construction to aid in the orientation of the flexible saw means in a correct cutting alignment when tension force is applied to the flexible saw means.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a flexible pruning saw which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and reliable in performance.

These and other objects and advantages of the details of construction will become apparent after reading the following description of the illustrative embodiment, with reference to the attached drawings wherein like reference numerals have been used to refer to like parts throughout the several figures, and. wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view showinga flexible pruning saw embodying the principles of the present invention being used in a limb severing operation;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the flexible pruning saw shown in FIG. 1, with certain portions of the elongated rope handle means being broken away for purpose of clarity; and,

FIG. 3 is a sectional viewtaken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2. Y

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing, the present invention will be described with reference to a flexible pruning saw which is generally represented by the reference numeral 10. The flexible pruning saw will be described with reference to a plurality of blade elements generally represented by the reference numeral 11 and a pair of elongated rope handle means 12, 13.

The function of the flexible pruning saw embodying the principles of the present invention is to provide a method of severing limbs located at a remote elevation in a standing tree without the use of ladders or without an individual climbing a tree to reach a position adjacent the limbs to be severed.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the blade elements 11 is constructed of conventional metal stock material substantially planar and formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape. The trapezoidal-shaped blade elements 11 are provided with a plurality of cutting teeth 14 formed along one edge. The two outermost teeth 14 form two edge portions l5, 16 which diverge outwardly and include inwardly curved portions l7, 18. The

curved portions

17, 18 merge with a substantially straight top line 19.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the blade elements 11 are provided with a pair of

apertures

20, 21 which will permit adjacent blade elements to be pivotally connected to each other in serial fashion to form the elongated flexible saw means 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, adjacent blade elements are pivotally connected to each other by the use of grommets 25 which are inserted through the

openings

20, 21 of adjacent overlapped blade elements, with the grommets 25 being flared at 26, 27 to maintain the blade elements in an assembled relationship.

Blade elements 11 are pivotally connected to each other whereby alternate blade elements are located in common planes to provide a minimum thickness to the flexible saw means. The adjacent pivotally connected blade elements are overlapped a sufficient amount such that the adjacent teeth of two pivotally connected blade elements are superimposed relative to each other when the blade elements are oriented in a longitudinally aligned relationship, and with the cutting teeth being angularly displaced a sufficient amount to overlap the next cutting teeth when oriented in an arcuate path around a limb, substantially as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible saw means is provided with a pair of outermost blade elements which are represented by the

reference numerals

30, 31. The

outermost blade elements

30, 31 are formed to include

extensions

32, 33, respectively, which are provided with

apertures

34, 35. The

apertures

34, 35 are adapted to receive handle connecting link members 40. The location of

apertures

34, 35 is detailed such that a tension force applied to the opposite ends of the flexible saw means in a sawing operation will pass along a line which intersects an intermediate portion of the blade element cutting teeth 14. Further, the

apertures

34, 35 are detailed in location such that the line of tension force developed through the blade cutting teeth 14 will be along line substantially a line and spaced relative to the pivotal connection of the blade elements. This detailed location of the handle connecting means will aid in orienting the flexible saw means so that the cutting teeth 14 are directed inwardly into contact with a limb to be severed when the rope handle means 12, 13 are manipulated in a sawing operation.

As shown in FIG. 2, the handle link connecting members 40 are secured to the rope handle means 12, 13 by conventional binding means 41. As shown in FIG. 1, opposite ends of the elongated rope handle means 12, 13 are also provided with a connecting link 40.

As shown in FIG. 1, a saw propelling means generally represented by the reference numeral 50 is provided for locating the flexible saw means over a limb to be cut in a cutting operation. The saw propelling means 50 is constructed of an elongated rope and includes a weight 51 attached to one end and is provided with a releasable link member 52 connected to an opposite end.

OPERATION In utilizing the flexible saw means embodying the principles of the present invention to perform a pruning operation, the saw propelling means 50 is attached to one of the elongated rope handles l2, 13. The saw propellingmeans 50 is attached to the rope handle means by attaching the releasable link 52 to a link member 40. With the saw propelling means 50 attached to one of the rope handle means 12, 13 the saw is then positioned relative to a limb to be severed by throwing the weight element 51 over the limb. The weight 51 will then pull the rope attached thereto around the limb,with the weight falling down by gravity to permit the worker to grasp the weighted rope. The worker will then pull the rope means 50 until the saw 10 is positioned around the limb substantiallyas shown in FIG. 1.

Due to the detailed location of the pivotal connections of the blade elements relative to the point of connection of the rope handle means l2, 13, the blade elements will be oriented such that the cutting teeth 14 are directed inwardly toward the limb to be cut and the flexible saw means will assume an arcuate path around the peripheral edge of the limb. A pruning operation is then performed by applying alternate tension force to the rope handles 12, 13 to cause the flexible saw means to reciprocate around the limb. The reciprocating sawing operation is continued until the limb has been severed from the tree. In utilizing the flexible saw means of the present invention to perform a limb pruning operation, the worker can be located at a remote location laterally displaced relative to the limb whereby the falling limb will not injure the worker.

When it is desirable to sever a number of adjacent vertically spaced limbs from a single tree, the flexible saw means is propelled into position over the top limb to be cut with the rope handle means embracing a number of vertically spaced limbs. The pruning operation is then performed by cutting the top limb, allowing the flexible saw means to drop onto the next lower limb. The next lower limb is then severed at which time the flexible saw means will drop onto a next lower limb. This type of pruning operation is continued until the number of limbs embraced by the rope handle means have been severed.

The flexible saw means embodying the principles of the present invention can be constructed in a number of elongated and transverse dimensions, with the number of cutting teeth being varied in order to obtain the optimum cutting characteristics.

It now becomes apparent that the above described illustrative embodiment of the flexible pruning saw is capable of obtaining the above stated objects and advantages. It is obvious that those skilled in the art may make modifications in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention which is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. What is claimed is:

1. An improved saw for use in cutting limbs from a standing tree, comprising a plurality of blade elements pivotally attached to each other in serial fashion to form an elongated flexible saw means, each blade element including a plurality of cutting teeth, said blade elements being connected together so that the first cutting tooth of each blade element overlaps a tooth of an adjacent element, the arrangement being such that alternate blade elements are coplanar relative to each other, said pivotal connections being made along a line substantially parallel to and spaced outwardly from said cutting teeth; and handle grasping means attached to opposite end blade elements of said flexible saw means, said handle grasping means being so located as to apply a tension force substantiallyal'ong the line of the cut- 6 ting teeth.

2. An improved saw as in claim 1 wherein the pivotal connections between said blade elements comprise grommets having their end portions outwardly flared to maintain said elements in assembled relationship.

3. An improved saw as in claim 1 wherein each said handle grasping means includes ailexible rope of such a length that the saw can bereciprocated over a tree limb from a remote location.

4. An improved saw as in claim 3 wherein each of said blade elements includes four cutting teeth.

5. An improved saw as in claim 3 wherein each end of said rope is provided with ahandle and wherein a saw propelling means is provided which comprises a rope having a weight attached to one of its ends, the other end of said rope being adapted forattachment to one of said handles, whereby the weight may be thrown over a tree limb and will then fall and permit a worker to pull the saw over the limb.

* i I i

Claims

1. An improved saw for use in cutting limbs from a standing tree, comprising a plurality of blade elements pivotally attached to each other in serial fashion to form an elongated flexible saw means, each blade element including a plurality of cutting teeth, said blade elements being connected together so that the first cutting tooth of each blade element overlaps a tooth of an adjacent element, the arrangement being such that alternate blade elements are coplanar relative to each other, said pivotal connections being made along a line substantially parallel to and spaced outwardly from said cutting teeth; and handle grasping means attached to opposite end blade elements of said flexible saw means, said handle grasping means being so located as to apply a tension force substantially along the line of the cutting teeth.

3. An improved saw as in claim 1 whereIn each said handle grasping means includes a flexible rope of such a length that the saw can be reciprocated over a tree limb from a remote location.

5. An improved saw as in claim 3 wherein each end of said rope is provided with a handle and wherein a saw propelling means is provided which comprises a rope having a weight attached to one of its ends, the other end of said rope being adapted for attachment to one of said handles, whereby the weight may be thrown over a tree limb and will then fall and permit a worker to pull the saw over the limb.