Patents Examined by Matthew G Katcoff
  • Patent number: 9981404
    Abstract: A safety feeder includes a transmission system including a drive shaft having a rotating axis on a phantom axis, and a coupling system connecting to the drive shaft and configured to rotate with the drive shaft simultaneously. The coupling system includes a drive line and a tube covering the drive line. The drive line includes an end thereof connecting to the drive axle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Inventor: Meng-I Sung
  • Patent number: 9981269
    Abstract: An apparatus and a system directed to a towed device powered by a tow vehicle. The apparatus and system include a woodchipper configured to be mounted on a towed vehicle, with the towed vehicle configured to be towed behind the tow vehicle. Additionally, a motor may be coupled to the woodchipper to provide power to the woodchipper. A power converter obtains power from the tow vehicle from a power takeoff coupled to the tow vehicle. Further, one or more power transfer lines connect the power converter with the motor to communicate motor-operating power from the power converter to the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: Altec Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Dennis A. Beam
  • Patent number: 9975267
    Abstract: A method of producing a semi-product for a building panel, wherein the method includes the step of: arranging at least two distance strips, on a first sawn timber board; arranging a second saw timber board to the distance strips; applying a glue; positioning of the first and the second sawn timber board and the distance strips by applying a pressure; and applying a pressure on the first and the second sawn timber board by a third and a fourth element, in a direction perpendicular to a top surface of the second sawn timber board, until the distance strips is bonded by the glue to the first and the second sawn timber board and thereby obtaining a solid batch; and cutting of said solid batch in the length direction of the first and the second timber boards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: VALINGE INNOVATION AB
    Inventors: Hans Brännström, Agne Pålsson, Marcus Bergelin
  • Patent number: 9969207
    Abstract: A reciprocating pencil sharpener has a shavings receptacle, a stationary member, a cutter and a ratchet mechanism. The cutter includes a blade secured to a blade holder. The ratchet mechanism is mounted between the stationary member and the cutter and allows the cutter to rotate relative to the stationary member in one direction only. When a user desires to sharpen a pencil, the user can keep the pencil in the hand and rotate the pencil in reciprocating rotation, thus obtaining the sharpened point of the pencil. Consequently, it is convenient for the user to apply a rotational force and a high efficiency of sharpening operation is achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: SDI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Szu-Yu Chen
  • Patent number: 9961842
    Abstract: A saw attachment for a vehicle. The saw attachment includes a wedge-shaped saw blade with teeth extending along sides of the saw blade. The saw attachment also includes a guard secured to the saw blade and extending in a non-coplanar direction from the saw blade. The saw attachment further includes a mounting assembly comprising a longitudinally-extending frame having first and second ends, with the first end pivotably secured to the saw blade, and a mounting plate pivotably secured to the second end of the frame, such that the mounting plate is operable to be removably secured to the vehicle. The saw attachment further includes an adjustable linkage connected to the mounting assembly and the guard, with the adjustable linkage being operable to selectively extend or retract so as to allow the saw blade to decline and incline, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Inventor: Bill Dove
  • Patent number: 9956812
    Abstract: A dual cutter-carrier assembly that includes a rotatable carrier having a front portion, a rear portion, and a center portion, wherein the center portion defines an interior cavity that is adapted to receive a pencil to be sharpened; a first cutter pin mounted on the carrier, wherein the first cutter pin has a front portion having an annular groove formed therein; a first cutter rotatably and slidably mounted on the first cutter pin; a second cutter pin mounted on the carrier, wherein the second cutter pin has a front portion having an annular groove formed therein; a second cutter rotatably and slidably mounted on the second cutter pin; a contact plate mounted within the interior cavity at the rear portion of the carrier, having a first yoke mechanically coupled to the first cutter and a second yoke mechanically coupled to the second cutter, wherein the contact plate moves in the direction of a pencil that is being sharpened when the tip of the advancing pencil touches the contact plate, wherein the first an
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Sanford, L.P.
    Inventors: Michael J. Schumacher, Chris W. Cicenas
  • Patent number: 9943851
    Abstract: A process for separating carpet fibers from carpet backing uses a grinder of the type having a rotor with a plurality of vertically spaced cutter discs and a fan disc below the cutter discs. Sections of carpet are fed into the grinder which grinds the carpet, separating the fibers from the backing and breaking the backing into relatively small particles. The grinder is connected with a series of ginning equipment for removing the ground backing from the fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: ENERGY CREATES ENERGY LLC
    Inventor: Kyle T. Watts
  • Patent number: 9919450
    Abstract: A log splitter having an activation lever and a safety lever that defines a pawl configured to engage with a detent associated with the activation lever in an unactivated position so that the activation lever cannot be rotated unless the safety lever is first rotated out of a safety position to remove the pawl from the detent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: YTL International Inc.I
    Inventors: SongFu Hu, Steve Vanderburgh
  • Patent number: 9913435
    Abstract: A tree stump removal device is disclosed. The device includes an annular housing having cutters attached thereto. A method of removing a tree stump is disclosed that includes lowering a tree stump removal device into the ground surrounding the tree stump to severe some or all of the horizontal roots extending from the tree stump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: J & S Fabrication, Inc.
    Inventor: James E. Kline
  • Patent number: 9913436
    Abstract: A stump grinder for a powered cutting wheel attached to a boom is disclosed, wherein the improvement relates to a cutting wheel confinement system which includes a cutting wheel further comprising a coaxially disposed spindle extending from an unsupported side, and a boom which further comprises an opening which is centrally disposed with the spindle and sized so as to allow the spindle to freely rotate therein without contact when the cutting wheel is not rotating, and to allow for a predetermined amount of eccentric motion of the spindle before the spindle makes contact with the first opening, and which prevents more than a predetermined amount of eccentric motion of the spindle by confining the eccentric motion of the spindle via contact with the first opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: BANDIT INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Thomas Miller, Michael B. Morey
  • Patent number: 9914241
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are embodiments of batch-style bottom-discharge rotary debarkers for removing bark from a batch of logs in a bin and discharging debarked logs from a bottom of the bin. In some embodiments, the bin includes four walls and an opening in its bottom. In some embodiments, the debarkers include a plurality of rotors, a plurality of chutes, and a plurality of conveyor belt systems for carrying bark and logs away from the bin. In some embodiments, the debarkers include an internal gate which can be moved between a debarking configuration and an unloading configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Acrowood Corporation
    Inventors: Jun Tian, Benjamin Yen
  • Patent number: 9914132
    Abstract: A system for processing a heterogeneous material includes a conduit for a pressurized fluid and a nozzle assembly in fluid communication with the conduit. The nozzle assembly includes a plurality of adjustable nozzles configured such that fluid streams passing through each nozzle intersect at an oblique angle after passing through the nozzles. At least one of the fluid streams comprises a heterogeneous material. A method of processing a heterogeneous material includes entraining heterogeneous particles into at least one fluid stream, passing the fluid stream through an adjustable nozzle, impacting the fluid stream with another fluid stream at an oblique angle to ablate the heterogeneous particles, and classifying the heterogeneous particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Inventors: Michael J. Pilgrim, David H. Scriven
  • Patent number: 9894848
    Abstract: One stump cutter cutting wheel disclosed herein includes a wheel structure having left and right sides and being rotatable about a central axis extending between the left and right sides. The left and right sides define receptacles having depths measured in an orientation extending along the axis. Cutter assemblies are mounted to the wheel structure and include cutters mounted to cutter holders. The cutter holders include base portions that fit within the receptacles, and the base portions each define at least one fastener opening. The base portions further define base thicknesses measured in the orientation extending along the axis. The receptacle depths are at least 0.25 times as large as the base thicknesses such that no more than 75 percent of the base thicknesses extend laterally outside the receptacles. Fasteners secure the cutter holders to the wheel structure and extend through the fastener openings defined by the base portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Vermeer Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Clint Weinberg, Louis C. Hartke
  • Patent number: 9862117
    Abstract: A bamboo splitter has an outer support ring with an interior mounted inner ring blade. A plurality of base blades are radially arranged around the inner ring blade and both the inner ring blade and the base blades have v-shaped cutting surfaces. Attached to each base blade is a pair of slat blades that attach to the base blades at a vertex and have a left and right slat blade. The angle between the vertex and the left and right blades is chosen so that adjacent left slat blades are parallel to adjacent right slat blade forming a parallel cutting space which produces bamboo slats that have orthogonal edges which makes them much more amenable to traditional building methods. A different number of slat blades may be used depending on the size of the bamboo being used and the size and number of the slats being produced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Bamboo Technologies LLC
    Inventor: David E Sands
  • Patent number: 9854753
    Abstract: The invention relates to a stripping blade for a forestry machine, which includes an attachment part for pivoting the stripping blade to the forestry machine, and an at least partly curved blade part attached to the said attachment part for stripping the branches of a tree, which blade part includes a blade surface that at least partly conforms to the trunk of the tree and a support structure conforming to the blade surface connecting to the outer surface of the blade surface relative to the tree, which said stripping blade is manufactured mainly by casting. The support structure is hollow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Ponsse Oyj
    Inventors: Toni Kohio, Tero Kaatrasalo
  • Patent number: 9848541
    Abstract: An apparatus for tapping trees has a vertical support structure of posts that support upper and lower horizontal members extending from the vertical structure. The upper horizontal member provides a support for bearing against a tree trunk, and the lower horizontal member supports a combination of a drill block with a drill and a tap press. Forward and rearward movement of the drill block is operated by a motor, shafts and gears to drive a suspension member toward the tree trunk along travel rods and then reverse. A drive chain engaged with the gears is attached to the suspension member and incorporated in the front and rear blocks that support the travel rods and sprockets for the chain. The tap press is attached to the drill block and rotates from vertical to horizontal position and holds a tap cylinder for insertion into a tree trunk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Inventor: Eschol Davis
  • Patent number: 9849604
    Abstract: An arrangement that can be turned by an assigned hydraulic pressure and flow, related to a chain saw supported by a harvesting unit for crosscutting timber, wherein a bearing arrangement is arranged for the chain saw and oriented between a guide bar housing and the chain saw's drive motor unit, wherewith an oscillatory motion can be activated by a hydraulic control valve, through which hydraulic flow is alternatively controlled via feed or connection lines to the bearing arrangement, for a first or second operating mode. The arrangement is activated via hydrostatic pressure and coordinated with the guide bar housing, and with the drive motor unit, via surrounding perforated discs oriented in parallel and aligned around an axis of rotation for a drive shaft. The hydrostatic affects the arrangement's oscillatory motion for a reciprocal motion pattern, while spent hydraulic oil serves as a lubricating film between the opposing bearing surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: TURNSET AB
    Inventor: Gunnar Kurt Falk
  • Patent number: 9839914
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a brush cutting head for a brush cutter. The brush cutter head includes a cylindrical support body that has a first end, an opposed second end and an intermediate portion extending therebetween. The intermediate portion has a curved surface that defines the circular cross-section of the cylindrical support body. A plurality of collars is mounted to the cylindrical support body at spaced intervals along the intermediate portion. Each collar extends radially from the curved surface of the cylindrical support body. Additionally, each collar cooperates with an adjacent collar to define a mounting station between the adjacent collars. The brush cutter head further includes a plurality of cutting tooth assemblies carried on the outer surface of the cylindrical support body. Each cutting tooth assembly has a cutting tooth for placement within the mounting station and a mounting assembly engageable with the adjacent collars to secure the cutting tooth in the mounting station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Inventor: Etienne Labbe
  • Patent number: 9840022
    Abstract: An angled shear safety guide log splitting system has an elongated frame having parallel elongated guides attached thereto. A pressure plate adapted to be pushed by a utility piston and slide along the guides in a linear direction, and an angled shear member having a cutting edge member that is located at a distal end of the frame, wherein the angled shear member is shaped and positioned upon the frame at an angle such that a top portion of the cutting edge member is adapted to touch a log positioned upon the frame first followed successively downwardly by the rest of the cutting edge member to thereby more easily and efficiently split the log when pushed by the pressure plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Inventor: Walter Rodler
  • Patent number: 9822421
    Abstract: A method for making a vehicle body component includes forming a generally flat plate of unhardened, hot-formable sheet steel with a marginal shape which corresponds essentially to the developed configuration of the finished vehicle body component. The formed plate is hot-formed and hardened in a single press tool to define a sheet profile which corresponds to the configuration of the finished vehicle body component, and a surface coating is applied to the sheet profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: VICTOCOR TECHNOLOGIES N.V.
    Inventors: Martin Pohl, Michael Wibbeke, Wilfried Rostek