Abstract:
An electrically driven router is mounted in a top portion of an elongated rod. An electrical cord is juxtaposed along the length of the rod and is electrically connected to the router at a top portion of the rod and at a lower portion of the rod to a source of electrical power in the form of a battery pack or 110 volt service. The router mounts a fluted cutting bit having a length preferably of at least three inches, the bit adapted to laterally cut through a longitudinal axis of small diameter vegetation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a tool for cutting and trimming tree limbs. More specifically, it refers to a lightweight, power driven tool for laterally cutting vegetation such as tree limbs or palm tree fronds at a remote distance from an operator.  
           [0002]    Remote cutting systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,787,536 and 5,411,238. The former patent employs a common chain saw cutter supported because of its weight by a hook. The latter patent describes an elongated shaft attached to a hedge trimmer handle. Neither patent suggests a method or apparatus for laterally cutting palm fronds or other hard to access tree limbs with a light weight cutter.  
           [0003]    Palm trees typically require trimming at least twice per year unless they are cut back to the point where they are not attractive. They also pose unique cutting problems due to height and the structure of the tree crown. They can be very tall, and or course, offer little support for ladders on a bare slim trunk. They typically leave the trimmer directly under the limbs to be cut. Additionally, when palm fronds have been allowed to die, they dry and the stems become quite hard, but they now are hanging straight down and are fairly flexible. They also are quite broad at the base, even though only an inch or so in thickness. This makes them doubly hard to cut with a saw because they move with the saw action. In addition, the commonest type of palm in the southeast United States produces a large number of flower/seed stalks throughout the year. These seed stalks grow near the heart of the palm and are typically blocked by palm fronds. When they flower, they produce very large quantities of flowers and large seeds that fall below the palm. When they die, they create an unsightly hard and dry pod casing up to four feet long hanging from the palm. A low cost cutting tool for removing small branches from trees, dead palm fronds and palm pod casings is sorely needed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    This invention solves the problem by providing a cutting apparatus that is adapted to cut small tree branches, palm fronds and palm pod casings from the side with a low cost remotely actuated electric power drill. The drill is mounted at the top of a vertically elongated rod having an electrical cord attached along the rod or inside a tubular member. An operator at the bottom of the elongated rod actuates the power drill from a battery pack or a standard electric outlet. The drill holds the shank of a bit in its chuck. The bit cutting surface is fluted and has a length preferably of at least three inches. The bit cuts vegetation transversely along its longitudinal axis.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art of tree trimming by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cutting tool and connectors forming a portion of the cutting apparatus.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cutting bit and connectors used in the cutting apparatus.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a person employing the cutting apparatus on a palm tree.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cylindrical rod with an electrical cord inside the cylinder.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate drill bit employed in the cutting apparatus.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cutting tool about to cut a branch.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cutting tool after cutting the branch of FIG. 6. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.  
         [0014]    Referring to FIG. 3, the cutting apparatus  10  is shown being employed by a person  12  holding a bottom portion  14  of an elongated rod  16  with an electrical cord  18  juxtaposed along the length of the rod  16 . The electrical cord  18  connects a battery pack  20  to a cutting tool  22  mounted on a top end  24  of rod  16 . The cutting tool  22  is a rotary drill or router. A yoke connector  26  receives the end  24  of the elongated rod as seen in FIG. 1.  
         [0015]    As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting tool  22  is a lightweight router such as a dremel drill having an amperage of 1 to 3. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the dremel drill is captured by a mounting block  28  having a front cylindrical holder  30  enclosing a front portion  34  of the dremel drill. A tension clamp  36  secures the dremel drill  22  to the mounting block  28 . The mounting block  28  has forward pivot rods  38  and  40  extending laterally from a handle portion  42 . Laterally extending splines  44  and  46  project from a back portion  48  of handle  42 .  
         [0016]    The rod  16  is connected to handle  42  via yoke connector  26  shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The yoke connector  26  has a U-shaped portion  52  with openings  54  and  56  on legs  58  and  60 , respectively. The opening  54  engages spline  44  and opening  56  engages spline  46  to lock the connector  50  in a fixed position. Alternatively, opening  54  engages pivot rod  38  and opening  56  engages pivot rod  40  to permit pivoting of the cutting tool  22  with respect to rod  16 . Tension clamp  62  brings legs  58  and  60  together to prevent movement of connector  26 . Female threads  64  in cylinder  66  engage male threads  68  at the end  24  of elongated rod  16 . A set screw  108  can be threaded through cylinder  66  to hold end  24  of rod  16  securely. Also shown in FIG. 2 are connectors  70  which hold electrical cord  18  to the elongated rod  16 . The drill bit  72  has a shank  74  inserted into chuck  76  in the drill  32 . The drill bit  72  has fluted cutting edges  78  and preferably is at least three inches long along its cutting surface to provide adequate lateral cutting of palm fronds  80  on palm tree  82 . The drill bit  72  is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,823 incorporated herein by reference. The drill bit  72  typically is longer than the drill bit described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,823. The drill bit has a preferred length of at least three inches and a preferred diameter of ⅛ to ¼ inch.  
         [0017]    The battery pack  20  can be substituted by a 110 volt house circuit when available. The cutting tool  22  is activated by a wireless on/off switch  88  on the operator&#39;s belt. The rod  16  can be alternatively a hollow pole  50  containing the electrical cord  18   a  within the hollow pole. Nipples  84  at the end of pole  50  engage holes  86  on cylinder  66   a . The electrical cord  18   a  exits from the hollow pole  50  near its top and is connected electrically to the cutting tool  22  with a connector  32 .  
         [0018]    The cutting apparatus  10  can cut vegetation up to three inches in diameter using a dremel drill of 1-3 amps. A 2 amp dremel is preferred. The cutting tool  22  needs to be lightweight; i.e., less than five pounds. The cutting apparatus provides a general purpose tree, shrub and palm frond cutter by sideways cutting. The cutting apparatus can be used without the pole extension  16  with the cutting tool  22  held directly in the operator&#39;s hand. However, the principal advantage is the use of a lightweight tool to cut branches and palm fronds above the head of the operator.  
         [0019]    The pivoting action of the cutting tool  22  provided by the projection  38  and  40  on the handle  42  allows the cutting tool  22  to be aligned parallel to the pole  16  or at an angle of up to 90 degrees from the pole. The cutting tool  22  could contain a battery pack so that the electrical cord  16  is not needed. However, the added weight at the top of the pole  16 , based on currently available batteries, is a disadvantage.  
         [0020]    When a standard fluted drill bit is used, it must be moved steadily in order to avoid pulling the end of the bit out of the work, and sometimes it also may be desired to avoid inserting it too deep in order to avoid cutting something else behind the work. For example, in the case of cutting flower “spears” growing near the center of a palm, one wants to cut the spear, but not the new palm frond that may be growing close behind it. For this reason, an optional drill bit  72   a  has a small round or oval “ball”  90  on the work end of the bit, about twice the diameter of the cutting portion of the drill bit. This will act as a guide on the back of the work, preventing the bit from being pulled out, and it will also act as a “stop” preventing the bit end from cutting deeply into any surface behind the work.  
         [0021]    When using the cutting tool  22  on a pole  16  to cut a branch above, the cutting tool  22  may be aligned with the pole  16 , placed against the side of the “work” and gentle sideways pressure applied, or it can be angled to lay on top of the branch and gentle downward pressure applied. However, when using a long extension pole, the sway of the pole can make it difficult to keep constant pressure, particularly when starting a cut and it may be difficult to prevent the bit from bouncing off the surface initially. To minimize this effect, an optional hook device  92  will allow the cutting tool  22  to be hooked over a branch  94  at the cutting point and then remain in place with light downward pressure applied. The hook device  92  will remain fixed, while the tool rotates in a vertical plane underneath it, cutting through the branch. This is best illustrated by the drawings in FIGS. 6 and 7. The hook device  92  is a left arm  96  and a right arm  98  on each side of the bit  72  or  72   a  so that the bit cuts between them. The cutting tool  22  is placed over the branch  94  as shown and the bit  72  is held firmly against the branch  94  as the cutting tool  22  is started. Downward force on the pole  16  will cause the cutting tool  22  to rotate around the pivots  38  and  40 , cutting through the branch  94 . The right side hook arm  98  will remain resting on the remaining branch stub  100  as the cut branch falls off, keeping the tool steady. The rear end  102  and  104  of hooks  96  and  98  respectively, are engaged to splines  44  and  46  respectively. A tension spring  106  lifts the cutting tool  22  after cutting through the branch  94  as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7.  
         [0022]    Equivalent elements can be substituted for the elements used in the cutting apparatus to obtain substantially the same results, with substantially the same function and carried out in substantially the same way.