Modified wood splitter

The instant device is a modified wood splitter featuring a hydraulically controlled log elevator, a log splitting piston stroke control rod, an adjustable four-way splitting wedge and a generator mounting apparatus all of which said features have been added to, for a significant improvement upon a conventional power driven wood splitter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The instant invention relates to woodsplitting devices especially those 
utilized by individual homeowners. 
2. Possible Prior Art 
The following references are cited with the view however that the same do 
not constitute prior art such as would serve to anticipate the claims set 
forth in the instant application for letters 
______________________________________ 
Inventor Patent U.S. Pat. No. 
Date 
______________________________________ 
1. Reini Log Lifter for Log 
4,544,008 10/1/85 
Splitter 
2. Wech, Jr. et al 
Log Lifter 4,431,362 2/14/84 
3. Meyer Log Splitter 4,842,030 6/27/89 
Improvements 
4. Brace Woodsplitting Head 
4,860,806 8/29/89 
Assembly 
5. Rattray Hydraulic Log 4,240,476 12/23/80 
Splitting Attach- 
ment for a Tractor 
6. Larson Log Splitter for 
4,278,118 7/14/81 
Garden Tractors 
7. Scarbrough, Jr. 
Log Splitter with 
4,615,366 10/7/86 
Rapid Return 
Hydraulic Cylinder 
8. Kinig et al. 
Hydraulic Log 4,153,088 5/8/79 
Splitter Attachment 
for Farm Tractors 
and Industrial 
Tractors 
9. Phelps et al. 
Log Splitter 4,293,013 10/6/81 
______________________________________ 
A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A Brief Description of the Invention 
The instant invention is a conventional woodsplitter that consists however 
of a number of modifications each of which serve to render it inherently 
unique. The first of such variations is an adjustable four-way 
woodsplitter wedge component mounted at the front of the track along which 
logs to be split are pushed. The second of such variations is a log 
lifting assembly that is hydraulically powered which is mounted adjacent 
to the track along which logs to be split are pushed. The third of such 
variations is a stroke control rod with accompanying positioning pin which 
is attached to the head of the shaft of the device's woodsplitting piston 
and held in situ along a track below the level of the woodsplitting 
piston's housing but running parallel to the direction of the shaft of the 
piston which pushes logs along the track upon which they are to be split. 
Part and parcel of this variation is a spring loaded lever with, in 
conjunction with the device's hydraulics, forward, neutral and reverse 
capability with regards to actuating the device's woodsplitting piston. 
Finally, the fourth of such variations is a feature whereby the device is 
able to accommodate a generator serving to develop electrical power in 
emergencies involving power outages in a home setting by way of a belt 
assembly amenable to being attached to the device's gas driven motor. 
The above-mentioned four-way splitting wedge is adjustable by way of a 
lever mounted on it that facilitates upward and downward adjustment of the 
position of its horizontal wedge component. The lever in terms of its 
manner of operation makes this variation indeed new and unique. This 
feature is moreover especially useful in that it permits quick, ready 
four-way splitting of logs of many varying diameters. The device's log 
lifting assembly is likewise especially useful in that it permits the 
loading of large, heavy logs onto the device's splitting track with no 
need for the user to have to risk back injury by otherwise being required 
to lift such logs manually onto the track from ground level. Also, if the 
splitter is to be hauled anywhere requiring the initial dismantling of its 
front-end support post, the elevator at ground level will hold the device 
erect and obviate the need to lift the device through a distance equal to 
height of the post after it would have otherwise dropped to ground level 
upon removal of the post. This variation in terms of its construction and 
manner of operation is also new and unique. These two features together 
render the device readily usable by even a frail, elderly person who would 
not be capable of utilizing woodsplitters currently in existence or in 
vogue. The device's stroke control system is especially useful in that it 
serves to greatly speed up the process of log splitting. This variation 
enables the resting position of the head of the shaft of the device's 
woodsplitting piston to be preset to a location just beyond the length of 
a set of logs to be split. Hence, the piston moves forward from this 
position to push a held log into the wedge when the spring loaded lever is 
pushed forward by the device's operator. Once splitting is finished, the 
lever is released, the spring pulls it back to a reverse position and the 
piston reverses direction. But, instead of going way back to an otherwise 
constant rest position, it goes back only as far as desired by the 
operator, to wit, only back to its preset rest position. Its reverse 
movement is constrained by virtue of placement of a pin in a hole in the 
stroke control rod running parallel to and below the device's splitting 
track but connected to the head of the shaft of the device's splitting 
piston. Once back to the desired rest position, the pin catches the spring 
loaded lever and causes it to pivot forward enough to go from reverse to 
neutral and stop the reverse movement of the piston. This variation is 
truly revolutionary within the field of woodsplitting devices. It enables 
the time required for splitting to be greatly shortened. The usefulness of 
the device's capability with respect to accommodating a generator would be 
particularly apparent in the event of a very bad electrical and/or 
windstorm or blizzard that would have knocked out electrical power for a 
significant period of time in the area of the house or building where the 
device would be stored. 
Each of the abovesaid variations, as has been previously asserted, is, 
respectfully submitted, new, useful and indeed unique especially in terms 
of the manner in which each is constructed and operated; and each in 
conjunction with a basic woodsplitter represents in and of itself a 
significant improvement upon and departure from the current art involving 
woodsplitters. But, a combination of more than one of these variations 
especially all of them truly constitutes a radical departure in a highly 
positive way from the teachings of such current art.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1, a perspective view of the whole of the instant device shows 
generator C mounted on the device. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the instant 
device holding a generator C. The instant device's capability in respect 
of accommodating a generator in the manner herein to be described is but 
the first of a series of new, highly useful and unique features of the 
device. Pulley belt 24 is attached to generator C as well as to power 
driven motor 29 by way of simultaneous affixation to a drive wheel 29a on 
motor 29 and a driven generator wheel 29a, x in drawing on generator C. 
The generator C is shown in FIG. 33 as mounted on swivel plate 21 in turn 
mounted on mounting plate 20 located in the rear portion of the device and 
mounted on piston housing 13. The locus of mounting plate 20 on the device 
is also illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 which depict the instant device with 
the generator C as well as swivel plate 21 removed therefrom. Swivel rod 
22 is inserted through holes 21a, 20a, 2lb and 20b of plates 20 and 21 and 
secured by nuts and washers 23 and nuts and washers 23a as may all be 
noted with resort to FIG. 32. Generator C is affixed to plate 21 via screw 
and bolt assemblys through the base of Generator C and holes in plate 21 
as are also seen in FIG. 32. The mounted generator C is shown in plan view 
in FIG. 31 as well as in FIG. 33, a sectional rear view of the instant 
device serving to isolate generator C and the manner in which it is 
mounted. FIG. 34 serves to illustrate how generator C can readily be 
mounted on or removed from the remainder of the instant device. Generator 
C is placed on plate 21 affixed as noted above to plate 20. Then plate 21 
is lifted through enough of an angle and away from plate 20 to allow a 
slack pulley belt 24 to be lifted on wheels 29a and x respectively. Then 
plate 21 is lowered through an angle and to the face of plate 20 thus 
creating the tension in pulley belt 24 needed to drive wheel x via wheel 
29a when motor 29 is energized so as to in turn operate generator C. The 
mounting process is simply reversed in order to remove generator C from 
plate 21. FIG. 1 also shows yet another of the instant device's new, 
extremely useful and unique feature, to wit, the device's adjustable 
four-way splitting wedge anchored to the front of the device's 
woodsplitting track 6 above the insertion of support post 5 into a 
cylindrical receptacle 6a located at the anteriormost end of woodsplitting 
track 6. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the adjustable wedge. It is made 
up of a vertical splitting blade weldment 2 and vertical blade 2a. It is 
also made up of a horizontal splitting blade weldment 3a and horizontal 
blade 3. FIG. 11 is a right sided plan view of what is seen in FIG. 9. The 
adjustable wedge has a positioning handle weldment 8 with a handle knob 1 
which handle 8 is affixed via pivot pin assembly 9 to the top surface of 
vertical splitting blade weldment 2. Pushing knob 1 through all or part of 
some angle as shown in FIG. 10 causes handle weldment 8 to lift up tie rod 
10 affixed to pivot block 11 permanently affixed to horizontal splitting 
blade weldment 3a which in turn causes pivot block 11 and weldment 3a to 
also be lifted upwards. This adjustment feature facilitates four-way 
splitting of logs into pieces of varying sizes. FIG. 12 shows in sectional 
view in particular blade guides 4 and 4a respectively. These guides 4 and 
4a serve to prevent the erstwhile adherence of the front portions of logs 
being split to the adjustable wedge itself, an outcome that would result 
in the crushing of logs sought to be split often into useless pieces under 
the pressure exerted by log pushing piston plate 12 on the rear portion of 
such logs. By virtue of the presence of guides 4 and 4a, splitting without 
crushing virtually always occurs. FIG. 13 is a close up view of the angle 
of inclination ** of guide 4a which is the same as that of guide 4. FIG. 
14 shows the angle of inclination ** of vertical blade 2a which is the 
same on both sides of blade 2a. It is also the same as the angle of 
inclination from above of horizontal blade 3 and from below of horizontal 
blade 3. FIG. 1 as well as FIGS. 2-8 illustrate a third of the instant 
device's highly useful and unique features, namely, the device's log 
lifting elevator assembly. A log A on the ground is rolled onto elevator 
plate 7 and then as per FIGS. 5 and 6 is hydraulically lifted to the level 
of woodsplitting track 6 to be pushed by piston plate 12 given impetus by 
piston shaft 16 attached to a piston housed in piston housing 13 into 
blades 3 and 2a and guides 4 and 4a of the device's adjustable four-way 
splitting wedge. Elevator plate 7 is then hydraulically lowered to the 
ground to receive yet another log B as can be seen in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a 
perspective view of log A being split as noted above. FIG. 8 is a plan 
view of log A being split as noted above. FIG. 27 shows elevator plate 7 
welded to elevator plate weldment 41 in turn welded to guide sides 40 and 
40a and post 39 fits into permanent mounting sleeve assembly 14 
permanently affixed to the chassis of the instant device. One method of 
assembly is to fit the whole assembly absent the upper bar portion of 
weldment 14 and top piece of post 39 up and through mounting sleeve 
assembly 14 and then weld the upper bar of weldment 14 and top piece of 
post 39 permanently to guide sides 40 and 40a and to the top of post 39 
respectively as shown in FIG. 27. Elevator control lever 17 shown in FIGS. 
27-28 and 30 is turned one way to lift elevator plate 7, another way to 
lower elevator plate 7 and lever 17 has a neutral position as well as can 
be seen in FIG. 29. Lift plate piston shaft 25 affixed to a piston held 
within piston housing 15 seen in FIG. 27 pushes up on the top piece of 
post 39 to lift elevator plate 7 when elevator control lever 17 is turned 
so as to lift elevator plate 7 as can be seen in FIG. 30. Elevator control 
lever 17's capability as noted in FIG. 29 is actuated by control lever rod 
35 connected to the instant device's hydraulics housed within compartment 
43. FIG. 30 shows hydraulic lines 44c and 44d engaging piston housing 15. 
Rod 35 connected to hydraulics within compartment 43 and lines 44c and 44d 
engaging housing 15 are also shown in FIG. 28. This elevator feature not 
only enables frail persons to readily utilize the instant device to load 
logs of large circumference for splitting but also enables such persons to 
stabilize the instant device without having to hold it or lift it when 
post 5 is removed from cylindrical receptacle 6a as, for example, when one 
wishes to move the instant device from one place to another. All that is 
required for purposes of such stabilization is to turn control lever 17 so 
as to lower elevator plate 7 to ground level. Yet another of the instant 
device's new, highly useful and unique features is its built in stroke 
control system. Stroke control lever 18 is connected via stroke control 
rod 38 to the device's hydraulics housed within compartment 43 as shown in 
FIG. 19. Moreover, lever 18 is attached to spring 37 which is in turn 
anchored to the chassis of the device behind where the device's gas tank 
28 is to be found mounted. FIG. 16, a plan view of the instant device 
serves to evidence locations within the span of the instant device as are 
illustrated in sectional FIGS. 17 and 18. Lever 18 as shown in FIG. 18 is 
attached by way of a pin and rod 46 assembly to a stop plate 31 which by 
virtue of the pin and rod 46 assembly pivots in synchrony with lever 18. 
This system is mounted by way of mounting plates 47 to woodsplitting track 
6. FIG. 18 also shows how a stroke length control rod 27 is held within a 
canal bored through the base of stop plate 31. FIG. 17 shows how stroke 
length control rod 27 is held by piston plate 12 which is itself 
sleeve-mounted to woodsplitting track 6. Stroke length control rod 27 has 
a series of holes in it as seen in FIG. 19 for purposes of inserting into 
any one of them, a pin 30. Rod 27 is circumscribed just posterior to its 
mid-portion by movable sleeve 33 which is in turn held within a canal in 
sleeve mounting plate 32 affixed to track 6 as can be shown with reference 
to FIGS. 20 and 21. There is able to be seen in FIG. 19, a stop pin 34 
permanently affixed to the posterior end of rod 27. Operation of this 
stroke control feature of the device is illustrated with reference to 
FIGS. 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. The purpose of the holes in rod 27 is to 
permit control over the length of the reverse stroke and correspondingly 
the forward stroke of piston shaft 16 to which log pushing plate 12 is 
attached. The length of the stroke is determined by the operator with 
reference to the length of the log pieces placed on track 6 to be split. 
As is the case presently with respect to current art, a piston and plate 
assembly pushes a log into a wedge for spitting purposes and when 
splitting is completed, the piston and plate go back in reverse to a start 
point through a distance often well in excess of the length of a log that 
would have been split and then goes forward for a distance until impacting 
a second log to be split. Hence, there is considerable forward and reverse 
motion where no splitting work is being accomplished. This extra motion is 
time consuming and wastes energy. The instant stroke control system 
totally obviates such wasted motion. An operator places a pin 30 into a 
hole in rod 27. The choice of which hole to select is dependent on how 
long a stroke the operator desires which in turn depends on the estimated 
average length of a set of logs to be split. Short strokes are desired for 
long logs. Long strokes are desired for short logs. A pin 30 placed in a 
hole in rod 27 closer to mounting plate 32 will result in a shorter stroke 
than will pin placement in a hole in rod 27 closer to log pushing plate 
12. As seen in FIG. 24, lever 18 is pushed forward by an operator. Stroke 
control rod 38 connected to the device's hydraulics within compartment 43 
causes piston rod 16 within housing 13 to push log pushing plate 12 
forward to impact a log to be split and push the log into the device's 
adjustable four-way splitting wedge. The operator after splitting is 
accomplished, releases lever 18 and lever 18 is pulled as per FIG. 25 into 
its reverse position by compression within anchored spring 37 previously 
stretched when lever 18 was pushed forward. When lever 18 is pulled into 
its reverse position, stroke control rod 38 connected to the device's 
hydraulics within compartment 43 causes piston rod 16 to move in reverse 
within housing 13. As rod 16 moves either forward or in reverse, so does 
log pushing plate 12 and in turn stroke length control rod 27 connected 
thereto as earlier pointed with reference to FIG. 17. But, placement of 
pin 30 into one of the holes in rod 27 retards the reverse movement of 
piston rod 16 by impacting stop plate 31 as seen in FIG. 26 which causes 
lever 18 to be rotated from its reverse position as shown in FIG. 25 to a 
neutral position as seen in FIG. 26. In summary with reference to FIG. 26, 
pin 30 in rod 27 impacts plate 31 causing it to pivot forward and lever 18 
in turn to likewise pivot forward enough to achieve neutral status and 
terminate the reverse motion of piston rod 16. As earlier mentioned, the 
chosen placement of pin 30 within one of the holes in rod 27 determines 
the length of the reverse stroke motion of piston rod 16 before impact 
between pin 30 and plate 31 causes lever 18 to assume neutral status. 
FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate yet another aspect of the device's stroke 
control system, namely a novel safety feature. Permanently positioned pin 
34 is located near the end of rod 27 at a distance from the end of rod 27 
sufficient to enable it to function so as to effectively retard the 
forward motion of piston rod 16 in order to prevent log push plate 12 from 
ever touching the device's adjustable four-way splitting wedge. Forward 
motion of rod 16, plate 12 and in turn rod 27 eventually causes pin 34 to 
impact movable sleeve 33 and in turn push sleeve 33 into stop plate 31 as 
is shown with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. Moveable sleeve 33 impacts 
stop plate 31 with force sufficient in magnitude to cause plate 31 to 
pivot back and correspondingly lever 18 held by an operator to pivot back 
to a neutral position to thus retard the forward motion of rod 16 and 
prevent impact of plate 12 with the device's splitting wedge. FIG. 15 is a 
schematic depiction of the instant device's hydraulics. The hydraulics 
consist of a two spool four-way three position spring loaded valvular 
component housed in hydraulics compartment 43. This component is 
internally spring loaded so as to tend to hold stroke control rod 38 and 
elevator control lever rod 35 and correspondingly stroke control lever 18 
and elevator control lever 17 in a neutral position so as to impede fluid 
flow. One spool services the device's stroke control system. The other, 
services the device's elevator commands. The valve provides up and down 
elevator capability and back and forth stroke control capability in terms 
of its ability to direct fluid flow. Its three position capability serves 
to accommodate up, down or back, forth and neutral commands. Line 44a 
serves to introduce hydraulic fluid into the anterior portion of piston 
housing 13 causing reverse movement of the piston within housing 13 when 
stroke control lever 18 is in the reverse position by way of action via 
stroke control rod 38. Similarly, by way of appropriate action via stroke 
control rod 38, when stroke control lever 18 is in the forward position, 
hydraulic fluid via hydraulic line 44b enters the posterior position of 
housing 13 causes piston shaft 16 to move forward and push fluid in front 
of housing 13 back through line 44a to compartment 43 when stroke control 
lever 18 is in the reverse position. Along a similar vein, when elevator 
control lever 17 is rotated to the down position, control lever rod 35 
attached thereto causes hydraulic fluid to enter housing 15 via line 44d 
to push down on the elevator piston 25 within housing 15 causing piston 
shaft 25 to drop downward while fluid passes therefrom through line 44c 
back to compartment 43. When lever 17 is rotated to the up position, fluid 
enters housing 15 through line 44c and forces fluid out through line 44d 
back to compartment 43 as the piston within housing 15 and accordingly 
piston shaft 25 is then pushed upwards by the force of the fluid from line 
44c. Moreover, engine 29 actuates pump 45 to force fluid into compartment 
43 for availability to operate the device's stroke control and elevator 
systems as described above. Fluid leaves compartment 43 via return line 44 
that passes through a filter to a collection chamber 42 for return of the 
fluid in filtered state to the station of pump 45. Two relief valves 
within compartment 43 serve to run excess fluid pumped therein back to 
chamber 42 at any given instant in time when uptake by the device's stroke 
control and/or elevator system of fluid is less than the volume of fluid 
then available within compartment 43 and not then yet removed therefrom 
via line 44. Other embodiments of the instant invention contemplate 
electrically powered rather than hydraulic means for driving the log 
pushing piston and elevator piston described above.