Patent ID: 7802594

Claim:
An apparatus for removing limbs from the trunk of a tree, the apparatus being mounted on a motorized vehicle, comprising: a) a housing, said housing being supported by a plurality of frame members, said housing having a front, rear, top, bottom, and first and second sides, said housing being attachable to and removable from the motorized vehicle so that said housing is raised or lowered by the motorized vehicle; b) a first and second cutter head being disposed on said front of said housing, a first and second jaw being disposed on each said cutter head, each said saw having an upper edge thereon, a cutting blade being disposed on said upper edge of each said first and second jaw, wherein each said jaw is movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein when each said jaw is in said closed position the tree to be delimbed is captured between said first and second jaw so that the limbs are cut from the trunk of the tree by said cutting blade as the housing is raised up the trunk of the tree by the motorized vehicle; c) means for mounting said first and second cutter head on said housing to permit each said cutter head to be attached to and removed from the housing; and, d) means for moving said first and second jaws from said open position to said closed position; and e) said means for mounting each said first and second cutter head on said housing further comprises: i) a mounting shaft having first and second ends, wherein said first end of said mounting shaft is adapted for connection to said cutter head, wherein said second end of said mounting shaft is adapted for being connected to and removed from said housing, wherein said mounting shaft is substantially horizontally disposed; ii) wherein said mounting shaft is adapted for movement along an axis thereof so that said cutter head is movable along said axis of said mounting shaft a distance of about two inches so that the trunk of the tree is not damaged from contact with said cutter head as said cutter head is raised up the trunk of the tree; and, iii) wherein said mounting shaft is rotatable about said axis thereof about twenty degrees clockwise or counterclockwise so that the trunk of the tree is not damaged from contact with said cutter head as said cutter head is raised us the trunk of the tree.