Patent ID: 7232083

Claim:
A method of operating a brush chipper of a type comprising: a frame; cutting members for cutting tree branches operatively attached to said frame; at least one rotary feed member operably mounted to said frame for rotating in one direction to pull said tree branches and deliver said branches to said cutting members for cutting the branches into smaller pieces; an engine operatively attached to said frame and to said cutter members for rotating said cutting members; a feed table operably attached to said frame for supporting said branches and guiding said branches toward said rotary member, said feed table having a front end and a rear end, said front end being adjacent to said rotary member; an upper feed control member for controlling the rotary feed member, said upper feed control member having a stop position for stopping the rotary feed member, a forward feed position for causing forward feed of the rotary feed member by rotation in one direction, a neutral position and a reverse position for causing the rotary feed member to rotate in a direction reverse of said one direction; a lower feed stop member operatively attached to the front end of said feed table, said lower feed stop member having a forward position, an intermediate position and a rearward position; and a shut off mechanism operatively attached to said feed table and to said lower feed stop member for shutting off the rotation of the rotary member when said lower feed stop member moves from said rearward position to a predetermined one of said forward position or said intermediate position, whereby when said lower feed stop member moves to said predetermined position, the shut off mechanism will stop the rotary member; and a circuit including: a stop switch operatively attached to said feed roller and to said upper feed control bar; a forward feed switch operatively attached to said feed roller and to said upper feed control bar; a reverse feed switch operatively attached to said feed roller and to said upper feed control bar; a normal sensitivity switch operatively attached to said feed roller and to said lower feed stop member for stopping the feed roller when the lower feed stop bar is in the reverse position; and a reduced sensitivity switch operatively attached to said feed roller and to said lower feed stop bar for stopping the feed roller when the lower feed stop bar is in the intermediate position; said method comprising: determining if the stop switch has been recently tripped; and if said stop switch has not been recently tripped, resetting the circuit by moving the upper feed control bar to reverse before movement of the upper feed control bar will cause further rotation of said feed roller.