Patent ID: 6871485

Claim:
A tree cutting attachment for a self-propelled work vehicle comprising, in combination: (a) a frame adapted to be coupled to a work vehicle; (b) a rotor assembly journaled for rotation within said frame, the rotor assembly including a central driven shaft having a circular end plate proximate opposed ends thereof and a plurality of intermediate, regularly spaced support plates, the support plates held in parallel spaced relation by a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced bars extending between the end plates; (c) first and second pluralities of generally rectangular cutting blades, each having a generally flat rear edge and a sharpened front edge, said cutting blades being mounted in adjacent, side-by-side relation with the generally flat rear edges of the first plurality of blades in abutting relation to a first of the plurality of bars and the generally flat rear edges of the second plurality of blades in abutting relation to a second of the plurality of bars; (d) a drive means coupled in driving relation to the driven shaft of the rotor assembly and adapted to rotate the rotor assembly in a direction tending to lift a downed tree from the ground; and (e) a shear bar affixed to said frame and extending parallel to the rotor assembly proximate a periphery of the rotor assembly, the shear bar being adjustable relative to the sharpened front edge of the cutting blades whereby a gap between the cutting edge of the blade and the shear bar can be adjusted.