Patent ID: 7913403

Claim:
A reciprocating pruning saw, comprising: (a) an extensible drive shaft, wherein said extensible drive shaft includes a drive shaft and a driven shaft that are extensible with respect to each other between a non-extended position that includes a minimum overall combined length and a fully-extended position that includes a maximum overall combined length, and wherein said drive shaft and said driven shaft are cooperatively engaged to each other from said non-extended position through said fully-extended position, and wherein said drive shaft and said driven shaft are extensible with respect to each other along a center longitudinal axis of said drive shaft and said driven shaft, and wherein said overall combined length of said drive shaft and said driven shaft is adjustable by urging said drive shaft and said driven shaft longitudinally with respect to each other in either direction without rotation occurring between said drive shaft and said driven shaft around said center longitudinal axis; (b) means for converting rotary motion into reciprocal motion, said means for converting attached to a first end of said extensible drive shaft; (c) means for attaching a motor to said extensible drive shaft at a second end of said extensible drive shaft that is distally disposed with respect to said first end of said extensible drive shaft; (d) means for attaching a saw blade to said means for converting, wherein said saw blade is able to experience said reciprocal motion when said saw blade is attached to said means for converting and when said motor is energized; and (e) wherein an upper end of said drive shaft is disposed in said driven shaft, and wherein said upper end of said drive shaft is adapted to move longitudinally in said driven shaft, and including means for transferring rotary motion by said drive shaft to said driven shaft, and wherein said means for transferring rotary motion by said drive shaft to said driven shaft includes an outside diameter of said drive shaft that is less than an inside diameter of said driven shaft, and wherein said drive shaft includes at least one longitudinal flat surface on said upper end of said drive shaft, and a pin that is disposed on said at least one longitudinal flat surface, and wherein said pin includes a longitudinal axis that is in alignment with said longitudinal axis of said drive shaft, and wherein said pin is adapted to roll in either direction along said at least one flat surface sufficient to engage said drive shaft with an interior of said driven shaft and thereby transfer a rotary motion that said drive shaft is experiencing in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction to said driven shaft, and wherein said driven shaft experiences rotation about said center longitudinal axis in the same rotational direction as that of said driven shaft.