Patent ID: 6910648

Claim:
Garden refuse shredding apparatus including: a housing defining a chamber having a refuse inlet for receiving garden refuse therethrough and a discharge outlet through which shredded refuse may be discharged; a feed hopper in communication with said refuse inlet for directing refuse through said refuse inlet into said chamber; a rotor mounted in said chamber, said rotor including a mounting plate connected to a drive shaft or hub and adapted to rotate therewith about an axis of rotation extending through said housing, and one or more chipper blades integral with or mounted to said mounting plate for rotation therewith, said mounting plate having an opening in front of the or each chipper blade through which shredded refuse may pass, and one or more macerating means integral with or mounted to said mounting plate for rotation therewith and adapted to macerate refuse fed into said chamber wherein said drive shaft or hub extends through a wall of said housing and said mounting plate is spaced from said wall and said drive shaft or hub between said wall and said mounting plate is enclosed by a shroud and said shroud abuts and is secured to said housing at one end and terminates adjacent said mounting plate at the other end and said one or more macerating means is adapted to pass in close proximity to said shroud as said rotor rotates; fan means in fluid communication with said chamber for creating an outflow of air through said outlet; and drive means operatively connected to said drive shaft or hub for causing said rotor to rotate.