Wood splitter

Abstract

 A woodcutter comprising a work plane (4) suitable for having a piece of wood to be cut rested on it, a fixed cutting blade (6) that rises vertically from said work plane (4) fixed at the bottom to a reinforcement element (17), and a mobile thrusting slider (7) suitable for pushing the piece of wood against said cutting blade (6), characterised in that said reinforcement element (17) to which the cutting blade (6) is fixed is arranged under the work plane (4).

Description

[0001] The present finding concerns a woodcutter, i.e. a machine commonly used to reduce the blocks generally deriving from the cutting or chopping down of trees into small-sized pieces.

[0002] Known woodcutters usually comprise a work plane suitable for having a piece of wood to be cut rested on it, a fixed cutting blade with substantially vertical extension that rises from said work plane, and a mobile slider suitable for pushing the piece of wood against said cutting blade making it slide on the work plane.

[0003] Generally, the thrusting slider is moved by a hydraulic jack capable of exerting even very strong pushes, of the order of a few tons, which during the cutting step subject the blade to great stresses.

[0004] For this reason, such a blade is commonly fixed at the bottom to a sturdy reinforcement element, typically a plate of steel, which is in turn welded on top of the work plane.

[0005] A drawback of these woodcutters lies in the fact that the aforementioned reinforcement element defines a step along the work plane, creating obstacles to the sliding of the piece of wood.

[0006] Indeed, if the operator does not position the piece of wood correctly so that it is partially rested on top of the reinforcement element, the latter could stop it advancing, preventing it from reaching the cutting blade, or else making it ride up possibly jeopardising its correct positioning, with obvious safety problems.

[0007] The purpose of the present finding is to overcome the aforementioned drawback in the context of a simple, rational and cost-effective solution.

[0008] This purpose is accomplished through a woodcutter of the type outlined in the preamble, i.e. comprising a work plane suitable for having a piece of wood to be cut rested on it, a fixed cutting blade that rises vertically from said work plane, and a mobile slider suitable for pushing the piece of wood against said cutting blade.

[0009] According to the finding the cutting blade is fixed at the bottom to a reinforcement element that is arranged under the work plane, and rise vertically with respect to the latter projecting from a corresponding opening formed in it.

[0010] In this way, during the sliding on the work plane, the piece of wood does not meet any obstacle as it advances, and the cutting step takes place effectively and safely for the operator.

[0011] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention shall become clear from reading the following description, provided as a non-limiting example, with the help of the figures illustrated in the attached tables, in which:

• figure 1 is a perspective view of a woodcutter according to the invention;
• figure 2 is a side view of the woodcutter of figure 1, partially sectioned according to the line II-II of figure 3;
• figure 3 is the section along the line III-III indicated in figure 2;
• figure 4 is an enlarged detail of figure 2.

[0012] The woodcutter 1 object of the present finding comprises a support frame 2, consisting of a tubular body having generally rectangular section, which is lifted from the floor by two pedestals 3 that arrange it according to a substantial horizontal orientation (see figs. 1 and 2).

[0013] The upper side of the support frame 2 provides a work plane 4 suitable for longitudinally receiving a piece of wood to be cut on it.

[0014] In particular, the work plane 4 has a cradle-shaped configuration that allows the piece of wood to be laterally held, and is flanked by two inclined lateral wings 5, to receive pieces of wood even of large size (see also fig. 3).

[0015] In the front part of the support frame 2, the woodcutter 1 comprises a fixed cutting blade 6 that rises, according to a generally vertical extension, from the work plane 4. Said cutting blade 6 consists of a plate bent substantially in a V, the cutting point of which faces towards a rear thrusting slider 7, mobile with alternating motion towards or away from it.

[0016] In particular, the thrusting slider 7 comprises two advancing brackets 8, each of which faces a respective lateral side of the support frame 2, and slides inside a guide slot defined by a relative projecting profile 9, which also acts as a limit switch and as a support for the aforementioned lateral wings 5.

[0017] The advancing brackets 8 are integrally fixed to the ends of two draw shafts 10 that extend parallel to the sides of the support frame 2, and that have the opposite ends connected to a common rigid cross member 11.

[0018] Said rigid cross member 11 is fixed to the sliding piston 12 of a hydraulic jack 13 contained inside the support frame 2, so that the alternating motion of said piston 12 induces, through the draw shafts 10, the displacement of the thrusting slider 7.

[0019] In particular (see fig. 2), the hydraulic jack 13 is actuated by an actuation group, globally indicated with 14, generally formed from a reservoir of operating fluid and from a close-coupled pump suitable for pushing such a fluid into the compression chamber (not shown) of the jack 13, making the thrusting slider 7 carry out a stroke towards the cutting blade 6.

[0020] The return stroke, on the other hand, is carried out by a return spring 15, arranged inside the cylinder 16 of the jack 13, suitable for acting in contrast to the pressure acting in said compression chamber (see fig. 2).

[0021] In this way, during the approach stroke, the thrusting slider 7 pushes the piece of wood to slide on the work plane 4 against the fixed blade 6 so as to carry out the cutting, whereas during the subsequent return stroke, the thrusting slider 7 goes back into the initial configuration to process a new piece of wood.

[0022] As far as the finding is concerned it should be specified that the cutting blade 6 is not directly fixed to the work plane 4, but is firmly fixed, preferably through welding, to a distinct reinforcement element 17 suitable for withstanding the great stresses to which it is subjected during the cutting step.

[0023] As illustrated in figure 2 and in the detail of figure 4, said reinforcement element 17 is arranged at a lower height under the work plane 4, and the cutting blade 6 rises from it projecting from a corresponding opening formed in it.

[0024] In this way, when a piece of wood advances on the work plane 4, pushed by the thrusting slider 7, it does not encounter any obstacles that could prevent it from interacting with the cutting blade 6 or that could upset its movement, with doubtless advantages in terms of efficiency of processing and safety for the operator.

[0025] In the example shown in the figures, the reinforcement element 17 consists of a plate of steel having a greater thickness than the thickness of the work plane 4, which is arranged inside the support frame 2, located between the hydraulic jack 13 and the work plane 4 itself (see fig. 4).

[0026] In particular, as shown in figure 3, said plate of steel is shaped so as to follow the section profile of the work plane 4 and is directly fixed to the inner surface of the latter, preferably through welding.

[0027] Obviously, numerous practical-applicational modifications can be made to the finding in object, without for this reason departing from the context of the inventive idea as claimed below.

Claims

1. Woodcutter comprising a work plane (4) suitable for having a piece of wood to be cut rested on it, a cutting blade (6) that rises vertically from said work plane (4) fixed at the bottom to a reinforcement element (17), and a mobile thrusting slider (7) suitable for pushing the piece of wood against said cutting blade (6), characterised in that said reinforcement element (17) to which the cutting blade (6) is fixed is arranged under the work plane (4).

2. Woodcutter according to claim 1, characterised in that the cutting blade (6) rises from the work plane (4) projecting from a corresponding opening formed in the work plane (4) itself.

3. Woodcutter according to claim 1, characterised in that the cutting blade (6) is fixed to the reinforcement element (17).

4. Woodcutter according to claim 1, characterised in that said reinforcement element is fixed to the work plane (4).

5. Woodcutter according to claim 4, characterised in that said reinforcement element is fixed to the work plane (4) through welding.

6. Woodcutter according to claim 1, characterised in that said reinforcement element (17) is a generally flat body.

7. Woodcutter according to claim 1, characterised in that said reinforcement element (17) is made from steel.

Drawing