Wood chip producing apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING WOOD SHIPS WHICH COMPRISES A SHAFT, A HUB MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT, A DISC MOUNTED ON SAID HUB AND EXTENDING RADIALLY FROM THE MID-SECTION THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF SPACED PLATES EXTENDING RADIALLY FROM SAID HUB ON EACH SIDE OF SAID DISC AND DEFINING CHIPRECEIVING PASSAGES THEREBETWEEN, A KNIFE ASSEMBLY SUPPORT MOUNTED ON THE RADIALLY OUTER EDGE OF EACH SAID PLATE AND ON THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DISC, EACH SAID SUPPORT HAVING AN ARCUATE SURFACE, A DRUM DEFINED IN PART BY SAID SUPORTS AND HAVING A CYLINDRICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE DEFINED IN PART BY SAID ARCUATE SURFACES, SAID HUB HAVING EACH OF ITS ENDS TERMINATING INWARDLY OF THE ADJACENT END OF SAID DRUM, SAID DRUM HAVING IN EACH END THEREOF A CHIP DISCHARGE OPENING LEADING FROM SAID PASSAGES AND AN ANNULAR END SURFACE DEFINING SAID OPENING, SAID SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS AND SAID OPENINGS BEING OTHERWISE UNOBSTRUCTED, THE AREA OF EACH SAID OPENING CONSTITUTING THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE AREA OF THE SPACE ENCLOSED BY THE OVERALL DIAMETER OF SAID DRUM, EACH SAID PLATE HAVING A FREE EDGE EX TENDING FROM THE END OF SAID HUB TOWARDS SAID END SURFACE OF SAID DRUM, SAID FREE EDGE BEING INWARDLY INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO SAID END SURFACE, AND A KNIFE ASSEMBLY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID SUPPORTS, SAID CYLINDRICAL DRUM SURFACE HAVING CHIP-RECEIVING OPENINGS THEREIN LEADING TO SAID CHIP-RECEIVING PASSAGES.