Debris separating chipper

Claim 2

A whole tree chipper for chipping wood and separating debris from cut chips comprising: a housing having a front wall, a rear wall and a circumferential wall extending between the front and rear walls, a chipper disc mounted for rotation in said housing, said disc having a radial cutting face, an enclosed front chamber in said housing, said front chamber being defined by said cutting face, said front wall and a portion of said circumferential wall generally extending between the front wall and the disc, at least one knife on said cutting face, a slot through said cutting face adjacent said knife for directing chips cut by said knife through said cutting face to a space behind the front chamber which is separated from said front chamber, a feed inlet through said front wall and said front chamber to direct wood substantially along its longitudinal direction against said cutting face, a first tangential chipper outlet through said circumferential wall from said front chamber, paddle means on said disc adjacent said circumferential wall in said front chamber, said paddle means ejecting debris from said front chamber through said first tangential outlet thereby to convey said debris away from said chipper, a second tangential chipper outlet extending from said space through said circumferential wall, means on said disc for ejecting chips from said space through said second tangential outlet away from said chipper.

Claim 3

A chipper as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot provides substantially the sole communication for said chips between said front chamber and said space.

Claim 4

A chipper as defined in claim 2 wherein said space comprises a chip chamber.

Claim 5

A chipper as defined in claim 3 wherein an annular flange projects in from the periphery of said housing towards the periphery of said disc to form a partition in the said housing separating said front chamber from said chip chamber.

Claim 6

A chipper as defined in claim 4, wherein the minimum width of said front chamber defined by the distance between said cutting face and said front wall is at least 1 inch.

Claim 7

A chipper as defined in claim 1, wherein the minimum width of said front chamber defined by the distance between said cutting face and said front wall is at least 1 inch.

Claim 8

A whole tree chipper for separating debris from chips comprising: a housing having a front wall, a back wall and a peripheral wall, a chipper disc mounted for rotation in said housing and dividing said housing into an enclosed front chamber and an enclosed chip chamber, said disc having a substantially radial cutting face facing said front chamber and forming one wall of said front chamber, the other walls of said front chamber being formed by said front wall and a portion of said peripheral wall of said housing, generally extending between said front wall and said disc, an inlet through said front wall through which wood may be fed against said cutting face by advancing said wood substantially on its longitudinal direction, at least one knife on said cutting face and a slot through said disc adjacent said knife for directing chips cut by said knife through said disc into said chip chamber, a tangential debris outlet from said front chamber through said peripheral wall for removal of debris from said front chamber, paddle means on said disc adjacent said peripheral wall in said front chamber, said paddle means ejecting debris from said front chamber through said tangential debris outlet thereby to convey said debris away from said chipper, and a tangential chip outlet from said chip chamber extending through said peripheral wall, means on said disc for ejecting chips from said chip chamber through said tangential chip outlet away from said chipper, said slots providing substantially the sole communication for said chips between said front and said chip chambers.

Claim 9

A whole tree chipper for separating debris from chips comprising: a housing having a front wall, a back wall and a peripheral wall, a chipper disc mounted for rotation in said housing and dividing said housing into an enclosed front chamber and an enclosed chip chamber, said disc having a substantially radial cutting face facing said front chamber and forming one wall of said front chamber, the other walls of said front chamber being formed by said front wall and a portion of said peripheral wall of said housing, generally extending between said front wall and said disc, an inlet through said front wall through which wood may be fed against said cutting face by advancing said wood substantially on its longitudinal direction, at least one knife on said cutting face and a slot through said disc adjacent said knife for directing chips cut by said knife through said disc into said chip chamber, a tangential debris outlet from said front chamber through said peripheral wall for removal of debris from said front chamber, paddle means on said disc adjacent said peripheral wall in said front chamber, said paddle means ejecting debris from said front chamber through said tangential debris outlet thereby to convey said debris away from said chipper, and a tangential chip outlet from said chip chamber extending through said peripheral wall, means on said disc for ejecting chips from said chip chamber through said tangential chip outlet away from said chipper, said slots providing substantially the sole communication for said chips between said front and said chip chambers.

Claim 10

A chipper as defined in claim 7 wherein an annular flange projects from the periphery of said housing towards the periphery of said disc to form a partition in the said housing between said front and chip chambers.

Claim 11

A chipper as defined in claim 8, wherein the minimum width of said front chamber defined by the distance between said cutting face and said front wall is at least 1 inch.

Claim 12

A chipper as defined in claim 7, wherein the minimum width of said front chamber defined by the distance between said cutting face and said front wall is at least 1 inch.