Flexible filament vegetation cutter
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to vegetation cutters and has particular reference to such cutters that employ a length of flexible filament as the cutting element and are intended to be hand-held by a user. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many forms of such cutters incorporate a reel on which the flexible filament is wound and from which the actual cutting length extends. During use, the cutting length becomes worn and ultimately breaks at some point along its length and it is then necessary to withdraw a further length of filament from the reel to restore the cutting length to its original value. The withdrawal of filament from the reel can be effected manually but, in many cases, a mechanism controlled by the user is provided. The mechanism, when actuated by the user, allows a controlled length of filament to be withdrawn from the reel by the action of centrifugal force or by the feeding action of a rotatable reel. 
     The mechanism may be mounted upon a shaft carrying, at one end, a rotatable head which, in use, rapidly rotates the cutting length, and at the other end, a carrying handle by which the user supports and guides the cutter. In such a case, the filament, after leaving the reel, passes down the shaft to the head via a passage through the armature shaft of an electric motor. The head is directly attached to the shaft and includes a passageway that extends radially outwards from the axis of rotation of the shaft. This construction is expensive to produce and requires that the head shall rotate at the same speed as the motor. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, a vegetation cutter having a cutting element in the form of a flexible filament includes a supply reel of filament, the latter extending from the reel to a cutter head from which a length of the filament extends to form the cutting element, the head being rotatably mounted and coupled to a driving motor by means of a belt drive or the equivalent. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the cutter head incorporates an arcuate guide for guiding filament from a feed point to an exit in the cutter head from which the cutting length extends. 
     Preferably, the guide or at least the operative surface thereof is of a material with a low coefficient of friction, for example P.T.F.E.. 
     Means may be provided for controlling feed of filament from the reel and such means may permit feed to occur in predetermined lengths. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     By way of example only, an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation in diagrammatic form with certain components removed, 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a component of the embodiment, and 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of another component. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The embodiment comprises a cutter head 1 of the so-called clam shell construction with a lower portion 2 housing an electric driving motor unit 3 and an upper portion 4 that is upwardly inclined with respect to the lower portion as can be seen from FIG. 1. 
     The clam shell halves of which only one is shown in FIG. 1 are of a suitable plastics material for example ABS and their mating edges are of a tongue and groove connection to ensure accurate location and to give a degree of rigidity to the assembly. 
     The interior surfaces of the clam shell halves are formed with ribs (not shown) which together locate and support a base plate 5 that forms part of the motor unit 3. The motor unit is placed in position in one clam shell half being located by the ribs therein and then, after the other half shell has been positioned on the first half, is secured in place by screws that pass through the walls of the shell halves and engage slots 6 in the lower face of the base plate 5. 
     The upper interior surfaces of the upper portions 4 of the clam shell halves are formed with internally extending screw bosses which locate in diametral holes 7 in a metal shaft 8 that extends into the portion 4 as shown in FIG. 1 and forms a supporting shaft for the cutter head 1. The lower end of the shaft 8 extends into the portion 4 and is secured in place after assembly of the clam shell halves by screws passed through the bosses and the shaft which is thus held both axially and longitudinally. 
     The upper end of the shaft 8 extends into a handle 10 also of clam shell construction. The upper end of the shaft 8 is secured to the handle clam shell halves in the same manner as the lower end. 
     The handle 10 accommodates an electrical switch indicated as block 11 and which controls the supply of electric power to the motor unit 3 via a control lead (not shown) which passes from the handle 6 down inside the shaft 8 to the cutter head 1. The switch 11 is operated by a user controlled switching lever 12 pivotally attached to the handle 10. Power to the tool is supplied via a drop-lead part of which is shown at 13. The clam shell halves of the handle are also made of a suitable plastics material, for example ABS. 
     Mounted on the shaft 8 adjacent the handle 10 is a second handle 14 that accommodates a reel R containing a supply of flexible filament and a mechanism for regulating the feed of filament from the reel. Details of the mechanism are given below. The second handle 14 enables the user to support and guide the tool more easily. Filament of a suitable plastics material is fed from the reel through an eyelet 14a (shown in dotted lines) on the handle 14 down alongside the shaft 8 to a guide tube 15 inside the cutter head 1. The tube terminates adjacent the base plate 5 as can be seen from FIG. 1. 
     The lower portion 16 of the guide tube 15 is aligned with the bore of a spindle 17 rotatably mounted in the base plate 5 by means of bearings shown at 18. The spindle 17 extends downwardly beyond the base plate 5 and carries, at its lower end, a driving head 9. the head 9 is of generally cylinder form comprising an upper half 19 and a lower half 20 secured together by three screws one of which is shown at 21. The head 9 is also of a plastics material and it accommodates a guide tube 22 one end of which fits over a nipple formed at the lower end of spindle 17. The other end of guide tube 22 is joined to a funnel-like termination 23 secured in the side wall of the head 9. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the tube 22 is of gently curved arcuate form changing direction from a position axially aligned with the bore in the spindle 17 to a position that extends radially outwardly, the mouth of the termination 23 being laterally spaced from the axis of rotation of the spindle 17 and the head 9. 
     Filament from the guide tube 15 passes through the bore in the spindle 17 and through guide tube 22 exiting from the termination as indicated at 24. That length of filament external of the head 9 is the cutting length as will be described below. The tube 22 thus guides the filament to follow a change in direction from the axially aligned orientation to the radial orientation. 
     For reasons that will be become evident below, the tube 22 is of a material with a lower coefficient of friction, for example PTFE. Alternatively, the interior of the tube may be lined or faced with such a material. It is not essential to employ a tubular guide, other forms are possible but they must provide the guiding and the changes in direction referred to above. 
     Also mounted upon the spindle 17 is a pulley 25 drivingly coupled by a drive belt 26 to drive pulley 27 on the output shaft 28 of the drive unit 3. The output shaft 28 is actually the armature shaft of the electric motor and is supported for rotation in the base plate 5 by means of bearings. Also mounted upon the shaft 28 just above the base plate 5 is a fan 29 that, on rotation of the shaft draws air through the motor to cool the latter. Air may be drawn into the head 1 via air inlets (not shown) in the latter, the air exiting from the head via apertures in the clam shell halves adjacent the fan 29. 
     As has been stated above, the second handle 14 25 accommodates a reel on which is wound a supply of filament. The reel is freely rotatable in the handle 14 but is normally located against rotation by a lock that is released by a user when required to allow filament to be fed from the reel to the head 9. The lock incorporates a mechanism that allows only a predetermined length of filament to be fed from the reel when the lock is released by a user. 
     More detail of the construction and operation of the handle 14 and the lock are found in European Patent Application No. 0 046 050 (81.303566.4) the contents of which are hereby incorporated into the present disclosure by reference. 
     To use the cutter, the user first ensures that a length of filament has been fed from the reel to the tube 22 and emerges therefrom as indicated at 24. The motor 1 is then energised by actuating the switch 11 in the handle 10 by means of lever 12. This causes the motor to rotate the head 9 and the cutting length 24 is rotated rapidly in a horizontal plane about the axis of rotation of the spindle 17. The filament between the head 9 and the reel is held taut by the action of centrifugal force on the portion 24 so that, when the lock is released by the user, filament is drawn off the reel thereby increasing the length of the portion 24. In that way, the length of the portion 24 can be maintained constant despite breakages and wear that occur during use. Thus, the filament may be fed from the reel whilst the cutter is in use. Alternatively, the user can, of course, stop the motor, release the lock and manually withdraw filament from the reel by grasping the exposed portion 24 and pulling. 
     The maximum length of the portion 24 is normally controlled by a cutting blade located within a filament guard 30 fixed to the head 1. The guard 30 provides a degree of protection for the user as it forms a shield that extends over a part only of the rotational path of the portion 24, the latter being left exposed over the remainder of its path to enable it to effect cutting of vegetation. 
     The guard 30 is detachably secured to the lower part of the cutterhead unit 1 in any suitable manner. For example, the front of the lower end of the unit 1 may be formed with a surface with which a corresponding surface on the guard can be interlocked after which the guard is secured in position by a screw located at the rear of the unit and the guard. 
     It will be appreciated that, as the head 9 rotates it imparts a twist to the filament which causes the latter to become somewhat less flexible and it is found that the filament tends to rub against the interior surface of the guide tube 22. The use of an antifriction facing on the guide tube 22 or the formation of the latter from material with a low coefficient of friction tends to reduce or minimise the generation of heat by such rubbing. Excessive heating of the filament is undesirable because it impairs the physical strength of the filament and may cause the latter to melt. 
     The construction of head 9 described above is simpler and cheaper to manufacture than the prior art construction in which filament is fed along the hollow armature shaft. In addition, the construction enables the head 9 to be rotated at a speed different from that of the driving motor. 
     It will be appreciated that the cutter head may be driven from the motor via a drive transmission other than a belt drive, for example a gear train could be used or a friction drive. 
     In addition, it is possible to incorporate a joint between the unit 1 and the shaft 8 or to construct the unit 1 in two parts jointed together to enable the inclination of the shaft relatively to the unit 1 to be varied. Adjustment of that inclination enables a user more easily to trim vegetation etc. beneath bushes and lower branches of trees.