Vermeer Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Other

Mark Robert Stelter

James L O'Halloran

Dennis K Gabler

Jeffrey D Kernwein

Ivan Ray Brand

Brian Michael Johnson

Brian John Bischel

Randy Ray Runquist

Gregg Alan Austin

Mark Van Houwelingen

Peter C Rozendaal

Trail Price

Mark Van Howelingen

Disclosed is a vehicle drawn device for cleaning a fence line. The fence cleaner includes a movable main frame with an attached rotating vertical tube broom which tube broom bristles come into contact with the fence line to remove dead and dried out vegetation which has become affixed to the fence line. The tube broom is capable of being tilted for better access to a fence line. Once the vegetation is removed from the fence line by the tube broom, the tube broom rotates the dead and dried out vegetation to a rotating clean off assembly. The clean off assembly extends parallel to the tube broom and contains a plurality of protruding teeth. The protruding teeth remove the dead and dried out vegetation from the rotating tube broom and force the vegetation into a chopper drum. A rotating horizontal feed accelerator continuously pushes the vegetation into the drum to avoid a buildup of vegetation. Upon entering the drum, a plurality of chopping blades cut the dead and dried out vegetation into small sections. Once chopped, the vegetation sections drop to ground level and are ultimately tilled into the ground.

Fence cleaner

An improved brush cutter having an upper feed control member with stop, forward, neutral, and reverse positions also has a lower feed stop member with selectable sensitivity. Another aspect of the invention is to predict the feed roller shutoff point according to the rate of engine deceleration. According to another aspect, when the feed rollers stop feeding material into the cutters, to overcome drag on the cutters, a controller stops the feed rollers and then reverses them for a short time, and then reverses the rollers again if the problem is still present. To prevent jamming, a pressure switch senses when oil in a hydraulic motor system for rotating the feed rollers is too high and the controller momentarily reverses the feed rollers and then causes them to go forward, a cycle which can occur several times until the feed rollers are no longer stalled. By another aspect of the invention, the controller senses characteristics of the brush cutter and chooses an operating system based on the characteristics sensed. The controller can also sense if the brush chipper has not been used for a predetermined period of time and automatically reduce the idle speed of the engine until the brush chipper is used again, and then automatically return the engine to a normal idle speed before the feed rollers will pull brush into the brush chipper.

Method of controlling a brush chipper

Brush chipper and methods of operating same

Method of operating brush chippers

A control system for a drilling machine is disclosed. The drilling machine includes a rod driver for driving a string of rods into the ground, and for removing the string of rods from the ground. The drilling machine also includes a magazine for storing rods near the rod driver. A rod transfer mechanism moves rods between the magazine and the rod driver. Vices are used to make and break joints between the rods of the drill string. The control system includes joysticks equipped with switches for controlling operational sequences of the vices and the rod transfer mechanism.

Method and apparatus for attaching/detaching drill rod

A system, apparatus and method for automatically limiting the thrust force applied to a drill string during an underground boring process, in order to prevent the deformation or collapse to the drill rods due to reaching the yield point of the rods. One or more drill string characteristics that have an impact on the yield point of the drill string, or portions of the drill string, are determined. The yield point of the drill string or portion is computed, where the yield point is computed as a function of the drill string characteristics. The thrust force imparted to the drill string is adjusted in response to the computed yield point.

Directional drilling machine and method of directional drilling

Growing community of inventors

Pella, IA, United States of America

Mark Robert Stelter