Hedge trimmer with combination shearing and sawing blade assembly

Abstract

A hand-held power-operated hedge trimmer for trimming plant growth such as hedges, shrubs, tree branches and the like. The hedge trimmer includes a housing containing a motor assembly, a blade assembly extending forwardly in a lengthwise direction from the housing, and a drive mechanism for coupling a movable cutting blade of the blade assembly to an output of the motor assembly for causing reciprocatory rectilinear movement of the movable cutting blade relative to a stationary combing blade in response to selective actuation of the motor assembly. The cutting blade includes a series of cutter teeth formed along its opposite longitudinal edges with each cutter tooth having a compound tooth profile. The compound tooth profile includes a pair of shear tooth segments formed along opposite lateral edges of the cutter tooth and a saw tooth segment formed at its distal edge between the shear tooth segments. In addition, a series of sizing lugs are formed along the opposite longitudinal edges of the movable cutting blade between each pair of adjacent cutter teeth for establishing entrapment channels therewith. In operation, smaller twigs and branches are drawn into the entrapment channels and into alignment with the adjacent shear tooth segment for shear-cutting with a single stroke of the cutting blade. The sizing lugs prevent larger branches from being drawn into the entrapment channels so as to align them relative to the saw tooth segments for saw-cutting with a multi-stroke sawing action.