Missouri man earns patents for chainsaw cutter
By KAREN CERNICH
Washington Missourian
Washington Missourian
Published: Friday, January 23, 2009
Updated: Friday, January 23, 2009 9:34 AM CST
Updated: Friday, January 23, 2009 9:34 AM CST
WASHINGTON, Mo. (AP) — Villa Ridge resident Larry McKnight loves a challenge. That’s why when his son remarked that his father couldn’t invent an upright piece of equipment for his chain saw that would move it from the vertical to horizontal position or control the throttle, the former carpentry teacher was more determined than ever to see it happen.
The 69-year-old needed to clear about 50 cedar trees from his property where he hunts, but the kneeling and twisting required to use a chainsaw in the traditional method would be too hard on his back and knees, which have both been replaced.
McKnight said he could have asked his son to do the work, but he was drawn to the challenge.
“That’s how we think,” he said. “I want to get here, how do I do it? I always say, ’If you can visualize it and sketch it, you can make it.”’
And he did.
McKnight calls his invention the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter. Initially he planned only to use it to clear his own land, but at some point in between designing and building it, he decided to patent the idea and try putting it on the market.
McKnight and his wife, Cecelia, did all of the work in obtaining the patent themselves, which is highly unusual. Most people hire a patent attorney to guide them through the lengthy process.
McKnight was granted a patent and is currently trying to find a company interested in licensing the rights to make and sell it. He has been distributing promotional materials, including a DVD showing the Cutter in action, to companies that could manufacture them.
“It would be great if we could get a local company interested in making it,” McKnight remarked.
He believes the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter could sell for about the price of a medium-priced chain saw.
McKnight and his family have a do-it-yourself attitude when it comes to projects. When they moved to Franklin County in 1970, McKnight built their new home himself.
A 1960 graduate of Ranken Trade School, McKnight studied carpentry and cabinetmaking, which included classes in drafting. He started his career building commercial trade show exhibits. After 10 years he switched gears to begin teaching carpentry at vo-tech schools in St. Louis County — South County Tech and West County Tech.
He wrote his own lesson plans and developed his own curriculum. He even wrote and developed carpentry lesson plans for videos that were made for the University of Missouri.
McKnight also worked as a contractor building homes.
So when he found himself in need of a special device to operate his chain saw more easily, McKnight didn’t go shopping for one — he turned to his drafting table.
“I had the sketches done in about six weeks,” he said.
The design of McKnight’s FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter is fairly simple. It’s a metal frame to which a chain saw is attached. It doesn’t require any modification to the chainsaw and the frame will fit any chain saw.
The device gets its name from the fact that it can be used either in the upright or horizontal position, said McKnight. “It only takes a tug on a rope to flip the chainsaw down to cut trees close to the ground,” he explained. “Then tug the rope again and it returns to the vertical position for cutting limbs or maneuvering to the next tree.
“In the vertical position, it can also be used to cut cord wood.”
The chain saw speed is controlled by a remote throttle mounted on the frame. Starting the chain saw is very safe because the saw is mounted to the frame and has a stop for the operator to place his foot on.
“When operating the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter, the operator is 5 feet away from the saw,” McKnight pointed out. “This makes it very safe to use.”
It’s also easy to maneuver, he noted. The frame has a single wheel similar to a wheelbarrow, which allows the operator to move easily from tree to tree.
Another feature is a skid plate that keeps that chain from coming in contact with the ground, which would dull the chain.
The FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter is designed for cutting down trees no larger than 7 inches in diameter, said McKnight. The tree must be small enough to cut in one pass and be pushed over by means of a push stick.
“The FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter is very good for clearing a field of small cedar trees or other small trees,” McKnight commented. “It’s also good for cutting under fencerows. When cutting cord wood, the operator simply pushes down on the rear handles and the chain bar can be raised and lowered into the wood.”
The device has already received prime attention. It won a silver medal at the inventor’s show in Redwood Falls, Minn., and was featured in Farm Show Magazine (Vol. 32, No. 5, 2008, Page 26).
The McKnights decided to go the patent process alone rather than hire an attorney, mainly because of the cost involved, which can end up being $10,000 or more. Plus, the McKnights were fortunate enough to have all the skills required — with his background in drafting, McKnight could draw the sketches and his wife could type the documents.
They worked on the text of the documents, explaining the product and such, together.
The couple have nothing but good things to say about the help they received from the U.S. patent office in Washington, D.C.
“They treat you like royalty,” McKnight remarked. “They’re very patient and help you every step of the way.”
A patent examiner is assigned to each application and that examiner stays with the case until the patent is issued or denied.
The patent office sent the McKnights a book explaining the process they needed to follow. The first step was to conduct a patent search to see if anyone else had applied for a patent for a similar product. The McKnights turned to the St. Louis County Library for help there.
“You have to find the category your invention would belong in, and that can be hard, so we ran searches in several different categories,” said McKnight.
The patent search didn’t find anything similar to the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter, so the McKnights moved forward with their application. That was in 2004.
The McKnights’ patent was issued in July 2007. That’s a pretty typical time frame. Theirs took a little longer because they misunderstood the instructions in one step of the process. Once they caught their mistake, the couple was back in business.
“There are many steps in getting the patent,” said McKnight. “Each time you move to the next step, you go to the back of the line and wait your turn.
“I would say it takes a minimum of two years to get a patent approved.” In the end, the McKnights spent around $1,300 to have the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter patented. Their patent is good for three years.
The 69-year-old needed to clear about 50 cedar trees from his property where he hunts, but the kneeling and twisting required to use a chainsaw in the traditional method would be too hard on his back and knees, which have both been replaced.
McKnight said he could have asked his son to do the work, but he was drawn to the challenge.
“That’s how we think,” he said. “I want to get here, how do I do it? I always say, ’If you can visualize it and sketch it, you can make it.”’
And he did.
McKnight calls his invention the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter. Initially he planned only to use it to clear his own land, but at some point in between designing and building it, he decided to patent the idea and try putting it on the market.
McKnight and his wife, Cecelia, did all of the work in obtaining the patent themselves, which is highly unusual. Most people hire a patent attorney to guide them through the lengthy process.
McKnight was granted a patent and is currently trying to find a company interested in licensing the rights to make and sell it. He has been distributing promotional materials, including a DVD showing the Cutter in action, to companies that could manufacture them.
“It would be great if we could get a local company interested in making it,” McKnight remarked.
He believes the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter could sell for about the price of a medium-priced chain saw.
McKnight and his family have a do-it-yourself attitude when it comes to projects. When they moved to Franklin County in 1970, McKnight built their new home himself.
A 1960 graduate of Ranken Trade School, McKnight studied carpentry and cabinetmaking, which included classes in drafting. He started his career building commercial trade show exhibits. After 10 years he switched gears to begin teaching carpentry at vo-tech schools in St. Louis County — South County Tech and West County Tech.
He wrote his own lesson plans and developed his own curriculum. He even wrote and developed carpentry lesson plans for videos that were made for the University of Missouri.
McKnight also worked as a contractor building homes.
So when he found himself in need of a special device to operate his chain saw more easily, McKnight didn’t go shopping for one — he turned to his drafting table.
“I had the sketches done in about six weeks,” he said.
The design of McKnight’s FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter is fairly simple. It’s a metal frame to which a chain saw is attached. It doesn’t require any modification to the chainsaw and the frame will fit any chain saw.
The device gets its name from the fact that it can be used either in the upright or horizontal position, said McKnight. “It only takes a tug on a rope to flip the chainsaw down to cut trees close to the ground,” he explained. “Then tug the rope again and it returns to the vertical position for cutting limbs or maneuvering to the next tree.
“In the vertical position, it can also be used to cut cord wood.”
The chain saw speed is controlled by a remote throttle mounted on the frame. Starting the chain saw is very safe because the saw is mounted to the frame and has a stop for the operator to place his foot on.
“When operating the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter, the operator is 5 feet away from the saw,” McKnight pointed out. “This makes it very safe to use.”
It’s also easy to maneuver, he noted. The frame has a single wheel similar to a wheelbarrow, which allows the operator to move easily from tree to tree.
Another feature is a skid plate that keeps that chain from coming in contact with the ground, which would dull the chain.
The FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter is designed for cutting down trees no larger than 7 inches in diameter, said McKnight. The tree must be small enough to cut in one pass and be pushed over by means of a push stick.
“The FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter is very good for clearing a field of small cedar trees or other small trees,” McKnight commented. “It’s also good for cutting under fencerows. When cutting cord wood, the operator simply pushes down on the rear handles and the chain bar can be raised and lowered into the wood.”
The device has already received prime attention. It won a silver medal at the inventor’s show in Redwood Falls, Minn., and was featured in Farm Show Magazine (Vol. 32, No. 5, 2008, Page 26).
The McKnights decided to go the patent process alone rather than hire an attorney, mainly because of the cost involved, which can end up being $10,000 or more. Plus, the McKnights were fortunate enough to have all the skills required — with his background in drafting, McKnight could draw the sketches and his wife could type the documents.
They worked on the text of the documents, explaining the product and such, together.
The couple have nothing but good things to say about the help they received from the U.S. patent office in Washington, D.C.
“They treat you like royalty,” McKnight remarked. “They’re very patient and help you every step of the way.”
A patent examiner is assigned to each application and that examiner stays with the case until the patent is issued or denied.
The patent office sent the McKnights a book explaining the process they needed to follow. The first step was to conduct a patent search to see if anyone else had applied for a patent for a similar product. The McKnights turned to the St. Louis County Library for help there.
“You have to find the category your invention would belong in, and that can be hard, so we ran searches in several different categories,” said McKnight.
The patent search didn’t find anything similar to the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter, so the McKnights moved forward with their application. That was in 2004.
The McKnights’ patent was issued in July 2007. That’s a pretty typical time frame. Theirs took a little longer because they misunderstood the instructions in one step of the process. Once they caught their mistake, the couple was back in business.
“There are many steps in getting the patent,” said McKnight. “Each time you move to the next step, you go to the back of the line and wait your turn.
“I would say it takes a minimum of two years to get a patent approved.” In the end, the McKnights spent around $1,300 to have the FlipDown Chainsaw Cutter patented. Their patent is good for three years.
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