US20060179807A1 - Mower with flip up mowing deck - Google Patents
Mower with flip up mowing deck Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060179807A1 US20060179807A1 US11/401,973 US40197306A US2006179807A1 US 20060179807 A1 US20060179807 A1 US 20060179807A1 US 40197306 A US40197306 A US 40197306A US 2006179807 A1 US2006179807 A1 US 2006179807A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- deck
- mower
- frame
- configuration
- mowing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D34/00—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters
- A01D34/01—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus
- A01D34/412—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters
- A01D34/63—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters having cutters rotating about a vertical axis
- A01D34/74—Cutting-height adjustment
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D34/00—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters
- A01D34/01—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus
- A01D34/412—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters
- A01D34/63—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters having cutters rotating about a vertical axis
- A01D34/64—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters having cutters rotating about a vertical axis mounted on a vehicle, e.g. a tractor, or drawn by an animal or a vehicle
- A01D2034/645—Lifting means for the cutter of the lawnmower mounted at the front of the vehicle for inspection and maintenance
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D2101/00—Lawn-mowers
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a riding lawn mower and more particularly to a midmount riding lawn mower having a mower deck that is swingable from a mowing configuration to an access configuration having a height adjustment mechanism that easily captures the mower deck for mowing and releases the deck for access and a pair of arms which form a parallelogram when the deck is in the mowing configuration and extend outwardly in the access configuration.
- Prior mowers have included a mower deck that is mounted such that the deck can tilt or rotate to a position conducive for maintenance of the deck's under housing (e.g. cleaning, replacing blades, etc).
- decks of this type have been described as “tiltable” or “tilting” such as in the United States patents Sameshima U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,907 and Shroeder U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,406 respectively.
- Prior art structures have been complicated, hard to operate, expensive to manufacture and/or present other problems both in use in mowing and in trying to convert between a mowing configuration and an access configuration.
- the present invention is especially useful in conjunction with a midmount mower wherein the mower deck is mounted between the front and rear wheels of the device.
- a midmount mower wherein the mower deck is mounted between the front and rear wheels of the device.
- it is also necessary to provide a support structure for the deck that maintains the deck level during mowing and allows for easy cutting height adjustment.
- a simple to use level adjustment mechanism is desirable to allow for fine adjustment of deck level that is required to correct for damage, tolerance variation or to modify the deck to be slightly non parallel to the ground in accordance with the desires of the operator.
- the present invention is directed to a midmount riding mower having improved mechanism for allowing a mowing deck thereof to be easily moved between a mowing configuration and an access configuration wherein an underside of the mower deck is exposed for repair or maintenance.
- the mower includes a support structure for maintaining the mower deck so the blades cut in planes that are generally horizontal relative to the ground.
- the support structure includes a pair of laterally spaced front legs and a pair of laterally spaced rear legs.
- the front and rear legs are pivotally connected to a frame of the mower at the same location.
- the rear legs are medially hinged having an upper portion that abuts the frame along the length thereof during mowing such that the front and rear legs along with a portion of the mower deck between pivotal attachments of the front and rear legs with the mower deck generally form an adjustable support parallelogram to maintain the cutting blades so as to cut generally horizontal to the ground surface.
- the height adjustment mechanism includes a pivot bar with a radially extending operating handle and a pair of spaced radially extending arms jointed by an engagement bar at the distal ends thereof.
- the deck includes hook members that are sized and positioned to engage the engagement bar when the deck is positioned in a non raised position as the pivot bar is rotated by the handle so as to first be captured and then raised. As the deck raises, the parallelogram formed by the support arms keeps the deck level.
- a pin is used with a blocking arm to keep the deck from inadvertently becoming disengaged from the engagement bar.
- the deck When in the non raised and non engaged position, the deck can be pulled forward on the support arms and thus the front can be raised to an access configuration by extending the rear support arms to an almost linear configuration. The process is reversed to return to a non raised configuration, rejoined with the height adjustment mechanism after which the deck is in the mowing configuration.
- the drive belt of the mower of this application is a unitary single belt that is reeved to engage the motor as well as pulleys driving each of the cutting blades.
- a tension release mechanism is provided to release tension from the belt to allow the belt to be removed from a motor pulley and thereby allow the mower deck to be raised to the access configuration thereof.
- a fine tuning level adjustment is also provided with each of the support front legs which allows fine adjustment of the alignment of the mower deck to adjust level that may be required because of variations due to construction variations, damage, or because an operator wants to have the front slightly higher than the rear to better attack grass being cut.
- the level adjustment includes a clevis that is pivotally joined to each the front leg and which is adjustable from front to rear relative to the mowing deck.
- the objects of the present invention are: to provide a midmount mower having a support structure that maintains the deck generally horizontal to the ground during mowing, but allows the deck to be swung easily to an access configuration for repair or maintenance; to provide such a mower deck having a parallelogram leg configuration to allow the deck to maintain a generally horizontal position at any cutting height during mowing and wherein a rear leg can be extended to allow the deck to easily swing from the mowing configuration to the access configuration; to provide such a mower deck wherein converting from the mowing configuration to the access configuration requires minimal manipulation of controls or apparatus; to provide such a mower with a support structure that extends to an over center configuration, so that when the deck is raised to the access configuration, the configuration is stable; to provide such a mower having a height adjustment mechanism that operates in conjunction with the support structure to allow the mower deck to be easily converted from the access configuration to the mowing configuration, allows for height of cutting adjustment and helps support the rear of the mower deck all under the control of a single adjustment lever by the operator; to provide
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lower heavy mowing deck and a suspension apparatus for the deck in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the mower illustrating the mowing deck in a mowing and raised configuration.
- FIG. 3 is an enlarged and fragmentary side elevational view of the mower with mower deck in a mowing configuration.
- FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the mower with the mower deck in a mowing and lowered configuration and just prior to rear disengagement of the mower deck from remainder of the mower to allow flip up of the mower deck.
- FIG. 5 is an enlarged and fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the mower deck in a lowered configuration and showing the supporting mechanism for the mowing deck in a captured configuration in solid lines and in a release configuration in dash lines.
- FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the mower showing the mowing deck at a mid position between conversion from the mowing configuration to an access configuration.
- FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the mower showing the mower deck in the access configuration thereof.
- FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of a top of the mower deck and the support mechanism and adjustment devices for use in conjunction with the mower deck.
- FIG. 9 is a fragmentary and enlarged perspective view of a portion of the mower deck and remaining mower with a frontward support and adjustment mechanism thereof.
- FIG. 10 is a fragmentary and enlarged bottom plan view of a portion of the mower deck showing an operator handle in a first tensioning position in solid lines and in a relaxed position in phantom lines.
- the reference numeral 1 generally represents a mower incorporating improvements in accordance with the present invention.
- the mower 1 includes a mobile frame 5 , a mower deck 6 and a support and adjustment structure or mechanism 7 for joining the mower deck 6 to the frame 5 .
- the frame 5 includes a pair of generally parallel, laterally spaced and longitudinally extending tubes or channels 12 and 13 that are sized shaped and positioned to be generally parallel to the ground when the mower 1 is operating as a mower and cutting grass and the like.
- the channels 12 and 13 are spaced by transverse members, such as front transverse member 15 and by plating such as floor plating 16 and forward cowling 17 , so as to form an overall solid structure to support the mower deck 6 , as described below.
- the mobile frame 5 also includes a pair of front castor wheels 18 and a pair of rear drive wheels 21 .
- the mower 1 of the present invention is a mid mount or underbelly type mower wherein all or substantially almost all of both the mower deck 6 and support and adjustment mechanism 7 is located from front to rear between the front wheels 18 and the rear wheels 21 wherein the mower 1 is being utilized to cut grass, as is seen in the illustrations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- a motor assembly 25 which operably provides power to the drive and operate the mower 1 through well known hydraulic wheel drivers driven by a belt and a power pulley (not shown) by the motor assembly 25 .
- the motor assembly 25 also has a lower powered drive pulley 26 which operably powers cutting blades on the mower deck 6 , as will be discussed below.
- the mower 1 of the illustrated embodiment happens to be a zero radius turning mower in which each of the rear wheels 21 and 22 is driven by an independent hydraulic motor (not shown) which is in turn driven by the motor assembly 25 .
- a joystick 27 is mounted on the frame 5 and is located so as to be accessible by the operator to allow the operator to selectively control drive to each of the rear wheels 21 , thus controlling the direction and speed of the mower 1 .
- Mowers of the same general type are well known in the industry. While the mower 1 of the present invention happens to be a zero radius turning type mower and has hydraulic units associated with the wheels, it is foreseen that other types of mowers could readily be used in conjunction with the present invention.
- the mobile frame 5 also includes an operator seat 29 which allows an operator to be seated during operation of the mower 1 and to control the mower 1 via the joystick 27 .
- the mower deck 6 has a top wall 34 and a peripheral side wall 35 that depends from the top wall 34 except in the area of a chute (not shown) for allowing discharge grass therefrom.
- a middle front roller 38 and a pair of side front rollers 39 are mounted on the front or to the left of the mower deck 6 .
- a pair of rear side rollers 41 are mounted on the rear of the mower deck 6 .
- the rollers 38 , 39 and 41 keep the deck 6 somewhat spaced from a ground surface that the deck 6 is traversing and helps prevent scalping of the grass whenever the deck 6 gets too close to the ground due to uneven terrain.
- Three cutting blades 44 are mounted on the underside of the mower deck 6 in a spaced relationship with one another and so that their cutting patterns overlap from front to rear in a manner that is well known in the art.
- Each of the cutting blades 44 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 45 which is in turn mounted on the deck top wall 34 and driven by a blade pulley 47 .
- As shown in FIG. 8 also rotatably mounted on top of the deck top wall 34 are three guide pulleys 49 , 50 and 51 .
- a tension control pulley 54 is also mounted on the deck top wall 34 and is moveable along a path to selectively reduce or increase belt tension, as described below. As seen in FIG.
- tension control pulley 54 is attached to a V-shaped lever arm 55 which is centrally pivoted about a pivot 56 located beneath the center of the pulley 51 .
- the lever arm 55 is in turn attached to a spring 57 that is in turn connected to a second V-shaped lever arm 58 which is in turn connected to an L-shaped lever arm 59 extending to an operator handle 60 and a fixed pivot 61 opposite the operator handle 60 so as to allow an operator to swing the lever arm 59 about the pivot 61 thereby also swinging the lever arm 58 about a pivot 62 whereat it is joined with the lever arm 59 so as to selectively position the tension control pulley 54 .
- Tension applying and tension releasing positions for the pulley 54 and associated mechanism are shown in FIG. 10 in solid and phantom lines respectively.
- a drive belt 65 is reeved or looped about each of the pulleys 47 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 54 and the engine drive pulley 26 so as to provide drive power between the engine and the blade pulleys 47 so as to rotate the blades 44 when desired and when the tensioning pulley 54 is providing tension to the drive belt 65 .
- the drive belt 65 traverses a path that is generally planar except for slight variations due to raising or lowering of the mower deck 6 .
- the tensioning pulley 54 provides tension to the belt 65 when the operator handle 60 is in a first configuration thereof, as is shown in solid lines in FIG. 10 .
- the operator handle 60 can be selectively moved to a second configuration, wherein the tensioning pulley 54 moves to the location shown by phantom lines in FIG. 10 and which removes tension from the drive belt 65 and allows the drive belt 65 to be easily disconnected from the engine drive pulley 26 for manipulation from the mower deck 6 , as described below.
- a pair of shields 67 are also mounted on the mower deck top wall 34 in covering relationship to the outside blade pulleys 47 so as to reduce the possibility of an operator inadvertently getting caught between the drive belt 65 and the pulleys 47 .
- the support adjustment structure 7 supports the mower deck 6 relative on the mobile frame 5 , allows selective adjustment of the cutting height of the mower deck 6 during operation and provides for selective positioning of the mower deck 6 relative to the mobile frame 5 for purposes other than cutting of grass.
- the support and adjustment structure 7 includes a pair of front support arms 75 and a pair of rear support arms 76 and a height adjustment and release mechanism 79 .
- One of the pair of front support arms 75 is positioned on each side of the frame 5 and pivotally attached to an ear 82 within a respective channel 12 and 13 .
- the lower part of each front support arm 75 is pivotally attached by a connector assembly 83 that is secured to the mower deck top wall 34 .
- One of the pair of rear support arms 76 is located on opposite sides of the mobile frame 5 and are pivotally attached at an upper end thereof to respective ears 82 and at a lower end thereof to respective ears 86 mounted near the rear end of the deck top wall 34 .
- Each of the ears 86 has a rearwardly extending hook member 87 near the top thereof.
- Each of the rear support arms 76 has an upper section or portion 89 and a lower section or portion 90 which are joined at a pivot 91 .
- the rear support arm lower portions 90 are essentially the same length as the front support arms 75 and the rear support arm upper portions 89 are essentially the same length as the distance between the locations whereat the front support arms 75 join connector assemblies 83 and the rear support arms 76 join ears 86 .
- a parallelogram-like structure is generally formed in conjunction with the arms 75 , 76 and that portion of the deck top wall 34 that extends therebetween.
- the dimensions of the parallelogram-like structure can be varied somewhat as noted below.
- each rear support arm upper portion 89 is joined to the frame 5 only at the ear 82 ; however, each rear support arm upper portion 89 is designed to abut against the under surface of respective channels 12 and 13 , as is seen in FIG. 2 during operation of the mower 1 during the cutting of grass or the like. In this manner, the mower deck 6 can swing about the front support arm 75 and rear support arm lower portion 90 , while being maintained in a generally parallel configuration with the frame channels 12 and 13 .
- the frame 5 can be raised at the front thereof and the mower deck 6 can be swung downwardly and forwardly relative to the remainder of the frame 5 , as is seen in FIG. 6 until the front support arm 75 and the rear support arm lower portions 90 become generally perpendicular to the frame channels 12 and 13 . Thereafter, the mower deck 6 can be swung still more forwardly near the rear thereof so as to rotate the rear arm upper portions 89 away from the channels 12 and 13 , as is seen in FIG. 7 so as to expose the underside of the mower deck 6 to an operator to allow the operator to work on the mower cutting blades 44 , to clean the underside of the mower deck 6 or otherwise perform maintenance on the structure.
- a pin, hook or other structure could be equivalently provided on the front support arm 75 or the rear support arm upper portion 89 to engage the opposite in such a way as to hold the upper portion 89 in a parallel configuration relative to the top of the deck 6 and in this way preform the same function as the engagement of the upper portion 89 with the frame 5 that is shown in the illustrated embodiment.
- the mower deck 6 preferably has a slightly over-center configuration when in the exposed configuration, as is also seen in FIG. 7 wherein the rear support arms 76 are stretched outwardly and substantially in line relative to one another and the original rear, now bottom, of the mower deck 6 is slightly forward of the original front, now top, thereof, so as to form a stable exposed configuration to allow an operator to work on the device without easy collapse thereof.
- the height adjustment and release mechanism 79 includes an elongate and laterally extending pivot rod 95 laterally mounted on and extending outwardly therefrom. Near opposite ends of the rod 95 are a pair of rigidly joined lever arms 98 .
- the lever arms 98 that each have an elongate slot 99 near the distal end thereof through which a capture rod or bail 102 is mounted so as to extend generally parallel to the rod 95 .
- a spring 104 is sleeved on each of the lever arms 98 and extends between the rod 95 and the rod 102 so as to urge the rod 102 outwardly relative within the slots 99 .
- a second spring 107 is mounted between each of the distal ends of the lever arms 98 and the frame floor plating 16 so as to cushion movement of the mechanism 79 at the capture rod 102 .
- Medially extending outwardly from the rod 95 between the lever arms 98 is an operator handle or arm 110 that is fixably attached to the rod 95 and rigidly extending therefrom above the frame floor plating 16 and in the region where the operator can access the handle 110 while in the seat 29 .
- a stop lever arm 113 also extends rigidly outward from the rod 95 near the channel 12 .
- the stop lever arm 113 is positioned so that swinging of the lever arm 113 by rotation of the rod 95 moves the lever arm 113 into abutting engagement with a stop pin 116 selectively located in receiver 117 . In this manner the rotation of the rod 95 is limited when the pin 116 is in the receiver 117 and the rod 95 free to rotate further when the pin 116 is removed from the receiver 117 .
- the stop operably provided by the arm 113 engaging the pin 116 could be provided by other types of devices.
- a slide, rotatable plate or the like could be operably placed under the handle 110 so as to engage the handle upon downward movement and wherein such device could be moved manually to allow an operator to further lower the handle 110 .
- Each connector assembly 83 comprises an outer U-shaped member 120 and an inner U-shaped member 121 .
- the outer member 120 is fixedly attached by welding or the like to the mower deck top wall 34 and includes a pair of longitudinally extending slots 124 in each forward arm thereof.
- the inner U-shaped member 121 is slideable relative to the outer member 120 and each forward wall includes aligned bores 125 that also align with the slots 124 and receive a pin 127 .
- the bottom end of a respective arm 75 is positioned to be surrounded by the inner member 121 and has a bore 129 that also receives the pin 127 .
- a rear wall 130 of the inner member 121 also has attached thereto a bolt 132 that extends rearwardly and passes through a bore 134 in a rear wall 135 of the outer member 120 .
- a nut 137 allows adjustment of the position of the bolt 132 to slide the inner member 121 relative to the outer member 120 and thereby vary the angle of the front arms 75 . This allows height of the front sides of the mower deck 6 to be adjusted slightly, if some irregularity exists or to even raise the mower deck 6 front slightly relative to the rear thereof for certain cutting operations.
- a connector assembly 83 may be used to connect each of the rear support arms 76 to the deck 6 or, where the top of the arms 75 and 76 are independently joined to the frame 5 , then a connector assembly 83 could be utilized to connect either support arm 75 or 76 to the frame 5 .
- the height adjustment and release mechanism 79 functions in the following way.
- the movement of the operator handle 110 rotates the rod 95 and swings the capture rod 102 about through a similar angle of rotation as is incurred by the operator handle 110 so as to move the mower deck 6 upwardly or downwardly as desired by the operator to adjust the cutting height of the mower deck 6 .
- the operator handle 110 can rotate the rod 95 so that the capture rod 102 moves rearwardly and downwardly and disengages from the hook members 87 . This frees the mowing deck 6 from the adjustment and release mechanism 79 .
Abstract
A mower deck assembly which essentially “flips up” or raises from a mowing configuration to an access configuration with minimal manipulation of controls and manual lifting. A deck is connected to a frame by a parallelogram suspension which includes front and rear support arms. A rear of the deck removably connects through a height adjustment mechanism that includes the hook and capture device selectively allows the rear of the deck to swing freely so that when the mower is in a non mowing configuration. The deck has mounted thereon a plurality of pulleys, including blade pulleys connected by a single drive belt and driven by a single motor. One of the pulleys is a tension pulley that can be manipulated to disengage the pulley system. The front of the suspension includes a fine height adjustment mechanism.
Description
- This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/619,017, filed Jul. 14, 2003 which is incorporated by reference herein.
- The present invention relates to a riding lawn mower and more particularly to a midmount riding lawn mower having a mower deck that is swingable from a mowing configuration to an access configuration having a height adjustment mechanism that easily captures the mower deck for mowing and releases the deck for access and a pair of arms which form a parallelogram when the deck is in the mowing configuration and extend outwardly in the access configuration.
- Prior mowers have included a mower deck that is mounted such that the deck can tilt or rotate to a position conducive for maintenance of the deck's under housing (e.g. cleaning, replacing blades, etc). Typically, decks of this type have been described as “tiltable” or “tilting” such as in the United States patents Sameshima U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,907 and Shroeder U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,406 respectively. Prior art structures have been complicated, hard to operate, expensive to manufacture and/or present other problems both in use in mowing and in trying to convert between a mowing configuration and an access configuration.
- The present invention is especially useful in conjunction with a midmount mower wherein the mower deck is mounted between the front and rear wheels of the device. In such a device, it is desirable to make conversion between the mowing configuration and the access configuration easy and quick. Nevertheless, it is also necessary to provide a support structure for the deck that maintains the deck level during mowing and allows for easy cutting height adjustment. It is also desirable to provide such a device that utilizes a single drive belt that can be easily removed to allow for conversion. Also, a simple to use level adjustment mechanism is desirable to allow for fine adjustment of deck level that is required to correct for damage, tolerance variation or to modify the deck to be slightly non parallel to the ground in accordance with the desires of the operator.
- The present invention is directed to a midmount riding mower having improved mechanism for allowing a mowing deck thereof to be easily moved between a mowing configuration and an access configuration wherein an underside of the mower deck is exposed for repair or maintenance.
- The mower includes a support structure for maintaining the mower deck so the blades cut in planes that are generally horizontal relative to the ground. The support structure includes a pair of laterally spaced front legs and a pair of laterally spaced rear legs. The front and rear legs are pivotally connected to a frame of the mower at the same location. The rear legs are medially hinged having an upper portion that abuts the frame along the length thereof during mowing such that the front and rear legs along with a portion of the mower deck between pivotal attachments of the front and rear legs with the mower deck generally form an adjustable support parallelogram to maintain the cutting blades so as to cut generally horizontal to the ground surface.
- Associated with and part of the support structure is the height adjustment mechanism. The height adjustment mechanism includes a pivot bar with a radially extending operating handle and a pair of spaced radially extending arms jointed by an engagement bar at the distal ends thereof. The deck includes hook members that are sized and positioned to engage the engagement bar when the deck is positioned in a non raised position as the pivot bar is rotated by the handle so as to first be captured and then raised. As the deck raises, the parallelogram formed by the support arms keeps the deck level. A pin is used with a blocking arm to keep the deck from inadvertently becoming disengaged from the engagement bar.
- When in the non raised and non engaged position, the deck can be pulled forward on the support arms and thus the front can be raised to an access configuration by extending the rear support arms to an almost linear configuration. The process is reversed to return to a non raised configuration, rejoined with the height adjustment mechanism after which the deck is in the mowing configuration.
- Unlike mowers that normally have a main drive belt and a secondary drive belt that actually turns cutting blades, the drive belt of the mower of this application is a unitary single belt that is reeved to engage the motor as well as pulleys driving each of the cutting blades. A tension release mechanism is provided to release tension from the belt to allow the belt to be removed from a motor pulley and thereby allow the mower deck to be raised to the access configuration thereof.
- A fine tuning level adjustment is also provided with each of the support front legs which allows fine adjustment of the alignment of the mower deck to adjust level that may be required because of variations due to construction variations, damage, or because an operator wants to have the front slightly higher than the rear to better attack grass being cut. The level adjustment includes a clevis that is pivotally joined to each the front leg and which is adjustable from front to rear relative to the mowing deck.
- Therefore, the objects of the present invention are: to provide a midmount mower having a support structure that maintains the deck generally horizontal to the ground during mowing, but allows the deck to be swung easily to an access configuration for repair or maintenance; to provide such a mower deck having a parallelogram leg configuration to allow the deck to maintain a generally horizontal position at any cutting height during mowing and wherein a rear leg can be extended to allow the deck to easily swing from the mowing configuration to the access configuration; to provide such a mower deck wherein converting from the mowing configuration to the access configuration requires minimal manipulation of controls or apparatus; to provide such a mower with a support structure that extends to an over center configuration, so that when the deck is raised to the access configuration, the configuration is stable; to provide such a mower having a height adjustment mechanism that operates in conjunction with the support structure to allow the mower deck to be easily converted from the access configuration to the mowing configuration, allows for height of cutting adjustment and helps support the rear of the mower deck all under the control of a single adjustment lever by the operator; to provide a plurality of cutter blade pulleys and guide pulleys that are connected by a single belt to a motor pulley, so that a single tension pulley can release tension from the entire system to allow disengagement of the belt; to provide a fine height-adjustment mechanism to allow the front of the deck to be adjusted in both height and angle to accommodate the particular deck and desires of the user; to provide such a mower having a height adjustment mechanism with a rod that can be captured by deck hook by simple movement of the height adjustment lever; to provide such a mower having a mower deck that can be positioned forward of the remainder of the mower for ease of access and simplicity; to provide such a mower that is easy to use, relatively inexpensive to make because of simpler mechanisms and especially well adapted for the intended usage thereof.
- Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
- The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lower heavy mowing deck and a suspension apparatus for the deck in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the mower illustrating the mowing deck in a mowing and raised configuration. -
FIG. 3 is an enlarged and fragmentary side elevational view of the mower with mower deck in a mowing configuration. -
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the mower with the mower deck in a mowing and lowered configuration and just prior to rear disengagement of the mower deck from remainder of the mower to allow flip up of the mower deck. -
FIG. 5 is an enlarged and fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the mower deck in a lowered configuration and showing the supporting mechanism for the mowing deck in a captured configuration in solid lines and in a release configuration in dash lines. -
FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the mower showing the mowing deck at a mid position between conversion from the mowing configuration to an access configuration. -
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the mower showing the mower deck in the access configuration thereof. -
FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of a top of the mower deck and the support mechanism and adjustment devices for use in conjunction with the mower deck. -
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary and enlarged perspective view of a portion of the mower deck and remaining mower with a frontward support and adjustment mechanism thereof. -
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary and enlarged bottom plan view of a portion of the mower deck showing an operator handle in a first tensioning position in solid lines and in a relaxed position in phantom lines. - As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
- The reference numeral 1 generally represents a mower incorporating improvements in accordance with the present invention. The mower 1 includes a
mobile frame 5, amower deck 6 and a support and adjustment structure ormechanism 7 for joining themower deck 6 to theframe 5. - The
frame 5 includes a pair of generally parallel, laterally spaced and longitudinally extending tubes orchannels channels transverse member 15 and by plating such as floor plating 16 and forward cowling 17, so as to form an overall solid structure to support themower deck 6, as described below. - The
mobile frame 5 also includes a pair offront castor wheels 18 and a pair ofrear drive wheels 21. The mower 1 of the present invention is a mid mount or underbelly type mower wherein all or substantially almost all of both themower deck 6 and support andadjustment mechanism 7 is located from front to rear between thefront wheels 18 and therear wheels 21 wherein the mower 1 is being utilized to cut grass, as is seen in the illustrations shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 . - Mounted on the rear of the
frame 5 is amotor assembly 25 which operably provides power to the drive and operate the mower 1 through well known hydraulic wheel drivers driven by a belt and a power pulley (not shown) by themotor assembly 25. Themotor assembly 25 also has a lower powereddrive pulley 26 which operably powers cutting blades on themower deck 6, as will be discussed below. The mower 1 of the illustrated embodiment happens to be a zero radius turning mower in which each of therear wheels 21 and 22 is driven by an independent hydraulic motor (not shown) which is in turn driven by themotor assembly 25. Ajoystick 27 is mounted on theframe 5 and is located so as to be accessible by the operator to allow the operator to selectively control drive to each of therear wheels 21, thus controlling the direction and speed of the mower 1. Mowers of the same general type are well known in the industry. While the mower 1 of the present invention happens to be a zero radius turning type mower and has hydraulic units associated with the wheels, it is foreseen that other types of mowers could readily be used in conjunction with the present invention. - The
mobile frame 5 also includes anoperator seat 29 which allows an operator to be seated during operation of the mower 1 and to control the mower 1 via thejoystick 27. - The
mower deck 6 has atop wall 34 and aperipheral side wall 35 that depends from thetop wall 34 except in the area of a chute (not shown) for allowing discharge grass therefrom. A middlefront roller 38 and a pair ofside front rollers 39 are mounted on the front or to the left of themower deck 6. A pair ofrear side rollers 41 are mounted on the rear of themower deck 6. Therollers deck 6 somewhat spaced from a ground surface that thedeck 6 is traversing and helps prevent scalping of the grass whenever thedeck 6 gets too close to the ground due to uneven terrain. - Three cutting
blades 44 are mounted on the underside of themower deck 6 in a spaced relationship with one another and so that their cutting patterns overlap from front to rear in a manner that is well known in the art. Each of thecutting blades 44 is rotatably mounted on ashaft 45 which is in turn mounted on thedeck top wall 34 and driven by ablade pulley 47. As shown inFIG. 8 , also rotatably mounted on top of thedeck top wall 34 are three guide pulleys 49, 50 and 51. Atension control pulley 54 is also mounted on thedeck top wall 34 and is moveable along a path to selectively reduce or increase belt tension, as described below. As seen inFIG. 10 ,tension control pulley 54 is attached to a V-shapedlever arm 55 which is centrally pivoted about apivot 56 located beneath the center of thepulley 51. Thelever arm 55 is in turn attached to aspring 57 that is in turn connected to a second V-shapedlever arm 58 which is in turn connected to an L-shapedlever arm 59 extending to anoperator handle 60 and a fixedpivot 61 opposite the operator handle 60 so as to allow an operator to swing thelever arm 59 about thepivot 61 thereby also swinging thelever arm 58 about apivot 62 whereat it is joined with thelever arm 59 so as to selectively position thetension control pulley 54. Tension applying and tension releasing positions for thepulley 54 and associated mechanism are shown inFIG. 10 in solid and phantom lines respectively. - A
drive belt 65 is reeved or looped about each of thepulleys pulley 26 so as to provide drive power between the engine and the blade pulleys 47 so as to rotate theblades 44 when desired and when the tensioningpulley 54 is providing tension to thedrive belt 65. Thedrive belt 65 traverses a path that is generally planar except for slight variations due to raising or lowering of themower deck 6. In particular, the tensioningpulley 54 provides tension to thebelt 65 when the operator handle 60 is in a first configuration thereof, as is shown in solid lines inFIG. 10 . The operator handle 60 can be selectively moved to a second configuration, wherein the tensioningpulley 54 moves to the location shown by phantom lines inFIG. 10 and which removes tension from thedrive belt 65 and allows thedrive belt 65 to be easily disconnected from the engine drivepulley 26 for manipulation from themower deck 6, as described below. - A pair of
shields 67 are also mounted on the mower decktop wall 34 in covering relationship to the outside blade pulleys 47 so as to reduce the possibility of an operator inadvertently getting caught between thedrive belt 65 and thepulleys 47. - The
support adjustment structure 7 supports themower deck 6 relative on themobile frame 5, allows selective adjustment of the cutting height of themower deck 6 during operation and provides for selective positioning of themower deck 6 relative to themobile frame 5 for purposes other than cutting of grass. The support andadjustment structure 7 includes a pair offront support arms 75 and a pair ofrear support arms 76 and a height adjustment andrelease mechanism 79. - One of the pair of
front support arms 75 is positioned on each side of theframe 5 and pivotally attached to anear 82 within arespective channel front support arm 75 is pivotally attached by aconnector assembly 83 that is secured to the mower decktop wall 34. One of the pair ofrear support arms 76 is located on opposite sides of themobile frame 5 and are pivotally attached at an upper end thereof torespective ears 82 and at a lower end thereof torespective ears 86 mounted near the rear end of thedeck top wall 34. Each of theears 86 has a rearwardly extendinghook member 87 near the top thereof. - Each of the
rear support arms 76 has an upper section orportion 89 and a lower section orportion 90 which are joined at apivot 91. The rear support armlower portions 90 are essentially the same length as thefront support arms 75 and the rear support armupper portions 89 are essentially the same length as the distance between the locations whereat thefront support arms 75join connector assemblies 83 and therear support arms 76 joinears 86. In this manner, a parallelogram-like structure is generally formed in conjunction with thearms deck top wall 34 that extends therebetween. However, the dimensions of the parallelogram-like structure can be varied somewhat as noted below. The rear support armupper portion 89 is joined to theframe 5 only at theear 82; however, each rear support armupper portion 89 is designed to abut against the under surface ofrespective channels FIG. 2 during operation of the mower 1 during the cutting of grass or the like. In this manner, themower deck 6 can swing about thefront support arm 75 and rear support armlower portion 90, while being maintained in a generally parallel configuration with theframe channels - Furthermore, when the
mower deck 6 is detached from the height adjustment andrelease mechanism 79, as will be discussed below, theframe 5 can be raised at the front thereof and themower deck 6 can be swung downwardly and forwardly relative to the remainder of theframe 5, as is seen inFIG. 6 until thefront support arm 75 and the rear support armlower portions 90 become generally perpendicular to theframe channels mower deck 6 can be swung still more forwardly near the rear thereof so as to rotate the rear armupper portions 89 away from thechannels FIG. 7 so as to expose the underside of themower deck 6 to an operator to allow the operator to work on themower cutting blades 44, to clean the underside of themower deck 6 or otherwise perform maintenance on the structure. - In certain embodiments, it is foreseen that a pin, hook or other structure could be equivalently provided on the
front support arm 75 or the rear support armupper portion 89 to engage the opposite in such a way as to hold theupper portion 89 in a parallel configuration relative to the top of thedeck 6 and in this way preform the same function as the engagement of theupper portion 89 with theframe 5 that is shown in the illustrated embodiment. - The
mower deck 6 preferably has a slightly over-center configuration when in the exposed configuration, as is also seen inFIG. 7 wherein therear support arms 76 are stretched outwardly and substantially in line relative to one another and the original rear, now bottom, of themower deck 6 is slightly forward of the original front, now top, thereof, so as to form a stable exposed configuration to allow an operator to work on the device without easy collapse thereof. - With reference to
FIG. 8 , the height adjustment andrelease mechanism 79 includes an elongate and laterally extendingpivot rod 95 laterally mounted on and extending outwardly therefrom. Near opposite ends of therod 95 are a pair of rigidly joinedlever arms 98. Thelever arms 98 that each have anelongate slot 99 near the distal end thereof through which a capture rod orbail 102 is mounted so as to extend generally parallel to therod 95. Aspring 104 is sleeved on each of thelever arms 98 and extends between therod 95 and therod 102 so as to urge therod 102 outwardly relative within theslots 99. Asecond spring 107 is mounted between each of the distal ends of thelever arms 98 and the frame floor plating 16 so as to cushion movement of themechanism 79 at thecapture rod 102. - Medially extending outwardly from the
rod 95 between thelever arms 98 is an operator handle orarm 110 that is fixably attached to therod 95 and rigidly extending therefrom above the frame floor plating 16 and in the region where the operator can access thehandle 110 while in theseat 29. Astop lever arm 113 also extends rigidly outward from therod 95 near thechannel 12. Thestop lever arm 113 is positioned so that swinging of thelever arm 113 by rotation of therod 95 moves thelever arm 113 into abutting engagement with astop pin 116 selectively located inreceiver 117. In this manner the rotation of therod 95 is limited when thepin 116 is in thereceiver 117 and therod 95 free to rotate further when thepin 116 is removed from thereceiver 117. It is foreseen that in some embodiments the stop operably provided by thearm 113 engaging thepin 116 could be provided by other types of devices. For example, a slide, rotatable plate or the like could be operably placed under thehandle 110 so as to engage the handle upon downward movement and wherein such device could be moved manually to allow an operator to further lower thehandle 110. - Each
connector assembly 83, as is best seen inFIG. 9 comprises an outerU-shaped member 120 and an innerU-shaped member 121. Theouter member 120 is fixedly attached by welding or the like to the mower decktop wall 34 and includes a pair of longitudinally extendingslots 124 in each forward arm thereof. The innerU-shaped member 121 is slideable relative to theouter member 120 and each forward wall includes aligned bores 125 that also align with theslots 124 and receive apin 127. The bottom end of arespective arm 75 is positioned to be surrounded by theinner member 121 and has abore 129 that also receives thepin 127. Arear wall 130 of theinner member 121 also has attached thereto a bolt 132 that extends rearwardly and passes through abore 134 in arear wall 135 of theouter member 120. Anut 137 allows adjustment of the position of the bolt 132 to slide theinner member 121 relative to theouter member 120 and thereby vary the angle of thefront arms 75. This allows height of the front sides of themower deck 6 to be adjusted slightly, if some irregularity exists or to even raise themower deck 6 front slightly relative to the rear thereof for certain cutting operations. It is foreseen that in some embodiments, aconnector assembly 83 may be used to connect each of therear support arms 76 to thedeck 6 or, where the top of thearms frame 5, then aconnector assembly 83 could be utilized to connect eithersupport arm frame 5. - During use, the height adjustment and
release mechanism 79 functions in the following way. When thepin 116 is located in thereceiver 117, the movement of the operator handle 110 rotates therod 95 and swings thecapture rod 102 about through a similar angle of rotation as is incurred by the operator handle 110 so as to move themower deck 6 upwardly or downwardly as desired by the operator to adjust the cutting height of themower deck 6. Once thepin 116 is removed from thereceiver 117, the operator handle 110 can rotate therod 95 so that thecapture rod 102 moves rearwardly and downwardly and disengages from thehook members 87. This frees themowing deck 6 from the adjustment andrelease mechanism 79. Further operation of the operator handle 60 associated with the tensioningpulley 54 releases tension on the tensioningpulley 54 so that thedrive belt 65 can be released from themotor drive pulley 26 and thereby allow themower deck 6 to be swung through the position shown inFIGS. 6 and 7 to allow the mower deck to move from a mowing configuration thereof as seen inFIG. 2 to a maintenance configuration thereof, as seen inFIG. 7 . The processes reverse to move themower deck 6 back into the mowing configuration thereof and the operator handle 60 is rotated again so that thecapture rod 102 comes into engagement and is captured on thehook members 87 and thereafter for the rotation of the operator handle 60 raises themowing deck 6 to a desired cutting level thereof. - It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.
Claims (12)
1. A mower adapted to traverse ground comprising:
a) a mobile frame mounted on wheels;
b) a suspension structure supported by said frame;
c) a mower deck that is suspended from said frame by a suspension structure with a plurality of cutting blades mounted thereon;
d) a height-adjustment mechanism cooperating between said frame and said deck to position said deck;
e) a plurality of pulleys mounted on said deck including a tension pulley and a mower blade drive pulley for each cutting blade;
f) a motor mounted on said frame and having a motor drive pulley;
g) a single drive belt that is reeved between all said pulleys, so as to follow a route that is generally in a single plane during use in the mowing configuration; and
h) said tension pulley being moveable by a manual handle between a tension configuration and a tension release configuration.
2. The mower according to claim 17 wherein:
a) tension on said drive belt can be selectively increased or released by said tension pulley by said manual handle; said drive belt being removable by hand from said motor drive pulley when said tension is released so that said drive belt swings free to allow said deck to transition from the mowing configuration to an access configuration thereof.
3. The mower according to claim 18 wherein:
a) said tension pulley is mounted on a pivotal arm manipulated by said manual handle; and
b) said manual handle has an over center lock position to secure said tension pulley in a tension producing position.
4. A mower comprising:
a) a mobile frame;
b) a mowing deck having at least one cutting blade mounted thereon;
c) a suspension mechanism for suspending said mowing deck beneath said frame; said suspension mechanism including at least one front support arm and at least one rear support arm; and
d) a fine adjustment mechanism pivotally joining a selected arm chosen from said front support arm and said rear support arm to an attachment chosen from said mowing deck and said frame; said fine adjustment mechanism including a horizontally moveable mount that is secured to said attachment by a slideable pin and pivotally attached to said selected arm; said mount being constrained to allow movement thereof from front to rear by manipulation of a position adjustment nut to allow fine adjustment modification of the angle of the selected arm relative to the attachment.
5. The mower according to claim 20 wherein:
a) said mount comprises a first clevis mounted on said deck to allow selective movement relative to said deck from front to rear; said first clevis being pivotally joined to said support arm by a pivot pin.
6. The mower according to claim 21 including:
a) a second clevis fixedly attached to said deck and at least partially surrounding said first clevis; said second clevis having an elongate front to rear slot for receiving said pivot pin.
7. The mower according to claim 22 including:
a) a bolt secured to and extending rearwardly of said first clevis; said second clevis having a pass through aperture for receiving said bolt; and an adjustment nut located rearwardly of said aperture on said bolt adapted to allow an operator to adjust the position of the first clevis relative to the second clevis.
8. The mower according to claim 23 including:
a) a gross height adjustment mechanism operating in conjunction with said fine height adjustment mechanism.
9. The mower according to claim 24 wherein:
a) said gross height adjustment mechanism includes a pivot rod mounted on said frame and having a radially outward extending loop and a radially outward extending operator control handle; said gross height adjusting mechanism further including a hook fixedly mounted near a rear of said mowing deck that is sized and positioned to selectively engage said loop as said pivot rod is rotated so as to allow an operator to engage said hook and loop and then raise or lower said deck.
10. The mower according to claim 22 wherein:
a) said suspension mechanisms includes front and rear spaced support arms;
b) said rear support arm being bifurcated into upper and lower sections; the upper end of each support arm joining to said frame near a common location; and said rear support arm upper section resting against said frame when said mower is in the mowing configuration.
11. The mower according to claim 26 wherein:
a) said front support arm and said rear support arm lower sections are approximately the same length and said rear support arm upper section and the distance between whereat said front and rear support arms join to said deck being approximately equal, so as to form a parallelogram configuration for maintaining the deck generally parallel to the ground while in the mowing configuration; and
b) said rear support arm upper section being swingable free of said frame to allow said deck to transition to said access configuration when said gross height adjustment mechanism is disengaged.
12. A mower adapted to traverse ground comprising:
a) a frame;
b) a deck;
c) a height-adjustment mechanism that is mounted on said frame;
d) a capture bail mounted on said deck; and
e) a hook mounted on said height-adjustment mechanism so as to operably engages said bail in a mowing configuration and disengages said bail in an access configuration.
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US11/401,973 US20060179807A1 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2006-04-11 | Mower with flip up mowing deck |
US12/157,406 US7596936B2 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2008-06-10 | Mower deck placed in maintenance and varying height positions |
US12/157,362 US20080245045A1 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2008-06-10 | Mower quick release and attachment apparatus for mowing deck |
US12/383,441 US8091329B2 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2009-03-24 | Device for height adjusting and swinging a mower deck |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
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US10/619,017 US7028456B2 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2003-07-14 | Mower with flip up mowing deck |
US11/401,973 US20060179807A1 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2006-04-11 | Mower with flip up mowing deck |
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US10/619,017 Division US7028456B2 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2003-07-14 | Mower with flip up mowing deck |
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US12/157,362 Continuation-In-Part US20080245045A1 (en) | 2003-07-14 | 2008-06-10 | Mower quick release and attachment apparatus for mowing deck |
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US20070176083A1 (en) * | 2006-01-31 | 2007-08-02 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft | Camera system for a motor vehicle |
DE102011120990A1 (en) * | 2011-12-13 | 2013-06-13 | Eckard Schlenker | Compensating device for height and slant adjustment of cutting and processing device used in agricultural field, has lever unit that is rotated so that angle between front and rear elements is varied based on movement of lever unit |
US10334780B2 (en) | 2014-08-19 | 2019-07-02 | Excel Industries, Inc. | Mower with folding frame |
WO2023214225A1 (en) * | 2022-05-05 | 2023-11-09 | Stiga S.P.A. In Breve Anche St. S.P.A. | Device for the maintenance of land, in particular for cutting grass |
Also Published As
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US20050016143A1 (en) | 2005-01-27 |
US7028456B2 (en) | 2006-04-18 |
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Legal Events
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