Harvesters – Cutting – Housing or guard
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-23
2001-12-18
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Cutting
Housing or guard
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330783
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to rotary mowers, primarily riding mowers for grass cutting in lawn maintenance, and landscaping, where grass clippings are discharged behind the mower on to the ground as the mower travels or diverted from under the deck to a collector carried on the mower.
1. Background of the Invention
In rotary mowers, grass clippings tend to collect under the deck unless an efficient system is employed to discharge them. Typically, rear dispersal of clippings leaves windrows behind the mower which is objectionable in appearance and for grass horticultural and landscaping reasons.
2. Summary of the present Invention
This invention deals with a rear discharge mower deck where the grass clippings are either dispersed immediately behind the mower through a discharge opening, without windrowing, or alternatively, when the rear discharge opening is closed, conveying them to a bin to be bagged for later disposal.
In accordance with the invention, a mower deck is provided. At least one cutting blade rotates under the deck. It is driven by an engine shaft, or if a plurality of blades are employed, in a gang mower fashion, they are driven in a conventional manner, in a belt and pulley type of arrangement. Also, conventional means are provided for adjusting the height of the deck which floats above the ground for the proper height of cut relative to the ground.
A rear discharge opening from the deck exhausts the grass clippings into a baffle housing, which is aligned to the deck in a way to confine the clippings into a distribution pattern designed to spread the grass clippings uniformly to avoid the wind rowing problem of conventional rear discharge mowers.
Alternatively, when the deck is used with a collection system that exhausts the clippings from under the deck into a bag or bin, the rear discharge opening is closed off and secondary openings on top of the deck are opened to connect with the collection system carried on the mower.
A three blade, ganged mower deck is disclosed adapted to be underslung on the mower frame between the front and rear wheels, however, the principles that underlie the invention could be employed for a single blade mower, using side, front or rear mounted decks.
In the three blade, gang mower arrangement, one blade is rotated in a direction opposite to the other two blades. Blade chambers have curved baffles adjacent the rotating path of each blade discharging the clippings into the baffle housing for uniform dispersion of the grass clippings during rear discharge operations. There are three discharge paths defined by the baffles, a left path, a center path and a right path that converge toward the baffle housing. The latter has specifically designed baffles that diverge and deflect the clippings into a uniform discharge pattern.
Alternatively, the rear discharge opening of the deck is closed off and the secondary openings in the top of the deck are opened and connected to the collection system. Grass clippings are exhausted from under the deck into a bin carried on the mower for later bagging or disposal, rather than being distributed behind the mower.
An important object of this invention is to provide a mower deck capable of expelling grass clippings out the rear in a uniform pattern, without windrows.
Another object of the design is to provide a dual purpose mower deck that in one mode of operation expels clippings out the rear of the deck, and in another mode of operation, exhausts the clippings through openings in the top in conjunction with a conventional collection system.
Another object is to provide in conjunction with a rear discharge mower, a baffle housing aligned with the rear discharge opening of the deck containing baffles diverging outwardly to create a wide distribution path fanning out behind the mower to eliminate wind rowing.
Another object is to provide a mower deck in combination with a baffle housing aligned with the rear discharge opening of the deck that has a central baffle at the rear angled downwardly deflecting the grass clippings downwardly where the diverging baffles are the widest spread apart in defining a throat at the trailing end of the baffle housing.
Another object is to provide a deck in which the power of the rotating blades is more efficiently used in blade chambers having side walls, circumjacent the blades, creating turbulent air flow uniformly across the discharge opening directed rearwardly with a sufficient pressure head to expel the grass clippings through the baffle housing, that better forces the clippings out while keeping the underside of the deck clean.
Another object is to provide a deck that may be selectively used either in combination with a conventional collection system carried on the mower for accumulating the clippings in a bin on the mower, or to uniformly discharge the grass clippings rearwardly behind the mower when it is desirable to have the clippings spread immediately on the lawn, and in either mode, the deck is more efficient for expelling the grass due to the fan-like scroll shape of the blade chambers also consuming less power of the engine.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5483787 (1996-01-01), Berrios
patent: 5970693 (1999-10-01), Ciaglo
patent: 6038840 (2000-03-01), Ishimori et al.
patent: 6148595 (2000-11-01), Rabe et al.
Pezzuto Robert E.
The Lonmore Company
Toliver Jack
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