Harvesters – Motorized harvester – Including driven air-blower unit
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-24
2001-07-31
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Motorized harvester
Including driven air-blower unit
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266950
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a rotary lawn mower, particularly one of the type that floats on a cushion of air and which is generally known as a hovermower.
A conventional hovermower works most effectively on flat ground. When used on a rough or undulating terrain, there is a significant loss in performance and the mower becomes difficult to maneuver as the user attempts to follow the contours of the ground.
A walk-behind rotary lawn mower generally includes a motor for driving a cutter about a substantially vertical axis beneath a protective deck, and a handle for maneuvering the deck over the ground. The motor, deck and cutter have a fixed relationship but, in a hovermower, the handle is generally free to pivot backwards and forwards relative to the deck about a transverse horizontal axis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a hovermower comprising a motor for driving a cutter about a substantially vertical axis beneath a protective deck, means for generating a cushion of pressurised air beneath the deck, and a handle for maneuvering the deck over the ground, the deck being pivotable relative to the handle about a first substantially horizontal axis characterised in that the deck is further pivotable relative to the handle about a second horizontal axis transverse to the first axis.
Preferably, the deck is freely pivotable about both the first and second axes so that it is able to follow the contours of the ground over which the deck is passing without the user having to apply any tilting effort through the handle. However, in some cases the pivotal movement may be achieved against a resilient bias. Moreover, the handle can be pivoted by the user from side to side as well as backwards and forwards without tilting the deck, and this significantly improves the maneuverability of the mower, particularly when mowing around obstacles such as trees and bushes. With a conventional hovermower, sideways movement is more awkward and generally involves straining the user's back muscles.
In one embodiment the handle is pivoted on a member bounding the motor, and the bounding member is pivotally connected to the deck. The bounding member preferably comprises a cover shrouding the motor. In this embodiment the handle preferably comprises a forked or pram handle having two fores pivotally connected to first diametrically opposed sections of the member bounding the motor for pivotal movement about the first horizontal axis, and the deck is pivotally connected to second diametrically opposed sections of the bounding member for pivotal movement about the second horizontal axis, the first and second diametrically opposed sections being mutually perpendicular to one another.
In a second embodiment the handle is pivoted on the deck for rotation back and forth about the first horizontal axis, and the handle includes a resilient link so arranged that the portion of the handle grasped by the user can pivot from side to side relative to the portion of the handle pivoted on the deck.
In a third embodiment the handle is connected to the deck through a ball joint, the handle being constrained by a first guide member for pivotal movement about one of the two transverse axes, and the guide member being constrained for pivotal movement about the other of the two axes.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3170276 (1965-02-01), Hall
patent: 3465505 (1969-09-01), Krinke
patent: 4245456 (1981-01-01), Zipfel
patent: 4361001 (1982-11-01), Almond et al.
patent: 4510738 (1985-04-01), Dunn
patent: 5205113 (1993-04-01), Fassauer
patent: 6047530 (2000-04-01), Bednar
patent: 19531128 (1996-02-01), None
patent: 0 477 629 (1994-11-01), None
patent: 2292663 (1996-03-01), None
Anderson Chad
Pezzuto Robert E.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Shannon John P.
Venable
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