Patent ID: 6996963
Filing Date: 2006-02-14
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
1. A lawn and garden implement comprising: a lawnmower having a deck, a mower handle extending upwardly from said deck to facilitate manipulating said lawnmower, an engine supported by said deck, a cutting blade under said deck and rotating under the influence of said engine, a discharge opening in said deck through which vegetation clippings cut by said cutting blade may escape from under said deck; a collecting apparatus for collecting said clippings, said collecting apparatus including a plurality of substantially rigid walls at least partially defining a collection space, a collecting opening communicating with said collection space, and at least one wheel rotatable with respect to the rest of said collecting apparatus; a handle coupled to the collecting apparatus and pivotable with respect to the collecting apparatus between a first position and a second position, said handle including means responsive to movement of the handle to the first position for inhibiting pivotal movement of the handle from said first position with respect to the collecting apparatus when said handle is in said first position, and means responsive to movement of the handle to the second position for inhibiting pivotal movement of the handle from said second position with respect to the collecting apparatus when said handle is in said second position; and means for releasably mounting said collecting apparatus to said lawnmower such that said discharge opening is substantially aligned with said collecting opening to cause clippings to flow into said collection space, and such that said at least one wheel is in a stowed condition and supports substantially no weight of said collecting apparatus when said collecting apparatus is mounted to said lawnmower; wherein said at least one wheel at least partially supports said collecting apparatus upon the detachment of said collecting apparatus from said lawnmower to facilitate hauling away clippings in said collecting apparatus; wherein said first position is a mowing position and said second position is a hauling position, said handle being in said mowing position when said collecting apparatus is mounted to said lawnmower and in said hauling position when hauling clippings in said collecting apparatus; wherein said handle includes first and second arms and a cross member between first ends of said arms, wherein second ends of said arms are pivotally interconnected with said collecting apparatus; wherein said collecting apparatus includes first and second pivot pins fixed with respect to said substantially rigid walls and defining a pivot axis for said handle, wherein said second ends of said first and second arms each have pivot apertures into which said first and second pivot pins are respectively received to interconnect said handle to said collecting apparatus such that said handle is pivotable about said pivot axis; and wherein at least one of said means for inhibiting includes at least one guide pin fixed with respect to at least one of said substantially rigid walls, and at least one arcuate guide slot in at least one of said first and second arms into which said first and second guide pins are respectively received; and wherein said guide slots describe an arc followed by said second ends of said first and second arms when said handle is pivoted with respect to said collecting apparatus such that said guide pins remain in said guide slots during handle pivoting.