Patent ID: 6318808
Filing Date: 2001-11-20
Classification: B60P

Abstract:
A lawn tractor/dump pull cart system with a supplemental wheel set assembly for enhancing the safety, utility and convenience of lawn carts coupleable to riding lawn mowers for towing, spreading and dumping comprising, in combination:a dump pull cart including a rectilinear body with a horizontal base plate and with a vertical extending front plate at the forward end with vertically extending guide rails reciprocably supporting a gate plate rearwardly and with vertically extending sidewalls there between, the base plate having a plurality of holes extending there through adjacent to the rearward edge thereof;a primary wheel assembly including a pair of laterally spaced axle supports secured to and extending downwardly from a central extent of the base plate with an axle coupled thereto and with a large wheel at each end of the axle beneath the base plate;a vertical central flange extending downwardly from the body at the rearward end thereof and a pair of similarly configured vertical edge flanges extending laterally from the body at the rearward end thereof, each edge flange having a pair of vertically aligned holes there through;a pair of similarly configured vertical support bars each with an L-shaped cross section providing an interior segment positioned on the rearward face of an associated vertical edge flange with a pair of apertures aligned with the apertures of an associated edge flange and with a pair of threaded fasteners extending there through with nuts for removable retention purposes allowing for a monolithic frame to insure the weight is redistributed to the rear wheels when in a dumping mode, each vertical support bar also having an exterior segment extending forwardly and spaced laterally from the body with a lower first hole and a second hole there above;a pair of axles each formed of a threaded fastener with a small wheel rotatably mounted on an associated one of said fasteners at a laterally exterior end and with the threaded fastener extending through the second hole with a nut on each side of the exterior segment of the vertical support bar; anda horizontal support bar with an L-shaped configuration, the horizontal support bar providing a vertical segment in contact with a forward face of the central flange, the horizontal support bar also providing a horizontal segment beneath the body adjacent to the rearward end thereof with a plurality of holes there through adjacent with the holes in the body and with bolts there through with nuts for releasable coupling there between, the horizontal segment having down turned ends forming tabs with holes aligned with the first holes of the vertical support bars and with threaded fasteners extending through the holes of the tabs and the first holes of the vertical support bars and with nuts on each side of the tabs and on the exterior face of the vertical support bar, the cart system having a forwardly extending tow bar removably coupleable to a riding lawn mower with a spring hinged pivotable latch selectively cooperable to a finger extending downwardly from the base plate whereby when coupled with the gate plate down, the cart system may be used for towing and whereby when uncoupled with the gate plate up and the cart tipped and resting on the four wheels the cart system may be used for dumping and spreading.