Abstract:
A hood and a blower housing form an air induction cavity in the side of the mower hood, which draws the ambient air into the air intake and from there into the engine. Two shield members on the blower housing prevent the ambient air from mixing with the hot air of the engine. A method of air induction is also disclosed, including the steps of forming an air induction cavity by connecting the upper hood to the housing, having the lower lip of the air induction cavity lower than the air intake of the blower housing, channeling the air into the air intake, and preventing the hot air of the engine from mixing with the ambient air drawn through the air induction cavity.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/866,345, filed May 25, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference, which claims priority from a U.S. utility continuation-in-part application having Ser. No.  09 / 410 , 784 , filed on Oct. 1, 1999. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
           [0003]    This invention relates to the field of lawn mowers, in more particularly to the air induction system of the mower hood of a riding lawn mower.  
           [0004]    II. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
           [0005]    It is well known in the art to provide ventilation in the hood of a riding lawn mower in order to cool the engine. Also, the air pulled in through the hood is used in mixing oxygen with the gasoline to create combustible conditions to provide power in the engine. However, most of the prior art mowers have the ventilation slits in the top of the mower hood. This allows rain and other debris to enter the mower engine, causing problems of rust and dampness.  
           [0006]    One type of riding lawn mower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,533 to Holm et al. Holm discloses a tractor including a dual screen filtering arrangement located upstream of a radiator and an engine combustion air inlet. Although the Holm patent discloses the use of air inlets on the side of the mower hood, it does not disclose the creation of air induction cavities solely by connecting an upper hood and a lower hood. The present invention also does away with the need for screens to prevent debris from entering the engine.  
           [0007]    One type of riding lawn mower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,312 to Murakawa. Murakawa discloses slits formed in a front surface of a panel body on the left and right sides for drawing in engine cooling air. These slits are provided particularly to guide the cooling air forwardly and downwardly. In the current invention however the slit for drawing in the air is aligned along the side of the mower hood, as opposed to the panel body near the steering wheel as in Murakawa. The length of the air induction cavity in the current invention also allows a good volume of air to be drawn into the engine. The Murakawa patent also does not disclose any method for separating the hot and cold air underneath the hood, and does not have the inventive blower housing as described in the current invention. The current invention therefore provides advantages over the cooling capabilities of the Murakawa invention.  
           [0008]    Another riding mower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,819 to Murakawa et al. Murakawa discloses air guide covers that, together with the surface of the engine body, define a cooling air passage that allows the oil cooler to be supplied with cooling air that has not been heated by the engine. However, this separation of the hot and cold air takes place within the engine, as opposed to underneath the hood, and separate from the engine as in the current invention. The current invention also draws the air into the engine through air induction cavities that are located lower than the air intake, thereby preventing debris from entering the engine.  
           [0009]    Another riding lawn mower is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,187 to Kurohara et al. Kurohara discloses two shield members connected to opposite ends of each other and extending downwardly between the sidewalls of the engine and the side surface of the hood respectively. This shield allows the cooling air to be introduced from the rear of the engine and to flow along opposite sides of the engine to reach an air suction opening above the engine. However, these shield members do not separate the hot and the cold air from going into the engine, and also the air drawn in, in Kurohara, comes from the back of the mower hood or the front of the panel body underneath the steering column.  
           [0010]    The present invention contemplates a new and improved air induction system, which is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved air induction system is provided which has an engine, a base, a hood for enclosing the engine, the hood comprising an upper hood, a lower hood, a first air induction cavity on a first side of the hood, a second air induction cavity on a second side of the hood, the air induction cavities having a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening is substantially larger than the second opening, a headlight, bellows for adjustably attaching the blower housing to the engine, and a blower housing, the blower housing comprising a first shield member, a second shield member, an air intake, a first lip and a second lip, the lips being angled upwardly toward the blower housing, the lips having an angle A 1 , the angle A 1  being approximately between 60° and 80°, a first channel, and a second channel, the induction cavities being formed by the connection of the upper hood to the blower housing.  
           [0012]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the air induction system has an upper hood, a lower hood, a blower housing, an air induction cavity, the air induction cavity being formed by the connection of the upper hood to the blower housing, and an air intake.  
           [0013]    In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the air induction system includes the upper hood having a top that is a continuous piece, the air induction cavity being located on a side of the upper hood, the housing assembly having at least two air induction cavities, upper and lower lips, the upper and lower lips forming the air induction cavity, and an air intake.  
           [0014]    In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, the air induction system includes the air intake having a height, the lower lip having a height, the height of the air intake being greater than the height of the lower lip, the air induction cavity having a first opening and a second opening, the first opening being greater than the second opening, a first shield member, a second shield member, the shield members separating the air from an engine from the ambient air, an air intake, and the blower housing fitting inside the upper hood.  
           [0015]    In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the air induction cavities have a width and a height, the width being greater than the height.  
           [0016]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method of air induction includes the steps of providing an upper hood, providing an air intake, providing a blower housing, connecting the upper hood to the blower housing, thereby creating an air induction cavity, drawing air into the blower housing through the air induction cavity, channeling the air into the air intake in the blower housing, and preventing hot air from the associated engine from mixing with the air being drawn into the air intake, the mixing being prevented by first and second shield members.  
           [0017]    In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, the method includes the steps of providing an upper hood with an upper lip, providing a blower housing with a lower lip, the lower lip having a height and the air intake having a height, the height of the air intake being greater than the height of the lower lip, providing an air induction cavity having a first opening and a second opening, the first opening being greater than the second opening.  
           [0018]    One advantage of the current invention is that rainwater is prevented from entering the engine because the air is drawn in from the side of the mower hood.  
           [0019]    Another advantage of the current invention is that the hot air is prevented from going into the air intake, and only ambient air is used.  
           [0020]    Still another advantage of the current invention is that the air induction cavity is formed by the connection of the upper hood and the blower housing.  
           [0021]    Yet another advantage of the current invention is that the ambient air is drawn in from the sides of the hood, thereby preventing debris from entering the engine.  
           [0022]    Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]    The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts. A preferred embodiment of these parts will be described in detail in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this disclosure and wherein:  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 1 is a side view of the inventive hood;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inventive blower housing;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inventive hood/blower assembly;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 is a side view of the upper hood;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inventive hood assembly on a riding lawn mower;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inventive blower housing showing the bellows;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 7 is a side view of the bellows, showing both the contracted position and the expanded position;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 8 is a front view of the blower housing, showing an angle A 1  that the lower lip is angled at with respect to the blower housing; and,  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the blower housing, showing the height of the air intake and the height of the lower lip. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0033]    Referring now to the drawings, which are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 5 shows a riding lawn mower  50 , which incorporates an inventive mower hood  20  and hood/blower assembly  30  as shown in FIG. 3. The mower  50  has a steering wheel  36 , a driver seat  34 , blade housing  44 , base  42 , front wheels  38 , and back wheels  40 . The mower  50  also includes an engine  11 , cutting blades (not shown), and a transmission (not shown). The operation of the mower  50  is well known in the art and will not be described herein.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 1 shows the inventive mower hood  20 . The hood  20  has an upper hood  18  and a lower hood  22  as shown in FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment the upper hood  18  is one continuous piece, by which is meant that the upper hood  18  has no openings. Upper hood  18  has a headlight  26  on the front portion of the upper hood  18 . The upper hood  18  is fixedly connected to the lower hood  22  by any conventional connecting means chosen using sound engineering judgment. As can be seen in FIG. 1, an air induction cavity  24  horizontally spaced along the side (shown but not referenced) of the hood  20 . In the preferred embodiment, opening D 1  is substantially larger than opening D 2 , as shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the opening D 1  is approximately eight times greater than the opening D 2 . However, the dimensions of D 1  and D 2  as shown only disclose the most preferred embodiment and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. The dimensions of D 1  and D 2  can be any dimensions chosen using sound engineering judgment, as long as the cavity  24  is spaced along the side of the hood  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the current invention has two air induction cavities  24 , one on each side of the hood  20 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the preferred embodiment, the air induction cavities  24  are aligned substantially parallel to each other on opposite sides of the hood  20 . Also, in the preferred embodiment, the air induction cavities  24  are aligned on the sides (shown but not referenced) of the hood  20  such that the sides of the hood  20  are substantially identical in appearance. The alignment and spacing of the air induction cavities  24  in the preferred embodiment create a cross-draft suction effect so that the ambient air is drawn into the hood  20  more efficiently.  
         [0035]    The invention does not require an air induction cavity  24  on each side of the hood  20 . The invention will work with only one air induction cavity  24 . The invention is also not limited to two air induction cavities  24 . Any number of air induction cavities  24  may be used, as long as chosen using sound engineering judgment.  
         [0036]    As shown in FIGS.  1 - 4 , a blower housing  10  fits in the under side (shown but not referenced) of the upper hood  18 . The blower housing  10  can be connected to the upper hood  18  by any conventional connecting means chosen using sound engineering judgment. Examples of the connecting means would be bolts, screws, snaps, welding, and the like. In the preferred embodiment, the blower housing  10  has a lower lip  46  on each side of the housing  10 , a first shield member  12 , a second shield member  14 , and an air intake  16 . The upper hood  18  and the blower housing  10  when connected together form the air induction cavity  24 . More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the upper hood  18  has an upper lip  48 , which, in conjunction with lower lip  46  of the blower housing  10 , forms the air induction cavity  24 . In the preferred embodiment, the lower lip  46  is angled upwardly toward the air intake  16  so that there is a smooth draw of ambient air into the mower hood  20 . The angling of the lower lip  46  allows for better aerodynamics of the induction cavities  24 . The lower lip  46  and the blower housing  10  form an angle A 1  as shown in FIG. 8. In the preferred embodiment this angle is between 60° and 80°. The angle A 1  can be any angle chosen using sound engineering judgment, but an angle between 0° and 90° helps aid the flow of the ambient air into the air induction cavity  24 .  
         [0037]    The interconnection of the lips  46 ,  48  forms the air induction cavities  24 , thereby eliminating the need to cut openings in the hood  20  to form the air induction cavities  24 . The formation of the air induction cavity  24  by the connection of the upper and lower lips  46 ,  48  is only a preferred embodiment of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention in any way. The air induction cavity  24  could also be created by the connection of the upper hood  18  to the lower hood  22 . The blower housing  10  could be eliminated all together and the lower hood  22  could have the lower lip  46 , the shield members  12 ,  14 , the air intake  16 , and first and second channels  28 ,  32 . The shield members  12 ,  14  are connected to the underside (not shown) of the upper hood  18 , creating a seal. The shield members  12 ,  14  are connected to the upper hood  18  using any conventional connecting means, as long as chosen using sound engineering judgment. The connection of the shield members  12 ,  14  to the upper hood  18  prevents the mixing of the ambient air and the hot air from the engine  11 . Thus, the shield members  12 ,  14  ensure that only the ambient air is drawn into the air intake  16 . In the preferred embodiment, the blower housing  10  has a first channel  28  and a second channel  32 . The channels  28 ,  32  improve the structural integrity of the blower housing  10 . The channels  28 ,  32  allow the blower housing  10  to be more rigid, which prevents bending and stress on the blower housing  10 . The channels  28 ,  32  are disclosed as part of the preferred embodiment and are not intended to limit the invention. The invention will work equally as well without the channels  28 ,  32 .  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 6 shows the blower housing  10  with a bellows  52 . The bellows  52  is flexibly adjustable so that the hood  20  and blower housing  10  can be used on various size engines  11 . The bellows  52  is adjusted up or down depending on the size of the engine  11  and the mower  50 . As shown in FIG. 7, the bellows  52  acts in an accordion-like fashion. When a larger engine  11  is desired, the bellows  52  would allow the blower housing  10  to pushed closer to the upper hood  18  by assuming a contracted position  56 . If a smaller engine  11  were used, the bellows  52  would be in an expanded position  54 . The bellows  52  can be adjusted to any position between the contracted position  56  and the expanded position  54  in order to accommodate any size engine. The bellows  52  is fixedly connected to the blower housing  10  under the air intake  16 . The bellows  52  also directs the ambient air directly to the engine  11 . The bellows  52  can be connected using any conventional connecting means chosen using sound engineering judgment.  
         [0039]    With reference now to FIG. 3, in the preferred embodiment, the hood/blower assembly  30  is made of a plastic material; however, the assembly  30  can be made of any material, chosen using sound engineering judgment, that is sturdy and heat-resistant enough to withstand the normal usage of the riding lawn mower  50 . For example, the assembly can be made of metal, fiberglass, nylon, etc.  
         [0040]    With reference now to FIG. 9, the air intake  16  has a height H 1  and the lower lip  46  has a height H 2 . In the preferred embodiment the height H 1  is greater than the height H 2 . The height H 1  being greater than the height H 2  helps prevent grass, leaves, and other debris from entering the engine  11 .  
         [0041]    With reference now to the operation of the inventive air induction system, the ambient air is drawn in through the air induction cavities  24  into the air intake  16  and then into the engine  11 . As is well known in the art, the operation of the mower engine  11  creates a vacuum thereby drawing air into the engine  11  through the air intake  16 . However, a cooling fan (not shown) may also be used to drawn in the ambient air. The ambient air passes through the air induction cavity  24  over the lower lip  46  and into the air intake  16 . In a preferred embodiment, the lower lip  46  of the air induction cavity  24  is lower than the air intake  16 . This design prevents grass, leaves, and other debris (not shown) from entering into the engine  11 . The lower lip  46  being lower than the air intake  16  creates a more circuitous route for any debris and creates more opportunities for the debris to be stopped short of the air intake  16 . The shield members  12 ,  14 , as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, prevent the ambient air, which has been drawn in to the air induction cavity  24 , from mixing with the hot air created by the engine  11 . As is well known in the art, the ambient air is drawn into the engine in order to aid in combustion and to cool the engine  11 .  
         [0042]    The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the specification. It is intended by applicant to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.  
         [0043]    Having thus described the invention, it is now claimed: