Lawn mower grass catcher assembly

A grass catcher having a container and lid operatively attached to the lawn mower to receive grass cuttings in a grass catching mode and nestably related on the lawn mower in a storage mode for shipping. In the grass catching mode the lid is mounted to the lawn mower handle and includes downturned side flanges provided with a longitudinal guide track. The container is relatively deep and includes a rearwardly formed chute portion and upper side flanges engageable with the guide track, so that the container can be selectively separated from the lid. In the storage mode the container is inverted and disposed over the lawn mower motor assembly with the chute disposed rearwardly. The lid is nestably received by the container and can be shipped with the lawn mower in a container only slightly larger than that required to ship the lawn mower itself.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to improvements in a grass catcher, and 
more particularly to an improved, rigid grass catcher which can be broken 
down into parts for storage. 
With the previously known rigid catchers for rear discharge mowers, the 
catcher had to be completely removed from the mower in order to be 
emptied, and then had to be completely replaced as a unit. In addition, 
the lawn mower and catcher were generally shipped separately because an 
oversize shipping container would be required for shipping both units 
together. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
With the present grass catcher in the grass catching mode, the lid is 
retained on the mower handles thereby requiring that only the container be 
removed for emptying the grass. The interconnection between the lid and 
the container permits quick, easy removal and replacement of the 
container. In the storage mode the container and the lid are nested 
together and disposed over the lawn mower assembly. The lawn mower and 
catcher assembly can thereby be shipped as a unit in a single, relatively 
small shipping container. 
The lawn mower and grass catcher assembly includes a lawn mower having a 
housing including an upper deck portion and a motor assembly projecting 
above said upper deck portion. The rigid grass catcher is operatively 
mounted to the lawn mower in a first disposition of parts providing a 
grass catching mode and is operatively mountable to the lawn mower in a 
second disposition of parts providing a storage mode. 
The rigid catcher includes a first hollow body section having a depth at 
least substantially equal to the height of the motor assembly and being 
receivable over the motor assembly to provide a hood therefore in the 
storage mode and a second hollow body section having a shallower depth 
than said first section and being receivable in nested relation over said 
first section in said storage mode. 
The first section includes inclined sidewalls having longitudinal margin 
portions and a transverse wall disposed in spaced relation from said 
margin portions, said sidewalls tending to converge in a direction away 
from said margin portions. The second body section includes sidewalls 
having longitudinal margin portions cooperating with the longitudinal 
margin portions of the first section to provide a container for grass 
cuttings in the grass catching mode and having a transverse wall disposed 
in spaced relation from said margin portions, said transverse wall having 
a width generally greater than the width of the transverse wall of said 
first section whereby said first transverse wall is received between said 
second body section sidewalls. 
The first body section is generally frusto-pyramidical in configuration and 
the transverse walls of both sections are engageable in the storage mode. 
The transverse margin portions of the first body are engageable with the 
lawn mower housing in the storage mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now by reference numerals to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, 
it will be understood that the lawn mower indicated by 10 includes a deck 
housing 11 mounted on a pair of rear wheels 12 and front wheels 12. The 
housing 11 includes a rear wall 13 which is provided with a rear discharge 
opening 14 (FIG. 3). Hingedly mounted to the top rear of the deck housing 
11 is a cover plate 15 adapted to uncover and thereby open the rear 
discharge opening 14 in one position as shown in FIG. 1, and to close said 
opening as shown in FIG. 3. Formed integrally with the cover plate 15 and 
extending upwardly above the hinge connection, is a tab 16 that can be 
gripped in order that the operator may raise the cover plate 15 and open 
the rear discharge opening 14. Pivotally mounted to a pair of laterally 
spaced brackets 17 attached to the rear top of the mower housing 11, are a 
pair of rearwardly extending handle members 20. A motor assembly 18 is 
disposed above the deck housing 11. 
The lawn mower 10 is provided with a rigid, rear discharge grass catcher 
indicated by 21. The grass catcher 21 includes two primary components, 
namely a container 31 and a lid 22 constituting first and second hollow 
body sections. In the grass catching mode, which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 
2, the grass catcher 21 is carried by the handle member 20 at the rear of 
the mower housing 11. In the storage mode, which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 
4, the lid 22 and container 31 are mounted over the motor assembly 18. The 
structural relationship of parts will be described first with reference to 
the grass catching mode shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the components 22 and 31 
being shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5-12. 
The grass catcher lid 22 (FIGS. 10-13) includes opposed, downturned side 
flanges 23 interconnected by a transverse web 24 adapted to seat on handle 
member 20. The lid 22 includes a positioning means for engaging the handle 
members 20 for holding the lid 22 on the handle member 20. This 
positioning means includes a pair of downwardly open, longitudinal 
channels 25 in the lid web 24 that are adapted to receive the handle 
member 20. 
The front margin of lid web 24 is provided with a slot 26 (FIG. 11) through 
which the cover plate tab 16 can project for access thereto in order that 
the operator may selectively raise the cover plate 15 when the lid 22 is 
seated on the handle member 20. 
Guide means are provided on the side flanges 23 of the lid 22, the guide 
means including upwardly facing surfaces as provided by a plurality of 
longitudinally spaced rollers 27 mounted on the inside of the lid side 
flanges 23. The rollers 27 are spaced below the lid web 24 to define 
therewith guide tracks that open rearwardly of the lid 22. 
The grass catcher container 31 (FIGS. 6-9) includes opposed side walls 32 
and an interconnecting transverse bottom wall 33. As is best shown in FIG. 
7, the container 31 includes a chute 34 at its front end having a bottom 
wall 35 and side walls 36 that embrace the bottom and sides of the rear 
discharge opening 14 of the mower housing 11 when the container 31 is 
operatively attached to the lid 22. 
The side walls 32 of the container 31 are provided with laterally extending 
flanges 37, constituting interconnecting means, which are received 
selectively in the guide tracks 30 of the lid 22 and seat on the rollers 
27 when the container 31 is attached to the lid 22. 
Pivotally connected to the side walls 32 at the front of the container 31, 
is a bail indicated by 40. The bail 40 includes a bight portion 41 
engageable with and seating on the laterally extending flanges 37 of the 
container 31 in the folded position of the bail 40. When the container 31 
is attached to the lid 22, the lateral extensions of the bight portion 41 
of the bail 40 are received in the guide tracks 30 of the lid 22. When the 
container is detached, the bail 40 can be raised so that it can be 
utilized by the user to facilitate carrying and emptying of the container 
31. 
As the container 31 is attached to the lid 22, the bight portion 41 of bail 
40 is seated on the container flanges 37 in its folded position. Before 
the container 31 is fully attached as the container flanges 37 move 
longitudinally on the lid rollers 27, the cover plate 15 is raised to a 
position above the bight portion 41 of the bail and is held in the raised 
position until the container 31 is moved forwardly a sufficient distance 
so that the bight portion 41 underlies and supports the cover plate 15. 
Therefore, when the container 31 is operatively attached to the lid 22, 
the rear discharge opening 14 of the mower housing 11 opens into the 
container chute 34 so that grass cuttings can move directly through the 
rear discharge opening 14 and into the container 31. 
In the storage or transportation mode, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the 
container 31, which provides a first hollow body section, is inverted and 
disposed over the motor assembly 18 such that it provides a hood for said 
motor assembly. In this position the chute 34 faces rearwardly and 
provides an opening receiving the brackets 17 and the relatively narrow 
rear discharge opening formation, it being understood that the handle 
members are removed for the storage mode. In the embodiment shown, the 
container lateral flanges 37 engage the rearward upper portion of the lawn 
mower deck housing 11 and the forward flange 43 engages the forward 
portion of said housing. It will be understood, however, that the grass 
catcher 21 can be used with other lawn mower models than that shown and 
that therefore the lateral flanges 37, for example, might engage the front 
wheels 12 rather than the upper forward portion of the deck housing 11. 
It is thought that the functional advantages of the grass catcher have 
become fully apparent from the foregoing detailed description of parts, 
but for completeness of disclosure, the assembly and usage of the catcher 
will be briefly described. 
To assemble the catcher 21 to the mower in the grass catching mode, the lid 
22 is placed on top of the handle members 20, and more particularly with 
the handle members 20 located in the downwardly open lid channels 25. In 
this position, the front slot 26 of the lid 22 receives the cover plate 
tab 16, and the lid side flanges 23 are located outwardly of the handle 
members 20. 
The container 31 is lifted by the bail 40 at the front end by the hand grip 
42 at the rear end, and is then raised to a position below the handle 
members 20 immediately behind the lid 22 with the container flanges 37 
aligned with the rearwardly opening guide tracks 30. The container 31 is 
moved forwardly into the lid 22 with the container flanges 37 moving into 
the guide tracks 30 and on top of the rollers 27. Before the container 31 
is completely slidably assembled to the lid 22, the user grips the cover 
plate tab 16 and raises the cover plate 15 up against the lid web portion 
24 so that it is above the bight portion 41 of the bail 40. While the 
cover plate 15 is held in this raised position, the container 31 is moved 
forwardly until the bail bight portion 41 moves under the cover plate 15 
and thereby holds the cover plate 15 in the raised position. Then the 
container 31 is moved completely forward until the rear wall 43 of the 
container 31 engages the rear flange 44 of lid 22. The lid 22 and 
container 31 are now completely attached and the container 31 is 
positioned with the chute 35 embracing the rear discharge opening 14 of 
the mower housing 11. 
When the container 31 is filled with grass clippings and it is desired to 
empty the catcher, the container 31 is simply moved rearwardly relative to 
the lid 22 while the lid 22 remains seated on the handle members 20. The 
container flanges 37 move easily out of the guide tracks 30 on the rollers 
27. As the bail bight portion 41 moves out from under the cover plate 15, 
the spring-loaded cover plate 15 will fall to its closed position relative 
to the rear discharge opening 14 thereby precluding any material being 
thrown out of such opening 14 and into the container 31 as the container 
31 is finally separated from the lid 22. Moreover, the closed cover plate 
15 will preclude objects from being thrown through the rear discharge 
opening 14 when the container 31 is completely detached. 
It will be understood that when the container 31 is completely detached 
from the lid 22, the lid 22 remains in its seated position on the handle 
members 20 ready for reinsertion of and reconnection with the container 
31. 
In the storage mode the lid 22 overfits the container bottom wall 33 which, 
of course, is uppermost in this mode. The container 31 is of a generally 
frusto-pyramidical configuration and is therefore somewhat narrower at the 
bottom than the width of lid 22. This permits a nesting relation between 
the two components in which the lid 22 transverse wall 24 engages the 
container bottom wall 33. As shown clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5 the larger 
overall width of the lid provides adequate clearance for the lid side 
flanges 23 and the rollers 27. 
The lid 22 and container 31, when disposed in the storage mode, are ideally 
suited for shipping the lawn mower 10 and the rigid grass catcher 21 as a 
unit. In this mode the handle members 20 are not installed and the 
container 31 is simply inverted and disposed over the motor assembly 18 
with the chute 34 facing rearwardly. Depending upon the particular 
configuration of the lawn mower deck housing 11, the bail 40 can be 
maintained in the position substantially as shown in FIG. 6 or can be 
rotated forwardly into the position as shown in FIG. 3. The lawn mower and 
rigid catcher assembly can be conveniently shipped in a relatively small 
carton only slightly larger than the carton required for shipping the lawn 
mower alone.