Grass collector for a mower

A grass collector adapted to be attached to a rear of a riding-type mower for receiving cut grass from a mower unit through a duct, the grass collector comprises a front container section having a rearwardly facing opening and adapted to be attached to the riding-type mower, the front container section carrying a first bottom plate having a substantially horizontal position; and a rear container section supported pivotably about a pivot point located in a rear upper region of the front container section and pivotable between a first position wherein the rear container section substantially covers the opening of the front container section and a second position pivoted from the first position to allow cut grass to fall, the rear container section having a second bottom plate having a substantially horizontal position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a conventional art, a grass collector for a mower has a front container section that opened rearwardly and a rear container section that opened forwardly where the front container section is fixed to the vehicle side. The rear container section is pivotably supported about a pivot point located in an upper rear portion of the front container section. (See for example, JP5-15224).

The grass collecting container with the two section construction where only the rear container section is pivoted upwardly has an advantage over a type where the entire collector is swung upward in that the former has a smaller weight to pivot up. However, the collecting capacity of the fixed front container section is limited.

That is, a front container section has the bottom portion which is sloped, which leaves the front container section with a small capacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was made in light of the issues mentioned above. An object of the invention is to provide a grass collector having advantages of the two section structure without sacrificing the collecting volume.

To attain the object of the invention, the grass collector adapted to be attached to a rear of a riding-type mower for receiving cut grass from a mower unit through a duct comprises a front container section having a rearwardly facing opening and adapted to be attached to the riding-type mower, the front container section carrying a first bottom plate having a substantially horizontal position; and a rear container section supported pivotably about a pivot point located in a rear upper region of the front container section and pivotable between a first position wherein the rear container section substantially covers the opening of the front container section and a second position pivoted from the first position to allow cut grass to fall, the rear container section having a second bottom plate having a substantially horizontal position.

Since the front container section has the first bottom plate having a substantially horizontal position, the invention provides a grass collector has a relatively large collecting volume.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The left lateral side view of the mower tractor with the grass collecting apparatus to which the present invention is directed is shown inFIG. 1and its plan view is shown inFIG. 2. The mower unit5is arranged below the four-wheel-drive riding type vehicle3having the front wheels1and the rear wheels2. The mower unit5is connected to the riding vehicle3vertically movably through the lift linkage mechanism4of the parallel linkage mechanism which consists of front links4aand rear links4b. The grass cut by the mower unit5is guided through the duct6to the rear of vehicle, and is collected with the grass collecting container7. The grass collecting apparatus A which has the grass collecting container7is attached to the vehicle rear portion. The engine9is mounted to the front upper part of the main frame8of the vehicle3. The front-axle case10which steerably supports the right and left front wheel1is connected to the front lower part of the main frame8. The transmission case11which supports the rear wheel2is connected to the rear portion of the main frame8.

The power from an engine9is transmitted to a transmission case11with a shaft and is transmitted to the hydraulic continuously variable speed change device13connected to the rear face of the transmission case11. The shift operation portion of the hydraulic continuously variable speed change device13is connected by a linkage to the speed change pedal14arranged at the feet area of the operator's station of the riding vehicle3.

The continuous speed change in a forward travel is performed by a step in operation of the speed change pedal14in a forward direction, and the continuous speed change in a reverse travel is performed by a step in operation to the rearward direction of the speed change pedal14. The gear change power of the hydraulic continuously variable speed change device13is input into a transmission case11. Then, the power branches to two lines. One branched power is transmitted to the rear wheel2. The other is transmitted to the front-axle case10through the power transmission shaft15.

The mower unit5has three bar-shaped blades17driven through vertical axis at a center, right and left locations of a deck16. The cut grass is joined by the wind generated by each bar blade17, and is guided and sent out from the cut grass exhaust port18which protrudes in a tunnel manner in the lateral middle region on the top face of a rear portion in a deck16. The input case19is provided in the lateral center of a top face of a deck16, and the operating power taken out from the front face of the transmission case11is transmitted to the input case19through the power transmission shaft20. This power is transmitted to each blade17with a belt.

As shown inFIG. 11, the duct6is fixedly connected to the vehicle lower part. The duct6is formed in the shape of a tunnel which opens downwardly. The front part of the duct6is connected to the cut grass exhaust port18such that the connection permits lifting movements of the mower unit5. The back end of the duct6extends to and in communication with the front face of the grass collecting container7. In addition, the cut grass sent out with sufficient velocity towards the back upper part from the mower unit5flows rearwardly along the ceiling areas of the cut grass exhaust port18and the duct6.

As shown inFIG. 3, the grass collecting container7has a divided configuration in the fore and aft direction having the front container section7A and the rear container section7B. The front container section7A is fixedly connected to the rear end part of the main frame8. The rear container section7B is vertically pivotably connected to the front container section7A about the pivot point p extending in a transverse direction at a location near the top back end of the front container section7A.

As shown inFIG. 8, the front container section7A is made with sheet metal, has an opening that opens rearwardly, and generally has an approximate box-shape. A cut grass entrance opening21of a rectangular shape, though which the rear end part of the duct6communicates with the collector7, is formed in the central lower part of the front wall surface of the front container section7A. The ventilation portions22with the sheet steel with a large number of small hole punched through or metal netting are formed on the right and left side wall surface of the front container section7A. Since the air flow blown in from the cut grass entrance opening21escapes from the ventilation portions22, right and left areas of the front container section7A are filled up with cut grass.

The rear bottom plate23that is broad in a lateral direction but short in the fore and aft direction forming the base of the front container section7A, and the laterally narrow but long bottom plate24forming a base of the duct6is formed as one piece sheet steel bottom plate member25of a flat configuration having a T-shape. This bottom plate member25is supported pivotally to a lower portion of the front container section7A about a pivot q that extends laterally in the front end region of the bottom plate23of the front container section7A. This bottom plate member25can be pivoted between a grass collecting position which is substantially horizontal in the fore and aft direction, and the ejecting position in which the front part of the bottom plate member25is inclined upwardly.

As shown inFIG. 6, when the bottom plate member25is in the grass collecting position, the back end of the bottom plate23approaches the base front end of the rear container section7B. And the front bottom plate24is located along the lower part of the duct6forming one long base covering the grass collecting container7from a duct rear portion.

When the bottom plate member25moves to the ejecting position as shown inFIG. 7, the front bottom plate24is pivoted up to the top of a duct6within the duct6, the rear bottom plate23is pivoted to a steep inclined position such that its rear portion is lower than its front portion. The right outer surface in the front container section7A has the control lever26which can be pivoted about the pivot point a.

The operation arm27that pivots with the control lever26, and the operating arm28pivots with the bottom plate member25are operatively connected through the rod29. The control lever26extends to the right side of the operator's seat30of the vehicle3, and the operator who sits in the operator's seat30can vertically swing the bottom plate member25by pivoting the control lever26.

The rear container section7B is explained next with reference toFIG. 6. The steel sheet bottom plate32is connected to the underside of the support frame31. The sheet material33of woven resin or cloth with appropriate mesh size is fixed on the upper wall side, right and left side wall surfaces, and the back wall side of the rear container section7B.

The rear container section7B has the box-like configuration having an opening which opens generally toward the front. The support frame31is formed by assembling a metal round pipe material to a box-shape. The upper cover34is arranged, with a suitable space, above the upper part of the rear container section7B. This allows the wind blown in with cut grass from the cut grass entrance slot21to escape from the upper wall side, lateral side wall surfaces, and a back wall side with air-permeable sheet material34. The wind which passed through the upper wall side is guided by the upper cover34, and flows towards a lower part from the upper part of a back wall side.

The rear container section7B is supported detachably, and vertically pivotably about the pivot point p, to the front container section7A.

The structures for allowing a pivoting, an attachment and detachment are explained next.

As shown inFIG. 8, the pivot shaft35which is the pivot point p of the rear container section7B penetrates and is fixed in the rear upper part of the right side wall of the front container section7A in a lateral direction. A pivot shaft36projects inwardly, and concentrically with said pivot shaft35, at the location above a rear portion of the left-hand side wall of the front container section7A. Connecting fittings37are fixed to the right and left front and upper positions of the support frame31in the rear container section7B, respectively. The engaging recess38formed in each connecting fitting37engages from above with the inwardly projecting parts of the right-hand side pivot shaft35, and the left-hand side pivot shaft36respectively.

The rear container section7B is supported to and vertically pivotably about the pivot shafts35and36(pivot point p) with the section7B fixed in the lateral direction. The positioning pins31aare formed in the front end lower part of the rear container section7B by extending the lateral ends of the support frame31to the outward directions. The steps39are formed in the lower part of the back ends of the lateral side wall surfaces in the front container section7A to abut and catch the positioning pins31a.

The front opening end of the rear container section7B is connected in a proper grass collecting position to the back opening end of the front container section7A proper due to the steps39abutting and catching the positioning pins31a. The operation arm41pivotably supported by the outward projection of said pivot shaft35is arranged on the outside of the right side wall in the front container section7A. The rearwardly facing engaging recess42is formed in the free end portion of this operation arm41. The engaging pin43protrudes laterally on the right front end part of the support frame31in the rear container section7B and is releasably engageable with the engaging recess42of the operation arm41. The operating arm41has the control lever44.

As shown inFIG. 4, by pivoting the control lever44forwardly, and swinging up the operation arm41rearwardly, the rear container section7B, which engages with the operating arm41through the engaging recess42and the engaging pin43, is pivoted downwardly to its ejection position with its opening facing downwardly. A gas spring45which urges the operation arm41upwardly is arranged between the operation arm41and the front container section7A to reduce the force required to operate the control lever44. The control lever44is supported to operation arm41such that the control lever44can be extended and contracted with respect to the operation arm41. That is, the boss section41extending in the vertically direction is fixed to the outside of the operation arm41, and the control lever44is held in it such that it can slide substantially vertically in this boss section41a. The control lever44, in a free state, slides to a lower limit point on its own weight. In this contracted position, the grip part44aof the control lever44is in a location lower than the backrest top end of the operator's seat15, and is held at the height which does not pose as an obstacle for vehicle control or for watching the rear.

When discharging the collected cut grass by pivoting the rear container sections7B, the control lever44is slid up so that the grip part44amoves to a location higher than the backrest top end of the operator's seat30. The stopper pin44bprovided in the upper part of the control lever44is caught by the upper end of the boss section41a, to restrict the downward slide of the control lever44. The upward slide of the control lever44is restricted by the large diameter stopper pin44bprovided in the lower-end portion of the control lever44abutting the lower end of the boss section41a.

The base and the boss section41aof said operation arm41are covered with a covering50.

As shown inFIG. 7, when the collected cut grass is discharged by pivoting the rear container section7B upwardly, the front container section7A is opened rearwardly by the pivoting of the rear container section7B, and much of the cut grass in the front container section7A is discharged. However, cut grass collected in the rear portion of the duct6and the cut grass collected on the bottom of the front container section7A remain. By operating the control lever26to switch the bottom plate member25to the ejecting position where its front portion is lifted and inclined to an angle, cut grass collected on the rear portion of a duct6and cut grass collected on the bottom of the front container section7A can be discharged.

The hook member46which engages with said positioning pin part31aof the rear container section7B from above in the grass collecting position is provided in the front end lower part of the front container section7A. This hook member46pivotably supported in the vertical direction about the pivot point b, and is urged by the spring47in the engaging direction. This prevents an unintentional pivoting of the rear container section7B and formation of a gap between the front container section7A and the rear container section7B due to the vehicle bounce during travel when the rear container section7B is pivoted into a grass collecting position to collect cut grass. Thus this prevents the collected cut grass from falling.

However, the hook shape and the strength of the spring47are set so that, as the hook member46is pushed by the positioning pin part31aof the rear container section7B, it pivots rearwardly against the spring47when operating the control lever44to pivot the rear container section7B intentionally.

The lateral inner surface in the front container section7A has the restraint pin51and the restraint projection57both extending inwardly at locations distant from the pivot shafts35and36.

The guide groove52which is in the shape of arc centering on the pivot point p and which is continuous with said engaging recess38is formed in the connecting fitting37of the rear container section7B.

As shown inFIG. 6, when the rear container section7B is pivoted downwardly and is in the grass collecting position, the restraint pin51is out of the guide groove52. In this state, by raising the rear container section7B up, and removing the connecting fittings37from the pivot shafts35and36, the rear container section7B can be removed from the front container section7A. As the rear container section7B is swung up from its grass collecting position as shown inFIG. 7, the restraint pin51is engaged by the guide groove52and the restraint projection57approaches the front side of the connecting fitting37. Therefore, it becomes impossible to move the connecting fitting37upwardly and forwardly with respect to the pivot shafts35and36. That is, the attachment-and-detachment restraint structure is provided that permits an attachment and detachment of the rear container section7B only when the rear container section7B is pivoted downwardly and in the low grass collecting position.

In addition, the handles53connected with the support frame31at a forward and a rearward location of the top face in the rear container section7B are provided and are used for attachment and detachment of the rear container section7B. Before removal of the rear container section7B, and after operating the extended control lever44rearwardly against the gas spring45, the shortened control lever44is engaged with the pin58which protrudes on the side face of the front container section7A, and the operation arm41is held in the location separated from the engaging pin43. Thus, by fixing the control lever44, the operation arm41, now free of the weight of the rear container section7B, is prevented from pivoting upwardly by the gas spring45.

As shown inFIG. 11, the bottom plate54which forms the base of the cut grass exhaust port18is provided in the back lower part of the deck16of the mower unit5. This bottom plate54is vertically pivotable about the pivot point c and can be manually pivoted by the control lever55. When cut grass clogs the cut grass exhaust port18or near a connection with a duct6, cut grass can be discharged by pivoting the bottom plate54from the space d formed between this bottom plate54and the bottom plate24of a duct6. When a large amount of cut grass is clogged, it becomes difficult to move the bottom plate54. The cut out portion56is formed in the side front part of a duct6to lower the height of the duct6in this area so that some cut grass pushed by the pivoting of the bottom plate54is forced out from the cut out portion56which facilitates removal of the clog. Therefore, the bottom plate54can be pivoted by a greater degree by pivoting the bottom plate54several times. Therefore, clogged cut grass can all be discharged from Cavity d.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

(1) the control lever26is used as mentioned above as an operator manipulated implement for pivoting said bottom plate member25. An operating pedal may also be used that can be operated by an operator in the operator's seat15.

(2) It is also possible to form the bottom plate23of the front container section7A, separate from the bottom plate24of a duct6so that they may be pivoted vertically independently.

In this case, it is possible to locate a pivot point for the bottom plate23of the front container section7A in its rear end region so that it is tilted up in its ejecting position. This would increase the drop height between the bottom of the front container section7A and the ground when ejecting the cut grass.

(3) The bottom plate member25can also be operatively connected to the operation arm41so that an upward pivoting actuation of the rear container section7B pivots the bottom plate member25into its ejecting position.

(4) When the capacity of the grass collecting container7is large, said operation arm41may be moved with actuators, such as an hydraulic cylinder or an electric cylinder.