Abstract:
An embodiment of an overall approximately rectangular rotary mower blade, affixed to a powered support shaft, where the support shaft rotates the blade tines on a rotational plane parallel to the vegetation to be cut, where the blade employs aerodynamic tines preceding the main cutting edge. Features of the aerodynamic tines improve cutting, mulching, and safety of mower operation.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to rotary mower vegetation cutting blades of the type that are affixed to a powered rotating support assembly, usually mounted under a protective deck structure, where the blade rotates parallel to the surface to be mowed. 
     2. Discussion of Prior Art 
     Powered rotary mowers are used for vegetation control and lawn grooming. To enhance grass health and beauty, a higher cutting height is often desired. Higher vegetation cutting height is especially needed in the event of dry weather should local water conservation ordinances lead to insufficient ground moisture. In order to discharge clippings, present mower blades are designed such that strong airflow is created within the cutting deck. When attempting to cut vegetation at higher heights, contrary to previous blade design intentions, the strong airflow inside the mower deck causes vegetation to lie down. Vegetation that is not standing erect is more difficult to cut. Improving aerodynamic manipulation of the blade induced airflow inside the mowing deck, will enhance cutting and mulching of vegetation at all cutting heights. 
     Mulching action is somewhat incomplete with present designs, since the clippings to be shredded are accelerated inside the deck and thereby carried along with the airflow. To disrupt the airflow inside the mowing deck, deflectors mounted inside the mower deck have been designed, which are intended to interfere with mowing deck airflow. One such blade is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,938 to Zenner et al. Deck mounted air deflectors only work well in dry conditions. Attempting to mow vegetation that is not completely dry will quickly clog deck mounted air deflectors. Higher costs to produce intricate mowing deck features contribute to the reasons complex mowing deck mulching designs have not been accepted by the marketplace. 
     Several mower blades designs include raised shredding members such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,840 to Turner et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,725 to Meinerding. These blades employ top mounted vertical shredding members designed to rip apart clippings after the primary cutting edge has severed the vegetation from the rooted plant. Mowing deck circular airflow immediately accelerates cut clippings causing the relative speed between the mowing blade mulching members and the vegetation trimmings to be relatively low. Once clippings become airborne, impacts by blade cutting members are less effective since the clippings have little mass and the clippings are traveling in the same direction and speed as the secondary cutting edges. 
     Blades such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,7470,662 to Burke et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,940 to Peterson illustrate rotary mulching blades that cut and shred vegetation featuring the blade leading edge as the primary cutting surface. Cutting vegetation multiple times at multiple heights by multiple cutting edges, while the vegetation is still connected to the rooted plant improves shredding and mulching action, since the vegetation to be shredded held stationary, and thereby impacted more forcefully by the cutting edges. 
     Blades such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,290 to Sullivan employ secondary cutting edges integrated interior to the primary cutting edge which are intended to mulch clippings. A rotating blade&#39;s maximum velocity occurs at the area most removed from the rotating vertical supporting assembly axis. Our tests have found that cutting action drops significantly when cutting edges are placed more than approximately four inches (100 mm) from a mower blade&#39;s extreme end. Safety regulations limiting the rotational speed of mower blades contribute to the reduction in shredding effectiveness of interior cutting edges. Mowing and mulching efficiency of a rotary mower blade is at a maximum when the cutting edges are designed into the area most removed from the rotational axis, the blade&#39;s extreme ends. 
     Since a rotating blade can impact and forcefully throw objects, safety blades have been designed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,581 to Kroll et al and U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,737 to Belfiore describes a circular disk that is intended to push foreign objects aside. While these disk blades may improve safety, these circular blades must use aerodynamic forces to direct vegetation into the path of the primary vegetation cutting edges. Air is a fluid having the properties of viscosity and adhesion which results in atmospheric friction, also called “skin resistance” or “drag.” A circular disk-shaped blade effectively accelerates air by atmospheric friction inside the mowing deck. Strong circular air currents induced by a disk-shaped blade within a mowing deck causes vegetation to lie down which is a feature not desirable in a mower blade design. Rapidly flowing air currents flowing in circular fashion inside a mowing deck largely nullifies the aerodynamic and cutting elements designed into these blades. Evidence to this is found under Pat. No. 1,061,206 dated May 6, 1913 to Nikola Tesla describing a turbine employing smooth circular disks that efficiently capture energy from moving gaseous fluids by “skin resistance.” Since a disk can capture energy, a powered rotating disk can also impart energy into a surrounding fluid. Additionally, rotary mowers employing circular disk blades do not provide an easy escape path for vegetation clippings which promotes clogging of the mowing deck, especially in moist conditions. A circular disk blade is more massive and therefore more expensive to produce which also accounts for its lack of acceptance in the marketplace. 
     A similar airflow problem exists in Canadian Patent 2,259,040 to Meinerding. A feature of lifting vegetation to be cut by secondary cutting edges installed directly behind a primary cutting surface is shown in FIG. 1, detail 42, and 43. These features are too small to be aerodynamically effective and are mounted directly forward of the vertical shredding members FIG. 1, detail 48, further impeding free airflow. Our tests conclude that this complex, expensive to produce design, also suffers from sever clogging in all but the most dry mowing conditions. 
     Canadian Patent 2,165,845 to Parkinson employs multiple cutting edges of varying heights, however the design spaces out the cutting members. Many other patents feature cutting members that are substantially spaced apart. Large spacing between cutting members thereby requires the blade to rotate a relatively large angle before the next cutting member will interact with vegetation. For maximum mulching and cutting action, primary and secondary blade members should be grouped closely together, requiring a minimum of blade rotation to complete the cutting action of all interacting blade members. Canadian Patent 2,165,845 to Parkinson also suffers from a common problem associated with all complex designs, which mandates more intricate manufacturing and material requirements which drive costs, and thereby prices well out of the range acceptable in the marketplace. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A rotary mowing blade designed to rotate on a plane parallel to the vegetation to be cut, mounted on a perpendicular rotating powered assembly, employing vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members immediately anterior to the primary cutting member. Arrangement and shape of these anterior aerodynamic members yields an improvement in cutting action and safety over previous blade designs. Also included is a dual purpose downward turned aerodynamic feature located at the trailing edge of the primary cutting member designed to accomplish both a gentle vegetation dethatching action and to decrease the atmospheric pressure directly above the primary cutting member. The invention in all variations is designed to reduce the cost of manufacturing, thereby improving acceptance in the marketplace. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of a rotating generally rectangular mower blade  10 , integrating industry standard blade mounting openings  20 , equipped with a single vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing member  11 , installed anterior to the primary cutting member  15 . Rotational direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of a generally rectangular mower blade  10 , including industry standard blade mounting openings  20 , equipped with two vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing members  11  and  12 , installed anterior to the primary cutting member  15 . Rotational direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 3  is an edge view of the blade in  FIG. 1  taken along the line  30 , displaying one acute angled vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing member  11 , and the primary cutting member  15 . Both cutting edges are set roughly to the same vegetation  22  cutting height  21 . Blade cutting direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 4  is an edge view of the blade in  FIG. 1  taken along the line  30 , displaying one acute angled vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing member  11 , and the primary cutting member  15 , where the cutting members  11  and  15  are set to different vegetation  22  cutting heights  21 . Blade cutting direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 5  is an edge view of the blade in  FIG. 2  taken along the line  31 , displaying multiple acute angled vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing members  11  and  12 , and the primary cutting member  15 , where all cutting edges are set roughly to the same vegetation  22  cutting height  21 . Blade cutting direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 6  is an edge view of the blade in  FIG. 2  taken along the line  31 , displaying multiple assorted angled vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing members, detail  11  and  12 , and the primary cutting member  15 , including a downward curved trailing-edge aerodynamic feature  16 . Vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing members, detail  11  and  12 , may vary their aerodynamic angle of attack, general shape, and elevation above the vegetation cutting height. Blade cutting direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 7  is an edge view of the blade in  FIG. 1  taken along the line  30 , displaying one obtuse angled vegetation shredding and aerodynamic directing member  11 , and the primary cutting member  15 . Blade cutting direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
         FIG. 8  is an edge view of the blade in  FIG. 1  taken along the line  30  displaying an aerodynamic airfoil vegetation shredding and directing member incorporating both acute and obtuse angles, detail  17 , ahead of the primary cutting member  15 , including the downward-curved trailing edge aerodynamic feature  16 . Said aerodynamic airfoil vegetation shredding and directing member  17  may vary in height and aerodynamic angle of attack. Blade cutting direction in this illustration is indicated by arrow  19 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the design is an elongated generally rectangular vegetation cutting multi-edge blade apparatus intended to be used on rotary mowers, affixed to and rotated by a powered support assembly, where the support assembly rotates the blade cutting members on a rotational plane parallel to the vegetation to be cut. 
       FIG. 1  shows a top view of one embodiment of the blade  10  having a single vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member  11 , and a primary vegetation cutting member  15  per each blade end. Rotational direction is illustrated by arrow  19 . The blade  10 , as shown is equipped with cutout holes  20  allowing mounting on many existing mowers. The aerodynamic directing member  11  shown in  FIG. 1  is configured at an acute angle in close proximity to member  15  in a manner to aerodynamically direct vegetation onto the sharpened primary cutting edge on member  15 . Close proximity of members  11  and  15  enhances aerodynamic interaction. 
       FIG. 2  displays a similar top view of the blade  10  having a plurality of vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members, detail  11  and  12 , ahead of the primary vegetation cutting member  15 . The blade  10  may employ more than two vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members  10  and  11  per each blade end. 
       FIG. 3 , is a longitudinal edge view of blade  10  of  FIG. 1  along line  30 , depicting the orientation of the vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member  11  to the primary cutting member  15 . The acute angle of member  11  induces a substantial aerodynamic force directly behind said member  11 . 
     A variation of the embodiment,  FIG. 4 , is a longitudinal edge view of blade  10  of  FIG. 1  along line  30 , similar to  FIG. 3 , with the exception that the vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member  11  orientation to the primary cutting member  15  is not set to the same cutting height. The arrangement in  FIG. 4  improves mulching action since the elevated leading edge of aerodynamic member  11  cuts vegetation at an elevated level while the vegetation is still attached to the vegetation roots. Primary cutting member  15  then cuts the vegetation to the final cutting height. 
     Another variation of the embodiment,  FIG. 5  shows a longitudinal edge view of blade  10  of  FIG. 2  along line  31  which employs multiple vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members, detail  11  and  12 , ahead of the primary cutting member  15 . This arrangement where all cutting edges are configured to the same approximate cutting height is useful for mowing vegetation that would be trimmed many times per week, such as golf course grasses. 
     Another variation of the embodiment,  FIG. 6  shows the longitudinal edge view of blade  10  of  FIG. 2  along line  31  with the inclusion of multiple vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members in various orientations and elevations, detail  11  and  12 , in relation to the cutting plane  21 . The vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member arrangement in  FIG. 6 , detail  11  and  12 , further improves mulching action since members  11  and  12  will cut vegetation at multiple levels while the vegetation is still attached to the vegetation&#39;s roots. The leading edge of the primary cutting member  15  then cuts the vegetation to the final cutting height  21 . Aerodynamic pressures induced by the downturned trailing edge feature, detail  16 , of the primary cutting member  15 , decreases air pressure directly above member  15  thereby increasing aerodynamic action through the gaps between the vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members, detail  11  and  12 . The downturned feature  16  also briskly loosens thatch by creating an air pressure disturbance directly under the trailing edge of member  15 .  FIG. 6  also illustrates a variety of straight and acute design angles and orientations of the vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing members including mounting a vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member  12  approximately even with the primary cutting member, detail  15 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates the longitudinal view of blade  10  in  FIG. 1  along line  30 , with a vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member  11  oriented at an obtuse angle. Due to a trailing rotor type turbulent airflow pattern induced by the aerodynamic vegetation directing member  11 , airflow is induced by this director member arrangement to enter though the space between member  11  and primary cutting member  15 . This arrangement improves safety by pushing aside and deflecting foreign objects before the sharp edge on the primary cutting member  15  can impact and accelerate any foreign objects. 
       FIG. 8  shows the longitudinal view of blade  10  in  FIG. 1  along line  30 , including combinations of previously listed features, employing both obtuse and acute angles on the vegetation shredding and aerodynamic vegetation directing member  17 . Airflow is caused by this arrangement to enter though the gap between the first member  17  and primary cutting member  15 , while simultaneously improving safety by nudging foreign objects, out and down before the sharpened edge of the primary cutting member  15  can forcibly strike and thereby accelerate the foreign objects.  FIG. 8  also includes the dethatching trailing edge aerodynamic feature, detail  16 .