Abstract:
A grass and leaf collection sled for riding lawn mowers. The sled vastly increases the total volume of grass, leaves, and other lawn residue that can be picked up and transported to a disposal site. The sled is easily assembled, simple to load and unload, and is easily stored after use. The sled enables collection of a large volume of lawn refuse without relying upon additional mechanical devices to complicate the operation of the lawnmower.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to grass and leaf collection mechanisms for riding lawn mowers and specifically to an improved grass and leaf collection device that greatly increases the volume of grass, leaves, and other lawn residue that can be picked up and transported, is easily unloaded, and is easily stored after use. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is common to equip riding lawn mowers with bagging devices for collection of grass cuttings, leaves, and other lawn refuse. Typically, the mower blade or a supplemental blower or fan create a vacuum that sucks up lawn debris and transports it through a conduit and into one or more collection bags. The practical size of the collection bags is limited as the bags typically hang in a framework integral with the mower, and the framework must therefore support the collection bags plus the weight of the collected yard refuse. As the bags are therefore limited in size, they are of limited use when grass cuttings are heavy or when the mower is used to remove fallen leaves from the lawn. In this situation, the typical collection bags are woefully inadequate and a better system is needed to remove the large volume of refuse from the lawn. 
     One method of improving the collection of lawn refuse is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,309 to Hopkins issued Jun. 4, 1991. This patent describes a shredder attachment for use with lawn machines having vacuum or fan movement of shreddable material. The shredder mechanism reduces the volume of leaves or grass clippings but only incrementally increases the volume of lawn refuse that can be collected. The total collection capacity remains limited by the fixed size of the collection bags. The shredder also adds another mechanical device to the mower that increases the mower&#39;s complexity and adds to its maintenance requirements. The shredder and typical devices also increase the resistance to refuse conveyance and raise the back pressure on the attached conveying tubing. In addition, branches are typically sucked up by mower systems, and the shredder blade increases the possibility of those branches becoming jammed in the shredder blades, especially if the branches are of too large a diameter to be shredded by the shredder blade and its motor. 
     Although the aforementioned patent discloses a method for reducing the volume of grass clippings and leaves, it does not adequately solve the limited storage capacity of mower collection bags. In times when grass is tall and thick, or when collecting leaves, the collection capacity of typical riding lawn mowers is woefully inadequate. 
     It is therefore an objective of the present invention to greatly increase the storage capacity of grass and leaf collection devices. 
     A second objective of the present invention is to greatly increase the storage capacity of grass and leaf collection devices without adding to the mechanical complexity of the mower. 
     It is another objective to greatly increase the storage capacity of grass and leaf collection devices without adding mechanical devices that increase the possibility of branches or other oversize items becoming jammed in the conveying passageways of the mower. 
     It is another objective to reduce the resistance to pick up of bulky yard refuse by providing a refuse collector that creates minimal back pressure on the refuse conveying tube. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforementioned problems are overcome by providing a grass and leaf collection sled for a riding lawn mower. 
     In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the hinged hood of a typical riding lawn mower discharge chute is lifted and a sheet is laid with its forward edge placed forward of the bag support. The hinged hood is swung down and locked in place thereby clasping the sheet between the hood and the forward rim of the bag support. The remaining forward edge of the sheet is then wrapped around the outside perimeter of the hood and secured to the hood by a bungee cord or similar means. The sheet is sized such that it overlaps the hood at its secured side and trails well behind the riding lawnmower at its free end. The overlap extends from the hood and thence rearwards essentially to the free rearward end of the sheet. Secured to the riding lawn mower in this manner, the sheet becomes an extended, large capacity sled for collection of grass clippings, leaves, and other lawn refuse. The sled is light and can easily be pulled across the lawn by the riding mower. The sled, secured at its forward end between the hood and the forward rim of the bag support, essentially creates a funnel-shaped discharge chute for depositing refuse on the trailing portion of the sled that contacts the ground. 
     In this manner, the sled greatly increases storage capacity and does so without the addition of complex mechanical devices that can increase air resistance and create jams by trapping branches and other oversize objects. 
    
    
     These and other advantages will become apparent when reading the attached detailed description of the invention while referring to the attached drawings and the appended claims. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet modified for use as a sled of this disclosure, an expandable cord, and a riding lawnmower. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hood and bag support FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sled in an intermediate state of assembly showing the sheet positioned between the hood and bag support. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation view emphasizing the discharge funnel created by attaching the sled to the hood. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of preferred embodiment of the grass and leaf collection sled attached to a riding lawn mower. 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of the sled and riding lawnmower and depicting the sled in a loaded condition. 
     FIG. 7 is an overhead view of the loaded sled affixed to a riding lawnmower. 
     FIG. 8 is a side view showing the sled folded and wrapped around the hood for storage. 
    
    
     TABLE OF NOMENCLATURE 
     The following table lists the nomenclature identifying the parts in the attached drawings and detailed description: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Part Number 
                 Part Description 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 10 
                 sled 
               
               
                 11 
                 sheet 
               
               
                 12 
                 leading end (of sled) 
               
               
                 13 
                 trailing end (of sled) 
               
               
                 14 
                 grommet 
               
               
                 16 
                 expandable cord 
               
               
                 18 
                 riding lawn mower 
               
               
                 20 
                 conduit 
               
               
                 22 
                 hood 
               
               
                 24 
                 overlap 
               
               
                 26 
                 connection point (of cords) 
               
               
                 28 
                 discharge funnel 
               
               
                 30 
                 elongated refuse bed 
               
               
                 32 
                 lawn refuse 
               
               
                 34 
                 folded sled 
               
               
                 36 
                 bag support 
               
               
                 38 
                 pinch point 
               
               
                 40 
                 inside wall (of sled) 
               
               
                 42 
                 propulsion device 
               
               
                 44 
                 seat 
               
               
                 46 
                 pickup device 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention, a grass and leaf collection sled for a riding lawnmower, is depicted prior to assembly in FIG.  1 . The perspective view of FIG. 1 depicts a sheet  11  including a row of grommets  14  spaced along the leading end  12 . For purposes of defining the invention this end  12  may be referred to as the leading end  12  with the opposite edge defined as the trailing end  13 . FIG. 1 includes an expandable cord  16  with two hooked ends and a riding lawnmower  18  having a discharge conduit  20 , a discharge hood  22 , and bag supports  36 . The riding lawnmower  18  is of the type that creates a vacuum by either the rotating cutting blade or by means of a separate rotating fan. The vacuum creates suction within the mower blade housing and conveys grass clippings, leaves, small branches, and similar lawn refuse into collection bags (not shown in FIG. 1) that are typically laid upon the bag supports  36 . 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the hood  22  and bag support  36  of the riding lawnmower of FIG.  1 . The hoods  22  on riding lawnmowers that feature vacuum collection of lawn refuse typically are hinged (not shown in FIG. 2) to the bag support  36  framework. The space between the hood  22  and bag support  36  framework creates a pinch point  38  that may be used for securing a flexible sheet. 
     A perspective view of the sled in an intermediate state of assembly is given in FIG.  3 . The leading end  12  of the sheet  11  is positioned in the pinch point  38  that is between the hood  22  and bag support  36 . The expandable cord (not shown in FIG. 3) is threaded in an undulating manner through the grommets  14  along the leading end  12  of the sheet  11 . When the hood  22  is closed, the leading end  12  of the sheet  11  will be secured between the hood  22  and the bag support  36 . 
     The assembled sled  10  is depicted in FIG.  4  and shows the discharge funnel  28  created by attaching the sheet to the hood  22 . The discharge funnel  28  is defined by the inner surface  40  of the sled  10  in FIG.  4 . Securing the leading end  12  of the sheet  11  in the pinch point  38  and wrapping the remainder of the leading end  12  around the outer perimeter of the hood  22  forms the discharge funnel  28 . The expandable cord  16  secures the sheet  11  to the perimeter of the hood  22  opposite the pinch point  38 . The trailing end  13  of the sheet is allowed to trail upon the ground behind the discharge hood  22 . 
     A perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the grass and leaf collection sled  10  is depicted in FIG.  5 . The sled  10  is connected to a riding lawn apparatus that includes a propulsion device  42 , a seat  44 , and a pickup device  46  for picking up grass clippings and leaves and conveying through a conduit  20  to a discharge hood  22 . As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet  11  is overlapped  24  and then secured to the hood  22  by the expandable cord  16 . The connection point  26  of the expandable cord  16  is typically at the overlap  24  of the sheet  11 . The expandable cord  16  is typically threaded through the grommets  14  as shown in FIG.  5 . Fully assembled, the sled  10  forms an elongated, refuse bed  30  that greatly expands the capacity for yard refuse over the collection bags typical of mowers employing vacuum collection systems. 
     A grass and leaf collection sled  10  is depicted in a loaded condition in FIG.  6 . The sled  10  with collected lawn refuse  32  is shown attached to a riding lawnmower  18 . As the lawnmower travels in a straight path, the sled  10  trails in a straight path behind the mower. As trees or other obstructions are encountered in the path of the mower, the sled turns with the mower to avoid the obstructions. The time required for cleaning a lawn is greatly reduced by the large capacity of the sled. Anyone who has operated a riding lawnmower employing vacuum collection of yard refuse knows that the clean up time is greatly increased by the necessity of emptying the collection bags. The bags are very small when compared to the bulky volume of yard refuse. Yard refuse builds very quickly when the grass is tall or thick and also during the fall when leaves accumulate rapidly. Under these conditions, the operator is forced to empty the bags often and repeatedly. The time is compounded by the fact that most operators drive the mower to a disposal site for the waste. These repeated trips to the disposal site greatly increase the time required to clean a lawn. The grass and leaf collection sled of this disclosure greatly reduces the operating time for cleaning a lawn. 
     Another feature of the grass and leaf collection sled is the ease of unloading the refuse. After the loaded sled is pulled to the disposal point, the sled is simply lifted from one side thereby allowing the refuse to fall out the opposite side. There is no need to disconnect the sled from the discharge hood to dump the refuse. This is another time saving feature of the sled over conventional refuse collection bags. Typically two storage bags are used with a riding lawn mower, and when emptying them, each of the bags would need to be emptied individually. This would involve lifting the discharge hood, picking up one storage bag, dumping out the accumulated refuse, returning the emptied bag to its bag support, picking up the second storage bag, dumping out the accumulated refuse, and returning the second emptied bag to its bag support. Emptying the bags therefore is more time consuming and complex than emptying the sled. 
     FIG. 7, an overhead view of the loaded sled  10  affixed to a riding lawnmower  18 , depicts the sled  10  with lawn refuse  32  accumulated on the elongated refuse bed  30 . The sheet  11  is overlapped  24  at its connection with the hood  22 . Lawn refuse is transported by the vacuum through the hood  22  and into the elongated refuse bed  30  of the sled  10 . The configuration of the sled  10  around its juncture with the hood  22  creates a discharge funnel (not shown in FIG. 7) that funnels the lawn refuse onto the refuse bed  30 . The outer spread of the sled  10  can expand as waste is accumulated, thereby allowing the sled to adjust for increasing quantities of waste. 
     An added feature of the sled is the fact that it is easily stored with the riding lawnmower. FIG. 8 is a side view showing the sled folded and wrapped around the hood  22  for storage. The folded sled  34  may be secured to the hood with a bungee cord (not shown in FIG. 8) or similar device. The bungee cord may be secured at either end to the hood  22  or the sled may be provided with an additional grommet (not shown in FIG. 8) to assist with securing the folded sled  34 . 
     The sled is typically constructed of a flexible material such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, rip-stop nylon, fabric, or any similar flexible material. The sled should be flexible to allow it to easily turn with and follow the riding mower around the yard. Any flexible plastic material may be reinforced with fibers to strengthen the sled and help it resist abrasion. Other properties that would desirable in selecting the material of construction would include water resistance and coefficient of friction. High water resistance would be preferable for the sled to minimize water pickup by the sled, which would add undesirably to the weight of the load. A low coefficient of friction between the lower surface of the sled and the ground would enable easy travel of the sled over the ground. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred size of the sled  10  is 12 feet width by 16 feet length, with the width denoted by w in the drawing and the length denoted by  1  in the drawing. As shown in FIG. 5, the sled  10  must be wide enough to span the perimeter of the discharge hood  22  and overlap  24  itself at the connection point  26  to the discharge hood  22 . The length of the sled  10  must be sufficient to keep the collected lawn refuse from blowing off the end of the elongated refuse bed  30 . Typically, as discharge hoods are of different sizes for various models of riding lawn mowers, the optimum width of the sled would vary, but typically the width would be between  8  and  16  feet. The length of the sled would be specified according to the user&#39;s preference, with a longer sled forming a longer refuse bed. Typically, the sled would vary between 10 and 22 feet depending on the user&#39;s preference. 
     Some riding lawnmowers include bag supports that extend horizontally rearward below the middle portion of the hood. For this special situation, a second embodiment of the sled is provided. Wrapping the sheet around the outer bag support frame to create a discharge funnel forms this embodiment. In this situation, the forward edge of the sheet is not pinched between the hood and bag support but is wrapped completely around the hood and secured to the perimeter of the hood with the expandable cord. Secured in this manner, the second embodiment of the grass and leaf collection sled operates in the same manner as the preferred embodiment. 
     Some examples of the present invention have been described in detail in this specification. It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be altered in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.