Patent Publication Number: US-2006005520-A1

Title: Trimming apparatus and mower deck comprising same

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE  
      The disclosures made herein relate generally to equipment for cutting grass and weeds and, more particularly, to apparatuses configured for trimming grass and weeds.  
     BACKGROUND  
      Various types of manually-portable trimming apparatuses configured for using plastic trimming line (i.e., generally referred to as strings) or blade-type cutting devices to edge/trim grass, weeds and the like along obstacles (e.g., driveways, walkways, trees, gardens, etc) are known and widely used. Such apparatuses are hereinafter referred to generally as conventional string trimmers. Conventional string trimmers generally comprise an engine or motor that drives a cutting head carrying plastic trimming line or, optionally, metal or plastic blades. Specific examples of such conventional string trimmers are commercially available from various companies under respective brand names such as Echo, Toro, WeedEater, Black&amp;Decker, Poulan, Ryobi, John Deere, Yard-Man, Makita and Craftsman.  
      Such conventional string trimmers are known to have drawbacks that adversely affect their effectiveness, desirability and/or practicality. One drawback is that they must be manually carries during use, which requires an operator to expend considerable energy in carrying such trimmers from location to location. Another drawback is that they require that a separate task of trimming a lawn either before or after the lawn is cut with a mower. This is inconvenient in addition to squandering time and energy. Still another drawback is that they represent yet another discrete piece of equipment that must be maintained (e.g., the engine and cutting head).  
      Therefore, a trimming apparatus that overcomes drawbacks associated with conventional string trimmers would be useful and novel.  
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE  
      In one embodiment, a trimming apparatus comprises a main structural body, a trimming head assembly and a power input device. The main structural body has a first portion configured for being attached to a mower deck. The trimming head assembly is rotationally attached to a second portion of the main structural body. The power input device is connected to the trimming head assembly in a manner enabling a power supply apparatus to urge rotation of the trimming head assembly.  
      In another embodiment, a trimming system configured for being mounted on a mower comprises a trimming apparatus, means for transmitting power and a control unit. The trimming apparatus includes a main structural body having a first portion configured for being attached to a mower deck, a trimming head assembly rotationally attached to a second portion of the main structural body and a power input device connected to the trimming head assembly in a manner enabling a power supply apparatus to urge rotation of the trimming head assembly. The means for transmitting power is configured for transmitting power from a mower deck blade assembly to the power input device of the trimming apparatus. The control unit is configured for enabling power from the power supply apparatus to be selectively transmitted between the trimming head assembly and the power supply apparatus.  
      In another embodiment, a mower comprises a mover deck housing, a blade assembly and a trimming apparatus. The blade assembly is rotationally mounted on the mower deck housing. The blade assembly includes a blade and a first power input device connected to the blade. The first power input device is configuring for receiving power from a power supply apparatus (i.e., an engine or motor) for urging rotation of the blade. The trimming apparatus includes a main structural body attached to the mower deck housing, a trimming head assembly rotationally attached to the main structural body and a second power input device connected to the trimming head assembly. The second power input device is connected to the first power input device in a manner enabling power from the power supply apparatus to urge rotation of the trimming head assembly.  
      Correspondingly, it is a principal object of the inventive disclosures made herein to provide a trimming apparatus that overcomes drawbacks associated with conventional string trimmers. Specifically, trimming apparatuses in accordance with embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein preclude the need to manually carry a separate trimmer, preclude the need for a separate task of trimming a lawn either before or after the lawn is cut with a mower and preclude having to purchase and maintain an additional piece of equipment. Furthermore, trimming apparatuses in accordance with embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein are preferably configured for being retrofitted on an existing mower deck. Accordingly, trimming apparatuses in accordance with embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein converse time, money and energy.  
      Turning now to specific embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein, in at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, a power transmission device is connected to the trimming head assembly.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, the power transmission device is configured for selectively transmitting power between the power input device and the trimming head assembly.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, a line feeding device is connected to the trimming head assembly.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, the line feeding device is configured for dispensing trimming line of the trimming head assembly.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, a release mechanism is connected to the main structural body.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, the release mechanism is configured for enabling the trimming head assembly to move between a static position and a displaced position with respect to the mower deck.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, the release mechanism biases the trimming head assembly to the static position.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, means is provided for transmitting power from a mower deck blade assembly to the power input device of the trimming apparatus.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, a control unit is provided that is configured for enabling power from a power supply apparatus to be selectively transmitted between a trimming head assembly and the power supply apparatus.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, the cutting head assembly carries a spool of trimming line.  
      In at least one embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein, the cutting head assembly carries a blade type cutting device.  
      These and other objects and embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and associated drawings.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  depicts a trimming apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein.  
       FIG. 2  depicts the trimming apparatus depicted in  FIG. 1  in conjunction with a mower deck of a lawn mower.  
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the trimming apparatus and mower deck depicted in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  depicts a main structural body having a release mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  depicts a trimming apparatus  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein. The trimming apparatus  10  includes a main structural body  12 , a trimming head assembly  14 , a pulley  16  (i.e., a power input device), an actuation unit  18  and a control unit  20 . The main structural body  12  has a first portion  22  (e.g., a mounting bracket at a first end) configured for being attached to a mower deck. A shaft assembly  24  is rotatable mounted on a second portion  26  (e.g., a shaft-receiving bore at a second end) of the main structural body  12 . The pulley  16  is attached to a first end of the shaft assembly  24 . The trimming head assembly  14  is attached to a second end of the shaft assembly  24 . Thus, the trimming head assembly  14  and the pulley are rotationally attached on the main structural body  12 .  
      The actuation unit  18  is connected between the trimming head assembly  14  and the pulley  16 . Preferably, the actuation unit  18  is configured for selectively transmitting power between the pulley  16  and the trimming head assembly  14  and for dispensing trimming line  28  from a spool  30  of the trimming head assembly  14 . In one embodiment, the actuation unit  18  includes a power transmission device (not specifically shown) that facilitates transmitting power between the power input device  16  and the trimming head assembly  14  and a line feeding device (not specifically shown) that facilitates dispensing trimming line  28  from a spool  30  of the trimming head assembly  14 .  
      It is contemplated herein that the actuation unit  18  may function according to various constructions. In one embodiment, the power transmission device is connected between the trimming head assembly  14  and the pulley  16  and includes mating members (e.g., hubs) that are coupled to the shaft assembly  24  and an actuating device (e.g., electromagnet, solenoid, servo or the a like) that selectively engages and disengages the mating members. Similarly, in one embodiment, the line feeding device is connected to the spool  30  (e.g., via a sleeve of the shaft assembly  24  that slides on a shaft of the shaft assembly  24 ) and is configured for axially displacing the spool  30  to release the spool from an anti-rotation device (e.g., as in a conventional string trimmer apparatus), thus enabling trimming line to be dispensed. A skilled person, in view of the inventive disclosures made herein, will contemplate implementation of other constructions of the actuation unit  18  and/or means for provided related functionality.  
      The pulley  16  receives rotational power from a power supply apparatus via a belt arrangement. In this manner, the power supply apparatus (e.g., a motor or an engine) is able to urge rotation of the trimming head assembly  14 . In other embodiments (not shown), the pulley  16  and belt arrangement are at least partially replaced with power transmission means such as one or more chains, gears, driveshafts etc.  
      The control unit  20  is connected to the actuation unit  18  via a cable  19  for enabling operational control of the actuation unit  18 . In one embodiment (as depicted in  FIG. 1 ), the control unit  20  includes a first switch  34  for controlling power transmission functionality and a second switch  36  for controlling line feeding capability. With regard to the first switch  34 , the trimming head assembly  14  is engaged with the pulley  16  when the first switch  34  is in a first position thereof and the trimming head assembly  14  is disengaged from the pulley  16  when the first switch  34  is in a second position thereof. With regard to the second switch  36 , the trimming line  28  is selectively dispensed from the spool  30  when the second switch  36  is moved from a first position thereof to a second position thereof. The first switch  34  and the second switch  36  are examples of control mechanisms for controlling power transmission and line feeding functionality. A skilled person, in view of the inventive disclosures made herein, will contemplate implementation of other embodiments of such control mechanisms (e.g., levers, push buttons, knobs, etc).  
       FIGS. 2 and 3  depict a mower deck  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive disclosures made herein. The mover deck  100  is configured with the trimming apparatus  10  depicted in  FIG. 1 . In this manner, a mower comprising a mower deck such as the mower deck  100  is configured for providing mowing functionality as well as trimming functionality in accordance with embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein.  
      The mower deck  100  includes a blade assembly  102  rotationally mounted thereon. The blade assembly  102  includes a shaft  104  rotationally mounted on a housing  106  of the mower deck (i.e., a mower deck housing  106 ), a first pulley  108  and a second pulley  110  attached to a first end of the shaft  104  and a blade  112  attached to a second end of the shaft  104 . In one embodiment, the shaft  104  is mounted in a conventional manner (e.g., via bearings and bearing retainers). The first pulley  108  of the mower deck  100  has a first belt  114  attached thereto for supplying rotational power to the blade assembly  102  for urging rotation of the blade assembly  102 . Such power is supplied by an engine or motor (not shown) of a mower (not shown) comprising the mower deck  100 .  
      The pulley  16  of the trimming apparatus  10  is connected to the second pulley  110  of the blade assembly  102  via a second belt  116  for urging rotation of the trimming head assembly. In this manner, the trimming apparatus  10  is connected to the engine or motor. The actuation unit  18  enables power to be selectively transmitted to the trimming head assembly transmitted via the second belt  116 .  
      It is contemplated herein that, in other embodiments (not shown), selective power transmission is facilitated by a power transmission device connected upstream of the pulley  16 . For example, it is contemplated that such a power transmission device may a component of the blade assembly  102  rather than of the trimming apparatus  10 . Similarly, in another embodiment (not shown), it is contemplated that such a power transmission device may a component of the engine or motor of the mower rather than of the trimming apparatus  10 . Such embodiments are examples of means for transmitting power from a power supply apparatus to a power input device (e.g., the pulley  16 ) of the trimming apparatus.  
      As depicted in  FIG. 4 , an embodiment of the main structural body  12  includes a release mechanism  200 . The release mechanism  200  (e.g., a spring loaded mechanism) is configured for enabling the trimming head assembly  14  to move between a static position S and a displaced position D with respect to an attached mower deck. The release mechanism  200  biases the trimming head assembly  14  to the static position S. Accordingly, when the trimming head assembly  14  (or adjacent portion of the trimming apparatus  10 ) encounter an essentially immovable obstacle in use, the trimming head assembly  14  is able to pivot upon sufficient contact force. In this manner, the potential for damage to the trimming apparatus  10  and/or the obstacle is reduced.  
      Certain structural components and/or assemblies of trimming apparatuses in accordance with embodiments of the disclosures made herein may be custom manufactured articles fabricated using known fabrication techniques, proprietary fabrication techniques, commercially available materials and/or proprietary materials. For example, the main structural body may be constructed from steel tubing and/or plate using known operations such as cutting, drilling, turning, milling, die casting, extruding, welding and/or bending using proprietary and/or commercially available equipment. Plastic is another choice for such certain structural components and/or assemblies. Such components and/or assemblies made from plastic may be fabricated using known operations such as molding, extrusion, vacuum forming, cutting, drilling, turning, milling, thermal forming, and/or ultrasonic welding using proprietary and/or commercially available equipment. Furthermore, certain components (e.g., the trimming head assembly, shaft, pulleys actuation unit, control unit, etc) may be off-the-shelf articles (e.g., available from a catalog of articles).  
      In the preceding detailed description, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments, and certain variants thereof, have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice embodiments of the inventive disclosures made herein. It is to be understood that other suitable embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, chemical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of such inventive disclosures. To avoid unnecessary detail, the description omits certain information known to those skilled in the art. The preceding detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.