Patent Publication Number: US-2007119138-A1

Title: Collecting assembly for grass cutting

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to grass collection devices and, more particularly, to a collecting assembly for use in combination with a grass cutter or mower.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Previous lawn mowers have utilized a vacuum created by a rotating grass-cutting blade to collect grass clippings and other debris within a grass catcher, thus obviating the need to rake. The rotating blade will act as an impeller to force air and solid debris into a grass catcher. Generally, the grass catcher has rearwardly positioned vents or mesh which retain solids such as grass clippings, twigs and leaves within the grass catcher but allows the flow of air in which the solids are entrained to pass through the grass catcher.  
      A problem associated with this type system is that dust particles are capable of filtering through the mesh, thus creating a dust cloud behind the mower which is unpleasant for the operator of the mower and which may be harmful to the mower&#39;s engine. In addition, grass and debris can clog the mesh screens and thereby lower the catcher&#39;s efficiency and performance.  
      To alleviate this problem, a closed loop vacuum system was developed by Enters in which air and associated dust entering the grass catcher is returned to the mower blade through another chute, and thereby recirculated rather than being discharged into the atmosphere. However, the Enters system is complex and requires a multi-part grass catcher, including a rotating fan blade to increase the air flow generated by the mower blade from the solids sought to be deposited within the grass catcher. Mowers provided with such additional equipment were made wider and longer thus reducing to some extent the maneuverability of the assembly and its use on smaller yards or grassed areas. The additional equipment when added to existing mowers was affixed in a semi-permanent manner so that the mower had to be cut off during installation and removal thus making this a time consuming effort.  
      Thus, a need exists for a closed loop lawn mower vacuum system which automatically separates solids entrained in the air flow passing through the grass catcher in a highly efficient manner without discharging the debris and all of the air flow into the atmosphere. The system needed also requires carefully designed and fitted components that can be easily attached and removed and will not appreciably increase the width or length of the assembly when installed. It is to these needs that the present invention is directed.  
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is a vacuum apparatus for a lawn mower that has a rotating blade and deck that encloses the blade. The vacuum apparatus includes a grass catcher or hopper that is removably secured to the mower. A first conduit communicates in some embodiments with a blower outside the deck which induces increased airflow and moves grass clips and debris to the hopper interior.  
      Smooth, controlled and enhanced air flow is attained by an air flow insert positioned in the first conduit entrance at the deck so that air and entrained clips, debris and dust are guided up the insert and into and across the hopper interior and collide with the opposite hopper interior wall. A centrifugal chamber is positioned in the hopper having an entry opening within the hopper and an outflow opening forming a hopper air flow outlet. A large amount of clips, debris and dust drops to the floor of the hopper when the entrained clips, debris and dust collide with the opposite interior wall, and the air is directed back toward the first wall and into the centrifugal chamber entry opening. Air flow and what remains of the dust, debris and dust passes through the chamber and on toward the hopper air flow outlet. The looped formed portion of the centrifugal chamber has a number of small openings strategically positioned along its outer perimeter wall which enable most of the remaining clips, debris and dust to pass centrifugally out of the air flow and into the hopper. The centrifugal treatment utilized in the present invention is a significant improvement in the present technology. The nearly clean air moving within the chamber passes out through the hopper air flow outlet and into the atmosphere. Alternatively, the nearly clean air can be directed back to the intake of the blower through a second conduit. Thus, in this embodiment, nearly clean air flow goes to the blower intake and not to the blade enclosing deck for recirculation.  
      The hopper is movably mounted on the mower so that the mower operator can empty it when full without getting off the mower. Emptying the hopper cleans the hopper interior. Alternatively, the mower can be equipped with plastic disposable bags mounted inside or outside the hopper if the terrain or circumstances make that use more acceptable. The second conduit can be uncoupled from the blower intake so that the air stream from the hopper can be utilized as a hand held blower. The first conduit can be removed, a deflector installed and the assembly used as a wide area blower. The blower can be started and stopped by an independent control not associated with the rotating motor blades.  
      Thus there has been outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In that respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its arrangement of the components set forth in the following description and illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.  
      It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of this development. It is important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent methods and products resulting therefrom that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The application is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by its claims, nor to limit its scope in any way.  
      Thus, the objectives of the invention set forth above, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are noted with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific results obtained by its use, reference should be made to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.  
      The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. They illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational perspective view of the collecting assembly of the present invention including a vacuum apparatus installed on a mower;  
       FIG. 2  is a rear elevational, cut away perspective view of the collecting assembly shown in  FIG. 1  illustrating the placement of the loop formed chamber within the hopper;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the first conduit showing the bottom of the conduit near its entrance being rolled clockwise so that the conduit bottom becomes the conduit side at the entrance to the hopper;  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective, sectional and schematic view of the first conduit with a conduit insert extending inside the first conduit and around the first bend to improve, control and enhance air flow up the first conduit and into the hopper;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective and fragmentary view of a direct to catcher or rear mounted blower arrangement for the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic flow diagram showing the airflow and entrained clips, debris and dust moving from the first conduit, into and through the centrifugal chamber within the hopper with the clips, debris and dust moving out of the chamber and into the hopper through openings in the loop formed portion outer perimeter wall and the substantially clean remaining air flow passing through the air flow outlet into the outside atmosphere or back to the blower intake;  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the loop formed chamber of the present invention being operably positioned adjacent and connected to a modified conventional mower by creating an opening in the hopper;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective and fragmentary view of a utility dump box mounted on a riding mower;  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective and fragmentary view of the present invention wherein a blower has been connected directly to the mower deck;  
       FIG. 10  is a side elevational and perspective view of the mower used with the collector apparatus which has been modified to convert the collection blower to a wide area blower; and  
       FIG. 11  is a side elevational and perspective view of the mower used with a T frame to move the hopper forward and closer to the rear axle and avoid the installation of a counterweight, reduce the overall length of the machine thereby increasing its maneuverability.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring now to the drawings and particularly to  FIG. 1 , a grass cutting machine such as a riding mower shown generally as  10  is equipped with a rotary cutting blade mounted on a shaft  12  positioned beneath mower  10  in a deck or housing  14  ( FIG. 7 ) surrounding the blade. A first conduit  16  extends from housing  14  on to an opening  18  in a hopper  20 . Because of the rotary movement of the blade, air currents are set up which cause entrainment of the produced grass clippings, debris and dust in the turbulent body of air created by rotation of the of the blade. This air flow may be used exclusively to operate the machine or it can be combined with air flow from a blower  24 , which can be located anywhere along conduit  16 . This induces greater air flow within conduit  16  which includes the moving clippings, debris and the like through first conduit  16  and into hopper  20  through opening  18 .  
      Air flow is enhanced in conduit  16  by the use of a carefully designed conduit insert  25  placed inside first conduit  16  at its opening next to mower housing  14  and extending beyond the curved section  27  of first conduit  16 . Insert  25  is shaped to guide air and entrained debris flow smoothly around and along the surfaces of first conduit  16  that would, without such an insert, be slower and less efficient.  
      Air and entrained clippings, dust and debris flow into and across hopper interior and collide with opposite wall  26 . A large amount of the clippings and debris moving with the air flow are dislodged when they engage wall  26  and fall to the floor.  
      A centrifugal chamber shown generally as  30  is positioned in hopper  20  having an entry opening  32  and an outflow opening forming a hopper outflow outlet  34 . The loop  36  of chamber  30  has an outer perimeter wall  38 , an inner perimeter wall  40 , and a number of relatively small openings  42  ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ) formed in outer perimeter wall  38  as shown in  FIG. 5 . Chamber entry opening  32  is relatively large, and loop  36  has a substantially smaller opening  39 . Air flow from opening  32  into smaller opening  39  of loop  36  results in an increase in air speed. Loop  36  acts as a centrifugal device pushing entrained clips, debris and dust toward outer perimeter wall  38 , through openings  42  and into hopper  20 . Air flowing out outflow outlet  34  is substantially free of clips, debris and dust.  
      The centrifugal chamber concept may be utilized with most mowers with conventional hoppers. In  FIG. 7 , a conventional hopper  50  has been provided with a new opening  52 . The centrifugal chamber  36  of the present invention is partially encased in a closure member  54 , and member  54  is provided with bolt holes  56  that align with matching holes  58  in hopper  50  surrounding opening  52  to secure closure member  54  to hopper  50 . An outlet  60  can be provided anywhere on hopper  50  that is close to the hopper intake opening.  
      As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the nearly clean air may be directed back to blower  24  through a second conduit  44  which extends to the intake  46  of blower  24  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The return air flow to intake  46  of blower  24  is relatively free from clippings, debris and dust since most of those materials were removed when the entrained materials passed from loop  36 , spun out of the air flow stream and out through openings  42 . The return air when entering the intake of blower  24  joins with the air flow pulling the newly formed clippings and debris out of the cutting area and into first conduit  16  to commence another cycle.  
      Several additional features of the present invention improve efficiency and operation and to overcome other troublesome features long associated with the riding mower industry. A small blower  24  has been used because it saves fuel and occupies a smaller space thus resulting in a smaller width of the entire system, adding only about  6  inches to the conventional mower width. It can be frame mounted or mounted on other machines if weight balancing is needed. It can also be provided with an on/off control which solves a long-standing tedious requirement of having to remove the mower drive belt to disengage the blower.  
      Blower  24  can also be used with mower  10  to function as a wide area blower by removing first conduit  16  and replacing it width a downwardly directed deflector  56  as shown in  FIG. 10 . First conduit  16  and hopper  20  have been removed in  FIG. 10 , however both components can be left in place while mower  10  and blower  24  operate to blow away surface debris by merely disconnecting blower  24  from first conduit  16 . A guard grill  58  is installed over blower intake  46  to protect the operator and intake  46  from invasion by possibly damaging trash and debris.  
      Hopper  20  is mounted on mower  10  to hold the length of the entire system to an increase of only  8  inches. It is preferably made of metal or plastic to minimize ridges and other irregular surfaces to reduce air flow resistance. Hopper  20  can be equipped with fabric bags carried inside or be bypassed in favor of fabric bags mounted elsewhere on the mower for clippings and debris collection.  
      Hopper  20  can be mounted on a T-frame member shown generally as  50  ( FIGS. 8 , lo) which is pivotally connected to the rear lower end  52  of mower  10 . T-frame member  50  can be tiltably controlled to dump hopper  20  rearwardly and near the ground so that dust and debris are kept away from the mower engine. The door of hopper  20  opens progressively as hopper  20  is dumping, it moving to the top of hopper  20  for ground clearance. The location of hopper  20  puts weight forward of mower  10  and permits the use of little or no counterweights on zero turn mowers. The hopper dump handle is in a convenient location for easy access, movement and operation. It is unnecessary to leave the seat when operating it for any reason.  
      As an alternative to hopper  20 , a dump bed body box generally shown as  54  ( FIG. 8 ) is comprised of a box constructed of steel, aluminum or plastic and is mounted on T-frame member  50  like hopper  20 . Varying sizes may be used as situations dictate.  
      The parts of the collecting assembly are simple to attach and detach using only factory bolt holes and pin mount locations on the mower. Lightweight materials such as plastic and efficient fabrication methods keep the weight of the assembly at a minimum. All parts of the assembly fit into hopper  20  for storage. Blower  24  can be mounted to the deck or frame forward of the rear wheels for weight distribution.  
      It should be emphasized that the collector assembly of the present invention as generally described above can readily be mounted on most conventional type of riding mowers, walk behind mowers, push mowers or the like. In addition, the specific disposition of the various components comprising the collector assembly relative to the cutting machine itself is not a limiting or important portion of the present invention as long as proper air flow is established from the cutting area, moves into and through first conduit  16 , and then into and through hopper  20 , through centrifugal chamber  36  back to the intake of blower  24  or the atmosphere.  
      From the preceding description, it can be seen that a collecting assembly for use in combination with a cutting or mowing machine has been provided that will meet all of the advantages of prior art devices and offer additional advantages not heretofore available. With respect to the foregoing invention, the optimum relationship to the parts of the invention including variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, use and assembly are deemed readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed herein.  
      The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. All suitable modifications and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims are deemed within the present inventive concept.