AU593972B2

AU593972B2 - An improved grass catcher

Info

Publication number: AU593972B2
Application number: AU10154/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Theodore William Reinhold
Original assignee: Bartlem Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Bartlem Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1986-01-08
Filing date: 1988-01-08
Publication date: 1990-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 2008-01-08
Also published as: AU1015488A

Description

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It C 593972 XTRC:)DC31E WILLIAT X 3-^I3:tC31LD (Patent Application Nos. PH 9799 and PI 4046) "WItssMade ~a ig Oanvtm J r~t COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED:- "AN IMPROVED GRASS CATCHER" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to ne:-

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This invention relates to improved grass catcher assemblies.

Rider mowers may be fitted with side or rear mounted catchers, but to date the available catchers have been relatively expensive or difficult to use. This is partly due to the need to provide a large capacity catcher in order to avoid frequent stops to empty the catcher and to provide an arrangement whereby the catcher can be emptied with minimum effort.

This invention aims to alleviate the above-mentioned disadvantages and to provide a grass catcher assembly which will. be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and i r advantages of this invention will hereinafter become ,Z apparent.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a grass catcher assembly including a grass container adapted to be supported at the rear of a rider mower and having an inlet opening adjacent its upper end adapted for connection to a delivery chute assembly communicating with the outlet of the mower's cutter housing, said grass container having a wall portion which may be moved from a closed position to an open position to enable the cuttings accumulated therein to be discharged i therefrom. Preferably the inlet opening is formed in the 25 front wall of the grass container and the delivery chute i i f I f 1 3 assembly extends rearwardly and upwardly from the cutter housing to the grass container.

In the preferred form, the delivery chute assembly includes a transfer chute mounted on the cutter housing for turning cuttings discharged from a side opening of said cutter housing upwards and rearwards into a transition chute 4. extending from said transfer chute to said grass container.

Preferably, there is provided an actuating handle arranged S" ro" for manual operation from the driving position on the mower 0 for operating the movable wall portion between its open and closed positions. There may also be provided selectively operable latching means for retaining the wall portion in its closed position. The latching means may be independently operable or it may be connected to the actuating handle for actuation thereby. Suitably the arrangement is such that initial movement of the actuating handle releases the latching means whereupon further movement of the handle moves the movable wall portion from its closed position to its open position.

Of course, if desired, the catcher could be adapted to be emptied from a position behind the mower and in such arrangement separate latching means and actuating means may be provided for moving the movable wall portion between its open and closed positions. Alternatively, flexible cables ;A could be used to remotely operate the movable wall and the j latching means.

It is also preferred that said movable wall be the rear wall of the grass container and that the rear wall be adapted to move upwardly from the closed position to the open position. Of course a side wall or a portion thereof could be used as the opening wall or as a discharge door in the grass container. Furthermore, the moveable wall portion could be hingedly supported on the grass container for pivotal movement between the open and closed positions.

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I .,10 Alternatively, the grass container could be in the form of a vertically split housing arranged with the movable wall portion connected pivotally to an upper part of the fixed I, :t portion of the grass container. The wall portion which may r t' be moved between open and closed positions may include side walls and a base wall. Preferably the latter and the base -wall of the fixed portion of the housing are inclined downwardly towards the outlet opening so as to facilitate Sdischarge of cuttings from the housing. Of course, if desired, the housing may be split diagonally so that the inclined base wall is formed wholly in either the fixed portion of the housing or the pivotal wall portion.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a v 25 typical embodiment of the present invention, and wherein:- S-j' 1 1 FIG 1 is a perspective view illustrating a grass catcher assembly attached to the rear of a rider mower; FIG 2 illustrates the grass catcher assembly in the discharge attitude; FIG 3 illustrates the latching arrangement for holding the grass catcher assembly in the closed position; FIG 4 illustrates the lost motion linkage for pivoting the 0 FIG 5 is a perspective view of an alternate form of grass catcher assembly attached to the rear of a rider mower.

Referring to FIGS 1 to 4, it will be seen that the grass catcher assembly 10 includes a split housing 11 mounted S across the rear of a rider mower and connected to the base cutter 9 via the inclined flexible chute 8. The housing 11 is divided into a front portion 12 which is fixed rigidly to the mower, and a pivotal rear portion 13 which is normally t C retained in the closed position by a latch assembly 14. The front portion 12 of the housing includes a rearwardly sloping base wall 15, opposed side walls 16, and a front wall 17 which extends upwardly from the base wall to a position adjacent the upper body portion of the mower and then forwardly to provide an enlarged inlet chamber 19 which communicates with the base cutter 9 through a delivery chute assembly 8. The latter may be formed of clear resilient 4

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6 plastics material or of rigid material as desired.

The top of the housing 11 is covered by a cowl 22 which is secured to the front portion 12 of the housing and extends rearwardly to engage closely within the upper portion of the pivotal rear portion 13. The rear end face of the cowl 22 is cut away so that it does not fowl the rear portion 13 when the latter pivots between open and closed positions as shown 9rar in FIGS 1 and 2.

It will be seen that the rear portion 13 is attached *'10 pivotally by pivot mounts 21 to the opposed upper rear corners of the fixed front portion 12 whereby the rear enclosure part may pivot to an open position at which the 'contents in the housing may fall to the ground. An actuating Vit handle 23 which extends across the top cover 22 of the housing 11 and connects pivotally to the common pivot mounts 21. The respective leg portions 24 of the handle 23 extend beyond the pivot mountings 21 and form actuating levers for controlling the latching assembly 14 and for pivoting the rear portion 13.

As can be clearly seen in FIGS 3 and 4, the latching assembly 14 includes a slotted latch 26 which is centrally pivoted and spring biased by spring 27 to an engaged position at which the slotted end 28 of the latch 26 engages about pin projections 29 on the lower forward corners of the rear 25 portion 13. Respective connecting links 30 extend upwardly

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*1- F *i 1 i i"1 ^-i handle 23. The outermost end 31 of each lever 25 is connected via a lost motion link 32 to a respective apertured plate 33 mounted on the rear enclosure part rearwardly of the pivot mounts 21.

*ttt The lost motion link 32 moves, upon initial movement of t t the handle '23, slidably through the apertured plate 33 as the handle 24 is pivoted to disengage the latching assemblies 14.

V'"110 Thereafter, a collar 34 on each lost motion link 32 engages :the plate 33 such that the rear enclosure part 13 is pivoted to an open position upon further downward movement of the Stttr handle 23. This action opens the base of the housing 11 and f tt permits the cuttings therein to be discharged.

In this embodiment the rear portion 13 includes a fabric mesh covering 35 supported about an open frame (not shown) to permit the escape of air from the housing and thus unimpeded flow of cuttings through the delivery chute assembly 8.

However, the lower side walls 26 and inclined base wall 37 are reinforced with a heavy duty fabric such as vinyl or the like to prevent heavy or sharp objects piercing the covering.

It will be seen that a major portion of the housing 11 is J constituted by the pivotal rear portion 13 and accordingly, ;S 'in use, the risk of cuttings being trapped within the housing 11 when the rear portion 13 is pivoted to its open inclined I S L i' 8 position is minimal. In this respect the latter may be jarred by repeated quick movement of the actuating handle 23 if desired, to free stubborn cuttings from the housing 11.

Of course, the covering 35 could be formed from sheet metal and provided with suitable vent openings, or these could be provided in the top cover 22.

The grass catcher assembly 50 illustrated in FIG 5 is attached to the rear of a rider mower 51. It will be seen 0 that the grass catcher assembly 50 includes a housing 52 with a lower front wall 53, an upper front wall 54, a top wall a base wall 56, and a pair of side walls 57. The walls 53, 54, 55 and 56 mfeet each other at obtuse angles to minimise 4 the creation of pockets in which grass buildup may occur. A I partial rear wall 60 is attached t3 the rear edges of the top 5 wall 55 and the upper portions of the side walls 57, leaving an opening 61 between the rear edges of the lower portions of the side walls 57. The base wall 56 is inclined downwards to the rear of the grass catcher assembly to facilitate discharge of cuttings through the opening 61.

The rear edges of side walls are provided with slide tracks 62 for a sliding door 63 which normally extends across )the opening 61 and which may be raised to a position above the opening at which the door 63 overlies the partial rear wall 60. A door lift handle 64 is pivoted on handle pivots 65 on the side walls 57 and door lift arms 66 are rigidly

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9 attached to the door lift handle 64. Door lift brackets 67 are attached to the door 63 and are coupled to the door- lift arms 65 by links 68.

Upper stops 70 and lower stops 71 limit the travel of the docr lift arms 65. When the door lift ar-is 66 abut the lower stops 71, the door 63 is in its lowest or closed position, C and when th~e door lift arms 66 abut t.he upper stops, the door t r 63 is at the uppermost point in its travel and is fully open to enable the grass cuttings within the housing 52 to be 0 discharged through the opening 61.

4 I~ IOperation of the grass catcher assembly 50 is enhanced by the efficient feeding of cut grass from the cutter housing 49 to the catcher housing 52. This is achieved by providing an C 41, inlet chute adaptor 80, as illustrated in FIGS 6 and 7, to r. 15 connect the upwardly inclined inlet chute 79 to the cutter housing 49. The inlet chute adaptor 80 is a one piece plastics molding provided with metal connector brackets 81 for detachably connecting it to the cutter housing 49. The chute 80 has a relatively long inlet opening 82 at one side at its leading end which is formed to extend across the outlet from the cutter housing and a rear transverse opening 83 at its trailing end about which the inlet chute 79 is connected. The inlet chute communicates with t' housing 52 through the lower front wall 53.

The opening 83 is arranged at the upswept end portion 84 V :ji"" of the inlet chute 80 and smooth transitional curves are provided between the inlet 82 and the outlet 83 to provide substantially unimpeded flow of air and entrapped grass cuttings therebetween, whereby in use entrapped debris will flow freely from the cutter housing 49 and through the chute into the catcher housing 52. The inlet chute is transparent whereby instant visual monitoring of grass flow St to the housing 52 is possible.

^t 1 It will of course be realised that the above has been fo given only by way of illustrative example of the present invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art Sare deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is defined in the appended claims.

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Claims

1. A grass catcher assembly incliding a grass container adapted to be supported at the rear of a rider mower and having an inlet opening adjacent its upper end adapted for connection to a delivery chute assembly communicating with the outlet of the mower's cutter housing, said grass container having a wall portion which may be moved from a closed position to an open position to form an outlet opening through which cuttings accumulated in said grass container o a o. 0 may be discharged. 0

2. A grass catcher assembly according to Claim 1, I 4 ,wherein said inlet opening is formed in the front wall of said grass container and said wall portion moves to an open .position wherein grass cuttings fall through said outlet opening. t

3. A grass catcher assembly according to Claim I or claim 2, wherein said delivery chute assembly includes a transfer chute supported about a side opening of said cutter housing for turning cuttings discharged from said side opening upwards and rearwards and into a transition chute extending from said transfer chute to said inlet opening.

4. A grass catcher assembly according to Claim 3, 1 12 wherein said transfer chute is formed as a plastics molding which provides a curved streamlined flow passage. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is provided an actuating handle arranged for manual operation from the driving position on the mower for operating said movable wall portion between its open and closed positions. A grass catcher assembly according to Claim wherein there is provided selectively operable latching means for retaining said wall portion in its closed position, said o latching means being connected to said actuating handle whereby it is unlatched upon initial m'ovement of the actuating handle to move said movable wall portion from its closed position to its open position.

7. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said movable wall is the rear wall of said grass container.

8. A grass catcher assembly according to Claim 6, wherein said rear wall is guided for reciprocal sliding movement between said closed and open positions. ITk iB~ a 13

9. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base wall of said grass container is inclined downwardly towards the outlet opening so as to facilitate discharge of cuttings through said outlet opening. A grass catcher assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. t~t Cr C DATED THIS second DAY OF THEODORE WILLIAM REINHOLD by PIZZEY COMPANY PATENT ATTORNEYS October, 1989. cr e C t 4#C t sC~r 'h i: i: