AU751405B2

AU751405B2 - Improvements to grass catchers

Info

Publication number: AU751405B2
Application number: AU58315/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Theodore William Reinhold
Original assignee: Bartlem Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Bartlem Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1989-11-13
Filing date: 1999-11-05
Publication date: 2002-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 2010-11-13
Also published as: AU5831599A

Description

2- 7-02;1152AM:PIZZEYS S61 7 3221 8077 6/ 34 IMPROVEMENTS TO GRASS CATCHERS FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a grass catcher assembly for mowers, and to a mower incorporating such a grass catcher assembly.

This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a grass catcher assembly for a ride-on mower, and a ride-on mower incorporating the assembly and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this 10 example application. However it is to be clearly understood that the invention is Scapable of broader application. For example the invention is also applicable to conventional motorised domestic mowers or push mowers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 15 Ride-on mowers and push mowers may be fitted with side or rear mounted grass catchers. To date the available grass catchers for ride-on mowers have been relatively expensive, inefficient and/or difficult to use. These disadvantages are partly due to the need to provide a large capacity grass catcher in order to avoid overly frequently stops to empty the grass catcher as most grass catchers are difficult to remove and empty. Additionally, the cut grass has to travel a relatively long distance from the side opening of the cutter housing towards the holding portion of the grass catcher. This often results in a build up of cut grass at the inlet to the grass catcher which prevents efficient filling of the grass catcher.

Clearly it would be advantageous if a grass catcher assembly could be d.segised that ameliorated at least in part the abovementioned shortcomings.

02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11 !52AM;PIZZEYS 61 7 3221 8077 7/ 34 2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a grass catcher assembly for mowers, including a catcher housing adapted to be supported at one side of a mower and having an inlet at its leading end adapted for connection to the cutter housing of a mower, an expanding neck portion interconnecting the inlet with the grass storage portion of the catcher and an outlet from the grass storage portion disposed remote from the inlet The catcher housing may be a rigid housing or it may be formed from flexible 10 material such as a fabric and preferably, the catcher housing expands rearwardly from said neck portion. The forward end of the catcher housing is preferably supported by the mower's cutter housing and the rear portion of the catcher is preferably supported by suspension means which may be removably attached to the mower. Preferably the suspension means on ride-on mowers is associated with a :15 draw bar or like mounting adjacent the rear of the mower and is so arranged that it forms a pivot mounting about which the grass catcher or the grass storage portion may be pivoted to discharge grass therefrom. It is also preferred that the outlet be closed by a door which is biassed to the closed position and that the door is hinged adjacent the mower whereby the door may be directly actuated by a person seated on the mower.

Suitably the neck portion of the catcher has an inner side wall which extends upwardly beyond an opening therein which is adapted to overlie the cutter housing outlet and preferably the opening is associated with an apertured top flange or lug which locates on an upstanding pin on the cutter housing so as to maintain alignment the side wall opening with the cutter housing outlet. Of course other forms of 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11:52SAM;PIZZEYS 61 7 3221 8077 8/ 34 3 locating and support means may be utilized such as a pin on the catcher locating within a slot in the mowers cutter housing.

It is also preferred that the outer wall of the catcher curve from a substantially radiaJ extension adjacent the front edge of cutter housing outlet to the rearwardly extending side wall which may be perforated or the like to provide air outlets from the catcher.

The bottom wall of the housing may be provided with stiffening means for maintaining it in its operative supporting attitude. Suitably it is supported on an a transversely extending bar about which it may pivot to enable grass to be tipped i.i: 10 therefrom and across which it may slide so as to accommodate variations in the longitudinal position of the catcher relative to the mower which varies with cutter head height variations. Of course the catcher could be hung by linkages or the like to Se. accommodate its movements relative to the mower.

According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a grass catcher 15 assembly for use on a mower, the assembly comprising: a housing having a leading end and a trailing end also for mounting on a mower, the housing defining an inlet for receiving cut grass towards the leading end thereof and a door at or towards the trailing end of the housing through which cut grass can be periodically emptied from the housing, and the door having a handle to enable a user to open the door; a suspension means for supporting the housing towards the trailing end from the mower, the suspension means comprising a cross bar mounted on the mower that is passed through an opening defined in the housing forming a transverse pivot axis; and 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11 !52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 9/ 34 4 a leading end connection means for connecting the housing towards the leading end to the mower such that the leading end of the housing can be detached from the mower by lifting the leading end upwardly away from the mower on which it is supported and at the same time pivoting the housing about said transverse pivot axis; whereby the housing can be emptied by opening the door by means of the handle, lifting the leading end of the housing up and pivoting it about the pivot axis to cause grass to discharge out of the door and then lowering the leading end of the housing and closing the door.

10 This invention also extends to a mower, eg a ride-on mower, incorporating the grass catcher assembly described above.

SDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into 15 practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a typical embodiment of the present invention and wherein:- *FIG 1 is a typical perspective view showing the grass catcher connected to a e• ride-on mower; FIG 2 is a typical rear perspective illustrating the catcher disposed in its emptying attitude; FIGS 3 and 4 are perspective views of the grass catcher; FIG 5 is a side view of the catcher, and FIG 6 is a perspective view of the preferred form of mounting for supporting the grass catcher.

02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11 !52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 10/ 34 Referring to the drawings it will be seen that the grass catcher assembly 10 is in the form of a housing 11 which expands rearwardly from an entrance mounting assembly 12 adapted for connection to the rear of a mower's cutter housing 14 adjacent the grass outlet 13. The trailing end 15 of the housing 11 is adapted to be supported by a cross bar 16 which is in this embodiment is detachably secured to the towing hitch 17 provided on the mower. The cross bar 16 extends through longitudinal slots 18 in brackets 19 formed on the bottom wall of the housing 11 whereby the latter may pivot to enable grass to be tipped therefrom, as illustrated in Fig. 2 and across which the housing 11 may slide so as to accommodate variations 10 in the longitudinal position of the grass catcher relative to the mower which varies with the height of the cutter housing 14.

In FIG 5, the dotted outline 9 represents the grass outlet 13 of the cutter housing 14 and it will be seen that the underside of the mounting flange 26 which constitutes the upper extremity of the grass inlet 23 of the grass catcher 10 is 15 disposed below the top face 21 of the catcher housing 11 and the space between the top face 21 and the mounting flange 23 increases rearwardly from the leading edge of the grass outlet 13. This arrangement forms an air space 22 above the outlet 13 in which cut grass does not accumulate and which alleviates the build up of cut grass at the neck portion 20 of the grass catcher 10. Thus grass flows efficiently rearwardly from the grass catcher inlet 23 into the main body of the catcher. To facilitate grass flow, the rear side wall 28 is formed of mesh as is the breathing panel 38 in the back wall.

The inlet 23 is maintained in alignment with the outlet 13 by an upstanding pin 24 fixed to the cutter housing and engaging through the aperture 25 of a flange 25L26 extending along the upper edge of the inlet 23. The flange 26 rests upon the 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11 !52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 11/ 34 6 cutter housing 14 to support the leading end of the catcher 11 which is able to move up and down with cutter housing height adjustments. In this manner the leading end of the catcher may be readily secured in position by lowering it to engage the aperture 25 about the pin 24.

The supporting bar 16 extends transversely from a larger diameter tube which is bent through 90 degrees to form a forwardly spacing socket 31 engageable about the spigot 32 fixed to the mower adjacent the hitch 17. A stabilising bracket 33 extends transversely from the socket 31 and terminates in an upright mounting tube 34 which engages between the upper and lower tongues of the mower's towing hitch 10 17. The bar 16 and tube 30 are readily detachable from the mower by releasing the hitch pin 36 from the tube 34 and sliding the socket from the spigot 32. The latter may be integral with the mower chassis or it may be formed as a bolt-on adaptor 37 as illustrated.

The rear closure door 40 is mounted along its inside edge on hinges 42 and 15 a spring 43 selectively holds the door 40 in the closed or open position. An upstanding strut 41 forms a door mounting for the spring and provides a handle which is accessible to the driver of the mower whereby the door 40 can be readily moved to the open position by a seated operator as illustrated in Fig. 2.

In use, the catcher 10 is fitted to a mower by firstly connecting the cross bar 16 thereto to provide the rear pivotal support for the housing 11 and subsequently supporting the front of the catcher on the cutter housing 14 with pin 24 passing through the aperture 25. The catcher 10 may be easily manually moved in a longitudinal direction to permit operative alignment of the pin 24 with the aperture When mowing and the catcher is full, the user simply pivots the door 40 to its overcentre open position at which it is held by the spring 43, grasps the handle 44 and 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02 11:52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 12/ 34 7 tilts the catcher about the bar 16 to tip the contents thereof through the open rear end Mowing may continue upon replacing the catcher in its operative position and upon closing the door The grass catcher 10 is of simple construction, is easily adapted to connect to a mower and is easy to empty. A similar configuration may be utilized in domestic mowers with a suitable suspension being provided for supporting the rear of the catcher, such as a support associated with the push handle.

It will of course be realised that the above described embodiments have been given only by way of illustrative example of the present invention and that all such i.i: 10 modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is defined in the appended claims.

o *o•Q 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053]

Claims

2- 7-02:11 !52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 20/ 34 8 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A grass catcher assembly for use on a mower, the assembly comprising: a housing having a leading end and a trailing end and a longitudinal axis extending between said leading and trailing ends, the housing defining an inlet for receiving cut grass towards the leading end thereof and having a door at or towards the trailing end through which cut grass can be periodically emptied from the housing, the door having a handle to enable a user to open the door; a suspension means for supporting the housing towards the trailing end of the mower, the suspension means comprising a cross bar mounted on the mower and an opening that is defined in the housing through which the cross bar is passed to support the housing on the mower in a manner that defines a transverse pivot axis; and S a leading end connection means for connecting the housing to the mower 15 towards the leading end of the housing such that the leading end can be detached from the mower by lifting the leading end upwardly away from the mower on which it 0 is supported and at the same time pivoting the housing about said transverse pivot axis; whereby the housing can be emptied by moving the door from a closed to an open position by means of the handle, lifting the leading end of the housing up and pivoting it about the pivot axis to cause grass to discharge out of the door, and then lowering the leading end of the housing and closing the door. 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11:52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 21/ 34 9 2. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 1, wherein the door is pivotally mounted to the housing by means of a hinge, and the door includes a spring extending between the housing and the door biasing the door towards the closed position.
3. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 2, wherein in addition to biasing the door towards the closed position in general operation, the spring is also able to hold the door in the open position when the door is pivoted open into an over-centre position. i. 4. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 3, wherein the handle comprises a member projecting up from an upper edge of the door. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 4, wherein the door forms a rear 15 wall of the housing when closed and the spring is a helical coil spring under tension having one end attached to the door and the other end attached to a point along a side of the housing on which the hinge is located spaced longitudinally away from said rear wall.
6. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said opening defined in said housing forming part of said suspension means is elongated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of said housing to accommodate some variation in the longitudinal position of the housing relative to the mower. variation in the longitudinal position of the housing relative to the mower. 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11 !52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 22/ 34
7. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 6, wherein said housing includes a bracket depending downwardly below said housing and said elongate opening within which said cross bar is received is defined in said bracket.
8. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 1, wherein said leading end connecting means includes a flange projecting laterally outwardly away from the housing and which rests on the mower in use thereby to support said housing.
9. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 8, wherein said flange has an 10 aperture defined therein, and the mower has a pin projecting up therefrom over which said aperture is passed when the assembly is mounted on the mower to resist lateral movement of the housing relative to the mower while still permitting the leading end :to be lifted upwardly to pivot the housing. 15 10. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further including a handle mounted on said housing toward said leading end to assist a user in lifting the housing upwardly to pivot said housing.
11. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the suspension means further includes an attachment assembly extending away from the cross bar that is configured for removably attaching the cross bar to a tow bar or tow hitch at the rear of a ride-on mower. 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2-70:15A;P ZY :1732 07#2/3 2- 7-02:11 :52AM;PZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 23/ 34 11
12. A grass catcher assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the housing comprises a neck portion adjacent said inlet and a grass storage portion positioned rearwardly of said neck portion.
13. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 12, wherein said neck portion expands in a direction rearwardly from said inlet towards said grass storage portion.
14. A grass catcher assembly according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein said housing defines a side wall above said inlet that extends upwardly to a point spaced 10 above said inlet whereby to provide additional interior space within the housing in proximity to the inlet through which cut grass entering the housing from the mower can pass. A ride-on mower comprising: 15 a body having front wheels mounted thereon towards a leading end and rear wheels mounted thereon towards a trailing end, the body including a cutter housing .in which cutter blades are housed opening downwardly in the direction of the ground; a drive means mounted on the body for driving the mower along the ground also driving the cutter blades; a seat mounted on the body for seating a driver on the mower; means for enabling a driver to drive and operate the mower when seated in the seat; and a grass catcher assembly mounted to the body for catching grass that has been discharged from the cutter housing, the catcher assembly comprising: 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11:52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 24/ 34 12 a housing having a leading end and a trailing end, the housing defining an inlet for receiving cut grass towards the leading end of the housing and having a door at or towards the trailing end of the housing through which cut grass can be discharged from the housing, the door having a handle; a suspension means for supporting the housing for the mower body towards the trailing end of the mower, the suspension means comprising a cross bar that is mounted on the mower and an opening that is defined in the housing through which the cross bar is passed to support the housing on the mower in a manner that defines a transverse pivot axis; and S 10 a leading end connection means for connecting the housing to the body towards the leading end of the housing such that the leading end of the housing can be detached from the mower by lifting the leading end upwardly away from the mower on which it is supported and pivot the housing above said transverse pivot axis.
16. A mower according to claim 15, wherein the inlet connection means is mounted to said cutter housing having an outlet such that said cutter housing outlet is .i positioned in fluid communication with said inlet of said housing.
17. A mower according to claim 16, when said outlet of said cutter housing is positioned towards one side of the body of the mower. 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053] 2- 7-02;11:52AM;PIZZEYS ;61 7 3221 8077 25/ 34 13
18. A ride on mower according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the seat is positioned such that said leading end of the housing can be comfortably reached by an operator sitting in said seat to lift said leading end upwardly, and the handle on the door can also be comfortably reached by a user seated on the seat of the mower and reaching back to manually open and close said door. DATED THIS SECOND DAY OF JULY 2002 BARTLEM PTY LTD BY PIZZEYS PATENT AND TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS V V V V V.VV V.. VS.. *VVV V. V V 02/07 '02 TUE 12:08 [TX/RX NO 8053]