Walk reel mower with pivotal shield
AssigneeThe Toro Company
InventorsGerald E. GOMAN, Robert D. PATTON
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A walk reel mower has a pivotal rear traction drum that can be selectively disposed in two different mowing positions that allow a single mower to cut grass on golf course greens as well as tee boxes with no degradation in cutting or power performance. The reel cutting unit has a pivotal rear shield to allow the rear shield to be pivotally adjusted to maintain its radial spacing relative to the orbit of the reel at a desired amount as the reel diameter decreases due to wear.
Claims20
A reel mower, which comprises:
- (a) a frame supported for rolling over the ground, the frame having a pair of laterally spaced side plates, each of the pair of laterally spaced side plates having a cutout;
- and
- (b) a reel cutting unit carried by the frame, wherein the reel cutting unit comprises a laterally extending cutting reel rotatably journalled between the pair of laterally spaced side plates of the frame for rotation about a substantially horizontal rotational axis, the cutting reel having a plurality of blades;
- wherein the reel cutting unit is removably mounted to the pair of laterally spaced side plates of the frame, the reel cutting unit comprising two inserts, the two inserts located on opposite ends of the laterally extending cutting reel such that the two inserts abut the cutouts located on the pair of laterally spaced side plates when the reel cutting unit is mounted to the pair of laterally spaced side plates.
A method of removably mounting a reel cutting unit to a reel mower, the method comprising:
- (a) providing a reel mower comprising:
- a frame supported for rolling over the ground, the frame having a pair of laterally spaced side plates, each of the pair of laterally spaced side plates having a cutout;
- and
- a reel cutting unit carried by the frame, wherein the reel cutting unit comprises a laterally extending cutting reel rotatably journalled between the pair of laterally spaced side plates of the frame for rotation about a substantially horizontal rotational axis, the cutting reel having a plurality of blades;
- wherein the reel cutting unit is removably mounted to the pair of laterally spaced side plates of the frame, the reel cutting unit comprising two inserts, the two inserts located on opposite ends of the laterally extending cutting reel such that the two inserts abut the cutouts located on the pair of laterally spaced side plates when the reel cutting unit is mounted to the pair of laterally spaced side plates;
- and
- (b) removing one or more fasteners securing the two inserts to the cutouts, such that the reel cutting unit releases from the pair of laterally spaced side plates of the frame.
A dropout reel assembly configured for removable attachment to a frame of a reel mower, the dropout reel assembly comprising:
- (a) a pair of laterally spaced insert structures, each of the pair of laterally spaced insert structures including at least one aperture for receiving a fastener for securing the insert structure to the frame;
- and
- (b) a cutting reel journalled between the pair of laterally spaced insert structures by a pair of bearing assemblies such that the cutting reel is rotatable with respect to the pair of laterally spaced insert structures about a horizontal axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.