US 4,596,347 AGranted

Rear mounted utility box with a dumping pivot for a lawn and garden tractor

OwnerFrancis D. Hiteinventor

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Abstract

A rear mounted utility box with a dumping pivot for a lawn and garden tractor is disclosed. A removable housing rests on a horizontal U member of a frame. A vertical plate for attachment of the frame to a yoke is mounted on one of its faces to the U's crossbar. There is a backward extending bracket attached at generally a right angle to the plate's lower edge. A pair of struts, one each spanning from generally the free end of each U member's legs to the bracket supports and stabilizes the frame. A mounting yoke with two arms is attached to the plate's other face at the plate's upper edge. One arm is connected to the tractor's frame generally beneath the tractor's seat, and the other arm serves as a stop for the housing. There is a pivot pin and pivot seat, a lock for releasably locking the housing to the frame, and a stop to limit the pivot. When the lock is released, the housing is free to pivot through the pivot seat until limited by the stop, thereby placing the housing in a dumping mode.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A rear mounted utility box with a dumping pivot for a lawn and garden tractor comprising:

(a) a removable housing having a front wall adapted to conform generally to a tractor's rear outline, two generally vertical side walls, a generally vertical back wall and a generally horizontal bottom wall;
(b) a frame including a horizontal U member to receive said housing, said U member's legs extending backward of said U member's crossbar;
a plate for attachment of said frame to a yoke, said plate mounted vertically on one of it's faces to said crossbar's exterior side;
a backward extending bracket attached at generally a right angle to said plate at said plate's lower edge, said bracket extending in a plane parallel to and below said U member;
a pair of struts, one each spanning from generally the free end of each said U member's legs to said bracket to support and stabilize said frame;
(c) a generally V-shaped mounting yoke adapted to be attached to said plate's other face at said plate's upper edge, said yoke's one arm adapted to be attached to a tractor's frame at that portion of said tractor's frame located generally beneath said tractor's seat, said yoke's other arm extending in a predetermined slant to correspond with said housing's offset, thereby serving as a stop for said housing;
(d) means to pivot said housing;
(e) means to releasably lock said housing to said frame;
(f) stop means to limit said pivot,
whereby when said locking means is released, said housing is free to pivot through said pivot means until limited by said stop means, thereby placing said housing in a dumping mode.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.