Riding lawn mower
AssigneeThe Toro Company
InventorsDonald M. White, III, Henry B. Tillotson, Richard A. Thorud
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved riding lawn mower comprises a frame having steerable front wheels and rear traction wheels. Each rear wheel is independently driven by a separate transmission. A steering wheel is used to turn the front wheels to control the direction of movement of the rider. Linkage assemblies connected to the steering assembly declutch the rear wheel on the inside of a sharp turn to give the mower near ZTR turning ability. However, the declutched rear wheel freewheels to avoid tearing the turf and the mower does not speed up during the turn.
Claims27
An improved riding lawn mower, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by a pair of steerable front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, a steering wheel on the frame connected to the front wheels for turning the front wheels relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, transmission means for driving the rear wheels from the prime mover, wherein the transmission means comprises dual independent transmissions each of which separately drives one rear wheel, wherein each transmission comprises a mechanical, variable speed transmission which is enclosed inside a transmission housing, and means operatively connected to the steering wheel for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheels.
An improved outdoor power equipment unit suited for traversing over turf, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by a pair of steerable front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, steering means on the frame connected to the front wheels for rotating the front wheels relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, transmission means for driving the rear wheels from the prime mover, and linkage means operatively connected to the steering means for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheels, wherein the linkage means comprises lost motion means for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn only after the front wheels have been turned through an angle greater than a predetermined minimum angle.
An improved outdoor power equipment unit suited for traversing over turf, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by at least one steerable front wheel and a pair of rear wheels, steering means on the frame connected to the front wheel(s) for turning the front wheel(s) relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, transmission means for driving the rear wheels from the prime mover, wherein the transmission means comprises two mechanical, variable speed transmissions contained in transmission housings, wherein each transmission includes a high speed, low torque input shaft, a low speed, high torque output shaft, and speed changing means for selectively driving the output shaft at various speed relative to the input shaft, a separate direct chain drive extending between the output shaft of each transmission and one of the rear wheels such that each transmission directly and independently drives a single rear wheel, a separate tensionable belt drive extending between the prime mover and the input shaft of each transmission, and independent linkage assemblies connected to the steering means and the belt drives for untensioning the belt drive for only the transmission driving the rear wheel on the inside of a turn in response to turning the front wheel(s).
An improved riding lawn mower, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by a pair of steerable front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, steering means on the frame connected to the front wheels for turning the front wheels relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, dual independent transmissions which separately drives each rear wheel from the prime mover, wherein each transmission comprises a mechanical, variable speed transmission which is enclosed inside a transmission housing, and linkage means operatively connected to the steering means and to the transmissions for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheels.
An improved riding lawn mower, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by a pair of steerable front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, steering means on the frame connected to the front wheels for rotating the front wheels relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, transmission means for driving the rear wheels from the prime mover, and linkage means operatively connected to the steering means for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheels, wherein the linkage means comprises lost motion means for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn only after the front wheels have been turned through an angle greater than a predetermined minimum angle.
An improved outdoor power equipment unit suited for traversing over turf, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by a pair of steerable front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, a steering wheel on the frame connected to the front wheels for turning the front wheels relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, transmission means for driving the rear wheels from the primer mover, wherein the transmission means comprises dual independent transmissions each of which separately drives one rear wheel, wherein each transmission comprises a mechanical, variable speed transmission which is enclosed inside a transmission housing, and means operatively connected to the steering wheel for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheels.
An improved outdoor power equipment unit suited for traversing over turf, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by a pair of steerable front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, steering means on the frame connected to the front wheels for turning the front wheels relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, dual independent transmissions which separately drive each rear wheel from the prime mover, wherein each transmission comprises a mechanical, variable speed transmission which is enclosed inside a transmission housing, and linkage means operatively connected to the steering means and to the transmissions for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheels.
An improved outdoor power equipment unit suited for traversing over turf, which comprises a frame supported for movement over the ground by at least one steerable front wheel and a pair of rear wheels, steering means on the frame connected to the front wheels(s) for turning the front wheel(s) relative to the frame for changing the direction of movement thereof, a prime mover carried on the frame, transmission means for driving the rear wheels from the prime mover, and first and second independent linkage assemblies operatively connected to the steering means and to the transmission means for declutching the rear wheel on the inside of the turn in response to turning the front wheel(s), wherein the steering means includes a plate rotatable with the steering means as the front wheel(s) are turned, wherein the plate has two elongated slots with inner ends located adjacent one another with the slots extending arcuately outwardly therefrom to terminate in outer ends, wherein each linkage assembly has a front end located in one of the slots in engagement with the inner end of the slot when the front wheel(s) are located in a straight ahead orientation such that rotation of the plate in one direction or the other causes the inner end of one of the slots to begin moving one of the linkage assemblies relative to the frame while the front end of the other linkage assembly begins traversing the length of the other slot, and wherein the slots are sufficiently long so that the other linkage assembly does not reach the outer end of the slot before a predetermined maximum degree of turn for the front wheel(s) is reached.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.