US 6,779,325 B1Granted

Edging and trimming assembly for lawn mower

OwnerJames F. Robillard, IIinventor

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Abstract

An edging and trimming assembly for use with a lawn mower includes a flexible shaft extending through a hollow arm with the arm being connected to a mower deck through a hub for pivotal movement of the arm. A gear train is connected to the lawn mower's power driven rod and is selectably coupled to one end of the flexible shaft for selectable rotation thereof. A trimmer head is attached to an opposed end of the flexible shaft and includes a cutter for cutting grass upon rotation of the trimmer head. A linkage extends between the arm and the trimmer head for adjusting the trimmer head between horizontal and vertical cutting planes. The linkage enables the trimmer head to move between selectable angular configurations. A shield member is rotatably coupled to the flexible shaft for surrounding the trimmer head and defines an opening through which the cutting member extends.

Claims16

Dependent claims

An edging and trimming assembly for use with a riding lawn mower of a type having front and rear wheels with a central mower deck situated between said front and rear wheels and having a cutting blade coupled to a power driven rod defining a generally vertical axis, said edging and trimming assembly comprising:

an elongate hollow arm;
a flexible shaft extending through said arm and having oppositely disposed first and second ends;
a hub pivotally coupling said arm to said mower deck such that said arm is pivotally movable about said vertical axis;
a gear train operatively connected to said power driven rod and positioned in said hub adjacent said first end of said flexible shaft;
means for selectively engaging said gear train with said flexible shaft adjacent said first end thereof for imparting rotational velocity from said power driven rod to said flexible shaft;
means coupled to said gear train for selectively increasing or decreasing said rotational velocity of said flexible shaft when said gear train is engaged with said flexible shaft;
a trimmer head mounted to said second end of said flexible shaft, said trimmer head having a cutting member connected thereto for cutting a path along a cutting plane;
wherein said hub includes a first portion attached to said mowing deck at a position covering said power driven rod and a second portion pivotally coupled to said first portion, said arm being connected to said second portion of said hub such that said arm is pivotally movable about said vertical axis defined by said power driven rod;
and
wherein said arm includes a rigid casing connected to a flexible casing with said flexible shaft extending through said rigid and flexible casing, one end of said rigid casing being attached to said hub.

7 more elements

an elongate hollow arm including a rigid casing connected to a flexible casing;
a flexible shaft extending through said rigid and flexible casings, said flexible shaft having oppositely disposed first and second ends;
a hub pivotally coupling said rigid casing of said arm to said mower deck such that said arm is pivotally movable about said vertical axis;
means for selectively coupling said flexible shaft to said power driven rod for imparting a rotational force to said flexible shaft upon rotation of said rod;
a trimmer head mounted to said second end of said flexible shaft, said trimmer head being rotated upon a rotation of said flexible shaft, said trimmer head having a cutting member connected thereto for cutting a path along a cutting plane;
a linkage connected to said flexible casing for selectively moving said trimmer head between a configuration defining a horizontal cutting plane and a configuration defining a vertical cutting plane;
wherein said linkage comprises:
a first bracket pivotally coupled to said first end of said flexible casing and a second bracket fixedly attached to said second end of said flexible casing;
and
an arm assembly interconnecting said first and second brackets, whereby said trimmer head is movable between said horizontal and vertical cutting plane configurations upon a 90 degree rotation of said first bracket about said flexible shaft.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.