Mower deck with blower
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsBrian Edward Bauer, Brian Charles Kelly
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mower deck includes a blower to lift blades of grass or vegetation for cutting. The blower may be mounted above and to the rear of the mower deck, and may rotate on a vertical axis spaced from the axes of the cutter blades. A passage or duct extends from the cutting chambers under the mower deck to the blower. Cutter blades may be used having essentially flat or planar surfaces to reduce noise, or the mower deck may be used with conventional blades. The mower deck may be configured with several alternative discharge modes, so that clippings and debris may be collected in a container, or may be dispersed to the rear or side of the mower.
Claims21
An apparatus comprising:
- a mower deck having a top panel over a plurality of cutting chambers and housing a plurality of rotary cutter blades, the cutter blades rotating on generally horizontal planes and mounted to spindles having generally vertical axes;
- a blower mounted to a spindle having a generally vertical axis rearwardly of the generally vertical axes of the rotary cutter blade spindles;
- and
- passages between each cutting chamber and the blower, each passage including an opening through the top panel over each cutting chamber to an outlet above the top panel connected to the blower.
An apparatus comprising:
- a mower deck having a top panel, a front, a rear, and a plurality of generally cylindrical cutting chambers under the top panel;
- a blower mounted over the top panel adjacent the rear of the mower deck;
- and
- ducts having inlets through the top panel into each of the cutting chambers and extending partially around the perimeter of each cutting chamber adjacent the front of the mower deck, and extending to an outlet over the rear of the mower deck and connected to the blower.
An apparatus comprising:
- a rotary mower having a deck with a front, rear and sides, the deck housing a plurality of cutter blades mounted to spindles having vertical axes;
- a blower pivotably mounted above the deck;
- a plurality of passages from under the front of the deck and extending through openings in the deck above each cutter blade to an outlet at the blower;
- and
- the blower having a housing with a fan mounted in the housing and being pivotable to discharge toward either the side or rear of the deck.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.