Adjustable seat assembly for a lawn maintenance vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020120871-A1
Application number	US-201916655302-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 17, 2019
Priority date	Oct 17, 2018
Publication date	Apr 23, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A lawn maintenance vehicle includes an adjustable seat assembly, wherein the seat assembly is rotatable relative to a frame of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated on a sloped surface. The seat assembly is rotatable in order to maintain the operator in a substantially vertical seated alignment while operating the vehicle on a sloped surface. The seat assembly is also rotatable when the vehicle is in a zero-turn or tight-turn maneuver, wherein the seat is rotated toward the center of turning radius to offset the centrifugal forces experienced by the operator during such a maneuver.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A lawn maintenance vehicle having a frame, a plurality of ground engaging members, and a power source for selectively driving at least one of said ground engaging members, said lawn maintenance vehicle comprising:
a pair of control levers selectively controlling said at least one driven ground engaging member; a seat assembly operatively connected to said frame for supporting an operator, wherein orientation of said platform relative to said frame is adjustable; a sensor array for measuring at least one operating condition, said sensor array providing output data in response to said at least one operating condition; a controller continually receiving said output data from said sensor array, said controller calculating at least one of a first driving condition and a second driving condition; an adjustment mechanism operatively connected to said controller and said platform; wherein said controller causes said adjustment mechanism to rotate said platform relative to said frame in response to at least one of said first driving condition and said second driving condition.

2 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of ground engaging members includes two driven ground engaging members connected near a rear of said frame and controlled by said control levers and two ground engaging members connected near a front of said frame.

3 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said pair of control levers are lap bars.

4 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said pair of control levers are hand grips movable in a fore-aft manner.

5 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a seat attached to said platform for receiving said operator.

6 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said operator stands on said platform.

7 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said sensor array includes a plurality of accelerometers and a plurality of gyroscopes.

8 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said sensor array includes a pendulum.

9 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said sensor array includes a liquid level switch.

10 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said sensor array includes an optical gyroscope.

11 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said sensor array includes a piezoelectric sensor.

12 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said sensor array includes an altitude sensor positioned adjacent to each of said plurality of ground engaging members.

13 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein calculating said first driving condition is determining when said frame is traversing a non-horizontal surface.

14 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 13 , wherein said controller causes said adjustment mechanism to adjust said platform to a substantially horizontal orientation when said frame is traversing a non-horizontal surface.

15 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 13 , wherein said controller causes said adjustment mechanism to adjust said platform relative to said frame to normalize forces on said operator relative to a longitudinal axis about which said platform is rotatable when said frame is traversing a non-horizontal surface.

16 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein calculating said second driving condition is determining when a direction of said frame is being turned.

17 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 16 , wherein said controller causes said adjustment mechanism to adjust said platform relative to said frame to normalize forces on said operator relative to a longitudinal axis about which said platform is rotatable when said direction of said frame is being turned.

18 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said platform is adjustable about a longitudinal axis relative to said frame.

19 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said platform is adjustable about two axes relative to said frame.

20 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said platform is adjustable in three axes relative to said frame.

21 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said adjustment mechanism includes a motor attached to said frame, said motor being operatively connected to said controller, and said motor selectively driving a first gear that is meshingly engaged with a second gear attached to said platform, and rotation of said first gear causes rotation of said second gear which causes said platform to rotate relative to said frame.

22 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said adjustment mechanism includes a plurality of linear actuators extending between said frame and said platform for rotating said platform relative to said frame in three dimensions.

23 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said adjustment mechanism includes at least one hydraulic actuator extending between said frame and said platform for rotating said platform relative to said frame.

24 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said adjustment mechanism includes at least one pneumatic actuator extending between said frame and said platform for rotating said platform relative to said frame.

25 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said adjustment mechanism includes three actuators, wherein each actuator selectively rotates said platform about a different axis relative to said platform.

26 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said platform is adjustable relative to said frame to normalize forces on said operator relative to a longitudinal axis.

27 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said platform is adjustable relative to said frame to normalize forces on said operator in three dimensions.

28 . A lawn maintenance vehicle having a frame, a plurality of ground engaging members, a power source for selectively driving at least one of said ground engaging members, and a pair of control levers selectively controlling said at least one driven ground engaging member, said lawn maintenance vehicle comprising:
a platform operatively connected to said frame for supporting an operator, wherein said platform is adjustably rotatable about a longitudinal axis relative to said frame; an adjustment mechanism extending between said frame and said platform, wherein said adjustment mechanism adjusts an orientation of said platform relative to said frame; a plurality of measuring devices for measuring rotation and acceleration of said frame during operation, said plurality of measuring devices include at least one gyroscope and at least one accelerometer, wherein each of said measuring devices generates output data; a controller for receiving said output data from each of said plurality of measuring devices, said controller simultaneously determining if a direction of said frame is turning and if said frame is traversing a non-horizontal surface; wherein said controller causes said adjustment mechanism to rotate said platform relative to said frame when at least one of said direction of said frame is turning and said frame is traversing a non-horizontal surface.

29 . The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 28 , wherein said controller causes said adjustment mechanism to rotate said platform to a horizontal orientation re

Assignees

• Mtd Products Inc

Inventors

• Woodrum Adam

Classifications

• B60N2/38

  specially constructed for use on tractors or like off-road vehicles · CPC title

• B60N2/39 Primary

  Seats tiltable to compensate for roll inclination of vehicles · CPC title

• A01D67/04 Primary

  Seats · CPC title

• B60N2/18

  the front or the rear portion of the seat being adjustable, e.g. independently of each other · CPC title

• A01D34/64

  mounted on a vehicle, e.g. a tractor, or drawn by an animal or a vehicle (A01D34/695 takes precedence) · CPC title