Mowers, mower deck mount systems, and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022142051-A1
Application number	US-202117175026-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 12, 2021
Priority date	Nov 11, 2020
Publication date	May 12, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

Lawn mowers and methods associated therewith. A lawn mower can include a frame; and mounting hardware configured to couple the frame to a detachable mower deck, wherein the mounting hardware comprises: a quick release engagement interface; and a latched interface, the latched interface comprising a self-closing latch and an engageable interface to permit selective opening of the self-closing latch.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A lawn mower comprising:
a frame; and mounting hardware configured to couple the frame to a detachable mower deck, wherein the mounting hardware comprises:
a quick release engagement interface; and
a latched interface, the latched interface comprising a self-closing latch and an engageable interface to permit selective opening of the self-closing latch.

2 . The lawn mower of claim 1 , further comprising an engagement mechanism coupled to the frame, wherein the engagement mechanism is configurable between a mower deck access position, whereby configuring the engagement mechanism at the mower deck access position causes the mower deck to be disposed at a position where an operator can selectively open the self-closing latch, and at least one in-use position, whereby configuring the engagement mechanism at one or more of the in-use positions readies the mower deck for performing mowing operations.

3 . The lawn mower of claim 2 , wherein the engagement mechanism comprises:
a mating interface configured to interact with the self-closing latch and support the detachable mower deck in the at least one in-use positions; a handle configured to be operated on to control a relative position of the mating interface; and a transmission element configured to transmit movement of the handle to the mating interface.

4 . The lawn mower of claim 3 , wherein the transmission element comprises a rotatable element, a first arm extending between the rotatable element and the mating interface, and a second arm extending between the rotatable element and the handle, and wherein moving the handle causes the mating interface to move.

5 . The lawn mower of claim 2 , wherein the self-closing latch is configured to move between a locked state and an unlocked state, wherein the self-closing latch is configured to be unlocked by actuation of the engageable interface or upon being pivotally moved by a mating interface of the lawn mower in a direction into the latched interface.

6 . The lawn mower of claim 5 , wherein the latched interface comprises a receiving area having an opening, wherein the self-closing latch is selectively disposed in the opening of the receiving area, and wherein the self-closing latch is configured to pivot about a pivot axis adjacent to the opening between the locked and unlocked states.

7 . The lawn mower of claim 1 , wherein the at least one quick release engagement interface comprises a hook coupled to the frame and a hook receiving area disposed on the detachable mower deck.

8 . The lawn mower of claim 1 , wherein the latched interface comprises a first latched interface and a second latched interface, the first and second latched interfaces being spaced apart from one another on the mower deck, and wherein the first and second latched interfaces each comprise a self-closing latch and a engageable interface.

9 . A detachable mower deck for a lawn mower, the detachable mower deck comprising:
a quick release engagement interface; and a latched interface comprising a self-closing latch and an engageable interface to permit selective opening of the self-closing latch.

10 . The detachable mower deck of claim 9 , wherein the latched interface is configured to be coupled with a mating interface of an engagement mechanism of the lawn mower, and wherein the engagement mechanism is configurable between a mower deck access position, whereby the mower deck is disposed at a position where an operator can selectively open the self-closing latch, and at least one in-use position, whereby the mower deck can be utilized by the lawn mower for performing mowing operations.

11 . The detachable mower deck of claim 10 , wherein the engagement mechanism comprises:
a mating interface configured to interact with the self-closing latch and support the detachable mower in the in-use position; and a handle configured to be operated by a user to control a relative position of the mating interface, wherein the handle is disposed at a vertical elevation above the mating interface, and wherein an angular offset between the engagement mechanism and a horizontal plane increases as the engagement mechanism is reconfigured from the at least one in-use position to the mower deck access position.

12 . The detachable mower deck of claim 9 , wherein the self-closing latch is configured to pivot about a pivot axis between a locked state and an unlocked state, wherein the self-closing latch is configured to be unlocked by actuation of the engageable interface or upon being pivotally moved by a mating interface of the lawn mower in a direction into the latched interface.

13 . The detachable mower deck of claim 9 , wherein the self-closing latch comprises a ramped entry.

14 . The detachable mower deck of claim 9 , wherein the latched interface comprises a first latched interface and a second latched interface, the first and second latched interfaces being spaced apart from one another on the detachable mower deck, and wherein the first and second latched interfaces each comprise a self-closing latch and an engageable interface.

15 . The lawn mower of claim 9 , wherein the at least one quick release engagement interface comprises a hook coupled to the frame and a hook receiving area disposed on the detachable mower deck.

16 . A method of attaching a mower deck to a lawn mower frame, the method comprising:
aligning the mower deck and lawn mower frame together such that the mower deck is within a receiving area of the lawn mower frame; coupling the mower deck and lawn mower frame together through a quick release engagement interface; moving a first engagement mechanism coupled to the lawn mower frame such that a first mating interface of the first engagement mechanism is in position to mate with a first latched interface of the mower deck; and moving the first latched interface relative to the first mating interface so as to open a self-closing latch of the first latched interface, the self-closing latch being configured to automatically close after the first mating interface is coupled with the first latched interface.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising moving the first engagement mechanism to a locked position after the first mating interface is mated with the first latched interface.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein moving the first engagement mechanism to the locked position is performed by moving a handle of the first engagement mechanism so as to pivot the first engagement mechanism about a pivot point.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein moving the first latched interface relative to the first mating interface comprises raising the mower deck above a prescribed elevation in the vertical direction and translating the mower deck in the horizontal direction, and wherein opening of the self-closing latch occurs during translation in the horizontal direction.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises:
after moving the first latched interface so as to dispose the first mating interface within the first latched interface, moving a second latched interface relative to a second mating interface of a second engagement mechanism so as to open a self-closing latch of the second latched interface, the self-closing latch of the second latched interface being configured to automatically close after the second mating interface is disposed within the second latched interface.

Assignees

• Techtronic Cordless Gp

Inventors

• Dingman Jr Trent J
• Feng Michael

Classifications

• A01D34/81

  Casings; Housings (A01D34/71 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A01D34/64 Primary

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

• A01D34/68

  with motor driven cutters or wheels · CPC title

• A01D34/82

  Other details · CPC title

• A01D67/005 Primary

  Arrangements of coupling devices · CPC title