Material collection parking system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9622410-B2
Application number	US-201414199050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2014
Priority date	Mar 6, 2014
Publication date	Apr 18, 2017
Grant date	Apr 18, 2017

Abstract

A material collection parking system having a hopper connected to a rear discharge chute from a mower deck on a lawn tractor. The system includes a pair of front and a pair of rear parking support legs, at least one of the pairs of legs being independently moveable between a stowed position along a side wall of the hopper and a deployed position supporting the hopper on a ground surface. The material collection system has a low dump configuration and a high dump configuration providing unobstructed sight lines and rear visibility for the operator during rear collection in the stowed position on the lawn tractor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A material collection parking system, comprising:
a hopper removably attached to a lawn tractor having an operator seat and a rear discharge chute; the hopper engageable to the lawn tractor by backing up the lawn tractor without raising the hopper;
a pair of masts removably attached to the lawn tractor behind and not extending above a top of the operator seat;
a pair of boom arms supporting the hopper, each boom arm pivotably attached to one of the masts at a vertical position below the top of the operator seat;
a lift cylinder having a forward end attached to each mast below the boom arm and extending rearwardly and downwardly to a rearward end attached to one of the boom arms; and
a pair of rear support legs and a pair of front support legs, each of the legs being independently moveable between a stowed position on the hopper and a deployed position supporting the hopper above the ground surface.

2. The material collection parking system of claim 1 further comprising a pair of J-shaped slots at the rear of the lawn tractor, and a pair of rods on a lower front portion of the hopper that can be captured in a vertical portion of the J-shaped slots.

3. The material collection parking system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the pairs of support legs are held against a sidewall of the hopper in the stowed position.

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Holz William J
• Krajnik Christopher
• Shaver Patrick

Classifications

• A01D34/00

  Mowers (combined with apparatus performing additional operations while mowing A01D37/00 - A01D41/00, A01D43/00; convertible to apparatus for purposes other than mowing or capable of performing operations other than mowing A01D42/00); Mowing apparatus of harvesters · CPC title

• A01D2101/00

  Lawn-mowers · CPC title

• A01D43/063 Primary

  in or into a container carried by the mower; Containers therefor (A01D43/077 takes precedence) · CPC title