Patent Application
20070107404
The present disclosure generally related to lawn maintenance devices, and more particularly, to a height adjustment system for a lawn maintenance device.
Typically, the left and right hand drive wheels of conventional lawn sweepers are connected by a tube or bar that allows a user to adjust the brush height by a single lever located between the wheels. Disadvantages of this conventional configuration include increased costs, due to the number of parts and difficulty in operation when parts begin to wear and bind. Additionally, other lawn implements have incorporated height adjustment mechanisms at each wheel. However, such implements do not address the particular requirements of lawn sweepers in that the ground engaging wheels of a lawn sweeper must drive the brush that extends between the wheels. Accordingly, conventional lawn sweepers have been configured as described above and independent side-to-side adjustment has been unsuccessful due to issues of binding and misalignment with respect to drive mechanisms. Consequently, the teachings and suggestions of other lawn implements are inapplicable to lawn sweepers.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a lawn sweeper brush height adjustment that is independent from side-to-side and overcomes disadvantages described above but also uses less material, is easier to assemble and is less costly and provides improved performance in use.
Certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings, wherein:
For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principles disclosed herein, reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications are the principles disclosed as illustrated therein as being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure relates.
Referring to
Referring to
The lawn maintenance device 10 may be any type of device that is commonly used to provide lawn and general landscaping functions. For example, the lawn maintenance device 10 may be a lawn mower such that the axle 16 is connected to plurality of lawn cutting blades (not shown) so that when the lawn maintenance device 10 is pushed or pulled forward the wheels 60 rotate the axle 16 to cut the lawn. In another example, the lawn maintenance device 10 may be a lawn sweeper, such that the axle 16 is connected to a plurality of sweeper blades 62. Accordingly, when the lawn maintenance device 10 is pushed or pulled forward, the sweeper blades 62 can sweep leaves or other debris off the lawn and push or pull the collected debris into a catch bag 64 that may be mounted to the body 12 at the rear portion of the lawn maintenance device 10. In the examples disclosed herein, the lawn maintenance device 10 will be described as a lawn sweeper. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the lawn maintenance device 10 may be any type of lawn or landscaping device such as a lawn mower, a fertilizer spreader, an aerator, a thatcher or the like.
With typical lawn maintenance devices, regardless of what type of function it provides, a user may push or pull the lawn maintenance device 10 with a handle 66 so that the wheels 60 rotate to thereby rotate the axle 16 to perform the function that is derived by the rotation of the axle 16. However, in most lawn maintenance devices 10, it may be necessary to adjust the height of the body 12 relative to the ground to change the degree of functionality that is provided by the lawn maintenance device 10. For instance, in a lawn mower, the height of the body 12 relative to the ground determines the height of the grass that is cut from the lawn. When the lawn maintenance 10 is a lawn sweeper as illustrated and described herein, the height of the body 12 relative to the ground may determine the number and size of the leaves and other debris that can be collected by the lawn sweeper. Accordingly, the brackets 20 and their associated components that will be described in detail herein, provide height adjustment of the body 12 relative to the ground.
Referring to
Referring to
As discussed in the foregoing, the wheel 60, including the wheel housing 80 is movable along the first arcuate slot 34 so as to raise and lower the body 12 relative to the ground. Accordingly, the wheel 60 including the wheel housing 80 can traverse along the first arcuate slot 34 without affecting the aforementioned coupling between the wheel gear 82 and the axle gear 84. The axle 16 protrudes from the sidewall 14 through the pivot portion 50 of the bracket 20 and through the wheel housing 80 as described above. Axle gear 84 is then fixedly attached to the end of the axle 16, which terminates inside the wheel housing 80. Therefore the bracket 20 is pivotally mounted on the sidewall 14 by the pivot portion 50 being rotationally mounted on the axle 16.
The second end portion 40 of the bracket 20 enables an operator of the lawn maintenance device 10 to adjust the height of the body 12 relative to the ground. Accordingly, the second end portion 40 simply functions as a handle so that an operator can move the first end portion 30 of the bracket 20 along the first arcuate slot 30 to adjusted height of the body 12 relative to the ground. To maintain the height of the body 12 relative to the ground once the height is adjusted to a desired level, the second end portion 40 includes a protrusion 90 facing the sidewall 14. A plurality of apertures 92 are disposed at the rear portion 42 of the sidewall 14 in an arc to correspond with the arc that the protrusion 90 of the second end portion 40 traces along the sidewall 14 when the bracket 20 is pivoted about the axle 16. The apertures 92 may be disposed in equal distances from each other such as to provide discreet and equal height variations for the body relative to the ground. The apertures 92 are sized so as to receive the protrusion 90 when the protrusion 90 is aligned with any one of the apertures 92. To remove the protrusion 90 from an aperture 92 to adjust the height of the body relative to the ground, the second end portion 40 of the bracket 20 can be pulled outward relative to the sidewall 14 by the operator, so that the protrusion 90 disengages from the aperture 92. The operator can then pivot the bracket 20 about the pivot portion 50, i.e. about the axle 16, to align the protrusion 90 with another one of the apertures 92. Once the protrusion 90 is aligned with another aperture 92, the operator can release the second end portion 40 thereby causing the protrusion 90 to engage the aperture 92. However, to maintain the protrusion 90 engaged with an aperture 92 after the height of the body 12 is adjusted relative to the ground, the bracket 20 includes a locking knob 100 that engages a screw 102 through an aperture 104 in the second end portion 40. The screw is mounted from the inside of the sidewall 14 through the second arcuate slot 44 and through the aperture 104 thereby allowing the locking knob to be tightened to the end thereof. Therefore by tightening the locking knob 100, the second end portion 40 can be securely maintained at a desired position along the second arcuate slot 44 once the height of the body 12 is adjusted relative to the ground. Additionally, the locking knob 100 and the screw 102 ensure that the second end portion 40 of the bracket 20 traverses within the second arcuate slot 44 while preventing the second end portion 40 to disengage from the second arcuate slot 44.
As described in the foregoing, an operator can move the second end portion 40 of the bracket 20 along the second arcuate slot 44 and cause the pivoting of the bracket 20 about the axle 16, thereby moving the first end portion 30 along the first arcuate slot 34 to adjust the height of the body 12 relative to the ground. Therefore, the height of the body 12 relative to the ground can be adjusted through a height that is defined by the range of motion of the first end portion 30 and the second end portion 40 through the first arcuate slot 34 and the second arcuate slot 44, respectively. The bracket 20 and the above-described associated mechanisms, provide for adjustment of the height of the body 12 relative to the ground without disturbing the drive mechanism by which the wheel 60 can drive the axle 16 to operate the lawn maintenance device 10. Furthermore, the bracket 20 and its associated mechanisms maintain the adjusted height of the body 12 relative to the ground by engagement of the protrusion 90 with the plurality of apertures 92 and engagement of the locking knob 100 and the screw 102 with the second arcuate slot 44. Additionally, the engagement of the protrusion 90 with the apertures 92 allow an operator to simply adjust the height of the body 12 relative to the ground by rotating the second end portion 40 of the bracket 20 along the second arcuate slot 44 through the discreet height variations provided by the apertures 92.
Furthermore, while the particular preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the teaching of the disclosure. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as limitation. The actual scope of the disclosure is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the related art.
