BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a first embodiment of a landscaping attachment according to the present invention being pulled behind a small all-terrain vehicle.
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the rear portion of the landscaping attachment of the present invention, showing the general geometry and operation of the trailing wheel configuration for the device.
FIG. 3 is a right side view of the rear portion of the landscaping attachment of the present invention, showing the general geometry and operation of the leading wheel configuration for the device.
FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the landscaping attachment according to the present invention, showing further detail of the attachment of the wheel carriage assembly in the trailing configuration.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the landscaping attachment according to the present invention as seen from the right side, showing the lifting and lowering mechanism of the device and various details thereof.
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the left side wing of the scraper or grader arm, showing the angular adjustability thereof.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a landscaping attachment according to the present invention, the leading edge of the grader or scraper arm having replaceable teeth extending therefrom.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention relates is a landscaping attachment for towing behind a light vehicle, e.g., garden tractor or all terrain vehicle, etc. The landscaping attachment includes an electrically powered lifting and lowering mechanism, which is particularly adaptable for use with such light towing vehicles, as such vehicles generally do not have hydraulic power for accessories.
FIG. 1 of the drawings provides an environmental perspective view of the landscaping attachment 10 being towed behind a small all terrain vehicle V. The attachment 10 may comprise a variety of different implements providing different functions, but the attachment 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an elongate earthworking implement 12 having a towing tongue 14 attached to the medial portion thereof, and extending substantially normal to the length or span of the earthworking implement 12.
The implement 12 may comprise any of a number of different configurations. The configuration illustrated in the drawings and described herein comprises a scraper or grader formed of a length of metal having an I-beam cross section with a first flange or face 16, an opposite second flange or face 18, and a medial web 20 joining the two flanges 16 and 18. This I-beam cross-sectional configuration is most clearly illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The first flange 16 includes a lower surface contact edge 22 having a series of permanent teeth 24 cut into or otherwise integrally formed with the edge 22. The width of the lower portion of the second face or flange 18 is somewhat less than that of the first face or flange 16 so that the teeth 24 extend downwardly beyond the edge of the second face or flange 18 to engage the surface therebeneath when the wheel support carriage 26 is raised so that the implement 12 is resting upon the surface. It will be understood that other earth-shaping implements besides stationary teeth may be formed in or attached to the beam (such as a harrow, aerator, or the like), and that the beam may have a different cross-sectional shape.
The wheel support carriage 26 extends from the earthworking implement 12, and supports a pair of wheels 28 (more clearly shown in FIG. 4) thereon. The wheel support carriage 26 is pivotally attached to the implement 12 to allow the wheels 28 to be raised or lowered relative to the implement 12 in order to raise the implement above the surface for transport or to allow the implement to rest upon the surface for earthworking. Details of the wheel attachment and support mechanism are shown in FIGS. 2 through 5. The wheel support carriage 26 comprises a pair of generally orthogonal arms, with the lower arms having first and second wheel axles 30 installed in the distal ends thereof. The opposite attachment ends of the arms are secured to the implement 12 by an elongate lateral bolt or axle 32, which pins the attachment ends of the arms pivotally to the implement 12.
A wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34 extends from the implement 12 to serve as a fixed anchor for the wheel height adjustment mechanism. The bracket assembly 34 may comprise a pair of arms immovably secured to the implement and extending upwardly therefrom. A jack 36 extends between the bracket assembly 34 and the distal ends of the upper arms of the wheel carriage assembly 26 for raising and lowering the wheels. Each end of the jack 36 has a bracket 38 permanently affixed thereto, e.g., by welding, etc., with each bracket 38 having a laterally disposed pivot bolt or pin 40 extending therethrough and pivotally connecting the bracket 38 at one end of the jack 36 to the wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34 and the bracket 38 at the opposite end of the jack 36 to the distal ends of the upper arms of the wheel carriage assembly 26.
A number of different types of wheel lifting and lowering jacks may be used in the landscaping attachment 10. The jack 36 shown in the corresponding illustrations and described herein comprises a scissors jack having a lateral actuation screw disposed medially therethrough. The jack 36 is preferably electrically actuated, with an actuation motor 42 communicating mechanically with one end of the actuation screw to rotate the actuation screw and extend or retract the jack 36, depending upon the direction of rotation of the motor and screw. The motor 42 is preferably a DC electric motor, operating nominally on about twelve to fourteen volts, or more specifically operating by electrical power provided by the towing vehicle V.
Such small towing vehicles V are not conventionally equipped with hydraulic systems to operate auxiliary equipment, but are universally equipped with conventional electrical systems to operate lights and other electrical equipment conventionally installed upon such vehicles. The landscaping attachment 10 makes use of the electrical power provided by the conventional electrical system of the vehicle V to actuate the motor 42 and extend or retract the jack mechanism 36. Conventional switching means (not shown) is used to drive the motor in the rotational direction desired from the operator's position of the vehicle V via a conventional wiring harness (not shown), to extend or retract the jack 36.
It will be seen that actuating the motor 42 will rotate the jack screw, thereby extending or retracting the jack 36 depending upon the direction of rotation of the motor 42 and screw. Retraction of the jack 36 results in drawing the upper arms of the wheel support carriage 26 toward the wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34, thus raising the wheels 28 from their lowered position (shown in solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 3) to their raised position (shown in broken lines in FIGS. 2 and 3).
More precisely, the implement 12 lowers to the underlying surface as the jack 36 contracts, with the wheels 28 being raised slightly above the underlying surface when the jack 36 is retracted or contracted completely. When the jack 36 is completely folded or retracted, as shown in broken lines in FIGS. 2 and 3, all of the weight of the implement 12, as well as the weight of the wheels 28 and wheel carriage assembly 26 and the jack 36 and motor 42, are resting on the underlying surface to provide the required force to work the surface as desired. The implement 12 is raised above the surface by reversing the jack actuation motor 42 to extend the jack 36, thereby lowering the wheels 28 and raising the teeth of the implement 12 above the surface. This is the preferred configuration for towing the attachment 10 from point to point when contact with the underlying surface (e.g., manicured lawn, pavement, etc.) is not desired.
It will be noted that the wheel carriage assembly 26 is shown positioned to opposite sides of the implement in FIGS. 2 and 3. This provision permits the wheels 28 and their carriage assembly 26 to be attached either behind the implement 12, as shown in FIG. 2, for greater rearward weight shift of the assembly, or in front of the implement 12, as shown in FIG. 3, in which case the wheel tracks are erased by the following implement during operation. The implement beam 12 permits the repositioning of the wheel carriage assembly 26 by means of opposite first and second wheel adjustment pivot lug sets 44a and 44b, respectively, extending from the first and second faces or flanges 16 and 18 of the I-beam implement 12, and first and second wheel adjustment bracket lug sets, respectively 46a and 46b, extending from the first and second faces or flanges 16 and 18 of the I-beam implement 12 on the opposite sides or surfaces from the corresponding wheel adjustment pivot lug sets 44a and 44b. The wheel adjustment pivot lug sets 44a and 44b are most clearly shown in FIG. 4, with one bracket each of the two wheel adjustment bracket lug sets 46a and 46b being shown most clearly in FIG. 5.
In FIG. 2, the wheel support carriage 26 and its wheels 28 are shown to the rear of the I-beam implement 12, i.e., to the opposite side of the implement 12 from the towing tongue or arm 14. This is accomplished by installing the attachment ends of the lower arms of the wheel support carriage 26 to the second or rearward wheel adjustment pivot lugs 44b by means of the elongate pin or axle bolt 32, and installing the wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34 to the opposite, forwardly disposed wheel adjustment bracket lugs 46a (shown in FIG. 3). It will be seen that the jack 36 may remain attached to the wheel carriage assembly 26 and wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34 at all times, and need not be removed from those components when the wheel carriage assembly is moved from one side of the implement 12 to the other. However, the jack 36 may be removed from the components 26 and 34 if so desired, if such removal facilitates the installation of the carriage assembly 26 to either side of the implement 12 as desired.
In FIG. 3, the wheel carriage assembly 26 has been reinstalled to the front of the implement 12, i.e., to the same side of the implement 12 as the towing tongue or arm 14. This is accomplished by securing the attachment ends of the lower arms of the wheel carriage assembly 26 to the first or forward wheel adjustment pivot lugs 44a extending from the first or forward flange or face 16 of the implement 12 and securing the two brackets comprising the wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34 to the opposite, rearwardly-disposed second wheel adjustment bracket lugs 46b. Again, the wheel carriage assembly 26 with its wheels 28, the jack 36, and the wheel adjustment bracket assembly 34 may remain secured together as a unit during the installation of the assembly to the front or rear of the implement 12.
The implement 12 may also be provided with adjustable wings 54a and 54b, as shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 6 of the drawings. The wings 54a and 54b may be removed from the implement 12 if their use is not required for the operation to be performed. The implement 12 includes laterally opposed first and second ends, respectively 48a and 48b, as shown in FIG. 1. Each of the ends has a set of wing attachment hinge lugs 50a and 50b extending forwardly therefrom, with the hinge axis (indicated by the hinge bolt or pin 52 in FIGS. 3 and 6) being normal to the plane defined by the span of the implement 12 and its towing tongue 14. A wing 54a, 54b is pivotally attached to each end 48a, 48b of the implement 12 by a cooperating hinge lug 56 extending from each wing 54a, 54b. (The second or right wing 54b is removed from its attachment to the right end of the implement 12 in the right elevation view of FIG. 3 in order to more clearly show the forward attachment of the wheel support carriage assembly 26.) The hinge bolt or pin 52 that pivotally secures each wing 54a and 54b to their respective implement ends 48a and 48b restricts angular motion of the two wings 54a and 54b to a plane parallel to the plane of the implement 12 and its tow bar or tongue 14, i.e., in a generally fore and aft horizontal arc when the implement 12 and towing tongue 14 are oriented generally horizontally.
The angular position of each wing 54a, 54b is locked in position as selected by a wing angle manual adjustment link 58, with the left side link 58 being shown in detail in FIG. 6. The base or anchor end of the link 58 is pivotally secured to the distal end of the implement 12, e.g., first or left end 48a in FIG. 6, by a bolt or pin 60 which also secures a brace 62a, 62b between the towing tongue 14 and the opposite ends 48a and 48b of the implement 12.
As the pivot axis bolt or pin 52 of the wing attachment hinge assembly is offset from the attachment of the anchor end of the adjustment link 58, it will be seen that securing the wings 54a, 54b to the implement 12 at different relative angles will result in different distal end attachment points for the corresponding links 58. Accordingly, each link 58 may be provided with a series of wing attachment passages or holes 64 in order to adjustably secure the wings 54a, 54b to the implement beam 12 at the desired angle. The wing attachment passages 64 of the links 56 may be established to set the wing angles as desired, e.g., zero degrees (in line with the implement beam 12), fifteen degrees, thirty degrees, forty five degrees, etc., as desired, and locked or secured in that selected position by a bolt or pin 66. It will also be noted that the wings 54a, 54b may be removed from their respective attachments to the ends 48a, 48b of the implement 12 merely by removing the corresponding hinge bolt or pintle 52 and disconnecting the link 58 at either its adjustment end or at its opposite anchor end.
FIG. 7 provides an exploded detail perspective view of an alternate embodiment for the teeth of the implement 12. The implement teeth 24 shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1 are integral parts of the implement beam 12, with the front flange or face 16 of the beam being cut to form the teeth 24. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the first or front flange or face 16a of the implement 12a has a series of tooth attachment holes or passages 68 formed therethrough with a smooth lower surface contact edge 22a, rather than a serrated or toothed lower edge, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1. This allows a series of separate, removable teeth 70 to be installed along the length of the implement 12a. The removable teeth 70 preferably have a rhomboid configuration with opposed attachment holes 72 therethrough in order that each tooth 70 may be reversed when excessive wear occurs to one end or the other, thereby effectively doubling the life of each tooth. The removable teeth 70 may be secured to the first face or flange 16a of the implement beam 12a by means of conventional bolts 74 and nuts (not shown), or the bolts 74 may thread into threaded tooth attachment passages 68 formed through the front flange or face 16a of the implement 12a.
In conclusion, the landscaping attachment 10 provides a much needed tool for working and clearing land for the person having access to a small all terrain vehicle, garden tractor, golf cart, or the like.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Patent Application
20080000653
