Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2~ ~6821
MOWER DIS~ CHUTE
Back~round of the Invention
1. Field of the I~lvention
The present invention relates to implements used in
cutting grass and other ground vegetation and more
particularly to a discharge chute used with rotary mower
implements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotary mowers and particularly multiple spindle rotary
mowers are used to cut grasses, weeds and similar vegetation
in a variety of conditions. Not infrequently, they are used
to cut vegetation which is substantially higher than the
height of the housing of the mower implement. Typically, the
discharge chutes on the type of mowers used for this purpose
open to the side.
When cutting tall vegetation, the opening of these chutes
can be blocked by the tall, uncut vegetation, preventing
ejection of the cut material. As a result, the chute becomes
clogged and the operator must shut down the mower to clean it.
A similar problem can arise when these implements are close to
fences or walls, since the opening of the discharge chute can
also be blocked by these obstructions.
One approach used to minimize clogging of side discharge
chutes when mowing along obstructions has been to angle the
chute so that it discharges material rearwardly as well as
sidewardly. While this can sometimes prove acceptable with
single blade implements, it often presents problems with
multiple blade units since they are much larger. With such
units, a strong air flow is desirable to propel the greater
volume of material cut by the multiple blades. This can best
be achieved by transversely aligning the blades to provide a
relatively straight air flow path from and along the blades to
and through the discharge chute. To discharge the cut
material rearwardly on multiple spindle units mounted beneath
the tractor, and maintain aligned blades, the rotary mower
housing has to be angled rearwardly. Since the fore-and-aft
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space between the front and rear tractor wheels is limited on
many vehicles, this approach is not desirable.
Sl~mmary of the Invention
It would therefore be desirable to have a chute that will
discharge cut material transversely and will not clog when
used with multiple blade rotary mower implements in tall
vegetation, along fences and other borders. It would further
be desirable to have a chute that can be used with a rotary
mower having a high air flow speed that permits side discharge
or bagging of the cut material. It would also be desirable to
have a chute that does not require the implement to be angled
rearwardly, so that the implement space required beneath, in
front of or behind the vehicle in minimized. It would finally
be desirable to provide a discharge chute that would discharge
rearwardly when the transverse discharge is blocked, as can
occur when mowing in tall grasses or close to walls, frames
and fences.
Towards these goals, there is provided a discharge chute
that is usable with a multiple blade rotary mower having
transversely aligned blades that provide a high flow rate of
cut material towards the chute. The chute further can be used
without angling the implement or chute rearwardly, thereby
requiring only a minimum of fore-and-aft mounting space in
front of the tractor, between its wheels or behind it. The
chute opens transversely as well as rearwardly to permit
discharge through its fore-and-aft extending outer dimension
or its transversely extending rear dimension. When transverse
discharge is blocked, material is able to flow out beneath the
rear surface of the chute as the tractor moves ahead.
The improved discharge chute includes a forward vertical
wall which is essentially an extension of the mower's front
housing wall. This forward wall extends transversely
outwardly from the discharge opening of the implement housing.
The chute further includes a top surface composed of first and
second portions. Both portions are generally horizontal and
extend outwardly and transversely from the discharge opening
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in the housing. The first portion extends rearwardly as well,
sloping down to the sloping second portion which extends yet
further transversely and rearwardly. The second portion
terminates at first transversely extending and second fore-
and-aft extending edges, both which are positioned above the
plane of cut of the blades.
With the present discharge chute, material passing
through the opening of the housing can travel along a line
tangent to the front edge of the blade and be ejected
transversely outwardly through the chute. Similarly, material
can be ejected by the blade along a fore-and-aft extending
tangent line to pass through the rear opening of the chute.
Material can also be ejected within the swath between these
lines since the chute is open both along its side and its rear
edges permitting material to be e~ected and discharged even
when the transverse opening is blocked.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a multiple blade
rotary mower illustrating the flow of material through the
housing and discharge chute.
Figure 2 is an elevated rear perspective partial view of
the discharge chute.
Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the discharge
chute shown in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a front elevational perspective view of the
discharge chute.
Figure 5 is a schematic plan view illustrating the
possible flow paths of material through the discharge chute.
Figure 6 is a plan schematic view of a prior art
discharge chute illustrating its discharge flow.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Looking first to Fig. 1, there is illustrated in plan
view a schematic depiction of a multi-spindle rotary mower
implement 10 provided with three blades 12, 14, and 16. The
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implement frame or housing 18, which encloses the blades 12,
14, and 16, includes a front vertical wall 20, a rear vertical
wall 22, side vertical walls 24 and 26 and an opening 28 at
the right side through which material can be discharged
transversely. The blades 12, 14 and 16 are transversely
aligned and cooperate to provide a strong air flow for
ejecting the cut material from each blade 12, 14 and 16, along
the front of the housing 18 as depicted by the arrows, and out
through the opening 28 and chute 30.
As best shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the discharge chute
30 includes first, second and third surfaces 32, 34 and 36.
The first surface 32 takes the form of a forwardly wall which
is attached to the front wall 20 of the housing 18. The
forward wall 32 includes a first edge 38 which may be joined
by bolts 40 or other fastening means with the vertical forward
wall 20 of the mower housing 18 as well as a second edge 42
along its top side which is joined with the generally
horizontal top surface 44. The generally horizontal top
surface 44 is composed of the second and third chute surfaces
34 and 36 with the second surface 34 being joined by hinges or
other fastening means along its first edge 46 with the mower
housing 18, along its second edge 48 with the forward wall 32
and along its third edge 50 to the third surface 36 which
slopes downwardly and outwardly. The second surface 34 is
attached by bolts 52 or other fastening means to the mower
housing 18 at its rear.
The third surface 36 is integral with and attached to the
third edge 50 of the second surface 34 along the bend line or
first edge 54 of the third surface 36. It slopes downwardly
and outwardly away from the first edge 54 and extends to a
fore-and-aft extending outer or second edge 56 as well as to a
third or rearward edge 58 which extends generally
transversely. The two edges 56 and 58 slope downwardly to
join at a tip 60, and terminate at a vertical elevation that
is spaced above the plane of operation 62 of the blade 16 (see
Fig. 3) .
2 1 ~682f
As illustrated in Fig. 4, the lower edge 64 of the
chute's forward wall 32 extends from its attachment with the
front wall 20 of the housing 18, upwardly to a terminal point
66 transversely spaced from the mower opening 28. The outer
point 66 of this lower edge 64 terminates at a height roughly
equivalent to the height of the tip 60 of the third surface
36, both being above the plane of operation 62 of the mower
blades 12, 14 and 16.
Looking now to Fig. 5, there is depicted in schematic
form the housing 18, the discharge chute 30 and the one blade
16 adjacent the opening 28 of the housing 18. The one blade
16 is provided with a center of rotation at 68 causing the end
of the blade 16 to pass through the circular path defined by
the dotted line 70. The discharge opening 28 of the housing
18 extends between the forward vertical wall 20 of the housing
18 and the rear vertical wall 26 of the housing at 18. This
large opening 28 makes it possible for material to be ejected
from and by the blade 16 in a wide swath 72 that extends
through this opening and between the tangent lines 74 and 76.
In operation, the multiple blade rotary mower 10
illustrated in Fig. 1, would usually be carried by a tractor
between its front and rear wheels. It could also be carried
in front of or behind the tractor. As the mower 10 cuts, it
also operates to generate an air flow within and along the
forward edge of the housing 18 as depicted in Fig. 1 by the
arrows at the forward edge of the housing 18. Each blade 12,
14 and 16 would rotate clockwise, preferably in a timed
relationship to generate this air flow and to cut particles of
grass or other vegetation, ejecting them into the air flow for
discharge out the opening 28 of the housing 18.
As material is cut and propelled into this air flow, it
would be propelled out the opening 28 of the housing 18 and
through the discharge chute 30. Since the plane of operation
62 of the blades 12, 14 and 16 is below the lowermost portions
of the discharge chute 30, material can be ejected beneath it
and within the swath 72 defined by the tangent lines 74 and
76.
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Looking again to Fig. 5, it is shown that cut material
can be propelled by the blade 16 through the housing opening
28 forwardly and transversely along the tangent line 74.
Since the chute 30 is open at its transverse side, the
material can clear the forward edge of the forward wall 32 at
an angle of approximately 11 degrees above a transverse line
and still exit the chute 30. Further, material can escape
from the housing opening 28 and be ejected by the one blade 16
rearwardly along the fore-and-aft extending tangent line
identified as 76. With the transverse and rearwardly opening
chute 30 of the preferred embodiment, material can be ejected
by the blade 16 and discharged through the chute 30 throughout
the 101 degree swath 72. As is evident from Figs. 1, 3, and
4, the surfaces 34 and 36 slope downwardly and rearwardly,
serving as a shield against upwardly ejected rocks and/or
similar materials. Not only do these surfaces 34 and 36
deflect such materials, but their outer edges 56 and 58 extend
relatively low to the ground, sufficiently spaced from the
blade 16 so that they provide barriers to an operator's foot
preventing it from projecting beneath them and into the blade
path 70.
When operating in tall grasses or adjacent a fence or
other border at its outer transverse edge, the chute 30
permits cut material blocked at the transverse outlet or edge
56 of the chute to fall beneath the chute 30 and be passed
over by the rear edge 58 of the chute 30 as the tractor moves
ahead. Accordingly, materials prevented from being ejected
transversely would not clog the discharge chute 30 since it
can be passed over by the open rearward surface 36 of the
discharge chute 30.
In contrast some prior art chutes 78 such as that
illustrated in Fig. 6 have a swath of discharge 80 much more
limited than is provided in the present invention. As is also
common, these chutes are often angled rearwardly to discharge
material, but so not allow material that is blocked from
transverse discharge to escape rearwardly from beneath the
chute as the tractor moves ahead.
