Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
. . 2181~7~
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REEL MOWER CRANK AND METHOD OF USE
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for d~h,.~ whether the
5 positions of a reel and bedknife of a reel mower cutting unit have been properly
adjusted.
2. Backqround of the invention
Conventional reel mower cutting units are mounted to a driven vehicle and
include a frame for supporting a rotatable reel and stationary bedknife. The
10 cylindrical reel includes a plurality of reel blades which pass in close proximity to
the bedknife as the reel rotates. The reel interacts with the bedknife for accurately
cutting grass with a shearing action. The position of the reel and bedknife can be
adjusted so that the reel rotates close enough to the bedknife to provide a goodscissoring or shearing cutting adion.
An operator of a conventional reel mower cutting unit will test whether he
has adjusted the cutting reel properly with respect to the bedknife. He will do this
by placing a small sheet of paper between the reel blade and the bedknife, and
then place his hand on the reel to turn the reel. If the reel and bedknife cut the
sheet of paper cleanly, then the relative position of the reel and bedknife has been
20 adjusted properly. If the paper is not cut cleanly and precisely, then the operator
must again adjust the position of the reel with respect to the bedknife. When the
operator places his hand on the blades of the reel to turn the reel, he risks cutting
his hand on the sharp blades. Furthermore, as he turns the reels with his hand,
he risks pinching his hand between the reel blades and the bedknife as he turns
25 the reel. Therefore, there is a high risk that he will cut himself as he turns the reel
with his hand.
It is known to detach the reel or the entire cutting unit from the vehicle and
place it in a machine for slld",~l,i"g the blades or the bedknife. This requires the
operator to detach the cutting unit from the vehicle and carry the heavy reel or30 cutting unit to the machine. These sl,d"~l,i"g machines can be relatively costly,
and may still require the operator to place his hand on the reel blades to turn the
reel in order to see if the reel is properly positioned with respect to the bedknife.
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Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a ",ecl1a"is", and method for
allowing an operator to determine whether the relative position of the cutting reel
has been adjusted properly with respect to the bedknife without requiring the
operator to place his hand on the cutting reel blades and without requiring the
5 operator to remove the cutting unit or reel from the vehicle. It would be desirable
for such a Ille~:lldllialll and method to reduce the risk of an operator cutting himself
on the reel mower blades or bedknife during the reel to bedknife adjustment
process.
10 Summarv of the Invention
According to the method of the present invention, an operator will stop and
dismount the vehicle and walk to the cutting unit. He will then adjust the reel to
bedknife adjustment ",e~l,d";s", such that the cutting reel will shift up or down
with respect to the bedknife. After making an initial adjustment, the operator can
15 then remove the hydraulic motor from the plate member. The operator will thencouple a crank member according to the present invention to the shaft of the reel
where the hydraulic motor was previously oper "~ coupled. The crank
according to the present invention includes a female splined mating portion which
mates with the male splines of the central shaft of the cutting reel. vVhen the
20 operator turns the crank the mating splines formed between the central shaft of
the wheel and the crank will interact to cause the cuffing reel to rotate. Vvhile
turning the crank, the operator can place a small sheet of paper between the
blades of the cutting reel and the bedknife to determine whether the reel and
bedknife have been properly adjusted. If the sheet of paper has been cut cleanly,
25 then the reel has been adjusted properly with respect to the bedknife. If the paper
is not cut cleanly, then the operator must again adjust the adjustment ",ecl~d";~",.
After the second adjustment, the operator will then again turn the handle of thecrank and place a small sheet of paper between the reel and the bedknife to
ascertain whether the proper adjustment has been made. The operator will repeat
30 this procedure until the sheet of paper is cut cleanly. Use of the crank eli.llilldlt:s
the need for the operator to place his hand directly on the cutting reel blades to
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turn the reel for cuffing the paper. The operator can then re-attach the hydraulic
motor to the cutting unit and begin mowing op~,dliuns.
Brief DescriPtion of the Drawin~s
Figure 1 is an exploded view of a reel mower cutting unit and the crank
",eul,a~ ", according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of a reel mower cutting unit having a hydraulic motor
Il ,e, t:alld. l ,ed.
Figure 3 is an exploded view of a conventional coupler positioned between
1û the shaft of the reel and the output shaft of the hydraulic motor.
Detailçd Descri~tion of the Preferred Cl"bo~i",~"l
Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a conventional reel mower cuffing
unit 10. The cutting unit 10 includes a frame 12 which generally supports the
cutting reel 14 and bedknife 16. Ground engaging rollers 18 are also mounted to
the cutting unit frame 12. The bedknife 16 is generally rigidly fixed to the cutting
unit frame 12. The reel 14 is mounted to the cutting unit frame 12 so that it can
be adjusted up and down with respect to the position of the bedknife 16. The reel
14 is rotatably mounted with a plate member 20 which is mounted to the cuffing
2û unit frame 12. An adjustment l"ecl~a"i~", 22 allows the operator to selectively
adjust the position of the plate member 2û thereby also adjusting the position of
the cutting reel 14 with respect to the bedknife 16. As the operator manipulatesthe adjustment ",eul,d";~", 22, the front portion 24 of the plate member 20 willpivot up and down about a rear pivot structure 26. An arcuate slot 28 is formed in
the cutting unit frame 12 for allowing the front portion 24 of the plate member 20
to pivot up or down. The adjustment ",aul,al,;~", 22 also rigidly fixes the plate
member 2û and reel 14 in the desired or selected position. A hydraulic motor 3û
is coupled to the plate member during mowing ù~Jel~ llS. The motor is
hydraulically driven by the power source of the vehicle and includes a male
splined output shaft 32. A coupling ",e"l,d"i~", 34 is positioned between the
motors output shaff 32 and the cçntral shaft 36 of the reel 14. The coupling
",e.l,d"i~", 34 as best seen in Fig. 3 includes a female splined opening 38 which
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mates with the output shaft 32 of the hydraulic motor 30, and a female splined
opening 40 which mates with the central shaft 36 of the reel 14. As seen in Fig.2, the hydraulic motor 30 is bolted to the plate member 20, but other ",e~,l,a,lia",:.
for fixing the hydraulic motor 30 to the plate 20 could alâo be provided, such as a
5 quick release device.
The cutting unit 14 shown in Fig. 2 illustrates one type of conventional
",~..I,a,~ib", for allowing the cutting reel 14 to be adjusted with respect to the
bedknife 16. Other ",ecl1d"i~",s could also be provided for allowing the operator
to acc~,l,lJI;~.I~ reel to bedknife adjustment.
Next, the operation of the preferred ~Illb~di~ of the present invention
will be described in greater detail. When the operator wishes to make reel to
bedknife adjustments, he will stop and dismount the vehicle and walk to the
cutting unit 14. He will then adjust the adjustment ,,lecl,~,,ia,,l 22 such that the
cutting reel 14 will shift up or down with respect to the bedknife 16. Affer making
an initial adjustment, the operator can then remove the hydraulic motor 30 from
the plate member 20. At this point, the operator must ascertain whether he has
properly adjusted the reel 14 with respect to the bedknife 16. According to the
present invention, the operator will then couple a crank member 42 to the shaff 36
of the reel where the hydraulic motor 30 was previously operatively coupled. Thecentral shaff 36 of the cutting reel 14 includes male splines 44 which mate withthe female splines 46 of the coupling r"ecl,a,~ia", 34 during mowing operation.
The crank 42 according to the present invention includes a female splined matingportion 48 which mates with the male splines 44 of the central shaff 36 of the
cutting reel 14. When the operator turns the crank 42 the mating splines formed
between the central shaff 36 of the reel 14 and the crank 42 will interact to cause
the cutting reel 14 to rotate. While turning the crank 42, the operator can place a
small sheet of paper between the blades 50 of the cutting reel 14 and the bedknife
16 to determine whether the reel 14 and bedknife 16 have been properly adjusted.If the sheet of paper has been cut cleanly, then the reel 14 has been adjusted
properly with respect to the bedknife 16. If the paper is not cut or is not cut
cleanly, or if the reel 14 will not rotate because it abuts against the bedknife 16
too much, then the operator must again adjust the adjustment l"e~ i "" 22.
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After the second adjustment, the operator will then again turn the handle 52 of the
crank 42 and place a small sheet of paper between the reel 14 and the bedknife
16 to ascertain whether the proper adjustment has been made. The operator will
repeat this procedure until the sheet of paper is cut cleanly. The operator can
5 then re-attach the hydraulic motor 30 to the cutting unit frame 12 and begin
mowing operation.
The present invention therefore allows an operator to adjust the position of
the reel 14 with respect to the bedknife 16 and ascertain whether the proper
adjustment has been made without requiring the operator to place his hand
directly on the reel 14 or reel blades 50. The crank 42 according the present
invention allows the operator to turn the reel 14 about its axis without p ' ,;"9
his hands in locations where he risks cutting his hand.
The crank ",e~;l)a~ ,", 42 according to the present invention is described
above as used while the cutting unit 10 remains coupled with the vehicle. For
15 example, the crank 42 may be utilized when the cutting unit 10 remains coupled
with the vehicle when reel to bedknife adjustments are made, or when the reel tobedknife adjustments are made after the operator has slld".clled the blades 50
while the cutting unit 10 remain coupled to the vehicle. Some conventional
vehicles provide ",ecl,d"is",:. that allow the operator to sharpen the blades 50 by
20 operating the reels 14 slowly in reverse while the operator applies a bachla~,i"~
compound to the reel blades 50. The compound acts to sharpen the blades as
they rotate in reverse past the bedknife 16. However, the crank ll l~,l Idl lislll 42
could also be used when the cutting unit 10 is removed from the vehicle for
sl~dl,~lcllillg the blades 50 on a w~rhL.e~ l,. When the cutting unit 10 is removed
25 from the vehicle and placed on a v~lhbcllcl, for slld" c"i"g, a motor is typically
coupled with the reel 14 for slowly turning the reel 14 in reverse. The operatorcan then apply a ba.:hlap~,i"g compound to the reel blades 50. The compound
sharpens the blades 50 as they pass by the bedknife 16. The crank 42 can also
be used to turn the reel 14 during reel to bedknife adjustments on a v~"hbe
30 after ba-,hldp,.i"g opcr r,s are complete.
