Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02427556 2003-05-02
~TII_IT~ ~~~IC~~
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility vehicle that includes a cargo box
and structure permitting a mower deck to be removably mounted there beneath
and
also be powered by the vehicle power source.
Sack~round of the Invention
It is known to provide utility vehicles with a cargo box and the capability of
carrying one or two passengers, including an operator. It is also known to
provide
trailed attachments such as sprayers, trailers and ball field finishers.
Additionally, it
is known to provide front attachments such as blades.
It is also known to provide lawn and garden tractors with a single passenger
seat and a mower deck mounted between the front and rear wheels. ~n equipment
such as lawn and garden tractors and ATVs, it is known to provide either
trailed or
pushed attachments such as mowers, tillers, blades and miscellaneous tools.
Summary of the Invention
It would be desirable to provide a utility vehicle with its cargo and/or load
carrying capability with grounds mowing ability. Such vehicles could be of
particular
use for homeowner, nursery and similar grounds care types of applications.
Bt would also be desirable to provide such a vehicle with a linkage on its
lower frame portion that would permit quick and easy mounting or dismounting
of the
mower unit to a vehicle. Further it would be desirable to provide a deck
mounting
linkage that permits selective vertical adjustment of the deck for different
heights of
cut. Additionally it would be desirable to provide the capability of powering
a mower
deck through use of the same power source that provides propulsion for the
vehicle.
It would further be desirable to provide a utility vehicle mower combination
with a tight turning circle that allows easy maneuvering around trees, shrubs
and
bushes as welP as the capability of carrying tools, sand, gravel, mulch and
similar
types of items or materials in the cargo box. It would also be desirable to
provide
the vehicle with a two person carrying capability as well as the ability to
utilize
attachments at the front or rear thereof.
CA 02427556 2003-05-02
With such a combination, there.would. be provided a utility vehicle that could
be of versatile use in homeowner, nursery and similar types of ground care
applications.
Brief Description of the Drawirs~s
Figure 1 is an elevated front left perspective view of a utility vehicle
having
cargo carrying capability as well as a mower deck mounired between the front
and
rear wheels.
Figure 2 is an enlarged left side view of the decl'c and its mounting
structure
beneath the vehicle.
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the deck and drive and driven pulleys that
provide for transmitting power to the deck from the power source of the
vehicle.
Figure 4 is an underside view of the vehicle illustrating the drive pulley
coupled with the engine that transmits power to the deck, as well as the rear
mounting brackets for supporting the deck from the vehir;Ie.
Description of the &'referred Embodiment
Looking first to Figure 1, there is illustrated an elevated front left
perspective
view of a utility vehicle 10 equipped with a mower deck 12. The vehicle 10
includes
a frame 14 carried by front and rear wheels 16 and 18 with an operator station
20 in
the center portion thereof. The operator station 20 includes an operator seat
22 as
well as a passenger seat 24. Behind the operator station 20 is a cargo box 26
for
carrying various loads such as tools, shrubbery, lumber, wand, gravel, mulch
and so
forth. A steering wheel 28 is provided in front of the operator seat 22 and an
engine
30, see Figure 4, is provided in the mid-portion of the vehicle 10 beneath and
behind
the operator station 20.
The vehicle 10 is equipped with a linkage supported by the frame 14 to
removably mount the mower deck 12 between the front and rear wheels 16 and 18.
The linkage, as is best illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, inclc.ades support for
the deck 12
at its rear and its front portions. At the rear portion of the deck 12, there
is provided
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CA 02427556 2003-05-02
a pair of rear support links 32 that are attachable to laterally spaced apart
brackets
34 carried on the deck 12.
Spring loaded j-pins 36 are provided to permit the support links 32 to be
quickly and easily attached to or removed from the bracN;ets 34. Separate
laterally
spaced apart lift linkage arrangements, including pivotally mounted lift links
38 and
lost motion links 40 are connected to the deck mounted :support links 32 for
adjusting
the vertical position of the rear of the deck 12. The lift links 38 would be
raised and
lowered through operation of a conventional lever and linkage arrangement or
one
powered hydraulically.
At the front of the deck 12, there is provided a quick-attach suspension
mechanism 42 to suspend the front end of the deck 12 from the vehicle 10. This
suspension mechanism is discussed in considerable detail in lJS Patent
5,025,617
and its teachings are intended to be incorporated by reference herein. As
shown in
Figure 3, the suspension mechanism 42 includes a pair of spaced apart
depending
brackets 44, each having a jaw or hook 46, and a hanger means 48. The hanger
means 48 includes fore and aft spaced apart front and rear cross bars 50 and
52
interconnected by fore and aft extending draft links 54. The rear cross bar 52
is
removably received in a pair of upwardly opening hooks 56 provided at the
front end
of the deck 12. Attached to the ends of the front cross bar 50 are offsets or
cam
means 58 that are receivable in the jaws 46 of the depending brackets 44 at
the front
of the vehicle 10. While not illustrated herein, a handle constructed of a
resilient
material is connected to one cam means and a latching rneans is provided in
the
form of a tab on the handle and opening in one depending bracket. The cam
means
58 attached to the ends of the front cross bar 50 are removably receivable in
the
jaws 46 provided in the depending brackets 44.
The deck 12 is conventional and in the preferred embodiment includes three
separate spindles 60 supporting respective blades 62 (sere Figure 4~. The deck
12
includes a centrally positioned pulley 64 which is drivingly connected with
the three
spindles 60 through a conventional beft drive arrangement, not shown. The deck
12
is also equipped with front and rear wheels 66 which can function as anti-
scalp
wheels to prevent the blades 62 from scalping the ground in uneven ground
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COnd!'tlOnS.
Looking now to Figures 2, 3 and 4, it can be seen that the vehicle engine 30
has a vertically oriented crankshaft 68 on which a jacksh~aft arrangement 70
is
provided. The lower pulley 72 of the jackshaft 70 serve:; as a drive pulley.
This can
be seen best in Figure 4.
The drive pulley 72 receives a belt 74 that is entrained around it and the
driven pulley 64 carried on the deck 12 to thereby power the blades 62 through
use
of the power source or engine 30 provided on the vehiclE=. 10.
In operation, the utility vehicle 10 could be utilized either with or without
the
mower deck 12. The cargo box 26 permits the transport of smaPl tools, lumber,
sheeting, gravel, sand, mulch and similar types of materials that would be
used
around the home, in a nursery or in grounds care types of applications. With
the
second seat 24, the vehicle 10 allows an operator and an assistant to be
transported
with the cargo between job sites or locations.
When the vehicle 10 is to be used to mow fawns, the mower deck 12 can be
quickly and easily mounted to the front and rear linkage :'upports carried by
the
vehicle frame 12. Ta mount the deck 12, an operator slides it beneath the
vehicle 10
between the front and rear wheels 16 and 18. The vehicle's rear links 32 are
first
connected to the rear deck brackets 34 by the spring loaded j-pins 36, see
Figure 5.
Then the hanger means 48 of the suspension mechanism 42 is connected with the
hooks 56 on the deck 12 and hooks 46 of brackets 44. defter the rear cross bar
52
has been inserted into the hooks 56 at the front of the deck 12, the offsets
58 at the
ends of the front cross bar 50 are placed into the hooks 46 in the depending
brackets
44 at the front of the vehicle 10. To tension the draft links 54, the handle
which is
connected to the front cross bar 50 through the offsets 58, is rotated and the
offsets
or cam means 58 attached to the front cross bar 50 convert that rotational
motion to
linear motion, swinging the front cross bar 50 forwardly and pulling the draft
links 54
forwardly. Since the handle is preferably made of a resilient material, it can
be
pulled away from the bracket to allow the tab to be seated in the opening and
secure
the handle in a latched position. For a detailed illustration of the handle,
tab and
latch opening in the depending brackets 44, reference is made to the 5,025,617
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patent mentioned above. With the front.of the deck 12 now suspended, the
operator
is ready to mow. When the operator is ready to remove the deck, the process is
simply reversed.
With the present invention, there is provided a utility vehicle that can be
used by a homeowner for a variety of purposes including carrying and
transporting of
materials or a passenger and mowing of lawns and grounds. With the mower deck
mounting capability, the versatility and capabilities of the utility vehicle
are thus
greatly expanded.
Having described the preferred embodiment, it vvill become apparent that
various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the
invention
as defined in the accompanying claims.
