Deere & Company

Larry D Hining

Steven L Schmid

Curtis R Bening

James L Vogt

Dale R Dolberg

Frank K O'Toole

David E Klossner

A side-delivery rake includes a main frame comprising right- and left-hand frame members which diverge rearwardly and are interconnected at their forward ends by a front support assembly and are further interconnected by front, intermediate and rear braces. The intermediate brace is constructed of a cylindrical tubular member and is bent to include opposite end sections that are respectively disposed at right angles to the right- and left-hand main frame members. Identical bell cranks are mounted for rocking about opposite ends of the intermediate brace and include first arms respectively connected, by suspension chains, to identical upstanding brackets fixed to a rake reel support basket extending beneath the main frame, and second arms respectively connected to right- and left-hand lift cranks.

Integrated main frame and basket suspension for a side-delivery rake

A quick coupler for mounting a variety of implements to a vehicle, such as a lawn and garden tractor, is provided. The coupler easily mounts on the vehicle and receives powered or non-powered implements. The coupler includes pivot structure and hydraulic actuators to allow it swinging movement about a horizontal axis or the implement angling movement about a vertical axis. Interference between the coupler structure and drive line of the vehicle is eliminated as the coupler or implement is swung about their respective axes by positioning the angling cylinder below the PTO drive line and locating it between two coupler frame plates.

Implement coupler structure

A front-mounted snowblower is pivotally attached to a midmount location at the underside of a tractor frame by a pair of lift arms that extend between the tractor front wheel. A rockshaft is pivotally attached to the snowblower at a location forwardly of the tractor and is linked to brackets carried by the tractor axle. The rockshaft includes a transversely offset arm to which the forward end of a lift link is coupled, the rear end of the lift link being coupled to a lift handle located beside the tractor operator station and secured to the outer end of a support bracket fixed to rear end portions of the lift arms. The mounting of the handle to the bracket releases the handle from the bracket upon the handle being swung forwardly beyond a normal working range thereby permitting the implement lift arms to be moved between the tractor front wheels during attachment and detachment operations.

Lift system for front-mounted implements for lawn and garden tractors

Implements designed for attachment to a lawn and garden tractor include elongate attaching frames having the implement tool connected to first ends of the frames and transport wheels located so that the weight of the implement is distributed approximately half on opposite sides of the wheel axes so that the implement may be easily pushed about on the wheels during mounting and dismounting the implement to and from the tractor frame. Attachment brackets and lift links of the implements are engageable with attachment pins and lift crank arms of the tractor without necessitating any lifting of the implement. Also with driven implements, the drive belts are arranged on or stored with the implements so that the tractor drive may be easily and correctly connected.

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Ottumwa, IA, United States of America

Larry D Hining