Deere & Company

Michael Todd Schmidt

Curtis D Ayers

Eric R Funk

Jennifer Lynn Jaramillo

Chad C Steen

Justin R Rothrock

Douglas Van Meter

Jeffrey Paul Chenevert

Rajesaheb Bagwan

Brian Matthew Adkins

Brian Charles Kelly

Michael Jeffrey Austin

Abhijit Joshi

Umakanta Padhan

James Anthony Palmer

A flexible mower deck includes a center deck with a plurality of belt driven pulleys for rotating a plurality of rotary cutting blades under the center deck. A wing deck is pivotably attached to each of the first and second ends. A motor on each wing deck rotates a rotary cutting blade by actuating a switch in an operator station to pivot each wing deck to a mowing position.

Flexible mower deck

A zero turning radius mower has an internal combustion engine mounted transversely on a pair of longitudinal frame members behind an operator seat and a pair of rear drive wheels. The engine rotates a flywheel on a horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal frame members. A gearbox is mounted to one of the longitudinal frame members, with a horizontal input shaft driven by the engine and a vertical output shaft engaging one or more rubber belts. The same rubber belts drive a pair hydrostatic transmissions for the pair of rear drive wheels and a plurality of rotary mower blades under a mower deck.

Zero turning radius mower

A zero turning radius mower radiator mounting structure having inclined deflectors extending upwardly from the radiator. The inclined deflectors slide on a cross member extending horizontally across the roll over protection system if the mower is in a rollover position. The inclined deflectors push the radiator rearwardly from the roll over protection system and disengage the radiator from first and second pairs of isolators.

Zero turning radius mower radiator mounting structure

A convertible mower deck has a plurality of adjoining cuffing chambers under a mower deck, each cutting chamber having a cutting blade mounted to the lower end of a vertical spindle. Angled pivoting baffles are positioned in the openings between adjoining cutting chambers, and a baffle also is mounted in the discharge opening from one of the cutting chambers. The baffles may pivot between an open position for the grass clippings to be discharged or collected, a closed position for the grass clippings to be mulched, and one or more intermediate positions for some of the clippings to be discharged or collected, and the remainder to be mulched.

Convertible mower deck with angled pivoting baffles

A mower deck having movable chamber gate members that permit the deck to selectively operate in either a discharge or mulching mode of operation. The deck includes a control structure that operates the gate members to permit the operator to quickly and easily switch between the discharge mode and the mulching mode while mowing.

Mower having a mower deck adapted for selective mulching or non-mulching modes

A belt drive arrangement for a cutting implement having multiple pivotally connected decks. The arrangement consists of pulley carrying arms, whereby each of the arms carries a plurality of drive and driven pulleys having respective belts thereon for the transfer of power to the blades carried within each of the decks. Each arm has an end mounted with the deck whereby the arrangement is pivotal to permit the axes about which each of the pulleys rotate to remain substantially parallel to each other as a particular deck flexes relative to an adjacent deck. The belts then generally maintain alignment with the grooves of the pulleys. Consequently, the belts are less stressed as they rotate since they do not have to twist and/or bend when entering or exiting the pulleys.

Growing community of inventors

Holly Springs, NC, United States of America

Michael Todd Schmidt