The Toro Company

Robert C Comer

David J Scherbring

Henry B Tillotson, Iii

Dana R Lonn

John M Beattie

Charles C Holley

Wilbur J Hampel

James R Baumann

Jack R Gust

Gaylord M Pahl

Dean A Podevels

Edward A Rogers

Ronald J Holmstadt

Thomas F Kruzel

Reta Comer Wee, Legal Representative

Dan Comer, Legal Representative

Michael T Schmidt

Steve Comer, Legal Representative

Jerome F Yourczek

A core processor comprises a frame that supports a housing. The housing carries a rotary pulverizer inside a semi-cylindrical drum and a rotary pick up brush in a pick up head below the drum. The drum is open at the rear to form a rear discharge opening. The pick up head includes a full width rear roller behind the brush to support the housing for rolling movement over the ground in a work mode of the processor. In the work mode, the brush picks up aeration cores from the ground, delivers them to the rotary pulverizer which comminutes or pulverizes the aeration cores, and the particle debris so created exits through the rear discharge opening beneath a hood or shroud. A powered roller is located at a junction between the orbits of the brush and the pulverizer to help keep the junction free of a build up of core material. In a transport mode of the core processor, a pair of transport wheels are lowered into engagement with the ground until the pick up head is lifted out of engagement with the ground.

Aeration core processor

A turf injector includes a plurality of slitting knives followed by a plurality of nozzles for injecting chemicals into the ground. Each slitting knife is reversible to bring one of two longitudinally extending cutting edges into use, thereby extending the life of the knife. In addition, each slitting knife has dual sets of mounting holes received on a set of fixed mounting pins to further adjust the vertical position of each knife on the frame. This allows for wear of the cutting edge of the blade and further extends the life of the blade. The hole and pin mounting system desirably mounts each knife with its cutting edge held at a 15.degree. angle of inclination relative to the horizontal to minimize disruption of the turf and the length of the knife.

Turf injector with ground slitting knives

A liquid pumping apparatus and pump method is provided in which a reciprocal drive piston is carried in a pump body and is reciprocated back and forth by a mechanical power source such as a crankshaft. The pump body has a pump chamber which receives the liquid to be pumped. A pump piston which is separate from the drive piston is operatively connected to the pump chamber to expand and contract the volume of the pump chamber to first fill the pump chamber with liquid and then expel the liquid from the pump chamber in a pumping action. The pump piston is coupled to the drive piston for movement therewith during a portion of a pump cycle such that the drive piston is effective to move the pump piston in its volume expanding direction relative to the pump chamber at a first speed. Then, the connection between the pump piston and drive piston is broken and the pump piston is accelerated in its volume contracting direction to a second substantially faster speed to pump the liquid out of the pump chamber.

High pressure liquid pump apparatus and pumping method

A method and apparatus for treating turf to reduce the general soil density in which turfgrasses grow and thus promote turf growth and turf drainage which includes injecting through the turf into the soil a pattern of jets of generally incompressible liquid at a jet pressure and jet spacing to provide a lateral dispersion of the liquid within the soil such that the liquid dispersion from adjacent jets coact with one another to lift and fracture the soil. A plurality of small diameter nozzles are mounted on a movable frame generally transverse to the direction of travel of the frame. A pressurized fluid source is mounted on the frame and connected through a control device to the nozzles. The control device control the flow of liquid from the pressure source to the nozzles to produce periodic, relatively small cross-sectional, slugs, or jets, of liquid from the nozzles through the turf into the soil. The pressure on each slug of liquid is such that the liquid penetrates through the turf into the soil and also disperses generally laterally within the soil. The spacing of the nozzles and the speed of travel of the frame are such the lateral dispersion of each slug of liquid coacts with adjacent slugs to lift and fracture the soil, thereby reducing the compaction, or general density, of the soil and promoting turf growth and drainage.

Method and apparatus for treating turf

A sand trap contouring attachment for a sand trap maintenance machine. A preferred attachment (12) includes a plow blade (30), a pair of blade supports (32) wherein the plow blade (30) is operatively attached to the supports (32) and wherein the supports (32) are pivotally attached to the sand trap maintenance machine (10) frame (18) at pivot points (38). Blade (30) lies at the front of machine (10), pivot point (38) lies at the rear of machine (10), and support arms (32) lie intermediate the blade (30) and pivot points (38). Control member (34) is operatively attached to the supports (32) via links (42) and (44). Control member (34) comprises an operator handle wherein the handle provides an operator gripping surface area right and left of a longitudinal center line of the machine (10). Spring means (36), (37), (39) are operatively connected to the machine (10) and the support arms (32) for biasing the supports (32) and blade (30) away from the ground. Control member (34) is adjustable to two positions. Links (40) and (44) are provided for supporting arms (32) and blade (30) in a transport mode.

Sand trap maintenance machine

An apparatus and method is disclcosed for cultivating soil and turf by utilization of pressurized liquid injected into the soil and turf. A roller assembly (33) is provided for applying mechanical pressure to the turf after cultivation. Further, a means for setting a first speed in a transport mode and a second speed in a cultivating mode is provided. The apparatus is designed to be bidirectional to allow the apparatus to be used in both a forward and reverse direction. The flow of the pressurized liquid is controlled to be at intervals of from about 0.010 to 0.065 seconds and at pressures from about 2,300 psi to about 5,500 psi through nozzles having diameters of from about 0.033 to about 0.090 inches. The apparatus (10) utilizes a water hammer effect to effect the flow of pressurized liquid out of the nozzles 55 and has found a relationship in the pressure and pounds per square inch of the cross-sectional area of the bore of the manifold to the accumulated area of the output ports of the nozzles.

Method and apparatus for soil cultivation by high pressure injection of

A convertible vacuum-blower which includes a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet is disclosed. A motor and an impeller are supported in the housing. The impeller is supported for rotary motion and is driven by the motor. The impeller is in fluid communication with both the air inlet and the air outlet. The air inlet is selectively covered by an apertured, removable air inlet cover. A mechanism removably secures the air inlet cover to the housing. A switch mechanism is carried by the housing and allows the motor to operate when the air inlet is covered, but not when the air inlet is uncovered. A first switch actuator is carried by the air inlet cover for actuating the switch mechanism when the cover is secured to the housing covering the air inlet. A removable vacuum nozzle also includes a second switch actuator for actuating the switch means when the vacuum nozzle is secured to the housing covering the air inlet.

Convertible vacuum-blower

A rotary lawn mower (2) has a rigid cutting blade (6) rotatable in a housing (4). A filament holder (12) is releasably attached to blade (6) through aperture (16) by mounting means consisting of tab (22), neck (24), and collar (26). Filament holder (12) releasably contains a filament (14) which extends beyond housing (4) and provides a trimming function outside housing (4).

Attachment for rotary lawn mower

Lawn mower (2) includes a housing (4) having at least one cutting chamber (22 or 24) in which a flexible line cutting element (8) is rotated by a motor (76). Sails (80) located on cutting element (8) are configured to generate an air flow in the cutting chamber (20 or 22). This air flow is directed to a discharge outlet (38) in the housing (4) which causes the cut grass particles to be deposited in a grass collector (14). Grass collector (14) includes air discharge outlets (94) which evacuate the air flow from the grass collector (14) to ensure proper deposition of the grass particles therein. Sails (80) are preferably flexible so as to be incapable of severing a body member accidentally placed into contact therewith. An improved sail (240) radially outboard of a support disc (224) overlies flexible lines (226 and 228) to give better agitation of the vegetation in yet another embodiment.

Bagging filament mower

A snow thrower having an impeller which has forward facing blades which extend a short distance inward from the periphery of the impeller is disclosed. The impeller blades are substantially rigid during operation, and the impeller cooperates with two side walls and a continuous rear wall which form the active impeller housing. The continuous rear wall has a first portion whose cross section is a circular arc and generally follows the periphery of the impeller mounted within it. The rear wall has a second portion which extends forward and upward to define a substantially planar snow guiding surface which, in normal operation, guides the snow forwardly and upwardly as it leaves the area of interaction with the impeller.

Snow thrower

A hand-held power driven cultivator incorporating a pair of ground working implements or tillers mounted on a pair of laterally spaced vertical shafts depending from a motor and drive train enclosing housing. The tillers are counter-rotated and include interdigitating tines which engage and move the earth forwardly. A barrier freely surrounds each tiller supporting and driving shaft, and completely encloses the shaft between the tiller and the overlying housing. A scraper blade is associated with each barrier and includes a scraping edge spaced slightly from the barrier so as to enhance the ability of the barrier to repel or prevent the accumulation of weeds, roots, debris, and the like. Support and manipulation of the housing is provided for by an elongated handle including an upper fixed hand grip and power switch, and a lower adjustable hand grip.

Power cultivator with debris excluding barrier and scraper

A discrete cutting element (18) including a plurality of cutting filaments (26) for use in a vegetation line trimmer (10). In a preferred embodiment provided filaments (26) emanate from a common locus (27) at a filament holder (16) for rotation about the holder's axis of rotation. Certain embodiments can include axially fixed apparatus for conducting the associated filaments (26) away from a spool-like member (23) around which the filaments (26) are wound, and aiding divergence of the filaments.

Cutting element for vegetation line trimmers

A reciprocating cutter incorporating at least one saw blade and being optionally provided with a cooperating guard. The guard provides a protective cover for the blade or blades of the cutter and, through a spring-loaded biasing thereof, cooperates with the cutter to both stabilize the blade or blades and the workpiece and provide a degree of control for the movement of the cutter through the workpiece. The cutter, which may utilize a single reciprocating blade with which a spring-biased guard cooperates, in most instances will comprise a pair of alternately reciprocating blades, the teeth of which are selectively set to define a single clean kerf in the workpiece. The blade or blades can comprise the sole cutting device in a hand-held motor-driven implement, or alternatively can constitute an attachment, either permanent or removable, for a hand-held motor-driven hedge trimmer incorporating reciprocating trimmer blades to which the saw blades will be operably joined for simultaneous reciprocation therewith.

Reciprocating cutter

An improved powered lawn care implement which can accomplish both reducing of debris and removal of lawn thatch. The implement includes a generally horizontally mounted elongated processing element which carries a plurality of generally radially extending resilient filaments. The implement can be made so that the height of the processing element above the ground surface which is to be worked by the implement can be varied. Free ends of the filaments can thereby be made to engage either debris at the lawn surface or dead vegetative matter located near the base of grass filaments growing in a lawn.

Growing community of inventors

Hopkins, MN, United States of America

Robert C Comer