Deere + Company

Ronald Lee Reichen

Richard David Thier

Mark Alvin Schmidt

Phillip Orland Swenson

Eric Alan Poulson

David Lawrence Phillips

John Michael Flenniken

Todd Allen Link

Donald Lewis Cripps

Larry Neil Smith

Brian Keith Pearman

Kenneth Edward Hunt

Harlin J Trefz

Christopher Scott Thorman

David Gayland Surridge

Jeffrey David Witwer

Donald Emil Niosi

Jason Mclamb Honeycutt

Brent Gordon Rinholm

Sanjeev M Hallale

Carl Steven Silbernagel

Russell D Copley

Stephen E O'Brien

Shane D Simon

John Louis Bocksnick

Bradley P Aldridge

Jennifer Lynn Jaramillo

Arthur L Hubbard

Troy W Harris, Iii

William R Wood

Bruce L Hubbard

Mitchel R Torrie

David Henry Diebold

Richard F Percy

William Barry Lambeth, Jr

Joe H Hoeksema

Mark Nier

Scott A Jarman

Truluck Tillman Ammons, Iii

Brent Gordon Rinhoim

J M Flenniken

Schlueter, Francis E

Ezekiel A Susman

Brian M Joliff

Richard D Thier

Troy W Harris Lll

Robert Dunigan

Brian Pearman

Jason Honeycutt

Commercial walk behind mower operator controls include a rigid handlebar with a pair of hand grips, each hand grip having a non-horizontal axis. A pair of operator control levers are mounted adjacent the handlebar and hand grips. Both operator control levers are pivotable about a single pivot point having a pivot axis that is non-parallel to the axis of each hand grip. Each operator control lever is pivotable toward the hand grip to reduce the rotational speed of a drive wheel.

Commercial walk behind mower operator controls

A quick change rotary mower blade assembly includes a mower blade attached to a blade assembly pin that is inserted into an internal bore in a spindle extending through a housing under the mower deck. A blade retainer on the lower end of the spindle has a pair of notches holding and locking the mower blade in place.

Quick change rotary mower blade assembly

A height of cut adjuster for a reel mower cutting unit with a removable attachment includes a front roller with a shaft positionable in front of the cutting reel axis, and a roller bracket assembly having a bottom bracket removably attached to a top bracket to provide a gap therebetween where the front roller shaft is held. The roller bracket assembly may be pivoted, and the top bracket may be connected to the bottom bracket in a different position further from the cutting reel, so that an attachment such as a conditioner may be installed between the front roller and the cutting reel.

Height of cut adjuster assembly for reel mower cutting unit with removable attachment

An aerator having a flexible frame for use on sloped or undulating ground surfaces of golf courses and other turf. The aerator includes a pair of frame sections linked together at a horizontal pivot axis, one of the frame section supporting a coring head. A ground sensor is pivotably attached to one of the frame sections so that the ground sensor may pivot in response to changes in ground slope and provide output relating to the magnitude of the change. Based on the output, a flex frame actuator pivots the pair of frame sections with respect to each other.

Aerator having flexible frame

A grass catcher retaining device for a reel mower cutting unit includes a central support ring removably fastened to a loop projecting forwardly from a lift arm for the reel mower cutting unit. The central support ring may be pivotably mounted to the top of the grass catcher, and may have a gate that is spring biased to the closed position to engage a wireform loop extending forwardly from the lift arm that supports the reel mower cutting unit. Additionally, a rod may extend horizontally from the sides of a grass catcher and may be pivotably attached to the reel mower cutting unit.

Grass catcher retaining device for reel mower cutting unit

A user interface and control system for adjusting the reel of a cutting reel unit includes a frame supported by at least one support element that is supported on, and is movable along, the ground. The system also includes a cutting reel, a bedknife, first and second actuators, a controller, and an operator input station, all carried on the frame. The reel and bedknife define a cutting line therebetween. The first actuator is adjustable to set a clearance between the reel and the bedknife. The second actuator is operatively connected between the frame and the bedknife to adjust the elevation of the cutting line to set a height-of-cut of the cutting reel. The controller is signal-connected to the first and second actuators, to adjust the actuators. The operator input station is signal-connected to the controller, the operator input station including a keypad portion and a display portion, wherein the clearance and the height-of-cut are indicated on the display portion and the clearance and the height-of-cut can be selectively changed via the controller by operator input to the keypad portion.

User interface and control for cutting reel system

A latch mechanism is disclosed that retains a grass catcher on a reel mower cutting unit. The latch mechanism includes a latch plate releasably holding a rod end of the grass catcher in a slot on the reel mower cutting unit. The latch plate pivots on a horizontal axis. A clip is fastened to the horizontal axis to lock the latch plate in either a locked position retaining the grass catcher or an unlocked position allowing removal of the grass catcher.

Latch mechanism for retaining grass catcher on reel mower cutting unit

A height of cut adjustment mechanism is provided for a rotary cutting deck mounted on a lift arm extending from a traction vehicle. The mechanism includes a front axle and a rear axle, at least one roller mounted on each axle, and a pair of height of cut arms extending from each axle to a pivot axis on the rotary cutting deck. A notch lock on each height of cut arm may be moved between a locked position in which the notch lock engages a notch plate at a desired cutting height, and an unlocked position in which the notch lock disengages the notch plate so that the height of cut arm can pivot with respect to the rotary cutting deck. A lever attached to each notch lock can be operated to move the notch lock between the locked and the unlocked positions.

Height of cut adjustment mechanism for rotary cutting deck

A shift mechanism for trim mower cutting units includes a pair of slidable carriers. Each slidable carrier can slide along a pair of guide rods mounted to a mower frame. A hydraulic extension cylinder is connected to each slidable carrier and independently extends to move the slidable carrier laterally outward from the mower frame or retracts to move the slidable carrier laterally inward in relation to the mower frame. A hydraulic shifting cylinder is mounted between the two extension cylinders and extends to shift both slidable carriers laterally inward toward a center position, and retracts to move both slidable carriers laterally outward toward an extended position.

Shift mechanism for trim mower cutting units

A trim mower includes a frame supported by a plurality of wheels to travel over a ground surface, at least two front reel-type cutting units and at least one rear reel-type cutting unit. A separate lift arm is attached between the frame and each reel-type cutting unit. Each lift arm can pivot to move a reel-type cutting unit between a mowing position on a ground surface and a transport position raised above the ground surface. The lift arm for at least two of the cutting units, and preferably at least one front cutting unit and one rear cutting unit, can extend to selectively move the cutting units attached thereto laterally while the cutting units are in the mowing position. The lateral movement of a front cutting unit may be proportionately further than the lateral movement of a rear cutting unit.

Extendable lift arms for trim mower

A height of cut adjustment system for a reel type grass cutting unit includes adjustment screw mechanisms mounted at each corner of the cutting unit. Linkages between the adjustment screw mechanisms permit driving all of the adjustment screw mechanisms synchronously from a single adjustment point to change the cutting height. The linkages may be worm gear drives or other mechanical linkages.

Height of cut adjustment system for reel mower

A control system for a cutting reel unit includes a height-of-cut adjusting system and a reel-to-bedknife clearance adjusting system. The height-of-cut adjusting system includes a first frame; a second frame; a cutting reel supported by the second frame; a bedknife arranged adjacent to the cutting reel and supported by the second frame; at least one support element arranged to translate along the ground and arranged to support the first frame; and at least one first actuator connected between the first frame and the second frame and arranged to adjust the relative elevation of the second frame with respect to the first frame. The reel-to-bedknife clearance adjusting system includes at least one second actuator operatively connected between the reel and the second frame and a sound detector.

Cutting reel adjusting system

A reinforced grass catcher may be positioned adjacent a cutting unit of a grass mower, the reinforced grass catcher having a pair of sides, an upper panel and a lower panel, an opening between the upper panel and lower panel facing the cutting unit, and at least one retaining structure integrally formed with the lower panel adjacent the opening. The reinforcing member may be inserted through the retaining structure or structures. Each retaining structure may be a channel, passage, opening, cavity, groove, hollow, notch, slot, hole, indentation, tunnel, port, aperture or recess that is integral with the lower panel. The reinforcing member resists or limits warping or bending of the grass catcher at or near the opening. The reinforcing member prevents loss of grass clippings through a gap between the grass catcher and cutting unit.

Grass catcher reinforcement

A control system for a cutting reel unit includes a reel-to-bedknife clearance adjusting system. The reel-to-bedknife clearance adjusting system includes at least one actuator operatively connected between the reel and the bedknife, and a sound detector. A controller is signal-connected to the actuator and the sound detector and coordinates the reel-to-bedknife clearance adjustment. During adjustment, reel-to-bedknife clearance is reduced by the actuator until a contact sound between the reel blades and the bedknife is detected and signaled to the controller, which then reverses the actuator and increases the clearance by a pre-selected precise amount.

Method and apparatus for setting and maintaining reel-to-bedknife clearance

Growing community of inventors

Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Ronald Lee Reichen