Castering Wheel Assembly for Rotary Mowers

Abstract

A castering wheel assembly comprising of a vertical shaft for caster, a horizontal wheel-mount standard, an axle pivotally attached to the standard, two wheels; with one wheel at each end of the axle arranged such that when the wheel assembly is attached to a rotary mower apparatus, the apparatus will follow straight on a side slope. Two embodiments of a mower apparatus comprising a mower deck and two wings, with a plurality of rear wheels mounted behind the mower deck(s) and two castering wheel assemblies mounted ahead of the mower deck such that the mower deck(s) ride along the ground. A trailing or offset floating hitch member is pivotally attached at one end to the front wheel assembly of the center mower deck and pivotally attached at an opposite end to a tractor allowing the mower deck(s) to float with respect to the tractor to follow contours on the ground.

Description

[0001]This invention is in the field of rotary mowers and in particular a castering wheel assembly that allows the rotary mowers to follow a side slope as found in roadside ditches. This invention further allows the development of a trailing floating hitch rotary mower apparatus and an offset floating hitch rotary mower apparatus to be used for roadside maintenance.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Rotary mowers are used for cutting vegetation of various types; crops and non-crop vegetation such as grass, weeds, and brush. Most commonly they are used to maintain roadside ditches and other public lands. These rotary mowers often include two or three mower decks mounted side by side. The decks are offset fore and aft to provide the required over lap from the rotating blade under one deck to that of the adjacent deck, and the outside decks or wings, fold upward to allow for transport. Wing rotary mowers are most often of the trailing type; wherein the mower is supported by the wheels be...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]It is an object of the present invention to provide a castering wheel assembly that when attached to a rotary mower apparatus allows the apparatus to follow on a side slope to effectively cut roadside ditches.

[0010]It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotary mower apparatus adapted for attachment to a tractor such that the rotary mower floats with respect to the tractor to allow the mower to follow the contours of the ground, ensuring an even cut.

[0011]It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotary mower apparatus adapted for attachment to a tractor such that the mower apparatus follows a path offset from the path of the tractor and wherein the amount of offset can be varied, to provide operator safety and convenience when mowing roadside ditches

[0012]The present invention provides, in one aspect a castering wheel assembly for attachment to a rotary mower apparatus to allow travel along a side slope in an operating travel direction. The caster wheel assembly comprises of a vertical shaft for castering, a horizontal wheel mount standard, an axle pivotally attached to the wheel standard, and two wheels wherein each wheel is attached to the first and second end of the axle. The wheels pivot about a horizontal longitudinal axis and the wheels are arranged such that the distance between the centers of the wheels is greater then one-half the distance from the pivot point on the wheel axle to the running ground surface. This arrangement allows the castering wheel assembly to ride side slopes with a grade up to 45 degrees and still retain its ability to caster. This arrangement further allows the load center to remain between the wheel centers preventing the wheels from falling over and it allows the wheels to run perpendicular to the sloped surface preventing premature tire wear.

Problems solved by technology

This often results in uneven cuts as while as gouging of the approach as the mower is pulled up and over.

Wheels at the front of the wing-type rotary mower to allow the rotary mower to float where not added to the rotary mowers because of the difficulty the wheels had in castering on the side slope of the ditch.

The use of these conventional castering wheel systems resulted in extreme tire wear as while as the tires pulling off the wheel rims.

When a ditch slope is at the typical 10 degree grade or when mowing in the roadside ditch, mowers pulled directly behind the tractor work safely, but can be extremely uncomfortable for the operator who sits at an angle in the tractor.

When a tractor travels on ditch slopes with a steep grade or steeper grades present themselves, a potentially dangerous situation occurs, that sometimes results in tractor roll over and injury or death to the operator.

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