Patent number: 5946893

Lawn mower having cutter deck motion coupled to mower wheel motion

Original Assignee: Ferris Industries, Inc.

Field of technology: Tools, Vehicles, Engines and Transportation

Patent granted on: Tue, 07 Sep 1999

Patent drawing

Abstract

A riding lawn mower has wheels which are spring suspended from the chassis and a floating-type cutter deck hangs from the chassis. When a wheel moves upwardly relative to the chassis, as occurs when the wheel goes across a bump or when the chassis leans in a turn, a nearby portion of the cutter deck is lifted upwardly in response. In one embodiment, the drive wheels are independently spring suspended rear wheels and the cutter deck is mounted between the front and rear wheels. On each side of the machine a chain runs from a lifting bracket attached to each rear wheel motor mount and runs down to the rear end of the deck. So, when a wheel moves upwardly the deck is moved upwardly. In another embodiment, the front wheels are the spring suspended drive wheels and the cutter deck is cantilevered from the front end of the machine. The rear end of the cutter deck is lifted upwardly upon upward wheel motion.