IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0543615
(1983-10-20)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
12 인용 특허 :
6 |
초록
▼
Apparatus is mounted on the rear of a riding lawn mower for utilizing a large supply of large size plastic sheet tubing to form plastic bags as needed for receiving the grass cuttings being discharged from the lawn mower, so that the mower operator need not leave his seat on the lawn mower in order
Apparatus is mounted on the rear of a riding lawn mower for utilizing a large supply of large size plastic sheet tubing to form plastic bags as needed for receiving the grass cuttings being discharged from the lawn mower, so that the mower operator need not leave his seat on the lawn mower in order to seal the plastic bag after it is full of cuttings, and to discharge the bag away from the lawn mower. This apparatus is vertically mounted. The grass cuttings are blown to the top of the apparatus into a first air-release funnel. Beneath this funnel is a supply of large plastic sheet tubing folded lengthwise into an annular cartridge. A throttle section is positioned beneath the cartridge for collapsing the sheet tubing into a rope-like formation. Then a pair of vertically-spaced sealing tape dispensers serve to seal the rope-like formation at two locations. Then a cutter severs the plastic to complete sealing the top of a filled bag and for sealing the bottom of the next plastic bag to be filled. A bag support platform is positioned at the bottom of the apparatus for supporting the plastic bag as it is being filled.
대표청구항
▼
1. A lawn care machine having a mobile main frame which carries high velocity airstream means for removing material from the ground and moving it through a discharge opening, the improvement comprising: a. an auxiliary frame adapted to be supported from the rear of said machine and having an air-
1. A lawn care machine having a mobile main frame which carries high velocity airstream means for removing material from the ground and moving it through a discharge opening, the improvement comprising: a. an auxiliary frame adapted to be supported from the rear of said machine and having an air-release funnel section at the top of this frame for receiving the delivery of material from the said discharge opening and separating out much of the airstream from the material, the lower end of the funnel section having a discharge opening through which the material falls; b. a supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is folded lengthwise into a compact annular cartridge that is arranged horizontally beneath the discharge opening of the funnel section; c. a plastic bag supporting platform positioned at the bottom of the auxiliary frame for supporting a plastic bag after it is formed from the plastic sheet tubing and filled by the removed ground material; d. whereby the leading edge of the said supply of large plastic sheet tubing is first sealed to create the bottom of a plastic bag, so that as the ground material passes through both the funnel section and the annular cartridge the plastic bag is being filled causing it to pay out from the cartridge and pass downward by gravity due to its increasing weight and volume until the bag comes to rest on the said supporting platform; e. a throttle section positioned beneath the cartridge of plastic sheet tubing comprising double-acting means for collapsing the empty top of the filled plastic bag while in place into a generally flat plane, as well as applying a collapsing force at the opposite ends of this generally flat plane to gather the plastic sheet tubing into a rope-like formation, and a pair of vertically-spaced sealing means for sealing the plastic rope-like formation at two locations, and cutter means for severing the rope-like formation at a location between the two sealed locations so as to seal both the top of the filled plastic bag and seal the bottom of the next bag to be formed; f. and remote control means for operating the said throttle section of the auxiliary frame to effect the collapsing operation of the top of the bag, as well as for operating the two sealing means, and operating the cutter means; g. and remote control means for unloading the sealed bag from the supporting platform. 2. A lawn care machine having a mobile main frame which carries high velocity airstream means for removing material from the ground and moving it through a discharge opening, the improvement comprising: a. an auxiliary frame adapted to be supported from the rear of said machine and having an air-release funnel section at the top of this frame for receiving the delivery of material from the said discharge opening and separating out much of the airstream from the material, the lower end of the funnel section having a discharge opening through which the material falls; b. a supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is folded lengthwise into a compact annular cartridge that is arranged horizontally beneath the discharge opening of the funnel section; c. a plastic bag supporting platform positioned at the bottom of the auxiliary frame for supporting a plastic bag after it is formed from the plastic sheet tubing and filled by the removed ground material; d. whereby the leading edge of the said supply of large plastic sheet tubing is first sealed to create the bottom of a plastic bag, so that as the ground material passes through both the funnel section and the annular cartridge the plastic bag is being filled causing it to pay out from the cartridge and pass downward by gravity due to its increasing weight and volume until the bag comes to rest on the said supporting platform; e. a throttle section positioned beneath the cartridge of plastic sheet tubing comprising double-acting means for collapsing the empty top of the filled plastic bag while in place into a rope-like formation, and a pair of vertically-spaced sealing means for sealing the plastic rope-like formation at two locations, and cutter means for severing the rope-like formation at a location between the two sealed locations so as to seal both the top of the filled plastic bag and seal the bottom of the next bag to be formed; f. and remote control means for operating the said throttle section of the auxiliary frame to effect the collapsing operation of the top of the bag, as well as for operating the two sealing means, and operating the cutter means; g. and remote control means for unloading the sealed bag from the supporting platform; h. the said double-acting collapsing means of the throttle section includes a first double-acting means for collapsing the empty top portion of the said filled plastic bag into a generally flat plane, and a second double-acting means for both gathering the said flat plane of the top of the filled plastic bag into a rope-like formation and holding it taut, while the said cutter means severs the finally sealed plastic bag from the plastic sheet tubing of the annular cartridge. 3. A lawn care machine having a mobile main frame which carries means for removing material from the ground and moving it through a discharge opening, the improvement comprising: a. an auxiliary frame adapted to be supported from the rear of said machine and having an air-release funnel section at the top of this frame for receiving the delivery of material through the said discharge opening, the lower end of the funnel section having a discharge opening; b. a supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is folded lengthwise into an annular cartridge that is arranged horizontally beneath the discharge opening of the funnel section; c. a plastic bag supporting platform positioned at the bottom of the auxiliary frame for supporting a plastic bag that contains the removed ground material; d. whereby the leading edge of the said supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is fed from the cartridge is first sealed to create a plastic bag, so that as the ground material passes through both the funnel section and the annular cartridge the plastic bag is being filled causing it to balloon outward and pass downward by gravity due to its increasing weight until the bag comes to rest on the said supporting platform; e. a throttle section positioned beneath the cartridge of plastic sheet tubing for collapsing the large plastic sheet tubing into a rope-like formation, and a pair of vertically-spaced sealing means for sealing the plastic rope-like formation at two locations, and cutter means for severing the rope-like formation at a location between the two sealed locations; f. wherein the said throttle section includes a first means for collapsing the top portion of the said plastic bag into a generally flat plane, and a second means for collapsing the said flat plane of the plastic bag into a rope-like formation and capable of holding it taut, wherein the said first means of the throttle section for collapsng the top portion of the plastic bag into a generally flat plane is a flexible cable system comprising a pair of vertically-spaced double loops of cable wherein each double loop of cable conforms to a generally rectangular wide-open configuration when the system is in the at-rest mode to allow for the filling and expansion and lowering of the plastic bag onto the said supporting platform, and each of the pair of double loops of cable are operated simultaneously for closing each double loop of cable on itself so that the previous, generally rectangular, wide-open configuration converts into a pair of parallel, closely spaced runs of cable with the top portion of the plastic bag squeezed shut therebetween. 4. The inventionas recited in claim 3 wherein each one of the double loops of cable has a first fixed end and a second movable tension end, each loop having a generally right-angular corner formation when in the at-rest mode, each said corner formation including a reel with an automatic retractable cable attached to the loop of the cable to create the right-angular corner formation when the cable system is in the at-rest mode, said retractable cable serving to pay out from the reel when a tension is applied to the second movable tension end of each loop of cable, thereby allowing each double loop of cable to straighten out into the said pair of parallel, closely spaced runs of cable as long as tension is held on the double loops of cable. 5. The invention as recited in claim 4 wherein the said second means of the throttle section for collapsing the said flat plane of the top portion of the plastic bag into a rope-like formation comprises a pair of opposed, track-mounted carriages which are spaced away from each other in their normal at-rest mode, and operating means joined to the first carriage for causing this carriage to advance toward the second carriage, and interconnecting means joining the two carriages so that an advancing movement of the first carriage will cause an advancing movement of the second carriage, and retractable cable means joined to the second carriage for causing the second carriage to retreat to its at-rest mode when the said operating means is released, the said interconnecting means then operating in reverse to cause the first carriage to likewise retreat to its at-rest mode, one carriage being furnished with the said cutter means as well as with the said pair of vertically spaced sealing means, while the other carriage is furnished with choking means above and below each sealing means for gathering the top portion of the plastic sheet tubing within the said throttle section into a rope-like formation in preparation for the cutting action, said other carriage also including receiver openings for receiving the cutter means and the pair of sealing means therein. 6. The invention as recited in claim 5 wherein the said operating means that is joined to the first carriage is the said flexible cable system that also serves to collapse the top portion of the plastic bag into a generally flat plane, said cable system only acting sequentially as the operating means of the first carriage after the cable system has finished collapsing the top portion into a flat plane. 7. The invention as recited in claim 6 wherein the said pair of track-mounted carriages are positioned to operate transversely across the auxiliary frame and along the back of the mobile main frame, and the said flexible cable system having an operating portion that leads off to one side of the said auxiliary frame, and directional means provided on the auxiliary frame to redirect the operating portion of the cable system forwardly and downwardly along one side of the mobile main frame for connection to a manual operating lever for controlling the cable system working within the throttle section. 8. The invention as recited claim 1 wherein each of said sealing means is a self-adhesive tape dispenser which includes a hollow housing having an elongated slot extending from the front edge to nearly the rear portion thereof, the front entrance to the slot having a pair of widely spaced guide walls which taper inwardly to meet the adjacent wall of the elongated slot for receiving and gathering in the top portion of the plastic bag, a reel of self-adhesive tape located in the housing at the inner end of the tapered entrance to the slot for automatically wrapping around the rope-like formation of the empty top of the plastic bag, and tape cutter means located in the dispenser housing toward the rear end of the slot for automatically cutting the tape after the sealing action, whereby the lowermost tape dispenser seals the top of the filled bag closed, while the upper tape dispenser seals the bottom end of the large plastic sheet tubing to form the closed bottom of the next plastic bag to be formed and filled. 9. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein the said plastic bag suporting platform at the bottom of the said auxiliary frame includes hinge support means adjacent one corner of the frontmost edge, and flexible tension members supported down from the auxiliary frame and joined to each of the remaining three corners of the platform for supporting the same in a generally horizontal suspended position, whereby the platform is capable of hinging upwardly in the event this lawn care machine were to ride into a ditch and the underside of the platform were to strike the edge or sloping areas of the ditch. 10. A self-propelled riding lawn mower furnished with a plastic sheet tubing bagging system for disposing of the grass cuttings and other ground litter, said sheet tubing bagging system comprising: a. an auxiliary frame adapted to be supported on the rear of the lawn mower and including an air-release funnel section at the top, the lawn mower having a blade housing with a discharge opening giving off a high velocity airstream for transporting the grass cuttings, an upwardly inclined delivery chute connected between the said discharge opening of the lawn mower and the air-release funnel section, the airstream becoming separated from the grass cuttings and returning to the atmosphere, and a discharge opening for the grass cuttings in the bottom of the funnel; b. a supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is folded lengthwise into a compact annular cartridge and arranged horizontally beneath the discharge opening of the funnel section; c. a plastic bag supporting platform positioned at the bottom of the auxiliary frame at a distance beneath the annular cartridge of plastic sheet tubing for providing space for supporting a plastic bag full of grass cuttings thereon; d. the lower leading end of the plastic sheet tubing being adapted to be pulled down from the annular cartridge and sealed shut to create a closed bottom portion of a plastic bag so that as the grass cuttings are passed upwardly through the said delivery chute and then downwardly through the funnel section and through the annular cartridge of plastic tubing, the plastic bag begins to fill with grass cuttings causing it to balloon outwardly and pass downwardly by gravity due to the weight and volume of the bag contents until the bag comes to rest upon the lower platform; e. a remote controlled means for collapsing the empty top of the filled plastic bag while in place into a generally flat plane, as well as applying a collapsing force at the opposite ends of this generally flat plane to gather the plastic sheet tubing into a rope-like formation; f. and a remotely controlled pair of vertically spaced plastic bag sealing means located in the auxiliary frame beneath the annular cartridge of plastic sheet tubing for engaging the rope-like formation and sealing both the upper end of a filled plastic bag as well as sealing the lower end of the next-to-be-formed plastic bag that is positioned above the filled bag; g. and a remote controlled cutter means for severing the rope-like formation at a location intermediate the said two vertically spaced sealing means; h. and a remote controlled unloading means for removing the sealed bag from its supporting platform. 11. The invention as recited in claim 10 wherein the said air-release funnel section is a centrifugal cyclone device with a top screen wall for allowing the escape of the airstream therefrom while the grass cuttings fall by gravity through the center of the said annular cartridge into the plastic bag being drawn down out of the said cartridge. 12. A self-propelled riding lawn mower furnished with a plastic sheet tubing bagging system for disposing of the grass cuttings and other ground litter, said sheet tubing bagging system comprising: a. an auxiliary frame adapted to be supported on the rear of the lawn mower and including an air-release funnel section at the top, the lawn mower having a blade housing with a discharge opening giving off a high velocity airstream for transporting the grass cuttings, an upwardly inclined delivery chute connected between the said discharge opening of the lawn mower and the air-release funnel section, the airstream becoming separated from the grass cuttings and returning to the atmosphere, and a discharge opening for the grass cuttings in the bottom of the funnel; b. a supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is folded lengthwise into a compact annular cartridge and arranged horizontally beneath the discharge opening of the funnel section; c. a plastic bag supporting platform positioned at the bottom of the auxiliary frame at a distance beneath the annular cartridge of plastic sheet tubing for providing space for supporting a plastic bag full of grass cuttings thereon; d. the lower leading end of the plastic sheet tubing being adapted to be pulled down from the annular cartridge and sealed shut to create a closed bottom portion of a plastic bag so that as the grass cuttings are passed upwardly through the said delivery chute and then downwardly through the funnel section and through the annular cartridge of plastic tubing, the plastic bag begins to fill with grass cuttings causing it to balloon outwardly and pass downwardly by gravity due to the weight and volume of the bag contents until the bag comes to rest upon the lower platform; e. A remote controlled means for collapsing the empty top of the filled plastic bag while in place into a rope-like formation; f. and a remotely controlled pair of vertically spaced plastic bag sealing means located in the auxiliary frame beneath the annular cartridge of plastic sheet tubing for engaging the rope-like formation and sealing both the upper end of a filled plastic bag as well as sealing the lower end of the next-to-be-formed plastic bag that is positioned above the filled bag; g. and a remote controlled cutter means for severing the rope-like formation at a location intermediate the said two vertically spaced sealing means; h. and a remote controlled unloading means for removing the sealed bag from its supporting platform; i. the said air-release funnel section is a centrifugal cyclone device with a top screen wall for allowing the escape of the airstream therefrom while the grass cuttings fall by gravity through the center of the said annular cartridge into the plastic bag being drawn down out of the said cartridge; j. the said remote controlled collapsing means comprises a first double-acting mechanism that collapses the open top of the plastic bag into a generally flat plane, as well as a second double-acting mechanism that applies a collapsing force at the opposite ends of this flat plane to gather the plastic sheet tubing into the said rope-like formation. 13. The invention as recited in claim 12 wherein the said first mechanism of the bag throttle means comprises a flexible cable system with a pair of vertically spaced double loops of cable wherein each of the two double loops conforms to a generally rectangular, wide-open configuration when the cable system is in its at-rest mode to allow for the filling and expansion and lowering of the plastic bag onto the said support platform, and each of the pair of double loops of cable are operated simultaneously for closing each double loop of cable on itself so that the previous, generally rectangular, wide-open configuration converts into a pair of parallel, closely spaced runs of cable with the top portion of the plastic bag squeezed shut therebetween. 14. The invention as recited in claim 13 wherein each one of the double loops of cable has a first fixed end and a second movable tension end, each loop having a generally right-angular corner formation when in the at-rest mode, each said corner formation including a reel with an automatic retractable cable attached to the loop of the cable to create the right-angular corner formation when the cable system is in the at-rest mode, said retractable cable serving to pay out from the reel when a tension is applied to the second movable tension end of each loop of cable, thereby allowing each double loop of cable to straighten out into the said pair of parallel, closely spaced runs of cable as long as tension is held on the double loops of cable. 15. The invention as recited in claim 14 wherein the said second mechanism of the bag throttle means comprises a pair of opposed, track-mounted carriages which are spaced away from each other in their normal at-rest mode, and operating means joined to the first carriage for causing this carriage to advance toward the second carriage, and interconnecting means joining the two carriages so that an advancing movement of the first carriage will cause an advancing movement of the second carriage, and retractable cable means joined to the second carriage for causing the second carriage to retreat to its at-rest mode when the said operating means is released, the said interconnecting means then operating in reverse to cause the first carriage to likewise retreat to its at-rest mode, one carriage being furnished with the said cutter means as well as with the said pair of vertically spaced sealing means, while the other carriage is furnished with choking means above and below each sealing means for gathering the top portion of the plastic sheet tubing within the said throttle section into a rope-like formation in preparation for the cutting action, said other carriage also including receiver openings for receiving the cutter means and the pair of sealing means therein. 16. The invention as recited in claim 15 wherein the said operating means that is joined to the first carriage is the said flexible cable system that also serves to collapse the top portion of the plastic bag into a generally flat plane, said cable system only acting sequentially as the operating means of the first carriage after the cable system has finished collapsing the top portion into a flat plane. 17. The invention as recited in either one of claims 7, 10 or 16 wherein each of said pair of bag sealing means is a self-adhesive tape dispenser which includes a hollow housing having an elongated slot extending from the front edge to nearly the rear portion thereof, the front entrance to the slot having a pair of widely spaced guide walls which taper inwardly to meet the adjacent wall of the elongated slot for receiving and gathering in the top portion of the plastic bag, a reel of self-adhesive tape located in the housing at the inner end of the tapered entrance to the slot for automatically wrapping around the rope-like formation of the plastic bag, and tape cutter means located in the dispenser housing toward the rear end of the slot for automatically cutting the tape after the sealing action, whereby the lowermost tape dispenser seals the top of the filled bag closed, while the upper tape dispenser seals the bottom end of the large plastic sheet tubing to form the closed bottom of the next plastic bag to be filled. 18. The invention as recited in either one of claims 7, 10 or 16 wherein the said plastic bag supporting platform at the bottom of the said auxiliary frame includes hinge support means adjacent one corner of the frontmost edge, and flexible tension members supported down from the auxiliary frame and joined to each of the remaining three corners of the platform for supporting the same in a generally horizontal suspended position, whereby the platform is capable of hinging upwardly in the event this lawn care machine were to ride into a ditch and the underside of the platform were to strike the edge or sloping areas of the ditch, and the said large plastic sheet tubing is of transparent or translucent material so the operator may view the contents of the plastic bag while it is being filled so as to avoid overfilling the bag and disabling this plastic sheet tubing bagging system. 19. The method of collecting grass cuttings and ground litter which are being carried in an airstream and discharged at high speed from a machine traveling over the ground, said method comprising: a. the steps of separating much of the airstream from the grass cuttings and ground litter and returning the airstream to the atmosphere; and b. providing a supply of large plastic sheet tubing that is folded into a compact annular cartridge, where the lower end of the tubing is first gathered together and sealed shut in the nature of a bag; and c. allowing the grass cuttings and ground litter to fall through the center of the annular cartridge and to fill the plastic bag thereby causing the plastic tubing to pay out from the cartridge as the bag begins to fill up and lower itself by gravity; and d. supporting the plastic bag on a suspended platform raised above the ground as the said machine travels over the ground; e. and in the area beneath the annular cartridge of plastic tubing creating by means of remote control a throttling action on the empty top portion of the plastic bag to collapse the bag into a closed rope-like formation at a critical time before the plastic bag becomes overfilled; and f. applying sealing means by remote control at two spaced locations along the length of the rope-like formation to insure that the plastic tubing is sealed shut at those locations; and g. severing the said rope-like formation by remote control in the area intermediate the two sealed locations so as to seal both the top of the lower plastic bag while sealing the bottom end of the next plastic bag to be filled by this method; and h. unloading the sealed plastic bag by remote control from the suspended supporting platform so this plastic bag-forming and filling method can be recycled. 20. The method of forming and filling plastic bags as recited in claim 19 wherein the said separated return airstream is directed away from the forward direction of travel of the said machine so as to provide the operator of this machine with a clean work environment. 21. The method of forming and filling plastic bags as recited in claim 20 wherein the flow of the said grass cuttings and ground litter is halted temporarily just prior to creating the throttling action so the said rope-like formation does not entrap the grass cuttings and ground litter. 22. The method of forming and filling plastic bags as recited in claim 20 wherein the filling operation of the plastic bag is halted before the top level of the grass cuttings in the bag reaches the location where the lower sealing operation takes place. 23. The method of forming and filling plastic bags as recited in claim 22 wherein the said supply of large plastic sheet tubing is of great length as compared to its diameter, and it is compressed lengthwise into a compact annular shape having a vertical height of a very small dimension. 24. The method of forming and filling plastic bags as recited in claim 23 wherein the said compact annular cartridge has restraining means for resisting the wholesale removal of the plastic sheet tubing from the cartridge as the plastic bag is being filled so the sheet tubing pays out only one length at a time. 25. The method of forming and filling plastic bags as recited in claim 24 wherein the method is practiced in a generally vertical array where the step of separating much of the airstream from the grass cuttings occurs mainly adjacent the top of the array, next followed by the provision of the supply of large plastic sheet tubing in the compact annular cartridge, next followed by the area for creating the throttling action on the plastic sheet tubing coupled with the application of the sealing means and, in turn, the severing of the rope-like formation, next followed by the large, generally open, bag-forming area where the plastic bag is filled, and lastly followed by the bag-supporting platform area as the lowermost formation of the vertical array.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.