SCRUB CLAW FOR A MOWER

Abstract

An attachment for a commercial grade frontal mower/slasher comprises a forwardly extending member which can be raised and lowered and which extends in front of the mowing direction when in the lowered position. The forwardly extending member contains a plurality of transversely spaced steel fms which have a particular shape such that if the fms strike an obstacle such as a hidden rock in long grass, the fms will cause the forwardly extending member to be lifted which will alert the driver of the obstacle. The forwardly extending member can also be manipulated to allow the obstacle to be dragged away. The fms in the forwardly extending member can also be pushed into clumpy material such as lantana or blackberry and the mower reversed to allow the material to be mowed.

Claims

1. An apparatus attachable to a frontal mower, the apparatus comprising a forwardly extending member which is adapted for movement between a raised position and a lowered position where the member is in front of the mower, the member comprising a plurality of spaced apart fins, the fins having a lower edge adapted for sliding motion along the ground, a leading edge extending forwardly relative to the lower edge, the leading edge adapted to ride at least partially over an obstacle, and a rear edge arranged rearwardly relative to the lower edge such that the lower edge is positioned in between the rear edge and the leading edge, the rear edge being adapted to engage with and move obstacles.

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the leading edge extends upwardly relative to the lower edge.

3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the rear edge extends upwardly relative to the lower edge.

4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a support member to support the fins, the support member comprising a cross bar, an upper part of the fins being attached to the cross bar.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the forwardly extending member is pivotally attached relative to the mower.

6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, including a pair of spaced apart lift arms, the cross bar extending between the lift arms and adjacent a front end of the lift arms.

7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including at least one ram to move the forwardly extending member.

8. The apparatus in accordance with and claim 7, wherein the at least one ram is coupled at one end to an upwardly extending support arm and at the other end to the forwardly extending member.

9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8, including a mounting plate adapted for attachment to the mower, the forwardly extending member being pivotally attached to the mounting plate, a lower end of the extending support member being fixed to the mounting plate.

10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, including an accumulator adapted to support the weight of the forwardly extending member to enable the forwardly extending member to be raised with reduced force from an obstacle contacted by the fins.

11. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

[0035] FIG. 1. Illustrates an apparatus attached to a mower and where the forwardly extending member is in the lowered position.

[0036] FIG. 2. Illustrates a forward view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the forwardly extending member in the raised position.

[0037] FIG. 3. Illustrates a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the forwardly extending member in the lowered position.

[0038] FIG. 4. Illustrates a rear view and of the apparatus attached to a mower.

[0039] FIG. 5. Illustrates a close-up view of one side of the apparatus.

[0040] FIG. 6. Illustrates the apparatus in use mowing long grass.

[0041] FIG. 7. Illustrates the apparatus contacting a rock on the ground.

[0042] FIG. 8. Illustrates the ability of the apparatus to drag a rock away.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] Referring initially to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, being a bramble and rock bar 10 that is pivotally attached to a known type of light commercial frontal mower 11. The apparatus 10 has a forwardly extending member 13 which can move between a lowered position illustrated in FIG. 1 (and FIG. 3) and a raised position illustrated at least in FIG. 2. The forwardly extending member has a plurality of spaced apart fins 14. Each fin 14 has a lower edge 15 which is designed to be able to slide along the ground 19 or be slightly spaced above and reasonable parallel the ground 19. Each fin 14 further has a front leading edge 16 which curves upwardly to enable it to slightly ride over a ground obstacle (see FIG. 7) such as a rock 40, stump or anything else that may be hidden in the long grass and which may damage the mower blades. Finally, each fin 14 has an abrupt rear edge 17 (best illustrated in FIG. 2) which is slightly concave.

[0044] In brief, the apparatus 10 has at least three advantages. One advantage is as an obstacle detector to detect obstacles that may be hidden in the long grass or undergrowth that is being mowed/slashed. When the apparatus is in the lowered position illustrated in FIG. 1 (see also FIG. 6), and the mower is moved in a forward direction illustrated by the horizontal arrow in FIG. 1, the fins 14 will ride over any rock 40 or stump (see FIG. 6) that may be hidden in the long grass which will lift the forwardly extending member 13 upwardly and which will be a visual indicator to the driver 21 (see FIG. 2). It is envisaged that some form of audio alarm may also sound if the forwardly extending member 13 suddenly moves upwardly when in encounters a rock in the long grass.

[0045] A second advantage (see FIGS. 7 and 8) is as a claw or rake to enable the apparatus to pull obstacles such as rocks away from the mowing area and also to pull tangled woody weeds out of the ground for better mowing. With the second advantage, the forwardly extending member is raised (see for instance FIG. 2) and the mower 11 is driven forwardly to abut the obstacle (e.g. rock or stump). The extending member can then be lowered back to the position illustrated in FIG. 1 which will trap the obstacle between the front of the mower and the rear edge 17 of the fins 14. The mower can then be reversed which will cause the fins 14 to drag the rock 40 or other obstacle away from the area to be mowed. When the obstacle has been dragged away, the forwardly extending member 13 can be raised to the position illustrated in FIG. 2 to free it from the obstacle, the mower can then be driven back to the mowing area, the forwardly extending member can again be lowered to the position illustrated in FIG. 1 and mowing can continue.

[0046] In a similar manner, if the mower comes against a particularly thick clump of lantana or other similar clump of woody weeds, the forwardly extending member 13 can be raised, the mower can be pushed up against the clump, the forwardly extending member can be lowered such that the fins are pushed into the clump and the mower can be reversed to claw or rake the woody clump away.

[0047] A third advantage is as a ground tracking device. The forwardly extending member 13 can be lowered such that the bottom edge of the fins lightly touch the ground 19 or are slightly above the ground 19. The mower can then be driven forwardly and should there be any sudden rise in the ground surface, the lower edge of the fins 14 will contact the sudden rise and the forwardly extending member 13 will be lifted. In this arrangement, it is preferred that the forwardly extending member is located in the lowered orientation and held in a relatively rigid manner such that any lifting of the forwardly extending member 13 will also slightly lift the front of mower 11 to reduce the likelihood of the mower blades scalping into the ground.

[0048] All these advantages can be provided by the same apparatus 10.

[0049] Referring now in greater detail to apparatus 10, the fins 14 comprise steel plate members that can be welded together to form the particular configuration of the fins. Alternatively, the fins 14 may comprise a solid steel plate which is subsequently cut to form the central cutouts. The steel members need not be made from steel but should be robust enough to survive the function of the apparatus. Thus, the fins may be formed from other metals such as aluminium and there may be circumstances where the fins may even be formed from non-metal materials such as engineering plastics and particularly laminated plastics. The fins may also comprise a core material which may be softer and a hard edge material.

[0050] Each fin will typically have a thickness of between 5-20 mm depending on the material from which the fin is manufactured.

[0051] Each fin 14 has a lower edge 15, a leading edge 16, and a rear edge 17. In the particular embodiment, each fin is also provided with an upper edge 25 which is slightly concave. Lower edge 15 has a configuration such that it can slide along ground 19 or if positioned slightly above ground 19, will not dig into the ground if there are sudden undulations. Leading edge 16 has an upwardly and slightly convexly curved configuration to facilitate riding over obstacles hidden in the long grass or undergrowth that is to be mowed. The rear edge 17 is substantially vertical when the forwardly extending member is in the lowered position illustrated in FIG. 1 and is slightly concave (best illustrated in FIG. 2) to provide a slight a hook like configuration at the junction between the rear edge 17 and the lower edge 15. This can facilitate digging into clumps of woody weeds.

[0052] The fins 14, in the preferred embodiment, are all substantially identical in size and shape. This is for convenience only and for ease and cheapness of manufacture and there is no reason why the fins could not be of different configurations as long as the apparatus can still function in the manner required in the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the fins 14 are all made of the same material (steel) but there may be circumstances where there is an advantage in providing fins of different materials.

[0053] The fins 14 are equally spaced apart and in the particular embodiment, the spacing is between 20-40 cm. This seems to provide a reasonable balance between cost of manufacture (by not having too many fins), ease of pushing through long grass (too many fins may impede passage of the apparatus through long grass) while still detecting substantial obstacles that may damage the mower. However, even if an obstacle passes between adjacent fins, it will become visible to the operator 21 and the operator 21 will have sufficient time to stop the mower to prevent damage.

[0054] The fins are attached to a support member 22 which comprises a front crossbar 23 and a rear crossbar 24 which are spaced apart and parallel to each other. The crossbars are attached at their ends to lifting arms 26. In the embodiment, the crossbars 23, 24 and the lifting arms 26 are formed from steel box section cut and welded together to form a strong rigid frame unit. The length of the lifting arms is typically between 1-2 meters to provide enough time to stop the mower should an obstacle be detected. Also, this provides enough space to enable the obstacle to be dragged away (see below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8). The lifting arms can be telescopic or otherwise length adjustable.

[0055] The front crossbar 23 can also provide a push down function to the grass or scrub to be mowed. As the mower moves forwardly, the crossbar 23 will bend the long grass forwardly to better expose the lower stem the area of the grass which allows the mower to cut the grass in a more efficient manner. A similar effect will be noticed with scrub and woody weeds. The bending over can also better expose any obstacles that may extend between adjacent fins 14 (such as a rusted steel picket).

[0056] Lifting arms 26 are pivotly attached to a mounting plate 27 on each side of the mower. A pivot pin 28 functions to pivotly attach the lifting arms 26 to the mounting plate 27. The mounting plates 27 are bolted or otherwise attached to the sides of the mower.

[0057] The pivot pin 28 is located fairly close to the ground and this facilitates easier lifting of the forwardly extending member 13 should an obstacle be contacted as the lifting arms 26 are substantially horizontal when the forwardly extending member 13 is in the lowered position.

[0058] Rigidly attached to each mounting plate 27 is an inclined support arm 29. Support arm 29 comprises steel box section welded at one end to the mounting plate 27. The other (upper) end of support arm 29 supports a pivot pin 30 which one end of an actuator (in the form of a hydraulic ram 31) is attached. The other end of ram 31 is pivotly attached to a respective lifting arm 26. Operation of ram 31 and therefore lift and lower the forwardly extending member between the position illustrated in FIG. 1 and the position illustrated in FIG. 2 and any position there between.

[0059] If the width of forwardly extending member is larger, it may be necessary to provide a third intermediate ram (not illustrated) to enable the larger and heavy forwardly extending member to be raised and lowered.

[0060] The forwardly extending member 13 can be quite easily raised due to the rams 31 being hydraulically connected to an hydraulic accumulator 42 (see FIG. 5) which forms part of the hydraulics of the prime mover 12. The pressure in the hydraulic accumulator can be adjusted to take most of the weight of the forwardly extending member 13 so that minimal force from an obstacle (e.g. rock) is required to cause the forwardly extending member 13 to lift and thereby notify the driver of the presence of the obstacle.

[0061] Referring now to FIGS. 4-5, the mower 11 is powered by the PTO 32 of the tractor 12. A rotating shaft 33 is connected to a gearbox 34 on the mower which transmits power through an enclosed shaft 35 which transmits power to the rotating blades (not illustrated) inside the mower housing. This arrangement is conventional. With the particular mower illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front of the mower can be slightly raised and lowered by ram 36 (see particularly FIG. 4).

[0062] FIG. 6 illustrates the apparatus in use and in the lowered position in long grass 18.

[0063] FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrates one of the advantages of the apparatus. As the mower moves in a forward direction illustrated by the horizontal arrow X in FIG. 7, the fins 14 of the apparatus come into contact with a rock 40. This will cause the forwardly extending member 13 to move upwardly in the direction of the upwardly extending arrow Y in FIG. 7. This will provide a visual indication to the driver to stop the mower or to at least slow the mower. It is envisaged that the mower will be stopped and the forwardly extending member raised until it clears rock 40. The mower can then be moved slightly forwardly to the position illustrated in FIG. 8 and the forwardly extending member can be lowered such that rock 40 is now positioned behind the fins 14 and in front of the mower. The mower can then be reversed in the direction of the arrow Z in FIG. 8 which will cause the rock to be dragged away by being in contact with the rear edge 17 of the fins that are contacting the rock. The spacing between the front of the mower and the rear of the fins will depend of the length of the lifting arms, but this spacing is typically between 60-150 cm.

[0064] Use for the Invention

[0065] The above description identifies at least one specific, substantial and credible use for the invention which is to provide a versatile multiuse apparatus that can be attached to a commercial frontal mower and which can function to clear the area of obstacles, alert the driver of obstacles, and which can also be used to drag away woody weedy material such as lantana and the like.

[0066] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term comprises and its variations, such as comprising and comprised of is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

[0067] Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term substantially or about will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms.

[0068] Features, integers, characteristics, compounds, chemical moieties or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith.

[0069] Any embodiment of the invention is meant to be illustrative only and is not meant to be limiting to the invention. Therefore, it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.