LAWN CONDITIONING VEHICLE

• US 3,822,655 A
• Filed: 06/05/1972
• Issued: 07/09/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dale Gene Benedict, Louis Richard Blasi, Lowell G. Wilson
• Original Assignee: Dale Gene Benedict, Louis Richard Blasi, Lowell G. Wilson
• Inventors: Benedict, Dale Gene, Blasi, Louis Richard, Wilson, Lowell G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pellegrino, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US05/259,441
• Time in Patent Office: 764 Days
• Field of Search: 111/1,10,11,6,7,85,87 172/154,158,184,705,604,660,491,187,462
• US Class Current: 111/11
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 45/00 Machines for treating meadows or lawns , e.g. for sports grounds
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 20/30 Apparatus for treating the lawn or grass surface machines for aerating lawns A01B45/02

Abstract

A self-contained, motorized riding vehicle is disclosed which provides a unitary apparatus for performing a series of operations on a lawn simultaneously. The unit has its own motor drive and has a plurality of operative implements such as an alignment of spiking members and an alignment of lawn slicing members. Also provided are a plurality of storage hoppers dispensing in a spread pattern solid or granular materials such as seed pesticide and feeding agents. The unit also has a pressurized liquid storage and dispensing system. All these operative components can be controlled individually from the driver'"'"''"'"'s compartment of the vehicle. In operative sequence, from front to rear, are located the earth perforating or spiking members and earth slicing members. Rear of these members is a nozzle for discharging the liquid in a transverse pattern the full width of the vehicle body. Rearmost is a common spreader outlet from the discharge of the two hoppers to comingle solid materials discharged from these hoppers, such as seed granular nutrients and/or weed-killing materials.

Claims

1. A self-powered riding vehicle for conditioning soil, including a control compartment with a plurality of independently and selectively operable manual controls at said compartment for controlling implements mounted on the structural frame of said vehicle, and in which the implements comprise:

an alignment of laterally spaced disc perforators mounted on said vehicle and operable to perforate the soil over which the vehicle passes responsive to actuation of a perforator one of said controls, an alignment of laterally spaced soil slicer discs mounted on said vehicle to make slice incisions in the soil responsive to actuation of a slicer one of said controls, a plurality of particulate matter hoppers mounted on said vehicle rearwardly of said perforators and slicers, individual controls for releasing material from each of said hoppers, a discharge chute common to said plurality hoppers, said discharge chute mounted adjacent the rear of said vehicle and extending substantially across the lateral extent of said vehicle, said discharge chute positioned to release material from said hoppers onto soil previously prepared by selective perforating and slicing performed by said vehicle on the soil having passed beneath said vehicle, and wherein said perforators comprise a first plurality of coaxial shafts spaced transversely across said vehicle, an array of paired, spiked rotatable wheels mounted on said first plurality of shafts, said shafts journaled relative to said vehicle frame for floating vertical movement on a common operating member, said wheels journaled for rotation on movement of said vehicle for generating a plurality of perforations in the soil below said vehicle during movement thereof with said common operating member moved to an operative condition by a perforator one of said controls.

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, in which there is a liquid sprayer system for spraying liquid on the soil being passed over by said vehicle, said sprayer system including a liquid storage compartment with a spray nozzle in communication therewith, said nozzle being mounted on said vehicle forwardly of the chute of said hoppers and rearwardly of said perforators and slicers.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slicers comprise a second plurality of coaxial shafts spaced parallel to the first plurality of shafts, said plurality of slicer discs mounted on said second plurality of shafts in paired relationship, each of said slicer discs having alternate ridged portions and indented portions, each slicer disc aligned between adjacent perforator discs, said slicer discs journaled to rotate on movement of said vehicle and slice the soil between alignments of perforations, and means for biasing said disc shafts on a common operating member for floating movement on obstacles being encountered by said slicer discs.

4. A self-contained and self-powered vehicle adapted to be ridden by a vehicle operator for conditioning a section of earth during a traverse of said vehicle along said earth section, and comprising a plurality of implements mounted on said vehicle and selectively controllable by said operator to effect conditioning of earth passed over by said vehicle, said vehicle including a body frame, said implements including a first and a second alignments of discs mounted under said vehicle across the width thereof, individual means depending from said body frame normally holding the discs of said first alignment and said second alignments in an inoperative position out of contact with the earth below said vehicle, and means in said vehicle positioned to be controlled by said operator responsive to the selection thereof for moving respective ones of said holding means to positions wherein the respective alignments of discs may be moved to position for contact with the earth, said discs in each alignment journaled in pairs for rotation on contact with the earth and during movement of said vehicle, spiking tips arrayed about the periphery of said first alignment of discs to produce parallel alignments of perforations in the earth during rotation of said discs, second alignment of discs with one disc of said second alignment positioned between adjacent ones of said first alignment, a plurality of separated sectors around the periphery of each of the discs of said second alignment adapted to produce elongated slices in the earth, said second alignment of discs comprising paired discs journaled on common paired axles, spring biased means for joining said axles to the disc holding means for said second alignment, and means responsive to the selective operation of the control for said second alignment for moving said second alignment to an active position with said disc sectors in contact with the earth to render said discs individually rotative by said contact with the earth on movement of said vehicle.

5. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein said alignment of earth slicing discs is mounted rearwardly of said first alignment, said spring biasing means acting on said axles to permit said paired discs of said second alignment to follow the contours of the earth.

6. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 including a liquid dispensing system, an output nozzle of said system configured to spray a pattern approximately equal to the width of said vehicle, said nozzle positioned rearward of both alignments of discs to spray liquid onto the earth after the discs have passed across the earth, and selectively operable means controllable by said operator for actuating said system to dispense liquid.

7. A vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein said system comprises a liquid dispensing network including a closed tank and means for pumping liquid from said tank to said nozzle in response to actuation of the system by the operator.

8. A vehicle as claimed in claim 7, further including a plurality of hoppers for particulate matter mounted on said vehicle at the rear thereof, said hoppers each having an access opening at the top thereof for loading and each having dispensing opening, a spreader plate commonly mounted to receive material from said plurality of hoppers, and disposed across the width of said vehicle, said spreading plate being mounted rearwardly of the spray pattern from said liquid spray nozzle and said plate inclined rearwardly to a termination at a lower level than said nozzle, selectively operable means for selectively opening the outlet in each of said hoppers to dispense particulate matter therefrom to said spreader plate rearwardly of liquid dispensed from said nozzle.