US 12,250,903 B2
Grounds maintenance vehicle
Michael Shane Fredenburg, Hickman, NE (US); and Valerie Jinright, Beatrice, NE (US)
Assigned to EXMARK MANUFACTURING COMPANY INCORPORATED, Beatrice, NE (US)
Filed by EXMARK MANUFACTURING COMPANY INCORPORATED, Beatrice, NE (US)
Filed on Feb. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/682,147.
Prior Publication US 2023/0270046 A1, Aug. 31, 2023
Int. Cl. A01D 34/74 (2006.01); A01D 34/66 (2006.01); A01D 101/00 (2006.01)
CPC A01D 34/74 (2013.01) [A01D 34/66 (2013.01); A01D 2101/00 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A grounds maintenance vehicle comprising:
a vehicle frame;
an implement coupled to the vehicle frame; and
a height selection tool configured to change a vertical position of the implement relative to the vehicle frame, the height selection tool comprising:
a manually engageable mechanism pivotably coupled to the vehicle frame, wherein pivoting of the manually engageable mechanism relative to the vehicle frame changes the vertical position of the implement relative to the vehicle frame, wherein the manually engageable mechanism defines a pivot pathway;
a locking rail coupled to the vehicle frame, wherein the locking rail extends adjacently to the pivot pathway, the locking rail defines a plurality of latch openings along the pivot pathway, each of the plurality of latch openings is a notch extending radially inward, and each latch opening comprises a leading face having a first profile and a trailing face having a second profile opposite the first profile, wherein at least one of the leading face and the trailing face is concave; and
a pawl pivotably coupled to the manually engageable mechanism, wherein the pawl has a latching end configured to pivot into each latch opening to selectively fix the manually engageable mechanism to the locking rail at each of a plurality of incremental locations along the pivot pathway, wherein each incremental location corresponds to a particular latch opening and defines an operating height of the implement.
 
11. A grounds maintenance vehicle comprising:
a vehicle frame;
an implement coupled to the vehicle frame; and
a height selection tool configured to change a vertical position of the implement relative to the vehicle frame, the height selection tool comprising:
a manually engageable mechanism pivotably coupled to the vehicle frame, wherein pivoting of the manually engageable mechanism relative to the vehicle frame changes the vertical position of the implement relative to the vehicle frame, wherein the manually engageable mechanism defines a pivot pathway;
a locking rail coupled to the vehicle frame, wherein the locking rail defines a plurality of latch openings along the pivot pathway;
a first locking mechanism comprising a pawl pivotably coupled to the manually engageable mechanism, wherein the pawl has a latching end configured to pivot into each latch opening to selectively fix the manually engageable mechanism to the locking rail, wherein the first locking mechanism is configured to obstruct pivoting of the manually engageable mechanism in a first direction and a second direction at each of a plurality of incremental locations, wherein each incremental location corresponds to a particular latch opening and each incremental location defines a particular operating height of the implement from a horizontal ground surface; and
a second locking mechanism configured to be engaged to selectively obstruct pivoting of the manually engageable mechanism relative to the locking rail at each of a plurality of height settings, wherein the second locking mechanism is configured to simultaneously (1) obstruct pivoting of the manually engageable mechanism in a first direction and (2) allow pivoting of the manually engageable mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction.