Mower support and lift linkage

Claim 1

In a riding lawn mower of the type having a longitudinally extending frame with longitudinally extending sides, an associated implement beneath said frame, the improvement comprising an assembly for displaceably suspending and selectively elevationally positioning said implement from the frame, said assembly comprising: linkage means including a pair of lever members mounted on each side of the frame in longitudinally spaced relation; means for suspending said implement from said linkage means to retain the same from substantial fore and aft and lateral movement relative to said linkage means; said suspending means comprising, a generally horizontally extending rigid lift element on each side of the frame operatively interconnecting the respective lever members for conjunctive movement to effect a vertical translation of said lift element, and a pair of bracket members on said implement spaced lengthwise of each lift element and releasably coupled to said lift element and coacting therewith to provide a free moving vertical displacement of said implement relative to said lift elements, one of the brackets of each pair being U-shaped and loosely sleeved over the respective lift element and accommodating movement of the implement lengthwise and vertically with respect to the lift element and the other bracket of each pair comprising a vertically extending slot and a transverse pin extending through the slot and connected to the implement and accommodating free floating vertical translational and pivotal movement of the implement, said lift elements having free ends and said U-shaped brackets positioned over said free ends for easy removal and mounting with respect thereto, and; lifting means selectively actuatable and operatively connected to move said lever members of said linkage means to effect a raising and lowering of said implement to a plurality of elevational positions through corresponding vertical translations of said lift elements.