Method of and apparatus for collecting grass cuttings

Claim 1

A grass catching apparatus for a rotary lawn mower of the type having a port for discharge of an airstream carrying cut grass and the like to facilitate the collection of the cut grass directly in an air impervious disposable bag and providing means for the attachment and detachment of the disposable bag out of line of the discharge airstream of the lawn mower, which comprises: a carriage frame of generally rectangular shape for horizontally supporting and providing a means for longitudinal alignment of the disposable bag in parallel relationship to the discharge airstream; frame means mounted to said carriage frame and extending uprightly in respect thereto; said frame means positioned at one end of said carriage frame and having a generally rectangular shape, the narrow portion of which being substantially equivalent to the width of said carriage frame and mounted to intersect therewith so that said frame means extends partially downwardly from and substantially upwardly from said carriage frame; said frame means further having an external groove formed around its periphery for receiving the mouth of the bag therearound and covering said groove; elastic retaining means circumscribing said frame means groove for retaining a peripheral portion of the mouth of the bag within said groove; said frame means being pivotally mounted on said carriage frame for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis across said carriage frame, perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension thereof, for providing means for positioning the lower portion of said frame means and bag mouth therearound into and out of registry with said mower discharge port by the pivoting of said frame means and disposable bag mouth; a span of flexible material suspended laterally across said carriage frame forming a generally U-shaped cradle extending downwardly from said carriage frame and forming a peripheral end shape adjacent said frame means, substantially equivalent to, and contiguous with, the portion thereof downwardly extending from said carriage frame; and means for releasably attaching said carriage frame to the mower for being cantiliverly supported therefrom, with the lower most portion of said frame means and mouth of the disposable bag therearound aligned to intersect the discharge airstream adjacent to the discharge port; said flexible cradle positioned on said carriage frame for conforming underlying support of the disposable bag for allowing it to inflate while defining a conforming path of ingress for the mower airstream along the lower conformingly supported wall of the bag providing a smooth ingress flow path in a direction opposite to a path of egress for the airstream along the opposite freely inflated bag wall producing an impingement of the cuttings of the cut grass against the bottom wall of the bag, substantially depositing the cut grass therein.