Rotary lawn mower

Claim 1

Apparatus for converting a rotary lawn mower to a vacuum sweeper, said rotary lawn mower including: a mower frame, wheel means carried by said frame for supporting said frame above the ground, a horizontal mower blade rotatably mounted on said frame at grass-cutting height, motor means carried by said frame for rotating said mower blade, a fixed mower blade housing carried by said frame above said mower blade and having a downwardly depending peripheral skirt enclosing the space swept by said rotating blade, and means defining an aperture in said skirt for expelling grass cuttings from said housing, said apparatus comprising: a. a cover plate member shaped and dimensioned to sealingly engage the lower edge of said peripheral skirt, providing a closure for said mower blade housing, said cover plate having a central aperture therein located generally coaxially with respect to the axis of rotation of said mower blade; b. an elongate suction cleaning head forward of said lawn mower and extending laterally thereto and having a downwardly directed inlet aperture for collecting debris from the surface to be cleaned; c. wheel means carried by said cleaning head for supporting said inlet aperture above said surface; d. duct means communicating between said cleaning head and the central aperture in said cover plate; e. flexible connection means in said duct means for vertical movement of said cleaning head relative of said lawn mower; and f. means for receiving and temporarily storing debris ejected through said aperture from said mower blade housing.