US4076460A — Convertible lawn care apparatus

Claim 1

Independent Claim 291 words

A portable, multi-purpose lawn care apparatus for preparing and maintaining lawn areas, which is selectively convertible from a vacuum mode of operation to a blower mode of operation, including: a chassis mounted on a pair of side wheels; a drive motor mounted on said chassis; an upright impeller housing fixedly mounted on said chassis, said impeller housing having a generally cylindrical side wall, a back wall and a front wall, said front wall having a central opening formed therein, an upper discharge opening and a lower discharge opening being formed in said side wall of said impeller housing; an impeller assembly disposed in said impeller housing, said impeller assembly having a drive shaft operatively connected to said drive motor and rotatable thereby about a central axis of said drive shaft and a plurality of outwardly-extending impeller blades mounted on said drive shaft for rotation therewith about said central axis thereof; blocking means for selective positioning within said impeller housing, said blcoking means being movable between a first operating position, and a second operating position, to convert said lawn care apparatus from said vacuum mode of operation to said blower mode of operation, said blocking means being removably mounted, in said first operating position, over said lower discharge opening such that air is drawn through said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing and directed towards said upper discharge opening; said blocking means being removably mounted, in said second operating position, over said upper discharge opening such that air is drawn through said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing and directed towards said lower discharge opening; and, operating means removably mounted on said impeller housing over said central opening formed in said front wall thereof.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 291 words

A portable, multi-purpose lawn care apparatus for preparing and maintaining lawn areas, which is selectively convertible from a vacuum mode of operation to a blower mode of operation, including: a chassis mounted on a pair of side wheels; a drive motor mounted on said chassis; an upright impeller housing fixedly mounted on said chassis, said impeller housing having a generally cylindrical side wall, a back wall and a front wall, said front wall having a central opening formed therein, an upper discharge opening and a lower discharge opening being formed in said side wall of said impeller housing; an impeller assembly disposed in said impeller housing, said impeller assembly having a drive shaft operatively connected to said drive motor and rotatable thereby about a central axis of said drive shaft and a plurality of outwardly-extending impeller blades mounted on said drive shaft for rotation therewith about said central axis thereof; blocking means for selective positioning within said impeller housing, said blcoking means being movable between a first operating position, and a second operating position, to convert said lawn care apparatus from said vacuum mode of operation to said blower mode of operation, said blocking means being removably mounted, in said first operating position, over said lower discharge opening such that air is drawn through said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing and directed towards said upper discharge opening; said blocking means being removably mounted, in said second operating position, over said upper discharge opening such that air is drawn through said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing and directed towards said lower discharge opening; and, operating means removably mounted on said impeller housing over said central opening formed in said front wall thereof.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 131 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 1 wherein said blocking means includes a generally elongated blocking plate having a radius of curvature substantially similar to that of said cylindrical side wall of said impeller housing, and having an over-all area sufficient to substantially obstruct either discharge opening over which it is positioned, said blocking plate having a transverse mounting means attached to one side thereof, whereby said blocking plate may be positioned between said front wall and said back wall of said impeller housing, said transverse mounting means being offset toward one end of said blocking plate such that said blocking plate is always maintained in position within said impeller housing blocking one of said selected upper or lower discharge openings by the force of air moved within the impeller housing.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 119 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 1 wherein said blocking means is selectively positioned over said lower discharge opening in said first position for use in connection with an operating means including a stationary vacuum attachment having a third cover plate mounted on said front wall of said impeller housing, for optionally and releasably attaching said stationary vacuum attachment, an intake tube attached to said cover plate for communicating material therethrough into said impeller housing through an opening formed in said third cover plate, a flexible hose having a handle-equipped nose portion connected to said intake tube for vacuuming said material into said impeller housing and a discharge chute mounted over said upper discharge opening of said impeller housing.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 133 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 1 wherein said blocking means is selectively positioned in said first position over said lower discharge opening for use in connection with an operating means including a mobile vacuum attachment having a fourth cover plate mounted over said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing for optionally and releasably attaching said mobile vacuum attachment to said impeller housing, said fourth cover plate having an inlet opening, a nose cone assembly attached to said fourth cover plate over said inlet opening, said nose cone assembly having at its lower portion an intake vacuum housing, and a caster wheel secured to said nose cone assembly and extending in front of said assembly to partially support the weight of said impeller housing and said mobile vacuum attachment.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 59 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 1 wherein a perforated mulch plate may be disposed over said upper discharge opening when said blocking means is disposed over said lower discharge opening, said mulch plate having a radius similar to said side wall of said impeller housing and acting to reduce the size of material drawn into said impeller housing.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 91 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 1 wherein said operating means includes a chipper/shredder attachment, said chipper/shredder attachment having a first cover plate mountable over said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing for optionally and releasably attaching said chipper/shredder attachment to said impeller housing, hopper means fixedly mounted on said cover plate for directing material to be shredded into said impeller housing and shredding knife means mounted on said impeller assembly and rotatable in conjunction with said impeller blades to shred material received into said impeller housing.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 112 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 6 wherein said chipper/shredder attachment which is mounted on said impeller housing when said blocking plate is in said first position includes a collection bag in communication with said upper discharge opening to receive material from said upper discharge opening, and said shredding knife means includes a cross-shaped adapter plate mounted on an outward end of said drive shaft for rotation therewith, and a plurality of shredding knives attached to said adapter plate extending in a plane perpendicular to said central axis of said drive shaft, said shredding knives being mounted between said impeller blades and said hopper to shred material directed into said impeller housing.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 85 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 1 wherein said operating means includes a blower attachment having a second cover plate mounted over said central opening in said front wall of said impeller housing for optionally and releasably attaching said blower attachment to said impeller housing, said second cover plate having an air inlet opening formed therein and a baffle plate mounted outwardly of said second cover plate in spaced relationship thereto and over said air inlet opening formed therein to provide a protected air intake.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 86 words

The lawn care apparatus of claim 8 wherein said blower attachment for use in connection with said impeller housing when said blocking plate is in said second selected position includes an outlet baffle mounted over said lower discharge opening of said impeller housing for routing air from said impeller housing toward the lawn, and a forward caster wheel assembly mounted to said baffle plate and supporting a portion of said impeller housing, said caster wheel assembly being vertically adjustable relative to the surface of the lawn.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1981-02-27	1981-08-29	1982-02-28	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1985-02-27	1985-08-29	1986-02-28	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1989-02-27	1989-08-29	1990-02-28	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Convertible lawn care apparatus

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