Magnetic attachment of a bed knife in a reel mower assembly
View Patent ↗A reel mower assembly comprises a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame, and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis. A plurality of magnets are mounted on the frame and a bed knife is magnetically held against the magnets in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel. When the bed knife is in an operating position, sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnets while allowing the bed knife to move away from the magnets may be prevented, when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnets that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnets.
1. A reel mower assembly comprising:
a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame, and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis;
at least one magnet mounted on the frame;
a bed knife magnetically held against the magnet in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel; and
engagement means operative to prevent sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnet while allowing the bed knife to freely move away from the magnet when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnet that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnet when the bed knife is in the operating position.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the assembly comprises a plurality of magnets spaced along the frame.
3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one protrusion extending from the frame into a corresponding recess in the bed knife.
4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one protrusion extending from the bed knife into a corresponding recess in the frame.
5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the engagement means comprises a ridge bearing against each opposite end edge of the bed knife, and a ridge bearing against a rear edge of the bed knife.
7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the frame further comprises a bed bar oriented substantially parallel to the reel axis, and wherein at least one magnet is attached to the bed bar.
8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the engagement means is formed by the bed bar and bed knife.
9. An apparatus adapted for attachment to a reel mower assembly comprising a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis, the apparatus comprising:
a bed bar adapted for attachment to the frame substantially parallel to the reel axis;
a plurality of magnets mounted on the bed bar;
a bed knife magnetically held against the magnets in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel when the bed bar is attached to the frame; and
engagement means operative to prevent sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnets while allowing the bed knife to freely move away from the magnets when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnets that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnets when the bed knife is in the operating position.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one protrusion extending from the frame into a corresponding recess in the bed knife.
11. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one protrusion extending from the bed knife into a corresponding recess in the frame.
12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the engagement means comprises a ridge bearing against each opposite end edge of the bed knife, and a ridge bearing against a rear edge of the bed knife.
14. In a reel mower assembly comprising a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame, and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis, a method of holding a bed knife in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel, the method comprising:
mounting at least one magnet on the frame;
magnetically holding the bed knife against the magnet in the operating position; and
preventing sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnet while allowing the bed knife to move freely away from the magnet when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnet that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnet when the bed knife is in the operating position.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing at least one protrusion extending from the frame into a corresponding recess in the bed knife.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing at least one protrusion extending from the bed knife into a corresponding recess in the frame.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing a ridge bearing against each opposite end edge of the bed knife, and a ridge bearing against a rear edge of the bed knife.
19. The method of claim 14 wherein the frame further comprises a bed bar oriented substantially parallel to the reel axis and below the reel axis, and wherein a plurality of magnets are attached to, and spaced along, the bed bar.
20. A reel mower assembly comprising:
a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame, and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis;
at least one magnet mounted on the frame;
a bed knife magnetically held against the magnet in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel; and
engagement means operative to prevent sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnet while allowing the bed knife to move away from the magnet when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnet that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnet when the bed knife is in the operating position wherein the engagement means comprises at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
21. The assembly of claim 20 wherein the engagement means comprises a ridge bearing against each opposite end edge of the bed knife, and a ridge bearing against a rear edge of the bed knife.
22. The assembly of claim 20 wherein the assembly comprises a plurality of magnets spaced along the frame.
23. The assembly of claim 20 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one protrusion extending from the frame into a corresponding recess in the bed knife.
24. The assembly of claim 20 wherein the frame further comprises a bed bar oriented substantially parallel to the reel axis, and wherein at least one magnet is attached to the bed bar.
25. The assembly of claim 24 wherein the engagement means is formed by the bed bar and bed knife.
26. An apparatus adapted for attachment to a reel mower assembly comprising a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis, the apparatus comprising:
a bed bar adapted for attachment to the frame substantially parallel to the reel axis;
a plurality of magnets mounted on the bed bar;
a bed knife magnetically held against the magnets in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel when the bed bar is attached to the frame; and
engagement means operative to prevent sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnets while allowing the bed knife to move away from the magnets when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnets that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnets when the bed knife is in the operating position, wherein the engagement means comprises at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the engagement means comprises a ridge bearing against each opposite end edge of the bed knife, and a ridge bearing against a rear edge of the bed knife.
28. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the engagement means comprises at least one protrusion extending from the frame into a corresponding recess in the bed knife.
29. In a reel mower assembly comprising a mower reel rotatably mounted to a frame, and a drive operative to rotate the reel about a reel axis, a method of holding a bed knife in an operating position such that the bed knife is oriented in cutting relationship with the reel, the method comprising:
mounting at least one magnet on the frame;
magnetically holding the bed knife against the magnet in the operating position; and
preventing sliding movement of the bed knife with respect to the magnet while allowing the bed knife to move away from the magnet when a separating force is exerted on the bed knife in a direction away from the magnet that is greater than an attractive force exerted on the bed knife by the magnet when the bed knife is in the operating position, wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
30. The method of claim 29 wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing at least one protrusion extending from the frame into a corresponding recess in the bed knife.
31. The method of claim 29 wherein sliding sliding movement is prevented by providing at least one ridge attached to the frame and bearing against an edge of the bed knife.
32. The method of claim 31 wherein sliding movement is prevented by providing a ridge bearing against each opposite end edge of the bed knife, and a ridge bearing against a rear edge of the bed knife.
33. The method of claim 29 wherein the frame further comprises a bed bar oriented substantially parallel to the reel axis and below the reel axis, and wherein a plurality of magnets are attached to, and spaced along, the bed bar.