Riding lawn mower

Abstract

A riding lawn mower having an adjustable cutting width has at least one front wheel, a plurality of rear wheels, a frame extending from the at least one front wheel to the plurality of rear wheels and a plurality of cutting decks, each cutting deck comprising a cutting blade. A motor is supported by the frame and configured to drive the cutting blades of the cutting decks. A support configured to couple the cutting decks to the frame. The support is configured to extend at least one of the cutting decks laterally from beneath the frame to adjust a cutting width provided by the blades.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A riding lawn mower having an adjustable cutting width, comprising:
 at least one front wheel;   a plurality of rear wheels;   a frame extending from the at least one front wheel to the plurality of rear wheels;   a plurality of cutting decks, each cutting deck comprising a cutting blade;   a motor supported by the frame configured to drive the cutting blades of the cutting decks,   a support configured to couple the cutting decks to the frame; and   wherein the support is configured to extend at least one of the cutting decks laterally from beneath the frame to adjust a cutting width provided by the blades.   
     
     
         2 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , wherein a cutting blade of the at least one cutting deck has a first cutting width which overlaps at least part of a second cutting width of a second cutting blade of a second cutting deck, wherein extending the at least one cutting deck laterally results in a reduction of the overlap while extending the cutting width. 
     
     
         3 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , wherein the support and/or a second support is configured to extend cutting decks laterally out opposite sides of the frame. 
     
     
         4 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of cutting decks comprise at least two cutting decks disposed on each side of the frame. 
     
     
         5 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , wherein the cutting width is adjustable between at least about 36 inches and less than about 48 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , wherein the support comprises at least three linkages joining at least three cutting decks at the axes of rotation of their respective cutting blades. 
     
     
         7 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , further comprising a linear drive motor configured to move the plurality of cutting decks from a stowed position to a deployed position, wherein the support is configured to extend the blades horizontally from a stowed position to a deployed position, wherein the support is operable to adjust a cutting width of the plurality of cutting decks to a width narrower than a maximum cutting width of the plurality of cutting decks, wherein the maximum cutting width is at least 50 inches and the width narrower than the maximum is less than 40 inches. 
     
     
         8 . A riding lawn mower having an extended operating state and a collapsed storage state, comprising:
 at least one front wheel;   a plurality of rear wheels;   a frame extending from the at least one front wheel to the plurality of rear wheels;   a motor supported by the frame;   a battery supported by the frame;   a seat comprising a seat bottom and a backrest; and   a seat support configured to dispose the seat to a raised position in the extended operating state and to dispose the seat to a lowered position in the collapsed storage state, wherein the riding lawn mower has a vertical height from a ground surface to an upper edge of the seat in the collapsed storage state of less than about 28 inches.   
     
     
         9 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , wherein the vertical height is less than about 22 inches. 
     
     
         10 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 9 , wherein the vertical height is less than about 18 inches. 
     
     
         11 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , wherein the riding lawn mower has a second vertical height from the ground surface to the upper edge of the seat in the extended operating state of at least 36 inches. 
     
     
         12 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , wherein the motor is an electric motor configured to draw power from the battery to drive the plurality of rear wheels. 
     
     
         13 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , wherein a bottom surface of the battery is below a top surface of the frame. 
     
     
         14 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , further comprising a drive-by-wire steering device configured to steer the riding lawn mower. 
     
     
         15 . A riding lawn mower having an extended operating state and a collapsed storage state, comprising:
 at least one front wheel;   a plurality of rear wheels;   a frame extending from the at least one front wheel to the plurality of rear wheels;   a motor supported by the frame;   a battery supported by the frame;   a seat comprising a seat bottom and a backrest; and   a seat support configured to move the seat from a raised position in the extended operating state to a lowered position in the collapsed storage state, wherein the seat base is generally horizontal in the raised position and in the lowered position.   
     
     
         16 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 15 , wherein the seat support is configured to be moved manually from the raised position to the lowered position. 
     
     
         17 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 15 , further comprising an electric drive mechanism configured to move the seat support from the raised position to the lowered position. 
     
     
         18 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 15 , wherein the backrest is configured to move from a generally vertical position in the extended operating state away from the seat bottom to a substantially horizontal position in the collapsed storage state. 
     
     
         19 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 15 , wherein the seat support comprises a lift assembly comprising at least three posts configured to raise and lower the seat. 
     
     
         20 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 15 , wherein the seat support comprises a lift assembly comprising a vibration absorbing device configured to reduce transmission of vibrations from the frame to the seat.