Patent attributes
A multi-use lawn mower capable of operating as a mulching, side-discharge, or a bagging mower. The lawn mower (10) includes; a mower deck (14) having an opening (58) therein forming a passageway through which grass clippings exit the cutting chamber during select modes of operation. The lawn mower also includes a grass-collecting hopper (40) removably mounted on the mower deck (14), the grass-collecting hopper (40) having a basket portion (42) for receiving grass clippings cut by the cutting blade (36) and a multi-station mounting portion (60) configured to interface with the opening (58) in the mower deck in a plurality of orientations. The mounting portion includes a mulching station (64) that configures the lawn mower to function as a mulching mower, a bagging station (66) that configures the lawn mower to function as a bagging mower, and a side-discharge station (68) that configures the lawn mower to function as a side-discharge mower. When the multi-station mounting portion mounts the grass-collecting hopper on the mower deck, a single one of the stations interfaces with the opening in the mower deck to configure the lawn mower for desired mode of operation.
