Riding lawn mower with connecting device

Dongdong Shi, Changzhou (CN); Hui Chen, Changzhou (CN); Jiafu Xue, Changzhou (CN); Linchong Wu, Changzhou (CN); Qunli Wei, Changzhou (CN)

USPTO: us-12622358 · published 2026-05-12 · patents · A01D 75/008· A01B 59/064· A01D 34/001· A01D 34/64· A01D 42/08· A01D 67/005· A01D 34/82· A01D 2101/00

Riding lawn mower with connecting device

Qunli Wei, Changzhou (CN) , Dongdong Shi, Changzhou (CN) , Linchong Wu, Changzhou (CN) , Jiafu Xue, Changzhou (CN) , Hui Chen, Changzhou (CN) This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-16 05:02 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification patents A01D 75/008A01B 59/064A01D 34/001A01D 34/64A01D 42/08A01D 67/005A01D 34/82A01D 2101/00

keywords riding lawn mowerconnecting devicebuckle fastenerfunctional unit attachmentelectrical interfaceframe mounting

0 comments

The pith

A riding lawn mower attaches functional units to its frame with an L-shaped buckle and an independently locking fastener ring.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The patent describes a riding lawn mower whose frame carries a mowing deck, a power supply, and one or more functional units. A connecting device joins each functional unit to the frame through four coordinated connectors. The fourth connector uses an L-shaped buckle piece fixed to the frame and a mating fastener piece whose buckling ring and locking member can slide separately. Once engaged, the ring seats over the curved top of the buckle and the locking member prevents release, while an adjacent electrical interface supplies power from the frame-mounted battery to the unit.

Core claim

The mower comprises a frame, a bottom-mounted mowing device, a functional unit, and a power supply, linked by a connecting device that includes a first connector on the frame, a second connector on the functional unit, a third connector that fixes the first and second together, and an electrical interface. The device further includes a fourth connector whose buckle piece is L-shaped with one side fixed to the frame and the perpendicular side having a curved top; the fastener piece contains a buckling ring that engages the buckle and a locking member that moves independently of the ring to hold the ring in place.

What carries the argument

Fourth connector: L-shaped buckle piece with curved top fixed to the frame, paired with a fastener piece whose buckling ring and locking member move independently to lock the functional unit to the frame.

If this is right

The functional unit can be attached or removed without tools once the third and fourth connectors are disengaged.
Power reaches the functional unit through the electrical interface without separate wiring runs.
The independent motion of ring and locking member allows the ring to seat first and the lock to engage afterward.
Multiple functional units can share the same frame mounting geometry.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

The curved top on the buckle may reduce insertion force while the lock prevents reverse motion.
If the same geometry is scaled, similar connectors could join accessories on other ride-on equipment.
Vibration testing would be needed to confirm long-term retention under actual mowing conditions.

Load-bearing premise

The buckling ring and locking member will stay engaged under vibration and load without additional retention features or failure analysis.

What would settle it

A vibration or pull-out test on the assembled fourth connector showing that the ring slips off the curved top when the locking member is in its locked position.

read the original abstract

1 . A riding lawn mower comprising: a frame, a mowing device, the mowing device mounted to a bottom of the frame, a functional unit attached to the frame, and a power supply mounted to the frame, wherein the riding lawn mower also comprises a connecting device connecting the frame and the functional unit, the connecting device comprising a first connector attached on the frame, a second connector attached to the functional unit, a third connector adapted for fixedly connecting the first connector and the second connector, and an electrical interface arranged on the frame adjacent to the functional unit, the electrical interface having one end electrically connecting to the power supply and the other end connecting to the functional unit, so as to provide power to the functional unit, wherein the connecting device further comprises a fourth connector, the fourth connector comprising a buckle piece, and a fastener piece engageable with the buckle piece to securely connect the frame to the functional unit; wherein the buckle piece is L-shaped and comprises a first lateral side and a second lateral side, the first lateral side being fixedly connected to the frame, and the second lateral side being perpendicular to the frame and having a curved top portion; wherein the fastener piece comprises a buckling ring engageable with the buckle piece, and a locking member cooperating with the buckling ring to lock the buckling ring to the buckle piece, the buckling ring and the locking member being configured to move independently.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Desk Editor's Note private letter to a colleague

A routine utility patent on an L-shaped mower latch with no tests or data.

read the letter

This filing is a standard utility patent that claims one specific quick-connect geometry for attaching functional units to riding mowers. The core idea is an L-shaped buckle fixed to the frame that engages a buckling ring and separate locking member on the accessory side, plus an adjacent electrical interface. That arrangement is presented as the invention. The description is clear enough on paper: the second lateral side is perpendicular, the top is curved, and the ring and lock move independently so the operator can first seat the ring then slide the lock. That is the only concrete novelty on offer. The text supplies part numbers, figures, and assembly steps but nothing else. No load cases, vibration spectra, pull-out forces, or even a simple comparison to existing pin-and-clip or over-center latches appear. The electrical interface is mentioned only in passing. Because the document is a patent application rather than a research paper, the absence of data is expected, yet it also means the claim rests entirely on the geometry itself. Prior-art discussion is missing, so it is impossible to judge how far this departs from common garden-equipment hardware. The work is therefore useful to mower designers who need a concrete reference drawing and to patent attorneys checking overlap, but it contains no result that would interest a technical reader outside that narrow circle. I would not bring it to a reading group, would not cite it in research, and would not send it to scientific peer review. It belongs in the patent office workflow, not a journal.

Referee Report

1 major / 1 minor

Summary. The manuscript is a utility patent specification for a riding lawn mower that includes a frame, mowing device, functional unit, power supply, and a multi-part connecting device. The central claim details a fourth connector whose L-shaped buckle piece (with curved top) engages a fastener piece containing an independently movable buckling ring and locking member, together with an adjacent electrical interface, to mechanically and electrically join the frame to the functional unit.

Significance. The geometric latch arrangement may simplify modular attachment of mower accessories while maintaining electrical continuity, but the absence of any load, vibration, or durability data prevents evaluation of whether the claimed independent motion and curved geometry deliver measurable improvements over existing connectors.

major comments (1)

[Claim 1] Claim 1: the assertion that the buckling ring and locking member 'securely connect' the frame to the functional unit is unsupported by any static or dynamic analysis; no force magnitudes, engagement angles, or material specifications are supplied to demonstrate resistance to typical mower vibration and impact loads.

minor comments (1)

The numbering of the four connectors is introduced without an accompanying figure or exploded view, making it difficult to visualize the spatial relationship between the third and fourth connectors.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for reviewing the utility patent specification. The document describes a novel mechanical and electrical connecting device; we address the single major comment below.

read point-by-point responses

Referee: Claim 1: the assertion that the buckling ring and locking member 'securely connect' the frame to the functional unit is unsupported by any static or dynamic analysis; no force magnitudes, engagement angles, or material specifications are supplied to demonstrate resistance to typical mower vibration and impact loads.

Authors: In a utility patent the phrase 'securely connect' is a functional statement enabled by the explicit structural limitations recited in Claim 1: the L-shaped buckle piece with curved top, the independently movable buckling ring, and the cooperating locking member. These geometric features create a positive, form-closed engagement whose operation is fully described and illustrated. Patent enablement does not require quantitative load analysis, vibration spectra, or material property tables; such data are outside the statutory requirements for a utility application. The specification therefore remains unchanged. revision: no

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity in mechanical specification

full rationale

The document is a utility patent whose sole content is a geometric and functional description of a latch mechanism. It contains no equations, fitted parameters, predictions, derivations, or self-citations that could reduce any claim to its own inputs. The central claim is therefore self-contained and exhibits no circularity of any enumerated kind.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

No mathematical axioms, free parameters, or invented physical entities are introduced; the document is an engineering design specification.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5643 in / 1025 out tokens · 56701 ms · 2026-05-16T05:02:43.361222+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Lean theorems connected to this paper

Citations machine-checked in the Pith Canon. Every link opens the source theorem in the public Lean library.

IndisputableMonolith/Foundation/RealityFromDistinction.lean reality_from_one_distinction unclear

?

unclear
Relation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.

the fourth connector comprising a buckle piece, and a fastener piece engageable with the buckle piece to securely connect the frame to the functional unit; wherein the buckle piece is L-shaped and comprises a first lateral side and a second lateral side, the first lateral side being fixedly connected to the frame, and the second lateral side being perpendicular to the frame and having a curved top portion; wherein the fastener piece comprises a buckling ring engageable with the buckle piece, and a locking member cooperating with the buckling ring to lock the buckling ring to the buckle piece,

What do these tags mean?

matches: The paper's claim is directly supported by a theorem in the formal canon.
supports: The theorem supports part of the paper's argument, but the paper may add assumptions or extra steps.
extends: The paper goes beyond the formal theorem; the theorem is a base layer rather than the whole result.
uses: The paper appears to rely on the theorem as machinery.
contradicts: The paper's claim conflicts with a theorem or certificate in the canon.
unclear: Pith found a possible connection, but the passage is too broad, indirect, or ambiguous to say the theorem truly supports the claim.