Riding mowing device

Cheng Dai, Nanjing (CN); Toshinari Yamaoka, Nanjing (CN); Zhusheng Nie, Nanjing (CN)

USPTO: us-12628733 · published 2026-05-19 · patents · A01D 34/661· A01D 34/78· A01D 2101/00

Riding mowing device

Cheng Dai, Nanjing (CN) , Zhusheng Nie, Nanjing (CN) , Toshinari Yamaoka, Nanjing (CN) This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-20 14:32 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification patents A01D 34/661A01D 34/78A01D 2101/00

keywords riding mowersteering wheel adjustmentstorage positionmounting assemblylongitudinal girdersupport rod

0 comments

The pith

A mounting assembly lets the steering wheel slide between working positions and rotate into storage on the mower's longitudinal girder.

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 mower whose steering wheel support rod mounts to the main frame girder through a locking assembly. When unlocked, the rod can slide to change the wheel's fore-aft position and can rotate about an axis parallel to the girder to fold the wheel assembly flat for storage. When locked, both motions are prevented so the wheel stays fixed during operation. This arrangement gives the machine two or more operator positions plus a compact storage state without separate tools or removable parts.

Core claim

The riding mowing device includes a mounting assembly on the longitudinal girder that has a locked position and an unlocked position; in the unlocked position the support rod slides to switch the steering wheel between at least two working positions and rotates about an axis parallel to the girder to move the assembly between a storage position and either working position; in the locked position the rod is fixed against both sliding and rotation.

What carries the argument

Mounting assembly on the longitudinal girder that controls sliding and rotation of the steering-wheel support rod.

If this is right

The mower can be adjusted for different operator sizes or preferences without changing any other components.
The machine occupies less floor space or fits into smaller storage areas when the wheel assembly is rotated to the storage position.
No separate tools are required to change between operating and storage configurations.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

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

The same sliding-plus-rotation motion could be adapted to other controls or accessories mounted on the girder.
If the locking mechanism is made with common hand-tool tolerances, after-market kits might allow similar adjustment on existing mowers.

Load-bearing premise

The mounting assembly can be made and assembled so that it reliably stops both sliding and rotation when locked without adding play, friction, or interference under normal vibration and use.

What would settle it

A test showing that the locked assembly permits measurable sliding or rotation of the support rod after repeated vibration or typical field loads.

read the original abstract

1 . A riding mowing device, comprising: a seat for a user to sit on; a frame for supporting the seat, the frame comprising a longitudinal girder extending along a front and rear direction of the riding mowing device; a cutting assembly comprising a cutting deck and a mowing element, wherein the mowing element is at least partially accommodated in the cutting deck; a walking assembly for driving the riding mowing device to walk; a power supply assembly for powering at least the cutting assembly and the walking assembly, wherein the power supply assembly is mounted to the frame; and a steering wheel assembly comprising a steering wheel for the user to operate and a support rod that is mounted to the longitudinal girder; wherein the riding mowing device further comprises a mounting assembly coupled to the longitudinal girder, the mounting assembly having a locked position and an unlocked position, when the mounting assembly is in the unlocked position, the support rod is slidable relative to the longitudinal girder such that the steering wheel is switchable between at least a first working position and a second working position and the support rod is rotatable about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal girder such that the steering wheel assembly is switched between a storage position and the first working position or between the storage position and the second working position, and, when the mounting assembly is in the locked position, the support rod is not slidable relative to the longitudinal girder and the support rod is not rotatable about the axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal girder.

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

This is a utility patent for a sliding-and-rotating steering mount on a riding mower; mechanically consistent but adds no new science or data.

read the letter

The core claim is a mounting assembly that lets the support rod both slide along the girder and rotate about an axis parallel to it when unlocked, then locks both motions. The kinematics are straightforward and free of internal contradictions: unlocked gives two independent degrees of freedom, locked restrains them. That functional description is clear and complete for a mechanical specification. No equations, fitted parameters, or performance numbers appear, which is normal for this document type. The arrangement is concrete enough that a skilled fabricator could build it from the text. What is less clear is whether the combination is patentably distinct from existing adjustable columns on tractors or mowers; the filing does not discuss prior art or show why the single lockable mount is non-obvious. The weakest practical assumption is that the lock can be made to eliminate play and resist vibration without excessive friction or binding, but that is an ordinary manufacturing question rather than a conceptual flaw. Because this is a structural claim rather than a research result, it contains no derivations, predictions, or measurements that could be checked or falsified. Readers working on outdoor power equipment ergonomics or IP landscaping might find the drawings and claim language useful as a reference point. For anyone doing experimental or theoretical work, the document offers nothing to cite or build on. I would not bring it to a reading group or send it for scientific peer review; it is a patent filing, not a paper.

Referee Report

0 major / 1 minor

Summary. The manuscript is a utility patent claim describing a riding mowing device whose frame includes a longitudinal girder to which a steering-wheel support rod is attached via a mounting assembly. In the unlocked state the rod may both translate along the girder (switching the steering wheel between at least two working positions) and rotate about an axis parallel to the girder (switching the assembly between a storage position and either working position). In the locked state both degrees of freedom are restrained.

Significance. If the kinematic description is realized in hardware, the design supplies a compact, two-degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism that simultaneously addresses operator ergonomics and machine storability without requiring separate translational and rotational locks.

minor comments (1)

Claim 1 uses the phrase 'an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal girder' without defining the tolerance on 'substantially'; a quantitative angular tolerance would remove ambiguity for both examiners and manufacturers.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

0 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful reading and for recommending acceptance. The report accurately captures the kinematic function of the mounting assembly.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: pure structural patent claim with no derivations

full rationale

The document is a utility patent whose sole content is a kinematic description of a mounting assembly that selectively locks or unlocks sliding and rotation of a support rod relative to a longitudinal girder. No equations, fitted parameters, predictions, self-citations, or theoretical derivations appear anywhere in the claim or description; the functional statement is self-contained as a mechanical arrangement and does not reduce to any prior input by construction.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

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

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5828 in / 1050 out tokens · 26569 ms · 2026-05-20T14:32:20.139412+00:00 · methodology

Riding mowing device

Core claim

What carries the argument

If this is right

Where Pith is reading between the lines

Load-bearing premise

What would settle it

discussion (0)