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USPTO: us-12660756 · published 2026-06-23 · patents · A01D 67/00· A01B 59/04· A01B 63/32· A01D 34/032

Trailed mower with stability control

Pith reviewed 2026-06-24 20:31 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification patents A01D 67/00A01B 59/04A01B 63/32A01D 34/032
keywords mowersuspension systemactuatorcompression springstability controlagricultural vehiclewheel hub link
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The pith

Mower suspension combines actuator with independent compression spring for wheel movement

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

This patent describes a lift-suspended mower for agricultural vehicles featuring a suspension system that pairs an actuator for raising or lowering a wheel to a set position with a compression spring allowing the wheel to move toward the frame under rising ground pressure without moving the actuator. The spring biases the wheel hub link away from the piston and bears against collars on the link and on the piston or rod. A sympathetic reader would care because the design separates controlled height adjustment from shock absorption on uneven ground.

Core claim

The lift-suspended mower includes a frame, cutting devices, a first wheel, and a first suspension system with an actuator selectively actuable to raise or lower the wheel plus means for permitting wheel movement toward the frame when ground pressure increases, where the means is a compression spring that compresses independently of the actuator, biases the wheel hub link away from the piston, and bears on a collar of the wheel hub link and a collar of the piston or rod.

What carries the argument

The compression spring in the suspension system, which compresses under increased ground pressure independently of the actuator and bears on collars of the wheel hub link and piston or rod.

If this is right

  • The wheel yields to higher ground pressure by spring compression alone.
  • The actuator maintains its commanded position during such pressure increases.
  • The mower can adapt to terrain variations while preserving the actuator-set wheel height.
  • Cutting height relative to the frame stays consistent during independent spring action.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

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

  • The mechanism could reduce actuator cycling on mildly uneven fields.
  • Similar collar-and-spring layouts might apply to other trailed implements requiring passive compliance.
  • The design separates load response from powered adjustment, which could affect maintenance intervals for the actuator.

Load-bearing premise

The compression spring on the wheel hub link collar and piston collar will allow wheel movement toward the frame under increased ground pressure without causing any actuation of the actuator.

What would settle it

A measurement showing that increased pressure on the wheel moves the actuator piston position rather than only compressing the spring.

read the original abstract

1 . A lift-suspended mower for an agricultural vehicle, said lift-suspended mower comprising: a frame; one or more cutting devices that are movably mounted with respect to said frame for cutting crop material on a ground surface; a first wheel mounted to said frame for contacting the ground surface and supporting the frame above the ground surface; and a first suspension system interconnecting the first wheel to the frame, the first suspension system including (i) an actuator that is selectively actuable to either raise or lower to a predetermined degree the first wheel relative to the frame or vice versa, and (ii) means for permitting movement of the first wheel toward the frame when a pressure exerted by the first wheel onto the ground surface increases, said means operating independently of the actuator, wherein the means comprises a compression spring that is configured to compress when pressure exerted by the first wheel onto the ground surface increases, and without causing actuation of the actuator, wherein the first wheel is connected to a wheel hub link, and the compression spring is configured to bias the wheel hub link away from a piston of the actuator, wherein the compression spring bears on a collar of the wheel hub link and a collar of either the piston or a rod that is connected to the piston.

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.

Referee Report

0 major / 1 minor

Summary. The manuscript is a patent claim describing a lift-suspended mower for an agricultural vehicle. It comprises a frame, movably mounted cutting devices, a first wheel supporting the frame, and a first suspension system. The suspension includes an actuator selectively actuable to raise or lower the wheel to a predetermined degree and an independent compression spring configured to compress under increased ground pressure from the wheel without actuating the actuator. The spring biases the wheel hub link away from the piston and bears on a collar of the wheel hub link and a collar of the piston or connected rod.

Significance. If the described mechanical arrangement functions as claimed, the independent spring provides a means for the mower to respond to ground pressure variations separately from actuator-controlled height adjustment, which could support improved stability on uneven terrain in trailed mower applications.

minor comments (1)
  1. [Abstract] The single-sentence claim structure in the abstract is grammatically correct but lengthy; sub-numbering of elements (e.g., (a), (b)) would aid readability without altering the technical content.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

0 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their review of the manuscript and for the positive recommendation to accept. No major comments were provided in the report.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity

full rationale

The document is a patent claim for a mechanical apparatus with no equations, derivations, predictions, fitted parameters, or self-citations. The description of the frame, cutting devices, wheel, actuator, and compression spring is a direct specification of components and their arrangement. No load-bearing step reduces by construction to its own inputs, as there is no derivation chain or mathematical reduction present.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The patent relies on conventional mechanical engineering without introducing new physical principles, fitted constants, or postulated entities.

axioms (1)
  • standard math Standard behavior of compression springs and hydraulic actuators under load follows established mechanical principles.
    The independent operation of the spring relative to the actuator assumes ordinary elastic and fluid mechanics.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.1-grok · 5770 in / 1274 out tokens · 64938 ms · 2026-06-24T20:31:20.581334+00:00 · methodology

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