1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a striping roller assembly to be attached to a lawn mower for striping a grass lawn and, more particularly, an adjustable and spring loaded striping roller assembly mounted on the lawn mower deck.
2. Description of Related Art
Lawn striping assemblies are generally known in the art of grooming lawns. In particular, striping assemblies are typically used in areas such as golf courses and baseball stadiums to create an aesthetic striped appearance on the grass. Striping assemblies are typically mounted to or towed behind lawnmowers and create a desired striped appearance in the freshly cut grass by bending the grass from a generally vertical orientation to a more horizontal orientation in the direction of travel of the striping assembly. Striping assemblies typically use striping rollers, brushes, or wipers as the striping element that bends the grass.
However, known striping assemblies have several drawbacks. For instance, some striping assemblies are fixed with respect to the cutting deck of the mower. Consequently, the striping assembly is unable to adjust independently from the cutting deck and would only produce a desirable striping effect when the cutting deck is set at a height that allows the fixed striping assembly to deform the grass an appropriate amount. In addition, some striping assemblies require significant effort and additional tools to attach/detach from the lawnmowers.
Other striping assemblies do make the height setting of the striping element adjustable. However, if the height of the striping mechanism is in a fixed position relative to the cutting deck, and if the deck cut height changes without the striping mechanism being repositioned, the pitch (front-to-rear orientation) of the deck could be negatively affected (if cutting lower) or the striping effect could be diminished (if cutting higher). The condition where the deck pitch is altered could also be produced if the grass type or consistency changes, such that stiffer and lusher grasses would be deformed less while softer and thinner grasses would be deformed more.
In light of the foregoing, a striping assembly that improves the state of the art by overcoming one or more of the aforesaid problems of the prior art is desired.