US Patent Issued to The Toro on May 19 for "Mulch door with sensor" (Minnesota Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,628,740, issued on May 19, was assigned to The Toro Co. (Bloomington, Minn.).

"Mulch door with sensor" was invented by Chadwick Aaron Shaffer (Oakdale, Minn.), Todd Allen Porter (Rosemount, Minn.), John Orville Hurst (Lakeville, Minn.) and Ryan Mark Petersen (Shoreview, Minn.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A mower includes a cutting deck supporting a cutting blade having a fixed blade sail and a door having a first position in which the door covers an opening through which grass clippings can pass, and a second position in which the door does not cover the opening. The mower also has a switch configured to send a mode signal indicating th...