JP7277407B2 - Mower deck and mower equipped with this mower deck - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mower deck having a rotary blade and a mower equipped with this mower deck.

Mower decks installed in lawn mowers are classified into grass clipping type and mulching type. In the grass clipping type, an opening (discharging port) is formed in a part of the housing that surrounds the blade rotation space, which is the operating space of the rotating blade, from above, and the clippings clipped by the blade are released to the outside through the opening. A mower deck in which an opening is provided on the side of a housing and discharges grass clippings from the side of the housing is called a side discharge type. In the mulching type, the blade rotation space is completely enclosed, and the grass clippings fall after being cut multiple times within the blade rotation space.

The riding-type work vehicle (lawn mower) according to Patent Document 1 is provided with a discharge port for discharging mowed grass to a mower deck and an opening/closing shutter that closes the discharge port. A shutter is switched between an open state and a closed state. When the opening/closing shutter is opened, the mower deck functions as a side discharge type mower deck. When the opening/closing shutter is closed, the mower deck functions as a mulching type mower deck.

In the mower deck according to Patent Document 2, by combining attachment and detachment of a plurality of baffle plates, the mower deck can be changed to any one of mulching mode, side discharge mode, and rear discharge mode.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,814,739 U.S. Patent No. 10524418

In the mower deck according to Patent Document 1, switching between the side discharge mode and the mulching mode is possible using a rotating shutter. However, when a mower deck with multiple blades arranged side by side is used as a rear discharge type, if this rotary shutter structure is used, the shutter covering the rear cut grass discharge port, which has a large area, becomes large, and when the shutter is open. It becomes difficult to secure storage space.

In the mower deck according to Patent Document 2, it is necessary to attach and detach a plurality of baffle plates in order to change the mode, so management of the baffle plates is troublesome, and unused baffle plates may be lost.

In view of such circumstances, there is a demand for a mower deck that can be changed to various modes more easily.

A mower deck according to the present invention comprises a housing having at least a ceiling wall, at least one blade rotating below the ceiling wall, and a rotating shaft connected to the blade. Furthermore, a peripheral wall unit including a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall, and a right wall extending downward from the ceiling wall is provided so as to surround the blade, and the front wall, the rear wall, the left wall, and the At least two of the right walls are composed of opening and closing walls capable of switching between an open posture in which the blade rotation space is opened to the outside and a closed posture in which the blade rotation space is closed to the outside ,
The opening/closing wall comprises a rail provided at the edge of the ceiling wall and an accordion door suspended from the rail .

In the configuration of the present invention, in order to create a blade rotation space for the rotating blades for mowing turf or grass, the mower deck is provided with a peripheral wall unit to surround the blade rotation locus from above. The peripheral wall unit consists of a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall and a right wall extending downward from the ceiling wall. At least two of the front wall, the rear wall, the left wall, and the right wall create a closed posture that creates a form in which the blade space communicates with the outside, and a form in which the blade space and the outside are closed. It consists of an opening and closing wall that can change its form between the closed position and the closed position. As a result, when only one of the opening/closing walls is set to the open position, the opening/closing wall in the open position serves as the grass clipping outlet. Of course, when two or more opening/closing walls are set in the open position, multiple outlets are exposed. Furthermore, when all the opening/closing walls are set to the closed position, the mower deck becomes a mulching type. This allows the mower deck to be easily changed into various modes.

In a mower deck installed on a vehicle with drive wheels, the front wall receives the wind from the front during mowing. difficult to release. For this reason, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the front wall is configured as a fixed wall connected to the ceiling wall, and the rear wall, the left wall and the right wall are configured as the opening and closing walls. It is

When the peripheral walls other than the front wall are configured as opening/closing walls, the mower deck can function in various modes based on the attitude (closed attitude or open attitude) of each opening/closing wall. Each mode is shown below. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are proposed as being capable of at least one or more of these modes.
(1) Left cut grass discharge mode in which cut grass is discharged from the left side of the housing:
This mode is created by switching the left wall to the open position and the right and rear walls to the closed position.
(2) A right grass clippings release mode in which the grass clippings are released from the right side of the housing:
This mode is created by switching the right wall to the open position and the left and rear walls to the closed position.
(3) A post-release mode in which grass clippings are released from the rear of the housing:
This mode is created by switching the rear wall to the open position and the left and right walls to the closed position.
(4) Mulching mode in which grass clippings are cut multiple times within the blade rotation space:
This mode is created by switching the left wall, the right wall and the rear wall to the closed position.

When the mower deck is used only as a side-discharge type, the rear wall and the front wall need not be constructed as opening/closing walls, and only the left wall and right wall need be constructed as opening/closing walls. By selecting the opening and closing wall as the left wall and the opening and closing wall as the right wall (closed or open), one of the left grass clipping mode, right clipping mode, mulching mode, and left and right clipping mode is created. becomes possible. For this reason, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the front wall and the rear wall are configured as fixed walls connected to the ceiling wall, and the left wall and the right wall are configured as the opening and closing walls. It is configured.

The opening/closing wall can be realized in various forms. It is convenient to have a configuration in which the storage space is small in the closed position and the storage area is greatly expanded in the open position. Therefore, in the present invention , the opening/closing wall comprises a rail provided at the edge of the ceiling wall and an accordion door suspended from the rail.

An opening/closing wall with a simple configuration can also be realized by attaching a flap-like plate member to the ceiling wall so as to be able to swing between a downward posture and a horizontal or upward posture. It is also possible to create a curved opening/closing wall by constructing it from a plurality of plate materials. For this reason, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the opening/closing wall is supported by a horizontal swing shaft provided at the edge of the ceiling wall so as to be capable of swinging up and down around the horizontal swing shaft. consists of flaps that are

A mower equipped with a mower deck according to the invention described above is also subject of the invention. In one preferred embodiment of such a lawn mower, an operation part is provided with an operation tool for switching the opening/closing wall between the open position and the closed position. With this configuration, while the mowing machine is running, it is possible to change the discharge direction of the mowed grass in consideration of the shape of the mowing work area, the running pattern of the mowing machine, the positional relationship with obstacles, and the like. Therefore, more appropriate mowing work is realized.

1 is a side view showing the entire mower equipped with a mower deck; FIG. It is a top view of a mower deck. It is a bottom view of a mower deck. It is a schematic diagram of a curtain door. It is a bottom view of the mower deck of another embodiment. It is a bottom view of the mower deck of another embodiment.

In this specification, unless otherwise specified, "front" means forward in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft (arrow F in FIGS. 1 and 2), and "rear" means rearward in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft (see FIG. 2). 1 and arrow B in FIG. 2). Further, "left" means the left side in the transverse direction of the aircraft in plan view (arrow L in FIG. 2), and "right" means the right side in the transverse direction of the aircraft in plan view (arrow R in FIG. 2). "Upper" means the upper side of the aircraft in the vertical direction (arrow U in FIG. 2), and "lower" means the lower side of the aircraft in the vertical direction (arrow D in FIG. 2). Shows the relationship in height.

Next, one specific embodiment of the mower deck equipped with the mower deck according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view of the mower, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the mower deck, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the mower deck.

This lawn mower comprises a vehicle body having a pair of left and right front wheels 1 drivable and a pair of left and right rear wheels 2 steerable, and a mower device 3 positioned in front of the vehicle body. A riding-type driving section 10 having a driver's seat 11 and a steering wheel 12 for steering the rear wheels 2 is formed in the front part of the vehicle body. An engine 6 is mounted on the rear portion of the vehicle body. A transmission 60 that changes the speed of the power from the engine 6 is provided below the driving section 10 . The transmission 60 transmits power to the front wheels 1 and the mower device 3 . The mower device 3 is supported on the vehicle body so as to be vertically movable by a lifting link 13 which is vertically swung by a hydraulic cylinder.

The mower device 3, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a mower deck 3A and a support frame 3B. The mower deck 3A has three horizontal blades 5 and a housing 30 covering the blades 5 from above. The housing 30 has a shape that covers the blade 5 from above, and has a ceiling wall 31 that serves as the ceiling of the blade 5 and a peripheral wall unit 4 that extends downward from the edge of the ceiling wall 31 . The inside of the housing 30 is formed as a blade rotation space BS in which the rotating blade 5 cuts grass.

The support frame 3B is arranged above the ceiling wall 31 and is connected to the ceiling wall 31 on the one hand and to the lifting link 13 on the other hand. A grounding ring 32 is supported at the front end portions of the pair of left and right front and rear frames that constitute the support frame 3B. Further, auxiliary wheels 33 are arranged at the front center and rear right and left sides of the mower deck 3A. The auxiliary wheels 33 are supported by the ceiling wall 31 via brackets.

Each of the three blades 5 is fixed to the lower end of a rotating shaft 50 extending along the vertical direction of the vehicle body. The rotary shaft 50 passes through the ceiling wall 31 and is rotatably supported by bearings 51 attached to the ceiling wall 31 . Each rotating shaft 50 is rotationally driven by a belt transmission mechanism 52 that receives power from a transmission 60 .

As shown in FIG. 3, which is a bottom view of the mower deck 3A, the peripheral wall unit 4 consists of a front wall 40, a left wall 41, a right wall 42, and a rear wall 43 extending downward from the edge of the ceiling wall 31. . The front wall 40 is a plate-like fixed wall connected to the front edge of the ceiling wall 31 by welding or the like and extending downward. The left wall 41, the right wall 42, and the rear wall 43 have an open posture in which the blade rotation space BS is opened to the outside (space outside the mower deck 3A) and a closed posture in which the blade rotation space BS is closed to the outside. It is formed as an opening/closing wall whose attitude can be switched between. In this embodiment, the opening/closing wall is constituted by an accordion door structure. Also, the rear wall 43 is divided into two parts, a left rear wall 43a and a right rear wall 43b. Incidentally, when the width of the mower deck 3A is narrow, the rear wall 43 is not divided.

A schematic diagram of an accordion door is shown in FIG. The accordion door is composed of a curtain 90 folded like a bellows, a curtain rail 91, a runner 92 for hanging the curtain 90 on the curtain rail 91, a curtain storage part 93 and a curtain lock part 94. - 特許庁The curtain storage part 93 stores the folded curtain 90 . A terminal piece of the curtain 90 is connected to the wall surface of the curtain storage section 93 . A curtain lock 94 accommodates and locks the start piece of the unfolded curtain 90 . When the curtain 90 is stored in the curtain storage portion 93, the space between the curtain storage portion 93 and the curtain lock portion 94 is opened. When the curtain 90 is spread and locked by the curtain lock portion 94, the space between the curtain storage portion 93 and the curtain lock portion 94 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the left wall 41 and the right wall 42 as opening/closing walls have substantially the same shape. Front supports 44 extending downward are provided at left and right corners of the upper side of the ceiling wall 31 , and rear supports 45 extending downward are provided at left and right corners of the lower side of the ceiling wall 31 . The left front support column 44 functions as a curtain storage section 93 of the left wall 41 formed as an accordion door (a kind of opening and closing wall), and the left rear support support section 45 functions as a curtain lock section 94 of the left wall 41. . A curtain rail 91 (see FIG. 4) is fixed to the ceiling wall 31 between the left front support 44 and the left rear support 45 . In FIG. 3, the folded curtain 90 is shown in solid lines and the unfolded curtain 90 is shown in dotted lines. Similarly, the right front strut 44 functions as a curtain storage portion 93 for the right wall 42 and the right rear strut 45 functions as a curtain lock portion 94 for the right wall 42 . A curtain rail 91 is fixed to the ceiling wall 31 between the right front support column 44 and the right rear support column 45 .

The curtain 90 as an opening/closing wall can be composed of a combination of a thin steel plate piece and a hinge, a combination of a thin steel plate piece and a resin connector, or composed of only a resin material.

Further, a left pillar 46 , a central pillar 47 , and a right pillar 48 extending downward from the ceiling wall 31 are provided at the rear edge of the ceiling wall 31 between the pair of left and right rear pillars 45 . The left post 46 is formed as a curtain receptacle 93 for the left rear wall 43a, which is formed as an accordion door, and the central post 47 serves as a curtain lock 94 for the left rear wall 43a. Similarly, the right post 48 functions as a curtain receptacle 93 for the right rear wall 43b, which is formed as an accordion door, and the center post 47 also functions as a curtain lock 94 for the right rear wall 43b. A curtain rail 91 is fixed to the ceiling wall 31 between the left support 46 and the right support 48 .

In FIG. 3, the curtain 90 in the folded state (open position) is indicated by solid lines, and the curtain 90 in the unfolded state (closed position) is indicated by dotted lines. Since the left wall 41, the right wall 42 and the rear wall 43 are formed as accordion doors, the mowing mode of the mower deck 3A can be changed as follows by selecting an open position or a closed position.
(1) By setting the left wall 41 in the open posture and the right wall 42 and the rear wall 43 in the closed posture, a left grass clippings release mode is created in which the grass clippings are released from the left side of the mower deck 3A.
(2) By switching the right wall 42 to the open posture and the left wall 41 and the rear wall 43 to the closed posture, a right grass clippings release mode is created in which the grass clippings are released from the right side of the mower deck 3A.
(3) By switching the rear wall 43 to the open posture and the left wall 41 and the right wall 42 to the closed posture, a rear discharge mode is created in which grass clippings are discharged from behind the mower deck 3A. In this embodiment, the rear wall 43 is composed of a left rear wall 43a and a right rear wall 43b. A post-emission mode with different positions is created.
(4) By switching the left wall 41, the right wall 42 and the rear wall 43 to the closed position, a mulching mode is created in which the grass clippings are cut and dropped within the blade rotation space BS of the mower deck 3A.
(5) By switching the left wall 41 and the right wall 42 to the open posture and the rear wall 43 to the closed posture, a left and right release mode is created in which the grass clippings are released from the left side, right side, or both of the mower deck 3A.

Folding operation (open posture operation) and expansion operation (closed posture operation) of the curtain 90 can be performed manually or automatically. If automatic operation is employed, the curtain 90 is configured to be moved by a motorized loop wire (which may be a chain or belt). An operation tool 100 for driving a motor is provided in the operating section 10 (see FIG. 1). When manual operation is adopted, the operating tool 100 and the loop wire are directly connected, and the curtain 90 is moved by operating and displacing the operating tool 100 . Of course, a configuration in which the curtain 90 is directly moved by hand may be adopted.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a mower deck 3A of another embodiment. The mower deck 3A differs from the previous embodiment in that the rear wall 43 is connected to the rear edge of the ceiling wall 31 by welding or the like and is a plate-like fixed wall extending downward. In this alternate embodiment, no rear discharge mode can be created, but a left grass clippings discharge mode, a right grass clippings discharge mode, a mulching mode, a left and right discharge mode, and a post discharge mode are possible.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment in which the opening/closing wall is formed not by an accordion door structure but by a flap structure. In this alternative embodiment, the left wall 41 is formed by a plate-shaped left flap 71 , the right wall 42 is formed by a plate-shaped right flap 72 , and the rear wall 43 is formed by a plate-shaped rear flap 73 . The left flap 71 is attached to a horizontal swing shaft 71p extending from the left edge of the ceiling wall 31, and can swing up and down around the horizontal swing shaft 71p between a closed position and an open position. The left flap 71 can be locked in the closed position and the open position. Similarly, the right flap 72 is attached to a horizontal swing shaft 72p extending from the left edge of the ceiling wall 31, and can swing up and down around the horizontal swing shaft 72p between a closed position and an open position. is. The right flap 72 can be locked in the closed position and the open position. The rear flap 73 is attached to a horizontal swing shaft 73p extending from the rear edge of the ceiling wall 31, and can swing up and down around the horizontal swing shaft 73p between a closed position and an open position. The rear flap 73 can be locked in the closed position and the open position.

Of course, the structure of the opening/closing wall may be other than the accordion door structure or the flap structure, and it is possible to switch between an open posture in which the blade rotation space BS is opened to the outside and a closed posture in which the blade rotation space BS is closed to the outside. Any structure can be applied to the present invention.

In the embodiment described above, the mower deck 3A has three blades 5, but the number of blades 5 may be two or less or four or more. The mower deck 3A can be installed not in the front part of the traveling vehicle, but in the central part, that is, between the front wheels 1 and the rear wheels 2 .

The configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments unless there is a contradiction. The embodiments disclosed in this specification are examples, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to mower decks that cover rotary blades from above, and mowers equipped with such mower decks.

3: Mower device 3A: Mower deck 3B: Support frame 30: Housing 31: Ceiling wall 4: Surrounding wall unit 40: Front wall 41: Left wall 42: Right wall 43: Rear wall 43a: Left rear wall 43b: Right rear wall 44: Front strut 45 : Rear strut 46 : Left strut 47 : Center strut 48 : Right strut 5 : Blade 50 : Rotating shaft 71 : Left flap 71p : Horizontal swing shaft 72 : Right flap 72p : Horizontal swing shaft 73 : Rear flap 73p : Horizontal swing shaft 90 : Curtain 91 : Curtain rail 92 : Runner 93 : Curtain storage unit 94 : Curtain lock unit 100 : Operating tool BS : Blade rotation space

Claims (9)

A mower deck comprising a housing having at least a ceiling wall, at least one blade rotating below the ceiling wall, and a rotating shaft connected to the blade,
A peripheral wall unit including a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall, and a right wall extending downward from the ceiling wall so as to surround the blade, wherein the front wall, the rear wall, the left wall, and the right wall are provided. at least two of are composed of an opening/closing wall capable of switching between an open position in which the blade rotation space is opened to the outside and a closed position in which the blade rotation space is closed to the outside ,
A mower deck, wherein the opening/closing wall comprises a rail provided at the edge of the ceiling wall and an accordion door suspended from the rail . 2. The mower deck according to claim 1, wherein said front wall is configured as a fixed wall connected to said ceiling wall, and said rear wall, said left wall and said right wall are configured as said opening and closing walls. 3. The mower deck according to claim 2, wherein the left wall is switched to the open posture, and the right wall and the rear wall are switched to the closed posture in a left grass clipping discharge mode in which the grass clippings are discharged from the left side of the housing. 4. The mower deck according to claim 2, wherein in a right grass clipping discharge mode in which the grass clippings are discharged from the right side of the housing, the right wall is switched to the open posture, and the left wall and the rear wall are switched to the closed posture. 5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the rear wall is switched to the open position and the left and right walls are switched to the closed position in a post-release mode in which grass clippings are released from the rear of the housing. mower deck. The mower deck according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the left wall, the right wall and the rear wall are switched to the closed position in a mulching mode in which grass clippings are cut multiple times in the blade rotation space. 2. The mower deck according to claim 1, wherein the front wall and the rear wall are configured as fixed walls connected to the ceiling wall, and the left wall and the right wall are configured as the opening and closing walls. 8. The opening/closing wall comprises a horizontal swing shaft provided at the edge of the ceiling wall, and a flap supported so as to swing up and down around the horizontal swing shaft. The mower deck described in . A mower equipped with the mower deck according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A lawn mower, wherein an operation unit is provided with an operation tool for switching the opening/closing wall between the open position and the closed position.

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