CN115529928A

CN115529928A - Mowing equipment

Info

Publication number: CN115529928A
Application number: CN202211131924.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 韦群力; 石冬冬; 丁士源
Original assignee: Globe Jiangsu Co Ltd
Current assignee: Globe Jiangsu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-16
Filing date: 2022-09-16
Publication date: 2022-12-30

Abstract

The invention provides mowing equipment which comprises a mowing device, a grass collecting device, a grass conveying device and a blockage detecting device. The grass in the grass cutting device of the grass conveying device is guided into the grass collecting device. The blockage detection device comprises a first moving part and a first sensor, and when the grass conveying device works normally, the first moving part is in a first state; when the grass conveying device is blocked, the first movable piece is in a second state; the first sensor is configured to detect a state of the first moveable member. The automatic grass collecting and discharging device can automatically identify whether the grass collecting box is full of grass or not and whether the grass collecting box is blocked or not, can be matched with an automatic driving system to complete the whole process of grass collecting and discharging, and achieves the automatic and unmanned functions of the automatic grass collecting and discharging device.

Description

Mowing equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to mowing equipment, in particular to automatic driving mowing equipment with an automatic grass collecting system.

Background

A lawn mower is a mowing apparatus for automated machinery for mowing quilts, vegetation, and the like. The lawn mower can replace or reduce manpower, is convenient to operate, fully saves manpower and time, realizes environment beautification, and is widely applied, and the lawn mower is mainly applied to garden decoration trimming, lawn greening trimming, urban streets, greening scene points and field trimming, particularly trimming of grasslands and grasslands in parks, other grass fields such as football fields and the like, private villa gardens, vegetation in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry fields and the like.

The existing riding lawn machine mostly does not have the broken grass which is automatically collected and trimmed, the trimmed broken grass is dry and tidy, manual cleaning is troublesome, manpower and material resources are wasted, the working efficiency is reduced, and the existing riding lawn machine is complex in structure. A riding lawn machine with a grass cutting collection function is thus proposed to solve the above-mentioned proposed problems.

In order to solve the technical problem, a part of lawn mowers are provided with a grass collecting box, and the cut grass is blown into the grass collecting box through a grass conveying pipe.

However, when the driver uses the lawn mower, the state of the grass conveying pipe and the state of the grass collecting box cannot be known in time, the states of the grass conveying pipe and the grass collecting box need to be observed by the driver after getting off the lawn mower, grass discharging also needs to be operated by the driver manually, and the whole process of grass chopping and grass discharging needs to be finished by the operation of the driver of the lawn mower, so that time and labor are wasted, and the lawn mower is complicated.

On the other hand, because the novel automatic driving grass cutting equipment (lawn mower) has no characteristic of a driver, the traditional grass collecting device cannot normally collect grass on the automatic driving lawn mower, and therefore the traditional grass collecting system cannot meet the requirement of the automatic driving grass cutting equipment (lawn mower).

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a grass cutting device and a grass collecting system thereof, which are used for solving the problems of manual monitoring and operation required in the grass collecting and discharging process in the prior art.

To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention provides a mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass collecting device;

the grass conveying device conveys grass in the grass cutting device to the grass collecting device;

an occlusion detection device comprising

The first movable piece is in a first state when the grass conveying device works normally; when the grass conveying device is blocked, the first movable piece is in a second state; and

a first sensor configured to detect a state of the first moving member.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the grass collecting device is provided with a grass inlet communicated with the grass conveying device, and the first movable member is arranged on the grass collecting device and is close to the grass inlet.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first movable member is caused to switch between the first and second conditions by the action of an air flow in the grass-feeding device.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the blockage detecting device further comprises a fixed plate, the first sensor is mounted on the fixed plate, the first movable member is rotatably connected to the grass collecting device, and the first movable member rotates relative to the grass collecting device to switch between a first state and a second state.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing plate includes a first limiting portion for limiting a rotation range of the first movable member.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing plate includes a first arm and a second arm, one end of the first arm is fixed on the grass-collecting device, and the other end of the first arm extends to form the second arm, the first sensor is fixedly mounted on the second arm, and the first position-limiting part is located at a free end of the second arm.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the jam detecting device generates a jam signal when the first movable member is changed from a first state to a second state and the first movable member is maintained in the second state for more than a predetermined duration.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the preset time period is 3 seconds.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first sensor is a switch, and when the first movable member is in the first state, the first movable member triggers the switch; when the grass conveying device is blocked, the first movable piece is disconnected with the switch under the action of self gravity.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the grass collecting device is provided with a grass inlet communicated with the grass conveying device, the first movable member is arranged on the grass collecting device and at a position close to the grass inlet, and when the first movable member is in the first state, the first movable member is flush with the tangential direction of the top end of the grass inlet.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first movable member is arranged in the grass conveying device and is located at one end of the grass conveying device close to the grass collecting device.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the grass transporting device comprises a blower and a grass transporting pipe, one end of the grass transporting pipe is communicated with the grass cutting device, and the other end of the grass transporting pipe is communicated with the grass collecting device box, so that the blower can suck the grass cut by the grass cutting device into the grass transporting pipe.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mowing apparatus further comprises an overflow detecting device, and the overflow detecting device is disposed in the grass collecting device and is configured to detect a load condition of the grass collecting device.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mowing equipment further comprises a control device, when the grass conveying device is blocked, the blockage detection device generates a blockage signal and sends the blockage signal to the control device, and the control device controls the mowing equipment to drive from the current working position to the fault repair area for repairing.

The present invention also provides a mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass transport device configured to transport grass cut by the grass cutting device;

a blockage detection device configured to detect an air flow parameter in the grass conveying device, the blockage detection device generating a blockage signal when the air flow parameter is less than a preset value.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the blockage detection device detects the wind speed at the outlet of the grass transportation device.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said preset value of said wind speed may be 15m/s.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the jam detecting device sends a jam signal when the wind speed is less than a preset value and exceeds a preset duration.

The present invention further provides a mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass collecting device;

a grass delivery device configured to deliver grass in the grass cutting device to the grass collection device;

and the overflow detection device detects the state of the grass amount in the grass collecting device, and detects overflow when the grass amount reaches a threshold value.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the overflow detecting device is installed in the grass-collecting device and near the top of the grass-collecting device.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the overflow detection device comprises at least one detection unit, and the overflow detection device generates an overflow signal when the detection units all detect that the grass amount in the grass collecting box reaches a threshold value.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the overflow detecting device includes first, second and third detecting units, and three of the detecting units are installed at intervals.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the detection unit comprises a second sensor and a second movable member, the second movable member having a first state and a second state, the second movable member being switchable between the first state and the second state under the action of grass in the grass collecting device, the second movable member being in the second state when the amount of grass in the grass collecting box reaches a threshold value.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the detecting unit further includes a mounting bracket, the second sensor is fixed on the mounting bracket, and the second movable member is rotatably connected to the mounting bracket.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mounting bracket is provided with a second limiting portion for limiting the rotation of the second movable member.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second sensor is a switch, and when the second movable member is in the second state, the second movable member triggers the switch; when the second movable member is in a first state, the second movable member is disconnected from the switch.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the grass cutting device further comprises a grass discharging device, the grass discharging device comprises an electric push rod, the grass collecting device comprises a grass collecting box, the grass collecting box comprises a box door, one end of the electric push rod is installed on the grass collecting box, and the other end of the electric push rod is connected to the box door of the grass collecting box so as to drive the box door to open or close.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the overflow detecting device generates an overflow signal, the electric push rod drives the box door to open.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the grass cutting apparatus further comprises a blockage detection device, a grass inlet is provided at a position where the grass collecting device is connected to the grass conveying device, and the blockage detection device is provided on the grass collecting device and close to the grass inlet.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mowing equipment further comprises a control device, when the grass collecting device overflows, the overflow detecting device generates an overflow signal and sends the overflow signal to the control device, and the control device controls the mowing equipment to drive from the current working position to the grass discharging area for grass discharging.

The present invention further provides a mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass collecting device;

the blockage detection device is arranged on the grass collecting device, is close to the position where the grass collecting device is communicated with the grass conveying device, and is used for detecting whether the grass conveying device is blocked or not;

the overflow detection device is arranged in the grass collecting device and is used for detecting the load condition of the grass collecting device.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mowing equipment further comprises a control device, when the grass conveying device has a blockage fault, the blockage detection device generates a blockage signal and sends the blockage signal to the control device, and the control device controls the mowing equipment to drive from the current working position to a fault repair area for repairing;

when the grass collecting device overflows, the overflow detection device generates an overflow signal and sends the overflow signal to the control device, and the centralized control device controls the grass cutting equipment to drive from the current working position to a grass discharging area for grass discharging.

In conclusion, the grass collecting system provided by the invention can automatically identify whether the grass collecting box is full of grass or not and whether the grass collecting box is blocked or not structurally, can be matched with an automatic driving system to finish the whole process of grass collecting and arranging, does not need an operator to participate in the process, and can basically realize the automatic and unmanned functions of the grass collecting system.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the mowing apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of another perspective view of the mowing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the grass-collecting box of the mowing apparatus of the present invention with the box door removed.

Fig. 4 is a partial enlarged schematic view of a grass-collecting box of the grass cutting device of the invention, and schematically illustrates the working position of the blockage detection device.

Fig. 5 is a partial schematic view of another view angle of the grass collecting box of the grass cutting device, and schematically illustrates the structure of the blockage detection device in an exploded perspective view.

Fig. 6 is a partially enlarged schematic view of the grass collecting box at another view angle of the grass cutting device of the invention, and schematically illustrates the working position of the grass collecting overflow detection device.

Fig. 7 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the grass collecting overflow detecting device in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a header of the lawn mower, schematically illustrating the connection relationship between the automatic grass discharge detection device and the grass header.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the mowing apparatus of the present invention, schematically illustrating a grass-collecting box with its doors closed.

Fig. 10 is a side view of the mowing apparatus of the present invention, schematically illustrating a condition in which a door of a grass-collecting box thereof is opened.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view of the operation of the mowing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the automatic grass collecting system of the grass cutting device of the present invention.

Element number description:

mowing device/lawn mower 100; a grass collecting system control device 105; an autopilot control system 106; a header assembly 10; a fan 20; a fan controller 210; a grass conveying pipeline 25; a grass collecting box 30; a first side wall 31; a grass inlet 32; a front wall 33; a second side wall 34; a frame 340; a swing arm 35; a frame 36; a door 36; a frame 360; a top wall 37; a bottom wall 38; a jam detecting device 40; a bolt 41; a screw 42; a washer 43; a nut 44; a first movable member 45; a first sensor/first switch 46; a fixed plate 47; a first arm 470; a second arm 471; a stopper 472; a mounting post 48; an overfill detection device 50; a first detection unit 501; a second detection unit 502; a third detection unit 503; a nut 51; a flat washer 52; a cotter pin 53; a bolt 54; a second movable member 55; a second sensor/second switch 56; a contact piece 560; contacts 562; a screw 57; a mounting bracket 58; a mounting bracket portion 580; the first portion 581; a second section 582; a third portion 583; a mounting portion 584; a long pin 59; an automatic grass discharging device 60; a bolt 61; a nut 62; an electric push rod 63; a bolt 64; a nut 65; a current working position A; a current working position B; detecting a maintenance point P; and (5) arranging grass spots M.

Detailed Description

The following embodiments of the present invention are provided by specific examples, and other advantages and effects of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure of the present invention. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways, and its several details are capable of modification in various respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is to be noted that the features in the following embodiments and examples may be combined with each other without conflict. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the examples is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Test methods in which specific conditions are not specified in the following examples are generally carried out under conventional conditions or under conditions recommended by the respective manufacturers.

Please refer to fig. 1 to 12. It should be understood that the structures, ratios, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings and attached to the present specification are only used for matching the disclosure and are not used for limiting the practical limitations of the present invention, so that the present invention has no technical significance, and any modifications of the structures, changes of the ratio relationships, or adjustments of the sizes, should still fall within the scope of the technical contents disclosed in the present invention without affecting the efficacy and the achievable purpose of the present invention. Meanwhile, the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle" and "one" used in the present specification are for convenience of description only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and changes or modifications of the relative relationship thereof may be made without substantial technical changes and modifications.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the present invention provides a mowing apparatus, in particular, a lawn mower 100. The lawn mower 100 includes a mowing device including a header assembly 10 for mowing, and a grass collecting device including a grass conveying device, a grass collecting device, a clogging detecting device 40, an overfilling detecting device 50, and a grass discharging device 60.

Although the mowing apparatus shown in the drawings of the present invention is a riding lawn mower 100, it may be any other type or configuration of mowing apparatus. Further, in addition to the various components/devices/systems specifically described in this specification, other components of the lawn mower 100 of the present invention may be of any suitable design and are not specifically described herein.

In this embodiment, the grass transporting device includes a fan 20, a fan controller 210, and a grass transporting duct 25. The fan controller 210 is fixedly installed on the fan 20, and the fan 20 is respectively communicated with the header 10 and the grass conveying pipeline 25, so that when the fan 20 works, the chopped grass cut off by the header 10 can be sucked into the grass conveying pipeline 25 and continuously blown into the grass collecting device.

The grass-collecting device of the present embodiment adopts the grass-collecting box 30, the grass-collecting box 30 includes two oppositely disposed first side walls 31, second side walls 34, a front wall 33 between the first side walls 31 and the second side walls 34, and a box door 36 disposed opposite to the front wall, and a top wall 37 and a bottom wall 38 are disposed between the front wall 33 and the box door 36, and between the first side walls 31 and the second side walls 34, which can be seen from fig. 1-2 and fig. 8.

As shown in fig. 3 and 5, in the present embodiment, the grass collecting device is provided with a grass inlet 32 communicating with the grass conveying device, and the clogging detecting device 40 is provided on the grass collecting device at a position near the grass inlet 32. Specifically, the clogging detecting means 40 is provided on a side wall of the grass collecting box 30, the first side wall 31 of the grass collecting box 30 is provided with the grass inlet 32, the clogging detecting means 40 is installed at a position on the first side wall 31 near the grass inlet 32, and the overflow detecting means 50 is installed at a position on the front wall 33 of the grass collecting box 30 near the ceiling wall 37. Of course, the blockage detection device 40 is not limited to being mounted on the first side wall 31, the blockage detection device 40 may also be mounted in the grass conveying pipe 25 of the grass conveying device, and the blockage detection device 40 may be arranged at one end of the grass conveying pipe 25 close to the grass collecting device.

With further reference to fig. 4-5, the jam detecting device 40 includes a first sensor 46 and a first moveable member 45, the first moveable member 45 being in a first state when the grass conveying conduit 25 of the grass conveying device is operating normally; when the grass conveying pipe 25 of the grass conveying device is blocked, the first movable member 45 is in the second state. The action of the first movable element 45 on the air flow in the grass transport duct 25 causes it to switch between said first and second conditions. When the first movable member 45 is in the first state under the action of the air flow, the blockage detection device 40 does not send out a blockage signal, when the grass conveying pipeline 25 is blocked, the air flow in the grass conveying pipeline 25 is reduced or even disappears, the first movable member 45 is in the second state, and the blockage detection device 40 sends out a blockage detection signal.

In the present embodiment, when the first movable member 45 changes from the first state to the second state, and the first movable member 45 maintains the second state for longer than a predetermined time, the jam detecting device 40 generates a jam signal. Preferably, the preset time period is 3-5 seconds, and the preset time period may be 3 seconds, for example. Because grass agglomerates may appear in the grass conveying pipeline 25, the airflow in the grass conveying pipeline 25 changes, so that the state of the first movable part 45 is influenced, however, after a certain time, the grass agglomerates finally enter the grass collecting box 30, and the airflow in the grass conveying pipeline 25 can return to be normal.

The blockage detection device 40 further comprises a fixed plate 47, a first sensor 46 is arranged on the fixed plate 47, the first movable piece 45 is rotatably connected on the grass collecting device, and the first movable piece 45 rotates relative to the grass collecting device so as to switch between a first state and a second state. Specifically, the fixing plate 47 includes a first arm 470 and a second arm 471 that extend integrally. The first arm 470 has one end fixed to the first sidewall 31 of the grass-collecting box 30 and the other end extending vertically from the first arm 470 to form a second arm 471, and the second arm 471 is fixedly provided with the first sensor 46. The free end of the second arm 471 includes a first limiting portion 472 for limiting the rotation of the first movable member 45 to prevent the first sensor 46 from being damaged by the first movable member 45. The first position-limiting portion 472 may be two tabs extending outwardly from the free end of the second arm 471, or other suitable design. The first arm 471 of the retaining plate 47 may be welded to the first side wall 31 of the grass-collecting box 30, or may be secured to the first side wall 31 using any other suitable connection. The fixing plate 47 of this embodiment is "L" shaped, but in other embodiments, the fixing plate 47 may have other shapes and structures.

The first movable member 45 passes through the two mounting posts 48 through the screw 41 and cooperates with the washer 43 and the nut 44 to fix the first movable member 45 to the top end of the grass inlet 32 of the grass collecting box 30, and the first movable member 45 can freely rotate around the screw 41 like a hinge. The mounting posts 48 are hollow for the screw rod 41 to pass through, and the distance between the two mounting posts 48 is just enough to receive the corresponding mounting portion of the first movable member 45 therebetween. The two mounting posts 48 are fixed to the first side wall 31 of the grass-collecting box 30 by welding, but may be connected to the first side wall 31 in any other suitable manner.

When the grass conveying device (such as the grass conveying pipeline 25) works normally, the grass conveying device is not blocked, the air flow in the grass conveying pipeline 25 blows the first movable piece 45 to rotate, the first movable piece 45 rotates to the second state under the action of the air flow in the grass conveying pipeline 25 and is maintained in the second state, and at the moment, the top end tangential direction of the grass inlet 32 of the grass collecting box 30 of the first movable piece 45 is flush. When the first sensor 46 detects that the first movable member 45 is in the second state, the first sensor 46 does not emit the jam signal. When the grass conveying device (such as the grass conveying pipeline 25) is blocked, the air flow in the grass conveying pipeline 25 is reduced or even completely disappeared, and the air flow is not enough to blow the first movable member 45 to reach and maintain the second state, which is defined as that the first movable member 45 is in the first state (the other states except the second state are defined as the first state in the embodiment). When the first sensor 46 detects that the first moveable member 45 is in the first state, the first sensor 46 signals a jam (fault).

As a preferable scheme of the present embodiment, the first sensor 46 is a switch, the first sensor 46 detects the state of the first moving member 45 by a manner that the first moving member 45 triggers the switch, when the first moving member 45 triggers the switch, the first sensor 46 detects that the first moving member 45 is in the first state, and when the first moving member 45 is disconnected from the switch, the first sensor 46 detects that the first moving member 45 is in the second state. Of course, in other embodiments, the first sensor 46 can be other types of sensors, such as a displacement sensor, which detects the amount of displacement of the first movable member 45, and thus the state of the first movable member 45. The first movable member 45 can be switched between states by rotation, translation, and the like. For clarity of the solution of the present invention, the first sensor 46 is taken as an example of a switch in the present embodiment.

When the grass conveyor is operating normally, the first movable member 45 is closed by a first switch (first sensor) 46 under the action of the air flow from the grass conveying duct 25, which enters the grass box 30 through the grass inlet 32. When a blockage occurs in the grass conveying device (e.g. in the grass conveying duct 25), the air flow into the grass collecting box 30 is reduced until it is completely eliminated, which causes the first movable member 45 to be opened and closed from the first switch 46, and the blockage detection device 40 is caused to signal a fault. Further, in the present embodiment, the jam detecting device 40 sends out a failure signal when the time between the first movable member 45 and the first switch 46 when being turned off exceeds a certain time interval (for example, 3 s).

The occlusion detection device 40 further comprises a fixation plate 47, the fixation plate 47 comprising a first arm 470 and a second arm 471 extending integrally. The first arm 470 has one end fixed to the first sidewall 31 of the grass-collecting box 30 and the other end extending perpendicularly from the first arm 470 to form a second arm 471, and the switch 46 is fixed to the second arm 471. The free end of the second arm 471 includes a limiting portion 472 for limiting the rotation of the first movable member 45 to prevent the switch 46 from being crushed by the pressing piece 45. The position limiting portion 472 may be two tabs extending outwardly from the free end of the second arm 471, or other suitable design. The first arm 471 of the fixing plate 47 may be welded to the first side wall 31 of the grass-collecting box 30, or may be fixed to the first side wall 31 by any other suitable connection means. The fixing plate 47 of the present embodiment is "L" shaped, but in other embodiments, the fixing plate 47 may have other shapes and structures.

Further, the clogging detecting means 40 of the present invention is configured to detect an air flow parameter in the grass transporting means, and the clogging detecting means 40 generates a clogging signal when the air flow parameter is smaller than a preset value. Specifically, the blockage detection device 40 detects the wind speed at the outlet of the grass conveying device (such as the grass conveying pipeline 25), and the preset value of the wind speed can be 15m/s, or other suitable values according to actual conditions. The jam detecting device 40 sends a jam signal when the wind speed is less than the preset value for more than a preset time period (e.g., 3 seconds).

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the wind speed entering the grass-collecting box 30 from the grass inlet 32 reaches a predetermined value, the first movable member 45 of the blockage detection device 40 is pushed by the wind to touch the first switch 46 to close, i.e. to trigger the first switch 46. The preset value for the wind speed can be set to 15m/s, i.e. above this wind speed the first switch 46 is triggered.

When the wind speed at the grass inlet 32 is a preset value of 15M/s, the wind quantity is 15 × 15/1600KN/M ² The pressure is the value multiplied by the area, and the area can be 1.5e2mm2 or 2.5e2mm2.

The wind pressure is the pressure of the wind on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the airflow. According to the wind-pressure relationship obtained by Bernoulli equation, the dynamic pressure of wind is as follows:

wp＝0.5·ro·v2 (1)

wherein wp is wind pressure [ kN/m [) ² ]Ro is the air density [ kg/m ³ ]V is the wind speed [ m/s ]]。

Since the relationship between the air density (ro) and the gravity (r) is r = ro · g, there is ro = r/g. Using this relationship in (1), we obtain

wp＝0.5·r·v2/g (2)

This formula is a standard wind pressure formula.

For example, in a standard state (pressure of 1013hPa, temperature of 15 ℃), air gravity r =0.01225[ kN/m ] ³ ]Acceleration of gravity at a latitude of 45 ° g =9.8[ m/s2 ]]The following can be obtained: wp = v2/1600 (3).

In one embodiment of the present invention, when there is no airflow at the grass inlet 32, the first movable member 45 is vertically downward under the action of gravity, the first movable member 45 does not touch the switch 46, and the first switch 46 is in an off state; when a certain amount of airflow exists at the grass inlet 32, the first movable member 45 freely rotates around the screw rod 41 along the pointer under the action of the airflow (as shown in fig. 4), and after the first movable member 45 rotates for a certain angle (for example, 90 °), the first movable member 45 touches the first switch 46 and is limited by the fixing plate of the first switch 46, so that the first switch 46 does not continuously rotate, the first switch 46 is prevented from being crushed by external force, the switch is in a closed state at the moment, and the fact that normal airflow passes through the pipeline at the moment is proved. Once the grass conveying pipeline 25 is blocked, the airflow flowing out of the grass inlet 32 is reduced, when the airflow is reduced to a certain degree, the first movable member 45 rotates counterclockwise and rotates downward under the action of gravity, so that the first switch 46 is switched off, a blocking signal is sent out when the switching-off time exceeds a preset value (for example, 3 seconds), the header 10 stops mowing, the fan 20 stops rotating, the lawn mower 100 displays a blocking fault indication, the whole lawn mower stops mowing, and the lawn mower 100 automatically drives to a stopping detection maintenance point P from a current working position a (representing the position where the grass conveying device is blocked is detected) for maintenance (fig. 11). For example, the fan 20 is started, the wind speed can reach 40m/s, and the pressure value can reach 1.69kg. When the grass blockage occurs, the wind speed is rapidly reduced to 0, no wind pressure is applied to the first movable member 45 of the blockage detection device 40, the first movable member 45 rotates downwards by 90 degrees to be in a vertical state due to the gravity, and if no external force applies pressure to the first switch 46, the first switch 46 is turned off.

The preset time can be set to 3 seconds, and the disconnection for 3 seconds is delayed for 3 seconds. Because the grass conglobation which is easy to cause the blockage of the grass conveying pipeline 25 occurs in the actual grass mowing process, the grass conglobation can be at the blockage critical point sometimes and takes a little long time, and the grass conglobation can be discharged into the grass collecting box sometimes and cannot finally cause the blockage. Therefore, in order to eliminate this situation, the preset time range for the first switch 46 to be turned off may be set to 3-5 seconds (or may be preset to another suitable time length according to the actual situation), so that if the time for the first switch 46 to be turned off is long and the grass clippings can not normally enter the grass collecting box 30, it can be determined that the blockage situation occurs.

The first switch 46 may be any switch or device such as a pressure switch, a micro switch, a travel switch, etc. that may be adapted for use with the jam detector 40 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the first switch 46 is a pressure switch.

Referring to fig. 6-7, the overflow detection device 50 detects the state of the grass amount in the grass catcher, and detects overflow when the grass amount reaches a threshold value. In this embodiment, the threshold grass amount is the amount of grass when the grass collecting box 30 is full. The overfill detection device 50 is mounted in the grass collecting device (i.e. in the grass collecting box 30) near the top of the grass collecting device.

The overflow detecting device 50 comprises at least one detecting unit, a plurality of detecting units are arranged at different positions in the grass collecting box 30, when the detecting units all detect that the grass amount in the grass collecting box 30 reaches a threshold value, namely, the grass amount at a plurality of positions in the grass collecting box 30 reaches the threshold value (full grass), the overflow detecting device 50 generates an overflow signal, namely, when the detecting units all detect that the grass in the grass collecting box 30 is full, the overflow detecting device 50 generates the overflow signal.

In this embodiment, the overfill detection device 50 comprises a first detection unit 501, a second detection unit 502 and a third detection unit 503, which are connected to a longitudinally extending mounting bracket 58, the mounting bracket 58 being fixedly mounted at a position of the front wall 33 of the grass-collecting box 30 close to the top wall 37. Wherein the respective positions of the first detecting unit 501, the second detecting unit 502 and the third detecting unit 504 substantially correspond to the left (against the second side wall 32), the middle and the right (against the first side wall) positions of the front wall 33 of the grass-collecting box 30.

Each detection unit 50 includes a second sensor 56 and a second movable member 66, the second movable member 66 has a first state and a second state, and when the amount of grass in the grass collecting box 30 reaches a threshold value (full grass), the grass in the grass collecting box 30 pushes the second movable member 66 to move to the second state, and at this time, the second sensor 56 detects that the second movable member 66 is in the second state. When the second movable members 66 are in the second state, the overfill detection device 50 generates an overfill signal.

Preferably, the second sensor 56 is a switch, the second sensor 56 detects the state of the second sensor 56 by the second moveable member 66 triggering the switch, the second sensor 56 detects that the second sensor 66 is in the first state when the second sensor 56 triggers the switch, and the second sensor 56 detects that the second moveable member 66 is in the second state when the second moveable member 66 is disconnected from the switch. Of course, in other embodiments, second sensor 56 may be another type of sensor, such as a displacement sensor, that detects the amount of displacement of second moveable component 66, and thus the state of second moveable component 66. The second movable member 66 can be rotated to switch states, or can be translated to switch states. For clarity of the solution of the present invention, the second sensor 56 is taken as an example of the second switch in the present embodiment.

Each of the sensing units 501-503 includes a mounting bracket portion 580, a second switch 56, and a second moveable member 66. Each mounting bracket portion 580 includes a first portion 581, a second portion 582, and a third portion 583 that extend integrally, with the second portion 582 extending between the first portion 581 and the third portion 583. Switch 56 is secured to third portion 583, second moveable member 55 is mounted to mounting portion 584 at one end of first portion 581 via long pivot 59, and second moveable member 55 is free to rotate about long pivot 59.

The second switch 56 may be any switch or device such as a pressure switch, a microswitch, a travel switch, etc. that may be suitable for use in the occlusion detection device 40 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the second switch 56 is a pressure switch.

It is noted that in some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the overflow detecting device 50 may include one, two, three or more detecting units as required. These detection units may be connected to a common mounting bracket 58 or may be individually mounted at suitable locations on the grass-collecting box 30, for example at corresponding locations near the top wall 37 of the grass-collecting box 30.

The second switch 56 may be any switch or device such as a pressure switch, a micro-switch, a travel switch, etc. that may be suitable for use in the overfill detection device 50 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the second switch 56 is a pressure switch. The mounting bracket portions 580 of the three sensing units 501-503 may be separate portions of the three sensing units 501-503, or the mounting bracket portions 580 of the three sensing units 501-503 may be formed together on a longitudinally extending mounting bracket 58. Each of the mounting bracket portions 580 includes first, second and third portions 581-583 extending continuously in a "[" shape.

First, second, and third sensing units 501-503 may share a single elongated pin 59 for mounting respective second moveable member 55 to first portion 581 of respective mounting bracket portion 580, or may each include a pin for rotatably mounting respective second moveable member 55 to first portion 581 of respective mounting bracket portion 580.

The overfill detection device 50 may further comprise a pair of cotter pins 53 and washers 52, respectively mounted on both ends of the long pin 59, to prevent the long pin 59 from shifting left and right in the longitudinal direction of the mounting bracket 58.

In this embodiment, the first detecting unit 501, the second detecting unit 502 and the third detecting unit 504 are connected in series, that is, the second switches 56 are connected in series in the circuit, and when all of the second switches 56 are triggered, the grass-collecting box 30 is considered to be in an overflow state.

As the collection of the grass in the grass collecting box 30 increases, the grass will contact the second switch 56 (connected in series) in the grass collecting overflow monitoring device 50 under the action of its own weight. Normally, after the air flow from the grass conveying pipe 25 blows the chopped grass from the grass inlet 32 on the first side wall 31 of the grass collecting box 30 into the grass collecting box 30, the chopped grass will be accumulated at the position of the grass collecting box 30 close to the second side wall 32 first, and then will be gradually accumulated toward the position of the first side wall 31. Therefore, in a normal situation, the grass clippings first contact and press the second movable member 55 of the first detection unit 501 of the overflow detection device 50, so that the second movable member and the corresponding switch 56 are closed.

In other words, when the grass collecting box 30 is gradually filled with the grass, the second movable member 55 of the first detecting unit 501 on the left side rotates freely around the long pin 59 by a certain angle (for example, 18 degrees or another angle), first touches the corresponding second switch 56 to close, and touches the third portion 583 of the mounting bracket portion 580 to be limited, so that the rotation cannot be continued. Then, the second switch 56 of the middle second detection unit 502 is closed, and the second switch 56 of the right third detection unit 503 is closed last. When the second switches 56 at the left, middle and right positions are closed, the overflow detecting device 50 sends out an overflow signal of the grass collecting box, the lawn mower 100 receives the feedback signal, the cutting table 10 stops mowing, the fan 20 stops working, and the lawn can drive from the current working position B (representing the position where the grass collecting box 30 is detected to be full) to the grass discharging point M to discharge grass.

The first sensor 46 and the second sensor 56 of the present embodiment may have the same structure or different structures, and the first movable member 56 and the second movable member 66 may have the same structure or different structures, which is not limited herein.

As shown in fig. 8-10, the grass discharging device 60 comprises an electric push rod 63, one end of the electric push rod 63 is mounted on the top of the frame 340 of the second side wall 34 of the grass collecting box 30, and the other end of the electric push rod 63 is connected to one end of the swing arm 35 of the grass collecting box 30. The other end of the swing arm 35 is connected to the top of the frame 360 of the box door 36 of the grass-collecting box 30, and the electric push rod 63 can push or pull the swing arm 35 to open or close the box door 36.

The grass-collecting box 30 and the grass-discharging device 60 are highlighted by thicker lines in fig. 9 and 10, while the lawn mower 100 and other parts thereof are indicated by thinner (lighter) lines. The door 36 is shown in fig. 10 as being rotatable from an open position to a closed position and vice versa for a 30 degree rotation. The degree of rotation of door 36 between the open and closed positions may be set as desired.

In one embodiment of the invention, the bottom wall 38 is not parallel to the top wall 37, but is angled downwardly (which may be any suitable angle) relative to the top wall 37 so that the clippings entering the grass-collecting box 30 can be easily poured out of the grass-collecting box 30 by gravity when the box door 36 is opened, facilitating a quick and thorough grass discharge process.

The electric push rod 63 is mounted at the rear end thereof to the frame 340 of the second side wall 34 of the grass-collecting box 30 by means of the bolt 61 and the nut 62, and is fixed at the other end thereof to the swing arm 35 of the grass-collecting box door 36 by means of the bolt 64 and the nut 65. In the normal state, the grass-collecting box door 36 is firmly closed by the action of the electric push rod 63. When the grass collecting box 30 is full of grass, and the lawn mower 100 automatically travels to a grass discharging point M (fig. 11), the electric push rod 63 on the grass collecting box 30 receives a working signal to push open the box door 36 of the grass collecting box 30, and the broken grass automatically slides down under the action of gravity after the box door 36 is opened. After the set grass discharging time interval, the electric push rod 64 can be automatically retracted, the box door 36 of the grass collecting box 30 is closed, and the automatic grass discharging process is completed. The lawn mower 100 automatically moves to the position B where the previous mowing of the header 10 is stopped, and continues mowing.

The elements and components of the jam detecting device 40, the overfill detecting device 50 and the grass discharge device 60 of the present invention can be made of any material that can assist in performing their intended function. For example, the first and/or second

movable members

45, 55 may be formed of wear-resistant, high strength spring steel, while the other components may be formed of conventional Q235 steel.

Referring again to fig. 11 and 12, the lawn mower 100 of the present invention includes a grass collecting system control device 105 for receiving the overflow signal from the overflow detecting device 50 and the blockage signal from the blockage detecting device 40, and controlling the grass cutting device, the grass conveying system, the grass collecting device, and the grass discharging device 60 to operate in cooperation with each other according to the received signals.

Lawn mower 100 further includes an autopilot control system 106. The grass-collecting system control device 105 sends the failure condition of the grass transporter and the load condition of the grass-collecting device to the automatic driving control system 106, respectively.

Grass collection system control 105 may be mounted below the seat of lawn mower 100, grass collection fan controller 210 may be mounted on fan 20 for controlling the operation of fan 20, and autopilot control 106 may be mounted below the floor behind the seat. The grass collection system control 105 and the autopilot control 106 may also be located at other suitable locations on the lawn mower 100.

The blockage detection device 40, the overflow detection device 50 and the automatic grass discharge device 60 are electrically connected to the grass collecting system control device 105 through wires, and the specific wiring manner can be any appropriate manner and is not described in detail in the specification. The grass-collecting system control device 105 may also be the central controller of the lawn mower 100 itself, and controls the blockage detection device 40, the overflow detection device 50, and the automatic grass discharge device 60, respectively. The grass-collecting system control device 105 may also have the function of controlling other components of the lawn mower 100.

When the grass conveying device (such as the grass conveying pipeline 25) has a blockage failure, the airflow entering the grass collecting box 30 from the grass inlet 32 of the grass collecting box 30 is reduced to enable the first movable element 45 of the blockage detection device 40 to be disconnected with the first switch 46 under the action of gravity, the blockage detection device 40 sends a failure signal to the grass collecting system control device 105, the grass collecting system control device 105 informs the automatic driving control system 106, and the automatic driving control system 106 controls and controls the lawn mower 100 to travel from the current working position A (recorded as a breakpoint position A) to the fault repair area P for corresponding repair. When the fault is repaired and eliminated, the grass-collecting system control device 105 informs the automatic driving control system 106 according to the received signal (for example, a signal input by a service person to the grass-collecting system control device 105 or a corresponding signal sent to the grass-collecting system control device 105 in other possible ways), and the automatic driving control system 106 controls the lawn mower 100 to travel from the fault repairing area P back to the breakpoint position a to continue the grass cutting operation. Alternatively, the service person may signal the autopilot control system 106 directly to control the lawn mower 100 to return to breakpoint position a.

When the second movable member 55 and the second switch 56 of the first, second and third detecting units 501-503 of the overflow detecting device 50 are all closed under the pressure generated when the grass clippings entering the grass collecting box 30 are stacked completely, the overflow detecting device 50 will send an overflow signal to the grass collecting system control device 105, the grass collecting system control device 105 will notify the automatic driving control system 106, the automatic driving control system 106 will control and operate the lawn mower 100 to travel from the current working position B (recorded as the breakpoint position B) to the grass discharge area M, and then notify the grass collecting system control device 105, the electric push rod 63 of the grass collecting system control device 105 will control the electric push rod 63 of the grass discharging device 60 to push the swing arm 35 of the box door 36 of the grass collecting box 30 to open the box door 36 of the grass collecting box 30 for grass discharging, after a predetermined time interval, the electric push rod 63 will drive the swing arm 35 to close the box door 36, and complete grass discharging. After the grass discharging operation is finished, the grass-collecting system control device 105 informs the automatic driving control system 106 according to the received signal (for example, a signal automatically sent by the electric push rod 63, a signal input by a specific person to the grass-collecting system control device 105, or a corresponding signal sent in other possible manners), and the automatic driving control system 106 controls the lawn mower 100 to move from the grass discharging area M back to the breakpoint position B to continue the grass cutting operation. It is also possible that a particular person directly signals autopilot control system 106 to control lawnmower 100 to return to breakpoint position B.

In the process of grass discharging, once the electric push rod 35 starts to work, the crushed grass begins to leak outwards; by the maximum state of the door 36 being open, the grass clippings have substantially fallen through. The predetermined time interval is set according to the speed of the electric push rod 35, and may be set to 15 seconds, for example, and a tolerance of 5 seconds is set, and it is recommended that the predetermined time interval is 15 to 20 seconds.

In summary, the grass cutting device and the grass collecting system thereof of the present invention realize the following functions in the automatic driving mode of the grass cutting device (lawn mower): the lawn mower has three functions of automatic blockage detection, automatic grass collecting overflow detection and automatic grass unloading, can work in cooperation with the lawn mower in an unmanned state, and can also be applied to mowing equipment operated by a driver. Therefore, the invention effectively overcomes various defects in the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.

The foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and utilities of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art can modify or change the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications or changes which can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical spirit of the present invention be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass collecting device;

an occlusion detection device comprising

The first movable piece is in a first state when the grass conveying device works normally;

when the grass conveying device is blocked, the first movable part is in a second state;

a first sensor configured to detect a state of the first moving member.

2. The mowing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the grass collecting device is provided with a grass inlet communicated with the grass conveying device, and the first moving part is arranged on the grass collecting device and close to the position of the grass inlet.

3. The mowing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the first movable member is caused to switch between the first and second states by the action of the air flow in the grass conveyor.

4. The mowing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: the blockage detection device further comprises a fixing plate, the first sensor is installed on the fixing plate, the first movable piece is connected to the grass collecting device in a rotating mode, and the first movable piece rotates relative to the grass collecting device to switch between a first state and a second state.

5. The mowing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: the fixed plate comprises a first limiting part used for limiting the rotation range of the first movable part.

6. The mowing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: the fixed plate comprises a first arm and a second arm, one end of the first arm is fixed on the grass collecting device, the other end of the first arm extends to form the second arm, the first sensor is fixedly mounted on the second arm, and the first limiting portion is located at the free end of the second arm.

7. The mowing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: when the first movable piece is changed from a first state to a second state and the first movable piece is maintained in the second state for more than a preset time length, the jam detection device generates a jam signal.

8. The mowing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: the preset time is 3 seconds.

9. The mowing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the first sensor is a switch, and when the first moving piece is in a first state, the first moving piece triggers the switch; when the grass conveying device is blocked, the first movable piece is disconnected with the switch under the action of self gravity.

10. The mowing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: the grass collecting device is provided with a grass inlet communicated with the grass conveying device, the first moving part is arranged on the grass collecting device and is close to the position of the grass inlet, and when the first moving part is in a first state, the first moving part is flush with the top end tangential direction of the grass inlet.

11. The mowing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the first movable piece is arranged in the grass conveying device and is positioned at one end, close to the grass collecting device, of the grass conveying device.

12. The mowing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the grass conveying device comprises a fan and a grass conveying pipeline, one end of the grass conveying pipeline is communicated with the grass cutting device, and the other end of the grass conveying pipeline is communicated with the grass collecting device box, so that the fan can suck grass cut by the grass cutting device into the grass conveying pipeline.

13. The mowing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: the mowing equipment further comprises an overflow detection device, and the overflow detection device is arranged in the grass collecting device and used for detecting the load condition of the grass collecting device.

14. The mowing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the grass cutting equipment further comprises a control device, when the grass conveying device is blocked, the blockage detection device generates a blockage signal and sends the blockage signal to the control device, and the control device controls the grass cutting equipment to drive from the current working position to the fault repair area for repairing.

15. A mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

16. The mowing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein: the blockage detection device detects the wind speed at the outlet of the grass conveying device.

17. The mowing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein: the preset value of the wind speed may be 15m/s.

18. The mowing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein: and when the wind speed is less than the preset value and exceeds the preset duration, the blockage detection device sends a blockage signal.

19. A mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass collecting device;

20. The mowing apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the overflow detection device is arranged in the grass collecting device and is close to the top of the grass collecting device.

21. The mowing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein: the overflow detection device comprises at least one detection unit, and when the detection units all detect that the grass amount in the grass collecting box reaches a threshold value, the overflow detection device generates an overflow signal.

22. The mowing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein: the overflow detection device comprises a first detection unit, a second detection unit and a third detection unit, and the three detection units are arranged at intervals.

23. The mowing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein: the detection unit comprises a second sensor and a second movable piece, the second movable piece is provided with a first state and a second state, the second movable piece is switched between the first state and the second state under the action of grass in the grass collecting device, and when the grass amount in the grass collecting box reaches a threshold value, the second movable piece is in the second state.

24. The mowing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein: the detection unit further comprises a mounting bracket, the second sensor is fixed on the mounting bracket, and the second moving part is rotatably connected with the mounting bracket.

25. The mowing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein: the mounting bracket is provided with a second limiting part for limiting the rotation of the second moving part.

26. The mowing apparatus according to claim 25, wherein: the second sensor is a switch, and when the second moving part is in the second state, the second moving part triggers the switch; when the second movable member is in the first state, the second movable member is disconnected from the switch.

27. The mowing apparatus of claim 23, wherein: the grass mowing equipment further comprises a grass unloading device, the grass unloading device comprises an electric push rod, the grass collecting device comprises a grass collecting box, the grass collecting box comprises a box door, one end of the electric push rod is installed on the grass collecting box, and the other end of the electric push rod is connected to the box door of the grass collecting box to drive the box door to be opened or closed.

28. The mowing apparatus according to claim 27, wherein: when the overflow detection device generates an overflow signal, the electric push rod drives the box door to open.

29. The mowing apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the grass cutting equipment further comprises a blockage detection device, a grass inlet is formed in the position where the grass collecting device is connected with the grass conveying device, and the blockage detection device is arranged on the grass collecting device and is close to the grass inlet.

30. The mowing apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the grass mowing equipment further comprises a control device, when the grass collecting device overflows, the overflow detection device generates an overflow signal and sends the overflow signal to the control device, and the control device controls the grass mowing equipment to drive to a grass discharging area from the current working position to discharge grass.

31. A mowing apparatus comprising:

a mowing device;

a grass collecting device;

32. The mowing apparatus according to claim 31, wherein: the lawn mowing equipment further comprises a control device, when the grass conveying device has a blockage fault, the blockage detection device generates a blockage signal and sends the blockage signal to the control device, and the control device controls the lawn mowing equipment to run from the current working position to a fault repairing area for repairing;

when the grass collecting device overflows, the overflow detection device generates an overflow signal and sends the overflow signal to the control device, and the grass collecting device controls the grass cutting equipment to drive to a grass discharging area from the current working position for discharging grass.