DE29621609U1 - mowing machine - Google Patents

Description

Lawnmower Description

The invention relates to a lawn mower with a frame with wheels and a motor that drives a blade for cutting grass.

This blade, which is arranged within a cavity inside the frame, has the function of cutting grass to mow lawns to a uniform height.

Cut grass is blown into a container attached to the frame (grass catcher) or, if such a container is missing, it is left directly on the mown lawn.

When cut grass is collected in a container designed for this purpose, the lawn is freed of this cut grass, which can later easily be added to a compost heap.

However, experience has shown that before or during operation of a lawn mower, the path of the mower should generally be cleared of coarse gardening materials.

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such as dead wood, old sticks, leaves, woody shrubs, garden debris, edge trimmings, plant trimmings, bushes, organic garden and/or household waste, all of which could damage the lawn mower.

Currently, the process of removing these coarse agricultural residues and waste requires a specific activity by the operator, mainly through the use of special tools, which slows down the work of mowing the lawn.

The invention is based on the object of overcoming the above disadvantages, i.e. of creating a lawn mower that can be operated in a simple and quick manner even on lawns on which coarse agricultural materials are present.

Such purposes are achieved by a lawn mower according to claim 1, to which reference is made for the sake of brevity.

The concept according to the invention consists essentially in associating with the blade used for cutting grass in a lawn mower a blade suitable for shredding coarse agricultural material so that the resulting device can be used both as a lawn mower and as a residual material/waste shredder.

The processes of cutting grass and shredding coarse materials take place inside the same hollow chamber within the frame of the device.

However, it should be remembered that the lawn mower according to the invention can also work as a shredder without any prior

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setting is necessary for this purpose.

Therefore, by stopping the forward movement of the lawn mower, the operator can immediately disperse coarse agricultural materials as they occur in the path of the lawn mower, simply by feeding them through a suitable opening provided in the frame delimiting the blade receiving chamber.

The shredded materials are automatically collected in the grass catcher thanks to the action of the blade, which ensures that the shredded material enters the grass catcher in the same way as for cut grass.

If there is no grass catcher, the shredded material is simply left on the ground.

Another purpose of the invention is to combine a lawn mower and a shredder in a single device, which has undoubted advantages in terms of practicality and cheapness.

The invention can also be applied to lawn mowers of the type driven by the pushing force of the operator as well as of the self-propelled type, regardless of whether the latter is provided with a seat for the operator or not and regardless of the type of driving engine.

The invention is illustrated, for purely illustrative and non-limiting purposes, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, which relate in particular to a particularly simple lawn mower, i.e. of the type pushed by the operator, provided with an electric motor for the blade.

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Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a lawn mower according to the invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates the lawn mower of Fig. 1 in an enlarged detail.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective bottom view of the lawn mower of the previous figures.
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Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of Fig. 3.

With particular reference to the above figures, a lawn mower according to the invention, generally indicated at 1, comprises a frame 2 supporting an engine 3.

A tubular handle 5 and four wheels 4 are connected to the frame 2. In the case illustrated here, the wheels 4 rotate freely since the lawnmower is of the type that is driven by the pushing force exerted by the operator. The motor 3, which in the case illustrated here is an electric motor, has a shaft 6 on which a first blade 7 for cutting grass is mounted inside the cavity 8 of the frame 2, this blade facing the ground when the lawnmower 1 is in operation.

Between the frame 2 and the first grass cutting blade 7 there is a second blade 9 which rotates about the same axis of rotation as the first blade 7 and has a plate element 11 provided with slots 12. In the case illustrated here there are two slots 12, in each of which a cutting device 10 can be fastened by means of first screws 14, which is oriented in such a way that it chops up materials which pass through an opening 13.

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from top to bottom, which is provided for this purpose through the frame 2.

The blade 7 suitable for cutting grass is attached to the plate element 11 of the blade 9, i.e. the blade for shredding coarse materials, by means of second screws 15.

Therefore, the blade 9 has a structure which makes it particularly suitable for shredding coarse agricultural materials which are fed through the opening 13 in the frame 2. A tubular guide channel 16 extends within the frame 2 by means of two channel sections 18, 17 which reach to a position close to the grass cutting and chopping blades 7 and 9, respectively.

For reasons of cheapness and rationalization of the storage of spare parts, the knife blade 9 can be similar to the blades used in garden shredders, the so-called "bio-shredders".

In the case illustrated here, the blades 7 and 9 are fastened to one another by means of the second screw 15, whereby they are both driven by the same motor 3 via the same shaft 6.

According to an alternative embodiment, a single blade suitably shaped and sharpened may be provided to perform both the functions of mowing and shredding.

However, two or more shafts 6 can also be used, which are connected to the same engine 3 via a mechanical transmission device, whereby the movement is transmitted to the grass cutting blade 5 and the chopping blade 7 or 9.

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,le.

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becomes.

The opening 13 for introducing coarse materials is preferably located at the front (relative to the direction of travel) of the frame 2 of the lawn mower 1.

In fact, the position can be chosen so as to be the most convenient for introducing the material to be chopped, which is to be introduced into the interior of the cavity 8 in which the knife blade 7 and the disc element 11 of the knife blade 9 rotate.

However, the opening 13 may be present at any position of the frame 2 of the lawn mower 1, possibly also through the bottom side, facing the ground.

The opening 13 comprises a tubular channel 16 for feeding the material to be chopped, which in the illustrated case consists of a first channel region 17 arranged between the frame 2 and the knife blade 9, and a second channel region 18 which projects outwards from the frame 2.

To keep the lawn mower 1 blocked when not in use and especially when it is being used as a shredder,

a parking device (not shown) is present, for example a brake, which preferably acts on at least one pair of wheels 4 rotating about the same geometric axis.
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From the above disclosure, the characteristics of a lawn mower that is the subject of the invention as well as its advantages are clear.

5 In particular, such advantages are the following:

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- integration of the functions of grass cutting and shredding of large garden and/or household waste and/or residual materials within the interior of a single machine fitted with a single motor device;

- Comfort for the operator who has to alternate between mowing and shredding;

- Simplify machine manufacturing and maintenance without the need for complicated and/or expensive operations.

Furthermore, changes can be made to the embodiments of the invention illustrated here without departing from the principles on which the inventive idea is based, and other materials and dimensions can also be chosen in the practical implementation of the innovation depending on the technical requirements.

For example, a single cover (made of either plastic or metal) may be provided to close off the cavity under the frame of the lawn mower to provide protection for the rotating blades and operator safety so that even the most exposed parts of the operator's body cannot come into contact with the cutting elements of the machine.

Furthermore, the lawn mower disclosed above may include mechanical, electrical and/or electronic components for protection and safety (simultaneously operable devices, movement stop devices, interrupters).

Claims (17)

DEG-35858 · «· — 1* · · ■&tgr;, j Claims 1. Lawnmower (1) with a frame (2) and wheels (4) and with at least one motor (3) which drives at least one first blade (7) for cutting grass, or with several cutting edges which rotate about a centre of gravity axis, said first blade being arranged inside a cavity (8) in the frame, facing the ground, characterized in that between the frame and the first blade there is at least one second blade (9) which - is provided with at least one cutting edge (10) suitable for shredding coarse agricultural materials which can be guided into the cavity through at least one opening (13), this opening being present in the frame of the lawn mower and from which at least one tubular channel (16) leads to the cavity; and - is driven in rotation by the same motor that drives the first knife blade. 2. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the second blade (9) is attached to the same shaft (6) as the first blade (7). 3. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the second blade (9) is attached to a different shaft (6) than the first blade (7). 4. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the second blade (9) is attached to the first blade (7) by means of fastening devices (15). 5. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the second blade (9) is attached in one piece to the first blade (7). DEG-35858 r.a - 6. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame (2) is made of metal. 7. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the motor (3) drives the first blade (7) and the second The knife blade (9) is driven in rotation either directly or via at least one gear device. 8. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the second blade (9) is the blade of a garden shredder. 9. Lawn mower according to claim 8, characterized in that the second blade (9) has at least one supporting, disc-shaped element (11) on which at least one cutting blade (10) is attached by means of fastening devices (14). 10. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the engine (3) which drives the first blade (7) and the second blade (9) is an internal combustion engine. 11. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the motor (3) which drives the first blade (7) and the second blade (9) is an electric motor. 12. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the tubular channel (16) has at least a first channel region (17) which is present between the frame (2) and the second blade (9) and a second channel region (18) which extends outwards from the frame (2). DEG-35858 · ·· · ,, . &iacgr;_&iacgr; i · ti dt «_ 13. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening (13) is provided at the front of the frame (2), relative to the direction of travel. 14. Lawnmower according to claim 1, characterized in that it is of the self-propelled type, or of the type pushed by the user, or it is suitable for mowing lawns, or it is of the type which includes or does not include at least one seat for the operator.
10 15. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a parking device which acts on the wheels (4) of the lawn mower (1). 16. Lawn mower according to claim 1, characterized in that the cavity is covered by at least one protective shield or cover or lid for the safety of the operator. 17. Lawnmower according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises mechanical, electrical and/or electronic safety devices, such as microswitches for starting the movement, or which can be operated together, or for stopping the movement of the first blade (7) and/or the second blade (9).