GB1575388A - Hover-type lawn mower - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVED HOVER-TYPE LAWN MOWER (71) We, FLWO S.A., a Swiss body corporate, of Alpenstrasse 12, Postfach 293, CH-6301 Zug, Switzerland, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement : This invention relates to a lawn mower of the type which in operation is pushed by means of a handle and is supported on a cushion of air and comprises a blade, rotatably driven by a motor about a vertical axis, and a fan wheel rotatable about the same axis, the blade and fan wheel being shrouded by a hood.

Mowers of this type are supported on a cushion of air created under the hood by the fan. Previously there has not been any demand for providing this type of mower with wheels or other supporting parts to keep the hood above the ground because such parts have the drawback that they obstruct the operation of the mower.

Normally, handling of this type of mower is good since it can be pushed forwards or sideways and pulled backwards, without any other resistance than that between grass and hood. Nevertheless, mowers of this type do suffer from the disadvantage that they have to be carried from their place of storage to the lawn to be mowed.

This can be troublesome even though a mower may not be too heavy.

It has been proposed to combine. the.

mower with a carriage, see for instance British patent No. 1,178,939, which however still has the disadvantage mentioned above.

An object of this invention is to provide a mower of the type referred to having wheels which can be readily lowered to the ground, for example during transportation, and then raised above the ground preparatory to mowing. The position of the wheels can also be adjusted so that the height of the handle fits the user. The mower of the invention also has the advantage that the cutting height can be manually controlled with the wheels on the ground, making it possible to cut long grass. In other words, the invention makes it possible to retain the easy handling of the hover mower during mowing, yet is easy to convert the mower for transporting or for mowing long grass.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of part of the mower, drawn to an enlarged scale; and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a modified embodiment.

Referring to the drawings, a mower com- prises a hood 10 supporting an internal combustion engine or an electric motor 11.

The motor shaft is vertical and a has at its lower part a fan wheel and a blade, not shown. The fan wheel and blade are completely shrouded by the hood, which in its upper part has an opening for passage of air to the fan wheel. The periphery of the hood has a rim 12 which together with the ground forms a slot through which air drawn into the hood by the fan escapes to the ambient atmosphere, thus making the mower hover above the ground. The hood 10 has at each side a bracket 13 for a handle 14, which is a bent metal tube.

The lower part of the handle has at each side a locating bracket 15 for a wheelmounting strut 16, which comprises a metal tube having a trunnion shaft 17 at one end.

The shaft 17 supports a wheel 18 which is freely rotatable on it. The other end of the strut 16 has through holes 19a, 19b, 19c. The locating bracket 15 has two bent parallel portions 20a, 20b, having respective recesses 21a, 21b, in which the wheel strut is located. The locating bracket 15 also has a hole 22 (Fig. 4) which can be aligned with any of the holes 19a, 19b, 19c. The strut 16-can be locked to the bracket 15 in any of three positions by means of a screw 23 and a wing nut 24.

It is also possible to provide several recesses in the portions 20a, 20b, see Fig.

4, to increase the possibility of setting the wheels'in different positions. Thus, the strut 16 can be placed in recess 12a and in either recess 21b or 21c and be clamped to the bracket 15 by the screw 23 and wing nut 24.

It is also possible to provide -the bracket 15 with clamping means to make it possible to fix the bracket at different positions along the handle.

The mower of the invention is used as follows.

During transportation the wheels are lowered, being locked in any of the positions A, B or C shown in Fig. 1. The wheels can also be kept in any of these positions during cutting, for instance when long grass is being cut, and the distance between hood and ground is not sufficient and has to be increased by pushing the upper part of the handle downwards, so that the wheels act as a fulcrum and the hood is lifted.

After transportation and to prepare the mower for mowing grass of short or average length, the wing nuts 24 are loosened, the struts 16 are released from the recesses 21a, 21b of the brackets 15, and then the struts are either a) turned through 1800 and re-fastened in the recesses 21a, 21b by the wing nuts so that the wheels are in position E (Fig. 1), or b) turned through approximately 900 and re-fastened in the brackets between the portions 20a, 20b by the wing nuts so that the wheels are in position D or F (Fig. 1). Then in use the mower will hover on its air cushion in the usual manner, thereby retaining the advantage of easy handling. If the wheels are in position F, their weight, acting through the handle, gives a closer cut by reducing the air cushion gap below the hood rim 12.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above but can be modified within the scope of the claims.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A lawn mower of the type referred to wherein the mower has wheels and at least one wheel-supporting means which is turnable and/or movable between one position, in which the wheels are in contact with the ground and support the mower, and another position, in which the wheels are above and clear of the ground when the mower is in use.

2. A mower according to claim 1, wherein the handle has at least one fastening device for the wheel-supporting means, the fastening device comprising a bracket having two parallel portions each having one or more recesses to retain the wheelsupporting means.

3. A mower according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the wheel-supporting means comprises a strut, which at one end has a shaft on which a wheel is freely rotatably mounted.

4. A mower according to claim 3 when dependent on claim 2, wherein the strut has several through-holes or a slot for a screw by which the strut is fixed to the fastening device.

5. A mower according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the portions has at least two recesses for mounting the wheels in different positions.

6. A lawn mower of the type referred to, constructed and arranged substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. recesses 21a, 21b, in which the wheel strut is located. The locating bracket 15 also has a hole 22 (Fig. 4) which can be aligned with any of the holes 19a, 19b, 19c. The strut 16-can be locked to the bracket 15 in any of three positions by means of a screw 23 and a wing nut 24. It is also possible to provide several recesses in the portions 20a, 20b, see Fig. 4, to increase the possibility of setting the wheels'in different positions. Thus, the strut 16 can be placed in recess 12a and in either recess 21b or 21c and be clamped to the bracket 15 by the screw 23 and wing nut 24. It is also possible to provide -the bracket 15 with clamping means to make it possible to fix the bracket at different positions along the handle. The mower of the invention is used as follows. During transportation the wheels are lowered, being locked in any of the positions A, B or C shown in Fig. 1. The wheels can also be kept in any of these positions during cutting, for instance when long grass is being cut, and the distance between hood and ground is not sufficient and has to be increased by pushing the upper part of the handle downwards, so that the wheels act as a fulcrum and the hood is lifted. After transportation and to prepare the mower for mowing grass of short or average length, the wing nuts 24 are loosened, the struts 16 are released from the recesses 21a, 21b of the brackets 15, and then the struts are either a) turned through 1800 and re-fastened in the recesses 21a, 21b by the wing nuts so that the wheels are in position E (Fig. 1), or b) turned through approximately 900 and re-fastened in the brackets between the portions 20a, 20b by the wing nuts so that the wheels are in position D or F (Fig. 1). Then in use the mower will hover on its air cushion in the usual manner, thereby retaining the advantage of easy handling. If the wheels are in position F, their weight, acting through the handle, gives a closer cut by reducing the air cushion gap below the hood rim 12. The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above but can be modified within the scope of the claims. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A lawn mower of the type referred to wherein the mower has wheels and at least one wheel-supporting means which is turnable and/or movable between one position, in which the wheels are in contact with the ground and support the mower, and another position, in which the wheels are above and clear of the ground when the mower is in use.

2. A mower according to claim 1, wherein the handle has at least one fastening device for the wheel-supporting means, the fastening device comprising a bracket having two parallel portions each having one or more recesses to retain the wheelsupporting means.

3. A mower according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the wheel-supporting means comprises a strut, which at one end has a shaft on which a wheel is freely rotatably mounted.

4. A mower according to claim 3 when dependent on claim 2, wherein the strut has several through-holes or a slot for a screw by which the strut is fixed to the fastening device.

5. A mower according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the portions has at least two recesses for mounting the wheels in different positions.

6. A lawn mower of the type referred to, constructed and arranged substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings.