GB2157144A

GB2157144A - Increasing the safety of rotary lawn mowers

Info

Publication number: GB2157144A
Application number: GB08407259A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert George Doorbar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-03-20
Filing date: 1984-03-20
Publication date: 1985-10-23
Also published as: GB8407259D0

Abstract

In a mower wherein the cutting blade rotates about a vertical axis, there is attached to the blade a disc or ring, thereby to reduce the likelihood of an operator's foot sustaining injury from the rotating blade. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A system for increasing the operational safety of rotary lawn mowers (modified blade design) This system primarily relates to a means of and a method of increasing the safety of rotary lawn mowers by incorporating modifications to the de sign of the blades in common use. The modified blade design(s) are equally applicable to the two main types of mower in domestic and commercial use, i.e. hover-type and roller-type mowers.

The background to the system is as outlined be low.

During the past 10-15 years, rotary lawn mowers have captured a large share of the domestic lawn mower market in many terrirories, i.e. in the U.K., USA/Canada, Western Europe.

The simple design/construction of the mower al lied to mass production techniques have enabled manufacturers to provide a cost effective tool that, in general, generates a reasonable level of con sumer satisfaction.

The majority of growth has been at the expense of conventional cylinder lawn mowers - rotary mowers have proved to be far easier for con sumers (men, women and children) to operate.

However, two important characteristics can be identified within the market-place, they are: 1. Rotary mowers have gained a largely unjust reputation for being dangerous to operate; 2. Rotary mowers have achieved a high level of penetration, and direct confrontation between ma jor manufcturers is taking place in order to main tain sales momentum and retain effective participation.

Both of the main types of rotary mower in cur rent use (hover and roller) share a common prob lem: they are associated with modest, but highly visible/news-worthy, injuries to the operator. Al though the cause of injury is usually negligence (i.e. due to the operator pulling the mower over his/her foot during a period of lapsed concentra tion), the incidents attract disappropriate adverse publicity and increasing scrutiny from national/re gional consumer groups.

The research and development programmes of major manufacturers of rotary mowers have re sulted in products which are broadly comparable; thus market share gains are now largly attributable to profit eroding, discounting and merchandising activity.

The development of safer rotary mowers would be a significant, meaningful step in the refinement/ improvement of rotary mower design.

For simplicity, safety enhancing systems can be resolved into one of two broad categories, i.e. 1) those improving primary safety (minimising the li kelihood of the accident process occuring), and 2) those improving secondary safety (minimising the severity of injury once the accident process has commenced).

This document is intended to define systems that achieve higher levels of secondary safety by indict ing principles/ components which can be utilized to modify the design of the blade(s) used for rotary mowers. Thus this document is intended to highlight ways of reducing the severity of injury once the accident process has commenced.

The essential technical features consist of a disc or ring that is used to prevent the most likely point of blade impact coming in contact with the operator's foot/feet. Thus once the accident process has commenced, the discs or rings prevent the operator's foot/feet from making contact squarely with that portion of the rotor blade most likely to inflict maximum damage, and thereby are intended to reduce the severity of injury. For simplicity, these items are subsequently referred to as "safety discs" and "safety rings"; they represent slightly different executions of the same principle. The "safety discs"/"safety rings" can be incorporated into the design of the rotary mower blade or provided as separate accessories. The "safety discs"/ "safety rings" can be formed from the same material as the blade, i.e. steel, or be formed from some other suitable material, i.e. plastic.The "safety discs"/"safety rings" can be used with existing rotary blades or with modified rotary blades, i.e. rotary blades specially modified to incorporate safety features. The "safety discs"/"safety rings" can, if supplied as an accessory, be attached to the same housing as the rotary blade or attached to the rotary blade. A "safety disc" variant or "safety ring" variant can be selected depending on the specific design of the rotary mower for which they are intended. "Safety discs" and/or "safety rings" can be used with or without other devices to improve the primary safety of rotary lawn mowers.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of examples and reference to the accompanying drawings.

Diagram 1 shows a rotary mower blade (No. 14) and two orifices (No. 15) for attachment of the blade, to the mower. In this instance a "safety disc" is illustrated (No. 17); this functions by preventing the most likely point of blade impact (No.

16) from coming in contact with the operator's foot/feet. The arrow indicates the direction of the motion of the blade and the area designated (No.

18) represents the residual cutting edge of the blade. The size of the "safety disc" i.e. diameter can be tailored to suit specific rotary mowers or optimised to yield a universal model.

Diagram 2 shows a rotary mower blade (No. 14) and two orifices (No. 15) for facilitating attachment to the mower. In this instance a "safety ring" is illustrated (No. 19). This also functions by preventing the most likely point of blade impact (No. 16) from coming in contact with the operator's foot/ feet. The arrow indicates the direction of motion of the blade and the areas designated (No. 18) and (No.21) represent the residual cutting edges of the blade. The exact dimensions of the "safety ring" can be tailored to suit specific blades and mowers, or optimised to yield a universal model.

1. A safety disc or safety ring that can be fitted

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION A system for increasing the operational safety of rotary lawn mowers (modified blade design) This system primarily relates to a means of and a method of increasing the safety of rotary lawn mowers by incorporating modifications to the de sign of the blades in common use. The modified blade design(s) are equally applicable to the two main types of mower in domestic and commercial use, i.e. hover-type and roller-type mowers. The background to the system is as outlined be low. During the past 10-15 years, rotary lawn mowers have captured a large share of the domestic lawn mower market in many terrirories, i.e. in the U.K., USA/Canada, Western Europe. The simple design/construction of the mower al lied to mass production techniques have enabled manufacturers to provide a cost effective tool that, in general, generates a reasonable level of con sumer satisfaction. The majority of growth has been at the expense of conventional cylinder lawn mowers - rotary mowers have proved to be far easier for con sumers (men, women and children) to operate. However, two important characteristics can be identified within the market-place, they are: 1. Rotary mowers have gained a largely unjust reputation for being dangerous to operate; 2. Rotary mowers have achieved a high level of penetration, and direct confrontation between ma jor manufcturers is taking place in order to main tain sales momentum and retain effective participation. Both of the main types of rotary mower in cur rent use (hover and roller) share a common prob lem: they are associated with modest, but highly visible/news-worthy, injuries to the operator. Al though the cause of injury is usually negligence (i.e. due to the operator pulling the mower over his/her foot during a period of lapsed concentra tion), the incidents attract disappropriate adverse publicity and increasing scrutiny from national/re gional consumer groups. The research and development programmes of major manufacturers of rotary mowers have re sulted in products which are broadly comparable; thus market share gains are now largly attributable to profit eroding, discounting and merchandising activity. The development of safer rotary mowers would be a significant, meaningful step in the refinement/ improvement of rotary mower design. For simplicity, safety enhancing systems can be resolved into one of two broad categories, i.e. 1) those improving primary safety (minimising the li kelihood of the accident process occuring), and 2) those improving secondary safety (minimising the severity of injury once the accident process has commenced). This document is intended to define systems that achieve higher levels of secondary safety by indict ing principles/ components which can be utilized to modify the design of the blade(s) used for rotary mowers. Thus this document is intended to highlight ways of reducing the severity of injury once the accident process has commenced. The essential technical features consist of a disc or ring that is used to prevent the most likely point of blade impact coming in contact with the operator's foot/feet. Thus once the accident process has commenced, the discs or rings prevent the operator's foot/feet from making contact squarely with that portion of the rotor blade most likely to inflict maximum damage, and thereby are intended to reduce the severity of injury. For simplicity, these items are subsequently referred to as "safety discs" and "safety rings"; they represent slightly different executions of the same principle. The "safety discs"/"safety rings" can be incorporated into the design of the rotary mower blade or provided as separate accessories. The "safety discs"/ "safety rings" can be formed from the same material as the blade, i.e. steel, or be formed from some other suitable material, i.e. plastic.The "safety discs"/"safety rings" can be used with existing rotary blades or with modified rotary blades, i.e. rotary blades specially modified to incorporate safety features. The "safety discs"/"safety rings" can, if supplied as an accessory, be attached to the same housing as the rotary blade or attached to the rotary blade. A "safety disc" variant or "safety ring" variant can be selected depending on the specific design of the rotary mower for which they are intended. "Safety discs" and/or "safety rings" can be used with or without other devices to improve the primary safety of rotary lawn mowers. Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of examples and reference to the accompanying drawings. Diagram 1 shows a rotary mower blade (No. 14) and two orifices (No. 15) for attachment of the blade, to the mower. In this instance a "safety disc" is illustrated (No. 17); this functions by preventing the most likely point of blade impact (No. 16) from coming in contact with the operator's foot/feet. The arrow indicates the direction of the motion of the blade and the area designated (No. 18) represents the residual cutting edge of the blade. The size of the "safety disc" i.e. diameter can be tailored to suit specific rotary mowers or optimised to yield a universal model. Diagram 2 shows a rotary mower blade (No. 14) and two orifices (No. 15) for facilitating attachment to the mower. In this instance a "safety ring" is illustrated (No. 19). This also functions by preventing the most likely point of blade impact (No. 16) from coming in contact with the operator's foot/ feet. The arrow indicates the direction of motion of the blade and the areas designated (No. 18) and (No.21) represent the residual cutting edges of the blade. The exact dimensions of the "safety ring" can be tailored to suit specific blades and mowers, or optimised to yield a universal model. CLAIMS

1. A safety disc or safety ring that can be fitted to, or incorporated into the design of, rotary lawn mower blades.

2. A safety disc or safety ring as claimed in Claim 1 that can be attached to the blade, if supplied as a separate accessory, in a variety of ways such as utilizing the blade's mounting mechanism or by providing separate, independent mounting mechanisms.

3. A safety disc or safety ring as claimed in Claims 1 and 2 that can, if provided as separate accessories, be made in a wide range of shapes and sizes to suit individual blades or be of a universal design to suit a whole range of blades.

4. A safety disc or safety ring as claimed in Claims 1, 2 and 3 that can, if provided as separate accessories, be made from a range of materials such as plastic, or the same type of steel as the original blade, or combinations of two or more materials.

5. The safety disc element and the safety ring element can be utilized separately or jointly as required.

6. The safety disc and safety ring elements are substantially as described in Diagrams 1-4 of the accompanying drawings.