JP2024063701A - Weeder - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a weeder capable of weeding grass growing on uneven ground, such as under fruit trees or on vegetable garden ridges, where large machines such as tractors and cultivators cannot enter and weed, where the ground is a combination of horizontal and sloping ground. [Solution] A weeder in which a left rear wheel 8b is located behind the left rear side of the rear frame 6, a right rear wheel is located behind the right rear side of the rear frame 6, a fulcrum shaft 10 is engaged in the center of a back base 9 of the rear frame 6, the front frame 2 and the rear frame 6 can swing around the fulcrum shaft 10, a prime mover 17 is connected to the front frame 2, a drive shaft 20 connected to the prime mover 17 and weeding claws 14 with weed cutting blades 16 attached to the outer periphery of a disk 15 are tilted forward at a certain angle from the tip of the weeding claws 14 as a starting point, and the vertical and longitudinal positions of the weeding claws 14 are configured to be near a line connecting the bottoms of the left front wheel 4b and the right front wheel. [Selected drawing] Fig. 2

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a weeder for removing weeds that grow under fruit trees or in the ridges of vegetable gardens in orchards or vegetable gardens where large machines such as tractors and cultivators cannot enter and remove weeds.

Conventionally, there is a lawnmower that uses a prime mover to rotate a rotary blade horizontally, has front wheels disposed on the front side of a frame and rear wheels disposed on the rear side, and manually adjusts the height of the rotary blade from the ground to set the length of grass to be mowed, and then rotates the rotary blade to mow the grass (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-103827

However, by manually adjusting the rotary blade of a conventional lawnmower to be close to the ground, on ground that is horizontal or continuously inclined, the rotary blade and the ground can be kept at a constant distance, allowing for surface weeding, but in places where the ground changes from horizontal to one that slopes upward or downward, or on uneven ground, such lawnmowers are supported at three points by either the left or right rear wheels or one of the front wheels, creating a gap between one of the front wheels and the ground, which means that the rotary blade cannot reach the grass roots and the grass roots cannot be removed. Also, with commercially available brush cutters, since a person holds the brush cutter to remove weeds, it is difficult to align the cutting edge of the weed cutting blade with the grass or grass roots growing on inclined or uneven ground, resulting in poor workability.

In addition, there are two methods of weed removal: mowing and weeding. Mowing involves cutting off the top of the grass, while weeding involves cutting the grass and its roots. Since weeding cuts the roots of the grass, it takes longer for the grass to regrow, which has the advantage of reducing the number of times weeding is required per year.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and has an object to provide a weeder that can remove weeds growing on uneven ground consisting of a combination of horizontal and sloping ground, such as under fruit trees in orchards or between vegetable garden ridges, where large machines such as tractors and cultivators cannot enter and remove weeds.

To solve the above problems, a weeder of a first invention is a hand-pushed weeder having front wheels at the front and rear wheels at the rear of a frame, a prime mover coupled to the frame, weeding tines coupled to a drive shaft connected to the prime mover, and an operating lever coupled to the rear of the frame, in which the prime mover rotates to rotate the weeding tines to remove weeds, the frame being made up of a front frame and a rear frame, the front frame being made up of a right front side, a left front side and a front base, a right front wheel being arranged in front of the right front side of the front frame, and a left front wheel being arranged in front of the left front side of the front frame, and a fulcrum shaft being connected to the left-right centre of the front base, a weeder comprising a rear frame comprising a right side rear side, a left side rear side and a back base, a right rear wheel arranged on the rear side of the right side of the rear frame and a left rear wheel arranged on the rear side of the left side of the rear frame, the fulcrum shaft engaged with the centre of the back base of the rear frame, the front frame and the rear frame being able to swing about the fulcrum shaft, weeding blades attached to the outer periphery of a disk to form weeding claws, a prime mover attached to the front frame, and the weeding claws attached to a drive shaft connected to the prime mover at a fixed angle forward from the tip of the weeding claw to the ground so that their up-down and fore-and-aft positions are near the line connecting the bottoms of the right front wheel and the left front wheel.

In order to solve the above problems, a weeder according to a second aspect of the present invention is a weeder according to claim 1, further comprising a cover for entirely covering the inside of the front frame.

In the case of land where the horizontal and sloping ground are combined, the rotary blade cannot reach the grass roots and the grass roots cannot be removed on uneven ground. Here, land where the horizontal and sloping ground are combined means a place where the horizontal ground changes to a sloping ground or a sloping ground changes to the horizontal ground.

On ground that is a combination of level ground and sloping ground, by dividing the frame into a front frame and a rear frame, the front frame swings about a fulcrum axis at the center of the left and right sides on the rear side of the front frame, so that the bottoms of the left and right front wheels can come into contact with the surface of the ground, and the weeding claws arranged on the front frame are inclined along the ground at the bottoms of the left and right front wheels, and the tips of the weeding claws, which are the places where the weeding blades come into contact with the grass and its roots, are inclined forward and are arranged near the left-right and front-back positions on the line connecting the bottoms of the left and right front wheels. As a result, the tips of the weed-removing claws are not affected by the relative height difference between the rear wheels, and can be adjusted to match the slope of the ground at the bottom of the left and right front wheels, and can be adjusted to the vicinity of the roots of the grass on the ground at the bottom of the left and right front wheels.As the weed-removing claws rotate, the weed-removing claws can remove grass roots on a horizontal or sloping ground surface, and even on uneven ground, the tips of the weed-removing claws are not affected by the relative height difference between the rear wheels, and the bottoms of the left and right front wheels can be tilted depending on the degree of unevenness, allowing them to be adjusted to match the roots of the grass, and the weed-removing claws on the surface can remove grass roots.

To prevent pebbles or debris from being scattered when the weeding blade rotates, the inside of the front frame where the weeding claws are located is covered with a cover on the top, both sides, front and back, so pebbles or debris caused by the rotational force of the weeding blade inside the front frame will not be scattered outside the weeder, making it safe for the operator.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Means for solving the problem

1 is a plan view showing a schematic overall configuration of a weeder according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a schematic overall configuration of the weeder. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the weeder with a cover attached thereto. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the weeder with a cover attached thereto. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the weeder with a cover attached thereto. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the weeder with the weeding blade removed from the disk. FIG. 13 is a front view of the weeder with a weeding blade removed from the disk;

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a weeder according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the overall structure of the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a front view with a partial cross section showing the overall structure of the embodiment.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the weeder 1 of the present invention is composed of a frame section, a moving and rotating section, and an operating section. First, the frame section will be described. The frame section is composed of a front frame 2 and a rear frame 6.

The front frame 2 is composed of a right front side 3 a , a left front side 3 b , a front base 5 , a fulcrum shaft 10 , a stopper mounting plate 12 , and a cover reference pin 26 .

The right front side 3a has an inverted U shape with the center part being higher than the front and rear ends to provide a space, with the right front wheel 4a located at the front end, and the rear end being connected to the right of the front base 5. The left front side 3b has an inverted U shape with the center part being higher than the front and rear ends to provide a space, with the left front wheel 4b located at the front end, and the rear end being connected to the left of the front base 5. There are no particular limitations on the material of the right front side 3a and the left front side 3b, but it is preferable to use iron pipe material to increase rigidity and reduce weight.

The front base 5 is L-shaped, with a fulcrum shaft 10 connected to the rear side surface at the center in the left-right direction of the front base 5, and a stopper mounting plate 12 connected to the upper surface at the center in the left-right direction of the front base 5. The material of the front base 5 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the front base 5 be made of iron in an L-shape to increase rigidity and reduce weight.

The rear frame 6 is composed of a right side back side 7 a , a left side back side 7 b , a back base 9 , and a fitting 11 .

The front end of the right back side 7a is connected to the right of the back base 9, with a right rear wheel 8a located at its rear end, and the front end of the left back side 7b is connected to the left of the back base 9, with a left rear wheel 8b located at its rear end.

The method of connecting the front base 5 and back base 9 to connect the front frame 2 and the rear frame 6 is to couple a fulcrum shaft 10 to the front base 5, engage the fulcrum shaft 10 with the back base 9, make the fulcrum shaft 10 longer than the thickness of the engaging portion of the back base 9 to enable it to swing, fix abutment fittings 11 with bolts to prevent it from coming loose, and reduce the clearance between the diameter of the fulcrum shaft 10 and the hole in the back base 9 to reduce rattling and allow for smooth swinging.

The stopper mounting plate 12 has two stopper bolts 13 arranged thereon.

The stopper mounting plate 12 is connected to the front base 5 of the front frame 2, and the swing range is set by two stopper bolts 13. The swing range is set by the stopper bolts 13 attached to the stopper mounting plate 12. The swing range is set according to the slope of the ground. For example, in a typical orchard, the side of the weeder is allowed to move up and down by about 20 mm.

The moving and rotating part is comprised of a motor 17, grass cutter 14, output shaft 18, connecting fitting 19, drive shaft 20, nut 21, motor mounting plate 23 and mounting base 22.

The prime mover 17 is connected to an L-shaped prime mover mounting plate 23 with a hole drilled in it, and the prime mover mounting plate 23 is connected to one side of the mounting base 22, which side of the mounting base 22 is connected to the left-right centre of the front base 5 of the front frame 2 at a fixed angle forward, and in the fore-aft direction, the tip of the weed cutting claw 14, which will be described later, is located on a line connecting the bottom of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b.
By tilting the weeding claw 14 forward at a fixed angle, the place where the weeding blade 16 comes into contact with the roots of the grass is near the tip of the weeding claw 14. The fixed angle can be anywhere from 8 degrees to 12 degrees, with 10 degrees being preferred.

The tip of the weeding claw 14 means the most forward position when the weeding claw 14 is connected to the drive shaft 20 and the weeding blade 16 rotates from the rear side of the weeder 1 toward the forward direction.

An output shaft 18 of the prime mover 17 is connected to a drive shaft 20 via a connecting fitting 19 , and the drive shaft 20 is fixed to the center of the disk 15 with a nut 21 .

The weed-cutting claw 14 is composed of a disk 15 and a plurality of weed-cutting blades 16.

The multiple weeding blades 16 are evenly arranged on the outer periphery of the disk 15, and it is preferable that the weeding blades 16 are sharpened in the direction of rotation. By making the weeding blades 16 sharp in the direction of rotation and by protruding from the outer periphery of the disk 15, the places where the weeding blades 16 come into contact with the grass, grass roots, or soil become sharp, and the grass, grass roots, or soil can be cut. The number of weeding blades 16 can be appropriately set from 2 to 8, but considering the amount of grass that is usually used, 4 is preferable. The arrangement of the weeding blades 16 is preferably arranged evenly on the disk 15 with good weight balance so that they can rotate smoothly. The material of the weeding blades 16 is not particularly limited, but carbon steel that has high rigidity and is resistant to wear is preferable, and a plate thickness of 1.2 mm to 1.5 mm can be appropriately used, but 1.2 mm is preferable.

The material of the disk 15 is not particularly limited, and a rigid iron plate can be used as appropriate, but stainless steel is preferable because of its rigidity and rust resistance. The thickness of the disk 15 is preferably 1.2 mm to 1.5 mm, but 1.2 mm is preferable.

Next, the operation unit will be described. The operation unit is composed of an operation lever 24, a switch 25, and a battery 28. The operation lever 24 is connected to the stopper mounting plate 12, and is provided with a battery 28 for driving the prime mover 17 and a switch 25 for turning the prime mover 17 on and off. The operation lever 24 is preferably made of an iron pipe material, which is highly rigid and lightweight.

The prime mover 17 may be an engine, an AC motor, or a rechargeable motor, as appropriate, but a rechargeable motor is preferred.

The height of the top of the weeder 1 from the ground is determined by the top of the prime mover 17 and the tops of the right front side 3a and the left front side 3b. Therefore, using a rechargeable motor as the prime mover 17 makes the prime mover 17 smaller, and the height of the top of the weeder 1 from the ground can be lowered.

Next, the weeder equipped with the cover of the present invention will be referred to as weeder 2 below. An embodiment of the weeder 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the weeder equipped with the cover in this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the weeder equipped with the cover. Fig. 5 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the weeder equipped with the cover.

As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, in the weeder 2 of the present invention, the cover 27 can be connected to the front frame 2 based on a number of cover reference pins 26 arranged on the upper part of the front frame 2. The cover 27 covers the top, right side and rear of the inside of the front frame 2, and the front of the cover 27 has an opening to allow weeds to be weeded to easily enter the inside of the front frame 2, and the left side of the cover 27 has an opening only at the bottom to allow weeded grass to be removed from the inside of the front frame 2 to the outside, so that pebbles and the like caused by the rotational force of the weeding blade 16 inside are not scattered outside the weeder, making it safe. Thus, the weeder 2 of the present invention has the following effects. That is, when pebbles or rubble are scattered on the ground, the weeding blade 16 caused by the rotational force of the prime mover 17 scatters the pebbles or rubble, which can be prevented from causing injury to the operator.

A first example of the effect of the weeder of the present invention will be described. In a place where the ground changes from horizontal to sloping ground, the sloping ground has an upward and downward inclination with respect to the horizontal ground, and when the weeder 1 is moved forward from the horizontal ground, the front frame 2 and the rear frame 6 are divided into two and connected by providing a fulcrum shaft 10 at the center of the front base 5 of the front frame 2 in the left-right direction, and the front frame 2 and the rear frame 6 can swing around the fulcrum shaft 10, so that when one of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b comes into contact with the sloping part of the ground, for example, in the case of a downward inclination, the front frame 2 can swing around the fulcrum shaft 10, so that the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b at a high position remains in contact with the ground, and the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b at a low position becomes a lower position corresponding to the inclination, and the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b can tilt in response to the inclination. On the other hand, in the case of an upward incline, the front frame 2 can swing about the fulcrum axis 10, so that the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b in the lower position remains in contact with the ground, while the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b in the higher position becomes higher in response to the incline, and the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b can tilt in response to the incline. The tip of the weeding claw 14 is connected to the drive shaft 20 which is integral with the front base 5 of the front frame 2, and is inclined forward at a certain angle to the ground, and is located near the line connecting the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b in the vertical and front-to-back directions, so that the place where the weeding blade 16 comes into contact with the grass and grass roots is near the tip of the weeding claw 14, and the difference in the vertical and front-to-back positions between the tip of the weeding claw 14 and the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b is small, and grass and grass roots on sloping ground can be weeded.

A second example of the effect of the weeder of the present invention will be described. In a place where the ground changes from an upward or downward inclination to a horizontal ground, the inclined ground has an upward inclination and a downward inclination with respect to the horizontal ground, and when the weeder 1 is moved forward from the inclined ground, the front frame 2 and the rear frame 6 are divided into two and connected by providing a fulcrum shaft 10 at the center in the left-right direction of the front base 5 of the front frame 2, and the front frame 2 and the rear frame 6 can swing around the fulcrum shaft 10, so that when one of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b is on the horizontal part of the ground, when moving forward from the downward inclined ground to the horizontal ground, the front frame 2 can swing around the fulcrum shaft 10, so that the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b at a low position remains in contact with the ground, and the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b at a high position becomes a lower position corresponding to the inclination, and the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b can tilt corresponding to the inclination. When moving forward from an upwardly sloping ground to a horizontal ground, the front frame 2 can swing about the fulcrum axis 10, so that the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b at a higher position remains in contact with the ground, while the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b at a lower position becomes higher in response to the incline, and the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b can tilt in response to the incline. The tip of the weeding claw 14 is connected to a drive shaft 20 that is integral with the front base 5 of the front frame 2, and is tilted forward at a certain angle to the ground, and is located near the line connecting the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b in the vertical and front-to-back directions, so that the place where the weeding blade 16 comes into contact with the grass and grass roots is near the tip of the weeding claw 14, and the difference in the vertical and front-to-back positions between the tip of the weeding claw 14 and the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b is small, and grass and grass roots can be removed on sloping ground.

A third example of the effect of the weeder of the present invention will be described. On uneven ground, the positional relationship between the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b and the uneven parts can be roughly divided into two cases. One is when the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b touch the uneven parts, and the other is when the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b do not touch the uneven parts. When the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b come into contact with an uneven part, and when one of the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b comes into contact with a recess on level ground, the front frame 2 can swing around the fulcrum axis 10, so that the bottom of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b, which is in a low position and comes into contact with the recess, can tilt to correspond to the recess, and the tip of the weeding claw 14 is connected to a drive shaft 20 that is integrated with the front base 5 of the front frame 2, and is inclined forward at a constant angle to the ground, and is located near the line connecting the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b in the vertical and front-to-back directions.As a result, the place where the weeding blade 16 comes into contact with the grass and grass roots is near the tip of the weeding claw 14, and the difference in the vertical and front-to-back positions between the tip of the weeding claw 14 and the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b is small, making it possible to remove grass and grass roots on sloping ground. When one of the bottom parts of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b comes into contact with a convex part on level ground, the front frame 2 can swing about the centre of the fulcrum axis 10, so that the bottom part of the right front wheel 4a or the left front wheel 4b, which is in a lower position and does not come into contact with the convex part, can tilt in response to the convex part, and the tip of the weeding claw 14 is connected to a drive shaft 20 which is integrated with the front base 5 of the front frame 2, and is tilted forward at a constant angle relative to the ground, and is located near the line connecting the bottom parts of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b in the vertical and front-to-back directions. As a result, the place where the weeding blade 16 comes into contact with the grass and grass roots is near the tip of the weeding claw 14, and the difference in the vertical and front-to-back positions between the tip of the weeding claw 14 and the bottom parts of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b is reduced, making it possible to remove grass and grass roots on sloping ground. Furthermore, when the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b do not overlap the uneven portion and there is an uneven portion between the bottoms of the right front wheel 4a and the left front wheel 4b, the convex portion is cut with the weeding blade 16 to remove the grass and grass roots, and the concave portion is cut around the concave portion with the weeding blade 16 to remove the grass and grass roots.

As shown in Figures 1, 2, 6 and 7, the weeding blade 16 is made of steel, a material that is hard and durable, but the weeding blade 16 gradually wears down due to contact with grass, grass roots, and the earth, reducing its cutting ability. By making it possible to easily replace only the weeding blade 16 by attaching it to and detaching it from the disk 15 with bolts or the like, it is possible to easily replace the weeding claw 14, which consists of the disk 15 and the weeding blade 16, without replacing the entire set, and the ability to cut grass and grass roots can be restored to the same level as a new one, without incurring costs.

The weeder of the present invention is low in height, small, lightweight, and safe, and therefore can be used to weed grass that grows under fruit trees or between the rows of vegetable gardens, where large machines such as tractors and cultivators cannot reach, in orchards and vegetable gardens. Even on narrow roads to orchards and vegetable gardens in mountainous areas, the weeder can be transported by utilizing its wheels or by carrying it around.

1 Weeder 2 Front frame 3a Right side 3b Left side 4a Right front wheel 4b Left front wheel 5 Front base 6 Rear frame 7a Right side back side 7b Left side back side 8a Right rear wheel 8b Left rear wheel 9 Rear base 10 Pivot shaft 11 Contact fitting 12 Stopper mounting plate 13 Stopper bolt 14 Grass cutting claw 15 Disc 16 Grass cutting blade 17 Motor 18 Output shaft 19 Connecting fitting 20 Drive shaft 21 Nut 22 Mounting base 23 Motor mounting plate 24 Operation lever 25 Switch 26 Cover reference pin 27 Cover 28 Battery

Claims (2)

A push weeder has front wheels at the front and rear of a frame, a prime mover attached to the frame, weeding tines attached to a drive shaft connected to the prime mover, and an operating lever attached to the rear of the frame, and the prime mover rotates to rotate the weeding tines to remove weeds. The frame is made up of a front frame and a rear frame, the front frame is made up of a left front side, a right front side and a front base, the left front wheel is located in front of the left front side of the front frame, the right front wheel is located in front of the right front side of the front frame, a fulcrum shaft is attached to the left-right centre of the front base, and the rear frame is made up of a left back side and a right front side. a weeder comprising a side, a right side back side and a back base, a left rear wheel arranged on the rear side of the left side back side of the rear frame and a right rear wheel arranged on the rear side of the right side back side of the rear frame, the fulcrum shaft engaged with the centre of the back base of the rear frame, the front frame and the rear frame being able to swing about the fulcrum shaft, weeding blades attached to the outer periphery of a disk to form weeding claws, a prime mover attached to the front frame, and the weeding claws attached to a drive shaft connected to the prime mover, tilted forward at a fixed angle from the tip of the weeding claw to the ground, with their up-down and fore-and-aft positions in the vicinity of a line connecting the bottoms of the left front wheel and the right front wheel. 2. The weeder 1 according to claim 1, further comprising a cover for entirely covering the inside of the front frame.

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