JP3622646B2 - Hedge trimmer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hedge trimmer suitable for trimming branches and leaves.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an apparatus for trimming branches and leaves, an upper and lower trimming blade having a plurality of comb-shaped blades projecting sideways, and a drive unit mainly composed of an engine or an electric motor for moving the upper and lower trimming blades back and forth relative to each other In addition, hedge trimmers that can cut branches and leaves between upper and lower blades that relatively move back and forth have been widely put into practical use.
Normally, the hedge trimmer is configured to be operated by providing an operation handle in the vicinity of the drive unit. However, when configured in this way, for example, when trimming a branch or leaf in a low place such as a lawn, the work is bent. In addition, when trimming branches and leaves in high places such as trees, it is necessary to perform trimming by stretching the back, and the height range that can be trimmed comfortably is greatly restricted.
[0003]
In view of this situation, the present applicant has proposed a hedge trimmer described in Utility Model Registration No. 3047350. In this hedge trimmer, a hedge trimmer main body having upper and lower trimming blades and its drive unit is provided at the tip of the telescopic pole so that the angle can be adjusted. For example, by adjusting the angle of the hedge trimmer body so that the trimming blade is parallel to the ground, it is possible to trim without bending, and when trimming high places, the pole is stretched and the hedge By adjusting the angle of the trimmer body to an optimal angle that is easy to trim, it is configured so that it can be trimmed comfortably without stretching. Further, in this hedge trimmer, an arm extending upward is provided in the middle of the pole, a first grip is formed at the tip, and a second grip is provided at the base end of the pole so that the angle can be adjusted. Is held with the left hand and the second grip is held with the right hand, and the distance between the first grip and the second grip is adjusted according to the physique of the user, etc. The position is adjustable in the axial direction of the pole.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the position of the first grip is provided to be adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the pole as described above and the second grip is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the pole, the operability of the hedge trimmer is improved. There was a problem that the production cost was increased due to an increase in the production cost.
[0005]
The objective of this invention is providing the hedge trimmer which can reduce manufacturing cost, fully ensuring handling property and operativity.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problem and Action]
A hedge trimmer according to the present invention includes a telescopic unit having a handle portion and a telescopic rod that is telescopically assembled to the handle portion, and a hedge trimmer body fixed to a tip end portion of the telescopic rod so that the angle can be adjusted. An arm that extends upward is provided at the portion, and a first grip that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface including the arm and the handle portion is provided at the distal end portion, and the base end portion of the handle portion is curved upward in a substantially U shape. Accordingly, a second grip is provided at a position above the base end side portion of the handle portion, extending in a substantially length direction of the handle portion, and opening the distal end portion .
[0007]
In this hedge trimmer, trimming work such as lawn and trees is performed with the length of the telescopic rod with respect to the handle and the angle of the hedge trimmer body with respect to the telescopic rod adjusted to the optimal length and angle that are easy to trim. become.
[0008]
When the user is right-handed, the hedge trimmer is operated by holding the first grip with the left hand and holding the second grip with the right hand. More specifically, the first grip hooks four fingers excluding the thumb of the left hand from the front side to the first grip, holds the thumb against the rear side or the side portion of the first grip, and holds the second grip. Since the grip is extended in the longitudinal direction of the handle portion, it is gripped by gripping with the right hand from the side. For this reason, the distance between the grip positions of the first grip and the second grip can be adjusted according to the physique and the like by adjusting the grip position with respect to the second grip in the longitudinal direction of the handle portion. In other words, the right and left grip positions can be adjusted without configuring the first grip in the axial direction of the handle as in the case of the conventional hedge trimmer, so the handleability of the hedge trimmer can be increased without increasing the number of parts. It becomes possible to improve.
[0009]
Moreover, since forming the second grip by the Rukoto is bent in a substantially U-shaped base end portion of the handle portion upward, the second grip can be easily formed without increasing the number of components, yet Since it is possible to operate the hedge trimmer while holding the curved portion, the handling and operability of the hedge trimmer can be further improved.
[0010]
Further, it is preferable that the first grip, the second grip, and the handle portion are formed as an integrally molded product because the number of parts constituting the hedge trimmer can be further reduced.
[0011]
When the angle of the hedge trimmer body with respect to the telescopic rod is adjusted so that the shaft center of the telescopic rod and the handle portion and the center line of the trimming blade of the hedge trimmer are parallel, the shaft center is above the center line. It is preferable to set so as to be offset. In particular, it is preferable to set the offset amount so that the axes of the telescopic rod and the handle portion pass through the center of gravity of the hedge trimmer body or the vicinity thereof. In other words, the hedge trimmer main body is generally provided with a trimming blade extending forward at the lower end of a drive unit mainly composed of an electric motor or a small engine. When the telescopic rod is connected to the same height position as the trimming blade, the rotational moment of the drive unit in the sideways direction when the hedge trimmer body is rotated to the left or right is It becomes larger and the operability is lowered. According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the rotational moment and improve the operability of the hedge trimmer.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the hedge trimmer 1 includes a telescopic unit 4 having a handle portion 2 and a telescopic rod 3 that is telescopically assembled thereto, and a hedge trimmer main body 5 that is fixed to the tip of the telescopic rod 3 so that the angle can be adjusted. And.
[0013]
The hedge trimmer main body 5 will be described. A drive unit 6 mainly composed of an electric motor is provided, and a pair of upper and lower trimming blades 7 and 8 extending forward are provided at the lower end of the drive unit 6. It is guided and supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction via the guide support plates 9 arranged above and below. Both trimming blades 7 and 8 are formed in a comb shape having a plurality of blades protruding left and right at regular intervals, and the upper and lower trimming blades 7 and 8 are reciprocally moved in the front-rear direction by the drive unit 6. By doing so, the branches and leaves can be trimmed between the upper and lower trimming blades 7 and 8. However, the basic configuration of the hedge trimmer body 5 described above is a well-known configuration, and the shape and size of the blade, the structure of the drive unit of the trimming blades 7 and 8, the movement pattern, and the like can be arbitrarily set.
[0014]
The electric motor of the drive unit 6 is driven by an external AC power source. However, it is possible to incorporate a secondary battery in the drive unit 6 or the telescopic rod 3 and drive it by this secondary battery, and the operability is somewhat lowered, but a small engine instead of an electric motor is available. It is also possible to drive the trimming blades 7,8.
[0015]
The telescopic unit 4 will be described. A hollow pipe-like handle portion 2 is provided, and an arm portion 11 extending obliquely upward and forward is integrally formed in the middle portion of the handle portion 2, and a distal end portion (upper end portion) of the arm portion 11 is formed. ) Is provided with a first grip 12 protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface including the arm portion 11 and the handle portion 2. The handle portion 2 has a proximal end portion integrally formed with a curved portion 13 that is curved upward in a substantially U shape, and the distal end portion of the curved portion 13 is substantially parallel to the upper position of the proximal end portion of the handle portion 2. The extending second grip 14 is integrally formed. However, although the manufacturing cost is somewhat high, at least one of the arm portion 11 and the first grip 12 and the curved portion 13 and the second grip 14 is configured as a separate member from the handle portion 2 and fixed to the handle portion 2. It is also possible to configure as described above.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 2, when a right-handed user operates the hedge trimmer 1, the first grip 12 is gripped with the right hand and the second grip 14 is gripped with the left hand. On the other hand, four fingers except the thumb of the right hand are hooked on the first grip 12 from the front side, the thumb is applied to the rear part or the side part of the first grip 12, and the first grip 12 is gripped. For 14, four fingers except the thumb of the left hand are applied to the second grip 14 from the right side, and the thumb is applied from the left side to grip the second grip 14. Further, depending on the use situation, it is possible to operate the hedge trimmer 1 by holding the curved portion 13 with the left hand.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, the distance L1 between the handle portion 2 and the first grip 12 is preferably set to 55 to 65 mm. That is, if it exceeds 65 mm, the balance (operability) when mowing undergrowth is reduced, and if it is less than 55 mm, the handling property of the first grip 12 is reduced, so it is set to 55 to 65 mm. Is preferred.
[0018]
The distance L2 between the handle portion 2 and the second grip 14 is preferably set to 50 to 60 mm. That is, when it exceeds 60 mm, the balance (operability) when trimming a hedge or the like is lowered, and when it is less than 50 mm, the handling property of the second grip 14 is lowered, so 50 to 60 mm is set. It is preferable.
[0019]
The distance L3 between the front end portion of the first grip 12 and the front end portion of the second grip 14 is preferably set to 165 to 175 mm so that it can be operated comfortably when a small user operates. The length of the straight portion of 14 is set to 50 to 80 mm so that it can be operated easily when a large user operates. In this way, the positional relationship between the first grip 12 and the second grip 14 is set, and the length of the second grip 14 is set, so that the holding position of the second grip 14 is adjusted back and forth according to the physique and the like. And is configured to ensure optimum handling.
[0020]
The telescopic rod 3 is attached to the handle portion 2 so as to be stretchable between a contracted position shown by a solid line and an extended position shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 3, and via a fixing means 15 provided at the distal end portion of the handle portion 2. And can be fixed at any stretchable position. In the present embodiment, as the fixing means 15, a pin member 16 extending in the left-right direction is provided at the front end portion of the handle portion 2, and a lever member 17 is rotatably provided in the middle of the pin member 16. When a cam (not shown) is formed on the moving center side and the lever member 17 is rotated upward, the engagement between the telescopic rod 3 and the cam is released, and the telescopic rod 3 becomes telescopic, and the lever member. When the 17 is operated in the direction along the handle portion 2, the cam is engaged with the side surface of the telescopic rod 3 so that the telescopic rod 3 is locked to the handle portion 2 so as not to be stretchable. doing. However, as the fixing means 15, it is possible to adopt a fixing means having an arbitrary configuration using screws or pins other than the cam. In this embodiment, only one telescopic rod 3 is provided, but it is also possible to provide two or more telescopic rods 3 so that they can be expanded and contracted in multiple stages.
[0021]
A pair of left and right support arms 19 are integrally formed on the rear portion of the housing 18 of the drive unit 6, and a connecting member 20 extending between the left and right support arms 19 is externally fitted and fixed to the distal end portion of the telescopic rod 3. Between the arm 19 and the connecting member 20, angle adjusting means 21 for adjusting the angle of the hedge trimmer main body 5 with respect to the telescopic rod 3 is provided. The hedge trimmer main body 5 is shown in FIG. It is supported so as to be rotatable over a position indicated by a dotted line and a position indicated by a two-dot difference line, and can be fixed at an arbitrary angular position. As the angle adjusting means 21, one having an arbitrary configuration can be adopted. In this embodiment, by loosening the operation knob 22 (see FIG. 1), an engagement piece (not shown) on the hedge trimmer main body 5 side and an engagement piece (not shown) on the telescopic rod 3 side provided therein are provided. The hedge trimmer body 5 is moved away from the telescopic rod 3 so as to be rotatable, and the operation knob 22 is tightened so that both the engagement pieces are engaged, and the hedge trimmer main body 5 with respect to the telescopic rod 3 is engaged. It is comprised so that rotation may be in the controlled state.
[0022]
The pair of left and right support arms 19 are arranged to extend rearward and obliquely upward with respect to the housing 18, and as shown in FIG. 1, the axis P1 of the telescopic rod 3 and the center line P2 of the trimming blades 7 and 8 In a state where the angle of the hedge trimmer body 5 with respect to the telescopic rod 3 is adjusted so as to be parallel to each other, the axis is configured to be offset upward by a predetermined distance L4 with respect to the center line P2. The offset amount L4 is set according to the center of gravity position G of the hedge trimmer body 5, and is basically set so that the center of gravity of the hedge trimmer body 5 is located on the axis P1 of the telescopic rod 3. become. By setting in this way, the rotational moment in the sideways direction of the drive unit 6 when the hedge trimmer body 5 is rotated left and right is reduced, and the operability of the hedge trimmer 1 is improved.
[0023]
A power supply cable 23 to the electric motor of the drive unit 6 is led out from the rear end portion of the handle portion 2, and a power switch for switching on / off the energization of the electric motor in the vicinity of the front end of the upper portion of the second grip 14. 24 and a restriction button 25 for restricting the operation of the power switch 24 are provided, and the power switch 24 is inadvertently operated by being configured so that the power switch 24 cannot be turned on unless the restriction button 25 is operated. It is constructed so as to prevent this and improve safety.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
According to the hedge trimmer according to the present invention, by adjusting the angle of the hedge trimmer main body with respect to the telescopic rod or by adjusting the length of the telescopic rod, it becomes possible to perform the trimming work in an optimum posture. Workability can be greatly improved, and even when the first and second grips are fixedly provided on the handle, the right and left grip positions can be adjusted according to the physique by adjusting the grip position with respect to the second grip. Since the distance between them can be adjusted, it is possible to improve the handleability of the hedge trimmer without increasing the number of parts.
[0025]
Furthermore, since the curved substantially in a U-shaped base end portion of the handle portion upwardly to form a second grip by the Rukoto, the second grip can be easily formed without increasing the number of components, yet curved Since it is possible to operate the hedge trimmer while holding the part, the handling and operability of the hedge trimmer can be further improved.
[0026]
In addition, it is preferable that the first grip, the second grip, and the handle portion are formed as an integrally molded product because the number of parts constituting the hedge trimmer can be further reduced.
[0027]
Set so that the shaft center of the telescopic rod and handle part is offset upward with respect to the center line of the trimming blade of the hedge trimmer, or the shaft center of the telescopic rod and handle part passes through or near the center of gravity of the hedge trimmer body When the offset amount is set so as to make it possible, the operability of the hedge trimmer can be improved by setting a small rotational moment in the lateral direction of the drive unit when the hedge trimmer main body is rotated left and right.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A is a plan view of a hedge trimmer, FIG. 1B is a side view of the hedge trimmer, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of handling of the hedge trimmer, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of how to use the hedge trimmer. Illustration of how to use hedge trimmer [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hedge trimmer 2 Handle part 3 Telescopic rod 4 Telescopic unit 5 Hedge trimmer main body 6 Drive unit 7 Trimming blade 8 Trimming blade 9 Guide support plate 11 Arm part 12 First grip 13 Bending part 14 Second grip 15 Fixing means 16 Pin member 17 Lever member 18 Housing 19 Support arm 20 Connecting member 21 Angle adjustment means 22 Operation knob 23 Cable 24 Power switch 25 Restriction button

Claims (4)

A telescopic unit having a handle part and a telescopic rod that is telescopically assembled thereto, and a hedge trimmer main body fixed to the tip of the telescopic rod so that the angle can be adjusted,
An arm extending upward is provided in the middle of the handle portion, and a first grip extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface including the arm and the handle portion is provided at the tip portion thereof,
By curving the base end portion of the handle portion upward in a substantially U shape, a second grip that extends in a substantially length direction of the handle portion to an upper position of the base end side portion of the handle portion and opens the distal end portion is provided. Provided,
Hedge trimmer characterized by that. It said first grip and second grip and handle the claims 1 hedge trimmer according constituted integrally molded article. When the angle of the hedge trimmer body with respect to the telescopic rod is adjusted so that the shaft center of the telescopic rod and the handle portion and the center line of the trimming blade of the hedge trimmer are parallel, the shaft center is above the center line. configured to offset the claims 1 or 2, wherein the hedge trimmer. The hedge trimmer according to claim 3, wherein the shaft center of the telescopic rod and the handle portion passes through the position of the center of gravity of the hedge trimmer main body or the vicinity thereof.

Images