JP4901566B2 - Weeding equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing weeds using power.

Mowers powered by gasoline engines are widely used, but this only cuts the part that has come out on the ground, leaving the roots in the ground. To remove the grass from the root, it is done by grabbing the grass with your hand and pulling it out manually or using a small scoop. Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 describe instruments and tools that are devised for improving the efficiency of weeding.

Further, Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 propose further automated weeding machines.
JP 2005-58159 A JP-A-8-10 JP 11-56066 A JP 2003-230310 A

The electric weeder described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 seems to have improved efficiency over conventional hoes and the like by weeding using power. However, as with hoes and small scoops, it is necessary for the user to be in a squatting position and hit those electric weeders against the grass. There are many elderly people among gardeners, and weeding with this attitude is a big burden. Also, weeding efficiency is not expected to improve much.

On the other hand, the weeding machines described in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 seem to have high weeding capability. Moreover, it seems that movement is easy by providing a wheel. However, it was found that such a wheel easily sinks into the ground and is rather inconvenient to move. Moreover, the whole apparatus becomes large and it is difficult to use it in a narrow place.

An object of the present invention is to provide a weeding device that is small enough to be used even in a narrow place and that can improve the efficiency of weeding.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a weeding apparatus according to the present invention includes a grounding gantry, a movable gantry that is rotatable with respect to the grounding gantry, and a first shaft that is coupled to the movable gantry. A second shaft, a chain provided between the first shaft and the second shaft, a drive source for driving the chain, a plurality of excavation members attached to the chain, and provided in parallel to the chain It has a strip | belt-shaped member, and the recessed part is formed in the front-end | tip center part of the excavation member, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. In addition to this, it is preferable that bent portions are formed at both the left and right end portions of the tip of the excavation member so that the bending lines at the left and right end portions become narrower toward the tip.

The weeding device according to the present invention drives the excavating member with a power source and a chain, and can remove grass on the ground in a posture in which the user is standing, and to the grass collecting basket while holding the grass with a belt-like member. It can be recovered. The apparatus becomes small and has an effect that it can be used even in a narrow place such as near the root of a tree.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a weeding device, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a grounding frame and a movable frame.

The weeding apparatus 1 includes a grounding frame 2 at the lower part. The grounding frame 2 has a box shape with an open top. The lower surface of this box is in contact with the ground. A footrest 3 is formed on the grounding frame 2. This footrest may be provided only on the right side or on both the left and right sides as in this example. A wheel 4 is provided on the side surface of the grounding stand 2. The wheel 4 is provided at a position so as not to contact the ground when the lower surface of the grounding stand 2 is grounded.

A movable mount 5 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the ground mount 2. The movable frame 5 is a box-shaped member having a size that can be accommodated in the ground frame 2. The upper part is also open, and the grass collection basket 6 can be detachably attached to the inside. The ground mount 2 and the movable mount 5 are connected via a support shaft 7. The support shaft 7 is provided on the opposite side of the footrest portion 3 in the grounding frame 2.

The weeding apparatus 1 includes a first shaft 8 and a second shaft 9, a chain 10 provided between the first shaft 8 and the second shaft 9, and a drive source 11 that drives the chain 10. Yes. The first shaft 8 is provided at the top, and a gear that meshes with the chain 10 is used. The outer diameter of the first shaft 8 is larger than that of the second shaft 9, and here it is 17 cm. On the other hand, the 2nd axis | shaft 9 is provided in the lower part. The outer diameter is preferably as small as possible. Here, not a gear but a small roller is used.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing details of the chain, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view thereof. The chain is constituted by a unit composed of a pair of rollers 12 and a connecting plate 13 connecting the rollers 12. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the connecting plate 13 is formed with a bent portion 13a on the outer side. The bent portion 13a has a hole 13b.

A drilling member 14 formed of a metal plate is attached to the chain 10. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the excavation member, and FIG. 6 is a right side view thereof. Here, a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 3 mm is bent and formed. In FIG. 5, the lower part is the tip. There are protrusions 15 on both sides of the tip, and a recess 16 is formed between the protrusions 15. Here, a substantially V-shaped recess 16 is formed in the recess at the center of the tip.

Bending portions 17 are formed at the left and right end portions of the tip of the excavation member 14. It is bent at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. And the space | interval L of the bending lines 18 of this bending part 17 becomes a shape which becomes narrow toward a front-end | tip.

A base 19 is formed at the back of the tip. The base 19 is a rectangular plane and is bent at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the tip. Two holes 20 are provided in the base 19. The interval between the two holes 20 is matched to the interval between the holes 13 b provided in the bent portion 13 a of the connecting member of the chain 10. Claw portions 21 are formed on both sides of the base portion 19.

As described above, in this example, the excavation member 14 is formed from a single stainless steel plate. However, it may be divided into a plurality of parts and connected by welding or the like. In this example, 18 excavation members 14 are attached to the chain 10. The bent portion 13a of the connecting member of the chain 10 faces the outer peripheral side of the ring of the chain 10. The bent portion 13a is inserted between the base portion 19 and the claw portion 21 of the excavating member 14, the positions of the hole 20 of the connecting member 14 and the hole 13b of the chain 10 are aligned, and connected by a fastening member such as a bolt. Here, the excavation member 14 having a tip portion width of about 6 cm is used. This size is suitable for effectively removing relatively small grasses. Excavation members with other widths may be prepared separately and selected according to soil quality and grass size / type.

Here, an electric motor having a power of 100 W and a rotational speed of 1700 rpm is used as the drive source 11. The output of the drive source 11 is decelerated by a reduction gear 22 with a reduction ratio of 1/20, and the chain 10 is driven. A rechargeable battery may be mounted as a power source. However, for the purpose of use at home or the like, it is more convenient to supply power by a power cable because the device can be made smaller and lighter.

The drive source 11, the first shaft 8, the second shaft 9, and the like are connected to the movable mount 5 by the upper frame 23. A handle 24 is attached to the upper frame 23. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the handle. The handle 24 has a right grip portion 25 and a left grip portion 26, and the right grip portion 25 is provided with a switch 27. The switch 27 is for operating the drive source 11 and can switch between three states of normal rotation, reverse rotation, and stop. Here, the normal rotation is a rotation direction when weeding, and indicates a direction in which the chain 10 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow x in FIG.

From the second shaft 9 to the first shaft 8, a belt-like member 28 is provided in parallel with the chain 10. The belt-like member 28 is provided on the side where the chain goes up from the second shaft 9 to the first shaft 8 during forward rotation. Here, the upper end portion of the elastic metal plate band is fixed in the vicinity of the first shaft 8, and the band-shaped member 28 is pressed against the row of the excavating members 14 on the chain 10 by elastic force.

Further, a tension spring 29 is attached between the ground mount 2 and the upper end of the drive source 11.

Next, a weeding method using the weeding device will be described. The weeding device 1 is installed in a place where weeding is performed. This weeding apparatus 1 is small and can be used in a narrow place such as near the root of a tree. The user stands on the side where the footrest portion of the mowing apparatus 1 is located. Place one foot on the footrest 3 to fix the grounding stand 2 to the ground and hold the handle 24 with both hands. At this time, the user can see the lowermost end portion (second shaft 9) of the chain 10.

When the handle 24 is pushed forward, the movable gantry 5 rotates about the support shaft 7 and the opposite side of the movable gantry 5 is lifted. The chain 10 provided between the first shaft 8 and the second shaft 9 also moves in conjunction with the movement of the movable frame 5. The lowermost end of the chain 10 is lowered and pressed against the ground. The depth of digging can be adjusted by changing the pushing condition of the handle 24. Since a tension spring is provided between the grounding gantry 2 and the upper end of the drive source 11, the movable gantry 5 is in close contact with the fixed gantry 2 when no force is applied to the handle 24. .

When it is confirmed that the lowermost end portion of the chain 10 is set in a grassy place, the switch is switched to normal rotation. Since the switch is provided in the right grip 25, the switching operation can be performed while holding the handle 24.

The drive source 11 operates and the chain 10 rotates. The excavation member 14 attached to the chain on the operator side descends toward the ground, and the tip portion enters the ground. At this time, the soil is dug up and the grass is extracted from the roots. The excavation member 14 lifts the grass to the ground while grasping the grass with the recess 16. Thus, the excavating member 14 that has passed through the second shaft 9 rises toward the first shaft 8. A belt-like member 28 is provided along the path from the second shaft 9 to the first shaft 8. The grass lifted to the ground by the excavating member 14 is sandwiched between the excavating member 14 and the belt-like member 28 and rises together with the excavating member 14. When the excavating member 14 passes through the first shaft 8, it is detached from the belt-like member 28. Then, when the refracting member 14 changes its direction by the first shaft 8 and becomes downward, the grass leaves the excavating member 14 and falls to the grass collecting basket 6.

The strip 28 prevents the grass from detaching from the excavation member 14 during ascent. Therefore, most of the extracted grass is collected in the grass collection basket 6.

Since a plurality of excavation members 14 are connected to the chain 10, the above steps are sequentially repeated. When weeding at a certain point is completed, the weeding device 1 is moved and weeding in a necessary range. Advancement can be achieved by alternately pushing the right grip 25 and the left grip 26 of the handle 24 forward. Moving with the wheel seems to be efficient at first glance, but it turned out to be inconvenient if the ground is soft or there are pebbles. In this way, moving the fixed base 2 by operating the handle 24 can be carried out more smoothly.

This weeding device 1 has a structure that makes it difficult to bite pebbles. However, if the pebbles are still caught in the chain 10, it can be easily removed by reversing the chain 10. By operating the switch 27, the drive source 11 can be reversed.

Furthermore, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this case, the support column of the handle 24 can be bent. FIG. 8 is a front view showing an example of a bendable handle. In this embodiment, the column of the handle 24 is divided into an upper column 30b and a lower column 30a. The upper column 30b and the lower column 30a are rotatably connected by a support shaft 31.

In addition, a connection plate 32 is fixed to the lower support column 30a with a bolt 33 or the like. A guide groove 34 is provided in the upper part of the connection plate 32. The guide groove 34 is formed along an arc centered on the support shaft 31.

A bolt 35 is attached to the upper support column 30 b, and the bolt 35 is fitted in the guide groove 34. Therefore, the angle of the upper column 30b and the lower column 30a can be freely set within a range in which the bolt 35 can move in the guide groove 34. If it sets to a desired angle, the angle of the upper support | pillar 30b and the lower support | pillar 30a can be fixed by attaching a nut to the volt | bolt 35 and tightening.

Thus, by making it possible to change the angles of the upper column 30b and the lower column 30a, the heights of the grip portions 25 and 26 of the handle 24 can be matched to the user's physique. Further, by increasing the bend angle of the upper support column 30b and the lower support column 30a, the height of the entire apparatus is lowered, and the lowermost end of the chain 10 protrudes further away from the user. Therefore, even if a tree branch protrudes, weeding can be performed by feeding the lowermost end of the chain 10 to the vicinity of the root of the tree.

It is a front view which shows a weeding apparatus. It is a top view which shows a grounding frame and a movable frame. It is an enlarged plan view which shows the detail of a chain. It is the same enlarged front view. It is a front view which shows a digging member. It is the same right view. It is a top view which shows a handle | steering-wheel. It is a front view showing an example of a bendable handle.

Explanation of symbols

1. 1. Weeding device Fixed base 3. 4. Foot rest part Movable mount 6. 6. Grass collection basket Support shaft 8. First axis 9. Second axis 10. Chain 11. Drive source 14. Excavation member 16. Concave part 17. Bending part 18. Fold line 24. Handle 27. Switch 28. Strip member

Claims (2)

A grounding base, a movable base rotatably provided with respect to the grounding base, a first axis and a second axis connected to the movable base, and a first axis and a second axis A chain, a drive source for driving the chain, a plurality of excavation members attached to the chain, and a belt-like member provided in parallel to the chain, and a recess is formed in the center of the tip of the excavation member Weeding device characterized by being made. The weeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein bent portions are formed at both left and right end portions of the tip of the excavation member, and the bend lines at the left and right end portions are narrowed toward the tip.

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