JP3958324B2 - Traveling lawn mower - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling lawn mower in which a rotary mower is mounted on a traveling machine body so as to be movable up and down.

  Conventionally, this type of lawn mower has a rotary mower mounted on a portion between a pair of left and right front wheels and a pair of left and right rear wheels that support the traveling machine body so that it can be raised and lowered. Is appropriately trimmed to a height (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, the conventional traveling lawn mower has a configuration in which the cut lawn cut by the rotary mower is discharged from a discharge port provided on one side surface of the rotary mower in the left-right direction. The size increased, leading to an increase in size.

Therefore, in a recent traveling type lawn mower, the exhaust duct from the rotary mower is disposed so as to extend rearward to a portion between the left and right rear wheels on the lower surface of the traveling machine body, and the mower is trimmed by the rotary mower. The mowing lawn is configured to be discharged rearward through the discharge duct.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-9757

  However, since the rotary mower is mounted so as to be movable up and down with respect to the traveling machine body for adjusting the cutting height and traveling in the non-cutting state, the exhaust duct extending rearward from the rotary mower is also connected to the rotary mower. If it is not configured to be able to move up and down together with the mower, the cross-sectional area of the communication portion between the rotary mower and the discharge duct becomes small (narrow), and the discharge efficiency of the cut grass to the outside of the rotary mower is remarkably deteriorated. When the discharge duct is configured to be movable up and down together with the rotary mower, there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated.

  Therefore, the present invention has a technical problem to provide a traveling lawnmower that solves such problems.

In order to achieve this technical problem, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a rotary mower is mounted so as to be movable up and down at a portion between a pair of left and right front wheels and a pair of left and right rear wheels that support a traveling machine body, In the traveling lawn mower, in which the exhaust duct of the mowing lawn is arranged to extend rearward in the lower surface of the traveling machine body between the left and right rear wheels,
A cutting turf discharge port is formed on the upper surface of the rotary mower, and the cut turf discharged from the discharge port is guided between the rotary mower and the discharge duct into the discharge duct. An upper duct having a U-shaped cross-section and a bottom duct having a U-shaped cross-section so as to guide the cutting grass discharged from the discharge port into the discharge duct. It is provided to move up and down separately in conjunction with each other.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the traveling lawn mower according to the first aspect, the upper duct is configured such that a front end portion on the rotary mower side of both ends of the upper duct is positioned relatively vertically with respect to the discharge duct . It is pivotally attached to the rotary mower so as to move.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the traveling lawn mower according to the first or second aspect, the front end portion of the upper duct is pivotally attached to the rotary mower so as to be rotatable on a horizontal axis. is there.

In the invention of claim 1, an upper duct that covers the discharge port is provided between the rotary mower and the discharge duct so as to move up and down in conjunction with the vertical movement of the rotary mower. While suppressing the leakage of the cut grass from between the rotary mower and the discharge duct, the rotary mower moves up and down following the up and down movement of the rotary mower.
In addition, when the turf grass cutting height is lowered by lowering the rotary mower so as to be close to the ground, the bottom duct lowers its front end in conjunction with this, so the bottom of the cut turf cut The introduction into the discharge duct through the duct can also be performed reliably and smoothly.

  Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the structure that simplifies the structure by omitting the mechanism for raising and lowering the discharge duct itself, the cut grass that has been cut by the rotary mower can be smoothly moved to the upper part while suppressing leakage. There is an effect that it can be guided into the discharge duct through the duct and the bottom duct. In addition, since the communication structure with the discharge duct is simplified, there is an effect of contributing to cost reduction.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the upper duct is pivotally attached to the rotary mower so that the rear end thereof moves up and down, the upper duct is rotated upward in conjunction with the downward movement of the rotary mower. If moved, when the cut grass cut by the rotary mower is guided into the discharge duct, the exit of the cut grass surrounded by the discharge port and the upper duct can be made large. Thereby, there exists an effect that the discharge efficiency of the cutting lawn which goes to the said discharge duct from the said rotary mower can be improved.

  If the structure which pivots the front-end part of the said upper duct so that rotation with a horizontal axis with respect to the said rotary mower is employ | adopted like Claim 3, the space of the limited space between a traveling body and a rotary mower is sufficient. Even when the upper duct is rotated, the vertical rotation stroke around the front end of the upper duct can be secured sufficiently large, so that when the upper duct is rotated upward in conjunction with the downward movement of the rotary mower The size of the exit of the cutting turf surrounded by the discharge port and the upper duct can be sufficiently increased, and further improvement in the efficiency of discharging the cutting turf from the rotary mower toward the discharge duct. It is highly effective. In addition, since the number of parts is small, there is an effect of contributing to cost reduction.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS.

  In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a traveling machine body constituted by a pair of left and right side frames 1a extending in the front-rear direction. The traveling machine body 1 is composed of a pair of left and right front wheels 2 and a pair of left and right rear wheels 3 as well. An engine 4 is mounted on the upper surface of the front portion of the traveling machine body 1 and a steering handle 5 for steering the front wheels 2 so as to rotate simultaneously is provided. A steering seat 6 on which an operator sits is provided on the upper surface of the rear part of the traveling machine body 1.

  Furthermore, on the upper surface of the traveling machine body 1, a front cowl 7 having a fender 7 a covering the upper parts of the rear wheels 3 and a step base 7 b on the front side portion of the control seat 6 is provided on the traveling machine body 1. The front cowl 7 is provided with a bonnet cover 8 for the engine 4 so as to be openable and closable.

  The both rear wheels 3 are attached to the lower ends of brackets 9 that are fixed to the outer surfaces of both side frames 1a of the traveling machine body 1 so as to extend in the vertical direction.

On the other hand, the front wheels 2 are pivotable in the vertical direction with the center pin 10 at the center on a portion on the center line 1b in the lateral direction of the traveling machine body 1 in a plan view among the front lower surface of the traveling machine body 1. The front axle 11 is pivotally attached to both ends of the front axle 11 so as to be pivotable in the horizontal direction.

  A rotary mower 12 can be moved up and down by a pair of left and right front links 13 and a rear link 14 on the lower surface side of the traveling machine body 1 and between the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3. It is mounted, and is configured to move up and down by the rotation of a lifting operation lever 15 disposed on the right side of the control seat 6.

  That is, a lifting operation shaft 17 extending in the lateral direction is rotatably supported on both side frames 1 a at a portion between the front wheel 2 and the rear wheel 3 of the traveling machine body 1. By connecting the tip of the arm 18 protruding from both ends of the arm 18 and the tip of the rear link 14 that supports the rotary mower 12 so as to be able to move up and down by a linkage 19, it interlocks with the rotation of the lifting operation shaft 17. The rotary mower 12 is configured to move up and down.

  On the other hand, the base end of the lifting / lowering operation lever 15 is fixed to the horizontal shaft 20 rotatably supported on the rear side of the control seat 6 in the traveling machine body 1, while the lifting / lowering operation lever 15 and the lifting / lowering lever 15 By connecting the operation shaft 17 with the linkage 21, the lifting operation lever 17 rotates in the direction of the solid arrow A in the lifting operation lever 15 to rotate in the direction in which the rotary mower 12 is lifted, and the lifting operation lever 15, the lifting operation shaft 17 is configured to rotate in the direction in which the rotary mower 12 is lowered.

  The rotary mower 12 includes a pair of left and right cutting blades 22a and 22b that rotate with their axes substantially vertical, and a cover case 23 that covers the entire upper surface of the cutting blades 22a and 22b. A cutout turf discharge port 24 cut by the cutting blades 22a and 22b is opened at the center and the rear portion of the upper surface of 23.

  One output shaft 4a of the engine 4 protrudes forward from the engine 4, the other output shaft 4b protrudes rearward from the engine 4, and the rotation of the one output shaft 4a protruding forward causes the traveling machine body 1 to rotate. Power is transmitted by a belt 25a to an intermediate shaft 25 pivotally supported on the front portion of the belt.

  On the other hand, on the upper surface of the cover case 23 in the rotary mower 12, a vertical axis 26a is rotatably supported via a gear case 26 attached thereto, and a bevel gear is mounted on the vertical axis 26a in the gear case 26. The input shaft 27 that is linked via the shaft is rotatably supported, the input shaft 27 protrudes horizontally forward, the front end of the input shaft 27 and the rear end of the intermediate shaft 25 are connected to both ends with a universal shaft joint. By connecting via the telescopic power transmission shaft 28 provided, the power in the engine 4 is transmitted to the vertical axis 25 via the intermediate shaft 25, the power transmission shaft 28 and the input shaft 27, and this longitudinal The rotation of the shaft 25 is transmitted to the cutting blades 22a and 22b via an endless belt 29 wound between the vertical axis 25 and the support shafts 22a 'and 22b' of the cutting blades 22a and 22b. Accordingly, the two cutting blades 22a, a 22b, as indicated by the dotted line arrow in FIG. 4, configured to rotate in the direction of inward to each other with respect to the running direction of the vehicle body 1.

  On the other hand, the rear portions of both side frames 1a in the traveling machine body 1 are bent so as to be inclined obliquely upward toward the rear, and the rear wheels 3 are attached between the rear wheels 3 on the lower surface, more precisely. A discharge duct 30 formed in a U-shaped cross section downward so as to open the lower surface is disposed between the pair of left and right brackets 9 so as to extend rearward.

In addition, the rotation of the engine 4 is appropriately shifted and transmitted to the rear wheels 3 to the upper part of the exhaust duct 30 and the lower part of the control seat 6 in the traveling body 1. The traveling mission mechanism 31 is connected to a longitudinal input shaft 31a to the traveling mission mechanism 31.
Is arranged so as to project upward, and power is transmitted to the rear wheels 3 by an endless chain 32 from an output shaft 31b that projects laterally outward from the left and right sides of the traveling mission mechanism 31. To do.

  An intermediate shaft 33 that extends in the longitudinal direction is supported on a front side of the traveling mission mechanism 31 and adjacent to the traveling mission mechanism 31 by a gear case 34 that is attached to the traveling machine body 1. An endless belt 34 is wound around the upper end of the intermediate shaft 33 and the input shaft 31 a of the traveling mission mechanism 31, while the intermediate shaft 33 is umbrellad at the lower end of the gear case 34 that supports the intermediate shaft 33. A horizontal shaft 35 that is linked via a gear is provided so as to protrude forward, and a telescopic type having a free shaft joint at both ends between the horizontal shaft 35 and the rearward output shaft 4b of the engine 4 is provided. Are connected to the traveling transmission mechanism 31 via the power transmission shaft 36, the horizontal shaft 35, the intermediate shaft 33 and the endless belt 34. It is configured to reach.

  The upper surface of the cover case 23 in the rotary mower 12 is provided with an upper duct 37 formed in a U-shaped cross-section so as to open the lower surface, closing the cut grass discharge port 24 in the cover case 23 and rearward. The front end 37c of the upper duct 37 is rotated by a pivot pin 38 as a horizontal axis so that the rear end 37d of the upper duct 37 moves up and down with respect to the cover case 23. Pivot freely. Further, the rear end 37d of the upper duct 37 is inserted into the front end 30c of the discharge duct 30, and the rear end 37d is always at the discharge duct 30 by a torsion spring 39 provided on the pivot pin 38. Is urged so as to be positioned at the upper part in the front end 30c.

  Further, a bottom duct 40 formed in a U-shaped cross-section so that the upper surface is opened into the discharge duct 30 is disposed at the bottom in the discharge duct 30 so as to extend in the same direction as the discharge duct 30. The rear end 40c of the bottom duct 40 is pivotally attached to the left and right side plates 30a of the discharge duct 30 by a pin 41 so that the front end 40d of the bottom duct 40 moves up and down. The front end 40d of the bottom duct 40 projects forward from the front end 30c of the discharge duct 30 and is connected to the lower end of the lifting / lowering linkage 19 of the rotary mower 12 via a linkage 42. Thus, the rotary mower 12 is configured to move up and down together with the up and down movement of the rotary mower 12.

  In this case, the width of the bottom duct 40 is smaller than the width of the discharge duct 30 and wider than the width of the discharge port 24 of the cover case 23, and the width of the upper duct 37 is also set. The dimensions are narrower than the width of the bottom duct 40 and wider than the width of the outlet 24.

  The front end 30c of the discharge duct 30 is provided with a sealing plate 30b made of a soft elastic body such as rubber so as to protrude inwardly from the left and right side plates 30a, while the left and right side plates are provided at the front end 40d of the bottom duct 40. A sealing plate 40b made of a soft elastic body such as rubber is provided so as to protrude inward from 40a. Further, both the sealing plates 30b in the discharge duct 30 extend downward and are configured to contact the front surfaces of the both sealing plates 40b in the bottom duct 40.

  Both seal plates 30b in the discharge duct 30 are in contact with the outer surfaces of the left and right side plates 37a in the upper duct 37. Further, both seal plates 40 b in the bottom duct 40 are in contact with the outer side surfaces of the left and right side plates 24 a that form the discharge port 24.

In this configuration, when the traveling machine body 1 travels forward while rotating the rotary mower 12, the predetermined lawn mowing can be performed. The mowing lawn cut by the lawn mowing is disposed above the discharge port 24. After being guided into the discharge duct 30 through the duct 37, it is discharged rearward from the discharge duct 30 or released into a catcher box 43 that is detachably provided at the rear end of the discharge duct 30. The

  The cut grass collected in the catcher box 43 is discharged from the catcher box 43 by rotating the catcher box 43 around a pin 44 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. .

  Further, when a catcher box is provided at the rear end of the discharge duct 30, the catcher box is configured as a foldable catcher box 43 'as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. When mowing, the entire length of the aircraft can be shortened.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, an inclined plate 45 with respect to the discharge duct 39 is pivotally attached to the rear end of the traveling machine body 1 so as to be pivoted from the discharge duct 39. The cut grass to be discharged is drifted toward the ground by this inclined plate 45, and when it is not mowing, it is configured to be folded like a two-dot chain line so that the overall length of the aircraft can be shortened. Can do.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, the upper duct 37 can follow the up-and-down movement of the rotary mower 12 while reliably suppressing the leakage of the cut grass from between the rotary mower 12 and the discharge duct 37. And can be rotated up and down. In this case, the cut grass passing through the area surrounded by the discharge port 24 and the upper duct 37 of the cover case 23 can be efficiently and smoothly guided into the discharge duct 30, and the cut grass leaks out by the upper duct 37. The suppression function can be exhibited effectively. Accordingly, the structure that simplifies the structure by omitting the mechanism for raising and lowering the discharge duct 30 itself, the cut grass cut by the rotary mower 12 is smoothly discharged through the upper duct 37 while suppressing leakage. It can be led into the duct 30.

  Further, when the cutting height of the turf grass is lowered by moving the rotary mower 12 so as to be close to the ground, the bottom duct 40 lowers the front end in conjunction with this, so that the cut grass that has been cut off. Introducing into the discharge duct 30 through the bottom duct 40 can be performed reliably and smoothly.

  Therefore, the cut turf cut by the rotary mower 12 is smoothly guided into the discharge duct 30 via the upper duct 37 and the bottom duct 40 while preventing leakage, and then discharged rearward through the discharge duct 30. Will be.

  Since the upper duct 37 is pivotally attached to the cover case 23 by a pivot pin 38 so that the rear end thereof moves up and down, the upper duct 37 is pivoted in conjunction with the downward movement of the rotary mower 12. If the mowing lawn cut by the rotary mower 12 is guided into the discharge duct 30 by turning it upward about 38, the exit of the mowing lawn surrounded by the discharge port 24 of the cover case 23 and the upper duct 37 is made large. Can do. Thereby, the discharge efficiency of the cutting lawn which goes to the discharge duct 30 from the rotary mower 12 can be improved.

Moreover, since the front end portion of the upper duct 37 is pivotally attached to the cover case 23 so as to be rotatable on the horizontal axis, it is in a limited space between the traveling machine body 1 and the rotary mower 12. In addition, the vertical rotation stroke around the front end portion of the upper duct 37 can be secured sufficiently large. The upper duct 37 is supported by the torsion spring 38 provided on the pivot pin 37 so that the rear end portion of the upper duct 37 is lifted upward in the discharge duct 30. When the upper duct 37 is pivoted upward in conjunction with each other, the exit of the cut grass surrounded by the discharge port 24 and the upper duct 37 can always be made large. Thereby, the higher effect is exhibited with respect to the improvement of the discharge efficiency of the cutting lawn which goes to the discharge duct 30 from the rotary mower 12.

  Furthermore, a gap that is inevitably formed between the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates 30a of the discharge duct 30 and the outer surfaces of the left and right sides of the upper duct 37 inserted therein is defined as the sealing plate made of the soft elastic body. With 30b, the upper duct 37 can be closed almost completely under the condition that the upper duct 37 is allowed to rotate up and down.

It is a side view which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of FIG. It is an enlarged view which shows the principal part of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a VV sectional view of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. It is a VII-VII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6. It is a side view which shows 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traveling body 2 Front wheel 3 Rear wheel 4 Engine 5 Steering handle 6 Steering seat 12 Rotary mower 22a, 22b Mowing blade 15 Lifting operation lever 17 Lifting operation shaft 24 Mowing lawn discharge port 30 Exhaust duct 30b Seal plate 37 Upper duct 40 Bottom duct

Claims (3)

A rotary mower is mounted so as to be movable up and down between the pair of left and right front wheels and the pair of left and right rear wheels that support the traveling vehicle body, while the lower surface of the traveling vehicle body cuts the portion between the left and right rear wheels. In a traveling lawn mower with a lawn discharge duct extending rearward,
A cutting turf discharge port is formed on the upper surface of the rotary mower, and the cut turf discharged from the discharge port is guided between the rotary mower and the discharge duct into the discharge duct. An upper duct having a U-shaped cross-section and a bottom duct having a U-shaped cross-section so as to guide the cutting lawn discharged from the discharge port into the discharge duct. A traveling lawn mower characterized by being provided to move up and down separately in conjunction with each other. The upper duct is pivotally attached to the rotary mower so that a front end portion on the rotary mower side of the upper duct moves up and down relatively with respect to the discharge duct . The traveling lawn mower according to claim 1, wherein:   The traveling lawnmower according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a front end portion of the upper duct is pivotally attached to the rotary mower so as to be rotatable on a horizontal axis.

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