Lawnmower

Details Lawnmower Lawnmower

1993-02-23

1995-06-27

Bagnell, David J.

Harvesters

Motorized harvester

Having motor on ground-supported carrier

563201, A01D 3474

Patent

active

054269261

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement made to lawnmowers, and more particular to so-called "self-propelled" mowers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Self-propelled lawnmowers consist of assemblies similar to a small trolley which the operator controls and steers in front of him while walking, by means of an assembly which could be termed a steering "crossbar".
Such mowers, of relatively simple design, therefore essentially comprise a support frame for the assembly of active members (cutters, turbines allowing the cut grass to be transferred to a storage enclosure (bag), motor for driving these members), the said chassis being equipped with wheels, two of which are driven wheels, in order to move the vehicle over the ground.
It is well known that, in such assemblies, it must be possible to adjust the cutting height. In order to do this, the most widespread solution consists in mounting the wheels on the chassis by means of assemblies of the "rack" type, thus allowing the cutting blade to be moved away from ground level to a greater or lesser extent. Such a simple and efficient solution, however, exhibits the major drawback of being the cause of frequent accidents, as a consequence of the fact that, when the assembly is in the raised position, the cutting member may throw out stones which may be situated on the surface of the ground, and also because the space becomes sufficient for a person (the operator or a third party) to be able to pass his/her foot under the cutting assembly, such a risk not being eliminated even by fitting peripheral protection cases, given that the said cases are moved simultaneously with the cutting member, and that they are therefore at a variable distance with respect to the ground.
GB-A-2,054,333 describes a solution allowing this safety problem to be solved when the cutting member is moved away with respect to the ground and which consists, in a general manner, in laterally mounting, on the wheel axle, fixed lateral protections. In order to vary the cutting height, assemblies of the "rack" type are used, as recalled previously, allowing individual action on each wheel, and therefore allowing the wheels to be displaced with respect to the cutting assembly. Such a solution, although it solves the safety problem, leads, however, to a complex design. In addition, since the lateral protections are arranged outside the wheels, the size is increased in width, and the cutting areas then become smaller on the sides, which can pose problems in certain areas, for example, when mowing is to be performed along a wall.
In order to solve the problem of adjusting the cutting height, DE-C-3,627,208 proposes using a system of pivoting levers which can be actuated simultaneously, which avoids having to act independently on each of the wheels, as in the conventional solutions recalled previously.
Such a solution, however, complicates the drive of the drive wheels and does not allow the problem of safety to be solved.
Finally, it is appropriate to note that mowers marketed to date are very noisy, and their very design does not allow soundproofing covers easily to be fitted to them.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Now, and it is this which forms the subject of the present invention, an improvement made to such self-propelled mowers has been found, which allows all of these drawbacks to be solved and which, moreover, significantly simplifies the control of the drive of the drive wheels which such vehicles exhibit.
In a general manner, the invention therefore relates to a novel type of self-propelled lawnmower, essentially consisting of a support chassis mounted on wheels allowing the displacements thereof to be ensured, and on which the set of members allowing the cutting operation to be performed are mounted, and in which: by fixed protective skirts which extend practically as far as ground level; to the ground, namely between two positions: a low position corresponding to a minimum cutting height, and the other a high position at a maximum

REFERENCES:
patent: 3759023 (1973-09-01), Comer
patent: 4041679 (1977-08-01), Seifert et al.
patent: 4320616 (1982-03-01), Marto
patent: 4704848 (1987-11-01), Nannen
patent: 4835952 (1989-06-01), McLane
patent: 4905463 (1990-03-01), Eilles

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