HK1068226A - Articularly mounted battery-powered walk-behind reel lawnmower - Google Patents

Description

Articulated battery powered walk-behind reel mower

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an articulated mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower, particularly for mowing golf course lawns, tee boxes, and the like where optimal mowing accuracy is desired.

Background

Lawn mowers, such as lawn mowers, are known in the art and typically use reel cutters that are used to mow golf course lawns. In mowing an existing lawn, it is desirable to cut the grass to a uniform height throughout the lawn. Where the lawn itself is not perfectly flat, it is desirable that the cutting reel be able to follow the contour of the lawn, even if the lawn has undulations in the mowing swath brought about by the reel, both in relief and in relief.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a walk-behind lawnmower that minimizes impact on the lawn; but also has the maximum maneuverability; the power is provided by the battery, so that the operation noise is not generated; and is arranged to be traction driven while the cutting reel is moved up and down to adapt to the undulation of the lawn. Using battery power contrasts with gasoline powered mowers, which necessarily produce noise and drip oil onto the lawn. In addition, the use of the battery does not have the air pollution that gasoline engines have.

Another advantage of the mower of the present invention is associated with the modern need for lower cutting heights to accommodate the increasing rolling speed of golf balls on lawns. Thus, the cutting spool must be able to follow the contours of the golf course green. There is a traction unit and a reel unit which are articulated and which can be pivoted back and forth and sideways with respect to the mowing direction for optimal cutting of the lawn.

In addition, the present mower improves upon gasoline powered mowers which necessarily require a mechanical drive connection from the engine to the cutting spool itself. That requires hardware such as the engine, clutch, gear drive and flexible drive shaft, and that prior art tends to limit the articulation of the reel unit relative to its traction unit which supports the engine. Additionally, in the battery powered lawnmower of the present invention, the traction unit and the reel unit each have their own electric drive motor, both of which can be adjusted in speed by the operator to thereby select and control the rate of cutting or trimming performed by the reel. That will also result in a good quality lawn cut.

Thus, if such a battery powered lawnmower is used, the problems described above heretofore can be avoided and the battery itself can be shifted in position on the lawnmower to achieve the best balance of the assembled lawnmower. The reel unit can be easily removed from the traction unit for maintenance and to connect other units to the traction unit.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the mower of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded front perspective view of the mower shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a wiring diagram of the electrical system;

fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of the reel unit.

Detailed Description

These figures show a traction unit 10 supported on the ground and a reel unit 11 articulated to the traction unit 10. The entire assembly is particularly suitable for use in mowing golf course lawns where optimum mowing accuracy is required. As shown in fig. 1, in this configuration, the mowing unit 11 is forward with respect to the mowing direction, which is leftward. An articulated or sometimes also called pivotal connection is a connection that allows the mowing unit 11 to move up and down in end-to-end and front-to-back relation to the mowing direction and to the traction unit 10. In that general articulation movement, the mower 11 rides on and conforms to a lawn surface contour or similar surface contour to be mowed, thereby ensuring optimum mowing accuracy.

In a typical arrangement, the traction unit 10 includes two side plates 12 and 13 by which a lawn roller 14 is rotatably supported and adapted to be driven in rotation to propel the assembly above the ground. A handle 16 is connected to the traction unit 10 to maneuver the assembly on the ground, whereby the assembly is a walk-behind mower, rather than a riding mower.

The mower is powered by a battery 17 supported on the traction unit frame which includes the platform 18 and the two side plates 12 and 13. An electric motor 19 is supported by the side plates 12 and electrically connected to the battery 17, the electric motor 19 being adapted to be mechanically connected to the roller 14, thereby being in driving relationship with the roller 14, to propel the mower.

The tractor unit 10 has a horizontal and forwardly extending cylindrical mounting rod 21 which is fixedly mounted on the tractor unit 10 and extends centrally from the tractor unit in a forward mowing direction. The mower unit 11 has a hollow cylindrical body or sleeve 22 that extends horizontally over the pole 21 to nest with and abut the pole. Thus, the inner diameter of the cylinder 22 approximates the diameter of the rod 21, and the sleeve 22 is rotatable on the rod 21 about the longitudinal axis of the rod 21 labeled "A". Any suitable means may be used to longitudinally fix the sleeve 22 to the rod 21 and to rotatably locate the sleeve 22 on the rod. Thus, the sleeve 22 pivots about the axis a.

The traction unit is of conventional construction, except for the components described in detail herein, and has a forward balance (balance) with respect to a longitudinal line along the circumference of the drum 14 in contact with the ground. As shown in fig. 2, the battery 17 is supported on a tray 23 which in turn rests on the platform 18. Slots 24 and 26, extending fore and aft on the platform 18 and tray 23, respectively, along with screws, such as screw 27, allow for fore and aft adjustable positioning of the batteries relative to the rest of the traction unit 10. In that configuration, the front and rear weights of the traction unit 10 can be adjusted, whereby the downward force can be selectively set to the reel unit 11 via the traction rod 21.

Preferably, the battery 17 is located in a box and the battery is held down on the tray 23 or its box bottom by a battery box tab 28 and a pivoting catch 31; the protrusion is arranged in a slot 29 in the tray 23 and the pivoting stopper is located on the tray 17 and the stopper snaps over another but not shown battery compartment protrusion, similar to the protrusion 28, located distally of the battery 17. The tension spring 32 holds the stop 31 to the battery or its case until the operator rotates the stop 31 away from the battery case 17. The operator can then lift the batteries off the tray by lifting the battery handle 34.

The electrical cord 36 and quick disconnect plug 37 extend from the battery 17, it being understood that there is additionally an electrical cord extending from the plug 37 to the rest of the power system shown in fig. 4. Therefore, the battery is easily charged, replaced, stored, and the like.

The handle 16 includes an operator grip portion 38 and an electric control is provided adjacent the grip portion 38 and accessible to an operator to electrically control the assembled lawnmower, as shown in the wiring diagram of fig. 4.

The ground bracket 39 is pivoted at 41 to the traction bracket and when the reel unit 11 is unwound for storage and or maintenance, the ground bracket may be pivoted clockwise towards the ground or floor to support the traction unit 10 upwardly.

The reel unit 11 comprises two side plates 42 and 43 to rotatably support a conventional cutting reel 44 dedicated to golf course lawn mowing. A reel roller 46 and another, but not shown, roller on a shaft 47 extend between the side plates 42 and 43 and can support the reel unit on the ground. Those two rollers allow the reel unit 11 to be supported on the ground and to follow the contour of the ground in an up-and-down undulating fashion. It will be appreciated that free-body reel unit 11 is a unit without traction unit 10 that floats or moves up and down during movement on the ground being mowed, and so does the respective reel ends adjacent plates 42 and 43 and in the fore-aft plane in the mowing direction. That is, the reel unit 11 can be tilted sideways and forward and backward, thereby following the contour of the ground, and maintaining optimal contact with the ground by cutting off one line.

A crossbar 48 is rigidly connected to the sleeve 22, for example by an interconnection plate 49, the crossbar 48 extending between the ends of the reel unit, and links 51 and 52 are fixed to the two ends of the crossbar 48 and extend slightly forwardly below the crossbar. Thus, the up and down movement of each end of the reel unit 11 causes up and down movement of the cross bar 48, respectively. The links 51 and 52 have depending ends 53 which are pivotally pinned to the side plates 42 and 43 by two screws 54, such as the illustrated screw 54, respectively, and which are on a common axis "B" which is located between the screws 54 and which extends through the reel unit 11. That axis "B" may be concentric with a cross bar 56 that extends between side plates 42 and 43. The reel unit 11 is thus free to pivot about axis B, this pivoting being determined by the contour of the ground on which the reel unit is supported, and also being affected by the two rollers on the reel unit.

A motor 57, shown in fig. 1, is mounted on the plate 53 and is connected to the spool 44 to drive the spool 44 in rotation during the cutting operation. Grass collector mounting forks 58 and 59 are fixed to the links 52 and 53, respectively, and a grass collector 61 is slidably mounted to the forks 58 and 59.

Flexible cables, such as the cable 62 shown in detail in fig. 3, are located at each end of the reel unit 11 and the upper ends of the cables are connected to the traction unit 10 at each bracket 63 of the corresponding side plates 12 and 13 on the traction unit, respectively. The respective lower ends of the two cables 62 are connected to the reel unit, for example by screw and nut connections as shown at 64, which are secured to the reel unit side plates 42. Thus, cables 62 limit downward movement of the rear of reel unit 11 and these cables provide a lost motion connection between units 10 and 11.

The side-to-side action of the reel is obtained by the reel unit 11 pivoting about axis a, and the reel unit ends are therefore adjusted up and down in response to ground undulations. The reel unit is pivotally moved back and forth about the axis B and can be obtained by the pivotal movement of the reel unit, so that the reel unit is tilted back and forth in accordance with the two rollers riding on the ground to be mowed. These rollers 46 and 47 are located in front of and behind the cutting spool 44, respectively. Likewise, the vertical plane of pivot axis B is between rollers 46 and 47.

Thus, the traction unit 10 propels the component during the cutting operation and the traction unit presses down against the reel unit 11, whereby the reel unit can be held firmly on the ground to be mowed. When the reel unit 11 is capable of the above-described bidirectional pivotal movement, it is also possible to firmly hold the reel unit on the ground to be mowed. The geometry is such that the longitudinal axis of the crossbar 48 is behind the vertical plane of axis B and lies in a vertical plane between the two reel rollers. Thus, the action of the traction unit 10 on the reel unit is backward and downward, thus ensuring a firm contact of the reel unit 11 with the ground to be mowed.

The above design can be implemented in a battery powered walk-behind mower, both features being the most appropriate choice for a golf course. As a result, no mechanical drive connection is required between the traction unit and the reel unit, but only the use of a flexible cable.

Fig. 4 shows a power system in which the battery 17 is seen to be electrically connected to the various power components, the battery plug 37 is also seen, and a key switch 67 is also present.

The traction motor 19 and the reel motor 57 are suitably connected in the system with the electric lines shown. An operator may manually control a switch 68 that energizes a contact device 69 that is connected to the reel motor 57. Manually controllable switch 71 may be a conventional mower safety assurance? A switch that energizes a contactor 72 that is connected to the traction motor 19. The variable resistor 73 is operator controllable and is connected to the traction motor 19 so that the traction motor can be controlled by the operator to rotate at a selected speed, thereby controlling the movement of the mower over the ground. Resistor 74 is shown connected to reel motor 57 so that the speed of traction motor 19 determines the cut trimming speed for the cut made by the rotation and forward movement of reel 44. Resistor 74 may be controlled by the operator and may also be a variable resistor, like resistor 73, so that the rotational speed of spool 44 may be adjusted when desired. The cutting or trimming speed, which is the cut per increment of forward movement of the entire mower, can be adjusted in all cases to best suit the quality and choice of cut produced.

In all cases, only the electrical wires, such as wire 76, are the only so-called rotary drive connections required between the traction unit and the reel unit 11, and no mechanical drive connections are required to rotate the reel 44.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to reel mower units, the invention may also encompass other implements that are pivotally connected to the unit 10, shown with the reel unit 11, for structural pivotal connection thereto.

The articulated arrangement of the traction unit 10 and the driven unit 11 is such that the reel unit 11 can be replaced by an appliance other than the reel mower shown. For example, it may be a rotary driven lawn cleaner (groomer) or a sweeper. The reel unit 11 is easily removable to allow connection of other rotating means not shown. All that is required is to release cable 62 and disconnect electrical connection to wire 76 and, after the conventional connector is released from the connection between sleeve 22 and post 21, slide sleeve 22 away from post 21, thereby allowing sleeve 22 to move longitudinally away from post 21.

The lower part of the wiring diagram in figure 4 shows the alternative appliance motor 77 connected in the system by its electrical cord 78 and the motor and cord will replace the reel motor 57 and its electrical cord 76 and be in place. The power quick disconnect 79 is connected to the wires 76 or 78 depending on which appliance is to be placed at the time. All the structures are arranged so that in use the appliance can be easily attached and detached relative to the traction unit 10. In addition, the electrical wiring provides a rotational drive connection to the motors 57 and 77, and that drive connection is flexible, and the reel unit 11 can be articulated, if desired.

Claims (22)

1. An articulately mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower, the mower comprising:

a traction unit that can be supported on a grass field to be moved thereon;

a rear walk operator handle connected to the traction unit for maneuvering the traction unit on the lawn;

a battery located on the traction unit;

a motor on the traction unit for powering the traction unit on the lawn;

a mowing reel unit hinged to the traction unit to perform a pivotal movement with respect to the traction unit and move in a mowing direction; the reel unit having a section extending transversely to said direction, said section having two terminal ends;

ground-engageable rollers rotatably mounted on said reel unit for contacting and rolling over grass in stable contact therewith, whereby the rollers move up and down relative to said traction unit and in response to fluctuations in grass, and whereby said reel unit is caused to pivot upwardly at each of said terminals both along the entire segment and individually in accordance with mowing movements over the fluctuating grass;

a motor on the reel unit to power the reel unit during mowing;

a plurality of hinged connections interconnected between said units to limit downward movement of said reel unit and to limit downward pivoting of said reel unit relative to said traction unit; and

a plurality of flexible electrical wires electrically connected between the battery and the reel unit to transmit power to the motor on the reel unit and regulate the pivoting movement of the reel unit.

2. The battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 1 wherein:

said plurality of links including an interconnection between said units, the links having a pivot axis extending in a mowing direction, and

the plurality of links include a link at each terminal end of the reel unit, and the links are pivotally interconnected between the interconnection and the pivoted reel unit to transmit movement of the traction unit to the reel unit and to guide the reel unit for up and down movement relative to the traction unit.

3. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 2 wherein:

the interconnection includes a pivot post and a sleeve that fits over the post and extends along the pivot axis, and the pivot axis and the sleeve are separately secured to the traction unit and the reel unit.

4. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 3 wherein:

the connection member includes a flexible cable connected between the traction unit and the reel unit to support the reel unit upward relative to the traction unit.

5. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 4 comprising:

two ground engaging rollers are located on the reel unit, one in a forward direction and the other in a rearward direction with respect to the mowing direction.

6. The hingedly mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 1, comprising:

a traction drum included in the traction unit, the roller being rollable over the lawn during propulsion of the mower, and

the reel unit has two ground rollers for movably supporting the reel unit on the lawn.

7. The hingedly mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 1, comprising:

an adjustable electrical controller connected between said battery and one of said motors to adjust the power supplied to said one of said motors to thereby adjust the rate of mowing of said reel unit.

8. A method of configuring an articulately mounted battery-powered walk-behind reel mower, comprising:

providing a traction unit that can be supported on a lawn moving thereon;

securing a walk-behind operator handle to the traction unit to maneuver the traction unit over grass;

mounting a battery on the traction unit;

connecting an electric motor to the battery and to the traction unit to power the traction unit on the lawn;

articulating a mowing reel unit to the traction unit to cause pivotal movement of the reel unit relative to the traction unit and propel the reel unit in a mowing direction, the reel unit having a segment extending transversely of the mowing direction, the segment having two terminal ends;

supporting said reel unit on the lawn by providing ground engaging rollers rotatably mounted on said reel unit to contact and roll on the lawn, said rollers continuously contacting the lawn as it rolls, whereby said rollers move up and down relative to said traction unit and in response to the undulations of the lawn, and whereby said reel unit is caused to pivot upwardly at each of said terminals both along the entire segment and individually in accordance with the mowing motion over the undulating lawn;

connecting a motor to the reel unit to power the reel unit during mowing; and

electrically connecting a flexible electrical cord between the battery and the reel unit to transmit power to the motor located on the reel unit and regulate the pivoting movement of the reel unit.

9. The method of configuring an articulately mounted battery-powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 8, comprising:

adjustably controlling the power to the motor and thereby adjusting the rate of mowing of the reel unit.

10. The method of configuring an articulately mounted battery-powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 8, comprising:

rotating the reel unit about an axis extending in a mowing direction; and

moving the terminal up and down about the shaft and further along the entire length of the reel unit while moving the unit over grass.

11. The method of configuring an articulately mounted battery-powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 8, comprising:

said reel unit being supported on said traction unit such that said reel unit presents a front portion and a rear portion with respect to the mowing direction, and said portions being movable up and down with respect to each other during mowing; and

the support at the rear portion is in lost motion relationship between the units.

12. An articulately mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower comprising:

a traction unit movably supported on a lawn of grass to be mowed;

a walk-behind operator handle connected to the traction unit to steer the traction unit on a lawn;

a battery located on the traction unit;

a motor on the traction unit to provide traction power to the traction unit on the lawn;

a mowing reel unit hinged to the traction unit for pivotal movement relative to the traction unit and for movement in a mowing direction, and having a segment extending transversely to the mowing direction and having two terminal ends, the reel unit having a rotatable mowing reel;

ground-engageable roller carriages rotatably mounted on said reel unit for contacting and rolling over grass, said rollers being in continuous contact with grass while rolling, whereby said roller carriages move up and down relative to said traction unit and in response to the relief of grass, and whereby said reel unit is caused to move upwardly along the entire segment and individually at each of said terminals in response to mowing movement over the relief;

a motor on said reel unit and connected to said reel unit to power said reel during mowing;

a plurality of articulated links interconnected between said units for pivotal movement of said reel unit relative to said traction unit to move said reel unit up and down relative to said traction unit; and

a plurality of flexible electrical wires electrically connected between the battery and the reel unit to transmit power to the motor on the reel unit and regulate movement of the reel unit relative to the traction unit.

13. The battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 12 wherein:

said plurality of linkages including a pivot post having a pivot axis extending in a mowing direction for pivotal movement of said reel unit relative to said traction unit; and

the plurality of links include links at each terminal end of the reel unit, and the links are pivotably connected between the arm and the reel unit to transmit the movement of the traction unit to the reel unit and guide the reel unit to move up and down relative to the traction unit.

14. The hingedly mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 13, wherein:

each of the links has a lower end connected to the reel unit with a screw and moving the reel unit up and down independently of the traction unit.

15. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 14 wherein:

the coupling member includes a flexible cable connected between the traction unit and the reel unit to support the reel unit upward relative to the traction unit and to provide a lost motion relationship between the traction unit and the reel unit so that the reel unit can move up and down without moving up and down the traction unit.

16. The hingedly mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 15, comprising:

two ground engaging rollers are located on the reel unit, one in a forward direction and the other in a rearward direction with respect to the mowing direction.

17. The battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 12 comprising:

a traction drum included in said traction unit, which drum can roll over the lawn during propulsion of the mower, and

the reel unit has two ground rollers for movably supporting the reel unit on the lawn.

18. The battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 12 comprising:

an adjustable electrical controller connected between said battery and one of said motors to adjust the power supplied to said one motor and thereby adjust the rate of mowing of said reel.

19. An articulately mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower comprising:

a traction unit movably supported on a lawn of grass to be mowed;

a walk-behind operator handle connected to the traction unit to steer the traction unit on a lawn;

a battery located on the traction unit;

a motor on the traction unit to provide traction power to the traction unit on the lawn;

a mowing reel unit hinged to the traction unit for pivotal movement relative to the traction unit and for movement in a mowing direction, the reel unit having a segment extending transversely to the mowing direction, the segment having two terminal ends, the reel unit having a rotatable mowing reel;

ground-engageable roller means rotatably mounted on said reel unit for contacting and rolling over grass in constant contact; whereby said reel unit moves up and down relative to said traction unit and in response to fluctuations in the grass, and whereby said reel unit moves up and down along the entire said segment and also individually at each said terminal end in accordance with a mowing motion over the fluctuations;

post and sleeve nesting means on said units and having a nesting axis disposed in a mowing direction to transmit mowing movement between said units and to accommodate up and down movement of said terminal;

at each of said terminals there is an upstanding extension link connected to said telescoping means whereby to accommodate up and down movement along said reel unit sections;

the lower end of each link is pivotally connected to the reel unit to regulate the up and down movement of the reel unit along the entire section and to provide a pivot axis transverse to the mowing direction;

a lost motion connection formed between said units to limit downward movement of said reel unit during pivoting about said link pivot axis;

a motor on the reel unit and connected to the reel unit to power the reel during mowing; and

a plurality of flexible electrical wires electrically connected between the battery and the reel unit to transmit power to the motor on the reel unit and regulate movement of the reel unit relative to the traction unit.

20. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 19 wherein:

the lost motion connection is a flexible cable connection.

21. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 19 wherein:

a mount on the traction unit for supporting the battery on the traction unit and having an adjustable connection between the mount and the battery for adjustably positioning the battery in a fore-aft direction of the traction unit in the mowing direction.

22. The articulate mounted battery powered walk-behind reel mower of claim 19 wherein:

the pivotal connections of the post and sleeve arrangement and the arm are separable and thereby arranged to release the reel unit from the towing unit for replacement and pivotal connection of further implements in place of the reel unit.