JP3778918B2 - Grass collector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a grass collecting device that feeds grass cut by a mower unit into a grass collecting container and a grass cutter provided with the grass collecting device.

  In an environment where the mowing grass cut by the mower unit cannot be directly discharged, the mowing grass needs to be temporarily stored in a grass collection container through a grass collection duct or the like. In a mower equipped with such a grass collecting device, the grass travels to a grass cutting area where a predetermined amount of grass is stored in the grass collecting container, and the grass is discharged from the grass collecting container there. Various techniques have been proposed in the past to prevent the grass from spilling from the opening of the grass collection container before the grass collection container reaches a predetermined position and being scattered outside the area where the grass is left. Yes.

  For example, a cover body and a guide body that is opened and closed by the lid body are provided at the opening of the grass collection container, and when cutting grass, the lid body is closed and the grass cut from the duct is guided through the guide body in the guiding posture. It is stored in a grass collection container. When the grass cutting is released, the grass collection container is pulled out from the duct of the grass mower and carried to the mowing grass leaving area. After that, the lid is opened and swung, and the guide body is swung in the open position. There is a grass collection device that discharges cut grass from a grass collection container with an opening (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In some configurations, the grass cutter does not carry the grass collection container to the grass cutting area, but the mower moves to the grass cutting area where the grass is discharged from the grass collection container. In such a mower, the container main body is connected to the lifting link mechanism so that the posture can be switched between the grass collecting posture and the grass discharging posture by swinging around the support shaft in the left and right direction, Equipped with an open / close lid that opens and closes the opening formed at the rear end of the container body by swinging around the support shaft in the direction, and a hydraulic cylinder is installed over the lifting link mechanism and the container body to switch the attitude of the container body. The link mechanism that opens and closes the opening / closing lid in conjunction with the attitude switching operation of the container body is interposed between the lifting link mechanism and the opening / closing lid, and the grass collection container is separated from the grass collection duct and is high The cut grass is released from the grass collection container by switching the posture from the grass collection posture to the grass removal posture at the position (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In this lawn mower, by such backlash close lid conjunction with the attitude switching operation of the container body to the link mechanism for opening and closing operation occurs, there is a leak out of the bush grass from between the container body and lid when driving .

In addition, a movable flap is provided in the area between the grass collection duct and the grass collection container, and when the grass collection container is lifted away from the grass collection duct, the movable flap is displaced to a position where the opening of the grass collection container is closed. In addition, there is a mower that is configured so that mowing grass is not inadvertently discharged from the opening of the grass collection container (see, for example, Patent Document 3 ). Even in this mower, if the displacement mechanism of the movable flap is not accurately manufactured, the mowing grass may leak from between the closed movable flap and the opening of the grass collection container.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-004714 (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-275438 (paragraph numbers 12-17, FIG. 5)

US Pat. No. 6050072 (columns 4-6, FIG. 3)

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention, the grass was mown by the mower unit in grass collecting device for feeding the grass collection container through the grass duct, grass clippings that exits the grass catcher is in a location other than grass clippings dumping area It is to avoid being scattered.

[Solution 1]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the grass collecting apparatus of the present invention is a grass collecting apparatus for feeding the grass cut by the mower unit to the grass collecting container as described in claim 1.
A grass collection duct that guides the cut grass from the front mower unit to the rear grass collection container, and a container unit that stores and discharges the cut grass fed from the grass collection duct, and supports the container unit. And a support mechanism capable of changing the posture to a grass collection posture capable of feeding cut grass from the grass collection duct and a grass removal posture for lifting and discharging the grass contained therein to an upper position,
The container unit is in a grass collection posture with a grass collection container having a storage space for cutting grass fed from a grass collection duct, a lid that can open and close a part of the grass storage space in the grass collection container, and A receiving plate that enters the end portion of the grass collection duct in front of the entrance opening of the grass collection container and is positioned below the entrance opening of the grass collection container so as to come out when shifting to the weeding posture;
The support mechanism supports the inlet opening of the collecting container of the container unit in a state of facing the terminal portion of the collecting duct in the grass collecting posture, and the grass collecting of the container unit in the grass collecting posture. The container is moved rearward and upward substantially parallel to the grass collection posture and lifted to a rear upper position away from the end portion of the grass collection duct to open the lid, and the bottom surface of the grass collection container is It is configured to support in a state where the cut grass accommodated in an inclined state is released and released,
The receiving plate moves in parallel with the grass collection container as the grass collection container is lifted in a substantially parallel posture, and the receiving surface is inclined in accordance with the posture change to the grass discharging posture of the grass collection container. The posture is changed .

[Function and effect]
In this configuration, the grass that spills from the opening of the grass container when the grass container is lifted is received by the receiving plate , and the grass that is stacked on the surface of the receiving plate is collected in the area where the grass is left. When the posture is swung from the grazing posture, the surface of the backing plate is also moved to the inclined posture, so that it is slid down into the grass cutting area.

In other words, in the grass collecting apparatus according to the present invention, instead of accepting to some extent the spilling of the grass from the grass collecting container , a backing plate having a surface for receiving the grass spilling from it is prepared, and the backing plate in the grass cutting area is prepared. By tilting the surface of the chopsticks, it is ensured that the hay that has been deposited there will be released to the area where the hay is left. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the grass cut out from the grass collecting container from being scattered in places other than the grass cutting area without requiring the accuracy of assembling the constituent members of the grass collecting device so as to increase the cost.

[Solution 2]
  As described in claim 2, the grass collecting apparatus of the present invention may be configured such that the receiving surface of the receiving plate is oscillated and displaced about the oscillating shaft core in the left-right direction crossing the feeding direction of the cut grass. .

[Solution 3]
  As described in claim 3, the grass collecting apparatus of the present invention is the grass collecting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving plate is a receiving surface in a direction along the bottom surface of the grass collecting container in the grass collecting posture. It is good to comprise with the standing surface erected on the both right and left ends.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments using the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall side view of the mower. This mower is a mid-mount mower type, and includes a traveling machine body 1 including a frame extending in the front-rear direction, and a front part of the traveling machine body 1. A pair of left and right caster-type wheels 2 functioning as front wheels, a pair of left and right drive wheels 3 functioning as rear wheels arranged at the rear of the traveling machine body 1, and can be operated up and down between the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3. And a grass collecting container 5 disposed behind the traveling machine body 1. The body frame 10 that functions as a core element of the traveling body 1 is basically composed of a pair of left and right belt-like profile members extending in the front-rear direction.

  The mowing grass generated in the mower unit 4 is guided by the grass collecting duct 6 extending between the pair of left and right rear wheels 3 and is accumulated in the grass collecting container 5, but the grass collecting duct 6 and the grass collecting container 5 are connected. Is performed via the gate frame 7.

  In the traveling machine body 1, a driver's seat 11 is disposed so as to be positioned above the mower unit 4, and shift levers 12 are disposed on the left and right of the driver's seat 11. An engine 13 is mounted on the upper left and right intermediate portions of the traveling machine body 1 behind the driver seat 11.

As can be understood from FIGS. 2 to 4, the motive power from the engine 13 is transmitted through a ball joint 14 that allows the transmission shaft center to be displaced due to vibration. To the power distribution mechanism 23 via the three spur gears 22 from the input shaft 21 in the transmission case 20. The traveling power from the power distribution mechanism 23 is distributed and transmitted to the left and right HSTs (hydrostatic continuously variable transmission mechanism) 30 via a pair of bevel gears 24a and a relay shaft 24 facing left and right. Is transmitted to the axles 3a of the corresponding drive wheels 3 on the left and right via the speed reduction mechanisms 32 provided in the left and right axle cases 31. That is, the pair of left and right transmissions that transmit the power of the left and right drive wheels 3 are each composed of a continuously variable transmission mechanism 30 and a speed reduction mechanism 32 .

Power from the engine 13 is independently transmitted to the axles 3a of the left and right drive wheels (rear wheels) 3 via corresponding left and right HSTs 30, and the left and right speed change levers 12 linked to the left and right HSTs 30 are connected. By operating the left and right HSTs 30 independently, the left and right HSTs 30 are operated in the same shifting state to drive the left and right driving wheels 3 at a constant speed, and the left and right HSTs 30 are in different shifting states. The running state can be switched to a turning state in which the left and right drive wheels 3 are differentially operated.
Since the HST 30 is configured to be able to switch between forward and backward, the turning state is a slow turning state in which the left and right drive wheels 3 are driven in the same direction, and the driving wheel 3 on either the left or right side is stopped. A pivot turning state and a spin turning state in which the left and right drive wheels 3 are driven in opposite directions are created.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the power distribution mechanism 23 is equipped with a multi-plate type work clutch 25 for intermittently supplying work power, and the work power passing through the work clutch 25 is supplied to the first transmission shaft in the front-rear direction. 26 and a pair of spur gears 28 mounted in the front case 27 of the front part of the machine body, and the like, are transmitted to the power take-off shaft 29. From the rear end portion of the power take-out shaft 29, a pair of ball joints 41 and front and rear It is configured to be transmitted to the input shaft 43 of the mower unit 4 via the second transmission shaft 42 in the direction.

  The power take-out shaft 29 can also take out power from its front end, and the front end of the power take-out shaft 29 is used to omit the illustration, but the front of the traveling machine body 1 is used. It is possible to easily transmit power to auxiliary work devices equipped in

  The mower unit 4 is equipped with a pair of left and right blades 44 for mowing in a housing 40 so as to be rotatable around a vertical support shaft 45, and the working power transmitted to the input shaft 43 is transmitted to a pair of bevel gears 46. Is transmitted to one of the support shafts 45, and is transmitted from the one support shaft 45 to the other support shaft 45 through the belt-type transmission mechanism 48, so that the left and right blades 44 have their rotational trajectories. It is configured to be rotated at the same speed in the reverse direction in a state where a part overlaps and in the state where the overlapping part is directed toward the rear, and this rotation drive cuts the grass and this rotation. The cut grass is discharged toward the grass collection duct 6 through the discharge port formed at the rear left and right center of the housing 40 by the conveying air generated by the drive.

As apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the left and right HSTs 30 and the speed reduction mechanism 32 are distributed and arranged at left and right symmetrical positions with the power distribution mechanism 23 disposed in the center of the left and right sides of the body frame 10 interposed therebetween. The power distribution mechanism 23, the left and right HSTs 30, and the speed reduction mechanism 32 are configured in a gate shape so as to create a space 33 at the lower left and right center. In addition, the left and right speed reduction mechanisms 32 are connected to the corresponding HST 30 on the outer side of the airframe, whereby the space 33 is positioned between the ground and the airframe frame 10. The grass collection duct 6 extends in the left and right center of the space 33. At this time, the grass collecting duct 6 extends so that the axle 3a of the rear wheel 3 and the center of the duct cross section substantially coincide. Further, it can be confirmed from FIG. 3 that the power distribution mechanism 23 and the HST 30 are arranged at the same height level between the upper ends of the left and right speed reduction mechanisms 32 .

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, wet brakes 35 that brake the corresponding drive wheels 3 by braking the output shaft 34 of the corresponding HST 30 are provided on the inward side of the left and right HST 30. These left and right wet brakes 35 are operably linked to a single brake pedal 36 disposed in the right front portion of the fuselage frame 10.

  Reference numeral 37 shown in FIG. 4 is a gear pump that is driven in accordance with the rotation of the intermediate shaft that rotates integrally with the intermediate spur gear among the three spur gears 22 extending from the input shaft 21 of the mission case 20 to the power distribution mechanism 23. is there.

As shown in FIG. 5, the grass collection duct 6 basically has a channel cross section that opens downward and is composed of an upper plate 60 and left and right side plates 61 that hang downward from the side edges of the upper plate 60. Although it is a rectangular duct, a short front receiving plate 62 arranged so as to close the channel opening is further provided in the inlet portion 6A connected to the discharge port of the mower unit 4. The mowing grass guided along the grass collecting duct 6 rides on the conveying wind having the upward characteristic created by the blade 44, so that it is conveyed rearward without falling even if there is no receiving plate. In this case, the front receiving plate 62 is prepared to prevent the cut grass from falling on the ground. Thus, since in some cases the removal of grass clippings to be deposited on the surface of the receiving plate 62, backing plate 62 is configured to swing posture its surface by a manual operation to tilt greater with respect to the ground. As will be described in detail later, similarly, a rear receiving plate 63 is also arranged at the outlet portion 6B of the grass collection duct 6 connected to the gate frame 7 that functions as a connection relay member between the grass collection duct 6 and the grass collection container 5. Yes. As shown in FIG. 1, the grass collecting duct 6 is fixed by a body frame 10 and a bracket 15 attached to the body frame 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 to 8, the gate frame 7 has a structure in which a frame plate 71 is attached around a rectangular upright plate 70, and a passage port 72 is formed in the upright plate 70. A container body 50 of the grass collecting container 5 is supported by the gate frame 7 so as to be swingable up and down around the horizontal support shaft 51 via a support shaft 51 which is provided on the upper frame plate 71 so as to be rotatable. ing. With this swinging structure, the grass collection container 5 has a grass collection posture in which the opening 50a of the container body 50 faces the standing plate 70 and the opening 50a overlaps the passage opening 72 of the standing plate 70, and the opening 50a It is possible to swing between the weeding postures facing the ground.

  The above-described swinging of the grass container 5 with respect to the gate frame 7 is supported by a hydraulic cylinder pivoted on a swinging link 52 having one end pivotally supported on the lower portion of the gate frame 7 and the other end fixed to the support shaft 51. 53 is hydraulically performed.

  In this embodiment, the gate frame 7 is connected to the traveling machine body 1 via an elevating link mechanism 8, and the elevating link mechanism 8 is gated from the left and right upper ends of the fall protection frame 16 erected on the traveling machine body 1. An upper arm 80 and a lower arm 81 that extend in parallel to each other so as to form parallel quadruple links over the lower part of the frame 7, and a hydraulic cylinder 82 that extends over the fall protection frame 16 and the lower arm 81. The gate frame 7 and, as a result, the grass collection container 5 supported so as to be swingable by the gate frame 7 by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 82, are connected to the outlet portion 6B of the grass collection duct 6. The vehicle can be moved up and down over a low level position corresponding to the height level of the truck and a high level position higher than the truck bed height. At the low level position, the outlet portion 6B of the grass collecting duct 6 and the opening portion 50a of the container body 50 face each other, and the vertical plate 70 of the gate frame 7 faces the boundary surface between the outlet portion 6B and the opening portion 50a. , And the cut grass sent from the grass collection duct 6 through the passage opening 72 of the upright plate 70 can reach the grass collection container 5.

The above-described rear receiving plate 63 constituting the bottom wall of the outlet portion 6B of the grass collecting duct 6 has the surface of the receiving plate 63 as the grass collecting container 5 swings from the grass collecting posture to the grass removing posture. It is configured to swing in a posture that is largely inclined with respect to the ground. The swinging structure of the receiving plate 63 will be described below.

As schematically illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, substantially right triangular webs 63a to both ends of the receiving plate 63 (side plate) is provided with cut grass is that accumulate on the surface of the receiving plate 63 Inadvertently falling from the side is prevented. The receiving plate 63 having a channel structure having an upward opening by the web 63a is laid out so as to fit into the channel structure having the downward opening of the outlet portion 6B of the grass collection duct 6 in the horizontal posture.

6, 7, and 10, the receiving plate 63 is held by receiving the back surface thereof by a swing arm 74 fixed to a swing horizontal shaft 73 provided at the lower portion of the gate frame 7. ing. Further, one end thereof penetrates a long hole 74 b provided in the tip region of the swing arm 74 and enters the hole at the lower end portion of the web 63 a of the receiving plate 63, whereby the web 63 a and consequently the supporting plate 63 is pivotally supported. The receiving plate 63 is connected to the gate frame 7 by a link rod 75 which is connected and whose other end is pivotally connected to the lower part of the gate frame 7. As is apparent from FIG. 7, the link rod 75 passes through a bent portion for pivotal connection with the gate frame 7, a straight portion extending in parallel with the swing arm 74, and a long hole 74 b of the swing arm 74. This is a U-shaped round bar made of a bent portion pivotally connected to the web 63a of the receiving plate 63. The swing arm 74 has an extension 74 a on the side opposite to the receiving plate 63 with respect to the swing horizontal shaft 73, and the extension 74 a is linked to the swing link 52 by a connecting rod 76.

As can be understood from FIG. 11, the hydraulic cylinder 53 is operated to swing the swing container 52 counterclockwise (with respect to FIG. 11) in order to swing the grass collection container 5 from the grass collection position to the grass removal position. At the same time, pushing down the connecting rod 76 results in the swing arm 74 swinging clockwise (with respect to FIG. 11). The clockwise swing of the swing arm 74 moves the receiving plate 63 placed on the swing arm 74 under the restriction of the link rod 75. At that time, the movement of the receiving plate 63 is similarly swung with the swinging of the swinging arm 74, but the swinging is performed by the link rod 75 pivotally connected to the web 63 a attached to the receiving plate 63. Therefore, the relative sliding between the swing arm 74 and the back surface of the receiving plate 63 and the bending portion of the link rod 75 are accompanied by the movement of the link rod 75 in the long hole 74b of the swing arm 74. The pivot connection point (Y) with the gate frame 7 is the pivot axis. The position of this pivot connection point (Y) as the swing axis of the receiving plate 63 is lower than the axis (X) of the swing horizontal shaft 73 that functions as the swing axis of the swing arm 74. is there. Thus, by lowering the position of the swing axis (Y) of the receiving plate 63, even if the length of the receiving plate 63 is increased, the tip of the receiving plate 63 interferes with the upper plate 60 of the grass collection duct 6 when swinging. Can be avoided. This feature is important because increasing the length of the catch plate 63 will increase the ability to catch the fall of the cut grass in the transition region from the grass collection duct 6 to the grass collection container 5.

With the above-described structure of the grass collection container 5 and the receiving plate 63 that are swingably supported by the gate frame 7, when the grass collection container 5 is swung from the grass collection position to the grass removal position with reference to the gate frame 7. At the same time, the receiving plate 63 is swung from a grass cutting guide posture in which the surface thereof substantially coincides with the grass cutting direction to a grass cutting removal posture in which the surface is largely inclined with respect to the ground. That is, the cut grass that has been received by the receiving plate 63 is released at the same time that the cut grass that has been accumulated in the grass collection container 5 is released. The reason why such a configuration has a particular advantage is that when the grass collection container 5 ascends from the position where it is aligned with the grass collection duct 6 at the time of high dumping, in which the cut grass is discharged from the grass collection container 5 to the truck bed. This is because the cut grass that spills from the opening 50a of the main body 50 is similarly received by the receiving plate 63 rising integrally with the gate frame 7 and can be prevented from being scattered around.

In this embodiment, a grass collecting container 5 and a receiving plate 63 functioning as a mowing grass tray are swingably attached to a gate frame 7 supported by the traveling machine body 1 through an elevating link mechanism 8 , so that the grass collecting container 5 and the receiving plate 63 are swung by a common hydraulic cylinder 53, the lift frame mechanism 8 raises the gate frame 7 according to the height level of the respective mowing grass leaving area, and from the appropriate height level, Accumulated mowing grass can be reliably discharged to the mowing grass leaving area.

[Another embodiment]
Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be listed.
(1) In the above embodiment, the gate frame 7 is attached to the traveling machine body 1 via the lifting link mechanism 8. However, when the high dump is not required, the gate frame 7 is directly attached to the traveling machine body 1 and the lifting link mechanism 8 is installed. It may be omitted.
(2) In the above embodiment, only the receiving plate 63 among the upper plate 60, the side plate 61, and the receiving plate 63 constituting the outlet portion 6B of the grass collecting duct 6 is provided independently so as to be swingable on the gate frame 7. Instead of this, the upper plate 60, the side plate 61 and the receiving plate 63 at the outlet 6B of the grass collection duct 6 are integrated and separated from the grass collection duct 6 so that the gate frame 7 can swing. You may employ | adopt the structure to provide. In this case, since the side plate 61 functions as the web 63a of the receiving plate 63, the web 63a is unnecessary.
(3) In the above embodiment, the swing axis of the support plate 63 prevents the tip of the support plate 63 from interfering with the upper plate 60 of the grass collection duct 6 when swinging even if the length of the support plate 63 is increased. The configuration in which the position of (Y) is set to a position lower than the swing axis (X) of the swing arm 74 has been adopted. However, when a longer receiving plate 63 is used or when the upper plate 60 of the outlet portion 6B is In order to prevent the tip of the receiving plate 63 and the upper plate 60 of the grass collecting duct 6 from interfering with each other even when the swinging is low, the swinging axis (Y) of the receiving plate moves downward along with the swinging to the mowing grass removal posture. You may employ | adopt the structure which transfers to. Such a structure can be realized, for example, by attaching the link rod 75 to the gate frame 7 via a swinging bracket that swings downward by swinging of the swinging arm 74.
(4) The work machine may be a sweeper dedicated to collecting grass that is left in the work area during mowing work, or a front mower type equipped with a mower 4 at the front of the traveling machine body 1. A mower or the like may be used.

Overall side view of a mower equipped with a grass collecting device according to the present invention. Top view of the main parts of the mower according to FIG. Rear view of the main part of the mower according to FIG. Fig. 1 Mower transmission system Side sectional view of grass collection duct Side view of gate frame Rear view showing the base plate in the gate frame and mowing grass removal posture Side view showing the grass collection duct, grass collection container and gate frame in the cut grass collection state Perspective view showing backing plate and gate frame Cross-sectional view of the outlet of the grass collection duct Explanatory drawing explaining the swing from the cut grass collection state to the cut grass release state

Explanation of symbols

1 Traveling machine body 2 Roller wheel (front wheel)
3 Drive wheels (rear wheels)
3a axle 4 mower unit 5 grass collecting container 6 grass collecting duct 6A inlet 6B outlet 7 gate frame 8 lift link mechanism 50 container body 50a opening 51 support shaft 52 swing link 53 hydraulic cylinder 60 upper plate 61 side plate 62 receiving plate (Front backing plate)
63 backing plate (rear backing plate )
63a Web 70 Standing plate 71 Frame plate 72 Passing port 73 Oscillating horizontal shaft 74 Oscillating arm 74a Extension part 75 Link rod 76 Connecting rod

Claims (3)

A grass collecting device for feeding the grass cut by the mower unit to a grass collecting container,
A grass collecting duct that guides the grass cut from the front mower unit to the grass collecting container on the rear side, and a container unit that stores and discharges the grass cut from the grass collecting duct.
A support mechanism capable of changing the posture to a grass-collecting posture in which the grass unit can be fed from the grass-collecting duct while supporting the container unit, and a grass-drawing posture in which the mowing grass accommodated in the container unit is lifted to the upper position and released. Prepared,
The container unit is in a grass collection posture with a grass collection container having a storage space for cutting grass fed from a grass collection duct, a lid that can open and close a part of the grass storage space in the grass collection container, and A receiving plate that enters the end portion of the grass collection duct in front of the entrance opening of the grass collection container and is positioned below the entrance opening of the grass collection container so as to come out when shifting to the weeding posture;
The support mechanism supports the inlet opening of the collecting container of the container unit in a state of facing the terminal portion of the collecting duct in the grass collecting posture, and the grass collecting of the container unit in the grass collecting posture. The container is moved rearward and upward substantially parallel to the grass collection posture and lifted to a rear upper position away from the end portion of the grass collection duct to open the lid, and the bottom surface of the grass collection container is It is configured to support in a state where the cut grass accommodated in an inclined state is released and released,
The receiving plate moves in parallel with the grass collection container as the grass collection container is lifted in a substantially parallel posture, and the receiving surface is inclined in accordance with the posture change to the grass discharging posture of the grass collection container. A grass collecting device configured to change posture.   2. The grass collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving surface of the receiving plate is configured to be oscillated and displaced about a oscillating shaft core in a lateral direction transverse to a cutting grass feeding direction.   The grass collecting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving plate includes a receiving surface in a direction along the bottom surface of the grass collecting container in a grass collecting posture and standing surfaces erected on both right and left ends.

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