Power equipment with cylinder deactivation engine
First Claim
1. Power equipment, comprising:
- an equipment main body provided with a propelling device;
a power source for selectively powering the propelling device;
an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders and supported by the equipment main body;
an engine control unit for selectively deactivating at least one of the cylinders;
a work implement connected to the engine in a power transmitting relationship;
a clutch provided in a power transmission path between the engine and the work implement;
a central control unit for controlling an operation of the propelling device, the clutch and the engine control unit, wherein the central control unit is configured to start the engine with two or more of the cylinders activated, to cause the engine control unit to operate the engine at a prescribed rotational speed, and to cause the engine control unit to deactivate at least one of the cylinders when the engine has reached a stable state at the prescribed rotational speed; and
an operation console for manually commanding an operation of the work implement,wherein the central control unit is further configured to;
reactivate at least one of the cylinders that are previously deactivated when the operation of the work implement is commanded from the operation console, and increase a rotational speedof the engine to a higher rotational speed than the prescribed rotational speed before engaging the clutch.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The power equipment such as a lawn mower (10) comprises an internal combustion engine (100) having a plurality of cylinders, an engine control unit (110) for selectively deactivating at least one of the cylinders, a work implement such as a cutting blade (70) connected to the engine in a power transmitting relationship, a clutch (80) provided in a power transmission path between the engine and the work implement, and a central control unit (50) for controlling an operation of a propelling device, the clutch and the engine control unit. The central control unit is configured to start the engine with two or more of the cylinders activated, to cause the engine control unit to operate the engine at a prescribed rotational speed, and to cause the engine control unit to deactivate at least one of the cylinders when the engine has reached a stable state at the prescribed rotational speed.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. Power equipment, comprising:
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an equipment main body provided with a propelling device; a power source for selectively powering the propelling device; an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders and supported by the equipment main body; an engine control unit for selectively deactivating at least one of the cylinders; a work implement connected to the engine in a power transmitting relationship; a clutch provided in a power transmission path between the engine and the work implement; a central control unit for controlling an operation of the propelling device, the clutch and the engine control unit, wherein the central control unit is configured to start the engine with two or more of the cylinders activated, to cause the engine control unit to operate the engine at a prescribed rotational speed, and to cause the engine control unit to deactivate at least one of the cylinders when the engine has reached a stable state at the prescribed rotational speed; and an operation console for manually commanding an operation of the work implement, wherein the central control unit is further configured to; reactivate at least one of the cylinders that are previously deactivated when the operation of the work implement is commanded from the operation console, and increase a rotational speed of the engine to a higher rotational speed than the prescribed rotational speed before engaging the clutch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification