Mulching mower

• US 5,894,717 A
• Filed: 01/02/1997
• Issued: 04/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yamashita, Tadashi, Higashi, Kenji, Tabata, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): MELIUS, TERRY L
• Application Number:
  US08/775,933
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 56/320.1, 56/320.2, 56/17.5, 56/255, 56/295, 56/DIG. 17, 56/DIG. 20, 56/DIG. 5, 56/DIG. 8, 56/DIG. 9, 56/DIG. 22
• US Class Current: 56/320.1
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 2101/00 Lawn-mowers
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 34/005 Mulching means

Abstract

A mulching mower is provided which is capable of cutting grasses finely without leaving uncut grasses and which is capable of discharging the cut grass clippings onto the cut grass path so as to be evenly dispersed. A pair of cutter blades are arranged to the right and to the left of the mulching mower in a cutter housing which opens downwardly. A guitar-shaped or figure 8 shaped enclosure wall hangs down from an under surface of an upper wall of the cutter housing to completely surround the periphery of the right and left cutter blades along tip end rotation loci of the blades at a slight distance therefrom. The enclosure wall is formed by side wall portions ar right and left outsides of the cutter housing and front and rear enclosure wall portions hang down from the under surface. The cutter blades rotate in opposite directions from each other so that tip ends of the cutter blades move from front to rear at right and left outsides, respectively, of the mulching mower. A plate-like separator member extends from a position on the approximate center of the rear enclosure wall portion to a vicinity of a rotary shaft of the cutter blade which is across the direction of rotation of the cutter blade.

Claims

1. A mulching mower, comprising:

a cutter housing which opens downwardly and which includes an upper wall;

a pair of cutter blades positioned such that a first cutter blade is ahead of a second cutter blade and said pair of cutter blades are arranged to a right and a left of an approximate center of said mower in said cutter housing, wherein each of said cutter blades rotates approximately horizontally in opposite directions to each other so that tip ends of each of said cutter blades move from a front of said mower to a rear of said mower, and wherein each of said cutter blades includes an upper blade and a lower blade;

side walls including side wall portions forming right and left outer peripheries of said cutter housing, wherein said side wall portions extend along a tip end rotation locus of a corresponding one of said cutter blades, respectively, at a slight distance radially therefrom;

a front enclosure wall portion connecting front parts of said side wall portions with each other, wherein said front enclosure wall portion hangs down from an under surface of said upper wall of said cutter housing, and wherein said front enclosure wall portion has right and left arcuate portions each extending along said tip end rotation locus of said corresponding one of said cutter blades, respectively, at said slight distance radially therefrom, said right and left arcuate portions of said front enclosure wall portion being connected to each other at a middle of said front enclosure wall portion; and

a rear enclosure wall portion connecting rear parts of said side wall portions with each other, wherein said rear enclosure wall portion hangs down from said under surface of said upper wall of said cutter housing, and wherein said rear enclosure wall portion has right and left arcuate portions each extending along said tip end rotation locus of said corresponding one of said cutter blades, respectively, at said slight distance radially therefrom, said right and left arcuate portions of said rear enclosure wall portion being connected with each other at a middle of said rear enclosure wall portion;

said side wall portions and said front and rear enclosure wall portions forming an approximately figure eight-shaped enclosure wall surrounding said cutter blades along said tip end rotation locus of each of said corresponding ones of said cutter blades.

2. The mulching mower claimed in claim 1, wherein said cutter housing also opens rearwardly, when said rear enclosure wall portion is detached from said cutter housing.

3. The mulching mower claimed in any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein a tip end of each of said cutter blades moves rotationally from said front of said mower to said rear of said mower at a position to a rear of a front wheel of said mower.

4. The mulching mower claimed in any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein said under surface of said upper wall of said cutter housing is substantially flat.

5. A mulching mower, comprising:

a cutter housing which opens downwardly and which has an upper wall;

a pair of cutter blades positioned such that a first cutter blade is ahead of a second cutter blade and said pair of cutter blades are arranged to a right and a left of an approximate center of said mower in said cutter housing, wherein said cutter blades rotate in opposite directions to each other so that tip ends of said cutter blades move from a front of said mower to a rear of said mower, and wherein each of said cutter blades include an upper blade and a lower blade;

a figure eight-shaped enclosure wall which hangs down from an under surface of said upper wall of said cutter housing to surround a periphery of said cutter blades along tip end rotation loci of said cutter blades;

circular cutter chambers formed by said enclosure wall around said cutter blades, wherein said circular cutter chambers communicate with each other at a central portion where said tip end rotation loci approach each other; and

plate-like separator members extending from a position on a rear wall portion of said enclosure wall near said central portion where said tip end rotation loci approach each other to a vicinity of a rotary shaft of each of said cutter blades across a direction of rotation of said cutter blades, wherein said plate-like separator members are arranged approximately vertically between said under surface of said upper wall of said cutter housing and each of said cutter blades.

6. The mulching mower claimed in claim 5, wherein said enclosure wall comprises front and rear wall portions each formed by connecting right and left arcuate portions extending along said tip end rotation loci of said cutter blades at a slight distance radially therefrom through central portions between said right and left arcuate portions of said front and rear wall portions, respectively, a radius of curvature of said central portion of said front wall portion being smaller than a radius of curvature of said central portion of said rear wall portion.

7. The mulching mower claimed in claim 5, wherein an end of each of said separator members at said vicinity of said rotary shafts of said cutter blades is fixed to a circumferential surface of a ring member surrounding each of said rotary shafts concentrically.

8. The mulching mower claimed in claim 5, wherein grass clippings are dropped by each of said separator members at a rear inner side of each of said separator members with respect to a direction of rotation of each of said cutter blades.

9. A mulching mower comprising:

a cutter housing which opens downwardly and which has an upper wall;

a pair of cutter blades positioned such that a first cutter blade is ahead of a second cutter blade, which are arranged to a left and to a right, and which rotate approximately horizontally in said cutter housing, wherein each cutter blade of said pair of cutter blades includes an upper blade and a lower blade, wherein each cutter blade of said pair of cutter blades rotates in opposite directions, and wherein a trailing side of said upper blade overlaps a leading side of said lower blade in a vertical direction;

a circular enclosure wall surrounding a periphery of each of said cutter blades along a tip end rotation locus of each of said cutter blades at a slight distance radially therefrom, wherein each of said cutter blades has a cutting edge at a radially outer and rotationally leading side and a feather section rising obliquely upwardly at said trailing side, and wherein a shape in plan view of an outer end of each of said cutter blades is formed in a circular arc concentric with said enclosure wall, and wherein said feather section of each of said upper blade and said lower blade is similarly shaped.

10. A mulching mower comprising:

a cutter housing which opens downwardly and which has an upper wall;

a pair of rotary shafts provided approximately vertically in said cutter housing;

upper and lower cutter blades provided on a lower portion of each of said rotary shafts so as to rotate approximately horizontally, wherein each of said upper and lower cutter blades have a cutter edge portion with a cutter edge at a leading edge, wherein widths of said cutter edge portions of said upper and lower cutter blades in a rotational direction are substantially equal, wherein feather sections are twisted upwardly and are formed at trailing edges of said cutting edge portions of said upper and lower cutter blades, respectively, and wherein said upper and lower cutter blades are fitted to each of said rotary shafts leaving a space between said cutter blades in a vertical direction and positioning said cutting edge of each of said upper cutter blades rotationally ahead of said cutter edge of each of said lower cutter blades, wherein said trailing edge of each of said upper cutter blades overlaps said cutting edge of each of said corresponding lower cutter blades in said vertical direction.

11. The mulching mower claimed in claim 10, wherein said space in said vertical direction between said upper and lower cutter blades is more than 12.5 mm and less than 24.5 mm.

12. The mulching mower claimed in claim 10, wherein an angular difference in said rotational direction between said upper and lower cutter blades is more than 5°

and less than 15°

.

13. The mulching mower claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein lengths of said upper and lower cutter blades are equal.

14. The mulching mower claimed in claim 13, wherein said upper and lower cutter blades have similar shapes.