Lawn mower

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10085380-B2
Application number	US-201715442899-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 27, 2017
Priority date	Feb 29, 2016
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

A lawn mower includes a housing, a drive source, flaps, a grass clippings container, a grass clippings container weight detection unit, an internal pressure detection unit, and a control unit. If it is determined that a first condition where a change amount per predetermined fixed time of the weight detected by the grass clippings container weight detection unit is below a weight change amount reference value and a second condition where a change amount per predetermined fixed time of the internal pressure detected by the internal pressure detection unit has increased to a internal pressure change amount reference value, are satisfied, the control unit implements control to place the flaps in a substantially horizontal state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lawn mower comprising:
a housing including an opened bottom;
a rotation shaft extending in a vertical direction of the housing and including a lower end positioned within the housing;
a cutter blade provided for the rotation shaft, and accommodated in the housing;
a drive source configured to drive the cutter blade through the rotation shaft;
a grass clippings container configured to store lawn grass which is cut by the cutter blade and is transported from the housing by transportation wind generated by the cutter blade;
a flap provided for the cutter blade, the flap having a flap angle changeable along a horizontal line which is perpendicular to the rotation shaft;
an actuator configured to control the flap angle of the flap;
a control unit configured to control the actuator;
a grass clippings container weight detection unit configured to detect weight of the grass clippings container; and
an internal pressure detection unit configured to detect internal pressure of the housing,
wherein the control unit is configured to:
determine a change amount per predetermined fixed time of the weight detected by the grass clippings container weight detection unit;
determine a change amount per a predetermined fixed time of the internal pressure detected by the internal pressure detection unit; and
control the actuator to place the flap in a substantially horizontal state, in a case in which it is determined that two conditions are satisfied, the two conditions being a first condition where the change amount of the weight is below a predetermined weight change amount reference value and a second condition where the change amount of the internal pressure has reached a predetermined internal pressure change amount reference value.

2. The lawn mower according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to implement control to drive an alarm, in the case in which it is determined that the two conditions are satisfied.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kuriyagawa Koji
• Yoshimura Hajime

Classifications

• A01D2101/00

  Lawn-mowers · CPC title

• A01D34/006

  Control or measuring arrangements · CPC title

• A01D34/73 Primary

  Cutting apparatus · CPC title

• A01D2034/6843

  Control levers on the handle of the mower · CPC title

• A01D43/0631 Primary

  Control devices specially adapted therefor · CPC title