Cutter housing assembly for a lawnmower, lawnmower having same, and convertible lawnmower

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11044846-B2
Application number	US-201916371822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 1, 2019
Priority date	Apr 1, 2019
Publication date	Jun 29, 2021
Grant date	Jun 29, 2021

Abstract

A lawn mower and a cutter housing assembly can include a cutter housing, a first and second rotation arms, and first and second plates pivotably attached to the cutter housing. The first plate and second plate can be selectively rotatable between: (a) a discharge mode in which the plates are positioned a first distance from the front wall of the cutter housing to provide a first gap, and (b) a mulch mode in which the plates are positioned a second distance greater than the first distance from the front wall to provide a decreased gap. A first actuator and second actuator can be connected to the first and second rotation arms to cause rotation of the first and second rotation arms when actuated. Actuation of the first actuator and second actuator can cause the first plate and second plate to move between the discharge mode and the mulch mode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cutter housing assembly for a lawnmower comprising:
a cutter housing that has a front wall and includes a first cutting chamber with a first discharge opening;
a first rotation arm pivotably attached to the cutter housing;
a second rotation arm pivotably attached to the cutter housing;
a first plate pivotably attached to the cutter housing;
a second plate pivotably attached to the cutter housing, the first plate and second plate selectively rotatable between:
(a) a discharge mode in which the first plate and second plate are positioned a first distance from the front wall of the cutter housing to provide a first gap, and (b) a mulch mode in which the first plate and second plate are positioned a second distance greater than the first distance from the front wall of the cutter housing to provide a decreased gap, relative to the first gap;

a first actuator connected to the first rotation arm to cause rotation of the first rotation arm when actuated; and
a second actuator connected to the second rotation arm to cause rotation of the second rotation arm when actuated, wherein
actuation of the first actuator and second actuator causes the first plate and second plate to move between the discharge mode and the mulch mode, and
the first plate and second plate pivot about a common axis and rotate in opposite directions with respect to each other as the first plate and second plate move between the discharge mode and the mulch mode.

2. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , further including a third plate pivotably attached to the cutter housing and selectively rotatable between (a) the discharge mode in which the third plate is located an initial distance from the front wall, and (b) the mulch mode in which the third plate is located a final distance from the front wall that is greater than the initial distance.

3. The cutter housing assembly of claim 2 , wherein the first plate is configured to engage with the third plate to pivot the third plate between the mulch mode and the discharge mode.

4. The cutter housing assembly of claim 3 , further comprising a spring attached to the third plate and configured to bias the third plate towards one of the discharge mode and mulch mode.

5. The cutter housing assembly of claim 4 , wherein the spring attached to the third plate biases both the third plate and first plate towards one of the discharge mode and mulch mode.

6. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first rotation arm is pivotably attached to the cutter housing at a connection end of the first rotation arm, and the first rotation arm further includes a push end, and the push end of the first rotation arm is configured to engage with the first plate.

7. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , further including a first plate spring connected to the first plate such that the first plate is biased from the mulch mode to the discharge mode.

8. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , further including:
a first plate pin; and
the cutter housing including a pin aperture that receives the first plate pin, wherein
each of the first plate and the second plate are pivotally attached to the cutter housing by the first plate pin.

9. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first actuator includes a rotary electric motor.

10. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first plate is curved about a vertical axis to provide a curved surface; and
the second plate is curved about a further vertical axis to provide a second curved surface.

11. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first plate and second plate are each connected to the cutter housing at a pin such that the first plate and second plate are each rotatable about the pin and extend away from the pin and each other, a curvature of each of the first plate and second plate is configured such that the first plate and second plate form concave surfaces facing away from the front wall of the cutter housing to define the first cutting chamber.

12. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , further including a third plate and a fourth plate each pivotably attached to the cutter housing and selectively rotatable between (a) the discharge mode in which the third plate and fourth plate are located an initial distance from the front wall, and (b) the mulch mode in which the third plate and fourth plate are located a final distance from the front wall that is greater than the initial distance.

13. The cutter housing assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first plate is configured to engage with the third plate to pivot the third plate between the mulch mode and the discharge mode, the second plate is configured to engage with the fourth plate to pivot the fourth plate between the mulch mode and the discharge mode, the first rotation arm moves along the first plate to cause the first plate and the third plate to move between the discharge mode and the mulch mode, and the second rotation arm moves along the second plate to cause the second plate and the fourth plate to move between the discharge mode and the mulch mode.

14. The cutter housing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cutter housing further includes a second cutting chamber with a second discharge opening, and a third cutting chamber with a third discharge opening, which is open to exterior of the cutter housing;
the first cutting chamber is disposed between the second cutting chamber and the third cutting chamber such that the first discharge opening is located between the first cutting chamber and the third cutting chamber and the second discharge opening is located between the first cutting chamber and the second cutting chamber;
the first plate forms a first portion of the first cutting chamber and obstructs at least a portion of the first opening when the first plate is in the mulch mode; and
the second plate forms a second portion of the first cutting chamber and obstructs at least a portion of the second opening when the second plate is in the mulch mode.

15. A cutter housing assembly for a lawnmower comprising:
a cutter housing that includes a first cutting chamber with a first discharge opening, and a further cutting chamber with a further discharge opening;
a primary plate movably attached to the cutter housing and selectively movable between:
(a) a discharge mode in which the primary plate is in a first position to provide a first gap associated with the first discharge opening, and (b) a mulch mode in which the primary plate is in a second position spaced from the first position to provide a decreased gap, relative to the first gap, associated with the first discharge opening; and

a secondary plate movably attached to the cutter housing and selectively movable by the primary plate between:
(a) a discharge mode in which the secondary plate is in an initial position, and (b) a mulch mode in which the secondary plate is in a final position different from the initial position when the primary plate moves between the discharge made and the mulch mode;

a first actuator controllable by a user and connected to the primary plate such that a user can cause the primary plate to move from the discharge mode first position to the mulch mode second position;
a rotation arm connected to the first actuator and movable on the primary plate such that, when the first actuator moves the rotation arm, the rotation arm causes the primary plate to move between the discharge mode and the mulch mode; and,
a third plate rotatably attached to the cutter housing and selectively rotatable between:
(a) a discharge mode in which the third plate is in a first

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kelly Teegan L

Classifications

• A01D34/71

  with means for discharging mown material (A01D57/26 - A01D57/30 take precedence; combined with means for gathering or loading mown material A01D43/06) · CPC title

• A01D2101/00

  Lawn-mowers · CPC title

• A01D34/005 Primary

  Mulching means · CPC title

• A01D34/81

  Casings; Housings (A01D34/71 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A01D34/733 Primary

  Cutting-blade mounting means · CPC title