Self-propelled riding mower

Abstract

To provide a self-propelled riding mower that enables an operator to perform mowing work in a safe state while stabilizing the body when a seat is moved toward a vehicle body left / right side.SOLUTION: A front end 11 is rotated together with a seat base 8 around a rear end 10 of a left arm 7L or a right arm 7R of a link mechanism 7 as the rotation center to enable a seat 4 to move to the right side or the left side. A grip portion 12 is provided near the rear end 10 of the left arm 7L when the seat 4 is moved toward the right side of a vehicle body 1 and near the rear end 10 of the right arm 7R when the seat 4 is moved toward the left side of the vehicle body 1. When the seat 4 is located in the center of the vehicle body 1, the grip portion 12 is located inside an outer peripheral edge G of the seat 4 in a plan view. When the seat 4 is moved from this state toward the side of the vehicle body 1, the grip portion 12 appears on a side of a seat surface 4a of the seat 4 that faces a moving direction of the seat 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mower for cutting weeds in orchards, fallow fields, etc., and more particularly to a self-propelled riding mower that enables an operator to work safely without being hindered by lower branches when cutting grass around trees. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technology that uses a parallel link mechanism to move the seating section left and right on the vehicle body when cutting grass around trees. This self-propelled riding grass cutter has a seat on which the operator sits in the center of the vehicle body, and a cutting device with a rotary blade that rotates approximately horizontally below the seat, and operating devices such as a clutch lever that switches power transmission to the cutting device on and off and a cutting height lever that raises and lowers the cutting device are provided on the left side of the seat, but these operating devices are provided close to the side of the seat because operability is improved when they are closer to the seated operator. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4126549 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If the operating devices are provided close to the side of the seat, the distance between the operating devices and the side of the seat becomes narrow, and there is no space to provide a grip on the side of the seat. For example, when the seat is moved to the right and the operator operates the handlebars with his / her right hand, there is no grip to be held by the left hand to ensure the stability of the body, and the operator must hold the handlebars with both hands or grip the side of the seat with the left hand. Even if a grip is provided integral with the seat on the left side of the seat, there is a disadvantage that the left hand may be pinched between the seat and the operating devices when the seat is returned to the center position on the left and right of the vehicle body. Furthermore, when a fixed grip is provided below the seat base, there is a disadvantage that the rotation of the parallel link mechanism is hindered when the seat is moved to the right. The present invention aims to provide a self-propelled riding grass mower that allows the operator to perform grass mowing work in a safe state with his / her body stabilized when the seat is moved to the left or right side of the vehicle body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The invention described in claim 1 is a self-propelled riding grass mower comprising a seat 4 for an operator A to sit on in the front-to-rear center between a front wheel 2 at the front of a vehicle body 1 and a rear wheel 3 at the rear of the vehicle body 1, a handlebar 5 for steering the front wheel 2 provided in front of the seat, operation devices M provided on either the left or right side of the seat 4 in a position close to the seat 4, a mowing device 6 having a rotary blade 5 that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction provided below the seat 4, and a pair of substantially parallel link mechanisms 7 on the left and right sides that allow the seat 4 to be moved and fixed from the left-to-right center of the vehicle body 1 to the other side opposite the side where the operation devices M are provided, the link mechanism 7 pivotally supports front ends 11 of a left arm 7L and a right arm 7R on a seat base 8, and pivotally supports the vehicle body 1 side. The seat 4 is configured to be movable to the right or left by rotating the front end 11 together with the seat base 8 around the rear end 10 of the left arm 7L as a rotation center, and a grip portion 12 is provided near the rear end 10 of the left arm 7L when the seat 4 is moved to the right side of the vehicle body 1, and near the rear end 10 of the right arm 7R when the seat 4 is moved to the left side of the vehicle body 1. When the seat 4 is located in the center of the vehicle body 1, the grip portion 12 is located inside the outer peripheral edge G of the seat 4 in a plan view. When the seat 4 is moved to the side of the vehicle body 1 from this state, the grip portion 12 appears on the side of the seat surface 4a of the seat 4 opposite the direction of movement of the seat 4, making it possible for the operator A seated in the seat 4 to grasp the grip portion 12. Effect of the Invention

[0006] The invention described in claim 1 is a self-propelled riding grass trimmer configured to move and fix the seat 4 from the left-right center of the vehicle body 1 toward the other side opposite the side where the operating devices M are provided, by a pair of left and right, approximately parallel link mechanisms 7, the link mechanism 7 is configured such that front ends 11 of the left arm 7L and the right arm 7R are pivotally supported on a seat base 8, and the front ends 11 are rotated together with the seat base 8 around a rear end 10 pivotally supported on the vehicle body 1 side as a rotation center, so that the seat 4 can be moved to the right or left side, and when the seat 4 is moved to the right side of the vehicle body 1, the seat 4 is rotated near the rear end 10 of the left arm 7L, and when the seat 4 is moved to the left side of the vehicle body 1, the seat 4 is rotated near the rear end 10 of the left arm 7L. A grip portion 12 is provided near the rear end 10 of the right arm 7R, and when the seat 4 is positioned in the center of the vehicle body 1, the grip portion 12 is positioned inside the outer peripheral edge G of the seat 4 when viewed in a plan view. When the seat 4 is moved to the side of the vehicle body 1 from this position, the grip portion 12 appears on the side of the seat surface 4a of the seat 4 opposite the direction of movement of the seat 4, allowing the operator sitting in the seat 4 to grasp the grip portion 12. Therefore, when the seat 4 is moved to the left or right side of the vehicle body 1, the operator A sitting in the seat 4 can grasp the handle 5 with one hand and the grip portion 12 with the other hand, which makes it easier for the operator A sitting in the seat 4 to keep his or her body stable during grass cutting work, allowing the operator A to work safely.

[0007] When the seat 4 is positioned in the left-right center of the vehicle body 1, the grip portion 12 is stored under the seat 4, and appears on the side of the seat surface 4a of the seat 4 only when necessary when the seat 4 is moved to the left or right side of the vehicle body 1, so that the grip portion 12 does not get in the way. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] 6A and 6B are partial perspective views showing the seat before and after it is moved. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a locking configuration before the seat is moved. [Figure 6]Partial structural diagram of the seat section. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] Overall floor plan. [Figure 9] Overall side view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The grass cutter of the present invention has a pair of front wheels 2, 2 and rear wheels 3, 3 on the front and rear sides of a vehicle body 1, and a mowing device 6 equipped with a large-diameter cutting blade 20 that rotates approximately horizontally is provided below the vehicle body 1 between the front wheels 2, 2 and the rear wheels 3, 3. The mowing device 6 may have a plurality of cutting blades 20 that rotate approximately horizontally arranged side by side, or may have a sub-cutter unit or the like that protrudes from the mowing device 6 to the side. A seat 4 for an operator A to sit on is provided in the center of the left and right above the mowing device 6, and a handlebar 5 for the operator A seated on the seat 4 to steer the front wheels 2, 2 is provided in front of the seat 4. On the left side of the seat 4, operating devices M are provided close to the seat 4, and include a cutting blade clutch lever 21 that switches on and off the transmission of power to the cutting blade 20 of the mowing device 6, a cutting height lever 22 that can adjust the grass cutting height by raising and lowering the mowing device 6, and the like. A left grip 51 is provided behind the cutting height lever 22 so that the operator A can hold it with his / her left hand to maintain body stability when the seat 4 is in the central position.

[0010] A transmission 25 equipped with an HST (continuously variable transmission) 24 for driving the rear wheels 3, 3 is provided below the prime mover E with its output shaft 23 suspended behind the seat 4. Drive for the blade 20 is transmitted from an engine pulley 26 attached to the output shaft 23 of the prime mover E to the blade pulley 20p via a V-belt, with a tension clutch mechanism interposed in the middle of the V-belt, and the operator A can operate the blade clutch lever 21 (not shown) to tension or slacken the V-belt to turn on or off the rotational drive to the blade 20.

[0011] A fuel tank 27 is disposed on the left side of the prime mover 7, and the fuel tank 27 and the upper part of the prime mover E are covered with a prime mover cover 28. The exhaust system of the prime mover E is disposed in a position symmetrical to the fuel tank 27, and exhaust gas is discharged from an exhaust muffler 60 diagonally rearward of the vehicle body 1. A step 29 is disposed in front of and below the seat 4, and a handlebar 5 is disposed on the upper end of a handlebar post 30 that stands upright from the front center of the step 29. A brake pedal 31 is disposed on the left side of the lower part of the handlebar post 30, and an accelerator pedal 32 is disposed on the right side. Pressing the front side of the accelerator pedal 32 allows the vehicle to travel forward, and pressing the rear side allows the vehicle to travel backward. 31a is a holding lever that can be held in a state in which the traveling brake is applied. On the rear surface of the upper part of the handlebar post 30 below the handlebar 5, a manual accelerator lever 33, a key switch 34 for the prime mover E, a choke lever 35, a headlight switch 36, etc. are disposed.

[0012] The seat 4 located at the left-right center of the vehicle body 1 can be moved horizontally left and right by a link mechanism 7 consisting of a left arm 7L and a right arm 7R. A rear end 10 of the link mechanism 7 is pivotally supported by an arm base 37 on the vehicle body 1 side, and a front end 11 of the link mechanism 7 is pivotally supported by a first seat base 801, and the front end 11 can be moved from the left-right center position of the vehicle body 1 toward the right side with the rear end 10 of the link mechanism 7 as the rotation center. A second seat base 802 is attached to the upper side of the first seat base 801, and the seat 4 is attached to the second seat base 802. By loosening the knob bolt 38, the second seat base 802 can be slid in the front-rear direction relative to the first seat base 801, thereby adjusting the front-rear position of the seat 4. A travel lever 39 capable of operating forward and reverse travel in the same manner as the accelerator lever 33 is provided on the right side of the second seat base 802, and a right grip 50 is provided on the outer side of the travel lever 39, and the travel lever 39 and the right grip 50 are configured to move sideways integrally with the seat 4. A seat rotation base 40 attached to the front bottom surface of the seat 4 is attached to the front end D of the second seat base 802 with a bolt 45 and a double nut 46, and the seat 4 is configured to be rotatable forward. The seat 4 of this embodiment is provided with a seating switch 48 that detects the seating state of the operator A. When the operator A sits down, a compression spring 49 is compressed and the seating switch 48 is turned ON, allowing the engine E to start. When the weight of the operator A is not applied to the seat surface 4a, that is, when the operator A tries to get off the seat 4, a safety mechanism is provided to stop the engine E even if it is rotating.

[0013] K is a seat lock mechanism, and by operating a seat lock lever 41 up and down, a lock pin 44 can be inserted and removed from a lock groove 43 in a sector-shaped lock base 42, thereby switching the seat 4 between a horizontally movable state to the left and right and a fixed state. S1 is a stopper with which the lock pin 44 abuts when the seat 4 is moved to the center position, and S2 welded to the right arm 7R is a stopper that abuts against the seat base 8 when the seat 4 is moved to the side, stopping the lateral movement of the seat 4.

[0014] In this embodiment, when the seat 4 is moved horizontally from the center position of the vehicle body 1 to the right side, as shown in Fig. 2, the grip portion 12 is provided on the inside of the outer peripheral edge G of the seat 4 in a plan view and on the lower rear part X of the seat 4 below the bottom surface 4b of the seat 4 when the seat 4 is in the center position of the vehicle body 1, and extends from the vicinity of the rear end portion 10 of the left arm 7L toward the left side in approximately parallel to the arm base 37. When the seat 4 is located in the center of the vehicle body 1, the seated operator A can perform grass cutting work by holding the left grip portion 51 or the right grip portion 50 of the operating devices M arranged on the left side. If the seat 4 is moved to the right side from this state, the left grip portion 51 becomes farther away from the seated operator A, making it difficult to grip it. In this embodiment, when the seat 4 is moved to the right, the grip portion 12 rotates around the rear end portion 10 of the left arm 7L together with the left arm 7L, and in a plan view, the grip portion 12 appears from the inside of the outer peripheral edge G of the seat 4 to the lower left side of the seating surface 4a of the seat 4, so that the operator A can grip the grip portion 12 with his / her left hand even when the seat 4 is moved.

[0015] Therefore, when the seat 4 is moved sideways, a grip portion 12 appears below the side of the seat surface 4a of the seat 4 on the side opposite the direction of movement of the seat 4, making it possible for the operator A seated on the seat 4 to grasp the grip portion 12.When the seat 4 is moved to the left or right side of the vehicle body 1, the operator A seated on the seat 4 can grasp the handlebars 5 with one hand and the grip portion 12 with the other hand, making it easier for the operator A seated on the seat 4 to keep his or her body stable during grass cutting work, allowing the operator A to work safely.

[0016] When the seat 4 is positioned in the left-right center of the vehicle body 1, the grip portion 12 is stored under the seat 4, and appears on the side of the seat surface 4a of the seat 4 only when necessary when the seat 4 is moved to the left or right side of the vehicle body 1, so that the grip portion 12 does not get in the way.

[0017] When the seat 4 is located in the lateral center of the vehicle body 1, the seat 4 is located as close as possible to the operating devices M in order to improve the operability of the operating devices M of the seated operator A, so the gap between the seat 4 and the operating devices M is narrow, making it difficult to provide a grip, but since there is sufficient space for providing a grip on the side of the seat 4 on which the seat 4 is moved left and right from the lateral center position, a right grip 50 that moves integrally with the seat 4 is provided on the side of the seat 4 on the side (right side) on which the seat 4 is moved toward the side of the vehicle body 1, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The right grip 50, the left grip 51 provided near the operating devices M, and the grip 12 that appears when the seat 4 is moved toward the side of the vehicle body 1 allow the operator A to hold the handle 5 and the grips 12, 50, and 51 with both hands regardless of the position of the seat 4, so that the operator A can easily hold his or her body stably during grass cutting work, enabling safe work.

[0018] 7 is a rear view showing the mowing operation mode in an orchard. By moving the seat 4 to the right side of the vehicle body 1, the operator A can easily avoid the lower branches 56 of the tree 55 and can move the mower 6 closer to the base 57 of the tree 55, so that the grass 54 at the base 57 of the tree 55 can be mowed without leaving any uncut grass. In addition, when the operator A holds the handlebars 5 with his right hand while mowing the grass with the seat 4 moved to the right side, he can hold the grip 12 on the lower left side of the seat surface 4a of the seat 4 with his left hand. Therefore, even if the vehicle body 1 is in an unstable state of shaking during the mowing operation, the operator A can hold his body with both hands and can safely perform the mowing operation without falling off the vehicle body 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] 1. Vehicle body 2 Front wheels 3 Rear wheel 4 seats 4a Seat 5 Handle 6 Reaping device 7 Link mechanism 7L Left arm 7R Right arm 8 Seat base 10 Rear end 11 Front end 12. Grip A The perpetrator G peripheral M Operating device

Claims

[Claim 1] In a self-propelled riding grass trimmer, a seat (4) on which an operator (A) sits is provided in the front-to-rear center between a front wheel (2) at the front of a vehicle body (1) and a rear wheel (3) at the rear of the vehicle body (1), and a handlebar (5) for steering the front wheel (2) is provided in front of the seat (4). An operating device (M) is provided on either the left or right side of the seat (4) in a position close to the seat (4). A mowing device (6) having a rotary blade (5) that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction is provided below the seat (4). The seat (4) can be moved and fixed from the left-to-right center of the vehicle body (1) to the other side opposite the side on which the operating device (M) is provided by a pair of substantially parallel link mechanisms (7) on the left and right. The link mechanism (7) supports the front end (11) of the left arm (7L) and the right arm (7R) on a seat base (8), and rotates the rear end (10) on the vehicle body (1) while rotating. a seat base (8) that can be rotated to move the seat (4) to the right or left, and a grip portion (12) is provided near the rear end (10) of the left arm (7L) when the seat (4) is moved to the right side of the vehicle body (1), and near the rear end (10) of the right arm (7R) when the seat (4) is moved to the left side of the vehicle body (1). When the seat (4) is located in the center of the vehicle body (1), the grip portion (12) is located inside the outer periphery (G) of the seat (4) in a plan view. When the seat (4) is moved to the side of the vehicle body (1) from this state, the grip portion (12) appears on the side of the seat surface (4a) of the seat (4) that faces the direction of movement of the seat (4), allowing an operator (A) seated on the seat (4) to grip the grip portion (12).

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