Working machine

Abstract

To provide a technology which can cool an electric motor sufficiently while suppressing foreign matters from entering an inside of a working machine.SOLUTION: A working machine includes: a work unit having a work mechanism, an electric motor, and a motor housing; a control device; a base; a rear housing; a front handle; and a rear handle. The base includes a passage part. The motor housing includes an inner air inlet port which opens to an inside of the passage part, and an outer exhaust port which opens to an external of the working machine. The rear housing includes an outer air inlet port which opens to the external of the working machine, and an inner exhaust port which opens to the inside of the passage part. A cooling air flow passage is formed from the external of the working machine, via the outer air inlet port, an inside of the rear housing, the inner exhaust port, the inside of the passage part, the inner air inlet port, an inside of the motor housing, and the outer exhaust port, to the external of the working machine. The inner air inlet port and the inner exhaust port overlap each other when viewed along a longitudinal direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 18

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a work machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a working machine including a working unit including a working mechanism, an electric motor for driving the working mechanism, and a motor housing for accommodating the electric motor, a control device for controlling the electric motor, a rear housing attached to the rear of the motor housing, a front handle that a user can hold with one hand, and a rear handle that is provided on the rear housing and can be held with the other hand of the user. The motor housing has an air intake port that opens to the outside of the working machine, and an exhaust port that opens to the outside of the working machine. A cooling air flow path is formed that leads from the outside of the working machine through the air intake port, the inside of the motor housing, and the exhaust port to the outside of the working machine. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0107129 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the vicinity of the working mechanism, foreign matter such as dust may fly when the working mechanism is driven. In the working machine of Patent Document 1, foreign matter that is scattered when the working mechanism is driven may enter the inside of the working machine through an air intake port provided in the motor housing. In order to prevent foreign matter from entering the inside of the working machine, it is possible to provide an air intake port that opens to the outside of the working machine in a rear housing that is relatively far from the working mechanism. However, in this configuration, the cooling air flow path passes not only through the inside of the motor housing but also through the inside of the rear housing. Therefore, compared to the working machine of Patent Document 1 in which the cooling air flow path does not pass through the inside of the rear housing, there is a possibility that air does not flow smoothly in the cooling air flow path. As a result, the flow rate of air (i.e., cooling air) flowing through the cooling air flow path may be insufficient, and the electric motor may not be sufficiently cooled. This specification provides a technology that can sufficiently cool the electric motor while preventing foreign matter from entering the inside of the working machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The working machine disclosed in this specification includes a working unit including a working mechanism, an electric motor for driving the working mechanism, and a motor housing for accommodating the electric motor, a control device for controlling the electric motor, a base for supporting the working unit, a rear housing attached to a rear part of the base, a front handle provided on the base and capable of being held by a user with one hand, and a rear handle provided on the rear housing and capable of being held by the user with the other hand. The base includes a passage. The motor housing includes an inner air intake port that opens into the inside of the passage and an outer exhaust port that opens to the outside of the working machine. The rear housing includes an outer air intake port that opens to the outside of the working machine and an inner exhaust port that opens into the inside of the passage. A cooling air flow path is formed that extends from the outside of the working machine through the outer air intake port, the inside of the rear housing, the inner exhaust port, the inside of the passage, the inner air intake port, the inside of the motor housing, and the outer exhaust port to the outside of the working machine. When viewed along the front-rear direction, the inner air supply port and the inner air exhaust port overlap each other.

[0006] If the inner air intake port and the inner exhaust port do not overlap each other when viewed along the front-rear direction, the air flowing out from the inner exhaust port may not flow smoothly into the inner air intake port. As a result, the flow rate of the cooling air may be insufficient, and the electric motor may not be sufficiently cooled. According to the above configuration, since the inner air intake port and the inner exhaust port overlap each other when viewed along the front-rear direction, the air flowing out from the inner exhaust port flows smoothly into the inner air intake port. Therefore, the flow rate of the cooling air increases, and the electric motor can be sufficiently cooled. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the outer air intake port that opens to the outside of the working machine is provided in the rear housing away from the working mechanism, so that it is possible to suppress the intrusion of foreign matter scattered with the driving of the working mechanism into the inside of the working machine. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1]FIG. 2 is a view of the hedge trimmer 2 according to the first embodiment, with the rear housing 12 in a normal position, as viewed from the upper front right. [Diagram 2] 2 is a view showing the internal structure of the hedge trimmer 2 according to the first embodiment as viewed from the right. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a rear housing 12 of a hedge trimmer 2 according to Example 1, as viewed from the upper rear left side. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a rear housing 12 of a hedge trimmer 2 according to Example 1, as viewed from the upper rear left side. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a view of the hedge trimmer 2 according to the first embodiment, with the rear housing 12 in a rotated position, as viewed from the upper front right. [Figure 6] 1 is an exploded view of a front portion of a hedge trimmer 2 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 7] 2 is a perspective view of vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 2 is a side view of vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] 2 is a perspective view of vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 2 is a perspective cross-sectional view of vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram showing a vibration-isolating member 90a, a first mounting element 128, a second mounting element 134, and a third mounting element 140 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a vibration-proof member 90a according to the first embodiment is attached to a first mounting element 128, a second mounting element 134, and a third mounting element 140. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing a vibration-isolating member 90b, a first mounting element 146, a second mounting element 152, and a third mounting element 158 ​​according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] 13 is a diagram showing a vibration-isolating member 90c, a first mounting element 164, a second mounting element 168, and a third mounting element 174 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15]13 is a diagram showing a state in which a vibration-isolating member 90c according to the first embodiment is attached to a first mounting element 164, a second mounting element 168, and a third mounting element 174. FIG. [Figure 16a] 9 is a diagram of vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment when viewed along cross section AA in FIG. [Figure 16b] 9 is a diagram showing vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment when viewed at cross section BB in FIG. [Figure 16c] 9 is a diagram of vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment when viewed at cross section CC in FIG. [Figure 16d] 9 is a diagram showing vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment as viewed along cross section DD in FIG. [Figure 16e] 9 is a diagram of vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment when viewed along cross section EE in FIG. [Figure 16f] 9 is a diagram showing vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to the first embodiment when viewed along the cross section FF in FIG. [Figure 17] 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a motor housing 22 of the hedge trimmer 2 according to the first embodiment is disassembled. FIG. [Figure 18] 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cooling airflow passage F of the hedge trimmer 2 according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 19] 10 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between an air intake port 188 of a motor housing 22 and an exhaust port 196 of a rear housing 12 inside a passage portion 192 of the hedge trimmer 2 according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 20] 1 is a view of the rear housing 12 according to the first embodiment and the battery pack B attached to a battery attachment portion 38 of the rear housing 12, as viewed in the axial direction of a rotation axis RA. FIG. [Figure 21] 11A to 11C are perspective views of vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c according to modified examples. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a view of the hedge trimmer 302 according to the second embodiment, with the rear housing 312 in a normal position, as viewed from the upper front right. [Figure 23] FIG. 11 is a view showing the internal structure of a hedge trimmer 302 according to a second embodiment, as viewed from the right. [Figure 24] 13 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a rear housing 312 of a hedge trimmer 302 according to Example 2, as viewed from the upper rear left side. FIG. [Diagram 25] 13 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a rear housing 312 of a hedge trimmer 302 according to Example 2, as viewed from the upper rear left side. FIG. [Figure 26] FIG. 11 is a view of the hedge trimmer 302 according to the second embodiment, with the rear housing 312 in a rotated position, as viewed from the upper front right. [Figure 27] FIG. 11 is an exploded view of a front portion of a hedge trimmer 302 according to a second embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a motor housing 322 of a hedge trimmer 302 according to a second embodiment is disassembled. [Figure 29] 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cooling airflow passage F' of a hedge trimmer 302 according to a second embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Representative and non-limiting examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. This detailed description is intended simply to provide those skilled in the art with details for implementing the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Additionally, the additional features and inventions disclosed can be used separately or together with other features and inventions to provide further improved working machines.

[0009] In addition, the combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following detailed description are not essential for implementing the present invention in the broadest sense, but are specifically described only to illustrate representative embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the various features of the following representative embodiments and the various features described in the claims do not have to be combined in the exact manner of the embodiments described herein or in the order listed in order to provide additional and useful embodiments of the present invention.

[0010] All features described in the specification and / or claims are intended to be disclosed individually and independently of one another as limitations to the specific features described in the original disclosure and claims, apart from the configuration of features described in the examples and / or claims. Furthermore, all numerical ranges and group or aggregate descriptions are intended to disclose intermediate configurations thereof as limitations to the specific features described in the original disclosure and claims.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the control device may be accommodated in the rear housing. The control device may be disposed in a cooling air flow path.

[0012] According to the above configuration, the cooling air can cool not only the electric motor but also the control device.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, the cooling air flow path may include a flow path portion formed inside the rear housing and extending along a front-rear direction. The control device may be disposed in the flow path portion such that a longitudinal direction of the control device is aligned with the front-rear direction.

[0014] According to the above configuration, the cooling air flows along the longitudinal direction of the control device, so that the control device can be efficiently cooled.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing may be rotatably attached to the base about a predetermined rotation axis, and its position relative to the base may be changeable between a normal position and a rotated position rotated from the normal position about the rotation axis.

[0016] According to the above configuration, the user can change the position of the rear housing relative to the base to change the positional relationship between the front handle and the rear handle. For example, the user can adjust the positional relationship between the front handle and the rear handle so that the user can hold the working machine in a comfortable position.

[0017] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing may include a shaft portion extending along the rotation axis. The base may include a shaft holding portion that holds the shaft portion rotatably about the rotation axis. The shaft portion may be formed with a through hole that passes through an interior of the shaft portion and connects between an interior and an exterior of the rear housing. An opening of the through hole that faces the exterior of the rear housing may function as the inner exhaust port.

[0018] If the inner exhaust port is disposed at a position away from the rotation axis, the positional relationship between the inner air supply port and the inner exhaust port changes significantly when the rear housing is rotated relative to the base. Therefore, depending on the position of the rear housing relative to the base, air flowing out from the inner exhaust port may not smoothly flow into the inner air supply port. According to the above configuration, the inner exhaust port is provided in the shaft portion, so that the inner exhaust port is disposed near the rotation axis. As a result, even if the rear housing is rotated relative to the base, the positional relationship between the inner air supply port and the inner exhaust port does not change much. Therefore, regardless of the position of the rear housing relative to the base, air flowing out from the inner exhaust port can smoothly flow into the inner air supply port.

[0019] In one or more embodiments, the electric motor may be an inner rotor type brushless motor including a stator, a rotor disposed inside the stator, and an output shaft fixed to the rotor. When the motor housing is removed from the work machine, an outer surface of the stator may be exposed to the outside of the work machine.

[0020] If a member covering the outer surface of the stator were provided separately from the motor housing, there would be a possibility that heat would build up in the stator (i.e., the electric motor).With the above configuration, since there is no member covering the outer surface of the stator other than the motor housing, it is possible to prevent heat from building up in the electric motor.

[0021] In one or more embodiments, the working mechanism may include a pair of blades extending along a front-rear direction. The pair of blades may be driven by the electric motor to reciprocate relatively in the front-rear direction.

[0022] According to the above configuration, it is possible to sufficiently cool the electric motor while preventing foreign matter scattered as the pair of blades are driven from entering the inside of the work machine.

[0023] In one or more embodiments, the working unit may further include a mechanism housing that supports the working mechanism. The mechanism housing may be exposed to the outside of the working machine and may have an opposing surface that faces the external exhaust port.

[0024] According to the above configuration, the mechanism housing is disposed so as to face the outer exhaust port. This makes it difficult for foreign matter (e.g., dust and cuttings) outside the working machine to reach the outer exhaust port, thereby suppressing the entry of foreign matter from the outside of the working machine into the inside through the outer exhaust port. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the air immediately after being discharged from the outer exhaust port hits the opposing surface, thereby reducing the force of the air. This prevents the air discharged from the outer exhaust port from hitting the user's body with force, thereby suppressing discomfort to the user.

[0025] In one or more embodiments, the base may have a bottom surface that faces a mounting surface when the working machine is placed on the mounting surface, and a direction from the inside of the working machine to the outside through the outer exhaust port may be along a direction in which the bottom surface of the base faces.

[0026] Usually, the bottom surface of the base is not provided with a handle or the like for the user to grasp. Therefore, when the user uses the work machine, it is expected that the user's body is not in the space facing the bottom surface of the base. According to the above configuration, the direction from the inside to the outside of the work machine through the outer exhaust port (i.e., the direction of the air discharged from the outer exhaust port) is directed toward the space facing the bottom surface of the base (i.e., the space where the user's body is not expected to be). This makes it possible to prevent the air discharged from the outer exhaust port from hitting the user's body, thereby suppressing discomfort to the user.

[0027] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing may include a battery mounting portion to which a battery pack is detachably attached, and the outside air intake port may face the battery pack attached to the battery mounting portion.

[0028] According to the above configuration, the battery pack is disposed to face the external air intake port, which makes it difficult for foreign matter (e.g., dust and cuttings) outside the work machine to reach the external air intake port, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the inside of the work machine from the outside via the external air intake port.

[0029] (Example 1: Hedge trimmer 2) As shown in Fig. 1, the working machine of this embodiment is a hedge trimmer 2. The hedge trimmer 2 is a gardening tool mainly used for pruning hedges and plants. The hedge trimmer 2 includes a working unit 4, a base 6 that supports the working unit 4, a front handle 8 provided on the base 6, a hand guard 10 that protects the hands of a user holding the front handle 8, a rear housing 12 attached to the rear of the base 6, and a rear handle 14 provided on the rear housing 12.

[0030] The work unit 4 includes a pair of shear blades 16. The pair of shear blades 16 extends linearly and has a plurality of cutting edges 18 along its longitudinal direction. The pair of shear blades 16 reciprocate with each other to prune hedges and plants with the plurality of cutting edges 18. In this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the pair of shear blades 16, that is, the direction from the base 6 toward the pair of shear blades 16, is the forward direction, and the direction from the pair of shear blades 16 toward the base 6 is the rearward direction. In addition, the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and parallel to the plane in which the plurality of cutting edges 18 of the pair of shear blades 16 extend is the left-right direction. The direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, that is, the direction from the pair of shear blades 16 toward the hand guard 10 is the upward direction, and the direction from the hand guard 10 toward the pair of shear blades 16 is the downward direction.

[0031] The front handle 8 is provided at the front of the base 6, and has a generally U-shape that is open downward. The front handle 8 extends to the left, upper, and right of the base 6. The outer surface of the front handle 8 has a generally cylindrical shape. The rear handle 14 is provided at the top of the rear housing 12, and extends linearly in the front-to-rear direction. The outer surface of the rear housing 12 has a generally cylindrical shape. A user can carry the hedge trimmer 2 by holding the front handle 8 with one hand and the rear handle 14 with the other hand.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2, the working unit 4 further includes an electric motor 20, a motor housing 22, a power transmission mechanism 24, and a mechanism housing 26. The electric motor 20 is, for example, an inner rotor type brushless motor including a stator 28, a rotor 30 disposed inside the stator 28, and an output shaft 32 fixed to the rotor 30. The electric motor 20 is accommodated in the motor housing 22. The motor housing 22 is fixed to the upper part of the mechanism housing 26. The output shaft 32 of the electric motor 20 is rotatably held in the motor housing 22 via a bearing 34, and is rotatably held in the mechanism housing 26 via a bearing 36. The output shaft 32 extends in the vertical direction and straddles between the motor housing 22 and the mechanism housing 26. The mechanism housing 26 accommodates the power transmission mechanism 24 and supports a pair of shear blades 16. The output shaft 32 of the electric motor 20 is connected to the pair of shear blades 16 via the power transmission mechanism 24. The power transmission mechanism 24 is, for example, a crank cam, and converts the rotational motion of the output shaft 32 into the reciprocating motion of each of the pair of shear blades 16. The reciprocating directions of the pair of shear blades 16 are aligned along the front-rear direction.

[0033] A battery mounting portion 38 for detachably mounting a battery pack B is provided at the rear of the rear housing 12. The battery pack B is mounted on the battery mounting portion 38 by sliding it in a sliding direction SD from the upper rear to the lower front relative to the battery mounting portion 38. The inclination angle θ1 of the sliding direction SD with respect to the front-rear direction is in the range of 45 degrees to 90 degrees, for example, when the clockwise direction as viewed from the right is taken as positive, and is 60 degrees in this embodiment.

[0034] A control device 40 that controls each part of the hedge trimmer 2 is accommodated in the lower part of the rear housing 12. The control device 40 includes a control board 42 and a controller case 44 that accommodates the control board 42. The control board 42 is equipped with, for example, a microcomputer composed of a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and an inverter circuit composed of a plurality of switching elements (for example, FETs). The control device 40 can convert DC power supplied from the battery pack B into three-phase AC power and supply it to the electric motor 20. The control device 40 has a generally flat plate shape that extends in the left-right direction. The control device 40 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is along the front-rear direction.

[0035] The rear housing 12 includes a shaft portion 46 having a substantially cylindrical shape. The shaft portion 46 is provided at the front of the rear housing 12. The base 6 includes a shaft holding portion 48 that holds the shaft portion 46 rotatably about a rotation axis RA. The shaft holding portion 48 is provided at the rear of the base 6. The rotation axis RA is on a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction, and is inclined from top to bottom as it moves from rear to front. The inclination angle θ2 of the rotation axis RA with respect to the front-rear direction is, for example, within a range of 0 degrees to 30 degrees, and is 10 degrees in this embodiment, when the clockwise direction is positive as viewed from the right. The rotation axis RA extends so as to pass through the battery pack B attached to the battery mounting portion 38. That is, the battery pack B attached to the battery mounting portion 38 is disposed on the rotation axis RA.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft holding portion 48 includes a cylindrical surface 50 that rotatably holds the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 46, and a plurality of engagement grooves 52 (some of which are not shown) that are formed by recessing the cylindrical surface 50 toward the radially outward direction of the rotation axis RA (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, five engagement grooves 52 are provided. Each of the engagement grooves 52 extends along the rotation axis RA. The engagement grooves 52 are arranged at predetermined intervals (for example, intervals of 1 / 8 of a circumference) in the circumferential direction of the rotation axis RA. In addition, the rear housing 12 is provided with a rotation lock member 54 that locks the rotation of the shaft portion 46 relative to the base 6 (i.e., the rotation of the rear housing 12 relative to the base 6). The rotation lock member 54 includes a lock piece 56 that extends along the rotation axis RA. The shaft portion 46 includes an accommodation groove 58 that is recessed radially inward from the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 46 and can accommodate the lock piece 56. The accommodation groove 58 extends along the rotation axis RA. In a state where the accommodation groove 58 and the engagement groove 52 face each other in the radial direction of the rotation axis RA, the rotation lock member 54 is slidable between a locked position where the lock piece 56 enters the engagement groove 52 as shown in FIG. 3 and an unlocked position where the lock piece 56 enters the accommodation groove 58 as shown in FIG. 4. An operating unit 60 is fixed to the rotation lock member 54. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the operating unit 60 is exposed on the left and right outer surfaces of the rear housing 12 and is slidable along the outer surface of the rear housing 12. A user can slide the rotation lock member 54 by operating the operating unit 60. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a coil spring 62 is attached to the rotation lock member 54. The lower end of the coil spring 62 abuts against a support protrusion 63 (see FIG. 2) formed on the inner wall of the rear housing 12. The coil spring 62 urges the rotation lock member 54 upward against the support protrusion 63. 3 by the biasing force of the coil spring 62. When the rotation lock member 54 is in the locked position, the rear housing 12 is mechanically locked with respect to the base 6, and rotation of the rear housing 12 with respect to the base 6 is prohibited.From this state, when the user presses down the operation unit 60 against the biasing force of the coil spring 62, the rotation lock member 54 moves to the unlocked position shown in Fig. 4. When the rotation lock member 54 is in the unlocked position, the rear housing 12 is unlocked from the base 6, and rotation of the rear housing 12 with respect to the base 6 is permitted.

[0037] The user can change the position of the rear housing 12 with respect to the base 6 by rotating the rear housing 12 with the rotation lock member 54 moved to the unlocked position and engaging the lock piece 56 with another engagement groove 52. This allows the position of the rear housing 12 to be changed from the normal position shown in Fig. 1 to, for example, a rotated position as shown in Fig. 5. In the following, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that the rear housing 12 is in the normal position shown in Fig. 1.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the rear housing 12 is provided with an operation button 64, a trigger lever 66, and a lock-off lever 68. The operation button 64 is disposed on the upper surface of the rear handle 14. By operating the operation button 64, a user can switch the main power supply of the hedge trimmer 2 on and off, change the rotation speed of the electric motor 20, drive the electric motor 20 in reverse rotation, and the like. The trigger lever 66 is disposed at the lower part of the rear handle 14 at a position where it can be operated by the index finger of the hand holding the rear handle 14. The lock-off lever 68 is disposed at the upper part of the rear handle 14 at a position where it can be operated by the palm of the hand holding the rear handle 14. The trigger lever 66 is usually mechanically locked by the lock-off lever 68. When the lock-off lever 68 is pressed in, the lock of the trigger lever 66 is released, and the trigger lever 66 is allowed to be pulled up. When the trigger lever 66 is pulled up, a microswitch 70 housed inside the rear housing 12 is pressed down. When the microswitch 70 is pressed while the main power supply of the hedge trimmer 2 is on, the control device 40 operates the electric motor 20 to drive the pair of shear blades 16. When the pulling up operation of the trigger lever 66 is released from this state, the microswitch 70 is no longer pressed. When the microswitch 70 is no longer pressed, the control device 40 stops the electric motor 20 and stops the pair of shear blades 16. Therefore, with the main power supply of the hedge trimmer 2 on, the user can press in the lock-off lever 68 and pull up the trigger lever 66 to drive the pair of shear blades 16.

[0039] A slider 540 that is held by the rear housing 12 to be slidable in the front-rear direction is connected to the rotation lock member 54. The rotation lock member 54 and the slider 540 are connected by inserting a pin 542 formed in the rotation lock member 54 into an elongated hole 544 formed in the slider 540. When the rotation lock member 54 slides, the pin 542 moves along the elongated hole 544, and the slider 540 slides. The slider 540 also has a notched groove 546 formed by cutting out the rear part of the slider 540. The trigger lever 66 has a protrusion 548 that can enter the notched groove 546. As shown in FIG. 3, when the rotation lock member 54 is in the locked position, the slider 540 is in a position that does not mechanically interfere with the trigger lever 66. 4, when the rotation lock member 54 moves to the unlocked position, the slider 540 moves rearward and the protrusion 548 formed on the trigger lever 66 enters the notched groove 546. This mechanically locks the trigger lever 66. As a result, when the user changes the position of the rear housing 12 relative to the base 6, the trigger lever 66 becomes inoperable and the pair of shear blades 16 is prohibited from being driven.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, the base 6 is composed of a base body 72, a handle member 74, a semi-cylinder member 76, and a plate member 78. The base body 72, the handle member 74, the semi-cylinder member 76, and the plate member 78 are fixed to each other by screws (not shown). The handle member 74 is a member that defines the front handle 8 and the hand guard 10. The base 6 also includes a left support part 80 that supports the left part of the mechanism housing 26 via a vibration-isolating member 90a, a right support part 82 that supports the right part of the mechanism housing 26 via a vibration-isolating member 90b, a rear support part 84 that supports the rear part of the mechanism housing 26 via a vibration-isolating member 90c, a left arm part 86 that passes through the left side of the mechanism housing 26 to connect between the left support part 80 and the rear support part 84, and a right arm part 88 that passes through the right side of the mechanism housing 26 to connect between the right support part 82 and the rear support part 84.

[0041] (Vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, 90c) As shown in FIG. 7, the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c are made of a rubber material (e.g., silicone rubber). The vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c are manufactured by, for example, injection molding. In this embodiment, the length direction, width direction, and height direction of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c are defined as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction. The dimension of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c in the X direction is, for example, within a range of 20 mm to 70 mm, and is 50 mm in this embodiment. The dimension of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c in the Y direction is, for example, within a range of 10 mm to 30 mm, and is 15 mm in this embodiment. The dimension of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c in the Z direction is, for example, within a range of 10 mm to 40 mm, and is 25 mm in this embodiment. The vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c are symmetrical with respect to the X and Z directions. Therefore, the following description of the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c will still be valid if the positive and negative signs in the X and Z directions are reversed.

[0042] The vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c have common components, and therefore, in the following description, the components of the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c will be denoted by common reference numerals.

[0043] As shown in Fig. 8, the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c include a first attachment portion 92, a second attachment portion 94 offset in the negative Z direction from the first attachment portion 92, a third attachment portion 96 offset in the negative Z direction from the second attachment portion 94, a first connection portion 98 connecting the first attachment portion 92 and the second attachment portion 94, and a second connection portion 100 connecting the first attachment portion 92 and the third attachment portion 96. A first groove 102 is formed in the outer surface of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c at a location corresponding to the outer surface of the first connection portion 98. A second groove 104 is formed in the outer surface of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c at a location corresponding to the outer surface of the second connection portion 100. The first groove 102 and the second groove 104 extend over the entire circumference of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c in the XY plane, respectively.

[0044] 7, the first mounting portion 92 has a plate shape extending along the XY plane. The first mounting portion 92 has a mounting surface 106 facing the positive Z direction, and a plurality of mounting holes 108 formed by recessing the mounting surface 106 in the negative Z direction. Each of the plurality of mounting holes 108 is an elongated hole having a longitudinal direction in the X direction.

[0045] The second mounting portion 94 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with the length direction being the X direction, the width direction being the Y direction, and the height direction being the Z direction. The second mounting portion 94 includes an end surface 110 facing the positive Y direction, a mounting recess 112 formed by recessing the end surface 110 in the negative Y direction, a plurality of mounting holes 114 formed by recessing the wall surface of the mounting recess 112 in the negative Z direction, a plurality of mounting holes 116 (see FIG. 9) formed by recessing the wall surface of the mounting recess 112 in the positive Z direction, and a plurality of lightening holes 118 formed by penetrating the bottom surface of the mounting recess 112 in the negative Y direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the plurality of mounting holes 116 are connected to the plurality of mounting holes 108 of the first mounting portion 92 via hollow spaces 120 formed inside the first connecting portion 98. In this embodiment, the wall surface defining the multiple mounting holes 116, the wall surface defining the hollow space 120, and the wall surface defining the multiple mounting holes 108 are smoothly connected to each other.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 9, the third mounting portion 96 has a plate shape extending along the XY plane, similar to the first mounting portion 92. The third mounting portion 96 has a mounting surface 122 facing the negative Z direction and a plurality of mounting holes 124 formed by recessing the mounting surface 122 in the positive Z direction. Each of the plurality of mounting holes 124 is an elongated hole having a longitudinal direction in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the plurality of mounting holes 124 are connected to the plurality of mounting holes 114 of the second mounting portion 94 through a hollow space 126 formed inside the second connection portion 100. In this embodiment, the wall surface defining the plurality of mounting holes 124, the wall surface defining the hollow space 126, and the wall surface defining the plurality of mounting holes 114 are smoothly connected.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 11, the vibration-proof member 90a is disposed so that the positive X direction corresponds to the forward direction, the positive Y direction corresponds to the rightward direction, and the positive Z direction corresponds to the upward direction. The first mounting portion 92 is attached to a first mounting element 128 provided on the left part of the handle member 74. The first mounting element 128 has a support surface 130 facing downward (negative Z direction) and a plurality of mounting protrusions 132 protruding downward (negative Z direction) from the support surface 130. The plurality of mounting protrusions 132 each have a shape that can be fitted into the plurality of mounting holes 108. As shown in FIG. 12, the first mounting portion 92 is attached to the first mounting element 128 by fitting the plurality of mounting protrusions 132 into the plurality of mounting holes 108 and abutting the mounting surface 106 against the support surface 130. The second mounting portion 94 shown in FIG. 11 is attached to a second mounting element 134 provided on the left part of the mechanism housing 26 (see FIG. 6). The second mounting element 134 includes a mounting frame 136 protruding leftward (negative Y direction) from the outer surface of the mechanism housing 26, and a plurality of mounting projections 138 protruding upward (positive Z direction) from the upper surface of the mounting frame 136. The mounting frame 136 has a shape that can be fitted into the mounting recess 112. The plurality of mounting projections 138 each have a shape that can be fitted into the plurality of mounting holes 116 (see FIG. 9). As shown in FIG. 12, the second mounting portion 94 is attached to the second mounting element 134 by fitting the mounting frame 136 into the mounting recess 112 and fitting the plurality of mounting projections 138 into the plurality of mounting holes 116. The third mounting portion 96 shown in FIG. 11 is attached to a third mounting element 140 provided on the left arm portion 86. The third mounting element 140 has a support surface 142 facing upward (positive direction in the Z direction) and a plurality of mounting protrusions 144 protruding upward (positive direction in the Z direction) from the support surface 142. The plurality of mounting protrusions 144 each have a shape that can be fitted into a plurality of mounting holes 124 (see FIG. 9). As shown in FIG. 12, the third mounting part 96 is attached to the third mounting element 140 by fitting the plurality of mounting protrusions 144 into the plurality of mounting holes 124 and abutting the mounting surface 122 against the support surface 142. The vibration-proof member 90a is usually sandwiched between the base main body 72 and the handle member 74 and compressed in the vertical direction (Z direction).

[0048] As shown in FIG. 13, the vibration-proof member 90b is disposed so that the positive X-direction is the rearward direction, the positive Y-direction is the leftward direction, and the positive Z-direction is the upward direction. The first mounting portion 92 is attached to a first mounting element 146 provided on the right portion of the handle member 74. The first mounting element 146 has a support surface 148 and a plurality of mounting protrusions 150. The second mounting portion 94 is attached to a second mounting element 152 provided on the right portion of the mechanism housing 26 (see FIG. 6). The second mounting element 152 has a mounting frame 154 and a plurality of mounting protrusions 156. The third mounting portion 96 is attached to a third mounting element 158 ​​provided on the right arm portion 88. The third mounting element 158 ​​has a support surface 160 and a plurality of mounting protrusions 162. The first mounting element 146, the second mounting element 152, and the third mounting element 158 ​​have substantially the same shapes as the above-described first mounting element 128, the second mounting element 134, and the third mounting element 140. Therefore, detailed description of the first mounting element 146, the second mounting element 152, and the third mounting element 158 ​​will be omitted. The vibration-proof member 90b is usually sandwiched between the base main body 72 and the handle member 74, and compressed in the up-down direction (Z direction).

[0049] As shown in FIG. 14, the vibration-proof member 90c is disposed so that the positive X-direction is the leftward direction, the positive Y-direction is the forward direction, and the positive Z-direction is the upward direction. The first mounting portion 92 is attached to a first mounting element 164 provided on the plate member 78. The first mounting element 164 has a support surface 166 (i.e., the lower surface of the plate member 78). Unlike the above-mentioned first mounting elements 128 and 146, the first mounting element 164 does not have protrusions that enter the multiple mounting holes 108 of the first mounting portion 92. As shown in FIG. 15, the first mounting portion 92 is attached to the first mounting element 164 by abutting the mounting surface 106 against the support surface 166. The second mounting portion 94 is attached to a second mounting element 168 provided at the rear of the mechanism housing 26 (see FIG. 6). The second mounting element 168 has a mounting frame 170 and multiple mounting protrusions 172. The third mounting portion 96 is attached to a third mounting element 174 provided at the rear of the base main body 72. The third mounting element 174 has a support surface 176 and a plurality of mounting projections 178. The second mounting element 168 and the third mounting element 174 have substantially the same shapes as the second mounting elements 134, 152 and the third mounting elements 140, 158 described above. For this reason, detailed description of the second mounting element 168 and the third mounting element 174 will be omitted. The vibration-proof member 90c is usually sandwiched between the base main body 72 and the plate member 78 and compressed in the up-down direction (Z direction).

[0050] 8 is an area located on the negative side in the Z direction from the mounting surface 106 and on the positive side in the Z direction from the wall surface on the positive side in the Z direction of the mounting recess 112. Vibrations of one of the first mounting elements 128, 146, 164 (see FIG. 6) and the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168 (see FIG. 6) are transmitted mainly via the first vibration isolation area A1 to the other of the first mounting elements 128, 146, 164 and the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168. The second vibration isolation area A2 is an area located on the positive side in the Z direction from the mounting surface 122 and on the negative side in the Z direction from the wall surface on the negative side in the Z direction of the mounting recess 112. Vibrations of one of the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168 and the third mounting elements 140, 158, 174 (see FIG. 6) are transmitted to the other of the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168 and the third mounting elements 140, 158, 174 mainly via the second vibration isolation area A2.

[0051] The cross section AA shown in FIG. 16a is a cross section perpendicular to the Z direction of a portion of the first vibration isolation region A1 that corresponds to the first mounting portion 92. The cross section BB shown in FIG. 16b is a cross section perpendicular to the Z direction of a portion of the first vibration isolation region A1 that corresponds to the first connecting portion 98. The cross section CC shown in FIG. 16c is a cross section perpendicular to the Z direction of a portion of the first vibration isolation region A1 that corresponds to the second mounting portion 94. The cross section DD shown in FIG. 16d is a cross section perpendicular to the Z direction of a portion of the second vibration isolation region A2 that corresponds to the second mounting portion 94. The cross section EE shown in FIG. 16e is a cross section perpendicular to the Z direction of a portion of the second vibration isolation region A2 that corresponds to the second connecting portion 100. The cross section FF shown in FIG. 16f is a cross section perpendicular to the Z direction of a portion of the second vibration isolation region A2 that corresponds to the third mounting portion 96. If the cross-sectional area of ​​the cross section AA is Sa, the cross-sectional area of ​​the cross section BB is Sb, the cross-sectional area of ​​the cross section CC is Sc, the cross-sectional area of ​​the cross section DD is Sd, the cross-sectional area of ​​the cross section EE is Se, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the cross section FF is Sf, then in this embodiment, the relationship of magnitude Sa=Sc=Sd=Sf>Sb=Se is established. This relationship of magnitude can also be regarded as the relationship of magnitude of the shear stiffness in each cross section. Therefore, in the first vibration isolation region A1, the first connection portion 98 is more susceptible to shear deformation in the X direction and the Y direction than the first attachment portion 92 and the second attachment portion 94. In the second vibration isolation region A2, the second connection portion 100 is more susceptible to shear deformation in the X direction and the Y direction than the second attachment portion 94 and the third attachment portion 96.

[0052] When the pair of shear blades 16 shown in Fig. 6 are driven, the working unit 4 vibrates in the front-rear direction (X direction as viewed from the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, Y direction as viewed from the vibration-isolating member 90c) in accordance with the reciprocating motion of each of the pair of shear blades 16. In this case, the vibration of the working unit 4 is transmitted to the base 6 via the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168, the first vibration-isolating area A1 (see Fig. 8) of the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, 90c, and the first mounting elements 128, 146, 164 in this order. The vibration of the working unit 4 is also transmitted to the base 6 via the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168, the second vibration-isolating area A2 (see Fig. 8) of the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, 90c, and the third mounting elements 140, 158, 174 in this order. However, the vibration transmitted to the base 6 is reduced by the first connection portion 98 being largely sheared in the front-rear direction in the first vibration isolation region A1 of the vibration isolation members 90a, 90b, 90c, and the second connection portion 100 being largely sheared in the front-rear direction in the second vibration isolation region A2 of the vibration isolation members 90a, 90b, 90c. Note that there is no constraint by the recess and the protrusion between the vibration isolation member 90c and the first mounting element 164, and the force (i.e., vibration) is transmitted only by the friction between the mounting surface 106 and the support surface 166. For this reason, it can be considered that the vibration is substantially insulated between the vibration isolation member 90c and the first mounting element 164.

[0053] (Hedge trimmer 2 cooling structure) As shown in FIG. 17 , the motor housing 22 is composed of a left housing member 180 and a right housing member 182. The left housing member 180 and the right housing member 182 are fixed to each other by screws (not shown). A motor support frame 184 is formed on the inner wall of the motor housing 22. The motor support frame 184 supports the electric motor 20 by abutting against the outer surface of the stator 28. The motor support frame 184 is divided into a portion formed in the left housing member 180 and a portion (not shown) formed in the right housing member 182. When the motor housing 22 is removed, the outer surface of the stator 28 is exposed to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2.

[0054] As shown in Fig. 18, the motor housing 22 includes a duct portion 186 extending rearward when viewed from the electric motor 20, an air intake port 188 formed at the rear end of the duct portion 186, an exhaust port 190L formed on the left side of the motor housing 22, and an exhaust port 190R (see Fig. 17) formed on the right side of the motor housing 22. The air intake port 188 opens into a passage portion 192 provided in the base 6. The exhaust ports 190R, 190L each open to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2.

[0055] The rear housing 12 is provided with a through hole 194 that passes through the inside of the shaft portion 46 to connect the inside and outside of the rear housing 12, an exhaust port 196 that corresponds to the front opening of the through hole 194, an air intake port 198L formed in the left surface of the rear housing 12, and an air intake port 198R (see FIG. 1) formed in the right surface of the rear housing 12. The exhaust port 196 opens into the inside of a passage portion 192 provided in the base 6. The air intake ports 198L and 198R each open to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2.

[0056] The passage 192 is provided in front of the shaft holding part 48. The passage 192 and the shaft holding part 48 are formed across the base body 72 and the semi-cylindrical member 76. An opening 200 is provided at the front end of the passage 192, into which the duct part 186 of the motor housing 22 is inserted. A gap 202 is provided between the outer surface of the duct part 186 and the periphery of the opening 200. If the gap 202 was not provided, the motor housing 22 would abut against the semi-cylindrical member 76, and the vibration of the working unit 4 would be directly transmitted to the base 6. By providing the gap 202, the motor housing 22 is prevented from abutting against the semi-cylindrical member 76, and the vibration of the working unit 4 is suppressed from being directly transmitted to the base 6. However, a dustproof member (not shown) that seals the gap 202 is provided in the gap 202. A member (e.g., a sponge) that has a property of not easily transmitting vibrations is used as the dustproof member. This prevents dust and other debris from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 2 through the gap 202.

[0057] The hedge trimmer 2 includes a cooling air flow path F that extends from the outside of the hedge trimmer 2 through the air intakes 198L and 198R of the rear housing 12, the inside of the rear housing 12, the exhaust port 196 of the rear housing 12, the inside of the passage portion 192, the air intake 188 of the motor housing 22, the inside of the motor housing 22, and the exhaust ports 190R and 190L of the motor housing 22 to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2. In this embodiment, a fan 204 that generates an air flow (also simply called cooling air) along the cooling air flow path F is fixed to the output shaft 32. The fan 204 is disposed below the rotor 30 at a position overlapping the exhaust ports 190R and 190L when viewed in the left-right direction. When the electric motor 20 operates, the fan 204 rotates together with the output shaft 32, and cooling air is generated in the cooling air flow path F.

[0058] The cooling air flow path F includes a first flow path portion F1 through which air flows from the air intake ports 198L, 198R toward the front lower portion of the rear housing 12, a second flow path portion F2 through which air flows from the front lower portion of the rear housing 12 through the through hole 194 toward the exhaust port 196, a third flow path portion F3 through which air flows from the exhaust port 196 through the inside of the passage portion 192 toward the air intake port 188, a fourth flow path portion F4 through which air flows from the air intake port 188 through the inside of the duct portion 186 toward the front, a fifth flow path portion F5 through which air flows along the rear surface of the motor support frame 184 toward the upper portion of the motor housing 22, and a sixth flow path portion F6 through which air flows from the upper portion of the motor housing 22 through between the stator 28 and the rotor 30 of the electric motor 20 toward the exhaust ports 190R, 190L.

[0059] The control device 40 is disposed in the first flow path portion F1. The first flow path portion F1 extends along the longitudinal direction (i.e., the front-rear direction) of the control device 40. The air intake ports 198L, 198R of the rear housing 12 are disposed rearward of the rear end of the control device 40. Therefore, the control device 40 can be cooled from the rear end to the front end by the cooling air flowing through the first flow path portion F1.

[0060] 19, when the inside of the passage portion 192 is viewed in the front-rear direction, the air intake port 188 of the motor housing 22 and the exhaust port 196 of the rear housing 12 overlap each other. This allows the cooling air to flow smoothly in the third flow path portion F3.

[0061] Although not shown, electrical wiring is arranged in the cooling air flow path F to connect between the electrical components housed in the rear housing 12 and the electrical components housed in the motor housing 22. For example, electrical wiring is arranged in the cooling air flow path F to electrically connect between the control device 40 housed in the rear housing 12 and the electric motor 20 housed in the motor housing 22.

[0062] 20 shows the rear housing 12, the battery pack B attached to the battery attachment portion 38 of the rear housing 12, and an imaginary circle VC centered on the rotation axis RA. The radius of the imaginary circle VC is within a range of 5 cm to 15 cm, for example, and is 13 cm in this embodiment. When viewed from the axial direction of the rotation axis RA, the rear housing 12 and the battery pack B are located inside the imaginary circle VC.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 2, the center of gravity BG of the battery pack B attached to the battery mounting portion 38 is disposed rearward of the rear end 14r of the rear handle 14. The center of gravity HG of the hedge trimmer 2 is disposed rearward of the rear end 8r of the front handle 8 and forward of the front end 14f of the rear handle 14. The center of gravity HG of the hedge trimmer 2 is disposed inside the motor housing 22. Note that the center of gravity HG indicates the center of gravity of the hedge trimmer 2 in a state in which the battery pack B is attached to the battery mounting portion 38 and in a state in which the rear housing 12 is in a normal position. Although not shown, the center of gravity of the hedge trimmer 2 in a state in which the battery pack B is attached to the battery mounting portion 38 is disposed rearward of the rear end 8r of the front handle 8 and forward of the front end 14f of the rear handle 14 even if the rear housing 12 is in a rotated position.

[0064] (Modification) The working machine may be a working machine (for example, a reciprocating saw, a chain saw, or a brush cutter) other than the hedge trimmer 2. In this case, the working unit 4 may be provided with another working mechanism (for example, a saw blade, a saw chain, or a rotary blade) instead of the pair of shear blades 16.

[0065] The hedge trimmer 2 may be configured so that only one of the pair of shear blades 16 is reciprocated, rather than each of the pair of shear blades 16 being reciprocated.

[0066] The prime mover that drives the pair of shear blades 16 may be a prime mover other than the electric motor 20 (for example, an engine equipped with an internal combustion engine).

[0067] The rear housing 12 may be provided with a power cord for connection to an external power source (for example, a commercial power source or a backpack power source) instead of being provided with the battery mounting portion 38. In this configuration, the hedge trimmer 2 may be operated by power supplied from the external power source via the power cord.

[0068] The electric motor 20 may be a motor other than an inner rotor type brushless motor (for example, an outer rotor type brushless motor, a motor with brushes, etc.).

[0069] The base 6 may be configured to house the motor housing 22 and the mechanism housing 26. This allows the motor housing 22 and the mechanism housing 26 to be hidden when viewed from the outside of the hedge trimmer 2.

[0070] (See FIG. 6) The base 6 may not have the left support portion 80 and the left arm portion 86. In this case, the base 6 may be configured to support the working unit 4 by the right support portion 82 via the vibration-isolating member 90b, and to support the working unit 4 by the rear support portion 84 via the vibration-isolating member 90c. Alternatively, the base 6 may not have the right support portion 82 and the right arm portion 88. In this case, the base 6 may be configured to support the working unit 4 by the left support portion 80 via the vibration-isolating member 90a, and to support the working unit 4 by the rear support portion 84 via the vibration-isolating member 90c.

[0071] (See FIG. 18) The control device 40 does not have to be disposed in the first flow path portion F1. For example, the control device 40 may be disposed in the second flow path portion F2. In this case, the longitudinal direction of the control device 40 may be disposed along the up-down direction. Alternatively, the control device 40 does not have to be disposed in the cooling air flow path F. For example, the control device 40 may be disposed in a position facing the battery mounting portion 38, in front of the battery mounting portion 38.

[0072] (See FIG. 3) The rear housing 12 may be attached to the base 6 so as to be non-rotatable. In this case, the hedge trimmer 2 may not include components such as the rotation lock member 54, the multiple engagement grooves 52, the accommodation groove 58, and the like.

[0073] (See FIG. 17) A member for covering the electric motor 20 (for example, a cylindrical cover extending along the outer surface of the stator 28) may be provided between the motor housing 22 and the electric motor 20. This may result in a configuration in which the outer surface of the stator 28 is not exposed to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2 even if the motor housing 22 is removed.

[0074] (See FIG. 2) The shape of the rear part of the rear housing 12 and the arrangement and shape of the battery mounting portion 38 may be changed. As a result, the sliding direction SD of the battery pack B may be a direction different from the direction described in the embodiment. For example, the sliding direction SD may be a direction from below to above, from left to right, or from rear to front.

[0075] (See FIG. 20) When viewed in the axial direction of the rotation axis RA, at least a portion of the rear housing 12 and the battery pack B may be located outside the imaginary circle VC.

[0076] (See FIG. 2) The center of gravity BG of the battery pack B attached to the battery attachment portion 38 may be located forward of the rear end 14r of the rear handle 14.

[0077] (See FIG. 2) The center of gravity HG of the hedge trimmer 2 may be disposed forward of the rear end 8r of the front handle 8. Alternatively, the center of gravity HG of the hedge trimmer 2 may be disposed rearward of the front end 14f of the rear handle 14.

[0078] (See FIG. 6) Due to the symmetry of vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, 90c in the Z direction, the first mounting portion 92 may be attached to the third mounting elements 140, 158, 174, and the third mounting portion 96 may be attached to the first mounting elements 128, 146, 164. In this case, the second mounting portion 94 may be attached to the second mounting element 134 by fitting multiple mounting projections 138 into multiple mounting holes 114.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 21, the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, 90c may not include the third attachment portion 96 and the second connection portion 100. Even in this case, the working unit 4 can be held on the base 6 by attaching the first attachment portion 92 to the third attachment elements 140, 158, 174 and attaching the second attachment portion 94 to the second attachment elements 134, 152, 168. When the working unit 4 vibrates, the first connection portion 98 undergoes relatively large shear deformation, thereby reducing the vibration transmitted from the second attachment portion 94 to the first attachment portion 92 via the first connection portion 98. This reduces the vibration transmitted from the working unit 4 to the front handle 8 provided on the base 6.

[0080] (See FIG. 7) The shape of the vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The vibration-proof members 90a, 90b, and 90c may have, for example, a substantially cylindrical shape with the height direction being the Z direction.

[0081] (See FIG. 10) The hollow space 120 does not have to be formed inside the first connection part 98. That is, the first connection part 98 may be solid. Moreover, the hollow space 126 does not have to be formed inside the second connection part 100. That is, the second connection part 100 may be solid.

[0082] (See FIG. 7) The second attachment portion 94 does not necessarily have to include the multiple lightening holes 118.

[0083] (See FIG. 7) The shape of the first mounting portion 92 (third mounting portion 96) may be changed. For example, the first mounting portion 92 (third mounting portion 96) may have a protrusion protruding from the mounting surface 106 (mounting surface 122) in the positive Z direction (negative Z direction) instead of the multiple mounting holes 108 (multiple mounting holes 124). The shape of the first mounting elements 128, 146, 164 (third mounting elements 140, 158, 174) may also be changed to match the shape of the first mounting portion 92 (third mounting portion 96). For example, when the first mounting portion 92 (third mounting portion 96) has a protrusion, the first mounting elements 128, 146, 164 (third mounting elements 140, 158, 174) may have a hole or recess that receives the protrusion.

[0084] (See FIG. 7.) The shape of the second mounting portion 94 may be changed. For example, the second mounting portion 94 may not include the multiple mounting holes 114, 116. Also, the second mounting elements 134, 152, 168 may not include the multiple mounting protrusions 138, 156, 172.

[0085] (See FIG. 10) There does not have to be a spatial connection between the multiple mounting holes 108 and the hollow space 120, between the hollow space 120 and the multiple mounting holes 116, between the multiple mounting holes 124 and the hollow space 126, or between the hollow space 126 and the multiple mounting holes 114.

[0086] (Features of Example 1) As described above, in one or more embodiments, the hedge trimmer 2 (an example of a working machine) includes a pair of shear blades 16 (an example of a working mechanism), an electric motor 20 that drives the pair of shear blades 16, and a working unit 4 including a motor housing 22 that houses the electric motor 20, a control device 40 that controls the electric motor 20, a base 6 that supports the working unit 4, a rear housing 12 that is attached to the rear of the base 6, a front handle 8 that is provided on the base 6 and can be held by a user with one hand, and a rear handle 14 that is provided on the rear housing 12 and can be held by a user with the other hand. The base 6 includes a passage 192. The motor housing 22 includes an air intake port 188 (an example of an inner air intake port) that opens into the inside of the passage 192, and exhaust ports 190R, 190L (an example of an outer exhaust port) that open to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2. The rear housing 12 includes air intake ports 198L, 198R (examples of external exhaust ports) that open to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2, and an exhaust port 196 (example of internal exhaust port) that opens to the inside of the passage section 192. A cooling air flow path F is formed that extends from the outside of the hedge trimmer 2 to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2 via the air intake ports 198L, 198R, the inside of the rear housing 12, the exhaust port 196, the inside of the passage section 192, the air intake port 188, the inside of the motor housing 22, and the exhaust ports 190R, 190L. When viewed along the front-rear direction, the air intake port 188 and the exhaust port 196 overlap each other.

[0087] If the air intake port 188 and the exhaust port 196 do not overlap each other when viewed along the front-rear direction, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 196 may not smoothly flow into the air intake port 188. As a result, the flow rate of the cooling air may be insufficient, and the electric motor 20 may not be sufficiently cooled. According to the above configuration, since the air intake port 188 and the exhaust port 196 overlap each other when viewed along the front-rear direction, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 196 smoothly flows into the air intake port 188. Therefore, the flow rate of the cooling air increases, and the electric motor 20 can be sufficiently cooled. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the air intake ports 198L and 198R that open to the outside of the hedge trimmer 2 are provided in the rear housing 12 away from the pair of shear blades 16, so that it is possible to prevent foreign matter scattered with the driving of the pair of shear blades 16 from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 2.

[0088] In one or more embodiments, the control device 40 is housed in the rear housing 12. The control device 40 is disposed in the cooling air flow path F.

[0089] According to the above configuration, not only the electric motor 20 but also the control device 40 can be cooled by the cooling air.

[0090] In one or more embodiments, the cooling air flow path F includes a first flow path portion F1 that is formed inside the rear housing 12 and extends along the front-rear direction. The control device 40 is disposed in the first flow path portion F1 such that the longitudinal direction is along the front-rear direction.

[0091] According to the above configuration, the cooling air flows along the longitudinal direction of the control device 40, so that the control device 40 can be cooled efficiently.

[0092] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing 12 is rotatably mounted to the base 6 about a predetermined rotation axis RA, and its position relative to the base 6 is changeable between a normal position and a rotated position rotated from the normal position about the rotation axis RA.

[0093] According to the above configuration, the user can change the positional relationship between the front handle 8 and the rear handle 14 by changing the position of the rear housing 12 relative to the base 6. For example, the user can adjust the positional relationship between the front handle 8 and the rear handle 14 so that the user can hold the hedge trimmer 2 in a comfortable position.

[0094] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing 12 includes a shaft portion 46 extending along the rotation axis RA. The base 6 includes a shaft holding portion 48 that holds the shaft portion 46 rotatably about the rotation axis RA. A through hole 194 is formed in the shaft portion 46, passing through the inside of the shaft portion 46 to connect between the inside and the outside of the rear housing 12. Of the openings of the through hole 194, an opening facing the outside of the rear housing 12 functions as an exhaust port 196.

[0095] If the exhaust port 196 were disposed at a position away from the rotation axis RA, the positional relationship between the air intake port 188 and the exhaust port 196 would change significantly when the rear housing 12 was rotated relative to the base 6. Therefore, depending on the position of the rear housing 12 relative to the base 6, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 196 may not smoothly flow into the air intake port 188. According to the above configuration, the exhaust port 196 is provided in the shaft portion 46, and therefore the exhaust port 196 is disposed near the rotation axis RA. As a result, even if the rear housing 12 is rotated relative to the base 6, the positional relationship between the air intake port 188 and the exhaust port 196 does not change much. Therefore, regardless of the position of the rear housing 12 relative to the base 6, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 196 can smoothly flow into the air intake port 188.

[0096] In one or more embodiments, the electric motor 20 is an inner rotor brushless motor including a stator 28, a rotor 30 disposed inside the stator 28, and an output shaft 32 fixed to the rotor 30. When the motor housing 22 is removed from the hedge trimmer 2, the outer surface of the stator 28 is exposed to the exterior of the hedge trimmer 2.

[0097] If a member covering the outer surface of the stator 28 were provided separately from the motor housing 22, there would be a possibility that heat would build up in the stator 28 (i.e., the electric motor 20). With the above configuration, there is no member covering the outer surface of the stator 28 other than the motor housing 22, so heat can be prevented from building up in the electric motor 20.

[0098] In one or more embodiments, the working mechanism includes a pair of shear blades 16 (an example of a pair of blades) extending along the front-rear direction. The pair of shear blades 16 are driven by an electric motor 20 to relatively reciprocate in the front-rear direction.

[0099] According to the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to prevent foreign matter scattered as the pair of shear blades 16 are driven from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 2, and it is possible to sufficiently cool the electric motor 20.

[0100] (Example 2: Hedge trimmer 302) As shown in Fig. 22, the working machine of this embodiment is a hedge trimmer 302. The hedge trimmer 302 is a gardening tool mainly used for pruning hedges and plants. The hedge trimmer 302 includes a working unit 304, a base 306 that supports the working unit 304, a front handle 308 provided on the base 306, a rear housing 312 attached to the rear of the base 306, and a rear handle 314 provided on the rear housing 312.

[0101] The working unit 304 includes a pair of shear blades 316. The pair of shear blades 316 extends linearly and has a plurality of cutting edges 318 along its longitudinal direction. The pair of shear blades 316 reciprocate with each other to prune hedges and plants with the plurality of cutting edges 318. In this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the pair of shear blades 316, that is, the direction from the base 306 toward the pair of shear blades 316, is the forward direction, and the direction from the pair of shear blades 316 toward the base 306 is the rearward direction. In addition, the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and parallel to the plane in which the plurality of cutting edges 318 of the pair of shear blades 316 extend is the left-right direction. The direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, that is, the direction from the pair of shear blades 316 toward the front handle 308 is the upward direction, and the direction from the front handle 308 toward the pair of shear blades 316 is the downward direction.

[0102] The front handle 308 is provided at the front of the base 306, and has a generally U-shape that is open downward. The front handle 308 extends to the left, upper, and right of the base 306. The outer surface of the front handle 308 has a generally cylindrical shape. The rear handle 314 is provided at the top of the rear housing 312, and extends linearly in the front-to-rear direction. The outer surface of the rear housing 312 has a generally cylindrical shape. A user can carry the hedge trimmer 302 by holding the front handle 308 with one hand and the rear handle 314 with the other hand.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 23, the working unit 304 further includes an electric motor 320, a motor housing 322, a power transmission mechanism 324, and a mechanism housing 326. The electric motor 320 is, for example, an inner rotor type brushless motor including a stator 328, a rotor 330 disposed inside the stator 328, and an output shaft 332 fixed to the rotor 330. The electric motor 320 is accommodated in the motor housing 322. The motor housing 322 is fixed to an upper portion of the mechanism housing 326. The output shaft 332 of the electric motor 320 is rotatably held by the motor housing 322 via a bearing 334, and is rotatably held by the mechanism housing 326 via a bearing 336. The output shaft 332 extends along the vertical direction and straddles between the motor housing 322 and the mechanism housing 326. The mechanism housing 326 accommodates the power transmission mechanism 324 and supports a pair of shear blades 316. An output shaft 332 of the electric motor 320 is connected to the pair of shear blades 316 via a power transmission mechanism 324. The power transmission mechanism 324 is, for example, a crank cam, and converts the rotational motion of the output shaft 332 into the reciprocating motion of each of the pair of shear blades 316. The reciprocating directions of the pair of shear blades 316 are respectively along the front-rear direction.

[0104] A battery mounting portion 338 for detachably mounting a battery pack B' is provided at the lower rear portion of the rear housing 312. The battery pack B' is mounted on the battery mounting portion 338 by sliding it from the rear to the front.

[0105] A control device 340 that controls each part of the hedge trimmer 302 is accommodated in the front lower part of the rear housing 312. The control device 340 includes a control board 342 and a controller case 344 that accommodates the control board 342. The control board 342 is equipped with, for example, a microcomputer composed of a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and an inverter circuit composed of a plurality of switching elements (for example, FETs). The control device 340 can convert DC power supplied from the battery pack B' into three-phase AC power and supply it to the electric motor 320.

[0106] The rear housing 312 includes a shaft portion 346 having a substantially cylindrical shape. The shaft portion 346 is provided at the front of the rear housing 312. The base 306 also includes a shaft holder 348 that holds the shaft portion 346 rotatably about a rotation axis RA'. The shaft holder 348 is provided at the rear of the base 306. The rotation axis RA' is on a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction, and is inclined from top to bottom as it moves from rear to front. The inclination angle θ' of the rotation axis RA' with respect to the front-rear direction is in the range of, for example, 0 degrees to 30 degrees, and is 10 degrees in this embodiment, when the clockwise direction is positive as viewed from the right.

[0107] As shown in FIG. 24, the shaft holding portion 348 includes a cylindrical surface 350 that rotatably holds the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 346, and a plurality of engagement grooves 352 (partly not shown) that are formed by recessing the cylindrical surface 350 toward the radially outward side of the rotation axis RA' (see FIG. 23). The rear housing 312 is provided with a rotation lock member 354 for locking the rotation of the shaft portion 346 relative to the base 306 (i.e., the rotation of the rear housing 312 relative to the base 306). The rotation lock member 354 includes an operation portion 356 that a user places his / her finger on to operate, a spring accommodating portion 360 that accommodates a coil spring 358, and a lock piece 362 that extends forward from the front end of the spring accommodating portion 360. The operation portion 356 is disposed outside the rear housing 312. The spring accommodating portion 360 and the lock piece 362 are disposed inside the rear housing 312. The rotation lock member 354 is usually in a locked position (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 24) in which the lock piece 362 is inserted into one of the engagement grooves 352. The rotation lock member 354 is slidable in the front-rear direction between this locked position and an unlocked position in which the lock piece 362 is removed from the engagement groove 352 as shown in FIG. 25. As shown in FIG. 23, the rear end of the coil spring 358 abuts against a support protrusion 364 formed on the inner wall of the rear housing 312. The coil spring 358 biases the rotation lock member 354 forward against the support protrusion 364. Therefore, when the user does not operate the operation unit 356, the rotation lock member 354 is held in the locked position shown in FIG. 24 by the biasing force of the coil spring 358. When the rotation lock member 354 is in the locked position, the rear housing 312 is mechanically locked to the base 306, and the rotation of the rear housing 312 relative to the base 306 is prohibited. From this state, when the user pulls out the operation unit 356 rearward against the biasing force of the coil spring 358, the rotation lock member 354 moves to the unlocked position shown in Fig. 25. When the rotation lock member 354 is in the unlocked position, the rear housing 312 is unlocked from the base 306, and the rear housing 312 is allowed to rotate relative to the base 306.

[0108] The user can change the position of the rear housing 312 relative to the base 306 by rotating the rear housing 312 with the rotation lock member 354 moved to the unlocked position and engaging the lock piece 362 with another engagement groove 352. For example, the position of the rear housing 312 can be changed from the normal position shown in FIG. 22 to a rotated position as shown in FIG. 26. This allows the user to adjust the positional relationship between the front handle 308 and the rear handle 314 so that the user can hold the hedge trimmer 302 in a comfortable position. When the rear housing 312 is in the normal position shown in FIG. 22, the lower surface of the base 306 and the lower surface of the rear housing 312 are substantially flush with each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23, the hedge trimmer 302 can be placed on a placement surface P such as the ground with the lower surfaces of the base 306 and the rear housing 312 facing vertically downward. Therefore, in this embodiment, the lower surface of the base 306 / the lower surface of the rear housing 312 when the rear housing 312 is in the normal position are also referred to as a bottom surface 366 of the base 306 / a bottom surface 368 of the rear housing 312, respectively. In the following, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that the rear housing 312 is in the normal position.

[0109] 23, a grip detection lever 370 that can be operated by the fingers of a user gripping the front handle 308 is provided on the outer surface of the front handle 308. A grip detection switch 371 that is pressed when the grip detection lever 370 is operated is provided inside the front handle 308. The grip detection switch 371 can detect whether the grip detection lever 370 has been operated.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 24, the rear housing 312 is provided with an operation button 372, a trigger lever 374, and a lock-off lever 376. The operation button 372 is disposed on the upper surface of the rear handle 314. By operating the operation button 372, a user can switch the main power supply of the hedge trimmer 302 on / off, change the rotation speed of the electric motor 320, drive the electric motor 320 in reverse rotation, and the like. The trigger lever 374 is disposed at the lower part of the rear handle 314 in a position where it can be operated by the index finger of the hand holding the rear handle 314. The lock-off lever 376 is disposed at the upper part of the rear handle 314 in a position where it can be operated by the palm of the hand holding the rear handle 314. The trigger lever 374 is usually mechanically locked by the lock-off lever 376. When the lock-off lever 376 is pressed in, the lock of the trigger lever 374 is released, and the trigger lever 374 is allowed to be pulled up. When the trigger lever 374 is pulled up, a microswitch 378 housed inside the rear housing 312 is pressed down. When the pulling operation of the trigger lever 374 is released from this state, the trigger lever 374 is returned to its original position (the position shown in FIG. 24) by the biasing force of the torsion spring 379, and the microswitch 378 is no longer pressed down. The microswitch 378 can detect whether the trigger lever 374 has been operated.

[0111] When the microswitch 378 and the grip detection switch 371 (see FIG. 23) are pressed while the main power supply of the hedge trimmer 302 is on, the control device 340 operates the electric motor 320 (see FIG. 23) to drive the pair of shear blades 316 (see FIG. 23). When at least one of the microswitch 378 and the grip detection switch 371 is no longer pressed from this state, the control device 340 stops the electric motor 320 and stops the pair of shear blades 316. Therefore, while the main power supply of the hedge trimmer 302 is on, the user can drive the pair of shear blades 316 by pushing in the lock-off lever 376 and the grip detection lever 370 (see FIG. 23) and pulling up the trigger lever 374.

[0112] 27, the base 306 is composed of a base body 382, ​​a handle member 384, a semi-cylindrical member 386, and a bottom plate 390. The base body 382, ​​the handle member 384, the semi-cylindrical member 386, and the bottom plate 390 are fixed to each other by screws (not shown). The handle member 384 is a member that defines the front handle 308. The base 306 also includes a left side support portion 392 that supports the left portion of the mechanism housing 326 via an anti-vibration member 402a, a right side support portion 394 that supports the right portion of the mechanism housing 326 via an anti-vibration member 402b, a rear side support portion 396 that supports the rear portion of the mechanism housing 326 via an anti-vibration member 402c, a left side arm portion 398 that passes through the left side of the mechanism housing 326 to connect between the left side support portion 392 and the rear side support portion 396, and a right side arm portion 400 that passes through the right side of the mechanism housing 326 to connect between the right side support portion 394 and the rear side support portion 396.

[0113] The vibration-isolating members 402a, 402b, and 402c are substantially similar to the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c described in embodiment 1. The structure in which the base 306 supports the mechanism housing 326 via the vibration-isolating members 402a, 402b, and 402c is substantially similar to the structure in which the base 306 supports the mechanism housing 326 via the vibration-isolating members 90a, 90b, and 90c described in embodiment 1. Therefore, for a detailed description of these, please refer to embodiment 1.

[0114] (Cooling structure of hedge trimmer 302) As shown in FIG. 28, the motor housing 322 is composed of a left housing member 404 and a right housing member 406. The left housing member 404 and the right housing member 406 are fixed to each other by screws (not shown). A motor support frame 408 is formed on the inner wall of the motor housing 322. The motor support frame 408 supports the electric motor 320 by abutting against the outer surface of the stator 328. The motor support frame 408 is divided into a portion formed in the left housing member 404 and a portion (not shown) formed in the right housing member 406. When the motor housing 322 is removed, the outer surface of the stator 328 is exposed to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302.

[0115] As shown in Figure 29, the motor housing 322 includes a duct portion 410 extending rearward when viewed from the electric motor 320, an air intake port 412 formed at the rear end of the duct portion 410, an exhaust port 414 formed on the underside of the motor housing 322, a partition wall 416 that separates the air intake port 412 and the exhaust port 414 inside the motor housing 322, and a plurality of ribs 418 provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port 414.

[0116] The air intake port 412 opens to the inside of a passage portion 420 provided in the base 306 along the front-rear direction. The exhaust port 414 opens to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 along the up-down direction. The direction from the inside to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 through the exhaust port 414 is along the downward direction (i.e., the direction in which the bottom surface 366 of the base 306 faces). The exhaust port 414 faces an upper surface 424 of a mounting frame 422 of the mechanism housing 326. The mounting frame 422 is a component corresponding to the mounting frame 170 (see FIG. 14) of the first embodiment. The upper surface 424 of the mounting frame 422 is a plane parallel to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and is disposed at a position offset downward from the exhaust port 414 (the lower surface of the motor housing 322). The distance between the upper surface 424 of the mounting frame 422 and the exhaust port 414 (i.e., the lower surface of the motor housing 322) is, for example, within a range of 5 mm to 30 mm, and is 12 mm in this embodiment. The multiple ribs 418 are arranged in a direction (front-rear direction) perpendicular to the opening direction (up-down direction) of the exhaust port 414. As shown in FIG. 28, each of the multiple ribs 418 includes a first wall portion 426 extending in the up-down direction and a second wall portion 428 extending forward from an upper end of the first wall portion 426. When a foreign object (e.g., dust or chips) enters the exhaust port 414, the multiple ribs 418 can receive the foreign object with the second wall portion 428, thereby preventing the foreign object from entering further inside the motor housing 322.

[0117] As shown in FIG. 29, the rear housing 312 has a through hole 430 that passes through the inside of the shaft portion 346 to connect the inside and outside of the rear housing 312, an exhaust port 432 that corresponds to the front opening of the through hole 430, and an air intake port 436 that faces the front surface of the battery pack B' attached to the battery mounting portion 338.

[0118] The exhaust port 432 opens into the inside of the passage portion 420 provided in the base 306 along the extending direction of the rotation axis RA' (see FIG. 23). The air supply port 436 is formed in the outer wall of the rear housing 312 and opens to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302. The direction from the outside to the inside of the hedge trimmer 302 through the air supply port 436 is from the rear lower to the front upper. A plurality of ribs 438 are provided near the air supply port 436. The plurality of ribs 438 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the opening direction of the air supply port 436 (from the rear upper to the front lower). Each of the plurality of ribs 438 includes a first wall portion 440 extending from the outer wall of the rear housing 312 to the front upper side and a second wall portion 442 extending from the upper end of the first wall portion 440 to the rear upper side. If foreign matter (e.g., dust or chips) enters the air intake port 436, the multiple ribs 438 can receive the foreign matter with the second wall portion 442, thereby preventing the foreign matter from penetrating further into the motor housing 322.

[0119] The passage 420 is provided in front of the shaft holding part 348. The passage 420 and the shaft holding part 348 are formed across the base body 382 and the semi-cylindrical member 386. An opening 444 is provided at the front end of the passage 420, into which the duct part 410 of the motor housing 322 is inserted. A gap 446 is provided between the outer surface of the duct part 410 and the inner surface of the passage 420. If the gap 446 is not provided, the motor housing 322 will abut against the base 306, and the vibration of the working unit 304 will be directly transmitted to the base 306. By providing the gap 446, the motor housing 322 is prevented from abutting against the base 306, and the vibration of the working unit 304 is suppressed from being directly transmitted to the base 306. However, a dustproof member 448 that seals the gap 446 is provided in the gap 446. A material (for example, sponge) that has a property of not easily transmitting vibrations is used for the dustproof member 448. This prevents dust and other debris from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 302 through the gap 446.

[0120] The hedge trimmer 302 includes a cooling air flow path F' that extends from the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 through the air intake 436 of the rear housing 312, the inside of the rear housing 312, the exhaust port 432 of the rear housing 312, the inside of the passage section 420, the air intake 412 of the motor housing 322, the inside of the motor housing 322, and the exhaust port 414 of the motor housing 322 to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302. In this embodiment, a fan 450 that generates an air flow (also simply called cooling air) along the cooling air flow path F' is fixed to the output shaft 332. The fan 450 is disposed below the rotor 330. When the electric motor 320 operates, the fan 450 rotates together with the output shaft 332, and cooling air is generated in the cooling air flow path F'.

[0121] The cooling air flow path F' includes a first flow path portion F1' through which air flows from the air intake port 436, passing through the front lower part of the rear housing 312 toward the through hole 430; a second flow path portion F2' through which air flows through the through hole 430 toward the exhaust port 432; a third flow path portion F3' through which air flows from the exhaust port 432 through the inside of the passage portion 420 toward the air intake port 412; a fourth flow path portion F4' through which air flows from the air intake port 412 through the inside of the duct portion 410 and the space above the partition wall 416 toward the front; a fifth flow path portion F5' through which air flows along the rear surface of the motor support frame 408 toward the upper part of the motor housing 322; a sixth flow path portion F6' through which air flows downward from the upper part of the motor housing 322 through between the stator 328 and the rotor 330 of the electric motor 320; and a seventh flow path portion F7' through which air flows through the space below the partition wall 416 toward the exhaust port 414.

[0122] The control device 340 is disposed in the first flow path portion F1' so as to face the air supply port 436. Specifically, the control device 340 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction is along a direction perpendicular to the opening direction of the air supply port 436 (direction from the upper rear to the lower front). Therefore, when the fan 450 rotates, the cooling air flows so as to go around the control device 340, and the heat around the control device 340 is guided to the exhaust port 414 by the cooling air without fail. This allows the control device 340 to be cooled efficiently.

[0123] Furthermore, when the inside of the passage portion 420 is viewed in the front-rear direction, the air intake port 412 of the motor housing 322 and the air exhaust port 432 of the rear housing 312 overlap each other. This allows the cooling air to flow smoothly in the third flow path portion F3'.

[0124] Although not shown, electrical wiring is arranged in the cooling air flow path F' to connect between the electrical components housed in the rear housing 312 and the electrical components housed in the motor housing 322. For example, electrical wiring is arranged in the cooling air flow path F' to electrically connect between the control device 340 housed in the rear housing 312 and the electric motor 320 housed in the motor housing 322.

[0125] (Modification) The working machine may be a working machine (e.g., a reciprocating saw, a chain saw, a brush cutter) other than the hedge trimmer 302. In this case, the working unit 304 may be provided with another working mechanism (e.g., a saw blade, a saw chain, a rotary blade) instead of the pair of shear blades 316.

[0126] The hedge trimmer 302 may be configured to reciprocate only one of the pair of shear blades 316, rather than reciprocating each of the pair of shear blades 316.

[0127] The prime mover that drives the pair of shear blades 316 may be a prime mover other than the electric motor 320 (for example, an engine equipped with an internal combustion engine).

[0128] The rear housing 312 may be provided with a power cord for connection to an external power source (for example, a commercial power source or a backpack power source) instead of being provided with the battery mounting portion 338. In this configuration, the hedge trimmer 302 may be operated by power supplied from the external power source via the power cord.

[0129] The electric motor 320 may be a motor other than an inner rotor type brushless motor (for example, an outer rotor type brushless motor, a motor with brushes, etc.).

[0130] The base 306 may be configured to house the motor housing 322 and the mechanism housing 326. This may allow the motor housing 322 and the mechanism housing 326 to be concealed from view from the exterior of the hedge trimmer 302.

[0131] (See FIG. 29) The control device 340 does not have to be disposed in the first flow path portion F1'. For example, the control device 340 may be disposed in the second flow path portion F2'. Alternatively, the control device 340 does not have to be disposed in the cooling air flow path F'. For example, the control device 340 may be disposed above the battery mounting portion 338, at a position facing the battery mounting portion 338.

[0132] (See FIG. 24) The rear housing 312 may be attached to the base 306 so as to be non-rotatable. In this case, the hedge trimmer 302 may not include components such as the rotation lock member 354 and the multiple engagement grooves 352.

[0133] (See FIG. 28) A member for covering the electric motor 320 (for example, a cylindrical cover extending along the outer surface of the stator 328) may be provided between the motor housing 322 and the electric motor 320. This may result in a configuration in which the outer surface of the stator 328 is not exposed to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 even if the motor housing 322 is removed.

[0134] (See FIG. 28) The hedge trimmer 302 does not necessarily have to include an element (eg, the mounting frame 422 of the mechanism housing 326) that faces the exhaust port 414 from the outside of the hedge trimmer 302.

[0135] (See FIG. 28) The exhaust port 414 may be provided on a surface other than the bottom surface of the motor housing 322 (for example, the front, left or top surface of the motor housing 322). This allows the direction from the inside of the hedge trimmer 302 to the outside via the exhaust port 414 to be a direction other than the downward direction (for example, the forward or left direction). In this case, the mechanism housing 326 may further include a wall surface facing the exhaust port 414. This wall surface can prevent foreign matter (for example, dust and cuttings) outside the hedge trimmer 302 from reaching the exhaust port 414 and can also reduce the force of the air discharged from the exhaust port 414.

[0136] (See FIG. 28) The air intake port 436 may be provided at a position that does not face the battery pack B' attached to the battery attachment portion 338. The air intake port 436 may be provided at the rear, left or top surface of the rear housing 312, for example.

[0137] (Features of Example 2) As described above, in one or more embodiments, the hedge trimmer 302 (an example of a working machine) includes a pair of shear blades 316 (an example of a working mechanism), an electric motor 320 that drives the pair of shear blades 316, and a working unit 304 including a motor housing 322 that houses the electric motor 320, a control device 340 that controls the electric motor 320, a base 306 that supports the working unit 304, a rear housing 312 that is attached to the rear of the base 306, a front handle 308 that is provided on the base 306 and can be held by a user with one hand, and a rear handle 314 that is provided on the rear housing 312 and can be held by a user with the other hand. The base 306 includes a passage 420. The motor housing 322 includes an air intake 412 (an example of an inner air intake) that opens into the inside of the passage 420, and an exhaust 414 (an example of an outer exhaust) that opens to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302. The rear housing 312 includes an air intake port 436 (an example of an external exhaust port) that opens to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302, and an exhaust port 432 (an example of an internal exhaust port) that opens to the inside of the passage section 420. A cooling air flow path F' is formed that extends from the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 via the air intake port 436, the inside of the rear housing 312, the exhaust port 432, the inside of the passage section 420, the air intake port 412, the inside of the motor housing 322, and the exhaust port 414. When viewed along the front-rear direction, the air intake port 412 and the exhaust port 432 overlap each other.

[0138] If the air inlet 412 and the exhaust port 432 do not overlap each other when viewed in the front-rear direction, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 432 may not smoothly flow into the air inlet 412. As a result, the flow rate of the cooling air may be insufficient, and the electric motor 320 may not be sufficiently cooled. According to the above configuration, since the air inlet 412 and the exhaust port 432 overlap each other when viewed in the front-rear direction, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 432 smoothly flows into the air inlet 412. Therefore, the flow rate of the cooling air increases, and the electric motor 320 can be sufficiently cooled. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the air inlet 436 opening to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 is provided in the rear housing 312 away from the pair of shear blades 316, so that it is possible to prevent foreign matter scattered with the driving of the pair of shear blades 316 from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 302.

[0139] In one or more embodiments, the control device 340 is housed in the rear housing 312. The control device 340 is disposed in the cooling air flow path F'.

[0140] According to the above configuration, not only the electric motor 320 but also the control device 340 can be cooled by the cooling air.

[0141] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing 312 is rotatably mounted to the base 306 about a predetermined rotation axis RA', and its position relative to the base 306 is changeable between a normal position and a rotated position rotated from the normal position about the rotation axis RA'.

[0142] According to the above configuration, the user can change the positional relationship between the front handle 308 and the rear handle 314 by changing the position of the rear housing 312 relative to the base 306. For example, the user can adjust the positional relationship between the front handle 308 and the rear handle 314 so that the user can hold the hedge trimmer 302 in a comfortable position.

[0143] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing 312 includes a shaft portion 346 extending along the rotation axis RA'. The base 306 includes a shaft holder 348 that holds the shaft portion 346 rotatably about the rotation axis RA'. A through hole 430 is formed in the shaft portion 346, passing through the inside of the shaft portion 346 and connecting between the inside and the outside of the rear housing 312. Of the openings of the through hole 430, an opening facing the outside of the rear housing 312 functions as an exhaust port 432.

[0144] If the exhaust port 432 is disposed at a position away from the rotation axis RA', the positional relationship between the air inlet 412 and the exhaust port 432 changes significantly when the rear housing 312 is rotated relative to the base 306. Therefore, depending on the position of the rear housing 312 relative to the base 306, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 432 may not smoothly flow into the air inlet 412. According to the above configuration, the exhaust port 432 is provided in the shaft portion 346, so that the exhaust port 432 is disposed near the rotation axis RA'. As a result, even if the rear housing 312 is rotated relative to the base 306, the positional relationship between the air inlet 412 and the exhaust port 432 does not change much. Therefore, regardless of the position of the rear housing 312 relative to the base 306, the air flowing out from the exhaust port 432 can smoothly flow into the air inlet 412.

[0145] In one or more embodiments, the electric motor 320 is an inner rotor brushless motor including a stator 328, a rotor 330 disposed inside the stator 328, and an output shaft 332 fixed to the rotor 330. When the motor housing 322 is removed from the hedge trimmer 302, the outer surface of the stator 328 is exposed to the exterior of the hedge trimmer 302.

[0146] If a member covering the outer surface of stator 328 were provided separately from motor housing 322, there is a possibility that heat would build up in electric motor 320. With the above configuration, there is no member covering the outer surface of stator 328 other than motor housing 322, so that heat can be prevented from building up in electric motor 320.

[0147] In one or more embodiments, the working mechanism includes a pair of shear blades 316 (an example of a pair of blades) extending along the front-rear direction. The pair of shear blades 316 are driven by an electric motor 320 to relatively reciprocate in the front-rear direction.

[0148] According to the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to prevent foreign matter scattered as the pair of shear blades 316 are driven from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 302, and it is possible to sufficiently cool the electric motor 320.

[0149] In one or more embodiments, the working unit 304 further includes a mechanism housing 326 that supports the pair of shear blades 316. The mechanism housing 326 is exposed to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 and has an upper surface 424 (an example of an opposing surface) that faces the exhaust port 414.

[0150] According to the above configuration, the mechanism housing 326 is disposed to face the exhaust port 414. This makes it difficult for foreign matter (e.g., dust and cuttings) outside the hedge trimmer 302 to reach the exhaust port 414, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 302 from the outside via the exhaust port 414. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the air immediately after being discharged from the exhaust port 414 hits the upper surface 424 of the mounting frame 422, thereby reducing the force of the air. This prevents the air discharged from the exhaust port 414 from hitting the user's body with force, thereby preventing the user from feeling uncomfortable.

[0151] In one or more embodiments, the base 306 has a bottom surface 366 that faces the mounting surface P when the hedge trimmer 302 is placed on the mounting surface P. The direction (downward) from the inside to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 through the exhaust port 414 is along the direction (downward) in which the bottom surface 366 of the base 306 faces.

[0152] Usually, the bottom surface 366 of the base 306 is not provided with a handle or the like for the user to grasp. Therefore, when the user uses the hedge trimmer 302, it is expected that the user's body is not in the space toward which the bottom surface 366 of the base 306 faces. According to the above configuration, the direction from the inside to the outside of the hedge trimmer 302 via the exhaust port 414 (i.e., the direction of the air discharged from the exhaust port 414) is directed toward the space toward which the bottom surface 366 of the base 306 faces (i.e., the space where the user's body is not expected to be). This makes it possible to prevent the air discharged from the exhaust port 414 from hitting the user's body, thereby making it possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable.

[0153] In one or more embodiments, the rear housing 312 includes a battery mounting portion 338 to which a battery pack B' is removably attached. The air inlet 436 faces the battery pack B' attached to the battery mounting portion 338.

[0154] According to the above configuration, the battery pack B' is disposed so as to face the air intake 436. This makes it difficult for foreign matter (e.g., dust and cuttings) outside the hedge trimmer 302 to reach the air intake 436, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the inside of the hedge trimmer 302 from the outside via the air intake 436. [Explanation of symbols]

[0155] 2: hedge trimmer, 4: working unit, 6: base, 8: front handle, 8r: rear end of front handle, 10: hand guard, 12: rear housing, 14: rear handle, 14f: front end of rear handle, 14r: rear end of rear handle, 16: pair of shear blades, 18: cutting edge, 20: electric motor, 22: motor housing, 24: power transmission mechanism, 26: mechanism housing, 28: stator, 30: rotor, 32: output shaft, 34: bearing, 36: bearing, 38: battery mounting portion, 40: control device, 42: control board, 44: controller case base, 46: shaft portion, 48: shaft holding portion, 50: cylindrical surface, 52: engagement groove, 54: rotation lock member, 56: lock piece, 58: accommodation groove, 60: operation portion, 62: coil spring, 63: support protrusion, 64: operation button, 66: trigger lever, 68: lock-off lever, 70: microswitch, 72: base body, 74: handle member, 76: semi-cylindrical member, 78: plate member, 80: left side support portion, 82: right side support portion, 84: rear side support portion, 86: left side arm portion, 88: right side arm portion, 90a: vibration-proof member, 90b: vibration-proof member, 90c: vibration-proof member, 92: first mounting portion, 94: second mounting portion, 96: third mounting portion, 98: first connection portion, 100: second connection portion, 102: first groove, 104: second groove, 106: mounting surface, 108: mounting hole, 110: end face, 112: mounting recess, 114: mounting hole, 116: mounting hole, 118: lightening hole, 120: hollow space, 122: mounting surface, 124: mounting hole, 126: hollow space, 128: first mounting element, 130: support surface, 132: mounting protrusion, 134: second mounting element, 136: mounting frame, 138: mounting protrusion, 140: third mounting element, 142: support surface, 144: mounting protrusion, 146: first mounting element, 148 : Support surface, 150: mounting projection, 152: second mounting element, 154: mounting frame, 156: mounting projection, 158: third mounting element, 160: support surface, 162: mounting projection, 164: first mounting element, 166: support surface, 168: second mounting element, 170: mounting frame, 172: mounting projection, 174: third mounting element, 176: support surface, 178: mounting projection, 180: left housing member, 182: right housing member, 184: motor support frame, 186: duct portion, 188: air intake port, 190L: exhaust port, 190R: exhaust port, 192: passage portion, 194: through hole, 196: exhaust port,198L: air intake port, 198R: air intake port, 200: opening, 202: gap, 204: fan, 540: slider, 542: pin, 544: long hole, 546: notch groove, 548: protrusion, A1: first vibration-proof area, A2: second vibration-proof area, B: battery pack, F: cooling air flow path, F1: first flow path part, F2: second flow path part, F3: third flow path part, F4: fourth flow path part, F5: fifth flow path part, F6: sixth flow path part, 302: hedge trimmer, 304: working unit, 306: base, 308: front handle, 312: rear housing, 314: rear handle, 316: pair shear blade, 318: cutting edge, 320: electric motor, 322: motor housing, 324: power transmission mechanism, 326: mechanism housing, 328: stator, 330: rotor, 332: output shaft, 334: bearing, 336: bearing, 338: battery mounting portion, 340: control device, 342: control board, 344: controller case, 346: shaft portion, 348: shaft holding portion, 350: cylindrical surface, 352: engagement groove, 354: rotation lock member, 356: operation portion, 358: coil spring, 360: spring housing portion, 362: lock piece, 364: support protrusion, 36 6: bottom surface of base, 368: bottom surface of rear housing, 370: grip detection lever, 371: grip detection switch, 372: operation button, 374: trigger lever, 376: lock-off lever, 378: microswitch, 379: torsion spring, 382: base body, 384: handle member, 386: semi-cylindrical member, 390: bottom plate, 392: left side support part, 394: right side support part, 396: rear side support part, 398: left side arm part, 400: right side arm part, 402a: vibration-proof member, 402b: vibration-proof member, 402c: vibration-proof member, 404: left side housing member, 406: right side housing a duct portion, 408: motor support frame, 410: duct portion, 412: air intake port, 414: exhaust port, 416: partition wall, 418: rib, 420: passage portion, 422: mounting frame, 424: upper surface of mounting frame, 426: first wall portion, 428: second wall portion, 430: through hole, 432: exhaust port, 436: air intake port, 438: rib, 440: first wall portion, 442: second wall portion, 444: opening, 446: gap, 448: dustproof member, 450: fan, B': battery pack, F': cooling air flow path, F1': first flow path portion, F2': second flow path portion, F3': third flow path portion, F4': fourth flow path portion,F5': fifth flow path portion, F6': sixth flow path portion, F7': seventh flow path portion,

Claims

1. A working unit including a working mechanism, an electric motor that drives the working mechanism, and a motor housing that houses the electric motor; A control device for controlling the electric motor; A base for supporting the operational unit; a rear housing attached to a rear portion of the base; a front handle provided on the base and capable of being held by a user with one hand; a rear handle provided on the rear housing and capable of being held by the user with the other hand, The base includes a passageway. The motor housing includes an inner air intake port that opens into the passage portion and an outer air exhaust port that opens to the outside of the work machine, the rear housing includes an outer air intake port that opens to the outside of the working machine and an inner air exhaust port that opens to the inside of the passage portion, a cooling air flow path is formed that extends from the outside of the working machine through the outer air intake port, the interior of the rear housing, the inner exhaust port, the interior of the passage portion, the inner air intake port, the interior of the motor housing, and the outer exhaust port to the outside of the working machine, The work machine, wherein the inner air intake port and the inner air exhaust port overlap each other when viewed along the front-rear direction.

2. The work machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is accommodated in the rear housing and disposed in the cooling air flow path.

3. the cooling airflow path is formed inside the rear housing and includes a path portion extending along a front-rear direction, The work machine according to claim 2 , wherein the control device is disposed in the flow passage portion such that a longitudinal direction of the control device is aligned with a front-rear direction.

4. 4. The work machine according to claim 1, wherein the rear housing is attached to the base so as to be rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis, and the position of the rear housing relative to the base is changeable between a normal position and a rotational position rotated from the normal position about the rotation axis.

5. The rear housing includes a shaft portion extending along the rotation axis, the base includes a shaft holding portion that holds the shaft portion rotatably around the rotation axis, a through hole is formed in the shaft portion to pass through the inside of the shaft portion and connect the inside and the outside of the rear housing, The work machine according to claim 4 , wherein an opening of the through hole that faces an outside of the rear housing functions as the inner exhaust port.

6. the electric motor is an inner rotor type brushless motor including a stator, a rotor disposed inside the stator, and an output shaft fixed to the rotor, The work machine according to claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the stator is exposed to the outside of the work machine when the motor housing is removed from the work machine.

7. The working mechanism includes a pair of blades extending along a front-rear direction, The work machine according to claim 1 , wherein the pair of blades are driven by the electric motor to reciprocate relatively in the front-rear direction.

8. The working unit further includes a mechanism housing that supports the working mechanism, The work machine according to claim 1 , wherein the mechanism housing is exposed to an outside of the work machine and has an opposing surface facing the outer exhaust port.

9. the base has a bottom surface that faces the mounting surface when the working machine is placed on the mounting surface, The work machine according to claim 1 , wherein a direction from the inside of the work machine to the outside through the outer exhaust port is aligned with a direction in which the bottom surface of the base faces.

10. the rear housing includes a battery mounting portion to which a battery pack is detachably attached, The work machine according to claim 1 , wherein the outer air intake port faces the battery pack attached to the battery attachment portion.

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