Animal-shearing machine having direct drive

Abstract

The invention relates to an animal-shearing machine (1), in particular a high-performance animal-shearing machine having a direct drive for shearing farm animals and / or pets, comprising: a housing (10) having a holding portion (11); a shearing head (2) which can be connected to the housing (10) and has an upper blade (4) and a lower blade (5), the upper blade (4) being movable relative to the lower blade (5); a drive unit (6) having an output shaft (7); an eccentric unit (9) which is operatively connected to the output shaft (7); an oscillating assembly (20) which is operatively connected to the eccentric unit (9) and to the upper blade (3) of the shearing head (2); and a control unit (60) for controlling the drive unit (6).

Description

[0001] Direct drive animal clipper

[0002] Technical field of the invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a direct drive animal clipper, in particular a powerful animal clipper for farm animals, such as sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, cattle, horses, etc., and / or domestic animals, which is also suitable for shearing dense and thick fur or hair

[0004] State of the art

[0005] Animal clippers are known in a variety of designs and for a wide variety of animals, e.g. for sheep, alpacas, llamas, cattle, but also horses and dogs. Known animal clippers generally comprise a housing with a shaped holding or handle portion for a user to hold the clipper and a clipping head with a cutting device, e.g. two blades, an upper blade and a lower blade, which move translationally relative to each other to achieve the cutting action. In modern animal clippers, the clipping head is separable from the handle and can additionally comprise a pressure control device with a rotatable control knob to adjust the pressure of the upper blade on the lower blade, so that the cutting quality can be kept constant during several cutting operations.Known animal clippers comprise a drive unit, such as an electric motor and, especially in high-performance models, a gearbox for driving the blades, and an eccentric unit for moving the movable blade(s) back and forth. With the help of the eccentric unit and a pivoting or oscillating lever, the rotary motion of the driving electric motor is converted into the desired pivoting or oscillating motion of the blades of the clipping head.

[0006] Low-performance clippers and shavers are commonly known, using a direct drive as an electric motor, i.e., without a reduction gear. For example, GB 1161718 A discloses an electric hair clipper that uses a DC motor, with the components connected to the DC motor having the lowest possible mass. However, such a clipper is unsuitable for clipping thick hair and dense fur.

[0007] Document US 2017203450 A1 discloses a cordless animal clipper for large farm animals. The clipper comprises a brushless DC motor, a replaceable clipping head, and a rechargeable battery pack. The clipper head is driven by the brushless DC motor via a helical gearing system based on a helical gear-on-helical gear motion. Accordingly, this animal clipper does not include an eccentric drive for driving the movable blade of the clipper head. The resulting increased friction, which is also noticeable through increased vibration, increased heat generation, and noise, proves to be a disadvantage. This also negatively impacts the battery life.

[0008] For more powerful animal clippers used for thick hair and / or dense fur, a direct drive is generally not provided. Instead, these animal clippers use a reduction gear in conjunction with an electric motor to provide sufficient drive torque for the oscillating blades or scissors. Clippers with various gear types, such as spur gears, planetary gears, or worm gears, are known, for example, from DE 11 96 994 A and DE 10 2009 017 517 A1. The use of a gearbox, regardless of the type, has the particular disadvantages of loud operating noise and a large space requirement, making an ergonomic design of the animal clipper difficult. Friction leads to increased wear, significant heating, and reduced efficiency. The bearings for the gearbox are also complex.Accordingly, the realization of a battery-operated, high-performance animal clipper is made difficult by the fact that the operating time of a built-in battery is often insufficient for an entire clipping process. Based on the prior art, the present invention is based on the object of overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages and proposing a high-performance direct-drive animal clipper for farm animals that provides sufficiently high torque to enable the clipping process even with thick hair and / or dense or very dirty fur. Furthermore, an animal clipper should be provided that can also be used as a cordless version for a long operating time. For such a high-performance animal clipper, it is also desirable to retain the external shape of the housing and thus the handling, and to continue to use proven components of known animal clippers.

[0009] Summary of the invention

[0010] According to the present invention, these objects are achieved primarily by the features of the independent claim. Further advantageous embodiments are also apparent from the dependent claims and the description.

[0011] In particular, the objects of the present invention are achieved by an animal clipper, in particular a powerful animal clipper with direct drive for shearing livestock and other animals, comprising

[0012] - a housing with a holding section,

[0013] - a shaving head connectable to the housing with an upper blade and a lower blade, the upper blade being movable relative to the lower blade,

[0014] - a drive unit arranged in the housing with an output shaft, an eccentric unit operatively connected to the output shaft and an oscillating arrangement which is operatively connected to the eccentric unit and to the upper blade of the shaving head, and - a control unit for controlling the drive unit.

[0015] According to the invention, the animal clipper can be used, for example, for shearing sheep, llamas, alpacas, cattle, horses, etc. and / or domestic animals. The animal clipper comprises a housing that includes a holding or handle section that can be connected to the clipping head and in which the direct drive, as well as mechanical components and possibly replaceable batteries or rechargeable accumulators for cordless operation, are housed. Furthermore, a switch or switching means for switching the device on and off is provided on the holding section.

[0016] The animal clipper comprises an operative connection between the drive unit, also referred to below as the electric motor, and the eccentric unit, and further between the eccentric unit and one of the blades to move the latter relative to the other blade. For this purpose, the oscillating arrangement may comprise a rocking lever that engages the eccentric unit at its proximal end and the outer blade of the clipping head at its distal end. In particular, the rocking lever of the rocking arrangement may be pivotably mounted between its proximal end and its distal end about a pivot point in the housing of the animal clipper.

[0017] For powerful operation of the animal clipper, the drive unit must deliver a higher torque than that required for shearing small animals. Electric motors with a rated power of approximately 40 W to 120 W are suitable as drive units, depending on the application and / or the shearing pressure. The electric motor, which can be used as a direct drive, is designed to generate a high speed in the range of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 rpm and to maintain this speed largely constant. This allows the downstream mechanism driven by the electric motor to effectively cut even thick hair and dense fur. The drive unit can be a DC motor. A DC motor is based on efficient DC motor technology; the torque generated is so strong that even with fur that is difficult to shear, there is no significant reduction in speed or cutting speed.

[0018] The electric motor or drive unit used as a direct drive is preferably a brushless DC motor (BLDC motor or "electronically commutated motor"). Brushless DC motors are advantageously characterized by good energy efficiency and high power density, low maintenance requirements, a compact design, and low weight, so that with moderate power consumption, battery operation and thus a cordless version of the animal clipper is also possible. Furthermore, the heat generation of such a DC motor is low, so that waste heat can be effectively dissipated, for example, by means of an integrated fan. This makes holding the motor directly comfortable for the user. Such brushless DC motors are highly efficient and are also suitable for providing a speed of approximately 2,500 to 2,800 rpm or higher, which is required for clipping animals with thick, firm fur.

[0019] The animal clipper according to the invention is not only characterized by a very powerful electric motor, e.g., a brushless DC motor, but, as a direct drive, also requires no gearbox to provide the necessary torque for shearing. This simultaneously results in reduced weight, a compact design, a low-maintenance animal clipper due to a reduction in the number of components requiring maintenance, and / or low-noise and low-vibration operation. Furthermore, the compact design of this electric motor type allows for space-saving installation in the holding section of the animal clipper. The largely low-wear operation of the brushless DC motor ensures a long service life with low maintenance requirements.

[0020] The operative connection between the electric motor's output shaft and an eccentric shaft of the eccentric unit can be designed directly, meaning the eccentric shaft is directly operatively connected to the output shaft. This reduces the number of components required for the operative connection between the electric motor and the movable blade, eliminating the need for bearings, and allows for a simplified design of the animal clipper.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, coupling means are provided between the output shaft of the electric motor and the eccentric shaft of the eccentric unit, which coupling means are mounted via bearing means. The coupling means are preferably mounted in the shaving head by means of the bearing means. The coupling means can comprise a claw coupling, a spring-bar coupling, or the like. A claw coupling with two coupling halves, which have different drivers in the axial direction and a preferably elastic gear ring, allows for the compensation of offset and / or skew between the eccentric shaft and the output shaft. Furthermore, the elastic material of the gear ring, the hardness of which can be selected, and appropriate mounting of the coupling means can reduce shocks and vibrations in the system.Such coupling means are preferably designed to dampen the load caused by the oscillating movement of the upper blade, which is caused by phases of movement of the rising and falling load and the standstill of the upper blade. Thus, at a speed of approximately 2,500 rpm, the upper blade must be accelerated from a standstill at 5,000 rpm and decelerated again to a standstill, which represents a significant load.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the drive unit designed as a brushless DC motor is controlled by the control unit so that it can be operated at at least one preset speed. The speed is preset so that a high torque is provided for the powerful animal clipper even without a reduction gear. In the animal clipper according to the invention, the speed of the electric motor can be kept essentially constant during use when a load occurs, i.e. the increase in torque when a load occurs is covered by an increasing current requirement. An animal clipper designed in this way with a preset direct drive represents a simple embodiment. In a further embodiment of the invention, the electric motor can be switched by means of the control unit into different operating states which differ in terms of speed.The user initiates the switching of the electric motor using a switching device. The user can continuously increase or decrease the speed using a tip switch. Alternatively, the user can select between at least a first speed D1 and a second speed D2, which is higher than the first speed D1, using a slide switch. In this variant, the speeds D1 and D2 can be freely preset and cover only a portion of the electric motor's entire performance spectrum.

[0023] Furthermore, it can be provided that the power consumption of the animal clipper is detected by sensor means as a control parameter of the control unit. In particular, overloading of the animal clipper can be prevented if the power supply is limited or interrupted in the event of an overload. The control unit is thus designed to control or regulate the power output of the electric motor depending on its load, thus achieving a constant speed.

[0024] In a further embodiment of the animal clipper, at least one Hall sensor can be provided to control the drive unit, which is designed as a brushless DC motor, in order to facilitate starting of the electric motor, particularly at low speeds and under higher loads. Accordingly, the Hall sensor improves the starting behavior of the electric motor, in particular by providing a clear position reference when starting the electric motor. Furthermore, the use of Hall sensors can simplify the control of the electric motor in certain cases.

[0025] Alternatively, a hybrid control of the electric motor of the animal clipper can be provided using a switchable Hall sensor. In this case, at least the Hall sensor can be switched on for motor control during the start-up process and / or in an initial phase at low speeds. At higher speeds, particularly during nominal operation, control without a Hall sensor is provided. This hybrid control therefore utilizes the advantages of both control variants: smooth motor starting, stabilization in the low-speed range with the help of at least one Hall sensor, and low-vibration, sensorless nominal operation with the Hall sensor deactivated.

[0026] In the animal clipper, the output shaft of the electric motor can run approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and be directly or indirectly operatively connected to the eccentric unit. The eccentric unit comprises, for example, a ball or a cylindrical eccentric cam, the axis of which runs parallel to the output shaft of the electric motor and can be brought into engagement with a recess or a slot or groove at the proximal end of the rocker arm mounted in the housing. Preferably, the eccentric unit comprises a ball arranged thereon with largely no play, which is in point-like contact with the surfaces bounding the recess and rolls against them.In this way, the power transmission from the drive unit to the movable upper blade can be designed as effectively as possible and the friction between the components that are in engagement with each other is minimized. Accordingly, the rotary movement of the output shaft of the electric motor can be converted into an oscillating movement of the rocking lever with low friction.

[0027] The lowest possible vibration operation of the animal clipper is achieved when the electric motor is mounted in the housing by means of a motor flange. The motor flange also serves as a spacer between the electric motor and the housing. In particular, elastically deformable bearing elements can be provided, which reduce both the operating noise of the animal clipper and vibrations, making it easier to hold.

[0028] Such an animal clipper with a powerful brushless DC motor can be powered by a battery or rechargeable accumulator, preferably one or more Li-ion batteries, to provide the necessary power for operating a cordless animal clipper. A cordless version of the animal clipper has the advantages of eliminating a power cable to limit the user's mobility and flexibility, and eliminating any danger posed by the cable to both the user and the animal.

[0029] According to one embodiment of the invention, a replaceable battery can be housed in the holding or handle section of the housing of the animal clipper, for example, arranged in a retractable and extendable carriage. Such a movable carriage facilitates the replacement of the battery(ies), which can then be charged in a safe location. Furthermore, the charge level can be displayed to the user on a display.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heat generated by the operation of the electric motor is effectively dissipated from the housing via an air flow. This prevents harmful influences due to the heating of the mechanical and electronic components accommodated in the housing. The heat generated by the electric motor can be dissipated, at least in the region of the control unit, which can be embodied as a circuit board or semiconductor module, by means of an air flow generated by an integrated fan from at least one air inlet, along defined flow paths to at least one air outlet. The fan is preferably integrated in the motor housing of the electric motor in order to ensure cooling of the electric motor and mechanical and electronic components by means of through-ventilation.

[0031] The air sucked in by the fan can be passed through a filter located at the air inlet to protect the interior of the case from hair, dust, etc., which would otherwise be sucked in with the ambient air.

[0032] Further details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the animal clipper according to the invention, which are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings. Further advantages of the present invention can be gathered from the description, as well as suggestions and proposals for how the subject matter of the invention can be modified or further developed within the scope of the claims.

[0033] Brief description of the drawings

[0034] The embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. They show:

[0035] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective sectional view of an animal clipper according to the invention with a brushless DC motor;

[0036] Figure 2 shows a schematic detailed representation of an operative connection of a drive unit, coupling means and an eccentric unit;

[0037] Figure 3 is a schematic detailed representation of an embodiment of the animal clipper according to the invention with a brushless DC motor without coupling means.

[0038] Preferred embodiments of the invention

[0039] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred cordless animal clipper 1, which can therefore be used flexibly and effectively. The animal clipper 1 essentially comprises a housing 10, which can be connected to a clipping head 2 via connecting means, wherein the clipping head comprises an adjustment knob 3. The housing 10 defines a space in which a drive unit 6 can be arranged, in particular an electric motor, preferably a brushless DC motor 5. The housing 10 can be formed by an upper housing shell 10.1 and a lower housing shell 10.2, which can be connected to the upper housing shell, wherein an ergonomically shaped holding or gripping section 11 is provided.In the illustrated embodiment, the drive unit 6 is operatively connected to an eccentric unit 9, which is operatively connected to an upper blade 4 via a swinging arrangement 20 with a swinging lever (not shown). The upper blade 4 can be moved translationally relative to a lower blade 5 via the adjustment knob 3. The lower blade 5, as a fixed shearing blade, is fixedly but detachably connected to the housing 10.

[0040] Details of the operative connection between the drive unit 6 and the movable upper blade 4 are shown below in Figure 2 and Figure 3.

[0041] In the illustrated embodiment of Figure 1, the animal clipper 1 is shown in a cordless version, i.e., to supply power to the brushless DC motor 8, a battery pack or rechargeable batteries 40 (not shown) is accommodated in the housing 10, in particular in a battery compartment which is accessible via a cover 43 on the rear of the housing 10. To replace or remove the batteries or rechargeable batteries 40, they can be removed after opening the cover 43 and recharged, for example, in a provided charging station. Preferably, the battery pack or the rechargeable batteries 40 can be arranged on a movable carriage 42 (not shown), which can extend out of the housing 10 when the cover 43 is open so that the battery pack or the rechargeable batteries 40 can be easily replaced.Lithium-ion batteries with a charging capacity of at least 5 Ah are suitable.

[0042] The brushless DC motor 8 used in the animal clipper 1 according to the invention is characterized by a compact design and high energy efficiency, while the heat generated during operation of this type of electric motor is also low. A fan unit 50 is provided to effectively dissipate the resulting heat from the housing, in particular to protect sensitive components such as an electronic control unit 60 from overheating. The fan unit 50 can be formed integrally with a motor housing of the brushless DC motor 8 to ensure active cooling during motor operation. The fan unit 50 draws air from the environment via at least one air inlet 51 and possibly a filter 54 (not shown) at the proximal end of the housing 10 by means of a fan wheel 53. The air flows through the housing 10 and exits from an air outlet 52 (not shown) at the distal end of the housing 10.If the air outlet 52 is positioned appropriately, the blades 4, 5 of the shaving head 2 are also cleaned, which can prevent them from becoming blocked by hair.

[0043] Figure 2 shows the operative connection, or rather a drive train 30, comprising the drive unit 6, coupling means 12, and the eccentric unit 9. Starting from the drive unit 6, which is preferably a brushless DC motor 8 and in particular designed as an external rotor motor, the output shaft 7 is operatively connected via coupling means 12 designed as a claw coupling to an eccentric shaft 14 of the eccentric unit 9, which further comprises a ball 15 (not shown). The coupling means designed as a claw coupling comprise two coupling parts and an elastic gear ring, so that both vibrations are reduced and any inclination of the output shaft 7 relative to the eccentric shaft 14 can be largely compensated.A first coupling part is placed on the output shaft 7, a second coupling part is placed on the eccentric shaft 14 and the third coupling part, designed as a star or ring, is clamped between the first coupling part and the second coupling part.

[0044] The eccentric unit 9 further comprises the ball 15 (not shown in Fig. 2), which can be brought into engagement with a recess 24 formed at the proximal end 21 of the rocker arm. In particular, the contact surfaces between the ball 15 and the recess 24 can be shaped such that the contact is largely point-like in order to keep friction as low as possible.

[0045] Furthermore, it can be seen from Figure 2 that the fan unit 50, in particular a fan wheel 53, is arranged integrally on the drive unit 6.

[0046] Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of an operative connection of the animal clipper 1 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the output shaft 7 of the drive unit 6, ie preferably a brushless DC motor 8, is in direct

[0047] Active connection with the eccentric unit 9, ie, the connection is not made via coupling means 12, as in the embodiment shown in Figure 2. The corresponding animal clipper 1 is a simple variant, which is lighter and thus more flexible due to a reduced number of components.

Claims

Patent claims 1. An animal clipper (1 ), in particular a powerful animal clipper with direct drive for shearing farm animals and / or pets, comprising - a housing (10) with a holding section (11), - a shaving head (2) connectable to the housing (10) with an upper blade (4) and a lower blade (5), wherein the upper blade (4) is movable relative to the lower blade (5), - a drive unit (6) arranged in the housing (10) with an output shaft (7), an eccentric unit (9) operatively connected to the output shaft (7) and an oscillating arrangement (20) operatively connected to the eccentric unit (9) and to the upper blade (4) of the shaving head (2), and - a control unit (60) for controlling the drive unit (6).

2. The animal machine (1) according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit (6) is a brushless DC motor (8).

3. The animal clipper (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein coupling means (12) are provided for coupling between the drive unit (6) and the eccentric unit (9), which coupling means are mounted in the clipper head (2) via bearing means (18).

4. The animal clipper (1) according to claim 3, wherein the coupling means (12) comprises a claw coupling.

5. The animal clipper (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the drive unit (6) is operable at at least one preset speed under the control of the control unit (60).

6. The animal clipper (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein the drive unit (6) is operable at different preset speeds controlled by the control unit (60), which can be selected by the user by means of a switching means (13).

7. The animal clipper (1) according to claim 6, wherein the switching means (13) enables a continuous increase and reduction of the speed of the drive unit (6).

8. The animal clipper (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein at least one Hall sensor (19) is provided for controlling the drive unit (6).

9. The animal clipper (1) according to claim 8, wherein the Hall sensor (19) is switchable.

10. The animal machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the drive unit (6) is supplied with power by at least one accumulator (40) accommodated in the housing (10) and whose charge state can be displayed on a display means (41).

11. The animal clipper (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein a fan unit (50) with a fan wheel (53) is arranged inside the housing (10) in order to suck in ambient air via at least one air inlet (51) provided on the holding section (11), to guide it along a flow path and to let it flow out from at least one air outlet (52) provided at a front end of the housing (10).

12. The animal clipper (1) according to claim 11, wherein at least one filter (54) is provided in the flow path, preferably in the vicinity of the air inlet (51).

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