Mower Blade Assembly for Single-Pass Fine Mulching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mowers often fail to fully mulch grass clippings, leading to accumulation on the lawn, which blocks sunlight and water access and requires additional passes and disposal time, while bagging clippings is costly and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A mower design featuring a blade system with elongated and circular blades that maintain clippings in the cutting chamber longer, combined with a pivotable container that alternates between open and closed positions to discharge or collect clippings, ensuring finer mulching and reducing lawn debris.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If existing mowers discharge clippings onto the lawn, then disposal time and cost are reduced, but clippings are not fully mulched and larger clippings accumulate on the lawn
Solution Approach 1:
The blade system is segmented into multiple blades with different functions: a first blade for initial cutting and a second blade for secondary cutting and mulching. This segmentation allows clippings to be processed in stages, achieving fine mulching without requiring multiple passes while maintaining efficient operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mower performs preliminary mulching action within the cutting chamber before discharge. The blade system and chamber design work together to pre-mulch clippings to a fine consistency, ensuring that when clippings are discharged, they are already properly processed and will not accumulate on the lawn.
2Manufacturing precision
If mowers make additional passes to fully mulch clippings, then mulching quality improves, but time and fuel requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blade system divides the mulching function across multiple blades operating simultaneously. The first blade performs initial cutting while the second blade performs secondary cutting and fine mulching in the same pass, eliminating the need for additional passes and maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mower combines multiple cutting and mulching functions into a single integrated blade system. Both cutting and fine mulching operations are merged into one simultaneous process, achieving high-quality mulching results while maintaining efficient single-pass operation.
3Manufacturing precision
If mowers bag clippings for proper disposal, then larger clippings do not accumulate on the lawn, but disposal becomes timely and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The blade system changes the physical parameter of clipping size through multi-stage cutting and fine mulching. By transforming clippings into fine particles within the cutting chamber, the system eliminates the need for bagging and disposal while preventing accumulation on the lawn.
4Device complexity
If mowers use a single blade design, then device complexity is reduced, but ability to maintain clippings in cutting chamber for full mulching is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The blade system is segmented into multiple blades with specific configurations. This segmentation creates a more effective cutting chamber environment that retains clippings longer, allowing sufficient time for complete mulching without excessive complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A mower comprises a frame, a plurality of wheels connected to the frame, a mower deck located within the frame defining a cutting chamber, a first blade that is elongated and rotates about a generally vertical axis and has a fin extending from at least one of the ends with a concave surface that faces generally away from the ground surface, a second blade that is circular and rotates about a generally vertical axis, a propulsion unit that is supported by the frame and rotates the blades, a discharge opening allowing discharge to exit the cutting chamber, and a container pivotally coupled to the mower pivotable between a first position and a second position, with the first position of the container configured to collect the discharge from the cutting chamber through the discharge opening.