Mower Deck Shield Prevents Grass Clipping Clumps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lawn mowers face difficulties in cleaning up clumped grass and soil deposits between the grass clippings guide and cutting chamber peripheral walls, requiring laborious manual removal with tools.
Innovation Solution
A mower design featuring a shield member that prevents grass clippings and soil from entering the wedge-shaped space between the grass clippings guide and cutting chamber peripheral wall, allowing for easy washing and removal of deposits after mowing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a vertical wall-shaped grass clippings guide is mounted on the ceiling of the mower deck, then grass clippings can be guided toward the blade rotation center for fine-cutting, but a wedge-shaped space is formed between the guide and the cutting chamber peripheral wall where grass clippings and mud adhere to form large clumps that are difficult to remove
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the problematic wedge-shaped space between the grass clippings guide and the cutting chamber peripheral wall by providing a shield member that closes this space. This removes the source of clump formation while preserving the fine-cutting function of the vertical wall-shaped guide.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield member acts as an intermediary element that blocks the wedge-shaped space, preventing grass clippings and mud from entering and adhering in that region. This mediator component resolves the contradiction by eliminating the harmful space without affecting the primary guiding function.
2Ease of operation
If a shield member is added to prevent entry of grass clippings into the wedge-shaped space, then mower cleaning becomes easier, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shield member is integrated with the existing grass clippings guide structure, merging the new protective function with the existing guiding component. This combination approach adds the necessary functionality while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield member serves multiple functions: it prevents grass clippings and mud from entering the wedge-shaped space, maintains the effectiveness of the grass clippings guide, and facilitates easier cleaning. This multi-functionality justifies the addition by providing multiple benefits from a single component.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a mower with a mower deck, a plurality of cutting chambers mutually communicated and arranged in a lateral direction within the mower deck, and a blade mounted in each cutting chamber to be rotatable about a vertical axis. A grass clippings guide in form of a vertical wall is disposed in an upper area within the cutting chamber, to guide the grass clippings flowing within the cutting chamber toward a center of rotation of the blade. A shield member is disposed for preventing entry of grass clippings between the grass clippings guide and a peripheral wall of the cutting chamber.