Lawn Mower

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a lawn mower, more particularly to a lawn mower which has a grass indicating unit that is installed in a grass collecting unit of the lawn mower so as to show an approximate amount of grass within the grass collecting unit.

2. Description of the Related Art

The improvement of this invention is directed to a conventional lawn mower 1, as shown in FIG. 1, which includes a blade support 11, an engine 12, a handle 13, a blade 14, and a grass collecting unit 15. The blade support 11 has a recess which is formed in the bottom side thereof and which has an outlet portion. The engine 12 is mounted on the top side of the blade support 11. The handle 13 extends rearward from the rear portion of the blade support 11. The blade 14 is mounted rotatably within the recess of the blade support 11. The grass collecting unit 15 is mounted removably on the rear portion of the blade support 11 and has an inlet portion communicated with the outlet portion of the recess of the blade support 11 so as to collect grass that was cut from a lawn with use of the blade 14. A plurality of ventilation holes 151 are formed through a wall of the grass collecting unit 15 near the upper portion of the same so as to reduce air pressure inside the grass collecting unit 15. Note that in the conventional lawn mower 1, the user cannot determine when adjustment of the amount of the collected grass within the grass collecting unit 15 is required. Thus, the ventilation holes 151 may be clogged by the collected grass when the collected grass almost fills the grass collecting unit 15. The air pressure within the grass collecting unit 15 is increased, thereby resulting in a resisting force which may reduce the speed of rotation of the blade 14. Accordingly, the utility of the lawn mower 1 is limited.

The main objective of this invention is to provide a lawn mower which has a grass indicating unit that is installed in a grass collecting unit of the lawn mower so as to show an approximate amount of grass within the grass collecting unit.

According to this invention, a lawn mower includes a blade support, a blade, a grass collecting unit, and a grass indicating unit. The blade support has a recess which is formed in the bottom side of the blade support and which has an outlet portion. The blade is mounted rotatably within the recess of the blade support. The grass collecting unit is mounted removably on the rear portion of the blade support and has an inlet portion which is communicated with the outlet portion of the recess of the blade support so as to collect grass that was cut from a lawn with use of the blade, and a plurality of ventilation holes formed through a wall of the grass collecting unit so as to reduce air pressure inside the grass collecting unit. The grass collecting unit has a top wall and a positioning hole which is formed through the top wall and which allows the grass indicating unit to be installed therein. The grass indicating unit includes a body member and a positioning assembly. The body member is disposed in the positioning hole of the grass collecting unit and is capable of being pushed upward relative to the top wall of the grass collecting unit by virtue of the air pressure inside the grass collecting unit. The positioning assembly is mounted securely on the body member so as to prevent removal of the body member from the top wall of the grass collecting unit. Accordingly, when grass within the grass collecting unit clogs the ventilation holes, the air pressure within the grass collecting unit is increased so as to push upward and protrude the body member from the top wall of the grass collecting unit. With the protruded body member, the user can determine when adjustment of the amount of the collected grass within the grass collecting unit is required.

Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional lawn mower;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a lawn mower which has a grass indicating unit that is installed in a grass collecting unit of the lawn mower according to the first preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, partly sectional view of the grass indicating unit of the first preferred embodiment of the lawn mower of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of the grass indicating unit of the lawn mower in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a grass indicating unit according to the second preferred embodiment of the lawn mower of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing a grass indicating unit according to the third preferred embodiment of the lawn mower of this invention.

Referring to the FIG. 2, a lawn mower 3 of the first preferred embodiment of this invention includes a blade support 31, an engine 32, a handle 33, a blade 34, a grass collecting unit 35, and a grass indicating unit 20. The blade support 31 has a recess which is formed in the bottom side thereof and which has an outlet portion (not shown). The engine 32 is mounted on the top side of the blade support 31. The handle 33 extends rearward from the rear portion of the blade support 31. The blade 34 is mounted rotatably within the recess of the blade support 31. The grass collecting unit 35 is mounted removably on the rear portion of the blade support 31 and has an inlet portion (not shown) which is communicated with the outlet portion of the recess of the blade support 31 so as to collect grass that was cut from a lawn with the use of the blade 34. A plurality of ventilation holes 351 are formed through a wall of the grass collecting unit 35 near the upper portion of the same so as to reduce the air pressure inside the grass collecting unit 35. The grass collecting unit 35 has a top wall and a rectangular positioning hole 352 which is formed through the top wall and which allows the grass indicating unit 20 to be installed therein.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the grass indicating unit 20 has a body member which is disposed in the positioning hole 352 of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2) and which includes a generally vertical front wall 21 which has a height that is equal to the thickness of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 and which is positioned in the positioning hole 352 near the inlet portion of the grass collecting unit 35. A generally vertical rear wall 22 has a height greater than that of the front wall 21 and a curved outer surface that enables the rear wall 22 to rotate relative to the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 4). A pair of generally trapezoid side walls 23 interconnect the front and rear walls 21, 22. A top wall 24 is mounted securely on the top ends of the front, rear, and side walls 21, 22, 23. A bottom wall 25 is mounted securely on the bottom ends of the front, rear, and side walls 21, 22, 23. A scale portion 26 is provided on the curved outer surface of the rear wall 22 so as to show an approximate amount of grass within the grass collecting unit 35. The grass indicating unit 20 further has a positioning assembly which includes a pair of first positioning plates 201 that project outward from the top ends of the side walls 23 of the body member respectively and that rest on the top surface of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 so as to prevent the body member of the grass indicating unit 20 from falling into the grass collecting unit 35, and a pair of second positioning plates 202 that project outward from the bottom ends of the side walls 23 of the body member respectively and that rest on the bottom surface of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 so as to prevent removal of the body member from the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35.

Referring to FIG. 4, when grass within the grass collecting unit 35 clogs the ventilation holes 351 (see FIG. 2), the air pressure within the grass collecting unit 35 is increased, thereby pushing upward and protruding the body member of the grass indicating unit 20 from the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35. Owing to the upward movement of the body member, the user can adjust the amount of the collected grass within the grass collecting unit 35 upon seeing the scale portion 26 of the body member, thereby removing the collected grass from the grass collecting unit 35 before the collected grass fills the grass collecting unit 35.

FIG. 5 shows the modified grass indicating unit 40 of the second preferred embodiment of the lawn mower of this invention. As shown, the grass indicating unit 40, with the same function as the first embodiment, has a body member which is disposed in the positioning hole 352 of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2) and which includes a pair of generally trapezoid side walls 41, each of which having a rear side with a height greater than the thickness of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2), and a front side that is located at a position near the inlet portion of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2) and that has a height equal to the thickness of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2). A top wall 42 interconnects the top ends of the side walls 41. A rear wall 43 interconnects the rear sides of the side walls 41 and has a curved outer surface which enables the rear wall 43 to rotate relative to the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2). A scale portion 44 is provided on the curved outer surface of the rear wall 43 so as to show an approximate amount of the collected grass within the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2). The grass indicating unit 40 further has a positioning assembly which includes a pair of first positioning plates 401 that project outward from the top ends of the side walls 41 of the body member respectively, and a second positioning plates 402 that project outward from bottom ends of the side walls 41 of the body member respectively. The first and second positioning plates 401, 402 have the same function as those of the positioning assembly of the first embodiment, and can prevent removal of the body member of the grass indicating unit 40 from the top wall of the grass collecting unit 35 (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 6 shows the modified grass indicating unit 50 and grass collecting unit 60 (only the top wall of grass collecting unit 60 is shown) of the third embodiment of the lawn mower of this invention. As shown, the grass collecting unit 60 has a circular positioning hole 61 formed in the top wall thereof. The grass indicating unit 50 is disposed in the positioning hole 61 and has a body member which includes an elongated upright body 51 that is sized so as to be movable through the positioning hole 61 and which has two annular grooves 511 formed respectively in upper and lower end portions thereof. An upper retaining ring 52 engages the upper annular groove 511 of the upright body 51. A lower retaining ring 53 engages the lower annular groove 511 of the upright body 51. The outer diameters of the upper and lower retaining rings 52, 53 are larger than the diameter of the positioning hole 61. Accordingly, the bottom surface of the upper retaining ring 52 can rest on the top surface of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 60 so as to prevent the upright body 51 from falling into the grass collecting unit 60. The top surface of the lower retaining ring 53 can rest on the bottom surface of the top wall of the grass collecting unit 60 so as to prevent removal of the upright body 51 from the top wall of the grass collecting unit 60. When grass within the grass collecting unit 60 clogs the ventilation holes (not shown), air pressure within the grass collecting unit 60 is increased, thereby pushing upward and protruding the upright body 51 from the top wall of the grass collecting unit 60. In this way, a user can determine when adjustment of the amount of the collected grass within the grass collecting unit 60 is required.

With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.