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EP-4398703-B1 - REAR TINE TILLER

EP4398703B1EP 4398703 B1EP4398703 B1EP 4398703B1EP-4398703-B1

Inventors

  • Mould, Keegen Riley
  • LV, Yizhong
  • MCCALLUM, John Eugene
  • MASON, Philip Edward
  • DIXON, Eli Benjamin
  • MOEHN, Matthew Gerard
  • LAMBERT, MATT
  • YANG, YANG
  • HUANG, JIE
  • LIN, Xiaotao

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211206

Claims (14)

  1. A tiller (100) comprising: a walking element (124) configured to move the tiller (100); a tine (106) rotatable about a rotational axis (220); a first motor (216) configured to drive the walking element (124) to move the tiller (100); an energy storage device (178), wherein the tine (106) is disposed on a first side of the walking element (124), and wherein a counterweight (130) is disposed on a second side of the walking element (124) opposite the first side, the counterweight (130) being adjustable to allow for different load balancing of the tiller (100); and wherein the energy storage device (178) is disposed above the walking element (124) or wherein the energy storage device (178) is disposed toward or on the second side.
  2. The tiller (100) of claim 1, wherein the walking element (124) comprises a plurality of wheels including a first wheel (126) and a second wheel (128), wherein the first motor (216) is disposed between the first wheel (126) and the second wheel (128).
  3. The tiller (100) of claim 2, wherein the tiller (100) further comprises a second motor (218) configured to drive rotation of the tine (106) about the axis (220), and wherein the second (218) motor is disposed at a vertical elevation above the rotational axis (220).
  4. The tiller (100) of claim 3, wherein the tine (106) is disposed within a volume defined at least partially by a tine shield (110) disposed above the tine (106), and wherein the second motor (218) is disposed at a vertical elevation above the tine shield (110).
  5. The tiller (100) of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the first motor (216) comprises an electric motor, wherein the electric motor is coupled to a gearbox (222), wherein the gearbox (222) is configured to drive a drive gear (224), wherein the drive gear (224) is coupled to an axle (226) extending between the first wheel (126) and the second wheel (128).
  6. The tiller (100) of claim 5, wherein the electric motor, the gearbox (222), the drive gear (224), and the axle (226) are all disposed in a volume defined entirely by the first wheel (126) and the second wheel (128) as seen from a side view of the tiller (100).
  7. The tiller (100) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the tiller (100) is configured to receive a plurality of energy storage devices (178), and wherein the plurality of energy storage devices (178) comprise a first bank (182) of energy storage devices (178) connected in series and a second bank (184) of energy storage devices (178) connected in series, and wherein the first and second banks (182, 184) of energy storage devices (178) are connected to one another in parallel.
  8. The tiller (100) of claim 3, wherein the first and second motors (216 and 218) are independently operable, and wherein the first motor (216) is a variable-speed electric motor configured to be operable at a plurality of operating speeds.
  9. The tiller (100) of claim 3, wherein the tiller (100) further comprises a circuit board (234) and cooling system (232) configured to cool at least one of the circuit board (234) and the second motor (218).
  10. The tiller (100) of claim 9, wherein the circuit board (234) is disposed between the second side and the second motor (218), and wherein the cooling system (232) is configured to: draw air into a duct (236) disposed between the second side and the circuit board (234); pass the air by the circuit board (234); pass the air by the second motor (218); and discharge the air through a vent (250) disposed adjacent to the second motor (218).
  11. The tiller (100) of claim 10, wherein the cooling system (232) comprises a radial centrifugal fan (246) powered by the second motor (218), and wherein the radial centrifugal fan (246) is configured to draw air into the duct (236), past the circuit board (234) and second motor, and discharge the air through the vent (250).
  12. The tiller (100) of claim 1, wherein the counterweight (130) comprises a body (158) having an interior surface defining an internal volume, and wherein the body (158) has an exterior surface (160) defining a recess (162).
  13. The tiller (100) of claim 1, wherein counterweight (130) comprises the energy storage device (178).
  14. The tiller (100) of any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a handle (104) extending from a body (102) of the tiller (100), wherein the handle (104) comprises one or more control elements (194) configured to control the tiller (100).

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to tillers, and more particularly to rear tine tillers. BACKGROUND Tillers are generally utilized to till ground, typically for gardening and yard repair operations. Traditionally, tilling was performed by hand, with an operator manually breaking apart ground using manual tools, such as shovels, hoes, and tined implements which the operator can use to manually break apart the soil. Over time, gas powered tillers have been introduced which utilize powered tines to break apart soil. However, these gas-powered tillers suffer from several disadvantages which make them difficult to operate and inconvenient for the operator. JP2011205909A relates to a small, lightweight electric tiller driven by an electric motor, which has a simple structure and operation, and allows stable tilling work and operation. According to the document, a known configuration is one in which the wheel axles of the running wheels mounted on the front of the vehicle body and the rotor shaft of the tillage rotor mounted on the rear of the vehicle are mounted on the lower end of a transmission tube that intersects at a right angle from front to back, and are driven by a single electric motor mounted on the upper intersecting end of the transmission tube. The document relates to an electric tiller configuration characterized in that a tilling rotor is arranged behind the running wheels of the vehicle body, the running wheels are driven by a variable speed motor that can be operated to change speeds, and the tilling rotor is driven by a fixed speed motor. The disclosure further describes a traveling transmission cylinder having a variable speed motor at its frond end, an axle of the traveling wheels mounted at its rear end, and a wheel interlocking shaft that links the variable speed motor and the axle, and a tilling transmission cylinder having a fixed speed motor at its front end, a rotor shaft of the tilling motor mounted at its rear end, and a tilling interlocking shaft that links the fixed speed motor and the rotor shaft, which are arranged at an inclination forward and backward relative to the vehicle body. JP2013009600A relates to an electric tiller that is equipped with a rotary tiller consisting of a tiller axle with multiple tiller tines attached to the circumferential surface at the front and rear of the lower part of the machine base, and running wheels consisting of a pair of wheels attached to the axle, with a battery mounted on the machine base and a control handle extending upward from the end of the machine base, and that drives the rotary tiller and running wheels via a motor using power from the battery. More specifically, the motor is equipped with a tiller axle drive motor that drives the tiller axle and an axle drive motor that drives the axle, and the tiller axle drive motor forms a tiller drive unit that is integral with the tiller axle, and the tiller drive unit is equipped with a rotation direction change means that changes the rotation direction of the tiller axle. CN205389330U describes a remote control electric micro tillage machine. Accordingly, improved tillers are desired in the art. In particular, tillers which offer easier use and operation would be advantageous. BRIEF DESCRIPTION Aspects and advantages of the invention in accordance with the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the technology. In accordance with one embodiment, a tiller is provided. The tiller includes a walking element configured to move the tiller; a tine rotatable about a rotational axis; a first motor configured to drive the walking element to move the tiller; and a counterweight, wherein the tine is disposed on a first side of the tiller and wherein the counterweight is disposed on a second side of the tiller opposite the first side. In accordance with another embodiment, a tiller is provided. The tiller includes a plurality of wheels; a tine rotatable about a rotational axis; a first motor configured to rotate at least one of the plurality of wheels to move the tiller; and a second motor configured to drive rotation of the tine about the axis, wherein the first and second motors operate independently. In accordance with another embodiment, a tiller is provided. The tiller includes a walking element configured to move the tiller; a tine rotatable about a rotational axis; a motor configured to drive the tine about the rotational axis; and a counterweight, wherein the tine is disposed on a first side of the tiller and wherein the counterweight is disposed on a second side of the tiller opposite the first side, and wherein the first motor is configured to be powered by an energy storage device. These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying draw