US-20260123581-A1 - LAWNMOWER AND LAWNMOWER START/STOP CONTROL METHOD

US20260123581A1US 20260123581 A1US20260123581 A1US 20260123581A1US-20260123581-A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a lawnmower, including a housing, a rear cover, and a grass catcher arranged at one end of the housing, the rear cover being rotatably arranged on the housing, and a latching mechanism operable to dispose the rear cover in a latched state being further arranged between the housing and the rear cover; when the rear cover is in the latched state, the lawnmower is disposed in a stop state, and when the rear cover is in an unlatched state, the lawnmower is disposed safely startable. Further disclosed is a lawnmower start/stop control method, which determines states of the rear cover and the grass catcher according to preset conditions to thereby decide on whether to start the lawnmower. The disclosure offers the following benefits: the latching mechanism arranged between the housing and the rear cover disposes the opened rear cover in a latched state, when the lawnmower cannot be started and is disposed in the stop state, which protects the user; the lawnmower can only be started safely when the rear cover is closed and disposed in the unlatched state, which eliminates safety hazards to the user in case of starting the lawnmower with the rear cover open.

Inventors

Gang Chen

Assignees

ZHEJIANG YAT ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20230927
Priority Date: 20220927

Claims (20)

1 . A lawnmower, comprising: a housing; a rear cover; and a grass catcher arranged at one end of the housing, wherein the rear cover is rotatably arranged on the housing, and a latching mechanism operable to dispose the rear cover in a latched state is further arranged between the housing and the rear cover; and wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the lawnmower is disposed in a stop state, and when the rear cover is in an unlatched state, the lawnmower is disposed safely startable.
2 . The lawnmower according to claim 1 , wherein when a flip angle of the rear cover is disposed in a range from 175° to 220°, the latching mechanism is triggered to dispose the rear cover in the latched state.
3 . The lawnmower according to claim 1 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises a power-off device; when the rear cover is in the latched state, the power-off device is activated or deactivated to dispose the lawnmower in the stop state; and when the rear cover is in the unlatched state, the power-off device is deactivated or activated to dispose the lawnmower safely startable.
4 . The lawnmower according to claim 3 , wherein the power-off device comprises at least one of: a structure comprising a Hall plate arranged on the housing, a first magnet arranged on the rear cover, and a controller electrically connected to the Hall plate and operable to control a power state of a power supply; wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the first magnet moves closer to the Hall plate so that the controller cuts off power supply, and when the rear cover is in the unlatched state, the first magnet moves away from the Hall plate so that the controller recovers power supply; or, a switch arranged on the rear cover and electrically connected to a power supply, the switch being operable to cut off power supply when the rear cover is in the latched state and recover power supply when the rear cover is in the unlatched state; or, a structure comprising a signal transmitter arranged on the rear cover, a controller operable to control a power state of a power supply, and a signal receiver installed on the controller, wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the controller receives a power-off signal to cut off power supply, and when the rear cover is in the unlatched state, the controller receives a power-on signal to recover power supply; or, a structure comprising a reed switch arranged on the housing, a second magnet arranged on the rear cover, and a controller electrically connected to the reed switch and operable to control a power state of a power supply, wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the second magnet moves closer to the reed switch so that the controller cuts off power supply, and wherein when the rear cover is disposed in the unlatched state, the second magnet moves away from the reed switch so that the controller recovers power supply.
5 . The lawnmower according to claim 3 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises an iron sheet arranged on the housing, and a second magnet arranged on the rear cover, the iron sheet and the second magnet being fitted to secure the rear cover,
6 . The lawnmower according to claim 3 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises a deadbolt fixedly arranged on the rear cover, and a latch movably arranged in the housing and snap-fitted with the deadbolt; and the latch comprises a casing, a slider movably arranged in the casing, a snap and a rotary support which are rotatably arranged on the slider, a first compression spring connected between the casing and the slider, and a first rail and a second rail which are fixedly arranged in the casing and fitted with the rotary support under an action of the first compression spring to play a role of guiding.
7 . The lawnmower according to claim 6 , wherein the snap comprises a first snap piece and a second snap piece which are symmetrically arranged, a snap-fit position for securing the deadbolt being formed between the first snap piece and the second snap piece, the first snap piece and the second snap piece being rotatable relatively to move away from or closer to each other so as to open or lock the snap-fit position.
8 . The lawnmower according to claim 3 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises a knob cover fixedly arranged on a shield body, and a rotary rod, a knob, and a second compression spring which are sequentially arranged in the knob cover, the second compression spring being limited between the knob and the shield body, one end of the rotary rod being movably inserted in the knob cover, an opposite end of the rotary rod being fixedly attached to a rear cover rotary shaft.
9 . The lawnmower according to claim 8 , wherein a knob step is arranged in a peripheral direction of the knob, an abutment post is arranged in a central portion of the knob, a ramped rail is arranged between the abutment post and the knob step, a pressure relief hole is provided in the ramped rail, a first step and a second step, which are fitted with the knob step, are arranged on the knob cover, and a support post fitted with the ramped rail and the pressure relief hole is arranged on the rotary rod.
10 . The lawnmower according to claim 4 , wherein a first elastic member is arranged between the rear cover and the housing, the first elastic member acting on the rear cover so that the rear cover is given a tendency of moving toward the grass catcher.
11 . The lawnmower according to claim 3 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises a second elastic member arranged between the housing and the rear cover, the rear cover, when being flipped by an angle ranging from 175° to 220° relative to a vertical surface, being capable of maintaining stationary relative to the housing.
12 . The lawnmower according to claim 11 , wherein a position disposing the rear cover stationary relative to the housing is where the rear cover is flipped to or past a dead center position of the second elastic member, the dead center position being a position where a pull force direction imposed by the second elastic member on the rear cover passes through a rotational axis of the rear cover.
13 . The lawnmower according to claim 12 , wherein a connecting portion is provided on the rear cover, an engagement hole for hitching the second elastic member being provided on the connecting portion.
14 . The lawnmower according to claim 13 , wherein the engagement hole is a waist-shaped hole, and after the rear cover is flipped past the dead center position, the second elastic member moves from one end of the engagement hole to an opposite end thereof.
15 . The lawnmower according to claim 11 , wherein the rear cover is rotatably connected to the housing via a first rotary shaft.
16 . The lawnmower according to claim 15 , wherein two stationary bases are arranged on the housing at an interval, an end portion of the rear cover being disposed between the two stationary bases, the first rotary shaft rotatably connected to the rear cover being provided on each of the stationary bases, axes of the first rotary shafts coinciding.
17 . The lawnmower according to claim 16 , wherein each of the two stationary bases comprises a base body and a fixed chuck removably connected on the base body, one end of the first rotary shaft being securely attached on the fixed chuck, a through hole for an opposite end of the first rotary shaft to pass through being provided on the base body, the opposite end of the first rotary shaft being rotatably connected to the rear cover.
18 . The lawnmower according to claim 11 , wherein an engagement slot for securing the second elastic member is provided on the housing.
19 . The lawnmower according to claim 1 , further comprising a first drive portion arranged on the rear cover and a second drive portion arranged on the grass catcher; and when the grass catcher is pushed in the housing, the second drive portion and the first drive portion engage to drive the rear cover to switch to the unlatched state.
20 . The lawnmower according to claim 19 , wherein the rear cover is rotatably connected to the housing via the first rotary shaft, a rotary shaft base connected to the first rotary shaft being provided on the rear cover, the first drive portion being secured on the rotary shaft base.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to lawnmower technologies, and more specifically to a lawnmower and a lawnmower start/stop control method. BACKGROUND To dump grass clippings off an operating lawnmower, a conventional practice is to first cut off the power manually to stop the lawnmower, and then flip the rear cover thereof open to remove the grass catcher; after the clippings are completely dumped, it is needed to open the rear cover again to mount the grass catcher back, and then switch on the power again to continue the mowing work. If the lawnmower is started while the rear cover is left open, a significant threat would be posed to safety of a lawnmower operator. Therefore, conventional lawnmowers have potential hazards. SUMMARY A lawnmower and a lawnmower start/stop control method are described herein, which can effectively prevent safety hazards posed by conventional lawnmowers that are started with a rear cover thereof being left open. The disclosure adopts a technical solution set out below: A lawnmower, comprising: a housing, a rear cover, and a grass catcher arranged at one end of the housing, wherein the rear cover is rotatably arranged on the housing, and a latching mechanism operable to dispose the rear cover in a latched state is further arranged between the housing and the rear cover; and wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the lawnmower is disposed in a stop state, and when the rear cover is in an unlatched state, the lawnmower is disposed safely startable. In some implementations, when a flip angle of the rear cover is disposed in a range from 175° to 220°, the latching mechanism is triggered to dispose the rear cover in the latched state. In some implementations, the latching mechanism comprises a power-off device; when the rear cover is in the latched state, the power-off device is activated or deactivated to dispose the lawnmower in the stop state; and when the rear cover is in the unlatched state, the power-off device is deactivated or activated to dispose the lawnmower safely startable. In some implementations, the power-off device comprises at least one of: a structure comprising a Hall plate arranged on the housing, a first magnet arranged on the rear cover, and a controller electrically connected to the Hall plate and operable to control a power state of a power supply; wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the first magnet moves closer to the Hall plate so that the controller cuts off power supply, and when the rear cover is in the unlatched state, the first magnet moves away from the Hall plate so that the controller recovers power supply;or, a switch arranged on the rear cover and electrically connected to a power supply, the switch being operable to cut off power supply when the rear cover is in the latched state and recover power supply when the rear cover is in the unlatched state;or, a structure comprising a signal transmitter arranged on the rear cover, a controller operable to control a power state of a power supply, and a signal receiver installed on the controller, wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the controller receives a power-off signal to cut off power supply, and when the rear cover is in the unlatched state, the controller receives a power-on signal to recover power supply;or, a structure comprising a reed switch arranged on the housing, a second magnet arranged on the rear cover, and a controller electrically connected to the reed switch and operable to control a power state of a power supply, wherein when the rear cover is in the latched state, the second magnet moves closer to the reed switch so that the controller cuts off power supply, and wherein when the rear cover is disposed in the unlatched state, the second magnet moves away from the reed switch so that the controller recovers power supply. In some implementations, the latching mechanism comprises an iron sheet arranged on the housing, and a second magnet arranged on the rear cover, the iron sheet and the second magnet being fitted to secure the rear cover. In some implementations, the latching mechanism comprises a deadbolt fixedly arranged on the rear cover, and a latch movably arranged in the housing and snap-fitted with the deadbolt; and the latch comprises a casing, a slider movably arranged in the casing, a snap and a rotary support which are rotatably arranged on the slider, a first compression spring connected between the casing and the slider, and a first rail and a second rail which are fixedly arranged in the casing and fitted with the rotary support under an action of the first compression spring to play a role of guiding. In some implementations, the snap comprises a first snap piece and a second snap piece which are symmetrically arranged, a snap-fit position for securing the deadbolt being formed between the first snap piece and the second snap piece, the first snap piece and the second snap piece being rotatable relatively to move awa