WATSON

This invention relates to electricallydriven lawn-mowers, and has for its object to provide a novel or improved arrangement and construction which can be readily and 6 cheaply manufactured and assembled, and can be run off an ordinary domestic electric lighting system or other convenient supply of electric current. In a lawn-mower in accordance with my

10 invention, an electric motor is mounted within the land roller, said motor being of any convenient suitable type and being adapted to drive, through suitable gearing, the cutting cylinder, the current for operas ating said motor being taken from any convenient source of supply through a long flexible cable. According to a modification, the motor is adapted to also drive the land roller, a clutch or similar device being pro

20 vided for throwing into and out of gear the drive to the land roller. The drive to the cutting cylinder is continuous while the motor is running, but the drive to the land roller in the modified construction is put

25 into and out of operation when required.

The accompanying drawings illustrate lawn-mowers according to my invention, Figure 1 being a part elevation of one construction and Figure 2 a plan thereof, half

30 in section. Figure 3 is a similar view to

Fig. 2 illustrating a modified construction,

and Figure 4 is a complete elevation of the

machine of Figs. 1 and 2 to a smaller scale.

Kef err ing first to Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the

35 said drawings, in the construction therein illustrated, the land roller a is mounted between a pair of metal side frames b which also carry between them the cutting cylinder e, the bottom blade d and the front roll

40 er e. The land roller a is revolubly mounted on bearing bushes a1 on short hollow shafts / carried by the side frames 5 at each end of the roller, the ends of said hollow shafts within the roller being attached to

A tS

46 the casing g of a motor arranged concentrically within the land roller a. At one end of the roller the rotary spindle g^ of the motor extends through the hollow shaft / and is fitted externally of the roller with a pinion h. The motor spindle runs in suitable bearings carried by the ends of the motor casing as usual. At the other end of the land roller a, the cables j to the motor are led into the roller through the hollow shaft /. The roller a is transversely split cen

trally of its length as shown at a2 and its halves are retained in position, after assembly* by the side frames Z>. If desired, apertures a3 normally closed by removable plugs, may be provided in the periphery of the 60 land roller in alignment with the brush gear of the motor to permit of adjustment of the brushes. At its ends the land roller is provided with radial arms a4, and the spaces between said arms are filled in with netting 05 of fine mesh a5 which prevents the entry of cut grass and the like into the roller but allows the entry of air for cooling the motor.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 70 2 and 4 of the drawings, the motor drives the cutting cylinder c but does not drive the land roller a. The pinion h is coupled by an intermediate idler pinion le on a stud 7*;1 in a bearing &2 in the frame & to a corre- 75 spending pinion m keyed on the short shaft n at one end of the cutting cylinder c. The gearing h, 7c, m is enclosed and protected by a dust-proof cover J1. A suitable switch v (Fig. 4) for controlling the motor is pro- 80 vided on one of the shafts «, which is also fitted with a socket vl to receive a plug at the end of a long flexible cable which can be connected to the domestic lighting system or to any other convenient source of supply. §5

_The cutting cylinder c may be provided with any convenient number of radiallyprojecting blades p coactirig with the stationary bottom blade d which is vertically adjustable, being pivoted on a transverse 90 rod r and provided with tail pieces d1 engaging depending studs s carried by the frames &. By adjusting the nuts s1 on the studs, the distance between the bottom blade d and the revolving blades p can be varied 95 as required.

In the construction illustrated, the cutting blades p are inserted into radial slots around discs q mounted on the short shafts n ,of the cutting cylinder, thus providing a 100 skeleton '-construction which is light and strong and leaves the centre of the cylinder free of obstruction thus affording an unimpeded outlet for cut grass. The shafts n run in ball-bearings n1 carried by the frames 103 &. The cutting cylinder can be readily detached by removing the cover 51 and the nuts q1 securing the discs q on the shafts n when these shafts can be withdrawn leaving the cylinder free. no

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The front roller e is mounted eccentrically of end discs e1 which are housed in recesses &2 formed in the side frames, and vertical adjustment of said roller is obtained by 5 revolving said discs as required and then locking them against rotation by means of clamping nuts e2 on studs e3 on the discs e1, which studs are rotatable in the side frames. The side frames & are held together by a 10 number of tension rods t fitted with tubes f- forming distance pieces and disposed transversely of the machine.

The lawn-mower of Figs. 1, 2 and 4 is intended to be propelled by hand by the 15 shafts « attached to the side frames Z>, but the machine may be driven or propelled by animal, electrical or other mechanical power, as may be desired.

Fig. 3 illustrates a similar construction 20 wherein a drive from the cutting cylinder to the land roller is added. In this example, the land roller a is made in three sections, the central section containing the electric motor g. The central section rotates 25 on ball-bearings f1 about the hollow shafts /, and the end sections of the land roller are free to rotate independently of said central section and of each other on sleeves a" forming extensions of the housings a7 of the bearings /% said housings and sleeves being integral with the central section of the land roller.

The driving spindle g1 of the motor g is provided with a driving pinion h which is 35 coupled by the intermediate idler pinion k to a driven pinion m on the shaft n of the cutting cylinder c as in the construction of Figs. 1, 2 and 4, but in the present case the idler pinion k, which is carried by a hollow 40 shaft k3 mounted in a thrust bearing k* in the coyer &1, is in the form of a clutch member, the complementary member k5 of said clutch being keyed on a shaft 70° extending , through the shaft k3. On the inner end of 45 the clutch shaft ke is a' pinion w which gears with a pinion y on the sleeve a6 of the central section of the land roller a. A spring k7 around the shaft ka normally presses the clutch member k5 into engagement with the 50 complementary member k. The clutch member k5 has a tubular extension ks extending through the hollow shaft 7c% and coacting with the end of said extension k8 is a cam z on a.pivoted lever z1 carried by a cap z? 55 on the cover &1. By manipulating the lever z1, the cam z can be caused to disengage the clutch members k and k5 against the action of the spring k7. When the clutch mem• bers are in engagement, the rotary power 60 of the motor is transmitted therethrough to the clutch shaft 7c6, the pinion w thereon, the pinion ?/ and the sleeve a° and hence to the central section of the land roller a which is thus driven simultaneously with 05 but at a reduced speed to the cutting cylin

der. The end sections of the land roller revolve independently of the central section and facilitate turning of the machine.

It will be noticed that the drive to the cutting cylinder c is continuous while the 70 motor g is running, while the drive to the central section of the land roller a can be put into and out of action at will.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:— 75

1. An electrically-driven lawn-mower comprising a pair of side frames, a land roller, a cutting cylinder, a bottom blade and a front roller all mounted between said side frames, an electric motor mounted 80 within said land roller, means for supplying said motor with electric current, and means for transmitting the rotary power of said motor to said cutting cylinder the drive of the cutting cylinder being independent of 85 the rotation of the land roller.

2. An electrically-driven lawn-mower comprising a pair of side frames, a land roller, a cutting cylinder, a bottom blade and a front roller all mounted between said 90 side frames, an electric motor mounted within said land roller, means for supplying said motor with electric current, means for transmitting the rotary power of said motor to said cutting cylinder, and means 95 for transmitting said rotary power to said cutting cylinder and simultaneously to the land roller when desired.

3. An electrically-driven lawn-mower comprising a pair of side frames, a land roll- 100 er, a cutting cylinder, an adjustable bottom blade and a front roller all mounted between said side frames, an electric motor mounted concentrically within said land roller, electric leads for supplying said 105 motor with electric current, said land roller revolving freely on hollow shafts carried by said side frames, the spindle of said motor projecting through one of said hollow shafts and the electric leads to said motor enter- no ing through the other hollow shaft, and gearing between said spindle and said cutting cylinder whereby the rotary power of the motor is transmitted to the cutting cylinder. v 115

4. An electrically-driven lawn-mower comprising a pair of side frames, a land roller, a cutting cylinder, an adjustable bottom blade and a front roller all mounted between said side frames, recesses in said side 12° frames, and discs revolubly mounted in said recesses, said front roller being mounted eccentrically of said end discs, means for clamping said discs against rotation after adjustment, an electric motor mounted con- 125 centrically within said land roller, electric leads for supplying said motor with electric current, said land roller revolving freely on hollow shafts carried by said side frames, the spindle of said motor projecting through 13°