Patent ID: 7980050
Filing Date: 2011-07-19
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
1. A mower unit comprising: a mower deck; a plurality of blades mounted inside said mower deck and rotatable about vertical shafts supported to said mower deck; a cylindrical cutting chamber for each of the plurality of blades with each of the vertical shafts acting as a vertical shaft of the cutting chamber, each cutting chamber having an inner surface with a cross-section taken at a vertical plane that passes through a respective one of the vertical shafts of the blades, the cross-section of the inner surface of each cutting chamber being curved closer toward the respective vertical shaft in an upward direction; a discharge outlet arranged on one lateral side of said mower deck for discharging cut grass cut by the plurality of blades, said discharge outlet being formed by cutting away the mower deck continuously from a part of a top surface to a lower edge thereof through a lateral side surface of the mower deck and along a circumferential direction of said vertical shaft; an opening and closing member configured to be moved to a closing position for closing said discharge outlet and also to an opening position away from said discharge outlet for opening the discharge outlet, said opening and closing member in said opening position extends along an outer face of said mower deck, said opening and closing member having a shape similar to the corresponding outer face of the mower deck so as to cover the discharge outlet from a top opening area over a lateral side opening area thereof, wherein an inner surface of the opening and closing member has a shape that corresponds to the inner surface of a corresponding cutting chamber, and wherein the opening and closing member has a lower edge portion shaped to extend along and come into tight contact with the lower edge of the mower deck, which allows air inside the mower deck to leak less easily from the discharge outlet in the closing position and to be slid easily and smoothly along the lower edge of the mower deck; a moving mechanism located outside of said mower deck for moving said opening and closing member, said moving mechanism including a pivotal arm having one end thereof connected to one of said vertical shafts adjacent said discharge outlet and the other end thereof connected to said opening and closing member to be pivotable about said one vertical shaft, said opening and closing member is movable between said closing position and said opening position along said lower edge of said mower deck in association with said pivotal arm pivoted about said one vertical shaft; and a fixing mechanism for fixing said opening and closing member to said mower deck at said closing position and said opening position, said fixing mechanism including: