1. A grass trimming device comprising:
a handle, said handle retains an onoff switch, a first actuation switch, a second actuation switch, and a safety lock switch;
a battery housing, said battery housing is fastened via fasteners at an upper end of said battery housing to a lower end of said handle, wherein said battery housing is formed of two halves being coupled together via a coupling means, said two halves define a battery retainer integrally formed within said two halves in order to secure a battery in position;
a shaft, said shaft is of an elongated, rigid configuration, said shaft has an upper end fastened to a lower end of said battery housing via fasteners;
a trimmer housing, said trimmer housing has an upper, rearward end mounted to a lower end of said shaft at a tubular neck portion of said trimmer housing, said trimmer housing has an anterior portion opposing a posterior portion;
a first motor, said first motor is housed within said trimmer housing;
a first linehead assembly, said first linehead assembly is secured to said first motor;
a second motor, said second motor is housed within said trimmer housing; and
a second linehead assembly, said second linehead assembly is secured to said second motor.
2. The grass trimming device of claim 1 wherein said onoff switch, said first actuation switch, said second actuation switch, said safety lock switch, said battery, said first motor, and said second motor are electrically connected via connecting wires.
3. The grass trimming device of claim 1, wherein said first linehead assembly comprises a linehead housing, a linehead spool, a helical spring, a linehead cover, and a fastener.
4. The grass trimming device of claim 3, wherein said linehead housing is positioned at a lower end of said linehead housing coupler of said first motor in an overlying manner, to which said linehead housing is secured via said fastener, said linehead housing has a top side provided with integrally molded fan blades to facilitate cooling of said first motor, said linehead housing is adapted to house said linehead spool which is held in place between tabs of said linehead cover, wherein said tabs project upwardly along an outer periphery of said linehead cover, at opposed positions there along, said tabs are adapted to engage opposed slots formed in said linehead housing, thereby fastening said linehead cover thereto.
5. The grass trimming device of claim 3, wherein said helical spring is vertically positioned between said linehead spool and said linehead housing in order to bias said linehead spool against said linehead cover.
6. The grass trimming device of claim 3, wherein said linehead spool includes trimming line being wound thereabout, said trimming line has a free end inserted through a hole formed in a vertical sidewall of said linehead housing and extended outward therefrom.
7. The grass trimming device of claim 1, wherein said onoff switch is adapted to energize and de-energize said first motor and said second motor, said first actuation switch activates operation of said first linehead assembly, and said second actuation switch activates operation of said second linehead assembly, said safety lock switch functions to simultaneously disenable both said first linehead assembly and said second linehead assembly, whereupon actuation of said first motor via said onoff switch, and after depression of said first actuation switch, said first linehead assembly rotates, thereby causing said trimming line to rotate about an axis of said linehead spool in a substantially horizontal plane.
8. The grass trimming device of claim 1, wherein said wherein said second linehead assembly comprises a linehead housing, a linehead spool, a helical spring, a linehead cover, and a fastener.
9. The grass trimming device of claim 8, wherein said second linehead assembly is designed, connected, and configured with substantially identical components as said first linehead assembly, and thus functions identically, except for a vertical cutting orientation provided by said second linehead assembly.
10. The grass trimming device of claim 7, wherein said onoff switch energizes said first motor and said second motor, said first actuation switch is depressed causing rotation of said first linehead assembly, said second actuation switch is depressed causing rotation of said second linehead assembly, thereby facilitating simultaneous rotation by first linehead assembly and said second linehead assembly, and in turn, facilitating a trimming of grass at both a substantially horizontal and vertical plane.
11. The grass trimming device of claim 1, wherein said trimmer housing includes a cutting guide indicator disposed thereatop to provide user with a visual guide of a prospective vertical cutting line.
12. A grass trimming device comprising:
a handle, said handle retains an onoff switch, a first actuation switch, a second actuation switch, and a safety lock switch;
a battery housing, said battery housing is fastened via fasteners at an upper end of said battery housing to a lower end of said handle;
a shaft, said shaft is of an elongated, rigid configuration, said shaft has an upper end fastened to a lower end of said battery housing via fasteners;
a trimmer housing, said trimmer housing has an upper, rearward end mounted to a lower end of said shaft at a tubular neck portion of said trimmer housing, said trimmer housing has an anterior portion opposing a posterior portion and is formed of two halves being coupled together via a coupling means, said two halves define a first retainer integrally formed within said two halves for securing a first motor mounting plate in position, said first retainer resides within said anterior portion of said trimmer housing and further lies in a horizontal orientation, said two halves of said trimmer housing are each provided with foramens to facilitate cooling of said first motor and said second motor, and wherein said two halves define a second retainer integrally formed within said two halves for securing a second motor mounting plate in position, said second retainer resides within said posterior portion of said trimmer housing and further lies in a vertical orientation;
a first motor, said first motor is housed within said trimmer housing;
a first linehead assembly, said first linehead assembly is secured to said first motor;
a second motor, said second motor is housed within said trimmer housing; and
a second linehead assembly, said second linehead assembly is secured to said second motor.
13. The grass trimming device of claim 12, wherein said first motor mounting plate includes a plurality of apertures formed therethrough to facilitate securable mounting of said first motor to said first motor mounting plate, said first motor mounting plate includes a central portal, said first motor is mounted atop said first motor mounting plate via bolts, and said first motor mounting plate is coupled to said first retainer via a coupling means, said first motor includes a motor shaft which extends through said central portal of said first motor mounting plate, and wherein said motor shaft has a lower end mounted to an upper end of a linehead housing coupler.
14. The grass trimming device of claim 12, wherein said second motor mounting plate includes a plurality of apertures formed therethrough to facilitate securable mounting of said second motor to said second motor mounting plate, said second motor mounting plate includes a central portal, said second motor is mounted atop said second motor mounting plate via bolts, said second motor is positioned perpendicular with respect to said first motor, said second motor mounting plate is coupled to second retainer via a coupling means, said second motor includes a motor shaft which extends through said central portal of said second motor mounting plate, and wherein said motor shaft has a lower end mounted to an upper end of a linehead housing coupler.
15. A grass trimming device comprising:
a handle, said handle retains an onoff switch, a first actuation switch, a second actuation switch, and a safety lock switch;
a battery housing, said battery housing is fastened via fasteners at an upper end of said battery housing to a lower end of said handle;
a shaft, said shaft is of an elongated, rigid configuration, said shaft has an upper end fastened to a lower end of said battery housing via fasteners;
a trimmer housing, said trimmer housing has an upper, rearward end mounted to a lower end of said shaft at a tubular neck portion of said trimmer housing, said trimmer housing has an anterior portion opposing a posterior portion, said trimmer housing is formed of two halves being coupled together via a coupling means;
a first motor, said first motor is housed within said trimmer housing;
a second motor, said second motor is housed within said trimmer housing; and
a pair of rotatable motor support housings, said pair of rotatable motor support housings is adapted to support said first motor and said second motor, and wherein said pair of rotatable motor support housings are adapted to facilitate simultaneous rotation by a first linehead assembly and a second linehead assembly;
wherein said pair of rotatable motor support housings defines a first rotatable motor support housing and a second rotatable motor support housing, said first rotatable motor support housing is mounted transversely atop a bottom wall formed by formed by said two halves of said trimmer housing at said anterior portion thereof, said second rotatable motor support housing is mounted transversely atop a vertically-extending, inner bottom wall of said two halves of said trimmer housing at said posterior portion thereof.
16. The grass trimming device of claim 15, wherein each of said pair of rotatable motor support housings defines a pair of arcuate index brackets, wherein each of said pair of arcuate index brackets has an index plate defining an arcuate shape and a pair of opposed flanges integrally molded along each end of said index plate, said pair of opposed flanges include apertures through which a coupling means is inserted for mounting said pair of arcuate index brackets to a bottom wall of said two halves, and wherein each said index plate includes a series of annularly-oriented holes adapted to receive a spring-biased lug therethrough, and wherein each of said pair of rotatable motor support housings further includes a rotatable motor support platform having a generally elongated rectangular configuration and a vertically-extending arcuate index engagement plate integrally molded at opposed ends of said rotatable motor support platform, wherein each said index engagement plate includes a pivot pin projecting outwardly from a lower, central portion thereof, wherein each said pivot pin is rotatably held within a bore formed in each said index plate of said pair of arcuate index brackets, thereby allowing said rotatable motor support platform to rotate about said arcuate index brackets via said pivot pin, and wherein each said index plate of said pair of arcuate index brackets is provided with a spring-biased lug projecting outwardly from an upper middle portion of each said index plate in order to lock said rotatable motor support platform at a desired indexed position, said spring-biased lug is biased outwardly in a resting position, and wherein said spring-biased lug is adapted to mate or latch within a selected angularly-oriented hole of each said index plate, thereby keeping said rotatable motor support platform and said pair of arcuate index brackets locked together at a selected rotationally-indexed position, and wherein said rotatable motor support platform includes a circular opening overwhich a motor mounting plate is mounted via a coupling means, wherein each said motor mounting plate is mounted with a respective said first motor and said second motor thereatop via bolts, said bolts are driven through apertures formed within said motor mounting plate, and wherein each of said first motor and said second motor includes a motor shaft which extends through said circular opening of said rotatable motor support platform, said motor shaft has a lower end mounted to an upper end of a linehead housing coupler.
17. The grass trimming device of claim 15, wherein said first linehead assembly and said second linehead assembly each comprise a linehead housing positioned at a lower end of a linehead housing coupler in an overlying manner, to which linehead housing is secured via fasteners, said linehead housing has a top side provided with integrally molded fan blades to facilitate cooling of said first motor and said second motor, said linehead housing is adapted to house a linehead spool, said linehead spool is held in place between tabs of a linehead cover, said tabs project upwardly along an outer periphery of said linehead cover, at opposed positions there along, said tabs are adapted to engage opposed slots formed in said linehead housing, thereby fastening said linehead cover to said linehead housing, said linehead spool is biased against said linehead cover via a helical spring, said helical spring is vertically positioned between said linehead spool and said linehead housing, said linehead spool includes trimming line being wound thereabout, said trimming line has a free end inserted through a hole formed in a vertical sidewall of said linehead housing and extended outward therefrom.
18. The grass trimming device of claim 16, wherein said rotatable motor support platform includes a first control handle having a lower end mounted vertically atop said rotatable motor support platform at said anterior portion of said trimmer housing, wherein said first control handle facilitates manual rotation of said rotatable motor support platform at said anterior portion of said trimmer housing, said first control handle has an upper end which extends upwardly through an elongated oval void formed from a pair of semi-rectangular recesses formed along a top wall of said two halves at said anterior portion of said trimmer housing, and wherein said rotatable motor support platform includes a second control handle having a lower end mounted vertically atop said rotatable motor support platform at said posterior portion of said trimmer housing, said second control handle has an upper end which extends upwardly through an elongated void formed from a pair of semi-rectangular recesses formed along a rear wall of said two halves at said posterior portion of said trimmer housing, said second control handle facilitates manual rotation of said rotatable motor support platform at said posterior portion of said trimmer housing.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A photoelectric sensor comprising:
a light-projecting unit for projecting light;
a light-receiving unit for receiving light projected from the light-projecting unit and generating data on an amount of received light;
an output unit for outputting a detection signal indicating that a detection target has been detected; and
a signal processing unit for receiving the data on the amount of received light generated by the light-receiving unit, performing a measuring process on the data to quantify the amount of received light, comparing measurement data obtained by the measuring process with a predetermined threshold to determine whether a detection target is present or not, switching between ON and OFF states according to a result of the determination, and storing the measured received light data when in an ON state, wherein
the signal processing unit includes:
a memory that stores the data on the amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit or the measurement data captured by the measuring process during ON periods;
an ON period identification part for identifying when the stored data on the amount of received light reaches a threshold level to trigger an ON state,
the data from the ON state taken in which the detection signal is in an ON state judged by the comparing process using the threshold level; and
an output part that outputs the data stored during the ON period, in association with the order in which the data are stored in the memory.
2. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for digitally displaying values of the data stored during the ON period, and wherein
the output part is configured to display on the display unit the data stored during the ON period to be output in the order in which the data stored during the ON period are read from the memory.
3. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 2, wherein the output part is configured such that the data stored during the ON period to be output are displayed on the display unit in order and over a time exceeding a time required for the data to be stored in the memory.
4. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 2, further comprising an operating unit for receiving an operation for specifying content of processing, and wherein
the output part performs: displaying on the display unit the value of a datum of the data stored during the ON period to be output first, and then reading from the memory a datum of the data stored during the ON period to be subsequently output each time the operating unit receives an operation commanding the display of the subsequent data stored during the ON period; and switching a content displayed on the display unit to the value of the read datum of the data stored during the ON period.
5. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 4, wherein the operating unit is configured so as to receive an operation commanding the display of a subsequent data stored during the ON period and an operation commanding the display of a previous data stored during the ON period, and wherein
the output part is configured such that when one of values of second and subsequent data stored during the ON period to be output are displayed on the display unit and the operating unit performs an operation commanding the display of the previous display content, the display content is updated by a value of the datum of the data stored during the ON period immediately preceding the currently displayed data stored during the ON period.
6. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying a graph, and wherein
the output part reads a plurality of data stored during the ON period from the memory and displays time-series changes in values of the data on the display unit.
7. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, further comprising an operating unit for receiving an operation commanding specifying the content of processing, and wherein
the output part is configured to communicate with an external device that can display a graph, the output part outputting a plurality of data stored during the ON period read from the memory in association with the order in which the data stored during the ON period are stored in the memory.
8. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, wherein the output part analyzes the data stored in the memory, thereby specifying a period of time that a signal change satisfying a predetermined condition arises, and sets the data stored during the ON period included in the period as an output target.
9. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit, when in a pre-set period after the ON state, stores the measured received light data; wherein the memory stores the data on the amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit or the measurement data captured by the measuring process for the pre-set period after the ON state; and the output part outputs data stored during the pre-set period after the ON state; wherein a duration of the pre-set period is less than a duration of the OFF state.
10. The photoelectric sensor according to claim 9, wherein the duration of the pre-set period is set by a user.
11. A method for aiding checking of a detecting operation of a photoelectric sensor, the photoelectric sensor including: a light-projecting unit for projecting light; a light-receiving unit for receiving light projected from the light-projecting unit and generating data on an amount of received light during an ON period; an output unit for outputting a detection signal indicating that a detection target has been detected; and a signal processing unit for receiving the data on the amount of received light generated by the light-receiving unit, performing a measuring process on the data on the amount of received light, comparing measurement data obtained by the measuring process with a predetermined threshold to determine whether a detection target is present or not, and switching between ON and OFF states of the detection signal according to a result of the determination,
the method comprising:
operating the photoelectric sensor while a detection target is moving through a detecting area of the photoelectric sensor and simultaneously causing the signal processing unit of the photoelectric sensor to store, in a memory, data on an amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit or measurement data obtained by the measuring process during ON periods;
performing an ON period when the amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit exceeds a threshold value;
performing a measuring process in which the data on the amount of received light is stored at fixed intervals; and
causing a two dimensional display unit integrally provided to the photoelectric sensor or a two dimensional display device externally provided to the photoelectric sensor to display values of the data read from the memory during an ON period, the values being displayed in association with the order in which the data are stored in the memory, thereby creating a two dimensional plot of the measured light intensity over a single ON period.