Control system for outdoor power equipment
US5784868A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 13, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 28, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 13, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA01D2101/00
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A control system for selectively actuating a component on an outdoor power equipment unit, such as a blade on a lawn mower, uses two separate and distinct operator actions to prevent inadvertent actuation. The control system includes a pivotal bail that must be pivoted from a first component disengaged position to a second component engaged position in which the bail lies flat against the handle assembly of the outdoor power equipment unit. A slide is slidably mounted on a housing, carried on one of the legs of the bail, for movement towards and away from the pivot axis of the bail. The slide must be pushed down to engage the lower end of the slide with a notch in a pivotal cam to temporarily link the cam to the bail in order to actuate the component. When the bail is released to return to its initial position, camming surfaces on the lower end of the slide and the notch are effective to mechanically cam the slide back up to its disengaged position where the lower end of the slide has disengaged the notch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.