Conchemco, Incorporated

Wescon Products Company

Wescon Products, Inc.

Arthur L Urban

Anthony F Beugelsdyk

Bruce J Kester

Dale C Kester

Michael A Barnard

Marvin L Cox

Ted E Deubner

Donald R Novak

A control lever assembly includes a mounting bracket on which a control lever and detent plate are supported. The bracket presents a generally planer sliding surface in which a detent element is formed. The control lever and detent plate are supported on the bracket for movement across the sliding surface, and the detent plate includes a finger that is supported for pivotal movement about an axis extending in a direction parallel to the sliding surface. A pair of opposed side walls are provided on the detent plate for guiding the pivotal movement of the finger while preventing the finger from shifting relative to the plate along the pivot axis of the finger. A spring is provided for biasing the finger against the sliding surface so that when the lever is pivoted to a position in which the finger is aligned with the detent element, the finger is forced into engagement with the element and holds the lever in that position.

Control lever assembly

A bail stop is provided which, when preferably used as part of a lawnmower control system having a U-shaped bail rotatably coupled with a lawnmower handle, prevents forward rotation of the bail beyond the disengaged position. The bail stop preferably includes a circular body with a central shaft-receiving hole; an integral rotation stop tab circumferentially coupled with the body and extending outwardly and perpendicularly therefrom; and a bail-engaging clip coupled with an extended portion of the body and extending outwardly and perpendicularly therefrom on a side thereof opposed from the tab. The clip and the tab are circumferentially spaced apart. In use, the rotation shaft coupling the bail to the lawnmower handle is received in the rotation hole. A support leg of the bail abuts the clip and the tab abuts the handle when the bail is in the disengaged position thereby preventing further forward rotation of the bail.

Bail stop

A compact, safety, control assembly for lawnmowers having electrically started engines is provided which includes a 'dead man' function and which requires two distinct steps for starting the lawnmower engine. The control assembly preferably includes a shiftable bail, a movable lever, a cable connected to the lawnmower ignition assembly and shiftable between positions corresponding to the off, on and start position of the ignition assembly, a rotatable operating mechanism connected to the cable and operable by the bail, a fitting attached to the cable and engageable by the lever, and a spring biasing the cable to the off position. A second embodiment of the invention is provided that does not include a lever or cable fitting and which is applicable to so-called zone restart lawnmower controls. In operation, the operating mechanism is rotated by the operation of the bail thereby shifting the cable into the on position. Rotation of the operating mechanism clears the movable lever for shifting thereof, and the fitting attached to the cable is engaged by the lever for shifting the cable from the on to the start position. The biasing spring returns the cable to the on position when the lever is released, and the cable is retained in the on position so long as the bail is held in its grapsed position. Upon release of the bail, the operating mechanism rotates to its original position, the cable shifts to the off position, and the lawnmower engine is shut down.

Electric restart control

A compact, safety, control assembly for lawnmowers having electrically started engines is provided which includes a 'dead man' function and which requires two distinct steps for starting the lawnmower engine. The control assembly preferably includes a shiftable handle, a moveable lever, a cable connected to the lawnmower ignition assembly and shiftable between positions corresponding to the off, on and start position of the ignition assembly, a spring biasing the cable to the off position, a rotatable operating mechanism connected to the cable and engageable by the handle and lever, and a guide and slot assembly that enables shifting of the cable to the start position from the off position only after completion of a two-handed, two-step operation. In operation, the operating mechanism is rotated by the operation of the handle, thereby shifting the cable into the on position. The operating mechanism and the cable may be shifted to the start position, once the operating mechanism and cable have been rotated to the on position, by manual operation of the lever. The biasing spring returns the cable and operating mechanism to the on position when the lever is released, where they are retained by the handle. Upon release of the handle, the operating mechanism and cable shift to the off position under the influence of the biasing spring, and the lawnmower engine is shut down.

Growing community of inventors

Wichita, KS, United States of America

Arthur L Urban