Forward and reverse mechanism having a single direction

Claim 1

A forward and reverse mechanism having a single direction foot pedal, comprising a pivotally-mounted foot pedal arranged to be operative in a single direction of movement, a member movable in two opposite directions in response to pivotal movement of said foot pedal, and forward and reverse mode mechanism operatively interconnected between said foot pedal and said member for transmitting movement of said foot pedal to said member, said mechanism including a rotatably-mounted shaft operatively associated with said member for inducing the movement of said member in the two directions, said mechanism including an over-center shiftable assembly operatively interconnected between said foot pedal and said shaft and consisting of a plate and a link, with said plate being mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, and with said link being connected between said plate and said pedal, said plate having three detents in a row therein and respectively corresponding to forward and reverse and neutral modes of said mechanism and with said neutral mode being the centered position of said over-center shiftable assembly and with the other two of said detents being on opposite sides of said centered position, said link having an end disposed in said detents for selective engagement therewith for forward and reverse positions to effect movement of said member in the selected one of the two directions and in response to the single direction of movement of said pedal, and a shift member operatively associated with said over-center shiftable assembly for positioning same in relative neutral, forward, and reverse positions.