Self-propelled flail blade lawn mower

Claim 1

A self-propelled flail blade lawn mower comprising a support frame having forward and rearward ends, a handle assembly extending upwardly and rearwardly from said rearward end and a cutter housing extending forwardly of said forward end, said support frame and said cutter housing being affixed to a common cross member extending transversely across the support frame whereby the cross member supports the forward end of the support frame and the rearward end of the cutter housing, a rear axle and wheel assembly rotatably supported substantially in the vicinity of the rearward end of said support frame and a pair of front wheels rotatably mounted substantially in the vicinity of the forward end of said cutter housing, a cutter shaft bearing a plurality of pivotally mounted flail blades horizontally and rotatably supported within said cutter housing, said flail blades being adapted for rotation in a vertical plane, a motor and a transmission box mounted on said support frame, said motor having a downwardly extending output shaft and said transmission box having input and output shafts, first drive means operatively connected between said transmission box output shaft and said rear axle and wheel assembly, second drive means connectable between said motor output shaft and said transmission box input shaft in response to the movement of a first lever mounted on said handle assembly, third drive means connectable between said motor output shaft and said cutter shaft in response to the movement in one direction of a second lever mounted on said cutter housing, and brake means operable to prevent rotation of said cutter shaft in response to the movement of said second lever in a direction opposite to said one direction.