Independent, positive, reverse drive mower with brake lockout

摘要

A control apparatus for a lawn mower which includes two coupling members pivotable about a single axis. The coupling members are connected to a drive mechanism and a braking mechanism for the lawn mower. The lawn mower device has a drive configured to rotate a shaft (80) in a first direction. A drive wheel (84) is coupled to the shaft and is coupled to a driven wheel (90) by a drive belt (80). A tensioning system is shown coupled to the drive belt. The tensioning system has a first idler plate (50) configured to bias a first idler pulley (52) against the drive belt when the drive is rotating the shaft in the first direction and a second idler plate (96) configured to bias a second idler pulley (100) against the drive belt when the drive is rotating the shaft in a second direction. A brake mechanism (72) is further coupled to the tensioning system. The brake mechanism is configured to resist the rotation of the driven wheel. A brake lockout (102) is provided which resists the inadvertent engagement of the brake when the mower is driven in a reverse direction. <IMAGE>