Hedge trimmer

A hedge trimmer, comprising:

• a drive motor disposed in a casing;
• a blade arrangement having a cutter bar;
• and
• a gear mechanism disposed in the casing and connected to the drive motor, the gear mechanism comprising a first gear setting, a second gear setting, a planetary gear module as part of at least one of the first gear setting and the second gear setting, and an output shaft adapted to drive a drive hub of the cutter bar,
• wherein the at least one cutter bar is driven in a reciprocating manner in a longitudinal direction of the blade arrangement by the drive motor via the gear mechanism,
• wherein the first gear setting and the second gear setting produce two different gear-ratios, such that the at least one cutter bar is adapted to be driven continuously at a first speed and torque using the first gear setting, and continuously at a second speed and torque different from the first speed using the second gear setting, and
• wherein the hedge trimmer further comprises a slidable mode switch disposed on the casing above the blade arrangement and a manual actuator in mechanical communication with the gear mechanism to manually alternate between the first gear setting and the second gear setting based on a position of the manual actuator,
• wherein the planetary gear module comprises a ring gear, a first set of planet gears, and a second set of planet gears,
• wherein the ring gear is mechanically connected to the manual actuator such that the ring gear is movable along an axial direction thereof to selectively engage the first set of planet gears and the second planet gears,
• wherein the manual actuator comprises a lever mechanically connected to the ring gear and the slidable switch to be actuated by a user of the hedge trimmer, and
• wherein the lever extends between a first end and a second end and is pivotable around a pivot axis between the first end and the second end such that a sliding movement of the slidable switch results in a movement of the ring gear along the axial direction.