Method and apparatus for restricting grass cutting of a lawn mower in reverse

A lawn mower capable of cutting grass or other vegetation, comprising:

• a cutting blade capable of cutting said grass or other vegetation;
• a cutting blade control selectively movable between a cutting position and an idle, non-cutting, position, for causing said cutting blade to be either in a cutting mode or an idle mode, respectively;
• a shift lever selectively moveable between a forward and a reverse position, for causing forward and rearward movement of said lawn mower, respectively;
• a reverse lock out latch movable between a blocking position and a cleared position, said reverse lock out latch when in said cleared position configured to allow movement of said shift lever between said forward and reverse positions, said reverse lock out latch when in said blocking position configured to block movement of said shift lever from said forward position towards said reverse position but not to block movement of said shift lever from said reverse position towards said forward position, said reverse lock out latch also configured to be moved into said blocked position when said shift is in said reverse position;
• and
• control linkage intermediate said cutting blade control and said reverse lock out latch, said control linkage configured to cause said reverse lock out latch to be moved to said blocking position when said blade is in said cutting mode,
• such that if a user attempts to shift said lawn mower from forward to reverse movement by use of said shift lever while said blade is in said cutting mode, said cutting blade control must first be moved into said idle position to allow said reverse locking latch to move to said cleared position, whereupon said shift lever may then be moved to said reverse position and then said cutting blade control may be moved back into said cutting mode to cut in reverse.

A lawn mower apparatus capable of cutting grass or other vegetation, said apparatus comprising:

• a cutting blade capable of cutting said grass or other vegetation;
• a cutting blade control selectively movable between a cutting position and an idle, non-cutting, position, for causing said cutting blade to be either in a cutting mode or an idle mode, respectively;
• a shift lever selectively moveable between a forward and a reverse position, for causing forward and rearward movement of said lawn mower, respectively;
• a reverse lock out latch movable between a blocking position and a cleared position, said reverse lock out latch when in said cleared position configured to allow movement of said shift lever between said forward and reverse positions, said reverse lock out latch when in said blocking position configured to block movement of said shift lever from said forward position towards said reverse position but not to block movement of said shift lever from said reverse position towards said forward position, said reverse lock out latch also configured to be moved into said blocked position when said shift is in said reverse position;
• control linkage intermediate said cutting blade control and said reverse lock out latch, said control linkage configured to cause said reverse lock out latch to be moved to said blocking position when said blade is in said cutting mode;
• and
• an override lever configured to selectively retain said reverse lock out latch from being moved to said blocking position when said blade is in said cutting mode, said override lever overriding the operation of said reverse out latch,
• such that if a user attempts to shift said lawn mower from forward to reverse movement by use of said shift lever while said blade is in said cutting mode, said cutting blade control must first be moved into said idle position to allow said reverse locking latch to move to said cleared position, unless said override lever is activated, whereupon said shift lever may then be moved to said reverse position while said cutting blade control is in said cutting mode.