Control lever mounting

A mounting for the controls of an engine driven appliance such as a mower and the like, the appliance having a handle extending therefrom, the handle having a rearwardly disposed bar for being grasped by the operator of the appliance, a driven working part such as a mower blade adapted to be driven by the appliance engine, and a clutch mechanism for clutching and de-clutching the connection between the engine and driven working part, a dead-man control lever adapted to be operable by the operator grasping the rearwardly disposed bar of said handle, the dead-man control lever controlling the operation of said clutch mechanism through a cable interconnecting the clutch mechanism and the dead-man control lever, and a throttle lever for controlling the operation of the said appliance engine through a cable interconnecting the throttle lever and the said engine, the improvement comprising the combination of a mounting member secured to said handle within reach of the operator, said mounting member including a first pivot pin member extending into said handle, and providing a pivotal mounting for said throttle lever, the mounting member having a space provided therein for permitting the throttle member to swing within a range between spaced stops provided by the mounting member, the said mounting member including a second pivot pin extending into said handle at a distance along the handle from the said first pivot pin and providing a pivot mounting for said dead-man control lever, the mounting member having a space provided therein for permitting the said dead-man control lever to extend from the mounting member and to swing in an upright plane and along the said mounting member, and a locking member for selectively locking the dead-man control lever against pivotal movement toward a first position permitting movement of the clutch mechanism to clutched condition, said locking member being selectively movable to permit the dead-man control lever to move toward a position moving the clutch mechanism to unclutched condition, said locking member including a bolt-carrying member anchored to the said mounting member, biasing means biasing the bolt-carrying member toward said upright plane, said bolt-carrying member carrying an engaging member adjacent its free end for manually moving the bolt-carrying member against the bias of the said biasing means away from said upright plane, and a bolt secured to said bolt-carrying member and extending laterally of said mounting member to be moved by said bolt-carrying member into and out of said upright plane, the said bolt upon being moved across said upright plane by the bolt-carrying member under the urging of said biasing means protruding athwart the path of said dead-man control lever to bar its movement toward the first position permitting movement of the clutch mechanism to clutched condition, the dead-man control lever being movable by the operator to a second position to permit the movement of the clutch mechanism to clutched condition upon the withdrawal of said bolt from athwart the path of the dead-man control lever in said upright plane by the operator manually moving the bolt-carrying member and bolt carried thereby against the bias of the said biasing means away from said upright plane.