Speed control for lawn and garden vehicle
AssigneeGilson Brothers Company
InventorsRonald R. Cuba, Richard C. Heidner, Clyde R. Wetor, Bruce H. Fiedler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control arrangement for a lawn and garden vehicle having a manually movable member provided for controlling the speed of operation of the tractor and a speed setting arrangement for permitting the operator to manually set a speed control at a minimum constant speed while also permitting the operator to move the manually movable member to temporarily increase the speed of the vehicle. The speed setting arrangement is connected to the lawn tractor brake to cause disengagement of the speed setting apparatus when the brake is applied.
Claims37
A lawn and garden vehicle comprising
- a frame,
- wheels supporting the frame for movement along the ground,
- brake means for braking the vehicle, said brake means including a brake member supported for movement between a brake release position and a brake engaging position,
- an engine supported by the frame,
- a transmission for drivingly connecting the engine to the wheels,
- means for controlling the operation of the transmission to thereby control the direction of movement of the lawn and garden vehicle and the speed of movement of the lawn and garden vehicle, the means for controlling operation of the transmission including
- a manually movable control member supported for movement from a neutral position to a forward driving position and from said neutral position to a rearward driving position,
- means for operably connecting said manually movable control member to said transmission to control operation of said transmission in response to movement of said manually movable control member, said means for operably connecting including a speed control member connected to said manually movable control member for movement from a neutral position to a forward drive position in response to movement of said manually movable control member from said neutral position to said forward drive position, and
- means for selectively and releaseably supporting said speed control member in a selected minimum speed position, said means for selectively and releaseably supporting said speed control member supporting said speed control member such that said speed control member is prevented from moving from said selected minimum speed position toward said neutral position when said means for selectively and releaseably supporting supports said speed control member, and such that said speed control member is freely movable from said minimum speed position to an increased speed position, and said means for selectively and releaseably supporting including means for releasing said speed control member when said brake member is moved toward said brake engaging position.
A vehicle comprising a frame,
- wheels for supporting the frame for movement along the ground,
- an engine,
- means for operably connecting the engine to the wheels to drive the wheels, said means for operably connecting including a transmission,
- means for controlling operation of the transmission including a speed control member operably connected to said transmission, said speed control member being pivotally movable about a pivot axis from a neutral position in a first direction to a forward driving position to cause forward driving movement of the vehicle, and from said neutral position in an opposite pivotal direction to cause rearward driving movement of the vehicle,
- brake means for selectively braking the vehicle, said brake means including a movable brake member adapted to be selectively moved by the operator from a brake release position to a brake engaging position, and
- means for selectively engaging said speed control member to support said speed control member in a forward driving position, said means for selectively engaging including means for selectively supporting said speed control member such that said speed control member is prevented from moving from said forward driving position toward said neutral position, and such that said speed control member is freely movable from said minimum speed position to an increased speed position, and said means for selectively engaging including means for releasing said speed control member when said movable brake member is moved from said brake release position toward said brake engaging position.
Apparatus for use in a lawn and garden vehicle for controlling the speed of the lawn and garden vehicle wherein the lawn and garden vehicle includes a frame, wheels for supporting the frame for movement along the ground, and engine, and a transmission for drivingly connecting the engine to the wheels, a speed and direction control member operably connected to the transmission, the speed and direction control member being movable from a neutral position to a forward drive position and wherein the output speed of the transmission in the forward direction is dependent upon the extent of forward movment of the speed and direction control member, and the speed and direction control member being movable from the neutral position to a rearward drive position wherein the output speed of the transmission in the rearward direction is proportional to the extent of movement of the speed and direction control member from the neutral position toward the rearward position, and brake means for selectively braking the lawn and garden vehicle, the brake means including a movable brake member adapted to be selectively moved from a brake release position to a brake engaging position, and means for resiliently biasing said movable brake member toward the brake release position, the apparatus comprising:
- means for selectively and releaseably engaging the speed and direction control member for holding said speed and direction control member in a selected position and preventing movement of the speed and direction control member to the neutral position, said means for selectively and releaseably supporting said speed control member permitting movement of said speed control member to an increased speed position and supporting said speed control member in said selected minimum speed position when said speed control member returns to said selected minimum speed position, and said means for selectively and releaseably engaging including means for releasing said speed and direction control member when said movable brake member is moved toward said brake engaging position.
A speed and direction control arrangement for a lawn and garden vehicle including an engine and transmission operably connected to the engine, the control arrangement comprising:
- means for controlling the transmission, said means for controlling the transmission travel including a manually operable speed control adapted to be moved to control the speed of the lawn and garden vehicle, and a speed control member responsive to movement of said manually operable speed control,
- means for selectively manually maintaining the travel speed of the vehicle at a selected minimum speed, said means for selectively manually maintaining the travel speed of the vehicle at a selected minimum speed including means for providing for movement of said manually operable speed control to an increased speed position and means for holding said speed control member in said selected minimum speed position when said manually operable speed control is released from said increased speed position, and
- brake means for selectively braking said vehicle, said brake means being operably connected to said means for holding said speed control member in said selected minimum speed position to cause disengagement of said means for holding said speed control member in said selected minimum speed position when said brake is applied.
A control arrangement for controlling the speed of travel of a lawn and garden vehicle having a frame, wheels for supporting the frame for movement along the ground, an engine, a transmission operably connecting the engine to the wheels to drive the wheels, and means for braking the wheels, said means for braking the wheels including a brake pedal, the control arrangement comprising:
- a manually operable movable control member operably connected to the transmission for controlling the speed of travel of the vehicle,
- means for selectively engaging the manually operable movable control member to releaseably hold said manually operable moveable control member at a selected speed,
- means for maintaining engagement of said means for selectively engaging with said manually operable moveable control member when the speed of the vehicle is increased to a speed greater than said minimum speed, said means for maintaining engagement permitting movement of said manually operable movable control member to an increased speed position and supporting said manually operable movable control member in said selected minimum speed position when said manually operable moveable control member returns to said selected minimum speed position, and
- means for operably connecting said means for braking to said means for maintaining engagement to cause disengagement of said means for selectively engaging when said brake means is caused to brake said vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.