Lawn and garden tractor hydrostatic foot control system

An off-road vehicle comprising:

• a frame;
• an operator seat mounted on said frame;
• a plurality of ground wheels carried by said vehicle, at least one of said ground wheels capable of being rotatably driven for imparting movement to said vehicle;
• a variable speed transmission coupled for rotatably driving said at least one of the ground wheels;
• a floor plate carried by the vehicle and adapted to support the heel portion of an operator's foot;
• a pedal operatively connected to said variable speed transmission and pivotally mounted for movement between a forward zone for controlling the forward speed of said vehicle, a neutral zone wherein said vehicle is in neutral, and a reverse zone for controlling the reverse speed of said vehicle;
• said pedal having first and second portions generally inclined with respect to one another and each adapted for engagement by a forward portion of said individual's foot so that engagement of said first portion with a predetermined amount of force moves said pedal into said forward zone of movement, and engagement with said second portion with a predetermined amount of force moves said pedal into said reverse zone of movement;
• said pedal being arranged relative to said floor plate in a manner which enables said individual to selectively access said first and second portions with the forward portion of said foot by pivoting said heel on said floor plate;
• said pedal having said second portion thereof disposed laterally outboard of a side edge of said floor plate and having at least a portion of said first portion thereof disposed laterally inboard of said side edge of said floor plate.

A control linkage for controlling movement Of a speed control input shaft of a hydrostatic transmission, said input shaft being rotatable between forward, neutral and reverse positions, said control linkage comprising:

• an anchor brace;
• a lever connected to and pivotable about said speed control input shaft such that pivotal movement of said lever translates into rotational movement of said speed control input shaft;
• and
• a coil spring connected to said anchor brace and said lever;
• a pedal operatively connected with said speed control input shaft and pivotally mounted for movement i) from a neutral zone to a forward zone to effectuate rotational movement of said input shaft from said neutral position to said forward position, and ii) from said neutral zone to a reverse zone to effectuate rotational movement of said input shaft from said neutral position to said reverse position;
• a control rod connecting said pedal to said lever so that pivotal movement of said pedal translates into pivotal movement of said lever and thus rotational movement of said speed control input shaft;
• the connections between the coil spring and the anchor brace, the coil spring and the lever, and the speed control input shaft and the lever all lying in a single plane substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of said input shaft when said shaft is in said neutral central position, said coil spring operably biasing said shaft into said neutral central position and said pedal into said neutral zone, and said pedal being selectively movable by force applied by an individual against the bias of said coil spring i) from said neutral zone to said forward zone so as to cause movement of said speed control input shaft from said neutral central position to said forward position or ii) from said neutral zone to said reverse zone so as to cause movement of said speed control input shaft from said neutral central position to said reverse position,
• at least one of the connections diverging away from said single plane as said input shaft diverges away from said neutral central position towards either said forward or reverse positions, and said coil spring being operable to return said input shaft to said central neutral position and said pedal to said neutral zone when said force applied by the individual is discontinued.

A switching mechanism for a hydrostatic transaxle check valve of an off road vehicle, said off-road vehicle having a frame, a console, an operator seat, a steering wheel, an engine, and a variable speed transmission coupled for driving at least one of a plurality of groundwheels, said hydrostatic check valve being switchable by actuation of a push-button between opened and closed positions to convert the vehicle between push and drive modes respectively, said switching mechanism comprising:

• an operating rod movable between first and second positions and having a manually engageable portion at a first end thereof, at least said manually engageable portion being normally disposed exteriorly of said console and beneath said seat, said seat being pivotable to permit manual access to said manually engageable portion;
• a cam member rotatable about an axis and having an eccentric portion capable of operational engagement with said push-button for switching said hydrostatic check valve between said opened and closed positions;
• a biasing member operatively coupling said operating rod and said cam member so that movement of said operating rod between said first and second positions causes rotation of said cam member in a manner which forces said eccentric portion into operational engagement with said push-button for switching said hydrostatic check valve between said opened and closed positions.