WALK-BEHIND MOWER WITH OPERATOR PRESENCE CONTROL FOR SELECTIVELY DETERMINING WHEN POWER FROM SOURCE IS DELIVERED TO OUTPUT

摘要

PURPOSE: Provided is a walk-behind mower with an operator presence control to reduce the number of components, to simplify operation, and to improve reliability. CONSTITUTION: The operator presence control includes a handle(90), a bale(92) coupled to the handle, a control arm(48) moveable between a neutral position and a drive position, and an electromagnet(72) selectively energizable in response to the position of the bale. The bail is moveable between an engaged position and a disengaged position. The control arm is adapted to cause delivery of power from the source to the output when in the drive position and interrupt power delivery when in the neutral position. The control arm is electro-magnetically retained in the drive position while the bale is in the engaged position. The control arm is released from the drive position and biased toward the neutral position when the electromagnet is de-energized. A rectifier for converting an alternating current to an direct current is provided.