A combination mower/trimmer apparatus comprises a mower with a body, a driven horizontally oriented blade member, and a trimmer assembly. The trimmer assembly includes a pair of spools for dispensing flexible trimming lines, guides for directing the lines along the blade member, an activating assembly for extending and retracting the trimming lines, and a line for feeding assembly to supply additional line during use. The apparatus includes a pair of pivotally mounted guards which normally seek an elevated position but which assume a lowered position when the respective guard is urged against an obstacle whereby a generally horizontal elongate slot in that guard aligns with a similar slot in the mower body such that extended trimming lines simultaneously trim vegetation along the obstacle as the blade member mows the vegetation adjacent thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to mowers and in particular to a 
combination mower and trimmer apparatus for simultaneously cutting and 
trimming vegetation along or around an obstacle. 
2. Description of the Relevant Art 
A variety of different types of mowing devices have been devised for 
meeting the requirements of particular mowing applications. For example, 
both powered and unpowered lawn mowers are available. Also available are 
lawn mowers that are designed to be ridden and are commonly referred to as 
"riding mowers". Other types of mowers can be pushed or guided by 
operators walking behind them. Unpowered, walk-behind type lawn mowers are 
propelled by people walking behind them; powered, walk-behind type lawn 
mowers can either be self-propelled or propelled by people walking behind 
them. 
A common type of walk-behind lawn mower includes a wheeled body mounting a 
prime mover (e.g. a gasoline engine or an electric motor) which drives a 
blade assembly with a generally horizontal blade spinning below the body 
lower surface about a generally vertical rotational axis. A handle 
generally extends rearwardly from the body on this type of lawn mower for 
grasping by an operator walking behind it. The handle can include engine 
throttle controls, a safety clutch mechanism and similar types of controls 
This type of lawn mower is quite popular and is useful for many lawnmowing 
operations. However, a limitation with this type of lawn mower is that 
many of them are designed in such a way that they cannot approach solid, 
vertical objects (e.g. walls, trees, fences, etc.) very closely. Thus, 
uncut strips of vegetation are generally left adjacent to various 
obstacles after a lawn is mowed with such a conventional mower. 
The adjacent strip remains uncut because, with many conventional mowers, 
the overall mower width is slightly greater than the cutting swath width 
whereby the mower cannot get close enough to an obstacle to mow all of the 
vegetation adjacent to it. Thus, a second, trimming operation is often 
required to effectively remove the resulting uncut strip of vegetation. 
Trimming can be done with hand tools such as clippers, shears, etc., or 
with various powered devices, such as edgers, flexible line vegetation 
trimmers, etc. Flexible line vegetation trimmers are commonly used for 
such vegetation trimming operations adjacent to obstructions such as 
trees, buildings, poles, fences, etc. Thus, a popular lawn care procedure 
is to first mow an area with the lawn mower and then trim the remaining 
vegetation in hard-to-reach areas with a flexible line vegetation trimmer. 
Although the equipment for such a two-part procedure is available, the 
procedure involves a substantial duplication of effort since a lawn 
maintenance worker must guide both types of equipment over substantially 
the same areas adjacent to buildings and other vertical structures. 
Even if a lawn mower were designed with a blade arc wider than any other 
part of the lawn mower, it would have limited usefulness since the rapidly 
whirling blade could significantly damage a structure that it came into 
contact with. The tips of the exposed blade could also be dangerous to 
persons and things that are exposed to them, and might shatter upon 
engagement with a hard object whereby broken blade parts could be 
dangerously propelled from the mower. 
An important advantage of flexible line trimmers is that the flexible line 
generally does not seriously harm trees, buildings, and other structures 
when it is used for trimming adjacent vegetation. Furthermore, flexible 
line trimmers can be made compact enough for use in relatively small 
spaces which might be inaccessible to normal mowers. However, flexible 
line trimmers generally have considerably narrower cutting swaths than 
mowers, whereby the latter are generally preferred for mowing large areas. 
Thus, each type of vegetation cutting equipment has its own unique 
advantages and applications; and both types of equipment are often 
employed for particular lawn maintenance projects. 
Heretofore, equipment has been proposed which combines some of the 
advantages of blade-type mowers with flexible line trimmers. For example, 
the Comer U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,465 shows a mowing device with lengths of 
flexible line attached to and extending outwardly from the blades. 
However, heretofore, there has not been available a mower which includes 
both blade and flexible line cutting systems which also includes the 
advantages and features of the present invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In the practice of the present invention, a mower is provided which 
includes a body with downturned sidewalls. Wheels are rotatably mounted on 
the body sidewalls and a handle extends rearwardly therefrom. A prime 
mover is mounted on the body. A spindle is rotatably mounted on the body 
and is drivingly connected to the prime mover such that the spindle has a 
generally vertical rotational axis. A blade member is mounted on the 
lower, distal end of spindle and extends generally horizontally. A 
flexible line feed system includes a pair of spool and guide roller 
assemblies with juxtaposed rotational axes. The guide rollers are 
juxtaposed and in close proximity with a cooperating pair of grooves for 
clampingly receiving and conveying the flexible line therebetween. 
Channels positioned below the cooperating grooves direct the line through 
opposing delivery tubes mounted on the blade member. 
The line feeding assembly includes a plunger with four downwardly extending 
legs. A racheting mechanism includes ratchet teeth on adjacent ends of the 
guide rollers and a rachet finger extending between each adjacent pair of 
the plunger legs. The rachet fingers are adapted to drivingly engage the 
rachet teeth in a downstroke and to disengage the ratchet teeth in an 
upstroke. A cable is used to activate the line-feeding assembly, whereby 
additional line is supplied to replace line which has been worn away by 
use of the apparatus. 
A trimmer activating assembly includes a thrust bearing to raise the line 
spool and guide roller assemblies for retracting the trimming lines and to 
lower those assemblies for extending the trimming lines. 
A pair of guards, hingedly connected to opposite sides of a housing mounted 
on the body, are each movable between an elevated position, whereby a 
generally horizontally elongate slot in each of the guards is 
substantially non-aligned with coresponding slots in the downturned 
sidewalls of the body, and a lowered position, whereby the guard slot is 
substantially aligned with the respective body slot. In such lowered 
position and with the lines extended, the strip of vegetation along an 
obstacle is simultaneously trimmed as the other adjacent vegetation is 
mowed with the blade member. 
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION 
The principal objects and advantages of the present invention include: 
providing a mower with improved characteristics; providing such a mower 
which includes a combination blade system and a flexible line system; 
providing such a mower with a flexible line system which can be used 
selectively; providing such a mower with a flexible line feed/retract 
system; providing such a mower wherein the flexible line can be extended 
or retracted while the mower is operating; providing such a mower wherein 
the flexible line system can be actuated by an operator with controls 
mounted on a handle of the mower; providing such a mower with side guards; 
providing such a mower wherein the guards can be elevated or lowered; 
providing such a mower wherein the guards are adapted to prevent some 
objects from being ejected from the sides of the mowers; providing such a 
mower which provides simultaneous vegetation cutting with a blade and a 
flexible line; providing such a mower which is adapted to reduce some of 
the labor and time associated with lawn maintenance; providing such a 
mower which is relatively safe to use; providing such a mower which is 
economical to manufacture, efficient in operation, capable of a long 
operating life and particularly well adapted for the uses thereof. 
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from 
the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying 
drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, 
certain embodiments of this invention. 
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary 
embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and 
features thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed 
herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are 
merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. 
Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are 
not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims 
and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to 
variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately 
detailed structure. 
The reference numeral 1 generally refers to a combination mower/trimmer 
apparatus in accordance with the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 
through 9. The apparatus 1 includes a mower assembly 5 and a trimmer 
assembly 7. 
The mower assembly includes a body 11, a blade assembly 12 such as a 
spindle 13 and a blade member 15, a prime mover 17, and a handle assembly 
19. The body 11 has turned down endwalls 20 and sidewalls 22 and is 
mounted on and supported by a plurality of wheels 24. The wheels 24 are 
rotatably secured to the sidewalls 22 and are positioned near the lateral 
extremities of the body 11, as shown in FIG. 1. 
The spindle 13 is rotatably mounted in a body bearing 25, having an inner 
race 26 and an outer race 27, which is rigidly mounted in a throughbore 28 
in the body 11 such that the spindle 13 has a generally vertical 
rotational axis. The spindle 13 has a pair of channels 30 lengthwise 
therethrough with the channels 30 arcuately curving outwardly near a 
distal end 32 of the spindle 13 such that the channels 30 exit 
diametrically opposite from each other, as shown in FIG. 6. An upper end 
34 of the spindle 13 has a flange 36. 
The blade member 15 is rigidly mounted, substantially horizontally 
oriented, on the distal end 32 of the spindle 13 such that outer 
extremities 41 of the blade member 15 are spaced equidistantly from the 
spindle 13 and are operably spaced just within and in close proximity to 
the inside surfaces of a blade portion 43 of the sidewalls 22, as shown in 
FIG. 6. Each of the blade portions 43 has an elongate, substantially 
horizontally oriented slot 44 in line with, and extending slightly above, 
the blade member 15. 
The prime mover 17, such as an electric motor, gasoline powered engine, or 
the like, is mounted on the body 11 and is drivingly connected to the 
spindle 13 by a drive chain means, such as a drive chain 45 and sprocket 
46, or other suitable means. The handlebar arrangement 19 is secured to 
the body 11 to provide means for a user to manipulate and control the 
apparatus 1. Controls 47 mounted on the handle assembly 19 provide control 
means to control the apparatus 1 as hereinafter described. 
The trimmer assembly 7 comprises a spool assembly 52, a trimmer activating 
assembly 54, and a line feeding assembly 56. The spool assembly 52 
includes a U-shaped frame 59, having frame sidewalls 60 and frame bottom 
wall 61, a pair of axles 67, flexible line storage means such as a pair of 
spools 69, and a pair of guide rollers 71. The bottom wall 61 has an 
opening 63 therethrough, which is adapted to be easily slidable axially 
along the spindle 13. The opening 63 includes a protrusion 65 for 
traveling along a longitudinal groove 66, or other similar arrangement, to 
prevent rotation of the bottom wall 61 relative to the spindle 13, as 
shown in FIG. 8. 
The axles 67 are mounted substantially parallel to each other in the frame 
sidewalls 60 such that a distal end 73 of one of the axles 67 
substantially extends outwardly from one of the frame sidewalls 60, 
designated by the numeral 75 in FIG. 5, while a distal end 77 of the other 
one of the axles 67 substantially extends outwardly from the other one of 
the frame sidewalls 60, designated by the numeral 79 in FIG. 5. The axles 
67 are rotatably mounted in the frame sidewalls 60 such that each is 
axially fixed relative to the sidewalls 60. 
The spools 69 are rotatably mounted on the axles 67, with one of the spools 
69 mounted on the axle distal end 73 and the other one of the spools 69 
mounted on the axle distal end 77. The spools 69 are fixedly secured 
axially along the axles 67, equidistantly from the respective frame 
sidewall 60, with pairs of annular rings and setscrews 84, or the like. 
Flexible line 86, constructed of monofilament nylon or other suitable 
material, is wound about each one of the spools 69, as shown in FIG. 5. 
One of each of the guide rollers 71 is fixedly mounted about a different 
one of the axles 67, as shown in FIG. 5. The guide rollers 71 are mounted 
on the axles 67 and include flexible line guide means for guiding the 
lines 86, such as a pair of peripheral grooves 88 about one of the guide 
rollers 71 aligned with a corresponding pair of peripheral grooves 90 
about the other one of the guide rollers 71. The axles 67 are spaced apart 
such that a distal end 95 of the line 86 inserted in a corresponding pair 
of the grooves 88 and 90 is clamped between the guide rollers 71. A pawl 
and rachet mechanism 97 on each of the axles 67, as shown in FIG. 9, 
allows rotation of the guide rollers 71 such that the lines 86 clamped in 
the grooves 88 and 90 permits downward movement between the guide rollers 
71 but prevents similar upward movement of the lines 86 therebetween. 
The trimmer activating assembly 54 includes an activation mechanism 102, a 
pair of delivery tubes 104 and 105, and a pair of guards 107 and 108. The 
activation mechanism 102 includes an activation lever 110, a shifter 112, 
and an activation cable 114. 
The shifter 112 is rotatably secured about the spindle 13 such that the 
shifter 112 can be easily axially displaced upwardly and downwardly along 
the spindle 13. The shifter 112 has an inner race 116 and an outer race 
117. The activation lever 110 is generally L-shaped with two legs 119 and 
120 and is pivotally secured to a bracket 122 secured to the body 11. The 
leg 119 is secured to the activation cable 114 and the leg 120 is secured 
to the outer race 117 of the shifter 112, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
A compression spring 124 is disposed between the body bearing inner race 26 
and the shifter inner race 116. The compression spring 124 surrounds the 
spindle 13 and, in conjunction with a tension spring 129, as hereinafter 
described, provides an upwardly directed bias to partially counterbalance 
the weight of the spool assembly 5 such that the spool assembly 5 remains 
in an upward, retracted configuration when the activation cable 114 is 
displaced to the right, as shown in FIG. 2, and the spool assembly 5 
remains in a downward, extended configuration when the activation cable 14 
is displaced to the left, as shown in FIG. 3. 
The delivery tubes 104 and 105, with proximal ends communicating with the 
channels 30 and with distal ends which terminate near the outer 
extremities 41 of the blade member 15, are rigidly secured to an upper 
surface 137 of the blade member 15. The delivery tubes 104 and 105 are 
spaced and dimensioned to provide a continuation of the channels 30 along 
the blade member 15 such that each of the lines 86 inserted through a 
respective one of the channels 30 and a corresponding one of the delivery 
tubes 104 and 105 can be uninhibitedly extended and retracted 
therethrough. 
A housing 140 is rigidly secured to the body 11 and is dimensioned such 
that the spool assembly 52, the trimmer activating assembly 54 and the 
line feeding assembly 56 contained therein can properly function without 
interference from the housing 140, while protection for those assemblies 
52, 54 and 56 from the debris associated with a mowing and trimming 
environment is provided by the housing 140. 
Each one of the guards 107 and 108 has a sidewall 142 with an elongate slot 
144 and is pivotally secured to the housing 140 with a hinge 146, as shown 
in FIG. 7. Each of the hinges 146 includes a torsion spring (not shown) 
which causes the respective guard 107 or 108 to normally seek a slightly 
elevated position, as shown in solid lines at the left of FIG. 7 and 
designated by the numeral 148. 
An inwardly directed bias against the guard sidewall 142 causes the 
respective guard, 107 or 108, to assume a position, shown in phantom lines 
at the left of FIG. 7 and designated by the numeral 150, whereat the guard 
slot 144 is substantially adjacent to, and aligned with, the respective 
body sidewall slot 44. Upon removal of the inwardly directed bias, the 
respective guard, 107 or 108, automatically returns to the slightly 
elevated position 148. 
Means for rotating the guide rollers 71, such as the line feeding assembly 
56, comprises a racheting or plunger mechanism 155 and a line-feed lever 
157. The plunger mechanism 155 includes an alignment portion 159, a 
plunger or cage portion 161, and a pair of rachet fingers 163. The 
alignment portion 159 is generally cylindrically shaped and is rigidly 
secured to the housing 140 such that the alignment portion 159 is oriented 
substantially vertically and coaxially with the spindle 13. 
An upper end 164 of the cage portion 161 has a bearing 165 with an outer 
race 166 rigidly secured to the cage portion 161 and an inner race 167 
with a throughbore dimensioned slightly larger than the diameter of the 
alignment portion 159 such that the alignment portion 159 is axially 
slidable therethrough. 
The cage portion 161 has four downwardly extending legs 168, with two of 
the legs 168, namely, legs 170, being substantially co-planar with each 
other, and the other two of the legs 168, namely, legs 171, also being 
substantially co-planar with each other. Each of the legs 168 has a 
substantially vertically oriented elongate slot 173, as shown in FIG. 4, 
having a width slightly greater than the diameter of the axles 67. 
The legs 168 are disposed between the frame sidewalls 60 such that one of 
the axles 67 passes through one of the slots 173 in each of the legs 170 
and 171 and the other one of the axles 67 passes through the other one of 
the slots 173 in each of the legs 170 and 171. The tension spring 129 is 
rigidly secured to the housing 140 and to the inner race 167 such that the 
cage portion 161 normally seeks an uppermost displacement, as shown by the 
solid lines in FIG. 4 and designated by the numeral 178. 
One of the rachet fingers 163, such as finger 179, is pivotally mounted on 
a pin 180 secured between the legs 170, as shown in FIG. 4. Torsion 
springs 182 are connected to the legs 170 and the finger 179 such that an 
engagement end 183 of the finger 179 engages rachet teeth 185 peripherally 
spaced on each face 187 of the guide rollers 71. The teeth 185 are angled 
such that as the cage portion 161 is displaced downwardly, as shown by the 
phantom lines in FIG. 4 and designated by the numeral 189, the rachet 
finger 179 causes the guide rollers 71 to rotate as indicated by the 
arrows referenced by the numerals 191 and 192 in FIG. 4 and, as the cage 
portion 161 returns to the position 178, the engagement end 183 skips over 
the teeth 185. 
Another one of the rachet fingers 163 is similarly secured between the legs 
171 to similarly interface with the teeth 185 on the opposite faces 187 of 
the guide rollers 71. Alternatively, only one of the rachet fingers 163 
may be needed or, one of the rachet fingers 163 may be used to interact 
with the teeth 185 of one of the guide rollers 71 while the other one of 
the rachet fingers 163 may be used to interact with the teeth 185 of the 
other one of the guide rollers 71. 
The line-feed lever 157 is generally L-shaped with a thrust end 191 thereof 
containing a spherical bearing 193 for bearing against the upper end 164 
of the cage portion 161 and a cable end 197 thereof for slidable 
displacement of a line-feed cable 199 therethrough. The line feed cable 
199 has a pair of stops 201 which are sufficiently spaced apart to allow 
vertical movement of the trimmer activation assembly 54 without activating 
the line feeding assembly 56. 
For use in wide-open spaces, the present invention is generally used 
similarly to other lawn mowers. The guards 107 and 108 remain in the 
normal, slightly elevated position 148 such that rocks and other debris 
thrown by the blade member 15 through the body slot 44 are deflected by 
the respective guard, 107 or 108, due to non-alignment of the guard slot 
144 with the blade portion slot 44. 
As the apparatus 1 is maneuvered along a vertical wall 203, as shown in 
FIG. 7, the respective guard 108 is caused to pivot by engagement with the 
wall 203, about the repective hinge 146 such that the respective guard 
slot 144 aligns with the blade portion slot 44. The activation lever 110 
is then manipulated such that the activation mechanism 102 is displaced to 
the extended position, as shown in FIG. 3, such that the lines 86 are 
extended outwardly from the delivery tubes 104 and 105, as indicated in 
phantom and referenced by the numeral 205 in FIG. 6. 
If the lines 86 do not sufficiently extend outwardly from the delivery 
tubes 104 and 105 in order to trim a narrow strip of grass 207 that would 
otherwise remain along the wall 203, then the line-feed lever 157 is 
manipulated to rachet more of the lines 86 from the spools 69 and direct 
same into the respective channels 30 and the delivery tubes 104 and 105. 
If an excess amount of the lines 86 extend outwardly from the delivery 
tubes 104 and 105, a cutter 209, rigidly secured to the body 11 and 
appropriately spaced relative to the spindle 13, trims the lines 86 to the 
desired length. After trimming along the wall 203, the activation lever 
110 is then manipulated such that the activation mechanism 102 is returned 
to the retracted position, as shown in FIG. 2, such that the lines 86 are 
withdrawn into the delivery tubes 104 and 105, as indicated by the solid 
drawing lines referenced by the numeral 211 in FIG. 6. 
It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention 
have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the 
specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.