Abstract:
The nature of the technical disclosures of the invention is to introduce into the market something that is not available now, namely a dual pedal foot operated zero-turn radius riding lawn mower. The foot pedal operated model will have a distinct advantage in comfort for operators that must use their mowers for sustained periods of time such as cutting grass on large areas. The current market mower models are operated with hand and arm motions that are tedious and tiresome to use and can aggravate certain health issues for some operators. In addition, by not requiring the hands for operation, safety is greatly increased by allowing operators to prevent low hanging tree limbs or branches from striking their body or head areas.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Due to severe arthritis in my hands, wrists, joints, and shoulders and because it was my responsibility to cut the grass on multiple plats of land with large acreage for my personal and the rental properties that I owned, I found it necessary to try to discover a way to use the riding mower without having to use my hands or arms as typically needed with the zero turn radius lawn mower. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The invention is intended to alleviate pain and discomfort of having to extend the hands and arms for long periods of time. It would be helpful for handicapped and non-handicapped operators of the equipment that suffer from arthritis, tendinitis or joint stiffness. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0006]    Figures on drawing are shown as numeric-alpha: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1-A : Front of foot pedal 
           [0008]    FIG.  1 -A 1 : Toe end cap on front of foot pedal 
           [0009]      FIG. 1B : Rear of foot pedal 
           [0010]    FIG.  1 -B 1 : Heel rest on rear of foot pedal 
           [0011]      FIG. 1-C : Spacer plate 
           [0012]      FIG. 1-D : Petal Base plate 
           [0013]      FIG. 1-E : Spacer plate 
           [0014]      FIG. 1-F : Connector arm 
           [0015]      FIG. 1-G : Two (2) piece angle iron 
           [0016]      FIG. 1-H : Swivel 
           [0017]      FIG. 1-I : Connector rod 
           [0018]      FIG. 1-J : Pump arm 
           [0019]      FIG. 1-K : Four (4) ⅜″×1½″ long Bolt 
           [0020]      FIG. 1-L : Four (4) ⅜″ Lock nut 
           [0021]      FIG. 1-M : Two (2) ⅜″×2″ long Bolt 
           [0022]      FIG. 1-N : Two (2) ⅜″ Lock nut 
           [0023]      FIG. 1-O : Two (2) ⅜″ Fine thread Lock Nut 
           [0024]      FIG. 1-P : Two (2) ⅜″ Fine thread jamb nuts 
           [0025]      FIG. 1-Q(   a ): Right mounting bracket 
           [0026]      FIG. 1-Q(   b ): Left mounting bracket 
           [0027]      FIG. 1-R : Rocker arm 
           [0028]      FIG. 1-S : Upper Connecting Rod 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]      FIG. 1-A  is the front of the foot pedal and measures 8½ inches long×3¼ wide×¼ inch thick. It is welded on one end to  FIG. 1-B  and to Spacer Plate  FIG. 1-E . FIG.  1 -A 1  toe end cap is 1 inch high by 3¼ inches wide and is ¼ inch thick. It is welded to the end of  FIG. 1-A .  FIG. 1-B  is the rear of the foot petal and measures 8½ inches long×3¼ inches wide×¼ inch thick. It is welded to  1 -A on one end and to Spacer plate  1 -C at a 45 degree angle and the other end is welded to  1 -D. FIG.  1 -B 1  heel rest is ½ inch high and is 3¼ inches wide and is welded to the rear of  FIG. 1-B . The other end of  1 -C is welded to  1 -D.  1 -C is 3 inches high×3¼ inches wide×¼ inch thick.  1 -D is the base plate for the main pedal.  FIG. 1-D  is 9 inches long×3 inches wide×¼ inch thick.  1 -E is 3 inches high×3¼ inch wide×¼ inch thick. It is necessary to cut a ½ inch wide×4 inch long hole in the lawn mower deck in order to insert connector arm from underneath mower deck to above deck and between both pieces of  FIG. 1-G . Spacer plate  1 -E is welded to  1 -D and  1 -A.  1 -F is the Connector arm welded to the bottom center of base plate  1 -D, it measure 3 inches wide×3 inches high×¼ inch thick. The entire length of piece  1 -F is 9 inches including the portion above and below the deck. The portion of  1 -F that is below the deck is 5 inches and has a ⅜ inch hole centered in it 1 inch from the bottom. The larger portion of the piece above the deck at the top has a ⅜ inch hole centered 1 inch from the top. That top portion that is above the deck is 3 inches wide×4 inches high×¼ inches thick. The narrower portion that is below the deck is 5 inches long×1 inch wide×¼ inch thick.  1 -G is the 3 inch×2 inch×¼ inch thick angle iron. The 2 inch portion is bolted to the deck with two ⅜ inch holes. The rising portion is 3 inches high×3 inches wide×¼ inch thick. It has one ⅜ inch hole drilled ½ inch from the top. Note that it is very important that the upper corners of the rising 3 inch angle iron must be rounded on both sides so that the pedal will rock.  1 -H is the ⅜ inch swivel that is mounted in the ⅜ inch hole at the bottom of  FIG. 1-F  and is secured with a ⅜ inch lock nut. One end of  FIG. 1-I  Connector Rod is screwed into the swivel that is joining  FIG. 1-F  and is secured with a ⅜ inch jamb nut.  FIG. 1-I  is a ⅜ inch fine thread rod and is 29 inches long. The other end of  FIG. 1-I  is screwed to  FIG. 1-H  using a ⅜ inch swivel with a ⅜ inch jamb nut. This swivel is fastened to the bottom of  FIG. 1-R  Rocker arm using the ⅜ inch hole. The swivel is secured with a ⅜ inch lock nut.  FIG. 1-R  rocker arm is 10 inches long×1¼ inches wide×¼ inch thick. There are three ⅜ inch holes drilled into  FIG. 1-R  Rocker arm. There will be one ⅜ inch hole drilled ½ inch from each end of the  FIG. 1-R  rocker arm and the third hole will be in the center of  FIG. 1-R  rocker arm 4½ inches centered.  FIG. 1-Q(   a ) is a right angle iron for the right-side Mounting bracket for the  1 -R Rocker arm center hole.  FIG. 1-R  is secured to the  FIG. 1-Q(   a ) bracket with a ⅜ inch bolt % inches long and is secured with a ⅜ inch lock nut.  FIG. 1-Q(   b ) is a left angle iron for the left-side Mounting bracket for the  1 -R Rocker arm center hole.  FIG. 1-R  is secured to the  FIG. 1-Q(   b ) bracket with a ⅜ inch bolt % inches long and is secured with a ⅜ inch lock nut. The right and left angle iron Mounting brackets are mounted to the existing frame location where the brake assembly bolt hinges to the frame. The upper portion of both Mounting Bracket  FIGS. 1-Q(   a ) and  1 -Q( b ) are 2 inches high×3 inches long×¼ inch thick. The lower portion of both Mounting brackets  FIGS. 1-Q(   a ) and  1 -Q( b ) is 6 inches long×2 inches high×¼ inch thick. The upper portion of both Mounting Brackets  FIG. 1-Q(   a ) and  FIG. 1-Q(   b ) have two ⅜ inch holes drilled into it with each being one inch from the end. The lower portion has one ⅜ inch hole drilled 1 inch from the end that is furtherest from the upper portion. The swivel  FIG. 1-H  will mount in the ⅜ hole with a ⅜ inch lock nut at the top of the rocker arm  FIG. 1-R .  FIG. 1-S  will screw into the swivel at  FIG. 1-R  and is secured by a ⅜ inch jamb nut. The other end of  FIG. 1-S  will connect to  FIG. 1-H  swivel and will be secured by a ⅜ inch jamb nut and will connect to the  FIG. 1-J  pump arm and is secured with a ⅜ inch lock nut and goes into the existing hole where the existing hand control rod was mounted. The Mounting Brackets,  FIGS. 1-Q(   a ) and  1 -Q( b ) are bolted in the center hole of  FIG. 1-R  and fastened with a ⅜ inch bolt % inches long and secured with a ⅜ inch lock nut underneath the frame that the brake plate is mounted to.  FIG. 1-Q(   a ) and  FIG. 1-Q(   b ) each takes two ⅜ inch fine thread bolts that are ¾ inches long and are secured with two ⅜ inch lock nuts. It is necessary to cut a slot ½ inch wide×1 inch long in the upper front portion of both angles of the Mounting bracket facing the long piece to accommodate the existing brake assembly bolt allowing it to go through the angle iron Mounting bracket. The upper portion of  FIG. 1-R  Rocker arm is connected to  FIG. 1-S  with a ⅜ inch swivel through a ⅜ inch hole in the Rocker arm. It is then connected to  FIG. 1-S  with a ⅜ inch lock nut. A swivel is connected to  FIG. 1-S  and is secured with a ⅜ inch fine thread jamb nut.  FIG. 1-S  is a fine thread Connecting Rod that is 8% inches long. The  FIG. 1-S  Connecting Rod is screwed to the ⅜ inch swivel and it is secured with a ⅜ inch jamb nut. The swivel is connected to the  FIG. 1-J  pump arm and secured with a ⅜ inch fine thread lock nut. The swivel is installed into the existing pump arm  FIG. 1-J . Note that the existing hand control rod must be removed from the  FIG. 1-J  pump arm and the swivel goes into that existing hole. 
         [0030]    The mower is operated in its entirety by the use of both feet and does not require use of the hand or arms for operation. The only hand or arm movement required would be to release the brakes to start the mowing cycle and to apply the brakes when the mower has been powered down. 
         [0031]    After starting the engine, the steering operation of the zero turn radius riding lawn mower is accomplished as follows: 
         [0000]    To go straight forward, apply pressure simultaneously to the front of foot pedal  FIG. 1-A  using both right and left pedals and this also controls the forward acceleration speed.
 
To go straight back in reverse, apply pressure simultaneously to the rear of foot pedal  FIG. 1-B  using both right and left pedals. This controls the mower reverse acceleration speed.
 
To go forward and turn left, apply pressure with the ball of the right foot to front of right pedal  FIG. 1-A  and apply pressure with heel of left foot to rear of left pedal  FIG. 1-B .
 
To go forward and turn right, apply pressure with the ball of the left foot to front of left pedal  FIG. 1-A  and apply pressure with heel of right foot to rear of right foot pedal  FIG. 1-B .
 
To pivot turn to the right, apply pressure simultaneously with the ball of the left foot to the front of the left foot pedal  FIG. 1-A  and the heel of right foot to the rear of right pedal  FIG. 1-B . This will result in a clock-wise zero turn radius of the mower.
 
To pivot turn to the left, apply pressure simultaneously with the ball of the right foot to the front of the right foot pedal  FIG. 1-A  and the heel of the left foot to the rear of the left pedal  FIG. 1-B . This will result in a counter-clockwise zero turn radius of the mower.
 
To increase speed, apply pressure with both feet to the front of both pedals at  FIG. 1-A 
 
To decrease speed, apply pressure with the heel of both feet to the rear of both pedals at  FIG. 1-B .
 
To come to a stop, apply pressure in a rocking motion with both feet simultaneously to the front of pedal  FIG. 1-A  and the rear of pedal  FIG. 1-B  using both left and right foot pedals.
 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]      FIG. 1-A  is the front of the foot pedal and measures 8½ inches long×3¼ wide×¼ inch thick. It is welded on one end to  FIG. 1-B  and to Spacer Plate  FIG. 1-E . FIG.  1 -A 1  toe end cap is 1 inch high by 3¼ inches wide and is ¼ inch thick. It is welded to the end of  FIG. 1-A .  FIG. 1-B  is the rear of the foot petal and measures 8½ inches long×3¼ inches wide×¼ inch thick. It is welded to  1 -A on one end and to Spacer plate  1 -C at a 45 degree angle and the other end is welded to  1 -D. FIG.  1 -B 1  heel rest is ½ inch high and is 3¼ inches wide and is welded to the rear of  FIG. 1-B . The other end of  1 -C is welded to  1 -D.  1 -C is 3 inches high×3¼ inches wide×¼ inch thick.  1 -D is the base plate for the main pedal.  FIG. 1-D  is 9 inches long×3 inches wide×¼ inch thick.  1 -E is 3 inches high×3¼ inch wide×¼ inch thick. It is necessary to cut a ½ inch wide×4 inch long hole in the lawn mower deck in order to insert connector arm from underneath mower deck to above deck and between both pieces of  FIG. 1-G . Spacer plate  1 -E is welded to  1 -D and  1 -A.  1 -F is the Connector arm welded to the bottom center of base plate  1 -D, it measure 3 inches wide×3 inches high×¼ inch thick. The entire length of piece  1 -F is 9 inches including the portion above and below the deck. The portion of 1-F that is below the deck is 5 inches and has a ⅜ inch hole centered in it 1 inch from the bottom. The larger portion of the piece above the deck at the top has a ⅜ inch hole centered 1 inch from the top. That top portion that is above the deck is 3 inches wide×4 inches high×¼ inches thick. The narrower portion that is below the deck is 5 inches long×1 inch wide×¼ inch thick.  1 -G is the 3 inch×2 inch×¼ inch thick angle iron. The 2 inch portion is bolted to the deck with two ⅜ inch holes. The rising portion is 3 inches high×3 inches wide×¼ inch thick. It has one ⅜ inch hole drilled ½ inch from the top. Note that it is very important that the upper corners of the rising 3 inch angle iron must be rounded on both sides so that the pedal will rock.  1 -H is the ⅜ inch swivel that is screwed onto the ⅜ inch fine thread rod. This swivel is mounted in the ⅜ inch hole at the bottom of  1 -F. At the other end of  1 -I the swivel is screwed into the fine thread rod. The swivel fastens to  1 -J through a ⅜ inch hole. A ⅜ inch×4 inch hole must be cut through the frame to allow the ⅜ swivel to be connected underneath the mower frame to pump arm underneath frame of motor. The swivel is inserted 1 inch from the bottom into the ⅜ inch hole from the pump arm and secured by the ⅜ inch lock nut and the arm  1 -J is the existing pump arm which will be turned 180 degrees toward the ground.  FIG. 1-J  is the existing Pump arm. The ⅜ inch rod is 37 inches long overall. The rod length will vary on different manufactured brands of zero turn radius riding lawn mowers. The  1 -P jamb nuts go behind the swivel  1 -I to prevent  1 -I rod from turning. 
         [0033]    The mower is operated in its entirety by the use of both feet and does not require use of the hand or arms for operation. The only hand or arm movement required would be to release the brakes to start the mowing cycle and to apply the brakes when the mower has been powered down. 
         [0034]    After starting the engine, the steering operation of the zero turn radius riding lawn mower is accomplished as follows: 
         [0000]    To go straight forward, apply pressure simultaneously to the front of foot pedal  FIG. 1-A  using both right and left pedals and this also controls the forward acceleration speed.
 
To go straight back in reverse, apply pressure simultaneously to the rear of foot pedal  FIG. 1-B  using both right and left pedals. This controls the mower reverse acceleration speed.
 
To go forward and turn left, apply pressure with the ball of the right foot to front of right pedal  FIG. 1-A  and apply pressure with heel of left foot to rear of left pedal  FIG. 1-B .
 
To go forward and turn right, apply pressure with the ball of the left foot to front of left pedal  FIG. 1-A  and apply pressure with heel of right foot to rear of right foot pedal  FIG. 1-B .
 
To pivot turn to the right, apply pressure simultaneously with the ball of the left foot to the front of the left foot pedal  FIG. 1-A  and the heel of right foot to the rear of right pedal  FIG. 1-B . This will result in a clock-wise zero turn radius of the mower.
 
To pivot turn to the left, apply pressure simultaneously with the ball of the right foot to the front of the right foot pedal  FIG. 1-A  and the heel of the left foot to the rear of the left pedal  FIG. 1-B . This will result in a counter-clockwise zero turn radius of the mower.
 
To increase speed, apply pressure with both feet to the front of both pedals at  FIG. 1-A 
 
To decrease speed, apply pressure with the heel of both feet to the rear of both pedals at  FIG. 1-B .
 
To come to a stop, apply pressure in a rocking motion with both feet simultaneously to the front of pedal  FIG. 1-A  and the rear of pedal  FIG. 1-B  using both left and right foot pedals.