Improvements in Lawn Mowers.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct., 1896-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1896
[Communicated from abroad by DETROIT LAWN MOWER COMPANY, a Corporation
organized under the laws of Michigan, and doing business at 942 Champlain
Street, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America, Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Lawn Mowers.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The invention consists in the construction of a lawn mower, the invention
consisting particularly in the construction, arrangement and combination of the
various parts, all as more fully hereinafter described.
The invention relates to that class of lawn mowers in which there is a middle or
intermediate drive connection for the rotary cutter head.
In this class of lawn mowers efforts have been made to devise a drive gear
which was somewhat reasonable in cost of manufacture and which would stand the
rough usage to which such mowers are subjected. Efforts have also been made to
devise a supporting frame for such mowers which would be simple and strong and
reasonably inexpensive.
As far as we have been able to learn until this construction was devised, after
much expense and many months of experiment and labor, such efforts were
unsuccessful and a marketable, merchantable machine had not been devised.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved lawn mower, partly in section and
showing the cap or cover of the rear gear case removed.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through this central gear casing.
Figure 3 is a cross section through the drive shaft and its pinion illustrating the
construction of the pawl or clutch connection between the two.
Figure 4 is a section on line a.x of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a detail front elevation illustrating the construction of the guard
roller.
Figure 6 is a detached perspective of one of the side plates..
Figure 7 is a top plan view of the rear portion of the frame.
The frame is composed of two side plates or bars. Each of the plates is
preferably made in two parts, the front portion A preferably being of sheet metal,
rivetted or otherwise secured to the front end of the rear portion. The object of
making this portion A of sheet metal is to make as thin a side as possible opposite
the cutters so as to enable the machine to cut as near as possible to a building,
side-walk or similar object. The rear portion is preferably cast, and as shown it
consists of the two straight portions B and C, substantially parallel and connected
by the inwardly extending connecting portion D. The rear end of this side bar is
hollow or recessed, as plainly shown at the upper part of Figure 1 and in Figure 6,
and around the outer edge of this recessed or hollow portion is a circular flange E.
Around this circular flange fits the inwardly extending flange F of the ground
wheels G. These ground wheels are provided with a hub H, which fits over the
trunnions I projecting from the recessed portion of the side bar and preferably

page_text: tubular as shown, a bolt passing through this hollow trunnion holding a washer I'
at its outer end to prevent the detachment of the ground wheel. This construction.
of the rear portion of the frame or bar is considered of considerable importance..
It strengthens the disk or plate which covers the inner face of the gear wheel
without adding materially to the weight.
By having the trunnion I cast from the inner face of this hollow portion and the
flange E formed on its outer face a long bearing is constructed for the hub of the
ground wheel and yet ground wheels of comparatively narrow tread and light
weight are obtained.
The two side bars are connected together by a connecting member J, preferably
having the flauges K at each end to give a wide bearing to truss the connection
against torsional or twisting movements of the frame. The member J is con-
structed to support the drive shaft L and is preferably as shown, that is
hollow, having formed preferably integral therewith at its middle portion, the
enlargements M which forma a half of the central gear easing on the drive
shaft.
M is a complementary cap for this gear casing which may have lateral
extensions if desired covering a portion of the drive shaft as shown. The drive
ahaft L has secured to it the bevel gear wheel N; that drive shaft being passed
through this gear wheel and its bearing in the member J with each end projecting
beyond the side bars of the frame.
Beside the gear wheel N and supported on the drive shaft is the block O. This
block is provided with a shaft bearing P in which the rear end of the crank
shaft Penguges, this crank shaft being provided with a bevel pinion P' in a recess
or aperture P in the block O.
The drive shaft L on the ends which project is provided preferably on opposite
sides with recesses Q. These recesses terminate at one end in a shoulder a and
have the inclined inner face b. In this recess are placed rollers c which are of a
diameter greater than the depth of the recess.
Rare pinions sleeved over the end of the drive shaft and have within a groove d
in which the rollers are adapted to engage, and bearings e, preferably on each side
of the groove d on the shaft.
End motion of the rollers is prevented by the shoulders or sides of the grooves.
With this construction the steel of the shaft is utilized as a part of the clutch and
therefore gives it long life. It also makes a very compact construction which is
not liable to get out of order and very greatly cheapens the structure over a device
in which an additional bearing or sleeve is placed over the shaft in which to form
the grooves for the rollers to run.
The inner face of the groove d is preferably formed polygonal as shown at hin
Figure 3. The operation of this clutch will be well understood without further
description:
S is a handle connected to the rear of the flanges E as shown. 1 is a cutter
shaft, the ends of which are supported in the boxes 2 on the inner side of the
frame.
3 are two cutter heads with the blades staggered and their inner ends overlapping
in such a manner that the crank 4 on the shaft P¹ is adapted to have its opening
turned to the overlapping end, as shown in Figure 1. There is a suitable bevel
gear wheel 5 on the cutter shaft and the bevel gear wheel 6 on the end of the
crank shaft P, the whole being enclosed in a gear casing 7 between the ends of
the cutter heads. These parts are of known and usual construction.
8 is a bar connecting the forward end of the frame and supporting the usual
stationary knife. 9 is a ground wheel adjustably supported in rear of the cutters
to determine the height of the cut, these parts being of known and usual construction
in the type of machine on which this is an improvement.
S are rollers, journaled in the side bars of the frame, with a sector projecting
slightly outside the sides, so that in running the machine closely beside a house,
sidewalk or similar place, the side of the bars will not be scraped and marred, and

page_text: so the mower may be pushed along with one of these rollers in contact with such
wall. In place of the rollers S¹ a rib or flange may be struck out from the side
bars to effect the same result.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
The herein described lawn mower.
8 3rd day of October 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant..