Patent ID: 7320299

Claim:
A lawnmower comprising: a chassis; an operator station on said chassis; a plurality of ground engaging wheels rotatably mounted on said chassis; an engine mounted on the chassis and operatively connected to drive said ground engaging wheels, said engine having a muffler through which exhaust gases exit said engine and said engine being cooled by a liquid coolant; an engine cooling system comprising: a heat exchanger operatively connected to said engine to receive said liquid coolant from said engine at a first temperature and return said liquid coolant to the engine at a lower temperature; a fan mounted above the heat exchanger and operable to draw an air flow in a standard upward direction through said heat exchanger, wherein said heat exchanger and fan are oriented in an inclined orientation such that the air flow is directed upward and away from the operator of the lawnmower and wherein the fan is operable to push or blow air in a standard downward direction through said heat exchanger; and a generally tubular baffle surrounding the muffler at least partially isolating the engine from heat radiating from the muffler, wherein the baffle is configured such that exhaust gases leaving the muffler causes air to be inducted into the areas between the muffler and the baffle by an aspiration effect created by the exiting exhaust gases.