Patent ID: 7364024

Claim:
An apparatus for driving and braking a rotary cutting blade of a lawn mower powered by an engine, the apparatus comprising: a shaft secured to the cutting blade for rotating the cutting blade, the shaft extending through a passageway in a housing; a pulley driven by the engine, the shaft being rotatably secured in a center of the pulley, the pulley being positioned above the housing; means for biasing the pulley downward toward the housing, means for translating the pulley away from the housing; wherein the apparatus has a stopped position in which the pulley and the housing are in contact at a friction surface between the pulley and the housing, wherein the apparatus has a cutting position in which the pulley and the housing are not in contact at the friction surface, wherein, when power is delivered from the engine to drive the pulley, the means for translating transitions the apparatus from the stopped position to the cutting position such that the pulley and the housing are not in contact at the friction surface and the cutting blade rotates, and wherein, when power ceases being delivered from the engine to drive the pulley, the apparatus moves from the cutting position to the stopped position such that the pulley and the housing are placed in contact at the friction surface and the cutting blade stops.