Patent ID: 7213662

Claim:
A mower having a pair of drive wheels operably connected to an engine-driven transmission, the mower comprising: a lever operably connected to the mower and moveable between a starting position and a second position; a transmission speed input operably connected to the lever, the transmission having a rate of speed that is a function of a rotational position of the transmission speed input, wherein the transmission is in neutral when the lever is in the starting position and wherein the transmission is at a highest rate of speed when the lever is in the second position; a first member connected to the transmission speed input and rotatable therewith; and a second member having a stop surface positioned relative to the first member and operably engageable with the first member, the stop surface of the second member having a home position near the first member and being moveable away from the home position, the second member being biased toward the home position; wherein a first amount of force applied to the lever moves the lever away from the starting position and causes the first member to rotate and engage the stop surface before the lever reaches the second position, and wherein the lever is moveable to the second position by applying a second amount of force to the lever to cause the first member to further rotate and move the second member away from the home position.