Patent ID: 6877302

Claim:
A mid-mount mower comprising: a body frame supported above the ground by front wheels and rear wheels; a mower unit vertically movably suspended from said body frame between said front wheels and said rear wheels, said mower unit including: a mower deck having a top board, and a front wall, side walls and a rear wall depending from said top board; rotary blades juxtaposed inside said mower deck to be rotatable about three vertical axes arranged sideways; and a mower input shaft disposed on said top board for transmitting power to said rotary blades, said mower input shall extending longitudinally of the mower and having a rear connecting end; a rear transmission mechanism for driving said rear wheels; a PTO shaft provided in said rear transmission mechanism, said PTO shaft extending longitudinally of the mower and having a forward connecting end; and a relay transmission shaft having one end thereof connected to the rear connecting end of said mower input shaft through a front universal joint, and the other end connected to the forward connecting end of said PTO shaft through a rear universal joint; wherein said mower deck has a recess formed in a sideways middle region at a rear end thereof, said recess opening rearward in a longitudinal direction of the mower in plan view, to receive said rear universal joint when said mower unit is raised.