Patent ID: 7343994

Claim:
A working machine comprising: a machine body; a working unit attached to the machine body; an internal combustion engine for driving the working unit; a traveling unit mounted on the machine body for displacing the working unit over a ground surface to perform a work operation on the ground surface; an electric motor for driving the traveling unit; a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor in a battery mode of the working machine to thereby drive the electric motor; a battery mode switch for switching between an ON position in which the working machine is in the battery mode and an OFF position in which the working machine is not in the battery mode; a power generator driven by the internal combustion engine to supply electric power to the battery and to the electric motor; and a control unit that controls rotation of the electric motor and that shifts the working machine to the battery mode in accordance with an ON position of the battery mode switch so that the electric motor is driven only by electric power supplied by the battery while the internal combustion engine is maintained deactivated.