Light riding vehicle

Abstract

To achieve a particular price point and/or to utilize a particular engine, riding lawn mowers may be configured with reduced size, weight, and/or power requirements, in order. A riding lawn mower may comprise a cutting deck coupled to a cutting blade, and an internal combustion engine having a displacement of less than 225 cubic centimeters. The internal combustion engine may be coupled to the cutting blade via a friction drive, wherein the friction drive is configured with a neutral bearing in order to reduce flat spotting of components of the friction drive.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A riding lawn mower comprising:
 a cutting deck housing a cutting blade;   a deck drive coupled to an engine of the riding lawn mower to receive power for operating the cutting blade;   a clutch coupled to a dual-pulley system to adjust tension of a belt to selectively turn the cutting blade based on pulley position in the dual-pulley system; and   a braking mechanism activated via disengagement of the clutch to brake operation of the cutting blade.   
     
     
         2 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , wherein the dual-pulley system includes a first pulley and a second pulley, the first and second pulley being positionable responsive to operation of the clutch into a first position at which the first and second pulleys impart a desired tension on the belt such that the belt engages a third pulley coupled to the cutting blade. 
     
     
         3 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 2 , wherein the first and second pulleys are spring loaded to impart the desired belt tension in the first position. 
     
     
         4 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 2 , wherein the first and second pulley are positionable responsive to disengagement of the clutch into a second position at which the first and second pulleys at least partially disengage the belt from the third pulley to prevent transfer of force to the third pulley. 
     
     
         5 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 2 , wherein the braking mechanism comprises one or more structural components coupled to at least one of the first pulley or the second pulley, the one or more structural components being further coupled to one or more braking components configured to impart a drag force on operation of the cutting blade. 
     
     
         6 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 5 , wherein the drag force is imparted on the cutting blade, the first pulley or the second pulley. 
     
     
         7 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more braking components are activated responsive to disengagement of the clutch. 
     
     
         8 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 1 , wherein the engine selectively couples to the deck drive via the belt. 
     
     
         9 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , wherein the engine couples to the ground drive via a friction drive system. 
     
     
         10 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 8 , wherein the friction drive system comprises a single flywheel, and wherein the belt is a single drive belt that engages the single flywheel and at least one of the first pulley or the second pulley to turn the cutting blade responsive to selective engagement of the single drive belt with the single flywheel and the first pulley or the second pulley. 
     
     
         11 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 10 , wherein the single drive belt at least partially disengages the first pulley or the second pulley to facilitate stopping rotation of the cutting blade responsive to operation of the clutch. 
     
     
         12 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 10 , wherein the single flywheel comprises a neutral bearing centrally located thereon. 
     
     
         13 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 12 , wherein the friction drive system further comprises a friction wheel, and wherein the neutral bearing is configured to reduce flat spotting of the friction wheel. 
     
     
         14 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 12 , wherein the neutral bearing is centered about the axis of rotation of the single flywheel. 
     
     
         15 . A riding lawn mower comprising:
 a cutting deck housing a cutting blade;   an engine;   a deck drive coupled to the engine to receive power for operating the cutting blade; and   a ground drive coupled to the engine to receive power for movement of the riding lawn mower over ground,   wherein the engine couples to both the deck drive and the ground drive via a single flywheel and no more than a single drive belt.   
     
     
         16 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 15 , wherein the engine couples to the deck drive via the single drive belt, and the engine couples to the ground drive via a friction drive system. 
     
     
         17 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 16 , wherein the single drive belt engages the single flywheel and a pulley coupled to the cutting blade to turn the cutting blade responsive to engagement of the single drive belt with the single flywheel and the pulley. 
     
     
         18 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 17 , wherein the single drive belt at least partially disengages the pulley to facilitate stopping rotation of the cutting blade responsive to operation of a clutch. 
     
     
         19 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 18 , wherein operation of the clutch causes movement of at least two belt tensioning pulleys, the at least two belt tensioning pulleys moving to take up slack in the single drive belt responsive to operation of the clutch and moving to provide slack in the single drive belt responsive to release of the clutch. 
     
     
         20 . The riding lawn mower of  claim 18 , further comprising braking components configured to operate responsive to release of the clutch to stop the rotation of the cutting blade.