Cordless mower including cooling air flow arrangement

Abstract

A cordless mower includes a deck, a rechargeable battery, a blade for cutting grass, a blade motor and a drive motor. The deck is supported by front and rear wheels and has a top side, a bottom side, a front end and a rear end. The rechargeable battery is supported on the deck. The blade is on the bottom side of the deck and is coupled with a blade motor. The drive motor is connected to the rear wheels for driving said rear wheels to move the mower. The drive motor is located in a chamber at the rear of the mower adjacent the rear wheels. The chamber has an opening therein to allow air to flow through.

1 .- 5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . A cordless mower comprising:
 a deck supported by front and rear wheels, the deck having a top side, a bottom side, a front end and a rear end;   a rechargeable battery supported on said deck;   a drive motor connected to the rear wheels for driving said rear wheels to move the mower;   a speed lever controlled by a user to set the speed of the mower; and   a control circuit connected to the speed lever that controls the amount of current delivered from the battery to the drive motor, the control circuit monitoring the drive motor and shutting off the drive motor when the current being delivered exceeds a first predetermined current for a first predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         7 . The cordless mower of  claim 6 , wherein the control circuit shuts off the drive motor when the current being delivered exceeds a second predetermined current for a second predetermined time period, wherein the second predetermined current is higher than the first predetermined current, and the second predetermined time period is shorter than the first predetermined time period. 
     
     
         8 . The cordless mower of  claim 6  wherein the drive motor is connected to the rear wheels through at least one gear mechanism, the drive motor having an rpm of 6,000 to 17,000 rpm and the gear mechanism having a gear reduction between 90:1 and 130:1. 
     
     
         9 . The cordless mower of  claim 8 , wherein the gear mechanism has three separate gear reductions, and at least one is a planetary gear reduction and another a worm gear reduction. 
     
     
         10 . The cordless mower of  claim 6 , further including a blade motor mounted generally centrally on the deck, the blade motor and drive motor being powered by the rechargeable battery, the blade motor having independent controls from the drive motor. 
     
     
         11 . A cordless mower comprising:
 a deck supported by front and rear wheels, the deck having a top side, a bottom side, a front end and a rear end;   a rechargeable battery supported on said deck;   a drive motor connected to the rear wheels for driving said rear wheels to move the mower;   a blade motor coupled to a blade;   a handle secured to said the rear end of said deck, and said handle having a blade bail for controlling power to the blade motor and a drive bail for controlling power to said drive motor so that power to the blade motor and the drive motor are independently controlled.   
     
     
         12 . The cordless mower of  claim 11 , further comprising a control circuit monitoring the drive motor and shutting off the drive motor when the current being delivered exceeds a first predetermined current for a first predetermined period of time. 
     
     
         13 . The cordless mower of  claim 12 , wherein the control circuit shuts off the drive motor when the current being delivered exceeds a second predetermined current for a second predetermined time period, wherein the second predetermined current is higher than the first predetermined current, and the second predetermined time period is shorter than the first predetermined time period. 
     
     
         14 . The cordless mower of  claim 11 , further comprising a safety key that is electrically coupled to both the blade motor and drive motor, so that when present, electrical power may be delivered from the battery to both the blade motor and drive motor, and when absent, no power can be delivered to the blade motor and drive motor. 
     
     
         15 . The cordless mower of  claim 11  wherein the drive motor is connected to the rear wheels through at least one gear mechanism, the drive motor having an rpm of 6,000 to 17,000 rpm and the gear mechanism having a gear reduction between 90:1 and 130:1. 
     
     
         16 . A cordless mower comprising:
 a deck supported by front and rear wheels, the deck having a top side, a bottom side, a front end and a rear end, the bottom side defining a cutting chamber and a discharge passage extending rearwardly from the cutting chamber to the rear of said mower;   a rechargeable battery supported on said deck;   a blade for cutting grass arranged within the cutting chamber; and   a mulch door positioned in said discharge passage and movable between an open and closed position, the mulch door rotating about a vertical shaft that is connected to a user controlled knob located at a top side of the deck.   
     
     
         17 . The cordless mower of  claim 16  wherein the discharge passage defines a grass outlet aperture at the rear end of the deck and the mulch door is positioned inwardly of the grass outlet aperture and wherein the mulch door swings outwardly when moving from the closed to open position so that any debris in the discharge passage behind the mulch door is swept into the grass outlet aperture and removed from the discharge passage. 
     
     
         18 . The cordless mower of  claim 16  further including a rear discharge door spaced from the rear end of the deck to create a discharge cavity to direct debris downward.