Abstract: A control lever assembly for generating an electrical signal representative of the position of a linearly-moveable control lever which extends through an elongated passage in a console cover includes a control lever guide rotatably mounted to a bracket beneath the console cover. An arm projecting above the console cover is provided for moving the guide between rotational positions. The guide has an opening with slots of predetermined length associated with the rotational positions which define ranges of linear movement of the control lever. The movement of the control lever causes a sensing circuit to generate the electrical signal representative of the position of the control lever. The assembly also includes a switch actuated by a cam on an end of the guide depending upon the rotational position of the guide. The assembly also includes detent mechanisms for releasably retaining the control lever and the guide in various detent positions.

Abstract: A power takeoff (PTO) assembly equipped with an electromechanical shifter for moving a pinion gear of the PTO assembly into and out of engagement with a drive gear of that assembly or of a vehicle transmission on which the assembly is mounted. The PTO assembly includes a telescoping shock shaft having a first shaft section axially advanced by a power-driven linear actuator and operatively connected to a second shaft section equipped with a fork for urging the pinion gear laterally into (and out of) engagement with the drive gear. Between the two shaft sections is a compression spring that stores energy by compressing until a condition of alignment between the pinion and drive gears occurs, at which time the stored energy of the spring releases and quickly shifts the pinion gear into meshing engagement with the drive gear.

Abstract: A method of making a control assembly intended for use in manually regulating the operating speed of power equipment in which fine adjustments may be obtained by rotating the control knob and rapid changes in speed may be achieved by shifting the knob axially. The assembly includes an outer one-piece sleeve adapted to be mounted upon an instrument panel or engine housing and permanently joined to a flexible casing containing the operating wire or cable. A plunger assembly is rotatably and slidably received within the sleeve, the plunger assembly including a thin-walled plunger tube of flexible material having a control knob ultrasonically welded to one end of the plunger. The side wall of the plunger tube has a non-circular (preferably oval-shaped) opening through which a retractable follower (ball) protrudes for engaging the internal threads of the sleeve when vernier adjustment is desired.

Abstract: A control assembly primarily intended for use in manually regulating the operating speed of power equipment in which fine adjustments may be obtained by rotating the control knob and rapid changes in speed may be achieved by shifting the knob axially. The assembly includes an outer one-piece sleeve adapted to be mounted upon an instrument panel or engine housing and permanently joined to a flexible casing containing the operating wire or cable. A plunger assembly is rotatably and slidably received within the sleeve, the plunger assembly including a thin-walled plunger tube of flexible material having a control knob ultrasonically welded to one end of the plunger and a swivel connection joining the operating wire at the plunger's opposite end.

Abstract: A throttle control assembly for lawnmowers and similar power-operated equipment, such assembly consisting essentially of (1) a mounting member permanently affixed to the flexible casing for the throttle control wire and adapted to be secured to the handle of the power equipment, and (2) an elongated cover that may be easily connected to the end of the control wire and then snapped into operative position over the mounting member. When the parts are so coupled, the cover is readily slidable upon the mounting member (which it conceals and protects) to control engine speed but is securely locked against detachment from that mounting member. A speed indicator formed as an integral part of the mounting member projects through an elongated slot in the cover, and indicia upon the cover aligned with the indicator provide clear and accurate representations of throttle settings.

Abstract: A lawn spreader for particulate material such as grass seed or fertilizer has a slidable control knob immediately adjacent the handle gripping portion for movement by one or more fingers to control the rate of feed of particulate material from the spreader without removal of either hand from gripping position. An adjustable stop for the control knob is also provided adjacent the handle gripping portion for ready adjustment without stopping the spreader and without requiring the operator to bend or stoop to reach to or adjacent to the rate gate.

Abstract: In a control for use in a hydraulic system of the type which includes a hydraulic cylinder arranged to raise and lower a load such as a dump bed of a vehicle, wherein the hydraulic system is actuated for raising and lowering the dump bed upon axial displacement of a rod member contained within an outer conduit from a neutral position in first and second respective axial directions and wherein the hydraulic system is deactivated upon the rod member being in the neutral position. The control includes a tubular member which is adapted to be connected to the outer conduit, a control knob, and a rigid inner member partially within the tubular member having a first end connected to the rod member and a second end supporting the control knob. A latch supported by the tubular member is arranged for releasably locking the inner member in a neutral position with respect to the tubular member for precluding inadvertent axial displacement of the rod member from the neutral position.