LAWN MOWER BRAKE AND STARTER

Disclosed herein is a lawn mower including an engine having a first rotatable gear, an energy storage and delivery mechanism connected to said engine and comprising an energy storing spiral spring, a gear set including rotatably mounted second and third gears in mesh with each other and with one of the gears of the gear set connected to the spiral spring, which gear set is displaceable between a stop position wherein one of the second and third gears is in mesh with the first gear so as, in response to rotation of the first gear, to rotate the second and third gears in the direction which is effective to store energy in the spiral spring and a start position wherein the other of said second and third gears is in mesh with the first gear so as, in response to delivery of energy to the gear set from the spiral spring, to rotate the first gear in the engine operating direction, a releasable pawl movable selectively between positions engaged with and disengaged from the energy storage and delivery mechanism for permitting delivery of energy to the spiral spring and preventing delivery of energy from the spiral spring when in the engaged position and for permitting delivery of energy from the spiral spring when in disengaged position, and mechanism for selectively displacing the releasable means from the engaged position in response to movement of the gear set to the start position and to the engaged position in response to gear set movement from the start position.