US Patent Issued to THE TORO on Sept. 2 for "Walk outdoor power equipment unit having handle mounted operational controls using compliant mechanisms" (Minnesota Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,402,559, issued on Sept. 2, was assigned to THE TORO COMPANY (Bloomington, Minn.).

"Walk outdoor power equipment unit having handle mounted operational controls using compliant mechanisms" was invented by Chadwick A. Shaffer (Oakdale, Minn.), Chris A. Wadzinski (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), Jeff Weber (Minneapolis) and Shawn S. Monitor (Robbinsdale, Minn.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An outdoor power equipment unit, such as a lawn mower, includes a frame movable over the ground. A handle assembly is provided on the frame to allow an operator to walk on the ground behind the handle assembly while operating the unit. A traction drive and...