US Patent 7047713 Low profile gearbox housing

A gear box for a grass mowing machine with a generally horizontal shaft extending from the engine and/or transmission, and a rotary cutting blade with a generally vertical shaft. The gear box has a top surface and a bottom surface, the gear box enclosing the first end of the generally horizontal shaft and the first end of the generally vertical shaft. The generally vertical shaft extends through the bottom surface of the gear box. The gear box houses a pair of spiral bevel gears to change the transmitting direction from the generally horizontal shaft to the generally vertical shaft. The measurement from the generally horizontal shaft to the bottom surface of the gear box is greater than the measurement from the generally horizontal shaft to the top surface of the gear box.