Patent ID: 8763353
Filing Date: 2014-07-01
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
1. A harvesting header operable to harvest a crop, said harvesting header comprising: a flexible cutterbar assembly extending lengthwise in a lateral direction relative to the normal direction of travel of the header, said flexible cutterbar assembly includes a cutterbar that extends laterally to present fore and aft cutterbar edges, with attachment locations spaced between the fore and aft edges, said flexible cutterbar assembly being operable to flex along the length thereof in response to changes in terrain as the header is advanced; a draper assembly supported behind the cutterbar assembly to flex therewith, said draper assembly including an endless flexible draper belt configured to receive severed crop materials from the cutterbar assembly and convey the materials laterally, said draper belt presenting a leading edge; and a plurality of belt guards attached relative to the cutterbar at respective attachment locations to accommodate and move with the cutterbar assembly during flexing thereof, each of the guards extending rearwardly from the attachment location to a location overhanging the leading edge of the draper belt, each of said belt guards including an upright wall and a fore-and-aft wall projecting from and being integrally formed with the upright wall, with the fore-and-aft wall extending rearwardly from the upright wall to overhang the leading edge of the draper belt, said fore-and-aft wall presenting an upper surface, said belt guards being arranged into multiple adjacent pairs, with each pair being interengaged so that the upper surfaces are substantially flush with one another and thereby minimize resistance to crop flow from the cutterbar assembly to the draper belt, said draper assembly including a pair of side drapers and a fore-and-aft draper located between the side drapers, said side drapers configured to receive severed crop materials from the cutterbar assembly and convey the materials laterally to the fore-and-aft draper, each of the side drapers including one of the endless flexible draper belts, said cutterbar presenting a center section located forward of the fore-and-aft draper between the side drapers, said belt guards extending along substantially the entire cutterbar outside of the cutterbar center section.