Rotary mower conditioner having improved cut crop flow

A mower conditioner includes a rotary style cutter bed and a pair of laterally extending crop conditioning rolls spaced rearwardly from the cutter bed. Crop flow is improved in the machine by a laterally extending conveying roller located between the cutter bed and the nip defined by the conditioning rolls. In particular, the conveying roller serves to lift cut crop up from the cutter bed and convey the crop rearwardly to the nip. This ensures that the cut crop moves in a steady stream from the cutter bed to the conditioning rolls, and thereby reduces the risk of cut crop being thrown forwardly by the cutters. A downwardly open area is preferably defined between the conveying roller and the cutter bed to provide a space through which dirt and debris can drop out of the machine. The conveying roller preferably has a rotational axis that is lower than the rotational axis of the lower conditioning roll and generally vertically aligned with the substantially planar cutting zone defined by the cutter bed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to crop harvesting equipment. More 
particularly, the present invention concerns a mower/conditioner having 
structure for conveying cut crop from the cutter bed to the conditioning 
rolls, so as to improve crop flow through the machine. 
2. Discussion of Prior Art 
Those ordinarily skilled in the art will appreciate that smooth, even crop 
flow through the mower/conditioner is critical to proper, trouble-free 
harvesting operations. However, it has been determined that there is often 
a problem with crop flow in machines utilizing a pair of laterally 
extending crop conditioning rolls. Specifically, it is believed that the 
crop material has difficulty in moving from the cutter to the upwardly and 
rearwardly spaced nip defined between the conditioning rolls. This is 
particularly troublesome in machines utilizing a rotary style cutter bed, 
wherein crop material not adequately transferred to the nip is likely to 
be carried forwardly by the rotary cutters and ejected out the front of 
the machine. It will be appreciated that material thrown forward of the 
machine will have a tendency to knock down standing crop, which is further 
detrimental to harvesting operations. In addition, crop material failing 
to move directly from the cutter bed to the conditioning rolls must 
recycle through the cutter bed and is consequently overly 
shredded/comminuted. These problems are magnified in machines having wide 
cutter beds with at least one cutter located outboard of the ends of the 
conditioning rolls, whereby crop material must also be gathered inwardly 
after severance before being directed through the shorter conditioning 
rolls. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Responsive to these and other problems, an important object of the present 
invention is to provide a mower/conditioner having, unimpeded even cut 
crop flow therethrough. In particular, an important object of the present 
invention is to provide a machine having laterally extending crop 
conditioning rolls with structure for conveying cut crop from the crop 
cutting assembly to the conditioning rolls, so as to improve crop flow 
through the machine. Another important object of the present invention is 
to provide a mower/conditioner having a rotary style cutter bed with a 
conveying element for transferring crop material cut by the rotary cutters 
upwardly and rearwardly to the nip defined between the crop conditioning 
rolls. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a 
mower/conditioner having a cutters located outboard of the crop 
conditioning rolls with structure for improving crop flow between the 
outboard cutters and the crop conditioning rolls. 
In accordance with these and other objects evident from the following 
description of the preferred embodiment, the present invention concerns a 
harvesting machine including a crop cutting assembly defining a cutting 
zone, and a pair of laterally extending crop conditioning rolls defining a 
nip therebetween that is spaced upwardly and rearwardly from the cutting 
zone. Crop flow is improved in the machine by a conveying element having 
at least a portion thereof that is moveable upwardly and rearwardly 
between the cutting zone and the nip, so as to ensure smooth, even crop 
flow from the cutting assembly to the conditioning rolls. The conveying 
element preferably comprises a laterally extending, rotatable roller 
having an outer periphery that defines the upwardly and rearwardly 
moveable portion of the conveying element. The preferred embodiment 
includes a downwardly open area defined between the conveying roller and 
the cutting assembly to provide a space through which dirt and debris can 
drop out of the machine. 
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from 
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the 
accompanying drawing figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning initially to FIG. 1, the harvester selected for illustration 
comprises a self-propelled mower/conditioner 10 including a chassis or 
frame 12 supported by front drive wheels 14,16 and rear caster wheels 18 
(only the left rear wheel being shown in the drawing figures) for movement 
across a field to be harvested. The frame 12 carries a cab 20, within 
which an operator controls operation of the mower/conditioner 10, and a 
rearwardly spaced compartment 22 housing a power source (not shown) such 
as an internal combustion engine. 
The mower/conditioner 10 further includes a harvesting header 24 attached 
to the front end of the frame 12. Such attachment of the header 24 to the 
frame 12 is achieved in the traditional manner, with a pair of laterally 
spaced apart, lower arms (not shown) pivotally connected between the frame 
12 and the side mounts 25 (only one side mount being shown in FIG. 6 and 
7) of the header 24, and with a central link 26 pivotally connected 
between the frame 12 and the central mounts 28 and 30 of the header 24. 
The link 26 may take the form of a double-acting hydraulic cylinder, with 
extension and retraction of the cylinder being controlled by the operator 
in the cab 20 to remotely control the tilt angle of the header. 
The header 24 is preferably configured as a modular unit and consequently 
may be disconnected from the lower arms and central link 26 for removal 
from the frame 12. Accordingly, the frame 12 is not dedicated only to 
those harvesting operations provided by the header 24, but may carry other 
modular headers designed to perform different harvesting operations. 
Similarly, the header 24 may be removed from the frame 12 and installed on 
other variously constructed mobile frames, such as a pull-type implement. 
In this respect, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present 
invention are equally applicable to pull-type harvesting machines and 
machines dedicated only to mowing and conditioning crop. 
The header 24 has framework of its own which can be described as having a 
generally open, box-like construction in a rectangular configuration. Such 
framework is broadly denoted by the numeral 32 in FIGS. 2-3 and includes a 
pair of tubular cross beams 34 and 36 (see FIG. 6) supported at opposite 
ends by side plates 38 and 40. As perhaps best shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the 
central mounts 28,30 project upwardly and rearwardly from the cross beams 
34,36. A pair of shield supports 42 and 44 (see FIGS. 3, 4A-4B and 5A-5B) 
are fixed relative to the side plates 38 and 40 to project rearwardly 
therefrom. The shield supports 42,44 converge rearwardly (see FIG. 3) and 
support the windrow forming shields, generally denoted by the reference 
numeral 46 in FIG. 1. A pair of laterally extending, upright outboard 
plates 48 and 50 project outwardly beyond the cross beams 34 and 36, with 
the inner ends of the outboard plates 48 and 50 defining therebetween the 
front boundary of a discharge opening 52 through which cut crop passes as 
it moves rearwardly in the headset 24. It will be noted that the inner 
ends of the outboard plates 48 and 50 present small rearwardly turned 
flanges 54 and 56 (see FIGS. 4A-4B and 5A-5B), respectively. The flanges 
54,56 serve as a guide for cut crop as it moves through the discharge 
opening 52, and prevent crop from backflowing behind the outboard plates 
48,50. Projecting forwardly from each of the outboard plates 48 and 50 is 
a horizontal partition wall 58 and 60, respectively, with each outboard 
plate and the associated partition wall defining a downwardly and 
forwardly open area. In the usual manner, gauge wheel assemblies 62 and 64 
are attached to the framework 32 adjacent opposite ends thereof. 
A laterally extending crop cutting assembly preferably in the form of a low 
profile, rotary style cutter bed 66 is located adjacent the front of the 
header framework 32 for severing crop from the ground as the harvester 10 
moves across a field. The illustrated cutter bed 66 includes a series of 
ten rotary cutters 68 spaced across the path of travel of the harvester 10 
and each being rotatable about its own upright axis (see FIG. 3). For the 
sake of convenience, the ten cutters 68 will be denoted by the letters 
68a-68j, beginning with the leftmost cutter in the series as viewed from 
the rear of the machine. The cutters 68a-68j are rotatably supported on an 
elongated, flat gear case 70 extending the full length of the cutter bed 
66. The gear case 70 is hollow, as shown in FIG. 6, and contains a train 
of flat spur gears (not shown) that are operably engaged with one another 
and thus serve to distribute driving power between one another, although 
other forms of power distribution means may be used within the case 70 
(e.g., shafts and bevel gears, belts and pulleys, or chains and 
sprockets). 
It will be appreciated that the cutters 68a-68j are nearly identical in 
construction. For the sake of brevity, only one of the cutters will be 
described in detail herein with the understanding that the remaining 
cutters are similarly constructed. As perhaps best shown in FIG. 10, each 
of the cutters 68a-68j includes a generally elliptical, metal knife 
carrier 72, and a pair of free swinging knives 74 at opposites ends of the 
carrier 72, as well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. As 
perhaps best shown in FIG. 3, each of the cutters 68a-68j is ninety 
degrees out of phase with respect to the adjacent cutters, inasmuch as the 
circular paths of travel of the knives of adjacent cutters overlap one 
another and must be appropriately out of phase in order to avoid striking 
each other. Due to the positive mechanical drive connection between the 
cutters 68a-68j through the spur gears in the case 70, the cutters always 
remain properly in phase with one another. 
As shown in FIG. 6, the gear case 70 is carried by a shelf-type cradle 78 
that extends along the length of the header 24. The upper face of the 
cradle 78 is provided with a long recess or socket across the front of the 
machine that matingly receives the gear case 70. Front notches 80 in the 
leading edge of the cradle 78 (see FIGS. 4A-4B) are positioned between 
adjacent cutters to improve the severing action against those portions of 
standing crop materials located generally between adjacent cutters instead 
of directly in front of them. 
Those ordinarily skilled in the art will appreciate that the cutting action 
provided by the cutter bed 66 is not necessarily consistent from one plant 
to another, as the machine 10 moves across the field. For example, 
severance of the crop may occur directly in front of one of the cutters 
68a-68j or within one of the front notches 80. Nonetheless, the rotating 
knives 74 of the cutters 68a-68j cooperatively present a substantially 
planar cutting zone, within which crop is severed from the ground. 
It will be noted that the cutter bed 66 projects laterally outwardly beyond 
both ends of the discharge opening 52 to present left and light outboard 
cutter sections comprising cutters 68a,68b and 68i,68j, respectively. The 
spur gears in the case 70 are intermeshed in such a manner that the 
cutters 68a,68b and 68i,68j of each outboard section rotate in the same 
direction, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3. It will also be 
appreciated that the spur gears are arranged in such a manner that the 
inner cutters 68b-68i (excluding the outermost cutters 68a and 68j) are 
divided into cooperating pairs, with the two cutters of each pair rotating 
in opposite directions. In other words, the cutters 68b and 68c rotate 
toward one another across the front of the cutter bed 66, as do the 
cutters 68d and 68e, the cutters 68f and 68g, and the cutters 68h and 68i. 
The illustrated cutter bed 66 is of the same general arrangement as that 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,852, entitled WIDE CUT HARVESTER HAVING 
ROTARY CUTTER BED, issued Nov. 7, 1995, assigned of record to the assignee 
of the present invention, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein 
as is necessary for a full and complete understanding of the present 
invention. However, it will be apparent that the illustrated cutter bed 66 
has several unique features which are not disclosed in the '852 patent, as 
will subsequently be described. 
Each of the outboard cutter sections 68a,68b and 68i,68j is associated with 
an improved overhead crop conveying assembly for facilitating movement of 
crop cut by the outboard cutter section inwardly and rearwardly to the 
discharge opening 52. Turning initially to the left outboard cutter 
section (see FIGS. 4B and 5B), an impeller cage 82 is fixed to the 
outermost cutter 68a for rotational movement therewith about a common 
axis. The impeller cage 82 is of the same general construction as the 
impeller cages disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,145, entitled CUT CROP 
IMPELLER CAGE FOR ROTARY TYPE CUTTER BEDS, issued Jun. 6, 1995, assigned 
of record to the assignee of the present invention, which is hereby 
incorporated by reference herein as is necessary for a full and complete 
understanding of the present invention. It will be noted that a crop 
lifter 84 is fixed between the metal knife carrier of the outer cutter 68a 
and the impeller cage 82. As perhaps best shown in FIG. 10, the lifter 84 
has a generally elliptical shape and is divided into two halves 84a and 
84b. The lifter 84 is provided with slotted openings 86 and 88 extending 
inwardly from opposite ends thereof. The openings 86,88 facilitate knife 
replacement by providing access to the underlying knife mounting 
structure. As perhaps best shown in FIG. 5B, the lifter 84 provides the 
cutter 68a with a relatively greater profile than that provided only by 
the knife carrier 72. It will be appreciated that this serves to elevate 
crop cut by the cutter 68a up over the adjacent, inwardly spaced cutter 
68b and into engagement with the overhead crop conveying structure. 
An impeller cage 90 is similarly mounted to the cutter 68b for rotational 
movement therewith about a common axis. However, the impeller cage 90 is 
relatively shorter and smaller in overall diameter than the cage 82. In 
particular, the impeller cage 90 includes only one level of spacers 92 
secured between an upper disk 94 and a lower impeller plate 96. The 
impeller plate is of the same construction as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,345,752, entitled IMPELLER PLATES FOR ROTARY CUTTING UNITS OF A CROP 
HARVESTER, issued Sep. 13, 1994, assigned of record to the assignee of the 
present invention, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein as is 
necessary for a full and complete understanding of the present invention. 
It will be appreciated that the overall diameter of the impeller cage 90 
is a dimension defined by each pair of spacers spaced in radially opposite 
directions from the rotational axis of the cage 90. Because the impeller 
cages 82 and 90 are rotatable about axes spaced along the same transverse 
axis, the front boundary of the inner cage 90 is spaced rearwardly from 
the front boundary of the outer cage 82. 
An intermediate impeller cage 98 is located between the outer and inner 
cages 82 and 90 and is suspended from the partition wall 58. As perhaps 
best shown in FIG. 9, the intermediate impeller cage 98 includes a 
mounting plate 99 fastened to the underside of the partition wall 58 and a 
center tubular support 100 fixed to the mounting plate 99. The attachment 
of the support 100 to the plate 99 is strengthened by a frusto-conically 
shaped brace 101. A shaft 102 is journaled for rotational movement within 
the stationary support 100 by a pair of upper and lower bearing assemblies 
104 and 106. Fixed to the lower end of the rotatable shaft 102 is a 
circular plate 108. A set of six cylindrical spacers 110 is fixed between 
the plate 108 and an intermediate, annular-shaped disk 112, while a second 
set of six cylindrical spacers 114 is fixed between the intermediate disk 
112 and an upwardly spaced, annular-shaped upper disk 116. The spacers 
110,114 and disks 112,116 are secured in the illustrated configuration by 
bolts 118 threaded into the plate 108. A relatively thin, circular cover 
120 projects outwardly from the support 100 just above the disk 116 to 
overlie the open space defined between the support 100 and disk 116. This 
reduces the risk of crop and debris accumulation between the support 100 
and disk 116. For purposes which will subsequently be described, a 
double-belt sheave 122 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 102, with 
removal of the sheave 122 from the shaft 102 being prevented by a bolt and 
washer assembly 124 threadably coupled to the upper end of the shaft 102. 
The impeller cage 98 rotates about an axis defined by the upright shaft 
102, with the spacers 110,114 and disks 112,116 moving through a circular 
path as the shaft rotates. As perhaps best shown in FIG. 5B, the 
intermediate impeller cage 98 has generally the same height and overall 
diameter as the outer impeller cage 82. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, the 
rotational axis of the intermediate cage 98 is not located along the same 
transverse axis as the rotational axes of the outer and inner cages 82 and 
90, but rather is spaced slightly behind such transverse axis. 
Accordingly, the front boundary of the intermediate cage 98 is spaced 
rearwardiy from the front boundary of the outer cage 82, however forwardly 
from the front boundary of the relatively smaller inner cage 90. As will 
subsequently be described, the intermediate impeller cage 98 is driven in 
the same rotational direction as the outer and inner cages 82,90. 
It is believed that the illustrated arrangement of the cages 82,90,98 
facilitates flow of crop materials cut outboard of the left end of the 
discharge opening 52. In particular, crop material engaged by the outer 
cage 82 is moved laterally inwardly across the front of the header and 
then passed slightly rearwardly to the intermediate cage 98. The 
intermediate cage 98 likewise conveys the crop material inwardly across 
the front of the header and rearwardly to the inner cage 90. The inner 
cage 90 in turn moves the crop material inwardly across the front of the 
header and then rearwardly to the discharge opening 52. Thus, the cages 
82,98,90 cooperatively impart a rearwardly and inwardly directed 
converging influence on the cut crop as a result of the lateral and 
progressively rearward spacing of the cages. As previously noted, the 
lifter 84 associated with the outer cutter 68a serves to lift crop above 
the adjacent, inwardly spaced cutter 68b and into engagement with the 
cages 82,98,90. This prevents crop cut by the outer cutter 68a from being 
further shredded/comminuted by the adjacent, inwardly spaced cutter 68b. 
The right outboard cutter section (see FIGS. 4A and 5A) is similarly 
associated with an overhead conveying assembly for facilitating movement 
of crop cut by the outboard section inwardly and rearwardly to the 
discharge opening 52. The overhead conveying assembly for the right 
outboard cutter section is similar in construction to the overhead 
conveying assembly previously described for the left outboard cutter 
section. Thus, it shall be sufficient to explain that the right overhead 
conveying assembly includes an impeller cage 126 fixed to the outer cutter 
68j, with a crop lifter 128 being positioned between the impeller cage 126 
and knife carrier of the cutter 68j for rotational movement therewith. A 
relatively smaller impeller cage 130 is fixed to the adjacent, inwardly 
spaced cutter 68i, along with an impeller plate 132. An intermediate 
impeller cage 134 is suspended from the partition wall 60 between the 
outer and inner cages 126,130. The progressively rearward spacing of the 
front boundaries of the impeller cages 126,134,130 is perhaps best shown 
in FIG. 6. 
In the illustrated embodiment, driving power is provided to the various 
driven components of the header 24 by a pair of hydraulic motors 136 and 
138. As perhaps best shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the left motor 136 is 
supported on a gearbox 140 mounted to a front, laterally extending plate 
(not shown) of the header framework 32, while the right motor 138 is 
supported on a drive housing 142 similarly fastened to the front plate. 
The left outer cutter 68a is drivingly connected to the motor 136 by a 
double U-joint assembly 144 contained in the impeller cage 82 and attached 
to the output shaft 146 of the gearbox 140 within a sleeve 148 fixed to 
the partition wall 58 (see FIG. 5B). It will be noted that the output 
shaft 146 carries a double-belt sheave 150, with a pair of belts 152 
entraining the sheaves 122,150 to drive the intermediate impeller cage 98 
in the same direction as the outer cutter 68a and associated impeller cage 
82. As shown in FIG. 5A, the right outer cutter 68j is similarly connected 
to the motor 138 by a double U-joint assembly 154 contained within the 
impeller cage 126 and attached to the output shaft 156 of the drive 
housing 142 within a sleeve 158 fixed to the partition wall 60. The output 
shaft 156 likewise carries a double-belt sheave 160 entrained by a pair of 
belts 162. The belts 162 wrap around the driven sheave 164 fixed to the 
intermediate impeller cage 134 so as to drive the cage 134 in the same 
direction as the outer cutter 68j and the associated impeller cage 126. 
With the end cutters 68a and 68j being drivingly connected to the remaining 
cutters 68b and 68i via the spur gears in the gear case 70, driving power 
is supplied to the entire cutter bed 66 by the hydraulic motors 134,136. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the hydraulic motors 134 and 136 are connected to the 
hydraulic drive and control circuit (not shown) of the mower/conditioner 
by respective conduits 166 and 168. In the usual manner, each conduit 
includes a supply line and a return line. Preferably, the hydraulic motors 
134,136 are fluidly intercommunicated so as to share the load of driving 
the cutters 68a-68j. In addition, the preferred hydraulic drive and 
control circuit is designed to drive the cutter bed 66 in such a manner 
that the speed of the cutters 68a-68j remains substantially constant even 
if the speed of the engine (not shown) driving the hydraulic pump (also 
not shown) for the bed 66 lugs down such as when heavy crop conditions are 
encountered. Such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,997, 
entitled HARVESTER WITH HYDRAULICALLY DRIVEN, FLOW-COMPENSATED ROTARY 
CUTTER BED, issued Jul. 11, 1995, assigned of record to the assignee of 
the present invention, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein as 
is necessary for a full and complete understanding of the present 
invention. 
As perhaps best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of laterally extending crop 
conditioning rolls 170 and 172 are rotatably mounted on the supports 42 
and 44 to span the discharge opening 52. In the illustrated embodiment, 
the conditioning rolls 170,172 comprise cylindrical metal bodies having 
intermeshing helical, metal ribs extending along the length of the bodies, 
although other conditioning roll designs (e.g., rubber-coated rolls) may 
be utilized. The conditioning rolls 170,172 are arranged in a stacked 
relationship for rotation about respective, vertically spaced transverse 
axes, with the upper roll 170 being driven in a counterclockwise direction 
and the lower roll 172 being driven in a clockwise direction, as indicated 
by the arrows in FIG. 6. In addition, the rolls 170,172 are yieldably 
biased toward one another to present a bitting nip 174 therebetween that 
receives cut crop from the cutter bed 66 and propels the same rearwardly 
toward the windrow forming shields 46. The nip 174 is spaced upwardly and 
rearwardly from the cutter bed 66. It may also be said that the nip 174 is 
spaced upwardly and rearwardly from the generally planar cutting zone 
defined by the knives 74 of the rotary cutters 68a-68j. 
An adjustable swath board 176 is swingably mounted between the side plates 
38,40 for permitting the operator to control the direction of crop 
material discharged by the conditioning rolls 170,172. In the illustrated 
orientation, the swath board 176 has a negligible effect on crop flow from 
the conditioning rolls 170 and 172, such that the crop is formed into a 
windrow by the forming shields 46. However, if the swath board 176 is 
swung to a generally vertical orientation (not shown), the conditioned 
crop is directed immediately down to the ground without being guided by 
the forming shields 46 so as to form a wide swath. 
As shown in FIGS. 4B and 5B, a belt and sheave drive 178 is connected 
between the horizontal output shaft (not shown) of the gearbox 140 and a 
spur gear transmission (also not shown) contained within an upright case 
180. In the usual manner, the conditioning rolls 170 and 172 are drivingly 
connected to the transmission by respective drive shafts 182 and 184, each 
of which has U-joint assemblies at opposite ends thereof. The illustrated 
drive shaft 182 for the upper conditioning roll 170 is actually connected 
to the driven sheave (not shown) of the belt and sheave drive 178. 
Accordingly, because the motors 136,138 share the load of powering the 
header components, as previously noted, the conditioning rolls 170,172 are 
driven by both motors 136,138. 
As previously indicated, one problem often associated with conventional 
mower/conditioner designs is impeded or uneven crop flow from the cutter 
to the conditioning rolls. The present invention specifically addresses 
this problem by providing structure for ensuring smooth, even crop flow 
from the cutter bed 66 to the upwardly and rearwardly spaced nip 174 
defined between the conditioning rolls 170,172. In addition, the crop 
conditioning rolls 170,172 have been moved rearwardly with respect to 
their traditional location relative to the cutter, as will subsequently be 
described. 
Turning first to the crop conveying structure, the illustrated embodiment 
includes a laterally extending, rotatable roller 186 located generally 
between the cutter bed 66 and the lower conditioning roll 172. The 
illustrated conveying roller 186 comprises a tubular, cylindrically-shaped 
body 188 carried by a pair of stub shafts 190 and 192 (see FIGS. 4A and 
4B) projecting from the ends of the body 188. As perhaps best shown in 
FIGS. 3 and 6, the conveying roller 186 includes four helical ribs 193, 
each extending along the length of the body 188 and having opposite 
inclination on either side of the midpoint of the roller 186. In the 
illustrated embodiment, the body 188 and ribs 193 are formed of metal, and 
the ribs 193 comprise cylindrical rods welded to the body 188, although 
other suitable materials and means for attaching the ribs 193 to the body 
188 may be utilized. The ribs 193 enhance the aggressiveness of the roller 
periphery to further influence movement of crop material between the 
cutter bed 66 and the nip 174. 
Similar to the conditioning rolls 170 and 172, the stub shafts 190 and 192 
are journaled for rotational movement on the supports 42 and 44 by 
suitable bearing assemblies. Additionally, the conveying roller is 
drivingly connected to the spur gear transmission housed within the case 
180 by a drive shaft 194 (see particularly FIG. 4B). The drive shaft 
includes U-joint assemblies 196 and 198 at its opposite ends, with the 
outer U-joint assembly 196 being connected to an output shaft (not shown) 
of the transmission housed within the case 180, and the inner U-joint 
assembly 198 being connected to the stub shaft 190. In this respect, the 
conveying roller 186 is driven in a clockwise direction, when viewing FIG. 
6, about a rotational axis defined by the stub shafts 190,192. As perhaps 
best shown in FIGS. 4A-4B and 6, guide plates 200 and 202 are secured to 
the supports 40 and 42 to project rearwardly from the flanges 54 and 56, 
respectively. The guide plates 200 and 202 are located generally between 
the conveying roller 186 and the upper conditioning roll 170 and are 
spaced from the respective supports 40 and 42. The plates 200 and 202 
guide crop rearwardly from the cutter bed 66 to the conditioning rolls 
170,172 and reduce the risk of crop material and trash accumulation at the 
ends of the roll 186. 
As perhaps best shown in FIG. 6, the conveying roller 186 presents a 
diameter that is less than the diameter of each of the conditioning rolls 
170 and 172. In addition, the conveying roller 186 is located within the 
header 24 to span the discharge opening 52 between the cutter bed 66 and 
the lower conditioning roll 172. That is to say, the conveying roller 186 
has substantially the same length as the conditioning rolls 170,172. The 
rotational axis of the conveying roller 186 is spaced below the rotational 
axis of the lower conditioning roll 172 and is generally vertically 
aligned with the planer cutting zone defined by the knives 74. Thus, the 
upper front quadrant of the conveying roller 186 presents an upwardly and 
rearwardly moving surface extending between the cutter bed 66 and the nip 
174. 
As shown in FIG. 7, crop material thrown rearwardly by the cutter bed 66 
first encounters the conveying roller 186, which in turn lifts the crop 
material upwardly and rearwardly to the nip 174 defined between the 
conditioning rolls 170,172. In moving along the path represented by the 
arrows 203, the crop material is not required to turn sharp angles, but 
rather rises gently and gradually from the cutter bed 66 to the nip 174. 
That is to say, the relatively small and low conveying roller 186 "helps" 
the crop material move up and through the conditioning rolls 170,172. It 
is noted that a downwardly open area 204 (see FIGS. 3, 4A-4B, 6 and 7) is 
defined between the cutter bed 66 and the conveying roller 186, although a 
transverse pan (not shown) extending between the cutter bed 66 and the 
conveying roller 186 may be placed in the area 204, if desired. The open 
area 204 prevents crop material and debris from accumulating between these 
two components and, in fact, permits any trash and debris moving along the 
path 203 to drop from the header 24. It will also be noted that the crop 
material conveyed inwardly by the impeller cages 82,90,98 and 126,130,134 
probably passes through the discharge opening 52 above the conveying 
roller 186 and directly into contact with the upper conditioning roll 170, 
although any such crop material engaging the conveying roller 186 will be 
moved along the illustrated path 203. 
The present invention eliminates the problem in the prior art of impeded or 
uneven crop flow between the cutter bed and conditioning rolls as 
illustrated in FIG. 8. A conventional mower/conditioner header 300 is 
shown in FIG. 8 as including a pair of crop conditioning rolls 302 and 304 
located just behind the cutter bed 306. The illustrated prior art header 
300 further includes a slightly upwardly and rearwardly inclined baffle 
308 between the cutter bed 306 and conditioning rolls 302,304. The baffle 
308 has a tendency to collect crop material and debris thereon. In 
addition, it is believed that the baffle 308 provides little, if any, 
assistance to crop flow between the cutter bed 306 and the conditioning 
rolls 302,304. It is also believed that crop material moving from the 
cutter bed 306 through the conditioning rolls 302,304 must travel along 
the path represented by the arrows 310. Thus, the crop material must turn 
virtually a ninety degree angle to move up along the lower conditioning 
roll 304 and then turn again rearwardly to pass through the conditioning 
rolls 302,304. In this respect, the lower conditioning roll 304 is 
essentially an obstruction to crop flow through the header 300, and any 
crop that is "rejected" by the lower conditioning roll 304 is likely to be 
thrown forwardly by the rotary cutters 312. Such a rejected path of travel 
is represented by the arrows 314. Of course, any material moving along the 
path 314 has a tendency to be recycled through the header 300 and will 
consequently be overly shredded by the cutter bed 306. In addition, crop 
material thrown forwardly along the path 314 is likely to knock over 
standing crop, which is detrimental to the cutting action of the rotary 
cutters 312. 
In contrasting FIGS. 7 and 8, it is apparent that the conditioning rolls 
170,172 have been moved rearwardly in the header 24 relative to the cutter 
bed 66 in comparison to the location of the conditioning rolls 302,304 in 
the prior art header 300. This not only accommodates the conveying roller 
186, but also provides a funneling effect as the crop material moves 
through the discharge opening 52 to the conditioning rolls 170,172. It is 
believed that the funneling effect further facilitates crop flow through 
the header 24. 
It is also noted that the principles of the present invention are equally 
applicable to various other structure for conveying crop from the cutter 
bed 66 to the conditioning rolls 170,172. For example, the header 24 may 
be provided with a rubber-coated roller (not shown) having a textured 
outer surface that enhances the feeding action of the roller. The 
conveying element may alternatively be constructed in a manner similar to 
the illustrated impeller cages, with a generally open configuration 
including a plurality of longitudinally extending, spaced apart spacers 
located about the periphery of the conveying element. It is also entirely 
within the ambit of the present invention to utilize an endless conveying 
element, such as a belt, having a stretch that moves upwardly and 
rearwardly between the cutter bed 66 and the nip 174. 
The operation of the machine should be apparent from the foregoing 
description. Thus, it shall be sufficient to explain that the cutter bed 
66 severs crop from the ground as the harvester 10 moves across a field. 
The cut crop thrown rearwardly by the cutter bed 66 engages the upper 
front quadrant of the conveying roller 186 and is thereby lifted gradually 
toward the nip 174 defined between the conditioning rolls 170,172. The 
impeller cages 82,90,98 and 126,130,134 cooperatively converge crop 
material cut by the outboard cutters 68a,68b and 68i,68j inwardly and 
rearwardly through the discharge opening 52. Such converged crop is 
probably directed to the upper conditioning roll 170, although any 
converged crop engaging the conveying roller 186 will be moved along the 
path 203. Conditioned crop material is discharged rearwardly by the rolls 
170,172 and directed into a windrow or wide swath depending upon the 
orientation of the swath board 176. 
The preferred forms of the invention described above are to be used as 
illustration only, and should not be utilized in a limiting sense in 
interpreting the scope of the present invention. Obvious modifications to 
the exemplary embodiments, as hereinabove set forth, could be readily made 
by those skilled in the art without departng from the spirit of the 
present invention. For example, the principles of the present invention 
are equally applicable to other variously constructed crop cutting 
assemblies. If desired, the cutting assembly may comprise a pair of large 
rotating discs rather than the illustrated series of cutters. It is also 
not necessary to drivingly connect the cutters to one another through a 
common gear case, The cutters may also be independently supported and 
driven. 
The inventors hereby state their intent to rely on the Doctrine of 
Equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of the 
present invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing 
from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set forth in the 
following claims.