Patent ID: 8056307

Claim:
A modular disc cutterbar for an agricultural crop harvesting header, the header having generally opposing sides with a transverse axis spanning therebetween, said cutterbar comprising: a transverse frame connected to the header; a plurality of modular disc cutter assemblies connected to said frame, each said modular disc cutter assembly further comprising: an elongate housing configured to be connected to said frame in either a first orientation or a second orientation wherein said first and second orientations are reverse from one another, wherein in the first orientation the housing is mounted to the frame such that a first elongate edge is adjacent the frame and in the second orientation a second elongate edge of the housing on an opposite side of a drive mechanism is adjacent the frame; the elongate housing having mounting arrangements configured for attachment to the frame along both a first and opposing second transverse lengths of the cutter disc assembly such the module is mountable in either a first or second orientation; a first disc cutter rotatably connected to said housing, said first disc cutter having a first input connection for receiving rotational power from the header; a second disc cutter rotatably connected to said housing and laterally displaced from said first disc cutter; a third disc cutter rotatably connected to said housing and laterally displaced from said second disc cutter along an axis extending between said first and second cutters; and the drive mechanism configured to transfer rotational energy from said first input connection to said first, second, and third disc cutters and thereby cause said cutters to rotate, wherein said first and third disc cutters rotating in a first direction, said second disc cutter rotation in a second direction opposite to said first direction; a power drive apparatus configured to provide rotational energy to said first input connection whereby said disc cutter assemblies are configured such that adjacent disc cutters are always rotating in opposite directions providing converging or diverging crop flow between adjacent disc cutters.