Patent ID: 7802417

Claim:
A harvesting header operable to harvest a crop, said harvesting header operable to be supported by a feederhouse that presents an open end configured to receive severed crop materials, said harvesting header comprising: a header frame operable to be mounted to the feederhouse; a cutterbar assembly mounted to the header frame to extend lengthwise in a lateral direction relative to the normal direction of travel of the header; a draper assembly supported on the header frame behind the cutterbar assembly to receive crop severed by the cutterbar assembly, said draper assembly including a pair of side conveyors and a fore-and-aft draper located between the side conveyors, said side conveyors configured to receive severed crop materials from the cutterbar assembly and convey the materials laterally to the fore-and-aft draper, said fore-and-aft draper presenting upper and lower runs, with the upper run being configured to move the severed crop materials rearwardly, said fore-and-aft draper presenting a rear margin defined at the rearmost junction of the upper and lower runs, said rear margin spaced forwardly from the open end of the feederhouse when the header frame is mounted thereto, with a transition area being defined between the rear margin and the open end, said header frame presenting a discharge opening aligned with the open end of the feederhouse when the header frame is mounted thereto, with the transition area extending through the discharge opening; and a central crop-conveying member rotatably mounted relative to the header frame for rotation about a lateral axis to consolidate severed crop materials from the side conveyors and the fore-and-aft draper into a low-profile mat, with the member extending into the discharge opening to feed the mat along the transition area, said crop-conveying member extending forwardly of the discharge opening and overhanging the rear margin of the fore-and-aft draper; and a floor pan at least partly defines the transition area and presents a forwardmost edge adjacent to and spaced rearwardly of the rear margin, said forwardmost edge being located above the lower run to direct severed crop materials from the upper run and to facilitate crop material flow through the transition area.