Patent ID: 6865871

Claim:
A crop harvesting header for a combine harvester comprising: a main frame structure extending across between two ends of the header across a width of the header for movement in a direction generally at right angles to the width across ground including a crop to be harvested; a mounting assembly for attachment to a feeder house of the combine harvester for carrying the main frame structure on the combine harvester; a crop receiving table carried on the main frame structure across the width of the header; a cutter bar across a front of the table carrying a cutter knife operable for cutting the crop as the header is moved forwardly across the ground for depositing the crop onto the table; and a crop transport system for moving the cut crop toward a discharge location of the header for feeding the crop into a feed opening of the combine harvester; the crop transport system including: a first side draper having an outer end guide roller at a first end of the header, an inner end guide roller adjacent the discharge location and a continuous draper canvas wrapped around the outer and inner guide rollers to define a top run of the canvas for carrying the cut crop from the knife across the header to a discharge end adjacent the discharge location; a second side draper having an outer end guide roller at a second end of the header, an inner end guide roller adjacent the discharge location and a continuous draper canvas wrapped around the outer and inner guide rollers to define a top run of the canvas for carrying the cut crop from the knife across the header to a discharge end adjacent the discharge location; a feed draper located at the discharge location and including a front guide roller adjacent the cutter bar, a rear guide roller behind the front guide roller and a draper canvas wrapped around the front and rear guide rollers to define a top run of the feed draper for receiving the crop material from the discharge ends of the first and second side drapers and for carrying the crop material rearwardly toward the feed opening of the combine harvester; and and a rotary feed member at the discharge location arranged such that the crop is fed underneath the rotary feed member to the inlet opening of the combine harvester; the rotary feed member being mounted on a mounting assembly for upward and downward movement within the discharge location; the rotary feed member having a length between ends thereof which is less than the spacing between the side drapers; the rotary feed member having each of the ends thereof located inwardly of the respective side draper such that the rotary feed member when moved downwardly on its mounting assembly to a lowermost position has at least part of its periphery between the inner ends of the side drapers; and the rotary feed member being arranged to extend to a forward edge at a position forwardly of a rear of the side drapers.