Patent ID: RE40614

Claim:
In a machine for mowing crop materials, the improvement comprising: a cutter bed including a series of rotary cutters extending across the path of travel of the machine and rotatable about individual, upright axes ; , said cutter bed futher including an elongated, transversely extending, generally flat, hollow gear case below the cutters; a crop discharge opening located behind the cutter bed for receiving severed crop materials from the series of cutters , ; a pair of transversely extending, oppositely rotating conditioning rolls disposed within and spanning said discharge opening above and behind the cutter bed for conditioning crop materials received from the cutters, said discharge opening having a pair of opposite ends, said series of cutters including a group of multiple pairs of intermediate cutters positioned in front of and aligned with said discharge opening with the first and last cutters of said intermediate group being located adjacent said opposite ends of the discharge opening, said series of cutters further including at least a pair of opposite end cutters located outboard of the first and last cutters of the intermediate group and outboard of said discharge opening; means for driving the cutters of said intermedidate group in oppositely rotating pairs for directing severed material between the cutters of each pair and into the discharge opening, the first and last cutters of the intermediate group rotating generally inwardly toward the discharge opening across the front of the cutter bed; means for driving the end cutters in the same direction as their next adjacent first or last cutter of the intermediate group such that the end cutters and the first and last cutters of the intermediate group all rotate generally inwardly toward the discharge opening across the front of the cutter bed ; and , said means for driving the end cutters including gears within said gear case; and non - auger conveying means operably associated with each end cutter and its next adjacent intermediate group cutter for moving cut crop materials inwardly toward said discharge opening , said conveying means including an endless conveyor belt entrained around the axes of rotation of the end cutter and its next adjacent intermediate group cutter, said conveyor belt having a generally upright, flat, front surface and being driven in a direction to move said front surface toward the discharge opening .