Patent ID: 8601780

Claim:
A harvesting header operable to harvest crop, said harvesting header comprising: a header frame; a flexible 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 plurality of laterally spaced apart support arms being attached to and cooperatively supporting the flexible cutterbar assembly, each of said support arms being pivotally coupled to the frame for swinging movement about a laterally extending axis so that the flexible cutterbar assembly is operable to flex along the length thereof in response to changes in terrain as the header is advanced; and a draper assembly including a side draper carried on multiple ones of the support arms so as to flex with the cutterbar assembly, said side draper including an endless flexible draper belt configured to receive severed crop materials from the cutterbar assembly and convey the materials laterally, said draper belt presenting laterally endmost margins, with upper and lower crop-conveying runs extending between the margins; said multiple ones of the support arms including a roller support arm, said draper assembly including rollers, with each of the endmost margins of the draper belt being supported on a corresponding one of the rollers, said draper assembly including a roller frame attached to and cantilevered from the roller support arm, said roller being at least in part rotatably mounted on the roller frame and thereby at least partially supported by the roller support arm.