Patent ID: 7340876

Claim:
A crop harvesting header comprising: a header frame arranged to be transported across ground on which there is a standing crop for harvesting; a cutter bar mounted on the header frame across a width of the header for movement across the ground for harvesting the standing crop; a plurality of generally horizontal cutter disks mounted on the cutter bar at positions spaced transversely of the header with the disks being mounted on the cutter bar for driven rotation about respective generally upright axes spaced along the cutter bar; each disk having mounted thereon at a position spaced outwardly from the respective axis thereof at least one cutter blade such that rotation of the disk about its axis causes a standing crop to be cut by the blade as it rotates around the axis on the disk; the header frame defining a discharge opening through which the cut crop is discharged for forming a swath behind the header; at least one of the disks being mounted outwardly of the discharge opening such that crop cut thereby must be carried inwardly to the discharge opening; at least one first impeller mounted at a position at or adjacent the at least one disk for contacting the cut crop; and at least one second impeller separate from the disks with the axis of the second impeller being spaced from the axis of each of the disks; each of the first and second impellers being mounted for rotation about a generally upstanding axis; each of the first and second impellers having a bottom adjacent the cutter bar and a top spaced from the cutter bar; each of the first and second impellers having components thereof at positions thereon extending from the top to the bottom with the components being located around the axis and with the components arranged for engaging the crop, such that rotation of the impeller causes the components in front of the axis to move inwardly of the header such that the engagement of the components with the crop tends to carry the crop inwardly toward the discharge opening; the components of each of the first and second impellers being shaped such that a spacing of the components from the axis at the top and bottom of the impeller is larger than a spacing of the components from the axis at an intermediate position on the impeller spaced downwardly from the top and spaced upwardly from the bottom.