Patent ID: 7454888

Claim:
A crop harvesting header comprising: a header frame arranged to be transported across ground carrying 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 cutter blades being arranged substantially in a common cutting plane generally parallel to the ground; 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 the width of the cutter bar is greater than the width of the discharge opening and such that crop cut must be carried thereby inwardly to the discharge opening; a pair of conditioner rolls mounted at and transverse to the discharge opening to receive the crop, the conditioner rolls including a top conditioning roll and a bottom conditioning roll which are parallel and arranged such that the crop passes through a nip between the top and bottom conditioning rolls, with the pair of conditioning rolls having a width substantially equal to the width of the discharge opening and less than that of the cutter bar; the top and bottom conditioning rolls being arranged such that the nip is raised above the common cutting plane and is located behind the disks; and a transfer roller mounted behind the disks and in front of the nip for transferring the crop upwardly and rearwardly from the disks to the nip; the top and bottom conditioning rolls each comprising a cylindrical body, mounted for rotation about an axis thereof; the transfer roller comprising a cylindrical body having a cylindrical outer surface, mounted for rotation about an axis thereof, on which is mounted a series of longitudinally extending, angularly spaced ribs; wherein the cylindrical body of the transfer roller has a diameter which is at least equal to a diameter of the cylindrical bodies of the top and bottom conditioning rolls; and wherein the transfer roller is rotated at a rotation rate in rpm which is less than a rotation rate in rpm of the top and bottom conditioning rolls.