Mower and swathing unit

#The present disclosure relates to a mower and swathing unit. In particular but not exclusively it relates to a plain mower having a plurality of rotary cutter heads for cutting a crop and a swathing unit for forming the cut crop into a swath for collection.

#A known mower has a plurality of rotating cutter heads, a conditioning unit and a swathing unit comprising an auger device that brings the cut material together into a swath that is deposited on the ground for drying and collecting. The conditioning unit comprises a rotating bar equipped with a plurality of flail arms that crush and bruise the stalks of the crop to aid wilting. The conditioning unit is located immediately behind the cutter heads and rotates upwards (that is, the front part of the conditioning unit in the mowing direction rotates upwards) to carry the cut crop upwards and over the rotary axis of the conditioning unit.

#The auger is located behind the conditioning unit and has a helical flighting that transports the cut crop towards one end of the mower to form a swath that is narrower than the full width of the mower. The auger is enclosed within a housing having an opening at one end through which the swath passes. The auger rotates upwards and the cut crop passes over the rotary axis of the auger.

#An embodiment of the disclosure will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a front view of a mower;

#FIG. 2 is a sectional side view from the left-hand end of the mower (seen in the mowing direction);

#The mower shown in the drawings is a front mower that is designed to be mounted on the front of a tractor and is configured to produce a central swath that passes between the wheels of the tractor. It should be understood that the invention is not restricted to a front mower unit and is applicable to other types of mower unit including for example rear mounted mower units or side mounted units. Also, the invention is not restricted to mower units that produce only a central swath and is applicable also to mower units that produce a swath at one or both ends of the swathing unit. Also, the invention is applicable to mower units that are either suspended from a tractor or supported on wheels (for example towed mower units).

#In the following description we refer to the front F and back B (or rear) of the mower unit, which are defined with respect to the mowing direction A, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Terms such as “in front of” or “behind” are intended to be interpreted in a sense that is consistent with this definition of the terms “front” and “back”. We also refer to the left L and right R ends of the mower unit, which are defined from the point of view of an observer facing in the mowing direction A.

#The mower unit 2 shown in the drawings comprises a support frame 4 that supports a cutter bar 6 carrying a plurality of rotary cutter heads 8, for example conventional cutter discs or cutter drums equipped with knives. In this embodiment the cutter bar 6 carries eight cutter heads 8, wherein the two outermost cutter heads 8′ are drum cutters and the remaining cutters 8 are disc cutters.