Floor Seal For A Center Knife Drive For A Sickle Of A Plant Cutting Machine

A floor seal for a header of an agricultural equipment comprising:

• a floor having a forwardly facing opening through which a knife arm extends for side to side reciprocating movement that drives a sickle of the agricultural equipment during a plant cutting operation,
• a stationary outer peripheral seal element that cooperatively engages a peripheral edge of the floor about the opening, to form a substantially sealed condition thereabout,
• an inner peripheral seal element bounded by the outer peripheral seal element the inner peripheral seal element cooperatively engaging an outer peripheral surface of the knife arm (62A, 62B), to form a barrier to entry of loose material thereabout and movable side to side with the knife arm and
• an intermediate cover element that provides a forwardly facing enclosure that withholds passage of loose material between the seal elements while allowing for the side to side movements of the inner peripheral seal element with the knife arm relative to the outer peripheral seal element during the plant cutting operation.