Slot Driven Low Profile Sickle Drive

A sickle drive comprising:

• a generally flat enclosure having an upper cover with a forward end disposed just rearwardly of a sidewardly extending sickle of a header of an agricultural plant cutting machine, and a lower cover having a forward end which tapers or curves upwardly toward the forward end of the upper cover, the upper and lower covers defining a cavity therebetween;
• an epicyclic slot drive mechanism including a rotatable first input element supported in the cavity for rotation about a generally upstanding first rotational axis,
• a first eccentric element supported in the cavity in connection with the first input element for rotation thereby along a first epicyclic orbit about the first rotational axis, the first eccentric element having a generally upstanding first eccentric axis laterally offset relative to the first rotational axis,
• a first pivot arm disposed in the cavity and having a first end including a slot cooperatively receiving the eccentric element, the first pivot arm extending forwardly to a second end comprising a pivot shaft which projects upwardly from the upper cover of the enclosure and is supported for rotation about a generally upstanding first pivotal axis therethrough, such that the first pivot arm is restrained to pivot sidewardly about the first pivotal axis by the eccentric rotation of the first concentric element, and
• a first knife arm mounted on the pivot shaft above the upper cover of the enclosure and connecting to a first knife assembly of the sickle, such that the first knife assembly will be reciprocated sidewardly relative to the enclosure by the pivoting of the shaft.