Crop harvesting header with rotary disks and impellers for transferring the crop inwardly to a discharge opening

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;
• and at least one impeller mounted at a position at or adjacent the at least one disk for contacting the cut crop;
• the impeller being mounted for rotation about a generally upstanding axis;
• the impeller having a bottom adjacent the cutter bar and a top spaced from the cutter bar;
• the impeller having at least four bar members thereon at spaced positions around the axis and arranged for engaging the crop, such that rotation of the impeller causes the bar members in front of the axis to move inwardly of the header such that the engagement of the bar members with the crop tends to carry the crop inwardly toward the discharge opening;
• the impeller being open between the bar members such that a peripheral surface of the impeller for engaging the crop consists solely of the bar members;
• the bar members of the impeller being shaped such that a spacing of the bar members from the axis at the top and bottom of the impeller is larger than a spacing of the bar members from the axis at an intermediate position on the impeller spaced downwardly from the top and spaced upwardly from the bottom.

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;
• and at least one impeller mounted at a position at or adjacent the at least one disk for contacting the cut crop;
• the impeller being mounted for rotation about a generally upstanding axis;
• the impeller having a bottom adjacent the cutter bar and a top spaced from the cutter bar;
• the impeller having a plurality of bar members thereon at spaced positions around the axis and arranged for engaging the crop, such that rotation of the impeller causes the bar members in front of the axis to move inwardly of the header such that the engagement of the bar members with the crop tends to carry the crop inwardly toward the discharge opening;
• the bar members of the impeller being shaped such that a spacing of the bar members from the axis at the top and bottom of the impeller is larger than a spacing of the bar members from the axis at an intermediate position on the impeller spaced downwardly from the top and spaced upwardly from the bottom;
• wherein there are two disks outside the discharge opening and two impellers arranged such that each is co-axial with a corresponding one of the disks and where the impeller at an outer one of the two disks is larger in diameter and has more bar members than the impeller at an inner one of the two disks.

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 two of the disks at one end of the discharge opening being mounted outwardly of the discharge opening such that crop cut thereby must be carried inwardly to said one end of the discharge opening;
• at least two impellers mounted adjacent said one end of the discharge opening for engaging the crop with an outer one of the impellers mounted outwardly of an inner one of the impellers so as to carry the crop inwardly to said one end of the discharge opening;
• each of the impellers being mounted for rotation about a generally upstanding axis both in a common direction such that an outer periphery of the impellers in front of the impellers moves inwardly tending to carry crop inwardly across the front of the impellers toward said one end of the discharge opening with the crop being discharged from the inner one of the impellers inwardly into the discharge opening;
• each of the impellers having a bottom adjacent the cutter bar and a top spaced from the cutter bar;
• each of the 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 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.