The pivoting action sickle drive has a low profile allowing incorporation in or below a floor of a header of a plant cutting machine to allow passage of cut plant material thereabout. The drive includes a substantially flat rotatable input element, and a drive arm connected eccentric thereto for eccentric rotation along an epicyclical path. The arm extends to a connection with a pivot arm of a pivot element that connects to a knife arm that drives a sickle knife assembly, such that the pivot element, knife arm and knife assembly will be reciprocatingly driven by the eccentric rotation of the drive arm. A second drive can oppositely drive a second sickle knife assembly, such that opposite forces generated by the drives will cancel. The drives can be packaged in a forwardly tapered or curved enclosure, and the pivot elements can be correspondingly shaped to streamline the drives.

An agricultural attachment is provided with a cutter bar and a hydraulic motor for oscillatingly driving the cutter bar via an eccentric gear. The hydraulic motor is connected via a feed line and a return line to a hydraulic loaded with a hydrostatic liquid by a hydraulic pump. A switchover valve is integrated in the hydraulic circuit and switches pressure-dependently, wherein the switchover valve has a first switch position and a second switch position and is adjustable back and forth between the first switch position and the second switch position. The hydraulic motor is driven in the first switch position in a first rotational direction and is driven in the second switch position in a second rotational direction, wherein the second rotational direction is opposite to the first rotational direction.

A method for analyzing the operating state of a cutting device for mowing crop, the cutting device having at least one mowing knife having cutting edges which interact with counter cutting edges of the cutting device, including: detecting of a signal representing the stroke position of the mowing knife; detecting a signal representing the knife force for driving the mowing knife as a function of the stroke position, and determining crop and/or cutting system properties on the basis of an evaluation of the signal representing the knife force as a function of the stroke position.

A method for analyzing the operating state of a cutting device for mowing crop, the cutting device having at least one mowing knife having cutting edges which interact with counter cutting edges of the cutting device, including: detecting of a signal representing the stroke position of the mowing knife; detecting a signal representing the knife force for driving the mowing knife as a function of the stroke position, and determining crop and/or cutting system properties on the basis of an evaluation of the signal representing the knife force as a function of the stroke position.

A crop harvesting header having a frame mounted on a propulsion vehicle has a cutter bar carrying a sickle knife and a draper transport. The draper is guided at its front edge by a longitudinally extending rail mounted on the frame for movement therewith. The cutter bar is mounted on the frame at spaced positions by spring blades attached to a fixed beam at the rear which allow up and down flexing movement of the cutter bar relative to the draper engagement member. At the center discharge the cutter bar is carried on shorter blades which are carried on a beam in front of the front draper roller. The small amount of flexing of the cutter bar combines with a balanced three piece header frame to provide effective ground following.

A crop harvesting header having a frame mounted on a propulsion vehicle has a cutter bar carrying a sickle knife and a draper transport. The draper is guided at its front edge by a longitudinally extending rail mounted on the frame for movement therewith. The cutter bar is mounted on the frame at spaced positions by spring blades attached to a fixed beam at the rear which allow up and down flexing movement of the cutter bar relative to the draper engagement member. At the center discharge the cutter bar is carried on shorter blades which are carried on a beam in front of the front draper roller. The small amount of flexing of the cutter bar combines with a balanced three piece header frame to provide effective ground following.

A sickle cutting system is mounted on a header for forward travel over ground having a standing crop thereon and includes a cutter bar with a plurality of knife guards and two sickle bars driven at a phase angle difference where the drive system has a phase difference control component operable to drive the first and second sickle bars at a first phase angle difference typically at or around 180 degrees difference to minimize vibration when no cutting action is occurring and at a second phase angle difference which can be at or around 90 degrees to minimize variations in loading applied to the drive system when the cutting action is taking place.

A sickle cutting system is mounted on a header for forward travel over ground having a standing crop thereon and includes a cutter bar with a plurality of knife guards and two sickle bars driven at a phase angle difference where the drive system has a phase difference control component operable to drive the first and second sickle bars at a first phase angle difference typically at or around 180 degrees difference to minimize vibration when no cutting action is occurring and at a second phase angle difference which can be at or around 90 degrees to minimize variations in loading applied to the drive system when the cutting action is taking place.

A boom mower having a frame, a boom assembly carried by the frame, a cutting mechanism operably engaged with the boom assembly, and at least one translation assembly operably engaged with the boom assembly and the cutting mechanism that moves the cutting mechanism in one or more of the first movement, the second movement, and the third movement. There is a break-away mechanism that enables the cutting mechanism to pivot relative to the at least one translation assembly.

A boom mower having a frame, a boom assembly carried by the frame, a cutting mechanism operably engaged with the boom assembly, and at least one translation assembly operably engaged with the boom assembly and the cutting mechanism that moves the cutting mechanism in one or more of the first movement, the second movement, and the third movement. There is a break-away mechanism that enables the cutting mechanism to pivot relative to the at least one translation assembly.