Abstract: A hay baler for producing large rectangular bales picks up crop material directly underneath the fore-and-aft bale chamber of the machine as the baler advances across the field and stuffs charges of the picked up hay into the overhead chamber for compaction by a fore-and-aft reciprocating plunger. Sensors associated with the two laterally spaced driving arms of the plunger detect the extent of uneven crop loading into the baling chamber through measuring any differential in compressive loading on the arms and cause a visual display in the cab of the towing tractor which indicates the direction and magnitude of steering correction which is required to reestablish even loading of the baler. A microcomputer receives the outputs from the driving arms, processes the same and appropriately activates the display monitor in the cab.

Abstract: The cutting mechanism has a stationary anvil and a movable knife that is swung across the path of travel of the taut, moving wrapper to deflect the wrapper into engagement with the anvil and accomplish severance. A tapered nose on the anvil fits into a slot along the length of the knife as the two components come together whereby the wrapper is stuffed by the nose of the anvil into the slot in a distorted condition, conforming to the shape of the nose and bending over a sharp edge along the slot. As the wrapper becomes gripped within the slot and bent over the cutting edge, it is severed cleanly from the roll and the severed length of the wrapper is delivered to the bale for completion of the wrapping cycle.

Abstract: A transverse belt guide roll of the baler has its main cylindrical body portion provided with opposite end extremities which are spaced inwardly from the opposite sidewalls of the baler. Reduced diameter stub shafts project outwardly beyond the end extremities and into bearings supported by the sidewalls while the endmost belts along the roll have marginal edge portions which overhang the end extremities of the roll body to thereby eliminate a pinch point for loose residue between the belt edges and the surface of the roll body. Special annular components surrounding the otherwise exposed portions of the shaft ends serve as a shield to prevent the ingress of loose residue into the stub shafts for migration to the bearing assemblies. An alternative embodiment has the overhanging belt margins on one of the idler rolls carried by a vertically swingable belt control arm of the baler.

Abstract: An idler roll in a round baler has a number of belt-engaging portions spaced along its length, certain of which portions are of larger diameter than others so that the belts which wrap around the roll and are driven at a constant speed by other mechanism in the baler have a tendency to slip on some of the surfaces due to differences in peripheral speeds of such surfaces, which aids in maintaining the rolls polished and trash-free. A second idler roll has its own set of spaced, enlarged diameter portions, such portions on the second roll being in staggered relationship to those on the first roll so that the net differential in belt tension around the areas of large and small diameter is zero.

Abstract: The baler has a "vertical" bale starting chamber in which the upward moving rear belts and the downwardly moving front belts cooperate to tumble and roll incoming material into a bale. When the bale reaches full size in the expanded chamber, the bale is lifted while still in its chamber to a wrapping station where it continues to spin as a binding wrapper is applied. During the lifting of the finished bale and subsequent application of the wrapper, fresh material entering the continuously moving baler is confined beneath the finished bale in a new starting chamber, whereupon the cycle is repeated. As the new bale grows, a discharge ramp becomes formed by certain stretches of the belts and rollers to gravitationally discharge the wrapped bale from the baler without stopping advancement of the machine.

Abstract: A single length, wire-formed latch is pivotally attached to the hook of the chain and is so configured as to blockingly span the mouth of the chain-receiving slot of the hook when the latch is in its closed position. By grasping opposite limbs of the latch disposed on opposite sides of the hook, the latch may be pulled back against the resistive tension in the limbs to open the slot and allow the ingress and egress of the chain. One illustrated embodiment utilizes a pair of spaced mounting holes in the hook body which receive corresponding inturned, free ends of the limbs, while a second embodiment utilizes a single mounting hole in the hook body to receive one of the free ends of the limbs, the other limb having its free end extending across and bearing against an exposed, offset fulcrum surface on the exterior of the hook body to resiliently stress the limbs when the latch is pulled back into its open position.

Abstract: A pair of separate, obliquely disposed, angled-in rakes of the rotating tine bar type are mounted slightly forwardly of the pickup in the marginal areas along side the path of travel of the pickup to engage outlying materials and converge them inwardly into the main portion of the windrow as the baler advances. The tine bars are driven independently of forward motion of the baler by drive mechanism on the baler, and each of the rakes is provided with its own gauge wheel to permit the rake to rise and fall relative to the baler as changes in ground contour are encountered. The rakes slightly overlap the pickup in a lateral sense at their inner end so as to assure discharge of the crop material into the path of travel of the oncoming pickup, and the discharge ends of the rakes are spaced forwardly of the pickup a sufficient distance as to permit the velocity of the rake material to be substantially diminished by the time it is engaged by the pickup.

Abstract: The mechanism for expelling residue from regions of entrapment within the baler includes a series of flat, peripherally corrugated, powered rotary elements projecting edgewise into the spaces between adjacent belts that bound the region in which the residue collects. The elements are mounted on a transverse shaft outside of the residue collecting region and across the outer face of the belts and are driven in such a manner that the residue engaging portions thereof move in a direction generally opposite to that of the proximal belts. Cylindrical hubs projecting laterally from opposite sides of each element underlie the adjacent belts to control slack in such a manner that any such slack is caused to accumulate on the upstream side of the axis of rotation of the elements rather than in the immediate vicinity of the elements, thus preventing injurious climbing of the belts onto the expeller elements.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming large round bales of crop material includes a frame (10) having a pair of side walls (12, 14) and ground engaging wheels (18) mounted on the frame for supporting the apparatus for movement across the ground. A plurality of rollers (24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38) are mounted for rotatable movement relative to the frame (10) and extend between the side walls (12, 14), and a plurality of endless bale forming belts (46) are trained about the rollers to define a bale forming chamber (16) in which large round bales of crop materials are formed. At least one additional chamber (48) is also defined by the bale forming belts (46) adjacent the bale forming chamber (16). A clean-out assembly (54) is provided for cleaning crop material from the additional chamber.

Abstract: A bale discharge apparatus for use in guiding each of a plurality of bales of crop material between a bale forming chamber of a baler and the ground includes a bale turning assembly for turning each bale onto one of the lateral sides as the bale is delivered from the bale forming chamber. A table is provided for receiving each turned bale after the bale has been turned onto one of the lateral sides by the bale turning assembly, and the table is supported beneath the bale turning assembly at a height adapted to position the turned bale at least partially within the path of the next delivered bale so that the front end of the next delivered bale engages the rear end of the turned bale and pushes the turned bale from the table onto the ground. A method of guiding each of a plurality of bales of material between the bale forming chamber and the ground as each of the bales is delivered from the bale forming chamber is also disclosed.

Abstract: The bearing assembly includes a synthetic resinous collar which circumscribes the tube and oscillates therewith against the inside of a metal bushing wedged within a metal housing that is bolted to the adjacent tine tube carrier arm of the reel. The bushing is constructed from a pair of generally semicircular half-sections that are abutted together to make a complete annulus when held within the housing, thereby permitting removal of the bushing from the tube by simply separating the two half-sections from one another after the housing has been slipped axially off the end of the bushing. A slit in one side of the collar permits opposed wall portions thereof to be spread apart so that the collar may likewise be removed from the tube in a transverse direction rather than requiring axial movement along the tube which would be obstructed by crop-engaging tines of the reel.

Abstract: The baler has a twine monitoring assembly which generates a pulsating signal in response to twine being dispensed during bale wrapping operations. The twine is wrapped around the periphery of a monitor wheel and, during dispensing, the twine rotationally drives the wheel. As the wheel rotates, a magnet affixed to the wheel at a location adjacent the periphery thereof, travels past a stationary, magnetically operated, normally open switch thereby briefly closing the switch and temporarily turning on an indicator light until the magnet moves sufficiently far enough away from the switch. During wrapping of the bale, twine is rapidly dispensed, causing the wheel to rapidly rotate and as a consequence, causing the light to pulsate, indicating to the operator that twine is being dispensed.

Abstract: A baler includes a bale chamber and a plunger movable relative to the chamber between a retracted position and an extended position. The plunger is provided with at least two crop engaging elements spaced from one another by a distance defining a clearance opening therebetween, and a drive crank assembly including a drive arm operates to shift the plunger between the retracted and extended positions in a series of operating cycles. A clearing assembly is included for clearing crop materials from at least a portion of the clearance opening in the plunger. The clearing assembly includes a clearing member mounted on the plunger for pivotal movement relative thereto about a pivot axis, and a drive link for effecting pivotal movement of the clearing member during shifting of the plunger between the retracted and extended positions.

Abstract: A material-conveying apparatus includes an endless belt supported for travel in a path extending around a pair of rollers. A pair of support plates extend beneath the lateral edges of the belt along an upper run of the belt each of the support plates including an opening extending therethrough which permits material passing incidentally between the belt and the support plate to pass to an area beneath the support plate. A pair of deflection plates are disposed beneath the support plates. The deflection plates each include an upper edge which is disposed beneath and between the lateral edges of the upper run of the belt and extend downward and laterally outward relative to the upper run of the belt to a lower edge which is disposed laterally outward of the edges of the belt, whereby the material passing through the openings is directed by the deflection plates to an area laterally displaced from the lower run of the belt.

Abstract: A harvester having hydraulically shiftable draper sections for left, right or center crop discharge has a pair of movement limiting tangs which are carried by the draper sections at either of one of two selected locations in order to enable the lateral dimension or width of the discharge opening to be varied in accordance with crop conditions. When the standing crop is relatively dense, the tangs are positioned in an inboard location on the draper carriages so that the width of the discharge opening is maximized. Alternately, the tangs can be positioned in outward locations on the carriages for limiting lateral movement of the latter and reducing the width of the discharge opening so that the crop materials under relatively light crop conditions are formed into a dense, interlaced windrow having a central snow and ice shedding ridge.

Abstract: In a crop conditioner having a frame and first and second rolls each rotatable about an axis of rotation, a mounting assembly for the first roll includes a sub-assembly at each end of the first roll which permit the first roll to be pivoted relative to the second roll. Each sub-assembly has a mounting plate rotatably supporting one end of the first roll and supported on the frame for pivotal movement about a pivot axis which is generally parallel to and displaced from the axis of rotation of the first roll such that the axis of rotation of the first roll is movable relative to the axis of rotation of the second roll between a first position, a second position and a third position. The second and third positions of the first roll are progressively farther away from the axis of rotation of the second roll than the first position.

Abstract: A crop conditioning unit in a crop harvesting machine, such as a mower conditioner, has conditioning rolls configured to define a non-uniform crop conditioning zone which tapers or flares outwardly at opposite end regions thereof to a cross-sectional size greater than the generally uniform cross-sectional size of the remainder of the zone. Tapered end segments of the conditioning ribs on at least one of the rolls provide areas of relief at the opposite ends of the conditioning rolls which define the flared end regions of the non-uniform conditioning zone and accommodate passage of a correspondingly shaped crop layer through the zone without causing uneven loading of the rolls. As a result, uniform conditioning of the non-uniform crop layer can be achieved.

Abstract: Sprockets of a toothed belt drive for a double sickle harvesting header are carefully aligned relative to each other and to the toothed belt so that the belt can be twisted about its longitudinal axis during advancement along a closed loop path of travel in order to translate rotary motion about a first axis to rotary motion about a second axis which is inclined relative to the first axis. The toothed belt has semicylindrical teeth, and two idler pulleys contact a return portion of the belt to insure that the same are maintained in parallelism with grooves formed in sprockets of the mechanism in order to avoid imposition of side thrusts on the belt or undue wear on the teeth. The toothed belt reciprocates both sickles of the harvesting header in synchronous, timed fashion along directions opposite to each other so that vibrations which would otherwise be established by non-synchronous movement of the sickles are significantly dampened.

Abstract: A crop baler for producing rolled cylindrical bales prevents crumbling of the ends of the bale by positioning two twine guide tubes to simultaneously initiate wrapping at two positions slightly inboard of the bale ends, moving the twine guide tubes in opposite directions out to the ends, and then moving the twine guide tubes simultaneously back toward the center of the bale for completion and severance of the twine. The baler includes a positive feeding device for temporarily advancing a sufficient length of twine through the guide tubes at the beginning of the wrapping cycle to permit the rotating bale to grab the twine and pull the remainder of the twine from the tubes as the cycle continues. A control box moves the tubes along a path adjacent the periphery of the bale and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bale.

Abstract: A hold down for retention of reciprocable sickles of cutter assemblies is characterized by its inflexibility and provision of adjustability in relation to the cutter bar such as to preclude undue movement of the sickle sections away from their normal scissors-like cutting positions in cooperation with the sickle guards on the cutter bar. A strong, massive hold down body permits minimum running clearance of the sickle beneath wear pads on forwardly extending fingers integral with the body. After adjustment of a extensible bolt and nut assembly between the hold down and the cutter bar and clamping of the hold down to the cutter bar, essentially trouble-free use can be expected without undue clogging or failure to easily cut even the toughest of grasses, weeds, and crops generally.