Abstract: A round baler includes bale forming mechanism and a crop delivery apparatus for delivering crop material to the bale forming mechanism. A clutch is provided for drivingly disconnecting the bale forming mechanism and delivery apparatus from the driveline while the tailgate is raised to discharge a wrapped bale. Engagement and disengagement of the clutch is controlled by a piston and cylinder assembly, and raising and lowering of the tailgate is controlled by a pair of piston and cylinder units. The baler is provided with a hydraulic sequencing circuit that connects the clutch assembly and the tailgate units to a common source of pressurized fluid. Moreover, the sequencing circuit controls fluid flow to the assembly and the units so that the clutch is disengaged before the tailgate is raised and the clutch is not re-engaged until the tailgate has been closed.

Abstract: A non-row-sensitive forage harvesting header for attachment to a mobile frame carrying a chopper has a pair of rotatable cutting discs for severing stalks as the frame moves across a field. Positioned above the cutting discs are a pair of drum-shaped transfer devices rotatable in opposite directions about upright axes coaxial with the rotational axes of the respective cutting discs for gathering severed stalks to a central location between the devices. A pair of endless gripping elements extend about respective ones of the transfer devices and present opposed rearwardly moveable runs extending between the central location and the chopper when the header is attached to the frame. The opposed runs of the gripping elements are operable to cooperatively grip each gathered stalk therebetween while moving the stalk rearwardly from the central location to the chopper.

Abstract: A round baler includes a tension assembly for applying pressure evenly across the periphery of the bale as it grows within the baling chamber. The tension assembly includes a rotatable torque tube extending between the sidewalls and only one tensioning mechanism, such as a hydraulic cylinder, adjacent one of the sidewalls of the baler for supplying a yieldable resistance load in opposition to torsional loads on the torque tube. A load transferring member extends inwardly from the one sidewall to operably connect the single tensioning mechanism to the torque tube at a location spaced between the sidewalls and thereby transfer the loads between the mechanism and tube.

Abstract: The round baler has a plurality of transverse rolls and a plurality of laterally spaced belts entraining the rolls, wherein the rolls and belts cooperatively define a baling chamber expandable from an initial, generally upright, bale-starting configuration. The baling chamber has a crop intake opening adjacent the bottom of the chamber through which crop material is delivered to the chamber during formation of a bale. The rolls include a lower front roll and a lower rear roll which are located behind the intake opening. The lower rear roll has a bale supporting surface that is positioned generally upwardly and rearwardly from the front roll for supporting the bale during formation thereof at a point spaced upwardly and rearwardly from the intake opening.

Abstract: A round baler having a wrapping apparatus for wrapping bales with twine includes a twine dispenser moveable generally between the sidewalls for dispensing at least one strand of twine around the bale. The wrapping apparatus further includes a retractable twine guide for spacing the twine wrapped around the bale a certain distance from one of the sidewalls. The guide is shiftable into and out of an operating position, in which the guide engages and maintains the twine the distance from the one sidewall. The operating position of the twine guide is generally within or proximate to the path of inflowing crop material so that shifting of the guide out of the operating position minimizes interference with the flow of material and reduces accumulation of trash and material on the guide.

Abstract: The round baler has an improved feed device for feeding wrapper material from a reel of the material to the baling chamber, wherein the device includes a pair of feed rollers receiving the wrapper therebetween and drivable in directions to pull the wrapper from the reel for presentation to the chamber. A drive is coupled with the feed rollers for driving the rollers at velocities which pull the wrapper from the reel at a speed relatively less than the speed at which the wrapper is pulled from the reel by the bale forming mechanism during wrapping of the bale. The device also includes an overrunning clutch intercoupling the drive and the feed rollers. The clutch drivingly connects the feed rollers to the drive when engaged and drivingly disconnects the rollers from the drive when disengaged. The feed rollers are freely rotatable when the clutch is disengaged for allowing the wrapper to be pulled off the reel by the bale forming mechanism.

Abstract: A round baler with an open, non-compressive infeed region into its baling chamber has the bale core starter roller entrained by one end of a series of side-by-side conveyor belts so that the flat surfaces of the belts discourage loose crop materials from wrapping around the starter roller, without inhibiting the effectiveness of the starter roller as a means for imparting rotary driving force to the core during the early stages of bale formation.

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: 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 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: Grid members for supporting a bale of hay within the tub of a tilt-tub bale processor are fixed to the floor of the tiltable tub and extend across an opening in the floor in order to control the feed rate of crop materials toward the chopping and disintegrating rotor. The tub is shiftable to any one of a number of slightly tilted orientations so that bottom reaches of the bale within the tub engage only a selected portion of rotor hammers. If the rotor tends to plug, the tub can be tilted away from the rotor and the grid members supporting the bale simultaneously shift lower reaches of the bale away from the rotor hammers so that the latter are able to clear. In preferred embodiments, a knife extends across the floor opening in transverse relation to the supporting grid members to provide a pinch point for crop materials entering the rotor chamber.

Abstract: An inexpensive square baler is provided with an arcuate baling chamber and a plurality of spaced apart plunger elements shiftable about a kidney-shaped, closed loop path of travel. The baling chamber is partially defined by a horizontal table and a wrapper which have a number of common openings each corresponding to one of the elements. During a return stroke portion of the plunger elements, the latter retract out of the baling chamber and re-enter the chamber between the openings in the table to enable the chamber to accumulate significant quantities of crop materials without interference with the plunger elements during their return stroke portion thereof.

Abstract: The baler has a "vertical" bale starting chamber in which the upwardly 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: The discharge hood of an agricultural combine has a housing suspended from the bottom thereof in disposition for receiving straw from straw walkers of the combine into a rotary chopper which impacts the straw and propels it rearwardly out through a spreader, while at the same time creating a current of air flowing through the housing. A second inlet positioned forwardly adjacent the straw inlet of the housing is located to receive a stream of chaff from a forwardly disposed chaff discharge of the combine so that both the chaff and the straw are passed through the chopper, admixed into a single stream, and propelled upwardly and rearwardly from the combine to be strewn and scattered across the ground behind the advancing machine. A booster fan adjacent the chaff discharge augments the air suction created at the chaff inlet of the housing by the high-speed chopping rotor to assure conveyance of the light chaff particles across the free space between the chaff just discharged and the chopper housing.

Abstract: A high speed rotor in the chute of a forage harvester is used to crack kernels in chopped forage impelled to the rotor. The rotor itself has four or more rows of elongated, spaced-apart plates provided with blunt cracking edges, and a deflector, disposed upstream of the rotor, is adjustable for a wide range of positions and diverts the flow of material to allow control over the degree of cracking.

Abstract: The two actuating levers of hydraulic pumps which control the direction and proportionate volumes of fluid flow to hydraulic motors in a hydraulic steering, speed, and direction control system may be locked in neutral by components located at the pumps but operated remotely from the cab of the vehicle. The geometry of the arrangement is such that any attempted movement on the part of the actuating levers once locked only tends to seat the locking components more firmly. Engine start-up is impossible unless the levers are locked in neutral.

Abstract: The vertical chamber of the open throat, vertical chamber baler has its bottom inlet opening devoid of a starter roll. A resilient rotary rake tine assembly positioned below and ahead of the inlet opening picks up crop material from the ground and delivers it to a rigid tooth feeder spaced below the inlet opening in vertical alignment therewith. At the beginning of each bale forming cycle when the chamber is small and empty, the rigid tooth feeder propels the crop material into the chamber and against the upwardly moving rear belt stretch which encourages the material to tumble forwardly against the downwardly moving front belt stretch. The oppositely moving surfaces presented by the front and rear belt stretches encourage the tumbling material to coil into a bale core, which ultimately forms a larger bale.