Abstract: A planar tine plate having a number of tines. The tine plate is configured to be arranged on a rotor shaft of a rotor cutter apparatus of an agricultural baler. The tine plate is for moving or conveying crop material collected by the agricultural baler, for example by a pickup apparatus of the agricultural baler. The tine plate has at least one first tine and at least one second tine spaced angularly from the at least one first tine. The at least one first tine has a length greater than that of the at least one second tine. An increase in the cleaning efficiency and the crop conveying efficiency of an area to be swept by the tine plate as the rotor shaft rotates may be achieved.

Abstract: An agricultural baler includes a bale chamber for the compression of crop material into bales. The bale chamber has a floor that comprises an inlet opening. The baler also has a plunger for forcing the crop material from an inlet end of the bale chamber towards an outlet end, and a feeder duct communicating with the bale chamber through the inlet opening. The feeder duct has an upper end facing generally upwardly and communicating with the inlet opening in the bale chamber and a lower end facing generally in a forward direction. The feeder duct also has a top wall and a bottom wall extending between the lower end and the upper end of the feeder duct. The baler also has one or more actuators that are configured to move the top wall and/or the bottom wall; and a controller configured to activate the one or more actuators during a baling operation in order to adjust the volume of the feeder duct.

Abstract: A rotor assembly for an agricultural baler. The rotor assembly has a rotor shaft having a central portion and first and second end portions either side of the central portion. The rotor assembly further has a number of tine plates to be arranged axially along the rotor shaft, each of the tine plates having one or more tines. The tine plates are arranged such that there is an angular spacing between the tines of adjacent ones of the tine plates. A magnitude of the angular spacing is greater or smaller at the central portion than at the first and second end portions of the rotor shaft.

Abstract: An agricultural baler includes a feeder duct communicating with a bale chamber for charges of crop material to be transferred into a bale chamber. The baler also includes a door that defines at least a portion of a bottom wall of the feeder duct. The door is movable between: (i) a door-open-position, in which an opening in the bottom wall is provided; and (ii) a door-closed-position in which the opening is closed. The baler further includes a pick-up device that is movable between: (i) a lowered-position in which it is operable to convey crop material into the feeder duct; and (ii) a raised-position in which it is spaced further away from the ground than in the lowered-position. The pick-up device is mechanically coupled to the door of the bottom wall such that movement of the pick-up device causes the door to move from the door-open-position to the door-closed-position.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a baling chamber and a pre-compression chamber, the baling chamber including at least one movable wall. The agricultural baler further includes multiple sensors and a controller adapted for controlling operation of the agricultural baler based on inputs of the multiple sensors, wherein a first subset of the multiple sensors is related to a first feature and a second subset of the multiple sensors is related to a second feature. The controller is configured to control the operation of the agricultural baler in a first time period until the first feature is within a first predetermined range, and to control the operation of the agricultural baler in a subsequent time period, until the second feature is within a second predetermined range.

Abstract: There is described a mobile drive system comprising at least one mobile drive unit capable of automated or autonomous navigation, wherein the mobile drive unit comprises: a platform comprising U or V type shape, the platform comprising two legs and a bent or front interconnector interconnecting both legs at one end; a first wheelset comprising two wheels, each arranged at a corresponding distal end of the legs of the platform; and a second wheelset comprising two or only one wheel at the interconnector of the platform.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale chamber; a plunger; a feeder duct; and a rotor feeder unit. The rotor feeder unit includes a rotor feeder unit bottom distant from a rotor feeder forming a lower boundary of a conveying channel through the rotor feeder unit. The rotor feeder unit also includes scrapers placed in a conveying direction behind the rotor feeder. The scrapers extend in between the tines and have a leading face cooperating with the tines. The agricultural baler further includes a position adjuster configured to displace the leading face of the scrapers relative to the rotor feeder unit bottom, and to displace a top wall and/or the bottom wall of the feeder duct, in order to adjust the volume of the feeder duct.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale case, a plunger, a duct, and a stuffer unit, operably associated with the duct. The stuffer unit includes a fork assembly including tines, a drive mechanism acting on the fork assembly, and a clutch arrangement for selective coupling the drive mechanism to a power source of the baler. The clutch arrangement includes a selectively operable dog clutch including a driving clutch member and a driven clutch member. The driving and the driven clutch member are configured for selectively engaging each other in one direction of rotation of the driving clutch member relative to the driven clutch member. The clutch arrangement furthermore includes an overrunning clutch associated with the driving clutch member and the driven clutch member.

Abstract: A rotor assembly for an agricultural baler. The rotor assembly has a rotor shaft having a central portion and first and second end portions either side of the central portion. The rotor assembly further has a number of tine plates to be arranged axially along the rotor shaft, each of the tine plates having one or more tines. The tine plates are arranged such that there is an angular spacing between the tines of adjacent ones of the tine plates. A magnitude of the angular spacing is greater or smaller at the central portion than at the first and second end portions of the rotor shaft. This can help to ensure that collected crop is more evenly distributed when it is moved into a pre-compression chamber of the baler in the case of relatively narrow or wide windrows, in particular that the crop that fills the sides of the pre-compression chamber is optimal, which means that a desired bale shape and bale rate may be more readily achieved.

Abstract: A planar tine plate having a number of tines. The tine plate is configured to be arranged on a rotor shaft of a rotor cutter apparatus of an agricultural baler. The tine plate is for moving or conveying crop material collected by the agricultural baler, for example by a pickup apparatus of the agricultural baler. The tine plate has at least one first tine and at least one second tine spaced angularly from the at least one first tine. The at least one first tine has a length greater than that of the at least one second tine. An increase in the cleaning efficiency and the crop conveying efficiency of an area to be swept by the tine plate as the rotor shaft rotates may be achieved.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale chamber; a plunger; a feeder duct; and a rotor feeder unit. The rotor feeder unit includes a rotor feeder unit bottom distant from a rotor feeder forming a lower boundary of a conveying channel through the rotor feeder unit. The rotor feeder unit also includes scrapers placed in a conveying direction behind the rotor feeder. The scrapers extend in between the tines and have a leading face cooperating with the tines. The agricultural baler further includes a position adjuster configured to displace the leading face of the scrapers relative to the rotor feeder unit bottom, and to displace a top wall and/or the bottom wall of the feeder duct, in order to adjust the volume of the feeder duct.

Abstract: An agricultural baler includes a bale chamber for the compression of crop material into bales. The bale chamber has a floor that comprises an inlet opening. The baler also has a plunger for forcing the crop material from an inlet end of the bale chamber towards an outlet end, and a feeder duct communicating with the bale chamber through the inlet opening. The feeder duct has an upper end facing generally upwardly and communicating with the inlet opening in the bale chamber and a lower end facing generally in a forward direction. The feeder duct also has a top wall and a bottom wall extending between the lower end and the upper end of the feeder duct. The baler also has one or more actuators that are configured to move the top wall and/or the bottom wall; and a controller configured to activate the one or more actuators during a baling operation in order to adjust the volume of the feeder duct.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale chamber; a feeder duct communicating with the bale chamber; and a feeder operable within the feeder duct to accumulate a charge of crop material therein and then stuff that accumulated charge into the bale chamber. The baler further includes a conveying channel and a conveyor operable in the conveying channel to convey the crop material along a bottom wall of the conveying channel toward the feeder duct. The bottom wall of the conveying channel is adapted to be moved away from the conveyor; and the lower end part of the bottom wall of the feeder duct is attached to the movable bottom wall of the conveying channel.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a baling chamber and a pre-compression chamber, the baling chamber including at least one movable wall. The agricultural baler further includes multiple sensors and a controller adapted for controlling operation of the agricultural baler based on inputs of the multiple sensors, wherein a first subset of the multiple sensors is related to a first feature and a second subset of the multiple sensors is related to a second feature. The controller is configured to control the operation of the agricultural baler in a first time period until the first feature is within a first predetermined range, and to control the operation of the agricultural baler in a subsequent time period, until the second feature is within a second predetermined range.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale chamber, a feeder duct communicating with the bale chamber for charges of crop material to be transferred from the feeder duct into the bale chamber; and a feeder operable within the feeder duct to accumulate a charge of crop material therein and then stuff that accumulated charge into the bale chamber. There is an opening in the bottom wall of the feeder duct and at least one door hingedly attached to an edge of the opening, the edge being the edge of an end part of the bottom wall of the feeder duct, and the end part of the bottom wall to which the door is hingedly attached, is movably arranged relative to the top wall of the feeder duct.

Abstract: An agricultural baler includes a feeder duct communicating with a bale chamber for charges of crop material to be transferred into a bale chamber. The baler also includes a door that defines at least a portion of a bottom wall of the feeder duct. The door is movable between: (i) a door-open-position, in which an opening in the bottom wall is provided; and (ii) a door-closed-position in which the opening is closed. The baler further includes a pick-up device that is movable between: (i) a lowered-position in which it is operable to convey crop material into the feeder duct; and (ii) a raised-position in which it is spaced further away from the ground than in the lowered-position. The pick-up device is mechanically coupled to the door of the bottom wall such that movement of the pick-up device causes the door to move from the door-open-position to the door-closed-position.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale case, a plunger, a duct, and a stuffer unit, operably associated with the duct. The stuffer unit includes a fork assembly including tines, a drive mechanism acting on the fork assembly, and a clutch arrangement for selective coupling the drive mechanism to a power source of the baler. The clutch arrangement includes a selectively operable dog clutch including a driving clutch member and a driven clutch member. The driving and the driven clutch member are configured for selectively engaging each other in one direction of rotation of the driving clutch member relative to the driven clutch member. The clutch arrangement furthermore includes an overrunning clutch associated with the driving clutch member and the driven clutch member.

Abstract: A rectangular baler including a baling chamber, an intake duct, a pick-up mechanism for picking up crop material and introducing it into the intake duct, and a stuffer mechanism to selectively execute a packer stroke to advance crop material partially along the intake duct and a stuffer stroke to transfer the crop material accumulated in the intake duct into the baling chamber. The stuffer mechanism includes a tine bar extending between two stuffer assemblies at each side of the baler. Each stuffer assembly includes a first stuffer arm connected at a first pivot point to a first crank arm of a first drive mechanism, a second stuffer arm connected at a second pivot point to a second crank arm of a second drive mechanism, and a coupling plate pivotally mounted around a stationary pivot point. The coupling plate couples the first stuffer arm with the second stuffer arm.

Abstract: A rectangular baler comprising a bale chamber delimited by a plurality of walls including a movable wall section, an actuator for exerting a pressure on the movable wall section, a plunger for compressing crop material in the bale chamber, and a density control system including: a position calculating module configured to calculate a new position for the movable wall section based on an input representative for bale density of compressed crop material in the bale chamber, and a position control module configured to control the actuator to position the movable wall section in the calculated position.

Abstract: An agricultural baler including a bale chamber, a feeder duct communicating with the bale chamber for charges of crop material to be transferred from the feeder duct into the bale chamber; and a feeder operable within the feeder duct to accumulate a charge of crop material therein and then stuff that accumulated charge into the bale chamber. There is an opening in the bottom wall of the feeder duct and at least one door hingedly attached to an edge of the opening, the edge being the edge of an end part of the bottom wall of the feeder duct, and the end part of the bottom wall to which the door is hingedly attached, is movably arranged relative to the top wall of the feeder duct.