Abstract: Wrapping apparatus for wrapping an object such as an agricultural bale with stretched film has a powered stretch film dispenser mounted to a swing arm disposed above a bale support; the swing arm is connected to a drive unit by which the arm is swung causing the dispenser to execute continuous circular motion about a bale on the bale support, the latter being operable to spin the bale slowly about an axis in the plane of motion of the dispenser. The dispenser derives power for positively dispensing wrapping film from the arm drive unit by way of a mechanical drive transmission. In use, turns of film are wrapped in overlapping, angularly displaced fashion about the bale and the rate at which film is dispensed always bears a fixed relationship to the speed of the drive unit, the angular speed of the swing arm and the rate at which turns are wrapped around the bale.

Abstract: An apparatus for wrapping an article, such as a bale of silage, in a stretchable polymeric film comprising a pair of stretch rollers for stretching the film, a film dispenser for delivering the film to the stretch rollers and means for rotating the article to take up stretched film from the stretch rollers. The means for driving the stretch rollers comprises at least one first hydraulic motor, and the means for rotating the article comprises at least one second hydraulic motor, and the at least one first hydraulic motor and the at least one second hydraulic motor are connected in series. The at least one second hydraulic motor is run at least partially on the exhaust from the at least one first hydraulic motor such that the ratio of outputs of the at least one first hydraulic motor and the at least one second hydraulic motor is fixed.

Abstract: Apparatus for wrapping an article in a film (e.g. a plastics film) comprises a pair of stretch rollers for stretching the film, a film dispenser for delivering the film to the stretch rollers and means for rotating the article to take up stretched film from the stretch rollers, wherein the means for rotating the article comprises a first hydraulic motor and the stretch rollers are driven by a second hydraulic motor connected in series to the first motor to run on the exhaust from the first motor, whereby the ratio of the output of the first and second motors is fixed. One of the pair of stretch rollers constitutes the first of two nipped rollers, the second nipped roller being directly driven by the second motor and geared to the first nipped roller to drive it at the same peripheral velocity. The apparatus may be used for wrapping bales of silage.