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 baling machine includes a pre-baling chamber and a rotative packer/stuffer including at least one retractable and extendable tine including at least one stuffer tine supported on at least a first reciprocable support. The at least one stuffer tine sequentially penetrates, moves in, and retracts from the pre-baling chamber when activated by at least one stuffer activator. The packer-stuffer includes at last one sensor that senses a vector or pseudovector quantity acting on at least one rotative component. The baling machine also includes at least one processor for estimating from the sensed quantity the amount of plant matter in the pre-baling chamber or a related variable, comparing this to a threshold corresponding to desired filling of the pre-baling chamber, and causing the stuffer activator to initiate stuffing when the estimated plant matter or related variable attains or exceeds the threshold.

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: 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; a plunger reciprocally moveable within the bale chamber to compress successive charges of crop material received from the feeder duct to form a bale; 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 feeder includes at least one first tine and at least one second tine, each having a leading face for engaging the crop material. A width of a frontal area of the leading face of the second tine is smaller than a width of a frontal area of the leading face of the first tine.

Abstract: An agricultural baler comprising a baling chamber and a pre-compression chamber, wherein the pre-compression chamber is adapted to gather crop material and to periodically form a slice of said crop material and introduce it in a first segment of the baling chamber, the baling chamber comprising a plunger and a movable top wall, wherein the first segment is provided with at least one sensor for outputting a first signal relating to a height of the slice in the first segment, a second signal relating to a speed of introduction of the slice in the first segment, and a third signal relating to a position of the movable top wall, wherein the baler further comprises a processor adapted to receive the signals and to adjust baler operation parameters of the agricultural baler based on the received signals.

Abstract: An agricultural baler includes a pre-compression chamber having an outlet, and a main bale chamber adapted to receive crop from the pre-compression chamber. A plunger is reciprocally disposed within the main bale chamber, and includes a plurality of plunger slots which are structured and arranged to allow a plurality of needles to intermittently pass therethrough. The baler is characterized by a plunger cleaner which is structured and arranged to provide the dual functionality of: 1) cleaning the plunger slots, and 2) opening and closing the outlet of the pre-compression chamber.

Abstract: An agricultural baler includes a pre-compression chamber having an outlet, and a main bale chamber adapted to receive crop from the pre-compression chamber. A plunger is reciprocally disposed within the main bale chamber, and includes a plurality of plunger slots which are structured and arranged to allow a plurality of needles to intermittently pass therethrough. The baler is characterized by a plunger cleaner which is structured and arranged to provide the dual functionality of: 1) cleaning the plunger slots , and 2) opening and closing the outlet of the pre-compression chamber.

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; a plunger reciprocally moveable within the bale chamber to compress successive charges of crop material received from the feeder duct to form a bale; 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 feeder includes at least one first tine and at least one second tine, each having a leading face for engaging the crop material. A width of a frontal area of the leading face of the second tine is smaller than a width of a frontal area of the leading face of the first tine.