Bale bundling system, bale bundling machine and procedure for forming a package of bales of hay or similar material

A bundling machine for forming a pack of bales of hay or similar material with a nominal length (“L”) comprised between about 750 mm and about 1200 mm, or with a nominal length (“L”) comprised between about 600 mm and about 1350 mm, the bundling machine comprising:

• a bale bundling system for forming a pack of bales of hay or similar material, the pack of bales comprising a plurality of layers of bales, said bales having a predetermined nominal width (“A”), the bale bundling system comprising:
• a frame capable of being attached to and pulled by a tractor;
• a bale receiving surface on the frame;
• a bale bundling chamber arranged on the frame to form a pack of bales disposed vertically in a longitudinal direction (“Y”) of the pack, the bale bundling chamber comprising a bale entrance disposed in correspondence with the bale receiving surface;
• a pushing device arranged to introduce one or more bales into the bale bundling chamber through the bale entrance of the bale bundling chamber;
• a vertically displaceable bale-lifting platform mounted to displace the one or more bales from a lower position to an upper position within the bundling chamber;
• and
• a retaining device for retaining the one or more bales in the upper position when the bale-lifting platform recovers its initial lower position,
• wherein the pushing device comprises a bale compressing surface made and arranged to apply, on a layer of bales, an active compression force according to a transverse direction (“X”) of the pack, inside the bundling chamber, and
• wherein said system comprises a processing and control unit configured to send a compaction signal to an actuation device associated with the bale compressing surface so that the bale compressing surface applies the active compression force on the layer of bales, while the bale-lifting platform vertically displaces the layer of bales in an interior space of the bale bundling chamber.