Hay baler

A hay baler comprising:

• a compression stage having an upstream end and a downstream end and including a first major wall conveying means, a support surface, a first sidewall conveying means, and a second sidewall conveying means, the first major wall conveying means, the surface, the first sidewall conveying means, and the second sidewall conveying means being arranged to form a compression chamber having an upstream end and a downstream end, wherein
• the first major wall conveying means is adapted to propel hay and driven to propel hay from the upstream end of the compression chamber to the downstream end;
• the surface is adapted to have low resistance to a movement of hay in contact therewith;
• the first major wall conveying means is in spaced relation to the second major wall conveying means;
• the first sidewall conveying means is transversely oriented and forms a first side wall of the compression chamber and is driven to propel hay from the upstream end of the compression chamber to the downstream end;
• the second sidewall conveying means is transversely oriented and forms a second side wall of the compression chamber and is driven to propel hay from the upstream end of the compression chamber to the downstream end;
• and the first sidewall conveying means and the second sidewall conveying means are angled so that the compression chamber tapers from an initial width at the upstream end of the compression chamber to a smaller final width at the downstream end;
• and
• the first major wall conveying means, the first sidewall conveying means, and the second sidewall conveying means are driven at compatible speeds to cooperate to accept hay introduced into the upstream end of the compression stage and to discharge the hay in a compressed form from the downstream end of the compression stage.

A hay baler comprising:

• a density-control stage having
• an upstream end and a downstream end and including a frame having a base and two spaced-apart parallel frame elements attached to the base,
• a first density-control assembly,
• a second density-control assembly,
• a first transfer assembly,
• a second transfer assembly, and
• a density-control chamber formed by a space between the first density-control assembly and the second density-control assembly and having an upstream end and a downstream end,
• the first density-control assembly including
• a first transverse arm-support member supporting at least one density-control arm, each density-control arm being pivotably mounted to the first transverse arm-support member and having a hay-contact surface facing the density-control chamber, and
• a means for propelling hay toward the downstream end of the density-control chamber,
• the second density-control assembly including
• a second transverse arm-support member supporting at least one density-control arm, each density-control arm being pivotably mounted to the second transverse arm-support member and having a hay-contact surface facing the density-control chamber,
• a means for propelling hay toward the downstream end of the density-control chamber,
• the first transfer assembly including
• a third transverse arm-support member supporting at least one transfer arm, each transfer arm being pivotably mounted to the third transverse arm-support member, and
• a means for propelling hay toward the compression stage,
• the second transfer assembly including
• a fourth transverse arm-support member supporting at least one transfer arm, each transfer arm being pivotably mounted to the fourth transverse arm-support member, and
• a means for propelling hay toward the compression stage,
• the hay baler further comprising
• a detector configured to detect a datum indicative of a volume and a density of hay in the density-control chamber and operatively connected to at least one transfer assembly to cause the transfer assembly to operate at a selected speed corresponding to the datum.

A hay baler comprising:

• a density-control stage having
• an upstream end and a downstream end and including a frame having a base and two spaced-apart parallel frame elements attached to the base,
• a first density-control assembly,
• a first transfer assembly,
• a support surface, and
• a density-control chamber formed by a space between the first density-control assembly and the surface and having an upstream end and a downstream end, the first density-control assembly including
• a first transverse arm-support member supporting at least one density-control arm, each density-control arm being pivotably mounted to the first transverse arm-support member and having a hay-contact surface facing the density-control chamber, and
• a means for propelling hay toward the downstream end of the density-control chamber,
• the surface being adapted to have low resistance to a movement of hay in contact therewith, and
• the first transfer assembly including
• a third transverse arm-support member supporting at least one transfer arm, each transfer arm being pivotably mounted to the third transverse arm-support member, and
• a means for propelling hay toward the compression stage,
• the hay baler further comprising
• a detector configured to detect a datum indicative of a volume and a density of hay in the density-control chamber and operatively connected to at least one transfer assembly to cause the transfer assembly to operate at a selected speed corresponding to the datum.