Crop-feed arrangement for hay baler

A baling apparatus comprising:

• a housing displaceable along the ground in a travel direction;
• a pickup drum at the front of said housing and rotatable about an axis transverse to said direction;
• means forming a channel in said housing extending transverse to said direction in back of said drum all along the latter;
• means forming a baling chamber extending in said direction on said housing at one end of said channel and along a side of said drum;
• drive means on said housing for rotating said drum and thereby lifting crop off the ground and displacing the crop back toward said channel;
• an oscillatable shaft member on said housing extending transversely to said direction above said drum and said channel;
• a plurality of pusher elements on said member displaceable from said drum to said channel;
• torsion spring means between each element and said shaft member for yieldably resisting uneven displacement of each element relative to said shaft member;
• eccentric means operable by said drive means and coupling means connecting said eccentric means to said member for oscillating said elements at a relatively slow rate to displace said crop from said drum into said channel and at a relatively rapid rate away from said channel;
• a rod extending along said member and engageable with said elements for retaining same against the force of said spring means;
• means in said channel and mounted on said housing for displacing crop therealong into said chamber;
• and
• means in said chamber and mounted on said housing for forming bales of said crop.