Knotting mechanism

In a crop baling machine having an elongate bale case, a pickup and infeed mechanism for delivering crop material into said bale case, a packing mechanism at least partially within said bale case for compressing the crop material therein into a compact mass and forcing it through said bale case, a twine dispensing mechanism including at least one twine carrying needle movable through said bale case, and a knot tying mechanism on said bale case for cyclically receiving twine from said needle and tying a knot in primary and secondary portions thereof to provide separate discrete packages of crop material, said knot tying mechanism including a support frame, means mounted on said frame for holding the primary and secondary portions of the twine in a substantially side-by-side relationship extending along a predetermined path, said means for holding including a rotatable means, said path movable with the rotation of said rotatable means between at last first and second positions, a billhook including a first elongate shaft rotatably mounted on said support frame adjacent said twine holding means, and means for rotating said rotatable means and said billhook in timed relation, the improvement in said knot tying mechanism wherein:

• said billhook is positioned to intersect said predetermined path so that during the first 360.degree. cycle said billhook engages the twine portions at said first location and repositions the primary and secondary portions of twine thereabout, and during a second 360.degree. cycle said billhook grips said twine portions at said second position and forms a knot therein, said billhook being positioned at the end of said second cycle in general alignment with the path of travel of the bale in said bale case so that the knot is pulled off said billhook by the motion of the bale.