Wrapping mechanism for round balers

In a baler of the type for forming round bales from cut field material as it is towed by a prime mover in a forward direction over windrows in a field, said baler including a chassis, a forward hitch for the chassis for attaching the baler to a prime mover, wheels supporting the chassis, a bale forming chamber on the chassis including a housing having a bale forming mechanism, said housing including a fixed, forward section on the chassis and a movable rear section separable, at least in part, from the fixed section to permit discharge of a formed bale from the chamber, a material entry passage into the forward section for receipt of material to be baled from a windrow, a pick up reel on the chassis adjacent the material entry passage for picking and guiding material to be baled from a windrow into the material entry passage as the baler moves over a windrow, the improvement comprising means for feeding twine or a bale wrapping sheet or netting about the outer circumference of a round bale formed within the chamber, said means comprising, in combination:

• a first idler roll mounted generally parallel to the material entry passage in the forward section;
• a second driven roll mounted in the forward section parallel to the first roll and positioned to cooperate with the first roll for pulling of twine or a sheet or netting there between and for discharging said twine or sheet or netting into the material entry passage and the chamber;
• a twine holder mounted on the forward section;
• means for directing one or more strands of twine from the twine holder;
• a twine guide adjacent the rolls for positioning a twine strand at a desired position through the rolls and intermediate the ends of the rolls;
• a translatable carriage mounted on the front section for supporting the twine guide and for reciprocally moving the twine guide alternately back and forth between the ends of the rolls;
• a carriage drive mechanism for driving the carriage back and forth between the ends of the rolls, said drive mechanism including means cooperative with a strand of twine fed between the rolls for actuating the carriage drive mechanism whenever a strand of twine passes between the rolls;
• a roll support bar rotatably mounted on the forward section for maintaining a roll of sheet or netting having a leading discharge end that feeds between the rolls;
• tension means for the roll support bar;
• a cut off knife extending the length of the rolls and positioned at the discharge side of the rolls;
• and
• means for actuating the cut off knife whereby twine or sheet or netting may be fed between the rolls by actuation of the driven roll to insert less than a full wrap of said twine, sheet or netting into the bale forming mechanism, said twine, sheet or netting being then continuously drawn between the rolls by the bale forming mechanism and thereby wrapping the bale therewith, said knife subsequently movable to cut the twine or sheet or netting.