A wire binding applying device for binding a bale of material with a plurality of wires while the bale is in a compressed state, said binding applying device comprising:
- (a) a fixedly positioned rigid support frame structure having a front side, a rear side, a left side and a right side, and further including a left front main support plate, a right front main support plate and spacing means for rigidly connecting the left front main support plate to the right front main support plate in parallel, facing relationship, a left rear main support plate, a right rear main support plate and rear main spacing means for rigidly connecting said left rear main support plate and said right rear main support plate in parallel facing relationship;
- (b) a front wire infeed assembly positioned between said left and right front main support plates and a rear wireguide assembly positioned between said left and right rear main support plates, said front wire infeed assembly and said rear wire guide assembly being mounted for vertical movement on said support frame structure and each having a left side, a right side, a top and a bottom;
- (c) said front wire infeed assembly including left and right feed chute head plates located between said left and right front main support plates and feed chute head plate spacing means for rigidly connecting said feed chute head plates in parallel aligned, relationship and an infeed subassembly supported by said feed chute head plates and including a plurality of parallel chute side plates defining individual wire guide infeed chutes each including two adjacent chute plates and an internal wire guide deflector plate connecting the two adjacent chute plates in a rigid assembly;
- (d) said rear wire guide assembly including a pair of guide chute head plates located between said left and right rear main support plates and guide chute spacing means for rigidly connecting said guide chute head plates in parallel, aligned relationship and a rear wire guide chute subassembly mounted for front to rear movement between said guide chute head plates, and including a plurality of parallel individual rear wire guide chutes, each rear wire guide chute including a pair of aligned plates rigidly connected in spaced relationship to each other, and means rigidly connecting said rear wire guide chutes with each other;
- (e) first power actuated means supporting said front wire infeed assembly and said rear wireguide assembly on said fixedly positioned rigid support frame for vertical movement between an upper position and a lower position;
- (f) second power actuated means supporting said infeed subassembly on said feed chute head plate spacing means for non-linear movement relative to said feed chute head plates between an upper position in which upper ends of the individual wire guide infeed chutes are in a rearward position closer to an upper portion of a bale than lower ends of the individual wire guide infeed chutes;
- an intermediate position in which the upper and lower ends of said wire guide infeed chutes are substantially in vertical alignment and a lower position in which the lower ends of the individual wire guide infeed chutes are positioned more rearwardly than the upper ends so as to be closer to the bale to be bound;
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- (g) third power actuated means for moving the rear wire guide chute subassembly between rearward and forward positions relative to said left and right rear main support plates.