Apparatus for raking and baling cut crop material

In combination:

• a mobile baler machine including a baler housing having a side wall and defining a front opening adjacent to said side wall for receiving cut crop material during travel of said baler machine on the ground along a direction of movement;
• and
• raking apparatus connected to said baler machine and movable with said baler machine along said direction of movement to rake and consolidate cut crop material on the ground, form a single row of raked and consolidated cut crop material, and present said single row of raked and consolidated cut crop material at said front opening, said raking apparatus including a frame pivotally connected to said baler machine and pivotally movable between an operating position wherein said frame projects generally horizontally outwardly away from said baler machine side wall and a non-operating position wherein said frame is tilted upwardly relative to the ground alongside said baler machine side wall, a first rotatable rake member having rake arms and a second rotatable rake member having rake arms, said rotatable rake members being rotatably supported by said frame at spaced locations on said frame, drive means for simultaneously driving and rotating said rotatable rake members when said frame is in said operating position, said rake arms of said first rotatable rake member operable to deliver cut crop material to the rake arms of said second rotatable rake member in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of said baler machine when said frame is in said operating position and the rake arms of said second rotatable rake member delivering cut crop material received thereby from the first rotatable rake member to said baler machine front opening in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of said baler machine, and frame positioning means for moving said frame between said operating and non-operating positions.