Combined baler/bale wrapper apparatus

A combined baling and wrapping apparatus for use in picking-up crop material lying on the ground, forming the material into a bale, and applying stretched film wrapping to enclose the bale, said apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a wheel-set supporting the frame;
• upper and lower bale-forming means defining a bale forming chamber;
• the lower bale-forming means mounted on the frame;
• a pick-up device mounted on the frame and operative to pick-up crop material lying on the ground, and to feed such material to the bale-forming chamber;
• a housing adjustably mounted on said frame for movement between a bale-forming position and an inoperative position, said upper bale-forming means being mounted on said housing for movement therewith;
• a circular arc film reel carrier extending at least partly around the bale forming chamber and forming a plane of rotation, the film reel carrier being separate from the housing and connected to the frame to rotate around the bale forming chamber about an axis of rotation that passes substantially through the center of the film reel carrier substantially perpendicular to the plane of rotation;
• a guide mounted on the frame and defining an orbital path of movement for the carrier around the bale forming chamber;
• and,
• at least one film reel holder for a film dispenser reel mounted on said carrier and rotatable around the bale forming chamber during rotation of the carrier so that, when a bale has been formed in the chamber and the housing has been moved to the inoperative position, the dispenser reel when mounted on the carrier is configured to apply stretch film wrapping to the bale simultaneously with rotation of the bale by the lower bale-forming means.