625,679. Baling-presses. DEHN, S. G. (Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Co.). July 8, 1946, No. 20354. [Class 94(i)] [Also in Group XXII] In a baling machine with a baling plunger which is reciprocated for compressing material to bale form by successive operations, means are included which are responsive to accumulation of a bale by movement of the plunger for actuating needle swinging mechanism whereby a length of wire is pulled around the assembled bale to be twisted in tying relation for holding the bale in compressed condition. The wire can be carried by a pair of needles whereby it is drawn around the bale, means being provided for tying the ends of the wire which include a pair of power operated clutches, one clutch operating to move the needles and the other clutch operating to actuate the tying mechanism. The latter may be arranged for control by the former. In the form shown the machine comprises a main frame A supported upon an axle on wheels 28 (Fig. 1). The feed mechanism B comprises a trough 29 having an open edge at 30 (Fig. 4) from which is supported an adjusted pick-up mechanism C having a pick-up cylinder 31 which gathers the hay and delivers it to a moving conveyer 32 which delivers the hay on to the trough 29. The hay is urged laterally and inwardly by an auger 33, into an inner section 34 wherein the hay accumulates prior to being fed downwardly through an opening 37 into a chamber E. The pulley 39 of an engine D drives a belt 38 and thus a flywheel 40 which operates a crankshaft 48, on which is located a crank 50 and also a sprocket gear 51 connected by a chain 52 to a sprocket gear 53 on a countershaft 54 which drives the shaft 58. The shaft 58 drives the conveyer 32 and a belt 60 to operate the cylinder 31 and a sprocket chain 62 to operate the auger 33 (Fig. 1). A substantially rectangular plunger F with a blade 81 attached to it is reciprocated in the chamber E by a rod 73 pivoted at 74 to the movable crank 50 and thus feeds hay forwardly of the opening 37 (Fig. 4). The hay is urged through said opening 37 by a packer mechanism G comprising an arm 76 fulcrummed at 77 and connected to a rod 73, said arm 76 carrying a packer head 80, which moves downwardly to urge the hay as the plunger withdraws, and vice-versa. When desired the bale is tied by wire applied from needles 82 and 83 (Figs. 4 and 5), supported on an upright needle shaft 84. The needles are normally as in Fig. 4, and in operation swing into the position shown in Fig. 9 when the plunger F is at the limit of its compression stroke, the plunger having slots to clear the needles, the sides 64 of the bale chamber having slots 342 in line with them. The wire for the needles is supplied from spools 93 and 94 on a shaft 95 (Fig. 1) carried in brackets 96 and 97. Pivoted adjacent the spools are brake shoes 99 (Fig. 4) secured to arms 100, springs 101 normally yieldably urging the shoes 99 against the spools. Pivoted on the arms 100 are rear arms 103 urged outwardly by springs 104 carrying grooved pulleys 105 from which the wires are led off to pulleys 112, 108 and 107 carried by each needle and then into the operating end 88 and finally around the pulleys 106 (Figs. 4 and 9). The springs 104 and 101 are tensioned when the needles swing inwardly and exert a pull on the wire, the brake shoes 99 being released so that the spools turn and the wire is fed out. The wires W and W<SP>1</SP> from the pulleys 106 pass across guide rollers 324 and 325, are pulled across the baling chamber around the wire-holding pins 290 and 291 and are gripped between lugs 282 and jaws 287 (Fig. 9). As the bale is formed the wires are forced rearwardly to form a U-shape, (Fig. 9), in so doing causing the star wheel 138 to be rotated, and thus shaft 137, gear 140 which meshes with gear 141 on a shaft 142 (Fig. 5) and the disc 152, until the finger 161 abuts the end of the stop bar 162 (Fig. 21) and the lug 151 drops into the notch 153 so that the bar 173 aligns with the slide bar 170. On the next compression stroke of the plunger F the bar 170 is moved by means of an eccentric at its end, and the rock shaft 146 is thus oscillated to pull upon actuating rod 176 (Fig. 19) to oscillate shaft 133 to swing an arm 132, and thus the stop roller 131 (Fig. 9) out of the notch 129 in the needle clutch 121. As soon as this occurs the needle crank 119 secured to a shaft 120 (Fig. 19) moves inward through half a revolution, swinging the needles 82 and 83 through approximately 180 degrees into the tying position, because pivotally connected near the end of the crank 119 is an arm 117 which operates a gear rack 114 (Figs. 5 and 7). Held in mesh with the rack 114 is a gear sector 113 on the shaft 84 by means of rollers 115, carried by plates 116 pivotally attached to the shaft 84 carrying the needles. The shaft 120, which is rotated to operate the shaft 119, is operated by a needle clutch 121 (Figs. 7 and 17) having a loose driven part or drum 123 carrying a bend gear 124 meshing with a bevel pinion 127 on a driven shaft 125, the drum being driven in one direction. The clutch 121 also includes a plate 128 (Figs. 9 and 17) having notches 129 and 130, either of which may be engaged by a stop roller 131 carried by an arm 132 secured to a shaft 133. By removal of the roller 131, as previously stated, from the notches clutch means in the drum 123 connect the drum to the plate 128 so that the drum and the shaft 120 are rotated at the proper time, the shaft 125 and a parallel tying drive shaft 212 being driven in opposite directions by means of a sprocket chain 213 (Fig. 12), the chain being driven by a drive sprocket gear 217 on the rear end of a drive shaft 219 (Fig. 9) connected through a drive unit to one end of the shaft 54 (Fig. 1). By rotation of the gear sector 113 the plunger F is latched due to the forward movement of the latch bar 182 when the pivot 183 is carried forward to the slide bar 182 so that its curved end 185 rides downwardly upon the cam finger 186, thus rotating the collar 187a and stretching the spring 193 (Fig. 5), so that the latch 201 swings through the opening 203 and then the opening 204 of the plunger as it reaches its rearmost position to lock it. As these operations are initiated the finger 161 on the stop member 155 of the metering mechanism snaps past the end of the stop bar (Fig. 21) closing the notch 153 so that on the next forward return stroke of the plunger F, the metering mechanism will repeat its function. As the needles 82 and 83 reach their working positions, in response to the travel of the crank 119 past the finger 241 which it engages, the shaft 239 pulls upon the rod 236 which, through the equalizing bar 232, pulls the rod 230 (Figs. 17 and 19) which swings the arm 226 outward (Fig. 12) so that the stoproller 225 clears the notch 224 of the plate 223 of the tying clutch, the shaft 212 being set in motion to make one revolution and then locked by the roller 225. The revolution of the shaft 212 causes tying gear 257 to mesh with and drive the pinion 256 (Fig. 14), which through the gear wheel 254 drives the gears 251 and 252 to rotate the spinners 243 and 244, through the slots 260 in which the side portions 332 of the wires W and W<SP>1</SP> are drawn out by the accumulating bale (as shown in Fig. 9). As the spinners rotate these portions of the wires are carried towards the centre of the spinners, and as the latter make their first half-revolution the slots 260 are turned outwardly towards and align with the overlapping wires 334 and 333 (Figs. 14 and 24). Continued spinning through several turns will then twist the three lapping wires. As the twisting is completed the gear 257 moves out of mesh with the pinion 256 (Fig. 14) to lock the tying mechanism with the slots turned inwardly and the gear 272 meshes with the pinion 270 (Fig. 17) to impart a quarter-revolution to the discs 280 and 281, whereupon firstly the ends 332 of the twisted wires are released, due to the lugs 282 departing from between the cutting dogs 286 and the gripping jaws 287 (Fig. 24). As the next lugs 282 approach these positions they engage the ends of the wires 333 and force them between the dogs 286 and the jaws 287, to sever them to free the twisted parts, the portions around the pulleys 106 being held at their ends between the lugs and the gripping jaws 287. When the twisted wires are freed the arm 308 (Fig. 9) trips a crank attached to the supporting plate 206 to oscillate the disc 301 on the shaft 302 (Fig. 12) to retract the wire holding pins 290 and 291 causing them to move towards the disc 301 so that the wires are freed from the said pins. At the same time the disc 301 swings the stripper arms 312 and 313 inwardly to force the wires from the slots 260 (Fig. 14) the bale being thus freed from the tying mechanism to move rearwardly as the next one is compressed. The above-mentioned quarter-turn of the discs 280 and 281 also causes lugs on the opposite side of the disc 28 to engage a finger secured to the shaft 133 opposite the arm 132 to swing the stop roller out of the notch 130 into which it previously dropped as the needle clutch 121 (Fig. 9) completes its first half-revolution. A further half-revolution is thus imparted to the needle crank 119, which then travels to the starting position 119a (Fig. 19), the needles being thus returned to their normal position, the wires being stretched across the baling chamber E to engage the next bale as it forms. Simultaneously rearward movement of the latch bar 182 takes place enabling the spring 193 (Fig. 5) to pull the latches 201 downwardly clear of the plunger.