US1579777A

US1579777A - Automatic baling machine

Info

Publication number: US1579777A
Application number: US336189A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas S Pearson; John H Gentry
Original assignee: CARL A PORATH
Current assignee: CARL A PORATH
Priority date: 1919-11-06
Filing date: 1919-11-06
Publication date: 1926-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 1943-04-06

Description

T. S. PEARSON ET AL -AUTOMATIC BALING MACHINE April 6' 1926.

Original 1919 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS THO/HA6 .s. PEARSON JOHN H.65NTBY' April 6 1926. 1,579,777

T. s. PEARSON Er AL- AUTOMATIC BALING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvsm'ons THOMAS $.FEAH6ON .J'DHN HGZNTEY A TOR/VEY.

' April 6 1926.

T. s. PEARSON ET AL AUTOMATIC BALING MACHINE $71!. N Ma 4 I I ll t s a J5. h OF N S T .E R v 0 a M w 6 A e M g 1 6 HO T Y 5 Original Filed 6, 1919 April 6 1926.

T. s. PEARSON ET AL AUTOMATIC BALING MACHINE Original Filed 6, 1915 GSheets-Sheet 5 INVEN T088.

THOMAS SJZJFSON JOHN H. SEA THY 1% 'I 'OHNEY April 6 1926.

T. S. PEARSON ET AL AUTOMATIC BALiN MACHINE Original Filed 6. 1919 6 Sheets-Sheet l l 1 I l x ll Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

UNITED STATES sure THOMAS s. PEARSON, AND JOHN H. GENTRY, or KOKOMO, INDIANA, Assrenons, BY

MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SAID GENTBY AND CARL A. 'PORATH.

AUTOMATIC BALING MACHINE.

Application filed November 6. 1919, Serial No. 336,189. Renewed September 29, 1925.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS S. PEARSON and JOHN H. Gnivrnr, citizens of the United States, residing at Kokomo, county of How ard, State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Baling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic baling machines of that type employed primarily for baling hay, straw and the like, and the prime feature of the invention is the provision of means for carrying a baling wire transversely through the machine from one side and into juxtaposition to a similar wire on the opposite side ofthe machine and continue the lateral movement of the two wires until they are brought into position to be severed and united together.

A further feature of the invention is in so constructing the wire carrying means that the wires will be engaged at separated points and carried a distance laterally of the face of-the baling chamber, that portion of the wires between the separated points being substantially parallel with the face of the machine.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of combined gripping and twisting means whereby, when the wires have been severed at a point between the separated points, the ends of the wires will be gripped and tied together, one end being tied around a bale and the other to receive material to be baled.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of means for instantly operating the gripping mechanism coincident to the severing of thewires so that the severed ends of the wire will be positively held in engagement with the twisting or knot tying mechanism. g

A further feature of the invention is the provision of means for intermittently opf crating the Wire cutting and twisting mech- I 7 anism. A further feature of the invention is in so constructing the means for operating the wire carrying means that the plunger of the baling machine may make innumerable strokes without operatlng the sition.

chamber when a sufficient quantity of the material has been entered in the baling chamber to form a bale, said plunger being so constructed that the wire carrying means will pass through the head of the plunger and notcome in contact withthe material within the baling-chamber. i

A further feature of the invention is the provision of means for positioning that portion of the wires immediately beyond the parts thereof held parallel with the faceof the baling machine, in line to be positively engaged and held by the gripping devices, such positioning means being carried by the wire carrying means. i i

v A further feature of the inventlon isthe provision of means for holding the tiedends of the wires in position to receive material to be baled so that said wlres will not be drawn rearwardly and into the path of the material, during the rearward movement of the plunger.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter more fully set forth in the accompanying specification.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application:

Figure l is a side elevation of a baling machine showing the gripping and twistingv mechanism thereon. I Fig. 2 is a similar view of the opposite side of the machine showing the wire carrying mechanism for, moving one wire through the machine and the means for operating the same.

Fig. 3 isa fragmentary top plan view of the machine with parts broken away, with the wire carryingm'eans in inoperative po- Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the machine, showing the wire carrying means in operative position. I

Fig. 5 is a vertical, transversesectional view as seen on line 55 Fig. 2.

Fig. (3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view as seen on line 66 Fig. 3. V Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the wire carrying needle with parts broken away.

Fig. 8 is an edge elevation thereof.

- Fig. 9. is an endelevation of one of the gripping and twisting devices removed from the machine. f v

F ig. 10 is a'sectional view thereof as seen on line 10 10 Fig. 9. V p

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corre sponding parts throughout the severalviews, 1 indicates the baling chamber of the machine and 2 indicates a plunger adapted to reciprocate in said chamber for forcing the material being baled into one end of the baling chamber.

It is the main object of this invention to provide means for automatically binding sections of wire around the bale while still in the baling chamber and to accomplish this result, strands of wire 3 and are arranged on opposite sides of the baling chamber, said wires being dispensed from rolls of wire in any suitable manner, and when first starting the baling operation, the free ends of the opposed wires are extended laterally through the baling chamber and secured together and the secured end then engaged with a detent 5, to prevent the wires being drawn back with the plunger, should the plunger make a stroke before any material is placed in the baling chamber.

' As the material is forced into the baling chamber, the wires on opposite sides of the baling chamber are carried along with the material and consequently extend across one end of the bale 6 and along the opposite sides thereof. lVhen a sufficient amount of the material has been entered into the baling chamber to form the proper sized bale, a section of the wire 4 is carried laterally through the baling chamber by means of a needle 'Z, thereby disposing a section of the wire 4 across the inner end of the bale and a similar section across the baling chamber so as to pass across the end of the nextsucceeding bale when it is formed.

There are two or more strands of wire passing along each side of the baling chamber and consequently there are a like number of the needles for carrying the wires through the baling chamber. Each needle rests and travels upon the upper face of a platform 8, each platform passing through a slot 9 in the plunger 2 and are carried by and movable with the plunger, so that the needles do not come in direct contact with the material being baled on their passage through the baling chamber, as they travel in the rear of the pressing face of the plunger.

The wire engaging end of the needle is preferably bifurcated so as to provide separated extensions 10 and 11, each of which is slotted and in said slots are placed

grooved sheaves

12 and 13, respectively, these sheaves engaging the wire 4 when the needle is moved forwardly and carryingthe wire 4 through the baling chamber. The bifurcated end of the needle passes entirely through and a distance beyond the baling chamber and consequently engages the wire 3 and carries it, with the wire 4, a distance laterally of the baling chamber, that portion of the wires between the bifurcated ends 10 and 11 being substantially parallel with the side face of the baling chamber while the sections of the wires between the bifurcated ends 10 and 11 and the face wall of the baling chamber extend at an angle to the face of the wall of the baling chamber.

The portions of the wires 3 and 4 between the ends 10 and 11 are moved to position between the jaws 14 and 15 of shears 16, the jaw 14 being stationary while the jaw 15 is pivoted so as to be lowered into engagement with and sever the wires between the jaws. Just previous to severing the wires, the angularly ertei'iding portions 17 thereof are engaged by grippers 18 and 19, which are arranged in pairs on opposite .sides of the needle, so that coincident to the severing of the wires the grippers will be operated to engage the angularly extending portions and hold them while the severed ends are being tied together.

The wire 4 passes through a guide block 20, mounted on the platform 8, said wire passing around a sheave 21, carried by the guide block, and consequently the wire is held slightly under tension as it is forced through the baling chamber, that portion of the wire passing across the inner end of the bale, frietionally engaging the detent 5 to prevent the wire cutting into the contents of the bale. 1

The transversely extending portions 22 and 2?) of the wire 4 are spread apart and caused to-pass between the grippers 18 and 19 respectively, by

spreader arms

24 and 25, which are pivoted at their inner ends to the frame 26 carried by the needle 7, the outer swinging ends thereof having grooved sheaves 27 and 28, respectively, mounted therein, with which the sections of the wire 4 engage. The under faces of the arms 24- and have rollers 29 and 30 thereon, which travel in

grooves

31 and 32 respectively, in the platform 8, said grooves being so arranged that the arms will be spread out substantially fan shaped at the end of the inward stroke of the needle 7, thus forcing the sections of the wires 3 and 4 between the grippers and holding them there until the grippers have operated and clamped the wares.

The needle is likewise guided in its travel through the baling chamber by providing a roller 33, which is rotatably at tached to the under side of the needle and travels in a groove also formed in the platform 8, the lower end of the roller 33 having a peripheral head 35 which enters a channel 36 of greater width than the groove 34, the overhanging wall of the channel holding the needle from moving upwardly as it travels back and forth over the face of the platform 8.

The needle 7 is moved transversely through the baling. chamber 1 by means of a crane 37, to the free end of which the outer end of the needle is pivoted, the opposite end of the crane being attached to a shaft 38, rotatably mounted in an extension 39 of the platform 8, the crane 37 being preferably fixed to the shaft. It is understood, of. course, that there are two or more of the needles, and consequently there are two or more of the platforms, each having an ex tension 39 and as the shaft 38 is pivoted through all of the extensions, said shaft will be held securely in an upright position. It will likewise be seen that as the platform 8 and extensions 39 are attached to the plunger 2, they, together with the needles 7 will travel back and forth with the plunger as the plunger reciprocates in the baling chamber.

As the needles and parts associated therewith for operating them are carried by the plunger and travel therewith, and as the cranes are to be swung in an arc'of a circle while traveling back and forth with the plunger, a crank arm 40 is attached to the shaft 38, preferably at a point above the cranes, the free end of the crank arm having a trunnion 41 thereon which travels in a guideway 42 formed on the under faceof a plate 43, said plate being attached to and carried by parts of the baling chamber.

It is necessary for the plunger to make a number of strokes before enough material has been compressed into the baling chamher to form a bale, consequently it is necessary to hold the needles inoperative during these strokes until the bale has been formed, therefore the guidewayconsists of a straight section 44 and an angularly disposedsection 45, the straight section permitting the crank arm to travel with the stroke of the plunger without operating the cranes, while the an gularly disposed P01131011, when the trunnion 41 enters therein, causes the cranes to swing in an arc of acircle and operate the needles, during the stroke of the plunger.

The travel of the trunnion in said guideways is controlled by a switch point 46, which is pivoted to a stem 47, projecting through and pivoted in the plate 43, the opposite end of the switch being so positioned that when the switch point is swung;

laterally in one direction, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the crank arm will travel in a straight line, and when moved to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, the crank arm will be swung later; ally and the needle operated.

The movement of the switch point is'contro-lled'from a disc 48 mounted upon a driven shaft 49, said disc having a notch 50 in the edge thereof with which cooperates a rod 51, said rod extending forwardly along the side of the baling chamber and connecting at its forward end with a lever 52, fixed to a vertical rod 53, this rod in turn being provided at its upper end with a lever 54. Connecting the lever 54 with a lever 55 on the upper end of the stem 47, is a pitman .56 andso long as the endof the rod 51 is seated in the notch 50, the switch point 46 will prevent the trunnion from entering the angularly extending portion 45 of the guideway, but when the disc 48 starts to rotate and the end of the rod 51 moves out of the notch 50, the vertical rod 58 will be rocked and the switch point positioned across the straight guideway and cause the trunnion v41 to enter and travel in the portion 45 of the 'guideway and consequently rock the crank arm and operate the parts connected therewith.

The disc 48 is intermittently operated by a clutch'controlled sprocket 57, driven by a sprocket chain 58, a clutch lever 59 being so situated that when the disc makes a complete revolution, it will strike a latch 60,"

which operates to stop further rotation of the disc. The notch 50 is so located that when the rotation of the disc is stopped, the notch will be in registration with the end of the rod 51 and said end is caused to enter the notch by means of a spring 61, one end of the spring being attached to the lever 52 and the opposite end to parts of the baler frame.

To insure that'the needles will travel for- Wardly their full distance, the ends of the cranes 37 to which the needles are pivoted, are provided with rollers 62 which engage cam faces'GS-B attached to the side of the baling chamber, said cam faces being so located that the rollers 62 will engage them at the time the cranes are finishing their inner stroke and receiving the most strain,

these cam faces, owing to the forward movement of the cranes, positively forcing the cranes inwardly. I p

The wire 4 is positively held in position to be engaged by the needle 7 by extending. a spring gulde finger 64 from the guide" block 20, the downwardly extending free end of the guide finger engaging and holding the wire in the path of the needle and will readily move up and out of the path of the needle as the needle moves inwardly.

To preventthe sections 22 of the wires 4 being dragged back with the plunger 2, as the plunger makes its rearward stroke, a retainingflatch is pivoted to the side of the baling chamber, one immediately above eachplatform 8, the forwardend of each latch having a finger 66,which drops down in the path of the wire, when the plunger is *at its forward stroke, so that as the plunger makes its rearward stroke, the wire 4 will ride up on thelinger G6 and enter a notch 67' in the end of the, latch. where it is held until the plunger makes'another forward stroke, such" forward stroke carrying &

the section 2 of the wire into engagement with the detent 5. i

The material being baled is prevented from entering the slots 9 in the plunger by hinging doors 67 to the end of the plunger, so as to swing over the mouth of said slots, the lower edges of the doors terminating slightly above the lower edges of the slots so that the wires will readily enter the slots, but the space between the dge ot the slots and the edge of the doors is so limited as to prevent the entrance of any or" the material being baled. By hinging the doors at their upper edges, they will readily swing open to permit the wires to leave the slots as the plunger makes its outward stroke, and will likewise instantly swing to closed position.

As the section 522 of the wire 4: is neces sarily in line with the edge or the needle and as the wire must pass over the top of the needle when the plunger makes its return stroke, means is provided for elevating the wire to prevent its catching on the needle, consisting of a guard 68, so located that the wire will move up the inclined "face thereof as the wire is being carried through the baling chamber by the needle, the wire engaging the guard just prior to the completion of the inward stroke of the needle. In addition to the guard, a tongue 69 is pivotally attached to the guard 68, one end of the tongue being tapered, this tapered end being held so as to contact with the edge of the needle by attaching a spring 70 to Qll the opposite end of the tongue, thus always holding the tapered end of the tongue in position to clause the wire 4 to release from the sheave 27, as the needle and plunger start on their return stroke, the guard and tongue holding the section of the wire -51: elevated until the needle passes thereunder.

The needles 7 pass through slots 71 in one wall of the baling chamber and to prop erly guide the ends of the needles so that the wires carried thereby will be positioned between the jaws of the cutting device, a pair ot guide plates 72 is entered through each slot 71, said plates being angle shaped in cross section, the vertically extending wing of each plate fitting over the outer face ofthe baling chamber wall and having openings 7?) through which extend se screws 74L for holding the guide plates in adjusted position. As the knots are tied exteriorly or" the baling chamber and as they. mustpass to the interior of the baling chamber, one end of the slots 71 is enlarged sutliciently to permit the knots to pass there through without binding on the walls of the slots. V

The gripper 18 and 19 each consist of a body portion 75, which is mounted in a bracket 76 extending outwardly'trom the wall of. the baling chamber, the body portion being held against rotation and the inner end thereof provided with a stationary finger 7 7 which projects a distance inwardly from the end of the body. Extending through the body portion is a second finger 78 which is parallel with the finger 77 and spaced a distance therefrom so that the angular-1y disposed portions 17 of the wires 3 and t will readily pass therebetween, the finger 78 having a curved terminal 79 at its inner end which clamps against the finger 77 and over the severed ends of the wires and holds them while said ends are secured together.

After the ends of the wire have been gripped by the fingers, the severed ends thereof are secured together by means of a twister arm 80, extending forwardly from the inner end of a sleeve 81, rotataby mounted on the body portion 75, the wire engag-v ing edge 82 of the arm 80 being curved so that the loose ends of the wire will be carried inwardly when the sleeve 81 is rotated, the inward movement of the wires being limited by a stop 83 adjacent the extreme inner end of the arm 80. This carries the ends of the wires beyond the free ends of the

fingers

77 and 78, consequently a continued rotation of the sleeve will twist the loose ends of the wires a number of times around the angularly extending parts 17 of the wires, thus securing the ends of the wires together as shown and claimed in Patent No. 1,085,938, dated February 3, 1914.

As previously stated, the grippers are arranged in pairs and the number of pairs is determined by the number of ties placed around the bale, each gripper having a sleeve, which sleeves are preferably driven in unison in. any preferred manner, but preterably by placing sprockets 011 the sleeves with which cooperate a sprocket chain 84, which is in turn driven by a sprocket 85 carried by a shaft 86, a tensioning device 87 being provided for maintaining the proper tension on the chain 84.

Alto mounted on the shaft 86 is a pinion 88 which meshes with a gear 89 mounted on the shaft 49 the gear teeth being omitted from, substantially one half the periphery of the gear 89 forming a Geneva stop mechanism, so that the pinion 88 will be held against rotation when the smooth portion 90 or" the gear 89 is brought into ongagement with the pinion. By arranging the gears in this manner. the shaft 4-9 may make a partial revolution for operating the switch point -16 and also to permit the needle to position the wires to be engaged by the grippers, before the pinion is brought into engagement with the teeth of the gear Consequently the pinion is held static-nary during a portion or" the revolution or" the gear 89 and given a numbero'f revolutions during the remainder of the move ment of said gear.

The operation of the grippers is controlled by a cam 91, mounted on the shaft 19. The diameter of substantially one half 92 of the periphery of the cam being of a greater diaineter than the other half 93, the enlarged portion of the cam serving to throw the free end of a lever 94: laterally, whensaid enlarged portion engages a roller 95 carried by the lever, the lever being held in its thrown position so long as the roller remains in engagement with the periphery of the enlarged portion. I V

The movement of the lever 9 away from the axis of the gear 89 serves to move the curved terminals 79 of the fingers 78 away from the fingers 7 7 this being accomplished by means of a link 96, one end of which is attached to the lower portion of the lever and the opposite end to one arm 'of a bell crank lever 97, pivotedvto the frame of the baling press, the opposite arm of the bell crank lever having one end of a pitman 98 attached thereto, and said pitnianis in turn attached to one end of a frame 99;

The frame 99 is pivoted between its ends to a bracket 100, depending from one of the gripper supporting brackets 76' and connected to said frame on opposite sides of its pivot point,-are

thrustbars

101 and 102, links 103 and arms 10% being employed for connecting said bars with the frame. The upper and lower ends of the

bars

101 and 102 are pivotally connected with crank arms 105 which arms are in turnattached to the outer ends of the gripping fingers 78 and the terminal ends of said fingers are moved toward or from'the stationary gripping fingers 77 by the movement of said

bars

101 and 102.

As it is necessary to quickly snap the curved terminals 79 into engagementwith the fingers 7 7 so as to obviate the possibility of the wires escaping from between said fingers, when cut, a coiled spring 106 is connectedat one end to the extended end of the frame 99, the other end of said spring being connected to partsof'the'baler frame. When the roller 95 is engaged withthe enlarged edge portion 92 of the cam 91, the terminals 79 will be moved away from the fingers 7'T-andare held in this position as long as the roller is in engagement with said edge '92, but as soon as the cam 91 has rotated the distance of substantially one half its diameter, the roller 95 will'release from the'edge 92, whereupon thespring 106 will rock the frame 99 on its pivot and move the terminals 79 into engagement with the wires between them and the fingers 77 and will be held in this position until the roller 95 is again moved to the periphery of the edge portion 92. I

The pivoted jaws 15 are moved towards and from the stationary jaws 14 by means of a connecting bar 107, which is pivoted to the extended ends of the jaws 15, the lower end of the bar having a slot 108 therethrough through which extends an operating lever 109. One" end of the lever 109 is 'pivotally attached to a part of the baling chamber while the opposite endthereof extendsfinto the path of a stud 110 on the face of the gear 89, said stud raising the free end of the lever 109 and moving the cutting end of the jaws 15 towards the cutting edge of the jaws 1a and severing'the wires 3 and l therebetween. The stud 110 is so positioned that the wires will be severed just prior to the teeth of the gear 89 coming into engagement with the pinion 88. As soon as the lever 109 releases from the stud 110, it is returned to its lowered position by means of a spring 111, this action swinging the jaws 15 to open position and 4. o v a A H In operation, thefsubstance being baled is fed into the baling chamber in the path of the plunger and the reciprocating action of the plunger forces said substance into one end of the b-aling chamber and forms abale, the ends of thewires 3 and a being previiously secured together and extended across the path of the substance being baled. As soon as a sufficient quantity of the material has been forced into the baling chamber to form a bale of the proper dimensions, the latch 60 is released from the clutch lever 59, by means of a manually operated push rod'112, or otherwise, which actionimparts driving power fromthe sprocket chain 58 to the shaft 49. v o v j The rotation of the shaft 49 operates the disc-i8 and moves therod 51 lengthwise and swings the switch point a6 across the path of the trunnion 4:1 and causes it to travel in the section 45 of the guideway 42, which causes the cranes and needles attached thereto to travel inwardly, the needles forcing sections of the wires 4 transversely through the baling chamber, one section 23being across the inner end of the bale and the' other section 22 across the path of the material for the next succeeding bale.

The completion of the stroke of the needles carries the wires 3 and 4 between the jaws of the shears 16 and between the fingers of the grippers 18 and 19, when the cam 91 willhave rotated a suflicient distance to release the roller 95 from the enlarged porltion 92. The spring 106 will then snap the curved terminals of the fingers 78 into engagement with the fingers77, gripping that portion of the wires between saidfingers and holding the same against longitudinal movement. i

' Coincident to the gripping of the wires forked ends of the needles, will be severed and as the cogged portion of the gear 89 has now reached the pinion 88, rotating motion ready to receive the wires 3 7 I as by the fingers; the wires ,3 and 1, between the 7 twister arms operated to secure the severed ends of the wires together, the section 22 v being secured to that portion of the wire 8 7 along the side of the forward portion of the baling chamber and the section to that portion of the wire 3 along one side of the bale 6.

The rearward movement of the plunger will restore the cranes and needles to their initial positions and the disc 48 will have turned until the end of the rod 51 again enters the notch 50 in the disc 48, which again moves the rod 51 in the opposite direction and swings the switch point across the entrance to the section 4.5 of the guideway 42 and thus prevents the inward swinging movement of the cranes and needles until the switch point is again thrown across the path of the trunnion 41. Just prior to the stopping of the rotation of the shaft 49, the cam 91 will have rotated a sufiicient distance to again engage the roller 95 with the enlarged portion 92 of the cam 91, thus releasing the tied ends of the wires from the grippers and holding said gripper fingers in position to receive additional wires. Likewise, at the completion of the rotation of the gear 89, the smooth portion thereof will have turned into registration with the pinion 88, thus stopping further rotation of the twister arms.

As the needles move outwardly they will freely pass below the sections 22 of the wires 4 as said sections will be held in an elevated position so as to pass over the spreader arms 24 by the members 68 and 69, while these sections will be elevated above the path of the extension 10 by means of a tapered guide member 113, positioned in the rear of the sheave 12.

The parts of the baler are now all set for another operation and as soon as the plunger has formed another bale, the wire tying means is again set in motion and the above operation repeated.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a baling machine, a baling chamber, a plunger movably mounted in said chamber, a needle movable transversely through said plunger and baling chamber, said baling chamber having a wire along one side thereof adapted to be carried through from one side of said plunger to the other, disposing portions of said wire transversely across the baling chamber, and means for elevating one of said transversely disposed sections out of the path of said needle during the return stroke of the needle.

2. In a baling machine, a baling chamber, a plunger reciprocatingly mounted in said baling chamber, said baling chamber having baling wires extending along each side there of, means influenced by the movement of said plunger for carrying a section of the chamber,

wires at one side of the baling chamber transversely through the baling chamber and disposing portions of the wire in the path of the plunger, means for controlling the positions of said transversely extending portions, and means for holding one of the transversely extending portions against movement with the plunger on its outward stroke.

3. In a baling machine, a baling chamber having baling wires extending along the sides thereof and across one end of the bale, a plunger in said baling chamber adapted to compress material into bales, means carried by and movable with said plunger for extending a portion of one set of wires across the opposite end of the bale and an additional portion across the path of the material for forming the next bale, and means operable by the movement of the plunger for controlling the means for carrying the portions of the wires across the path of the bales.

4. In a baling machine, a baling chamber, I

having at one side thereof a baling wire adapted to be carried through the baling chamber by the needle and disposed two sections of the wire transversely of the chamher, and means for causing one of the transverse sections to release from and pass over the needle on the reverse stroke of the needle.

6. In a baling machine, a baling chamber, a needle adapted to pass transversely through said baling chamber, said baling chamber having at one side thereof a baling wire adapted to be carried through said baling chamber by said needle and dispose sections of the wire transversely through the baling chamber, and means carried by said needle for forcing said wire sections in opposite directions away from the sides of the needle.

7. In a baling machine, a baling chamber, having baling wires cooperating therewith, a needle for forcing sections of the wire at one side of the baling chamber transversely through the baling chamber and dispose two sections of the wire crosswise of the baling spreader arms carried by the needle, means for guiding said needle, and means for guiding said spreader arms for cranes, a crank arm associated with and adapted to swing said cranes towards or from the baling chamber, a trunnion on said crank arm, a guideway inwhich said trunnion travels, said guideway having diverging sections, one of which extends in line with the movement of said plunger and the 7 other at an angle thereto, and automatically operated means for causing said trunnion to travel in elther of the dlverging sectionsof the guideway, whereby the cranes and needles will be held inoperative or caused to operate, incident to the movement of said plunger. I

9. In a baling machine, gripping fingers arranged in pairs, means for entering balmg wires between the pairs of fingers, means for snapping one of the fingers of each pair against the other finger of the same pair for gripping the wires therebetween, means for severing the wires, and means for twisting the associated severed ends of the wires together.

10. In a baling machine, gripping devices, each comprising a stationary body portion, a finger fixed to the body portion, a companion finger rotatably mounted through said body portion, a terminal at one end of the companion finger, and means for quickly throwing the terminal towards the fixed finger for clamping sections of wire between said fingers.

11. In a baling machine, a plurality of gripping devices, each comprising a stationary body portion, a finger fixed to said body portion, a companion finger rotatably mounted through the body portion, a terminal at one end of the companion finger adapted to be moved toward and grip objects between the terminal and fixed finger, means for normally holding the terminal away from the fixed finger, means for releasing the holding means, and means for quickly throwing the terminal into engagement with the fixed finger when the holding means is released.

12. In aha-ling machine, a plurality of gripping devicesarranged in pairs, a pair of gripping fingers on each gripping device one of whichis stationary and the other rotatable, a terminal on each rotatable finger adapted to be moved into engagement with and grip objects between said pairs of fingers, means for connecting said rotatable fingers in series, a single means for simultaneously operating all of said rotatable fingers, means for normallyholding said terminals away from the fixed fingers, and means for quickly moving said terminals into engagement with the fixed fingers.

13. In a baling machine, a plurality of gripping devices arranged in pairs, means for simultaneously operating all of said gripping devices, a wire twisting arm operable with each gripping device, a sprocket connected to each arm, a single sprocket chain engaging said sprockets for operating all of said wire twisting arms simultaneously, and a Geneva stop mechanism for intermittently operating the twisting arm operating means.

In testimony whereof we hereto afiix our signatures.

' THOMAS S. PEARSON.

JOHN H. GENTRY.