Device for compressing crop into bales

Claim 1

A mobile device for baling crops, comprising in combination: a wheel-supported frame adapted to be travelled over the ground; a generally horizontal compression chamber on said frame, said compression chamber having a discharge end portion of generally rectangular cross section and an intermediate portion of generally channel-shaped cross section smoothly merging with said discharge end portion such that the open side of the intermediate portion defines a side opening for the compression chamber; a closure member pivotally carried by said discharge end portion normally closing same to define a well within which a compressed bale is to be formed; a plunger having a cross section substantially filling said discharge end portion of the compression chamber and having a length much less than the length of said side opening of the compression chamber; means for intermittently moving said plunger back and forth between a retracted position beyond said side opening remote from said discharge end portion and an extended position within said well; an auxiliary space for receiving a crop to be transferred in preliminarily compressed condition through said side opening into the confines of said compression chamber, said space being defined by extensions of the parallel side walls of said intermediate portion, by a transverse wall portion extending between said extensions and projecting laterally away from said side opening of said compression chamber, and by a movable portion, said movable portion being mounted for movement between a retracted position in which said auxiliary space is formed and a closed position in which it defines, with said side walls of the compression chamber, an extension of said well, said movable portion closing off at least a major portion of said side opening when in its closed position; feeder means for continuously feeding crop toward said transverse wall portion at a position laterally spaced from said side opening; and drive means for moving said movable portion from its retracted position to its closed position prior to movement of said plunger to its extended position whereby crop is transferred laterally from said auxiliary space into preliminarily compressed condition within said compression chamber ahead of said plunger, said drive means returning said movable portion to its retracted position when said plunger is within said well whereby to reestablish said auxiliary space to accommodate the crop continuously fed into the device.