Raking and baling machine

Claim 1

A raking and baling apparatus comprising a tractor, a baler coupled with the rear of the tractor and moving therewith, a power lift means on the front of the tractor including an implement support, a pair of multi-wheel fingerwheel rake assemblies connected with and carried by said implement support with the fingerwheels of each rake assembly disposed generally in a plane which is at an acute angle to the path of movement of the apparatus and with the two planes of the fingerwheels of the two rake assemblies diverging forwardly for the purpose of clearing a wide swath extending on opposite sides of the apparatus and producing a single windrow of material cleared from said swath having a width sufficiently narrow to pass between the wheels of the tractor and be acted on rearwardly of the tractor by said baler during a single pass of the apparatus over a field, and said power lift means on the front of the tractor comprising a front end loader attachment including articulated lift arms, cylinder means to raise and lower the articulated lift arms, and additional cylinder means connected to and moving with said arms, a normally level frame coupled with one pair of said arms near the rear of said frame and coupled with said additional cylinder means near the front of said frame, said implement support comprising an additional frame coupled with the last-named frame and extending forwardly thereof, and said rake assemblies each having a primary support arm pivoted to one side of said additional frame near the front thereof and at an acute angle thereto, the primary support arms diverging rearwardly and being substantially normal to said planes.