Interlacing twine wrapping mechanism for rotary balers

Claim 1

In a rotary baler having a baling chamber and means for spinning a cylindrical bale of material about its longitudinal axis within said chamber upon completion of a bale-forming process in the baler, mechanism for wrapping the completed and spinning bale with convolutions of twine to promote structural integrity of the bale, said mechanism including: a pair of twine dispensing members each having a twine outlet from which a corresponding strand of twine may issue, each of said members being shiftable in directions causing said outlets thereof to travel back and forth along the length of said bale chamber starting from a home position adjacent one end of the chamber, leading to a mid-cycle position adjacent the opposite end of the chamber and then returning to said home position, the respective paths of travel of said members mutually overlapping one another; means for driving said members in mutually opposite directions and to such an extent during and shifting that said members pass each other at approximately midlength of the chamber at least during said returning movement toward home position whereby to mutually interlace the twine strands; and a pair of separate cutters so positioned on said baler as to be usable in severing the strands of twine from the outlets of their respective members after the bale has been wrapped by the strands and upon return of the members to said home positions thereof.