Vermeer Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Bradley D Nelson

William A Hood

Ryan G Walker

Jerry E Bandstra

When harvesting forage in the form of a large round bale, for instance, there are times in which a windrow of forage material lies outside the side boundaries of the bale-forming chamber. This may be due to the windrow being made wide by machinery having driven through it, or by wind, or because of the need to turn the forage harvesting equipment tightly. A wide pickup, notably wider than the width of the bale-forming chamber, provides a solution to this common problem. Dual augers at each end of the wide pickup provide the force to direct the forage into a narrower path, to enter the bale-forming chamber. The orientation and size of the augers permits the pickup header to reside in the same location it would if it was not wider than the baler. Tines or teeth of various rigidities and shapes are provided in the pickup for more effective pickup of the forage.

Wide pickup header for a round baler

A reverser which, in a preferred embodiment, has a hydraulic cylinder supported by a chopper baler frame. The opposite end of the hydraulic cylinder is attached to the reverser driver. When activated by hydraulics on a tractor, the hydraulics will extend the cylinder, causing the sprockets to be disengaged. Further extension of the cylinder will cause the reverser driver to engage the reverser sprocket and turn the rotor backwards slightly. After full extension, the cylinder will then be retracted. This process can be repeated a couple of times in order to remove the blockage. The reverser enables the operator to restore the baler to its working condition from the tractor seat. Being able to disengage the rotor from the rest of the machine enables the bale to be wrapped if a major blockage occurs. Also a controlled reversing motion is beneficial, so over-reversing does not occur.

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Monroe, IA, United States of America

Bradley D Nelson