A baling system comprising a high capacity baler, and an electronic display configured to display baling information to an operator of the baling high capacity baler. The baler additionally comprises a first bale-forming area in which a first series of first individual bales can be formed, and a second bale-forming area in which a second series of second individual bales can be formed. The baler further comprises one or more first sensors configured to sense one or more parameters related to at least one of the first bales, and one or more second sensors configured to sense one or more parameters related to at least one of the second bales. The electronic display is configured to simultaneously display data generated from at least one of the first sensors and at least one of the second sensors.

A baling system including a first bale-forming area configured to form a first series of first individual bales, and a second bale forming-area configured to from a second series of second individual bales. The baling system further includes a bale bundler configured to receive the first and second individual bales from the first and second bale forming-forming areas and to tie a group of at least six bales together to form a bale bundle.

A knot stretcher for use in tightening splice knots that connect twine balls on an agricultural baler. The knot stretcher includes a pair of pulling bars connected at pulling bar pivot at one end of each of the pulling bars, and a pair of levers, where one of the pair of levers is attached in a middle section of its respective pulling bar. Each lever has a handle portion at one end and an arm portion extending from an elbow formed in the lever. Each lever attaches to its respective pulling bar with a fixed pivot located near the elbow and distal ends of the arm portions of the two levers are attached at a moving pivot. The knot stretcher has clamping jaws positioned on the pulling bars to securely clamp a respective one of the twine tails of the splice knot that is to be tightened.

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for an independent needle drive system for an agricultural baler. Typical balers utilize a knotter drive shaft to operate both the knotter drive and needle drive. In this innovation, the knotter drive shaft and needle drive are independently operated to provide additional uses for the rotation of the knotter drive shaft. An independent needle drive crank arm free-floats on a smooth portion of the knotter drive shaft, and a knotter clutch is engaged separately on a splined portion. Rotation of a clutch bowl engages the knotter clutch and knotter shaft independently from the needle crank arm. In this way, the needle drive and knotter drive can operate independently from each other.

A twine knotter arrangement for knotting twine to tie a bale, the twine knotter arrangement including: a twine knotter (1), a deflection roller (41) adjustable relative to the twine knotter (1), via which twine (42, 43) coming from the bale is deflected in the direction of the twine knotter (1), and an adjusting device (54) for adjusting the position of the deflection roller (41) in dependence on the force (F.sub.R) exerted by the twine (42, 43) on the deflection roller (41).

A bale binding mechanism is configured to wrap twine around a bale. The bale binding mechanism broadly includes a baling needle, a drive shaft, a clutch, and a trip mechanism. A baler chassis presents a baling chamber in which the bale is formed. The baling needle is shiftable relative to the baling chamber to advance twine along an end of the bale. The drive shaft is supported by the chassis to power the needle. The clutch is shiftable between an engaged condition in which the clutch drivingly interconnects the drive shaft and the needle, and a disengaged condition in which the clutch prevents the drive shaft from driving the needle. The trip mechanism includes a trip cam, drive wheel, and a lockout device. The trip cam is shiftable between a trip condition associated with engagement of the clutch and a metering condition associated with disengagement of the clutch. The drive wheel is operable to shift the trip cam when in the metering condition. The trip cam is shiftable from the metering condition to the trip condition to engage the clutch when the bale is formed to a desired size. The lockout device removably engages the trip cam to restrict the metering cam from shifting into the trip condition.

A twine tension relief assembly for a baler including a tension detection apparatus for detecting the tension in a line of twine, a biased cutting element displaceable between a first retained position and a second released position and an actuator adapted to cause the biased cutting element to move from the first retained position to the second released position in response to a signal issued by the tension detection apparatus. The practical application includes when the tension in a strand of twine exceeds a predetermined threshold, the tension detection apparatus causes movement of the biased cutting element so that a strand of twine passing though the twine tension relief assembly is severed and damage to the knotter mechanism and its component parts is avoided.

A knotter drive apparatus for a baler includes a knotter gear drive shaft having a drive shaft axis and a shaft outside diameter. A plurality of knotter assemblies are mounted on the knotter gear drive shaft. Each assembly includes a first knotter gear sector including a first sector hub portion and a first sector radial portion. The first sector hub portion includes a central passage at least partly defined in the first sector hub portion for receiving the knotter gear drive shaft. The first sector radial portion extends radially outward from the first sector hub portion relative to the drive shaft axis, and has defined thereon a plurality of intermittent gear tooth segments. The first sector hub portion has a circumferential gap defined therein greater than the shaft outside diameter such that the first knotter gear sector is removable radially, relative to the drive shaft axis, from the knotter gear drive shaft.

A twine tension monitoring apparatus is disclosed comprising a twine tension monitoring portion and a signalling portion. The twine tension monitoring portion includes a laterally extending finger moveable about a horizontally extending axis between a first position and a second position, in which the first position corresponds to a low tension condition and the second position corresponds to a tensioned condition. The signalling portion provides a signal indicating the position of the laterally extending finger and so indicates the tension being monitored.

A twine knotter has a knotter frame (2). An intermediate shaft (3) is rotatably supported on the knotter frame (2) around a longitudinal axis L. A shaft input (4) connects the intermediate shaft (3) to an output element (61) of a knotter drive shaft (54). At least one knotter hook shaft (9, 10) is rotatably supported around a knotter hook axis (K1, K2) on the knotter frame (2). The at least one knotter hook shaft (9, 10) is drive-wise connected to the intermediate shaft (3). The at least one knotter hook shaft carries a knotter hook (11, 12) to form a knot. The twine knotter (1) is formed as an independent assembly. The twine knotter (1) is drive-wise detachably connectable, via the shaft input (4) of the intermediate shaft (3), to the knotter drive shaft (54).