Patent ID: 8899637

Claim:
In an agricultural round baler having a bale-forming chamber, a rearwardly disposed tailgate movable between opposing open and closed positions, an actuator for selectively moving the tailgate, and a latch mechanism for selectively securing the tailgate in the closed position, the improvement in said latching mechanism comprising: an elongate latch arm having a first end pivotally connected to the tailgate, said latch arm having a catch surface and a release surface disposed generally adjacent to a second end generally opposing said first end, said latch arm pivotable about a first axis between a latched position and a released position; a release arm connected to a side of the baler adjacent to said latch arm and configured for pivotal movement about a second axis between first and second positions; and a spring assembly connected to said latch arm and biasing said latch arm toward said latched position; said latch arm and said release arm being configured such that when said latch, arm is in the latched position, movement of said release arm toward said first position causes said release arm to contact said release surface and move said latch arm toward said released position; and wherein said first axis and said second axis are non-parallel.