Patent ID: 7334382

Claim:
In an agricultural round baler having a forward end, an opposing rear end and opposing first and second sides, a bale-forming chamber defined by belts, rollers and the opposing sides of the baler, a wrapping mechanism for wrapping a bale of crop material with a wrapping material within the bale-forming chamber prior to ejection, the improvement comprising: a self-threading mechanism for replacing the active roll of wrapping material with a storage roll, the self-threading mechanism comprising: a roll carrier having first and second opposing end plates spaced apart and adapted to receive and rotatably hold opposing ends of first and second elongate rolls of wrapping material, each end plate attached to the baler for support of the rolls generally transversely between the sides of the baler forwardly of the wrapping mechanism by respective first and second pivot links; the first and second pivot links each having respective first and second spaced apart pivot points, the respective first pivot points pivotably affixed to the baler on a common first horizontal axis, the respective second pivot points pivotably affixed to the respective end plates on a common second horizontal axis; and the roll carrier having an operating position where the active roll is positioned generally below the storage roll, with a first locking mechanism for selectively locking the roll carrier in position relative to the first and second pivot links about the second horizontal axis.