AU2006100955A4 - Compacting apparatus for fibrous material - Google Patents

Description

TITLE

0 Z COMPACTING APPARATUS FOR FIBROUS MATERIAL CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is associated with Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2005906315 filed by the present applicant on 10 October 2005.

SBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for compacting fibrous material into a bale or module for convenient handling and transportation. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a compacting apparatus for pressing cotton into modular bales sized to facilitate flexible loading and carriage in accordance with present transportation requirements.

Discussion of the Background Art Existing arrangements for compacting cotton comprise a rigid device referred to as a 'module builder', having the form of a bin as depicted in FIG. 1. Loose harvested cotton is loaded into the open mouth of the bin defined by outwardly sloping wall portions fixed around the top edge of the bin. The cotton is pressed downwardly and, in many cases where the bin has no bottom wall or floor, directly onto the surface of the ground that is typically bare dirt. Conventional dimensions for the bin are approximately 2.4-2.5m high x 12.5m long with the long walls sloping outwardly from 2.0m at the top to about 2.3m at the bottom of the bin.

As allowed by developments in road transport regulations, including the national rules which came into operation in around 2000, trailers have expanded in size from 9.75m (32ft) with a single axle, 11m (36ft) with dual axles, to 12.2m and further to 12.65m (41ft 6in) with tri-axle trailers, culminating in single trailers of up to 13.85m (45ft 6in) in length. The lengths of modules for producing cotton bales have steadily increased to maximise the available carrying capacity.

At present, the cotton modules may only be conveniently transported in two ways in view of their size (typically 12-13.5m), namely the trailers are hauled either singly (semi-trailer) or in pairs (road train) by suitably configured prime movers.

2 However, many other configurations of vehicular transport are now available 0 Z provided size, axle loading and overall weight restrictions are met.

A cotton gin presently processes cotton at about half the rate raw cotton is transported to the gin from farms after harvest. Accordingly large volumes of harvested cotton are presently stored at the site of the cotton gin. Further, the limited growing season for cotton means that transport contractors are provided with only 10-12 weeks of work for each season, because cotton producers want the harvest moved as soon as possible. The early movement of the harvested cotton from farms seeks to avoid wet weather, which degrades quality, and frees the land for planting the next crop.

However existing module builders are configured for compacting the cotton fibres in situ upon harvesting and the modules at left in field for specialised loading machinery to later load the modules onto semi-trailers or road trains. Traditionally responsibility for the harvest shifts from the cotton producer to the gin upon being lifted by the loader. Careless lifting operations or general purpose lifting equipment can result in mishandling and possible disintegration of cotton modules.

The reference' to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the referenced prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention The present invention generally aims to provide an alternative to existing arrangements for compaction of fibrous material.

It is a another aim of certain embodiments of the invention to provide a compacting apparatus which produces modules in a variety of sizes enabling better advantage to be taken of the diversity of transport vehicles.

It is a further aim of certain embodiments of the invention is to provide a method for producing modules of compacted fibrous material that may be lifted for temporarily storage before transport to a processing plant.

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3 Disclosure of the Invention Z In one aspect of the invention there is provided a compacting apparatus for fibrous material, said apparatus including: opposed side walls, at least one side wall mounted in slidable relation to the other side wall; actuators for driving said at least one side wall towards the other side wall to laterally compact fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls; and a sliding end wall with an associated actuator, the sliding end wall adapted to longitudinally compact the fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls.

If required, the respective side walls have a hinged upper portion for substantially closing the top of the apparatus to retain the fibrous material therein.

Preferably the sliding end wall is adapted to compact the fibrous material disposed between the opposed end walls including the upper portions closing the top thereof.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of compacting fibrous material, said method including the steps of: loading fibrous material into a cavity a compacting apparatus; compacting the fibrous material laterally between opposed side walls of the compacting apparatus by driving at least one side wall towards another side wall; retaining the fibrous material in the cavity by closing upper portions of respective side walls over the top thereof; and further compacting the fibrous material longitudinally by an end wall adapted to slide between said opposed side walls.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a compacting apparatus for fibrous material, said apparatus including: a movable ceiling for vertically compacting fibrous material disposed in a cavity in the apparatus; opposed side walls of the cavity, at least one side wall mounted in slidable relation to the other side wall; actuators for driving said at least one side wall towards another side wall to laterally compact fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls; 4 a fixed end wall and a sliding end wall with associated actuator means

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Z adapted to longitudinally compact the fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls and under the ceiling; and at least one of the walls or ceiling having a hinged portion for facilitating access to the cavity.

In a still further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of compacting fibrous material, said method including the steps of: loading fibrous material into a cavity of a compacting apparatus; compacting the fibrous material vertically under a movable ceiling of the compacting apparatus; compacting the fibrous material laterally between opposed side walls of the compacting apparatus; and further compacting the fibrous material longitudinally by an end wall adapted to slide between said opposed side walls and below said ceiling.

If required, both said side walls may be slidably mounted for movement in opposition to each other.

Suitably the apparatus and method facilitate compaction of fibrous material into modules of predetermined size and weight suited to transportation, particularly by road vehicle in accordance with extant regulations for road transportation.

BRIEF DETAILS OF THE DRAWINGS In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional end view of a cotton module builder of the background art; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional end view of a cotton module builder of a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2A is a partial top plan view of the cotton module builder of the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of a cotton module builder of a second embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is an end view of the cotton module builder of the second embodiment;

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FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a cotton module builder of a third embodiment of 0 Z the invention; FIG. 6 is sectional side elevation view of the cotton module builder of the third embodiment; FIG. 7 is a sectional end elevation view of the cotton module builder of the third embodiment in a first position; FIG. 8 is a sectional end elevation view of the cotton module builder of the third embodiment in a second position; FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of a silage module builder of a fourth S 10 embodiment of the invention; FIG. 10 is a further side elevational view of the silage module builder of the fourth embodiment; FIG. 11 is an end elevational view of the silage module builder of FIG. 10; and FIG. 12 is a side elevation view depicting cotton modules loaded onto a stepdeck trailer.

Whilst preferred embodiments of the invention are described in relation to cotton, it will be appreciated that the invention finds application in compacting other cultivated fibrous materials, such as hay, luceme and silage. The invention may also find applications in handling man-made or artificially produced fibres.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION In FIG. 1 there is shown a conventional cotton module builder 10 having vertical outer side walls 11 and bottom walls 12. Inner side walls .13 and end walls 14 of the builder define a chamber 15. The chamber has an upwardly disposed mouth 16 when the module builder is resting on level surface 17, typically the ground.

The inner side walls 13 include top portions 18 angled inwardly to funnel cotton into the mouth 16 of the chamber.

An external actuator means (not shown) is provided for pressing the cotton vertically down 19 into the chamber 15. The inner walls 13 of the module builder are sloped downwardly and outwardly in order to assist release of the compacted cotton module (not shown) by lifting the module builder 10 from the cotton module formed or 'built' therein. The chamber of the embodiment has volume of approximately 64.5m 3

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6 producing a cotton module having a typical mass of 16 tonnes, for an average Z density of 248 kg/ m 3 The applicant has realised that vehicles of a size capable of carrying this volume of goods, generally have a much higher weight carrying capacity. For S 5 example many semi-trailers are suited to carrying at least 26 tonnes on a single trailer of suitable dimensions and axle configuration. Accordingly, a compacting apparatus of a first embodiment of the invention, designed to produce a module having a mass of 16 tonnes in a volume of about 35m 3 is depicted in FIG. 2.

The compacting apparatus 20 has upstanding outer walls 21 of about 3m in height and 9m long that are spaced from one another by about 3m. Disposed inside the outer walls are a pair of side walls 22 which are moveably mounted in opposition to one another. A bottom wall 23 is provided around the inner periphery of the apparatus and extends inwardly from adjacent a bottom marginal edge of each of the outer walls 21. The opposed side walls are slidably mounted to respective portions of the bottom wall 23.

Actuators, such as double acting hydraulic cylinders 24, are mounted between the side walls 22 and outer walls 21 for selectively moving the side walls inwardly from a retracted position towards one another to compact fibrous material, such as harvested cotton, between the side walls 22. The closest approach of the side walls towards one another is a distance of about 2.3m. The side walls 22 are also moveable outwardly from an extended position, as desired. The side walls 22 are shown in the fully extended position in FIG. 2, whilst the retracted position of the side walls is also shown in phantom.

The side walls 22 each include an upper portion 28 hinged to the respective remaining lower portions of the side walls, as depicted in FIG. 2. The upper portions 28 are arranged such that, when the side walls 22 are in their extended position, the upper portions may be rotated to close over the top of the fibrous material to retain said material within said walls. When the upper portions 28 are rotated to the closed position, indicated by the closing line and the upper side wall portions 28' depicted in phantom, a sliding end wall 25 further compacts the fibrous material disposed between the end walls 22 and against a fixed end wall 24. The sliding end wall 25 is configured to telescope into the cavity formed between the side walls 22 and the closed upper portions 28 thereof.

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7 A compacting apparatus 40 of a second embodiment of the invention, taking Z the form of a cotton module builder, is shown in FIGs 3 and 4. The apparatus O includes upstanding outer walls 41 of about 2.7m in height which support opposed side walls 42, movable inwardly towards and outwardly away from one another by actuators (not shown). An inner peripheral bottom wall 43 includes guide means provided for the side walls 42. The guide means facilitate inward sliding of the side walls 42 to compact fibrous material introduced into an upper mouth portion 55 of the Sapparatus. In this embodiment, the upper hinged portions 48 of the side walls 42 are Sarranged externally of the outer walls 41, and may be pivoted into a closed position covering the mouth 55. When closed, the upper hinged portions 48' lie laterally inwardly covering mouth 55, as depicted in phantom in FIG. 4.

Referring particularly to FIG. 3, the side walls 42 of the embodiment have a length of about 9m and are bounded at one end by a fixed end wall 44 and receive, from an opposite end, a sliding end wall 45. The sliding end wall is movable longitudinally, by actuators 46 such as fluid hydraulic rams, from a withdrawn position as shown in full lines the drawing) to an inserted position as shown in phantom). Movement of the sliding end wall 45 from the withdrawn position W towards the fixed end wall 44 to the inserted position I reduces the cavity from a length of 9 m (as above) to a length of about 6.8m. The upper hinged portions 48 of the side walls are generally retained in the closed position during insertion of the sliding end wall 45 for compacting purposes.

The outer walls'41 include an intermediate upright support member 49, which also carries a pair of retractable wheels 50 to facilitate transport of the compacting apparatus. A draw-bar arrangement 51 is also provided to hitch the apparatus 40 to a desired prime mover (not shown). There is also included an operator station 52, having a seat 53 and a protective canopy 54, located to allow the operator to view the mouth 55 of the compacting apparatus, suitably when seated.

Turning to FIGs 5 to 8, there is depicted a compacting apparatus of a third embodiment of the invention, again taking the form of a cotton module builder The apparatus includes outer upright walls 61, movable side walls 62, a fixed end wall 63, a movable ceiling section 64 and a slidable end wall 65 defining a cavity ro chamber. The apparatus has an aperture provided in its floor 66 which is sized to accommodate a supporting platform 67 for the cotton compaction or module. In the

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8 >present embodiment the supporting platform is a pallet of 3.5m in length and 2.3m in 0 Z width.

O When in place over the pallet, the end walls, side walls and roof define a cavity 70 of variable volume. The fixed end wall 63 includes a hinged upper portion 69 for providing access to an upper portion of the cavity 70 at one end of the compacting apparatus. Actuators, such as hydraulic rams 71 are provided for moving the slidable end wall towards the fixed end wall 63 to longitudinally compact Sfibrous material disposed in the cavity 70. Further actuators 72, 74 are provided for the movable side walls 62 and the ceiling section 64. A relocatable actuator 73, known as a 'monkey', is arranged on a frame 76 with rollers 77 allowing a press 78 to run forward and backward over the cotton fibres disposed in the cavity 70. It will be appreciated that, in a variation of the third embodiment, the compacting apparatus may comprise a self-propelled machine rather than a trailer as depicted in FIGs and 6.

Thus preferred embodiments of the module builder invention are able to compact the loose cotton into free-standing modules of appropriate length 6.8m) for the following road transport options: a) rigid tray'truck: 1 module; b) rigid tray truck with dog trailer: 2 modules; c) semi-trailer: 2 modules; d) B-double' trailers: 3 modules; e) AB-tripletrailers: 4 modules; f) road train (2 trailers): 4 modules; and g) B-train: 5 modules.

Other vehicle configurations, such as low-loading 'step-deck' trailers 90 with a false floor as depicted in FIG. 12, are also possible in view of the potential for additional height of the module.

The third embodiment of the invention employing the shorter pallet module (eg. 3.5m in length) with supporting floor, could provide the following road transport options: a) rigid single drive truck: 1 pallet module; b) rigid bogey drive truck: 2 pallet modules; c) rigid bogey drive truck dog: 3 pallet modules;

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9 d) rigid bogey drive truck super dog: 4 pallet modules; Z e) semi-trailer (overhang permitted): 4 pallet modules; O f) semi-trailer (triple bogey trailer): 3 pallet modules; g) step-deck trailer (no false floor): 4 pallet modules; h) B-double: 6 pallet modules; i) AB-triple: 8 pallet modules; j) road train: 8 pallet modules; and k) B-train: 10 pallet modules.

SThe added advantage of module pallets is that the cotton does not come into contact with the ground after harvest, which substantially reduces the amount of dirt and gravel introduced into the ginning process, thereby reducing wear on the cotton gin or other processing equipment for fibrous material. Furthermore, the pallets enable lifting by general purpose lifting equipment, such as a fluid actuated boom type crane located on a truck, without risking disintegration of the cotton modules.

In a fourth embodiment of the invention, a compacting apparatus is further adapted for producing large bales of silage. The silage module builder 80 depicted in FIGs 9 to 11 includes'a section 81 at one end of the builder for retaining plastic film to form a bag or sheath into which fluid actuators 82 extrude compacted silage.

Further fluid actuators 83 are provided at said end for vertically lifting an end door 84, as depicted in FIG. 11, to all extrusion into the bag. When filled, the bag (not shown) could be evacuated and sealed to preserve the silage.

The enhanced and/or selective compaction facilitated by the invention also reduces, in terms of the overall crop, the number of vehicles required to transport a tonne of cotton, silage, other fibrous crop or produce.

It is to be understood that the above embodiments have been provided only by way of exemplification of this invention, and that further modifications and improvements thereto, as would be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art, are deemed to fall Within the broad scope and ambit of the present invention described herein and defined in the claims which follow.

Claims (7)

1. 2. The compacting apparatus of claim 1 wherein: respective side walls having a hinged upper portion for substantially closing the top of the apparatus to retain the fibrous material therein; and the sliding end wall is adapted to compact the fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls including the upper portions of the side walls closing the top of the compacting apparatus.
2. 3. A method of compacting fibrous material, said method including the steps of: loading fibrous .material into a compacting apparatus; compacting the fibrous material laterally between opposed side walls of the compacting apparatus by driving at least one side wall towards another side wall; and further compacting the fibrous material longitudinally by an end wall adapted to slide between said opposed side walls.
3. 4. The method of claim 1 further including the step of: retaining the fibrous material subsequent to lateral compacting by closing upper portions of respective side walls over the top thereof.
4. 5. A compacting apparatus for fibrous material, said apparatus including: a movable ceiling for vertically compacting fibrous material disposed in a cavity in the apparatus; \O 11 cIN opposed side walls of the cavity, at least one side wall mounted in slidable Z relation to the other side wall; O actuators for driving said at least one side wall towards the other side wall to laterally compact fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls; a fixed end wall and a sliding end wall with associated actuator means, which sliding end wall is adapted to longitudinally compact the fibrous material disposed between the opposed side walls and under the ceiling; and Sat least one of the walls or ceiling having a hinged portion for facilitating access to the cavity.
5. 6. A method of compacting fibrous material, said method including the steps of: loading fibrous material into a cavity of a compacting apparatus; compacting the fibrous material vertically under a movable ceiling of the compacting apparatus; compacting the fibrous material laterally between opposed side walls of the compacting apparatus; and further compacting the fibrous material longitudinally by an end wall adapted to slide between said opposed side walls and below said ceiling.
6. 7. A compacting apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described and/or illustrated in any one or more of FIGs 2 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.
7. 8. A method of compacting fibrous material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGs 2 to 11 of the accompanying drawings