FR2548866A1 - DEVICE FOR CUTTING A LARGE ROUND BALL - Google Patents

Abstract

DEVICE FOR CUTTING A LARGE ROUND BALE INTO TWO PARTS OR MORE, BEFORE ITS EVACUATION FROM THE BOOTER. A BLADE 60 IS INSERTED INTO THE CHAMBER, BETWEEN THE BELTS 30, 34 WHICH CIRCLE IT, AS THE BALL TURNS. THE BLADE IS ATTACHED TO A CROSSBAR 62, SWIVELY CONNECTED TO THE UPPER REAR MIDDLE OF THE MACHINE AND ON THE OTHER HAND TO THE ROD OF A HYDRAULIC CYLINDER 68, ITSELF FIXED IN A PIVOTING WAY TO THE UPPER MIDDLE FRONT OF THE MACHINE. REMOVING THE ROD FROM THE CYLINDER RIVERS THE BLADE AGAINST THE ROTATING BALE AND, IN THE FULLY RETRACTED POSITION, THE TIP OF THE BLADE REACHES THE AXLE OF THE BALE. IN ANOTHER EMBODIMENT, THE BLADE IS INSERTED IN THE SIDE WALLS OF THE MACHINE, SO AS TO CUT THE BALL INTO CENTRAL AND ANNULAR PARTS, WHICH MAY BE CYLINDRICAL OR CONICAL.

Description

The present invention relates, in general, to a machine

  or baler for the formation of round bales; it relates more particularly to an apparatus for slicing the ball in two or more parts, by means of a knife mounted on the upper part or in the side walls of the machine. Numerous ball forming machines are known for collecting fibrous agricultural products in the form of bales which are linked by means of strings or threads. For example, US Patent No. 4,319,446 to Arnold and others describes a process for the obtaining large round bales in a machine comprising a frame in the form of a cage with a horizontal axis and a substantially cylindrical zone of ball formation Side walls 15 directed upwards constitute the end surfaces limiting the zone of ball formation A plurality of transport elements, arranged in series, generally surround and define the circumferential periphery of the bale forming area. Thus, the dimension of the bale forming chamber remains constant during the formation operation. the bale To allow the evacuation of a finished bale, the bale forming chamber is divided into two parts, substantially along a vertical plane co up the axis The rear part of the casing is provided so as to pivot upwards around a joint located at the top,

  which allows the ball to exit backwards.

  U.S. Patent No. 4,402,176, granted to the present applicant, describes ball forming means in which the point of articulation of the escape door differs slightly from the device described in the Arnold patent An essential element in the implementation is the position of the point of articulation of the evacuation door It is located at the point of the most forward edge of the bale forming chamber, and is located substantially substantially at the same height above the ground as the main axis of the chamber The movable upper part comprises a secondary frame covered by protective panels comprising two side walls es5 paced mounted perpendicular to the main axis of the ball forming chamber All the transport elements are also located in the movable upper part, with the exception of the interior conveyor These transport elements comprise conveyors arranged in series around the rear, of the top and front of the periphery

  substantially cylindrical in the ball forming area.

  This means that only the lower carrier is not

  contained in the part of the machine which pivots upwards, like a shell, to form a rear door through which a finished bale can be evacuated.

  Each transport element in the upper part comprises a plurality of bands, placed side by side, which are driven on a first and second spaced rollers, with horizontal axes, the ends of each roller being rotatably supported in the side walls of the movable upper part The rollers located at the downstream end of each transport element are driven in synchronism from the PTO of the tractor A space is provided between the last of the conveyor elements in series and the upper surface of the lower conveyor This space constitutes an entrance to the bale forming chamber, which extends over the entire width of the machine. The axial shaft, extending outwards, of the last downstream roller also serves as an articulation point around from which the upper part pivots A hydraulic cylinder, suitably mounted between the secondary chassis of the upper part and a point on the main chassis located just a from point 35 of articulation, provides the driving force for opening or

closing the rear door.

  The present invention provides an improvement to the machine of Arnold and others, in that it adds a possibility of slicing the ball in two parts or da5 vantage Arnold's machine, according to the prior art, produces large round bales which have a length of the order of 1.5 m Consequently, they do not always pass through the access doors to the distribution aisle, in front of the cattle racks The fact that the haystacking machine allows to produce two bales, if desired: gives the breeder the possibility of reaching the distribution aisle even if it is accessible by a

narrow door.

  The subject of the present invention is a device, of simple operation, making it possible to cut a large round bale of fibrous agricultural product into two or more parts. The baler which was produced first generates substantially cylindrical bales, in a chamber of fixed dimension. During the bale forming process, the partially formed bale rotates around a horizontal axis, while the harvested material, collected on a swath, is continuously added to the periphery of the bale As the bale forming chamber fills , pressure is exerted on the peripheral elements of the enclosure The enclosure is articulated along the front edge, to allow the upper part to open in the manner of a shell, in order to evacuate towards the back a finished ball A locking mechanism keeps

  one against the other the opposite sides of the enclosure, until the ball is finished.

  An essential element in the implementation of this invention is the fact that the ball rotates inside the machine, during its formation. In addition, a fully formed ball exerts strong pressure towards the outside, against the limiting bands. , which gives the assurance that the almost completed rotation of the bale cannot be easily stopped Consequently, a fixed cutting device, inserted in the heart of the bale

  turning slowly, slice the latter.

  The knife for slicing the ball can be inserted between the belts which encircle the periphery of the ball forming chamber. In practice, this is achieved by means of a long blade mounted at its end in the center of a T-shaped cross member. One end of the cross member is pivotally attached to the upper rear mid point of the machine The other end of the cross member is pivotally connected to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder The other end of the hydraulic cylinder is fixed pivoting at the upper middle point a15 front of the machine In the idle state of the jack, in which the rod is in the extended position, the upper edge of the blade is released from the upper roller before the bale forming chamber The actuator of the jack, so as to pull its rod inwards, causes the cutting edge of the blade to rotate against the rotating bale When the rod is fully retracted in the jack, the point of the blade reaches one hundred Take care to determine the dimension of the T-shaped cross member and the stroke of the hydraulic cylinder so that the blade 25 is released from both the front and rear rollers and is

  on the other hand capable of reaching the center of the bullet In the device produced, the blade is sharpened in the usual way.

  However, it is intended that a knife with a serrated edge may

  cut some agricultural products better.

  With this advanced baler, the user does not need to cut all the bales obtained in the machine Some bales can be produced in full length of 1.5 m Others can be divided into two bales of 0.75 m long each The proportion of 35 long bales and short bales is entirely under the control of the driver The type of fastening mechanism used when producing bales with this machine is already known and consists in independently binding each of the

  two halves of the ball, simultaneously.

  The invention will be better understood in the light of

  the description of its non-limiting embodiments, shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

  Fig 1 is a rear perspective view of the baler; Fig 2 is a section of the baler along line 2-2 of Figure 1, the knife being shown in the neutral position; Fig 3 is a section showing the knife in its active position; Fig, 4 is a schematic section illustrating a cylinder and a ring obtained with another embodiment of the invention; and Fig 5 is a schematic section illustrating a

  conical core and a corresponding ring obtained with enco20 re another embodiment of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a rear view of a bale forming machine or baler 10 which is capable of picking up a material collected from a swath and forming it into substantially cylindrical bales. The machine 10 is supported by two wheels 12 It is planned to be pulled behind a tractor and to be supplied with energy from the latter, via a PTO and hydraulic fluid lines The operation of the machine is well illustrated in FIG. 2 The baler 10 , provided with wheels 12 fixed to a chassis 14, is pulled behind a tractor by means of an arrow 16 and a coupling (not shown) When it is pulled suitably behind a tractor, along a swath

  of harvested material, the machine collects the crop using a pickup roller 18.

  The pick-up roller 18 sends the harvested material to a conveyor which constitutes the bottom of the bale forming zone The conveyor comprises a plurality of belts 20, placed side by side, which are supported on transverse rollers 22, 24 , 26 and 28.

  In the device produced, five belts 20 are used to cover a ball-forming chamber with a length of 1.5 m. The rollers 24, 26 and 28 are substantially situated on the periphery of the cylindrical zone 23 of ball formation. The roller 22 is placed lower than the roller 24 This has the effect that a line tangent to the upper part of the pick-up roller 18 and to the upper part of the roller 24 is also tangent to the

roller 22.

  Above the lower conveyor are provided

  independent conveyors, in series, which substantially surround the cylindrical bale-forming zone.

  Three of these conveyors are shown. In the illustrated device, they are of identical configuration. The rearmost of the conveyors in series comprises an upstream roller 29, a downstream roller 31 and a plurality of conveyor belts or belts 30, placed side by side. Likewise, the upper conveyor comprises a downstream roller, an upstream roller 33 and conveyor belts 32 The front conveyor comprises belts 34, a downstream roller 36 and an upstream roller 37 The rollers 29, 31, 33, 35 and 37 are rotatably supported in the side walls 39 of a secondary chassis 40 The secondary chassis 40 is articulated at the front by means of the bearings (not shown30) which fix the extended shaft of the roller 36 to the

  main chassis 15 The pivoting of the secondary chassis 40 around the roller 36 allows its rear edge to pivot upwards, so as to constitute a rear door by which a finished bale can be evacuated.

  A locking mechanism, to keep the rear door in the closed position, is shown in Figure 1 We see in this figure that the locking device comprises a transverse torsion tube 46, rotatably mounted in bearing plates 48 and 49 5 On the left end of the transmission tube 46 is fixed a first part, in the form of a locking plate 50 At the right end is fixed a second similar locking plate 52 A spring 54 is attached to a end, to the locking plate 50 and, at its other end, to a bracket 55 which is fixed to the secondary chassis 40 The spring 54 applies the locking plate 50 against a rod 56 which is fixed to the chassis of the machine A notch formed in the locking plate 50 allows the latter to block the rear door 15 in the closed position. The locking plate 52 also has a similar notch which cooperates with another rod extending from the cat. opposite of the machine frame A second spring 54 is also provided on the right side

of the machine.

  A lever 58 is directed towards the rear from the torque transmission tube 46 A clevis connection fixes one end of a cable 43 to the outer end of the lever 58 The other end of the cable 43 is fixed to the by means of a second clevis connection, to a pivoting arm 42. 25 An idler pulley 45 allows the cable 43 to change direction and to be connected to the end of the arm 42 An upward pull on the cable 43 rotates the transmission tube 46, so that the locking plates and 52 are released from the rod 56 on the left side and

  the rod to which the plate 52 is locked The relaxation of the traction on the cable 43 allows the springs 54 to again lock the plates 50 and 52 to the rods 56.

  During the formation of the ball, it rotates clockwise, seen in Figure 35 2 The rotation is generated by contact with the belts 2548866 i, 30, 32 and 34 which move in the direction indicated by the arrows on the rollers 22, 29, 35 and 36 When the bale-forming chamber fills, the pressure towards the outside, exerted by the compressed harvested fibers, tightens the belts so that they take the configuration shown in Figure 3 When the bale chamber is full, the compressive forces exerted on the bale tend to force the opening of the rear door A suitably calibrated detector can be incorporated in the locking device to signal that the bale is ready to be released. When the state of "full chamber" is detected, the operator stops the movement of the tractor forward and interrupts the picking of the swath, which allows the material collected by the picking roller 18 to be driven. in the bale forming chamber Then, the bale attaching sequence is started, manually or automatically, by means of twine spools provided in a storage boot 73 (see FIG. 1) At the end of this operation, the hydraulic cylinder 44 is actuated so as to move the secondary chassis 40 towards the

  high, around the articulation 36, to allow the evacuation of the ball 2 finished.

  Before raising the rear door to evacuate the finished bale, the cutting operation is triggered. The cutting of the bale can be carried out by means of a knife 60, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the knife 60 in its retracted state and FIG. 3 represents the knife 60 during the cutting of a bale of fodder As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting device is mounted on the upper part of the secondary chassis 40 of the machine An opening is provided in the upper cover of the machine, at a central point, the knife 60 which can be inserted into this opening, between adjacent circumferential belts In the device produced, the rear door locking mechanism, comprising the lever 58, the cable 43 and the pulley 45, is moved on one side At the location of the attachment to the upper end of the machine, an offset is made in the arm 42, so that the hydraulic cylinder 44 can remain at the center Between. The end of em; the knife 60 is fixed to the central part of a crosspiece 62 As shown in FIG. 1, the crosspiece 62 is composed of two adjacent plates One end of the crosspiece 62 is pivotally fixed to a hollow beam 66 which extends over the entire width of the machine and which is fixed to

  its ends to the frame of the secondary chassis 40 The other end of the cross-member 62 is pivotally fixed by an axis 64 to the rod of a hydraulic cylinder 68 The base end of the cylinder 68 is pivotally fixed at the front of the secondary chassis 40, by means of an axis 70.

  When the rod of the hydraulic cylinder 68 is at its maximum extension, one is in the situation shown in FIG. 2 When the rod of the hydraulic cylinder 68 is retracted to the maximum, one is in the situation shown in FIG. 3 The length of the cross member 62, the value of the stroke of the hydraulic cylinder 68 25 and the position of the knife 60 relative to the cross member 62 determine whether the front and rear edges of the knife 60 avoid the two rollers 35 and 33 during the maneuvers

  of withdrawal and extension The knife 60 must have a sufficient length so that, in its extended state, the point of the blade reaches the center of the ball.

  Since the ball rotates clockwise, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower edge of the knife 60 is sharpened. In the device produced, the cutting edge of the knife 60 is sharpened with a smooth edge. understood that, in certain applications, the operation is better if the cutting edge of the blade

is serrated.

  Although the invention has been described with reference to a machine comprising a cavity of fixed size, it is understood that it also applies to machines comprising cavities of variable size surrounded by spring return belts.

  When the bale has been formed, tied with a wire or a string and divided into two substantially equal parts, it is ready to be evacuated The evacuation is carried out by releasing the latches of the rear door, raising the rear door around the pivot 36 and ejection of the two bales through the opening thus defined After the bales have been removed, the rear door can be closed and the collection of the material collected on the swath can resume. It is not necessary to completely cut the finished bale, up to the axis Tests carried out show that the knife can be stopped before the axis, so as to keep a core of hay or straw of 150 mm, connecting the two halves This keeps the two halves of the bale close to each other after evacuating the machine and allows the use of normal bale handling equipment to remove from the field the halves which are still solidified When the bale intact has been brought to the distribution area it is relatively easy to break the fibers

  of the 150 mm diameter core, by shaking half the bale relative to its associated half. Alternatively, a manual hay knife can be used to slice the remaining core.

  The operator can choose to decide completely

  the ball in two parts or leave a connecting core of a certain diameter The incorporation of a gauge in the device allows the operator to see how far 35 the rod of the hydraulic cylinder is retracted By interrup-

  tion of the oil intake in the cylinder, the operator can

  stopping the knife in any desired position On the other hand, limit switches can be incorporated in the device to automatically stop the pivoting of the knife.

  Although FIG. 1 shows the cutting mechanism positioned so as to penetrate halfway along the bale forming chamber, it is understood that the bale can be sliced at other places. The same equipment 10 can be provided, in particular one or more copies along the top of the machine, in places that allow the blade to pass between adjacent pairs of belts surrounding the bale chamber For example, if there are four sets of side-by-side belts along the top of the machine, three bale cutters can be mounted on this machine, allowing each large bale to be sliced

two, three or four parts.

  I 1 is also understood that the cutting of the bale 20 can be carried out by means of a cutting device comprising a rotary tip which penetrates up to the axis of the bale and cuts the harvest fibers during its movement As an example of this principle, a small sharp-edged wheel can be used, turning rapidly at the end of a rod controlled by a piston.

  In another embodiment of the invention, the cutting means penetrate the sides of a bale, so as to produce rings 83 surrounding a central cylindrical core 84, as shown in FIG. 4, 30 or a conical core 85 surrounded by a ring 86 whose

  inner surface 87 corresponds to the outer surface 88 of the conical core 85, as shown in FIG. 5.

  The rings are preferably obtained by inserting a cutter bar 80 through the bale forming chamber, before picking up the crop. The cutter bar 80 passes through two opposite grooves 82, provided in the side walls 39 of the machine. When the bale forms and rotates continuously, the cutter bar 80 cuts a circular groove in the bale, as shown in Figure 3, if the bar 80 is parallel to the axis of rotation of the machine If the bar section 80 is inclined with respect to the axis of rotation, conical parts are obtained, as shown in FIG. 5, when the bale rotates inside the chamber In order to eject the finished cut bale, the bar is removed

  cutting 80 and the bale is ejected in the usual way.

  In the case where it is desired to cut shallow grooves in the sides of a finished bale, a knife with hydraulic control, similar to that which is represented in FIG. 1, can be mounted on one of the side walls 39, or both, and moved in and out of

  the ball, after its formation and before its ejection.

  A plurality of cutter bars or knives can be placed at different radial distances, so as to generate a plurality of circular grooves, to

ventilation for example.

  Auxiliary devices, for example a sprayer, can be incorporated into a knife in order to spray a liquid or project a gas, for example a preservative, nutrition, etc. inside

of the ball.

  It is understood that modifications of detail may be made in the shape and construction of the

  device according to the invention, without departing from the scope of cel30 the latter.

Claims (9)

Claims   1 Cutting device, usable in a machine for bundling round bales comprising a bale forming chamber and means for rotating the bale around an axis in the chamber, characterized in that it comprises at least a cutting element (60), fixed to the machine (10) and which can be moved in and out of the chamber, so that this cutting element cuts a bullet in   rotation in the chamber around the said axis.   2 Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the cutting element is mounted on the peripheral element (40) defining the chamber.   3 Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the cutting element is moved perpendicularly   to the axis of rotation, so as to cut the bale into two or more substantially cylindrical parts.   4 Device according to claim 2, characterized   in that the cutting element is moved radially relative to the axis of rotation.   Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cutting element comprises a long knife blade (60), fixed at its fitting end in the center of a crosspiece (62), one end (63) of the cross member being pivotally attached to the rear upper part of the machine, the other end 25 (64) of the cross member being pivotally attached to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder (68) of which the base end (70) is pivotally fixed at a point on the upper front of the machine which is axially aligned with the pivot point at the rear of the machine, the cutting element preferably being located so as to cut the ball into two substantially equal parts.   6 Device according to any one of the preceding claims, the chamber being defined by elements   peripheral elements (30,32,34) mounted in a chassis, characterized in that the cutting element (60) is mounted on the chassis and is moved between said peripheral elements, to cut the bale in rotation, element 5 cutting preferably being pivotally mounted (63) on the frame, so as to move in an arc in and out of the ball.   7 Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises three cutting elements, movable independently and in parallel   to each other, to divide a ball in two, three or four parts.   8 Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the penetration of the cutting element is limited so as to leave a core of material which connects the partially cut parts   of the bullet, the penetration preferably being stopped at at least mm from the axis of the chamber.   9 Device according to claim 1, the chamber 20 being defined by a peripheral element connecting spaced side walls, characterized in that the cutting element (80) is mounted on a side wall (39) and can be moved laterally in the chamber to cut a bale, the cutting element preferably being moved parallel to the axis of rotation, or in an inclined position by   relative to this axis to generate a conical surface.   Device according to claim 9, characterized   in that the cutting element is mounted on a side wall and projects into the chamber.   11 Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises   means, associated with the cutting element, for introducing a   stuff inside the ball.