FR2782234A1 - Apparatus to wrap bales in the field - Google Patents

Abstract

The assembly to wrap bales in plastics sheaths (5) has overlaid layers at supports (4) on swan-neck arms at the frame (1), to form a polygonal opening to take the bales. All and some of the supports (4) are moved by cylinder units (20,22,23) at the frame (1) to stretch the plastics sheath material. The frame (1), as a horizontal beam (3), carries the supports (43) fixed to the frame and two side supports (4) on side structures (7) which are linked on the frame (1), to shift the moving supports (4) to guide the plastics sheath (5) in a polygon path. The side structures (7) are formed by two beams forming a dihedral with an angle of 120 deg . One beam (10) pivots on the frame (1), and a second beam (12) has a sliding movement at an end of the first beam, with a slide (14) which can move along the length of the second beam to carry another support (41). Or the side structures (7) are of simple beams (10), linked to the lower fixed guides (43) to guide a slide (14) fitted with a support (4), moved by a horizontal cylinder unit (23), and a cylinder unit (20) is for each at the horizontal beam (3). The side structures (7) can be kept in their symmetrical position by a swingletree, in relation to the center axis of the assembly, as the horizontal beam (3) on the frame (1). It has an arm at each end, parallel to each other, with end links for the appropriate beam (10). The plastics sheath is guided round the supports (4) and their cylinder units, formed by the beams (10,12) in a swan-neck shape. Each support (4) is formed by a cylinder section, to give the dia. of the envelopment, of 150-250 mm as a plate with a rounded side. The assembly has a control for the hydraulics to each cylinder unit, delivered by an independent central source such as a tractor vehicle. The frame (1) has road wheels for towing, and spades if required. The cylinder units to move the supports (4) are on mountings which can be shifted according to the dimensions of the bales to be wrapped.

Description

IMPROVEMENT IN MATERIALS USED FOR MACHINING

  BALLS OF PLANTS, FORAGE OR THE LIKE.

  The present invention relates to the material used for sheathing under film

  plastic bales of plants, fodder or other.

  This material consists on the one hand of a bench for storing and stretching the plastic film so as to form a sort of funnel, as described in document FR-97 13884 of the applicant, and on the other hand, as described in document FR-97 13885 of the applicant also, of loading means which make it possible to place, one after the other, the bales in the funnel and to move the latter progressively while said

bullets remain on the ground.

  The drawing bench is arranged on a carriage which is further arranged, upstream of said bench in particular, to receive, center and guide each bale when it is pushed into the funnel whose mouth is formed and maintained

  open with a sufficient diameter by said drawing bench.

  To obtain the step-by-step movement of the trolley, as the bales are sheathed, the tractor which collects and transports the bales is equipped with a tool provided with pins for gripping the bales, which tool further comprises , means which allow, when the time comes, to eject the ball into the funnel; these ejection means consist of a pusher whose stroke is sufficient to clear the ball from said pins, which stroke is at

  less equal to the length of the ball.

  The manipulator tool comprises means which cooperate with the carriage to achieve by reaction, during the implementation of the ejector pusher, the automatic retraction of said carriage, by a pitch which corresponds to the length of said

  ball, and, at the same time, the recoil of the pickup tractor.

  Given the size and weight of the bales, the invention provides means which simplify and make it much easier to handle

  balls and in particular their placement on the carriage.

  The invention also provides arrangements which reduce the risks of deterioration of the plastic film when the balls are placed on

  the carriage and during the sheathing operation.

  The carriage comprises, at its lower part, a bale laying plane preferably consisting of two rails spaced apart by a distance which corresponds approximately to the radius of said bales. These guide rails are located as low as possible relative to the ground and extend upstream of the floor so as to form an inclined plane at the entrance of the carriage. The space between the upstream extensions of the rails allows to house a plate which acts as sole and cooperates to guide the bales when they are put in place by the tractor and the manipulator tool. This plate is articulated around a transverse and horizontal axis disposed at the upstream end of the branches of the rails, held elastically projecting and capable of retracting automatically when a ball is introduced. This plate acts as a lock or stop and cooperates with the manipulator tool. The latter automatically retracts the plate, which also acts as an alarm when it returns to its normal stop position as soon as the manipulator tool has reached its normal ball discharge position. In this position, the bolt is interposed between the frame of the manipulator tool and the towing vehicle, which has the effect of ejecting the bale, by simple reaction, when the pusher is supported on the bale, simultaneously reverse the tractor and the carriage, the tractor being pushed by the frame of the manipulator tool while the carriage is pulled by the

  even built thanks to the lock installed upstream of said carriage.

  This arrangement of the carriage entrance with a lock in the form of a guide plate makes it possible to limit vertical displacement to the strict minimum

  of the ball and the manipulator tool.

  The frame of the manipulator tool comprises, on the side of the towing vehicle, means which make it possible to fix it directly to the three-point hitching system of said tractor, both at the rear and at the front of the tractor according to

the equipment of the latter.

  In addition, this manipulator tool can be installed on other ball handling means such as, for example, a barrel-shaped loading device as described in document FR 2 530 117; in this case, there are as many manipulator tools as there are bullets, for example three tools

arranged in a star.

  Still according to the invention, the upstream part of the rails carrying the lock, forms a sort of frame articulated on said rails or the chassis of the carriage, around a horizontal and transverse axis, which frame is foldable at right angles and lockable in this retracted position by means of tie rods or the like and said chassis and said frame are arranged to allow the attachment of said carriage on the conventional three-point hitch of a tractor in order to move

at will said carriage.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the carriage has guides at the level of the guide rails to protect the plastic film during the introduction of the bales, which guides also make it possible to center the bale in the funnel formed by the plastic sheath stretched on the drawing bench

arranged on the carriage.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the supports of the plastic film which allow its extension and its stretching on the stretching bench consist of pallets, the part of which in contact with the film is in the form of a portion of cylinder whose envelope has a diameter between

and 250 mm.

  These pallets are carried by swan necks which are themselves mounted on a structure made up of slides. Each structural element comprises means which make it possible to easily adapt the drawing bench to the size of the balls to be sheathed. These adjustment means consist of arrangements on the anchor yokes of the expansion cylinders, which arrangements allow the anchor point of said cylinders to be modified at

  level of the various structural elements and also on the frame.

  The invention also provides an improvement to the ball handling tool. This improvement consists in improving the push system and in particular the mechanism in the form of a compass which is interposed

  between the tool frame and the pusher itself.

  This compass-shaped mechanism includes, to allow its deployment, a jack and a cable or chain and the assembly is arranged to allow an almost rectilinear movement of the pusher, as described

  in document FR 97 13885 of the applicant.

  Under certain operating conditions, the cable or pusher can relax and leave its guidance system at the angle of the compass. The present invention provides an improvement which consists in using a roller chain, double for example, to obtain a deployment of the compass, which double roller chain has the advantage of retaining great stiffness in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis.

  of its rollers, that is to say in the compass deployment plan.

  The chassis is arranged to place the guide rails of the

  bullets as close to the ground as possible.

  In their upstream part, the rails are at a height which is compatible with the normal lifting capacity of a tractor when the latter is equipped with a manipulator tool fixed directly to the lifting system.

three points of said tractor.

  In their downstream part, the rails are located a few centimeters from the ground, at a height less than or equal to 10 cm so that, in general, these rails form a guide plane which makes an angle S with respect to

on the ground of the order of 5 to 7.

  The material according to the invention also has the advantage of being compact.

  The length of the bale guide rails is of the order of two and a third of the length of the bales and the downstream part of these rails extends from the median axis of the drawing bench, over a distance which corresponds about at said

length of rails.

  The invention will be further detailed with the aid of the following description and

  attached drawings given for information only, and in which: - Figure 1 shows, seen from the side schematically, the sheathing carriage with a portion of a tractor equipped with a bale handling tool; - Figure 2 shows, schematically, the front part of the carriage showing the upstream end of the guide rails, and the latch in the retracted position by a ball which is carried by the manipulator tool; - Figure 3 shows the lock in the active position when the ball is on the carriage; FIG. 4 shows the system fitted at the front of the carriage to allow it to be hooked onto a three-point hitch of a tractor; - Figure 5 shows, schematically, seen from above, the guide rails and the latch disposed upstream of said slides; - Figure 6 shows, schematically, the drawing bench seen from the front, that is to say seen from the side of the introduction of bales; - Figure 7 shows the position of the guides arranged at the entrance to the drawing bench, relative to the plastic film; - Figure 8 shows one of the elements of the tension structure used in the

drawing bench.

  - Figure 9 shows, schematically, the manipulator tool.

  Figure 1 shows, schematically, the carriage 1 on which we find

  bales 2 which are brought by a tractor 3.

  The tractor 3 comprises, in a conventional manner, a coupling system 44 of the three-point type on which is mounted the frame 16 of a tool making it possible to handle the bales 2. The three-point coupling cooperates with points

  anchor 42, 42 'arranged on the vertical face 56 of the frame 16.

  The three-point hitch system 44 has sufficient clearance to collect the bales 2 on the ground, and lift them to a sufficient height before presenting them at the entrance to the carriage 1, on a sole 10 constituted for example

  a pair of rails 11 arranged longitudinally.

  The frame 16 of the manipulator tool has pins 15 which plug into the ball 2 at mid-height. A 15 'pin arranged at the end

  bottom of the frame 16 can be plugged into the bottom of the bale.

  The length of these pins is of the order of, for example, half the

length of a bale 2.

  The three-point hitch system conventionally comprises two lower hitch bars 54 and, depending on handling needs, a

  third telescopic point consisting of a jack 55.

  This cylinder allows the frame 16 of the manipulator tool to be tilted as desired.

  facilitate the placement of bales on the trolley, in front of the drawing bench 6.

  The bales 2 are placed at the tail leu leu in a sheath 8. This sheath 8 is stored in the form of superposed folds 9 at the level of the drawing bench 6, which folds are carried by support arms 77 arranged for example so to form a six-sided polygon. These support arms 77, detailed below, separate the folds 9 from the sheath 8, forming a sort

  funnel to allow the passage of different bales 2.

  The carriage 1 is able to move on the ground. To this end, it comprises wheels 62 arranged at the level of the sole 10, and, at the rear, it can comprise skids or spades 65. Preferably, the frame of the carriage and its rails 11 are inclined relative to the ground d 'an angle of 5 to 7 for example and the downstream end of said rails is very close to the ground, a few centimeters, about ten, to allow smooth formation of the sheath and

"sausage" of bullets.

  The manipulator tool 66 comprises a pusher 19 detailed below in connection with FIG. 9, which pusher presses the ball 2 against the ball

  previously deposited and which is located in and downstream of the drawing bench.

  When the pusher 19, pressing on the face 2 ′ of the last ball 2, is immobilized by this preceding ball, the frame 16 moves by reaction driving the tractor 3 and the carriage 1 which, as it moves , automatically unwinds the folds 9 to form a sheath 8 all

  around the last ball 2 and the penultimate.

  The stroke C of the pusher 19 corresponds at least to the length of a ball 2, and the length of the guide rails 11 is greater than twice the length of a ball. The rails can also be extended downstream to

  to continue to support the antepenultimate ball.

  The movement of the carriage 1 by reaction is effected by the presence of a lock 70 disposed upstream of the hearth 10 between extensions 11 'at the front end of the rails 11. This lock 70 cooperates with a cross member 23 disposed under the frame 16 of the manipulator tool. When the ball 2 carried by the tool 66 is presented on the sole 10, this cross member 23 extends above the upstream end of the rails 11, between the face 2 'of the ball 2 in question and the

  active face 71 of the stop 70, visible in more detail in FIGS. 2 to 5.

  Note that the extensions 11 'upstream of the rails 11 are inclined towards the ground, forming a sort of ramp to facilitate the introduction of the ball 2. Between these extensions 11' there is the latch 70. This latch, as shown in the figure 5, is in the form of a rectangular plate which fills the space between the extensions 11 '. This plate is articulated on a horizontal transverse axis 72, at the front end of the extensions 11 '. An elastic return system in the form of a spring 73 keeps the latch 70 in the active position, that is to say in a position such that its face 71

  can grip the crosspiece 23 of the frame 16, as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

  Lugs 74, integral with the lock 70, arranged between the latter and at least one of the extensions 11 ′, limit the travel of said lock 70 when it returns to the active position after the passage of the tool 66 and in particular of its cross member 23 The sudden return of the latch 70 to the active position is accompanied by a characteristic snap warning, which informs the operator and allows him

  initiate the ball ejection and sheathing procedure.

  FIG. 1 shows the length LR of the rails 11 between the active face 71 of the

  latch 70 and the downstream end of said rails.

  This length LR is of the order of two and a third of the length of the bales 2. It includes the length of the sole LS, plus the length of a bale LB and additional support LA for the sheathed bale in order to maintain

  the latter in an intermediate position between the ground and the carriage.

  The length LS of the sole 10, between the face 2 ′ of the ball which is located in the bench 6 and the active face 71 of the latch 70, is substantially greater than the length LM of a ball increased by the distance between the face 2 'of said ball, to the active face of said cross member 23 of the manipulator tool. These different arrangements make it possible to obtain a compact and

particularly effective.

  The central axis 100 of the drawing bench 6 is located at a distance of

  the downstream end of the rails 11 which is of the order of a third of their length LR.

  FIG. 4 shows complementary means arranged at the front of the carriage 1, that is to say its upstream part, to facilitate its movement on the

field, using the tractor.

  The front end of the frame 5 of the carriage 1 has anchoring points which cooperate, for example, with the lower lifting arms 54 of a conventional coupling. The third anchor point is arranged at the front end of a transverse bar 76 which connects the upstream ends of the

11 'extensions of the rails 11.

  The third point 79 is located on this cross 76, at its central part. The extensions 11 'form, with the cross-member 76, a kind of frame, FIG. 5, which is articulated on an axis 80 disposed horizontally and transversely at the level of the hooks 75. The rails 11 are cut obliquely and the extensions 11' are mounted on the yokes 81 articulated on

axis 80.

  The position of the cutouts 82 of the rails 11 and that of the axis 80 are such that they allow the front end of the assembly consisting of the extensions 11 ′, the latch 70 and the third point 79 to be tilted vertically. In this position, this assembly 83 is held by means of tie rods 84 interposed between pins 85 arranged laterally on the rails 11 of the carriage or on the chassis, and pins 86 arranged for example at the ends of the

cross 76.

  The handling of the sheathing carriage is carried out in particular for its

  installation in the field or for starting a new silosaucisson.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows the sole 10 of the carriage 1, that is to say the two rails 11 on which a ball 2 is deposited, which ball slides

  then in the funnel formed by the drawing bench 6 and the inlet of the sheath 8.

  At the upstream end of the rails 11 there are the extensions 11 'and the lock consisting of a plate articulated at its front end on a horizontal axis

transverse 72.

  It is also possible to provide additional bars 57 arranged at mid-height of the bale, on each side, to improve its guidance and its introduction into the drawing bench without risking injuring the plastic film.

constituting the sheath.

  Likewise, at the lower part of the sole 10, guides 58 can be placed which make it possible to wedge and guide the bale 2 at the entrance to the drawing bench,

  always in order to avoid attacks on the plastic film 9.

  These guides 58 also appear in FIGS. 6 and 7, they consist of metal plates integral with the rails 11, arranged on either side of said rails in the lower part of the drawing bench. These plates are arranged upstream of the film 9, FIG. 7, and offset inwards. The plaque

  bottom 59 is horizontal and its upstream lateral part is inclined downwards.

  The side plate 60 is inclined relative to the vertical and its upstream part leaves flaring forward. The angle of opening of the plates 60 opposite

is around 60.

  FIG. 6 schematically represents the drawing bench which is formed from a polygonal structure which is similar to a hexagon, which structure comprises, with the exception of its lower side consisting of a cross member secured to the frame 5, lateral and upper sides which can be extended to stretch the plastic film stored in a layer on the support arms 77. This extension is effected by means of jacks 20, 22 arranged on either side of the vertical center line and of a jack upper 23, as described in the

  document FR 97.138884 of the applicant.

  The cylinders are articulated on the one hand on the cross member of the frame 5 and, on the other

  part on sliding structural elements like the one shown in figure 8.

  To more easily adapt the drawing bench to the size of the balls to be sheathed, the different jacks are mounted in screeds which are

  fitted with several anchor points.

  FIG. 8 shows a structural element 7 which includes yokes 33 adapted to allow the anchoring in several positions of the jacks 20, 22. The jacks can thus be positioned at the level of an orifice 122 for a small bale gauge or on an orifice 122 'for a bullet template

most important.

  Note also in FIG. 8, the mounting of a support arm 77 on a swan neck 116. This support arm 77 consists of a pallet which is in the form of a portion of cylinder whose diameter is the order

from 150 to 250 mm.

  This form of support arm makes it possible in particular to better distribute the pressures exerted on the plastic film in order to avoid incidents and

  excessive distortions on this film.

  FIG. 9 shows, in the form of a functional diagram, the mechanism of the manipulator tool, housed in the frame 16. This mechanism makes it possible to move the pusher 19 by a stroke C which corresponds at least to the length of a

bullet 2.

  This mechanism is in the form of a compass which comprises a first arm 25 which extends in the frame 16, articulated at its end 26 on the internal face of the wall 56 of said frame. At the other end of the arm 25, there is a second arm 27 which is articulated around an axis 29 at the end of said first arm. This second arm 27 folds over the first arm 25 and comprises at its

  free end a hinge pin 30 on which the pusher 19 is fixed.

  The compass appears in Figure 9 in the folded position and in the deployed position

  then shown in thin dashed lines.

  The arm 25 is manipulated by means of a jack 31 powered and controlled from the tractor. The jack 31 is integral with the wall 56 of the frame 16 at the level

  an axis 32 and it is articulated by means of an axis 32 'on the arm 25.

  A cable or chain 34 is interposed between a fixed point 37 of the frame 16 and an adjustable anchoring point 36 arranged on the arm 27. This cable or chain 34 is wound on a guide 35 in an arc centered on the axis 29 which ensures the

  connection between arm 25 and arm 27.

  Thus, under the effect of the jack 31, the arm 25 pivots about its axis 26 and, under the effect of the chain 34, the second arm 27 is deployed by pivoting around the axis 29 while maintaining the pusher 19 and in particular the axis 30 on an axial line which is substantially parallel to the axis of the pins 15 on which is

threaded the ball 2.

  A return spring 40 is interposed between the two arms 25 and 27. Likewise, the pusher 19 is held and retained by means of a spring 33 which is

  interposed between said pusher and arm 27.

  The chain 34 preferably consists of a double roller chain as shown separately in FIG. 9. This roller chain has the advantage of being rigid in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of its

  rollers, which plane corresponds to the compass deployment plan.

  Still in FIG. 9, we note the presence on the face 56 of the frame 16, anchoring points 42, 42 ′ which make it possible to position the tool 66 on a conventional coupling system of a tractor, as well a rear coupling than a front hitch. This tool 66 is connected to the tractor by means of hoses, not shown, which make it possible to supply the actuator cylinder 31 for actuating the pusher 19. This tool can also be installed on all types of loaders such as loading arms but also on particular devices such as that described in document FR 2 530 117 which is in the form of a barrel capable of picking up one by one the balls in a field and of transporting and depositing them in a place arranged for this purpose and in the

  present case, on the floor of a sheathing cart.

Claims (10)

- CLAIMS -   1.- Equipment for sheathing under plastic film balls of plants, fodder or other, comprising - a carriage (1) provided on the one hand with a bench (6) of polygonal shape for the storage and stretching of said plastic film and, on the other hand, rails which extend in and on either side of said bench and in particular from a sole where the balls and a manipulator tool carried by a tractor-like machine are received to deposit a one said balls on said sole, which rails of said carriage extend upstream of said sole so as to form an inclined plane for guiding and introducing the balls on said sole, characterized in that it comprises, between the upstream extensions (11 ') of said rails (11), a plate (70) which is articulated at the front end of said extensions (11') about a horizontal and transverse axis (72), which plate is kept projecting from entrance of the sole (10), by elastic means so as to form u does not sort of stop which retracts automatically if necessary during the presentation and the establishment of a ball on the sole, which stop cooperates by its downstream end (71) with said manipulator tool and in particular a crosspiece (23 ) arranged under the frame (16) of this tool to allow, by reaction during the ejection of the bale by means of the pusher (19) of said tool, the displacement   automatic carriage (1) and tractor-like machine equipped with the tool.   2.- Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the manipulator tool (66) comprises, on the face (56) of its frame (16), that is to say the face located on the side of the tractor (3) , anchoring means 42, 42 ', which allow its direct attachment to a conventional three-point hitch system   of said tractor, both at the rear and at the front of the latter.   3.- Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the upstream part of the sole (10) of the carriage (1), at which the latch (70) is located, forms a sort of frame articulated around a transverse horizontal axis (80), which frame is foldable and lockable in this position by means of tie rods (84) and comprises, as well as the chassis of said carriage, anchoring means (79, 75) cooperating with the coupling system three points of a tractor. 4.- Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at the level of the guide rails (11) of the carriage (1), upstream of the entry of the drawing bench (6), guides (58 ) arranged to center and guide the bale when it is introduced into the drawing bench in order to avoid injuring the sheath stretched between the support arms (77) of said bench.   5.- Material according to claim 1, characterized in that the arms-   supports (77) of the plastic film which allow its extension and stretching on the bench (6) consist of pallets which are in the form of cylinder portions whose envelope has a diameter between 150 and 250 mm.   6.- Equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that the extension and stretching structure of the plastic film comprises means which make it possible to easily adapt the stretching bench to the size of the balls to be sheathed, which means consist of amenities that allow   variation of the anchor points of the extension cylinders of said bench.   7.- Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the manipulator tool comprises, to deploy the compass which allows the operation of the pusher (19), a chain (34) in the form of roller chain, preferably double.   8.- Material according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized   in that the chassis (5) of the carriage (1) is arranged so as to place the rails (11) serving to support and guide the bales, when said carriage is in the active sheathing position, in an inclined plane located near from the ground at a height compatible, upstream, with the lifting capacity of the bales of the tractor when the latter is equipped with a manipulator tool fixed directly to the three-point lifting system, and downstream, at a height of the order of   a few centimeters from the ground, less than or equal to 10 centimeters.   9.- Material according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized   in that the length LS of the bottom (10) of the carriage which extends between the inlet of the drawing bench (6) and the active face (71) of the latch (70), is substantially greater than the length d 'a ball (2) increased by the distance between the face (2') of the ball (2) carried by the manipulator tool (66) of the active face of the crosspiece (23) located under the frame (16) of said tool and which cooperates with said active face (71) of the lock (70).   10.- Equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that the length LR of the guide rails (11) is of the order of twice and about a third of the length of the balls (2), which rails (11) s 'extend downstream of the median axis of the drawing bench (6), over a length which is of the order of a third of said length LR.