GB2046313A - Knotting apparatus for baler - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for joining two strands of material together, respectively upstream of a bale to be formed and downstream of a bale which has been formed in the bale pressing chamber of a baler, comprises a knotter device 48 and a binding needle 17, which latter is temporarily movable through the conveyor passage or pressing chamber in synchronism with respect to compacting tine or piston means which compress the material, wherein the drive shaft 13 of the knotter device can also be driven in dependence on the drive of the compacting tine or piston means the needle and the knotter shaft being controllable by way of two clutch means 7, 8 which operate independently of each other. On completion of a bale, clutch 7 is engaged by means 22 to pivot needle 17 clockwise and this in turn engages clutch 8 to drive shaft 13. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Baler The invention relates to apparatus for joining two strands of material together, respectively upstream of a bale to be formed and downstream of a bale which has been formed in the bale pressing chamber of a baler, the bale preferably comprising agricultural crop material, after it has been wrapped around by means of a knotter device and a binding needle, which is temporarily movable through the conveyor passage or pressing chamber in synchronism with respect to compacting tines or piston means which compress the material, wherein the drive shaft of the knotter device can also be driven in dependence on the drive of the compacting tine or piston means.

In pressing operations with conventional high pressure and big-bale presses, the binding twine, coming from a twine container, passes through the binding needle below the pressing channel, and between the finished bale and the bale which is being formed, upwardly to the knotter where it is held in the clamping means. While the size and the length of the bale increase, the binding twine which is required at the top side of the bale must be pulled through between the bales. At high levels of pressing density, the tension which is produced in the binding twine in this operation is so high that it is pulled out of the knotter clamping means or tears.For this reason, binder systems have been developed specifically for high levels of pressing density and big-bale presses, in which systems the twine is no longer held in the clamping means during the pressing operation, but instead the upper and the lower twines can subsequently easily run off two separate rolls. The upper and the lower twines are knotted together at the end and at the beginning of the bale.

Therefore, when the set bale length is reached, the binding mechanism must produce two knots one directly behind the other.

DOS No. 2746 678 describes knotters which substantially correspond to the Deering knotters which are known in the art, but which are provided with knotter drive discs which have a double tooth configuration and cams for twice actuating knotter hooks, clamping means and blade lever in the course of one revolution of the knotter shaft. As usual, the needle drive is effected by means of a crank on the knotter shaft. If the chronological sequence of the knotting operation is followed, if then becomes clearly apparent that a design of this kind is only suitable for low speeds of rotation because the first knotter operation can begin only when the needle is approximately at the top dead-centre position and therefore two complete knotting operations must take place, with the knots being released, in the course of half a revolution of the knotter shaft.

The present invention is therefore based on the problem of providing apparatus of the kind indicated above, which satisfactorily fulfils the requirements which are to be made thereon, in particular in regard to a higher speed of rotation. According to the invention the knotter needle and the knotter shaft are controllable by way of two clutch means which operate independently of each other.

As hereinafter described in detail, the two clutch means are actuable in respect of time in such a way that the knotter shaft rotates twice during a single stroke movement of the binding needle. In this respect, it is important for the knotter shaft to be capable of driving a control disc which disengages the clutch means in a mutually matched manner in respect of time. The construction provides that, with a continuously driven shaft, two clutch means can be controlled for the purposes of actuating the binding needle and the knotter shaft, wherein the knotter shaft drives a control disc in such a way that the knotter disc performs two revolutions while the control disc performs only one revolution. The control disc actuates a pin by way of which the clutch means for the binding needle can be disengaged after one revolution of the continuously driven shaft.In addition, the control disc actuates a pin by way of which the clutch means for the knotter shaft can be disengaged after two revolutions of the continuously driven shaft.

In accordance with a further preferred feature of the invention, the pin is secured to a lever which, upon pivotal movement about its axis, releases a locking lever and cuts in a clutch means, by way of a rod, wherein the pin is moved into a recess in the control disc, by pivotal movement of the lever. Advantageously, the clutch means is in the form of a rotating key clutch and is connected to a traction rod which is secured to the pivotal lever carrying the binding needle, wherein a compression rod is connected to the pivotal lever, by means of which compression rod the locking lever for the clutch means which is in the form of a rotating key clutch, for driving the knotter shaft, is released during the upward movement of the binding needle.This locking lever for the rotating key clutch is moved into the locking position in a simple manner by means of a pawl lever which is controlled by way of the pin. It is advantageous for the pin to be secured to a twine guide lever which is connected by way of an arm to the pawl lever. In a further embodiment of the invention, the pin runs in a guide channel which is formed from an outer and an inner ring fitted on to the control disc.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the front part of a baler with the control means for binding needle and knotter, and Figures 2 and 3 show the control means of Fig. 1, in different positions.

Reference numeral 1 denotes the front part of a baler with a feed passage 2. The com pacting tines for compressing the crop mate rial are not shown, for the sake of simplicity.

They are rhythmically moved backwards and forwards in known manner by way of a crank actuated by the continuously driven shaft 3.

The shaft 3 is provided at both ends with a respective disc 5 which is provided with a cam 4 and which rotates continuously. In the illustrated arrangement, the cams 4 of both discs are in alignment. Further discs 6 are loosely rotatably fitted onto the ends of the shaft 3 and each carry a respective rotating key clutch means 7 and 8 cooperating with the cams 4. In the position shown in Fig. 1, both clutch means 7 and 8 are held out of engagement of the cams 4 by locking levers 9 and 9'.In the illustrated arrangement, the locking lever 9 is mounted rotatably at point 10 and is held by means of a spring 11 in front of the projection 1 2 of the clutch means 8 which, in the engaged condition, makes the drive connection of the shaft 3 to the knotter shaft 1 3. The locking lever 9 is connected to the pivotal lever 1 5 by way of a compression rod 1 4 by means of which the locking lever 9 can be pivoted away from the projection 1 2.

The pivotal lever 1 5 is mounted rotatably at 1 6 and a needle 1 7 is arranged at the end of the pivotal lever. The pivotal lever 1 5 itself and thus also the needle 1 7 are connected by means of the traction rod 1 8 to the rotating key clutch means 7 and are pivotable by way of the clutch means when the clutch means is in the engaged condition. It will be appreciated that, in the Fig. 1 position, the clutch means 7 is held disengaged by a locking lever 9' applied against the projection 1 9. The locking lever 9' is mounted rotatably at point 20 and is connected to a rod 21 which at the other end is secured to a multi-armed lever 22 which is pivotable about axis 23.One arm 24 of the lever 22, at the end thereof, carries a pin 25 which, by pivotal movement of the arm 26 of the lever 22 in the direction indicated by arrow A, can be moved into the recess 27 of the disc 28, while at the same time the locking lever 9' would by pivoted away, by way of the rod 21. The disc 28 is driven by the knotter shaft 13, in such a way that the disc 28 performs one revolution while the knotter shaft 1 3 is performing two revolutions. As the drawings indicate, an inner and outer ring 30 and 31 are fitted onto the disc 28 which is rotatable about the axis 29, thereby to form a guide channel 32. Upon rotation of the disc 28, a pin 33 which is secured to a bent twine guide lever 34 runs in the guide channel 32.The twine guide lever 34 is rotatable about axis 35, as also is the arm 36 which is connected thereto and which, at its end remote from the axis 35, carries a pawl lever 37 which is pulled against an abutment 39 by a spring 38. The pawl lever 37 can be hooked behind the pin 40 which is secured to the locking lever 9.

While the bale 41 is being formed, the lower twine 42, coming from the twine roll 43, passes by way of the guide roller 44 through the needle 1 7 and under the bale 41 to the knot 45 which joins the lower twine 42 to the upper twine 46. The twine 46 passes over the top side of the bale and is positioned below the knotter 48 by the guide roller 47 and the twine guide lever 34, and is held in tension by a spring and twine brake means (not shown). As the bale increases in length, the length of twine required is made up simultaneously by supply from the twine rolls 43 and 49.When the set length of bale is reached, the rotating key clutch 7 is cut in by actuation of the lever 26 manually or automatically by way of the rod 21 and the locking lever 9', and, by the cam 4 bearing against the rotating key, the needle 1 7 is moved towards the knotter 48. Now on the other side of the machine, and by way of the compression rod 14 and the locking lever 9 which is pushed into the Fig. 2 position, the movement of the pivotal lever 1 5 cuts in the rotating key clutch means 8 for driving the knotter shaft 13, that is to say, as soon as the second cam 4 bears against the rotating key of the clutch means 8, a connection is made from the shaft 3 to the knotter shaft 1 3.

When this happens, the locking lever 9 is moved into the Fig. 2 position and is held in that position by the compression spring 11. In its upward movement, the needle 1 7 has inserted the lower and the upper twines 42 and 46 into the clamping means 50 of the knotter 48. Binding of the finished bale 41 is concluded with the knotting operation which proceeds in known manner (Fig. 2).

In its downward movement, the needle 1 7 again inserts both twines into the clamping means 50 so that, at the beginning of the second knotting operation, the upper twine 46 extends from the clamping means 50 to the twine guide lever 34 and the lower twine extends to the needle eye 51 (see Fig. 3). The needle 1 7 remains in its bottom dead centre position as the rotating key clutch means 7 for the needle drive is disengaged after one revolution, because, during the rotary movement of the disc 28, the pin 25 was urged out of the recess 27 of the cam disc 28 and thus the rod 21 pivoted the locking lever 9' back into the locking position. The cam disc 28 rotates once while the knotter shaft 1 3 rotates twice. The knotter shaft performs a second revolution as the locking lever 9 is still in the position shown in Fig. 2. In order to form the second knot, the twine guide lever 34, under the control of the guide channel 32, firstly pivots downwardly and lays both twines 42 and 46 on to the knotter hook 52.

After the knotting operation is concluded, the cam-controlled twine guide lever 34 and thus simultaneously therewith the arm 36 pivot back into the starting position. When this happens, the pawl lever 37 which had previously come to lie behind the pin 40, pulls the locking lever 9 into the position shown in Fig.

1, whereby the clutch means 8 is cut out. The knotting operation itself is known and for this reason does not need to be described in greater detail. For example, the Deering joining apparatus marketed by Rasspe Sohne of Solingen could be used here.

Claims (10)

1. Apparatus for joining two strands of material together, respectively upstream of bale to be formed and downstream of a bale which has been formed in the bale pressing chamber of a baler, the bale preferably comprising agricultural crop material, after it has been wrapped around by means of a knotter device and a binding needle, which is temporarily movable through the conveyor passage or pressing chamber in synchronism with respect to compacting tine or piston means which compress the material, wherein the drive shaft of the knotter device can also be driven in dependence on the drive of the compacting tine or piston means, the knotter needle and the knotter shaft being controllable by way of two clutch means which operate independently of each other.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the two clutch means are actuable in such a way that the knotter shaft rotates twice and the binding needle performs only a single stroke movement.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the knotter shaft is capable of driving a control disc which disengages the clutch means in mutually matched manner.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 which has the following features: a) a pin is secured to a lever which, upon pivotal movement about its axis releases a locking lever and cuts in a clutch means by way of a rod and b) by pivotal movement of said lever, the pin is moved in a recess in a control disc.

5. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 which has the following features: a) a clutch means is in the form of a rotating key clutch and is connected to a traction rod which is secured to a pivotal lever carrying the binding needle, and b) a compression rod is connected to the pivotal lever by means of which compression rod the locking lever for the clutch means which is in the form of a rotating key clutch is released during the upward movement of the binding needle.

6. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 which has the following features: a locking lever for a rotating key clutch is moved into the locking position by means of a pawl lever which is controlled by way of the pin.

7. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 which has the following feature: a pin is secured to a twine guide lever which is connected by way of the arm to the pawl lever.

8. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 which has the following feature: a pin runs in a guide channel which is formed from an outer and an inner ring fitted onto the control disc.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.

10. Baling apparatus in which a knotter needle and a knotter shaft are controllable by respective clutch means.