GB2056906A - Agricultural balers - Google Patents

Abstract

A baler for baling crop material, comprising a feed mechanism including two relatively slidable elongate support members (6, 10) carrying a plurality of depending feed fingers (7, 9, 18), a feed area (1) within which the feed fingers are movable, a bale chamber (2) communicating with one end of the feed area (1) and a bale plunger (25) reciprocable within the bale chamber, the two support members (6, 10) being constrained to move in respective continuous loop-like paths having upper and lower runs and during lower runs of which one of the support members (6) leads and the other (10) trails as the feed fingers (7, 9, 18) engage the crop material within the feed area (1) and transfer the crop material to the bale chamber, at least one of the feed fingers (18) being mounted on the trailing support member (10) to ensure that crop material disposed at the other end of the feed area (1) is moved towards the bale chamber, thereby preventing an accumulation of crop material at the other end of the feed area. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Agricultural balers This invention relates to agricultural balers for baling crop material. Known balers, for example of the form disclosed in British Patent Specification No. 1,258,491, have a crop feed mechanism including a plurality of feed fingers which move in a continuous loop-like path in a feed area to which crop material is delivered from the field. The feed fingers engage the crop material within the feed area and move the crop material to a bale chamber wherein the crop material is compacted into bales by a reciprocable bale plunger.

In such balers it has been found that the feed fingers do not adequately clear crop material from the lower corner of the end of the feed area remote from the bale chamber, causing an accumulation of crop material in this corner of the feed area which ultimately results in an uneven feeding to the bale chamber. Build up of crop material in this corner of the feed area is unsatisfactory and it has been proposed to solve this problem by shielding off this corner of the feed area with a metal panel. The invention aims to solve this problem in a different manner and without reducing the volume of the feed area.

According to the invention a baler for baling crop material comprises a feed mechanism including two relatively slidable elongate support members carrying a plurality of depending feed fingers, a feed area within which the feed fingers are movable, a bale chamber communicating with one end of the feed area and a bale plunger reciprocable within the bale chamber, the two support members being constrained to move in respective continuous loop-like paths having upper and lower runs and during lower runs of which one of the support members leads and the other trails as the feed fingers engage the crop material within the feed area and transfer the crop material to the bale chamber, at least one of the feed fingers being mounted on the trailing support member to ensure that crop material disposed at the other end of the feed area is moved towards the bale chamber, thereby preventing an accummulation of crop material at the other end of the feed area.

Hence, the invention solves the problem set out above by providing one or more feed fingers on the support member which trails the other support member during the lower runs of the feed fingers when the latter move the crop material to the bale chamber.

The continuous loop-like paths in which the two support members move preferably lie in a substantially vertical plane. The feed fingers or fingers mounted on the trailing support member are preferably attached to the latter at the trailing end thereof and the trailing end of the trailing support member is preferably constrained to move in a circular path, conveniently by being connected to a crank arm, whilst the leading support member is constrained to move in an elongated continuous loop-like path.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic rear elevation of a prior art crop baler and is based on Fig. 7 of the aforesaid British Patent Specification No.

1,258,491.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic rear elevation of a baler embodying the present invention, and Figure 3 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 2.

In the following description right-hand, lefthand, forward, and rearward references are determined by standing at the rear of the crop baler and facing in the direction of operative travel.

The disadvantage of known crop balers referred to above is illustrated in Fig. 1 for a better understanding of the aspects of the invention.

Referring to the prior art arrangement of Fig. 1, the feed area is indicated at 1 and the bale chamber at 2. The feed mechanism for moving the crop material from the feed area 1 to the bale chamber 2 comprises two rotatable sprockets 3 and 4 around both of which passes a chain S a link of which is attached to a leading end of a first elongated support member 6 carrying three depending fingers 7, 8 and 9.The support member 6 is tubular and the trailing end thereof (considering the member 6 moving from right to left during an operative stroke) telescopically receives the leading end of a second elongated support member 10, the trailing end of which is pivotally connected to the radially outer end of a rotatable crank arm 1 2. The sprocket 3 receives motive power from the pulling tractor (not shown) via a number of intermediate transmissions and drives the sprocket 4 through the chain 5.A transfer drive in the form of further sprockets 23, 24 mounted respectively on the spindle 11 and coaxially with the sprocket 4, and a further chain 1 5 links the sprocket 4 and the spindle 11 carrying the crank arm 1 2. When the sprockets 3 and 4 and the crank arm 1 2 rotate in the directions of the arrows shown in Fig. 1, the support members 6 and 10 undergo movement around a continuous loop-like path in a vertical plane, the member 10 sliding within the member 6. On the lower run of the looplike path, the fingers 7, 8 and 9 move from right to left during an operative stroke, engaging crop material within the feed area 1 and delivering crop material to the bale chamber 2, where a reciprocable baler plunger 25 is provided to compact the crop material into bales.

The locus of movement of the extremity of the finger 9 as the latter makes it operative stroke is shown by the line 13, and it will be seen that crop material lying within the volume bonded by this line 1 3 and the corner of the feed area 1 is not engaged by this feed finger, causing an accumulation of crop material in said corner. This ultimately results in an uneven feeding to the bale chamber.

Reference will now be made to Figs. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings which show a baler according to the invention. Parts similar to those of Fig. 1 have been given the same reference numerals. It will be noted that the leading support member 6 carries a leading pair of feed fingers 7 and a trailing pair of feed fingers 9, the two fingers of each pair being laterally spaced in a direction perpendicular to the vertical plane occupied by the continuous loop-like paths described by the support members 6 and 10 during operation.

Relative sliding movement of the trailing support member 10 within the leading tubular support member 6 is facilitated by bearings 1 6 shown towards the right-hand side of Figs.

2 and 3. At the left-hand side of Figs. 2 and 3 is shown the drive to the sprocket 3, this drive including a gearbox 1 7 the output shaft of which is coupled to the sprocket 3.

In accordance with the invention, the trailing end of the trailing support member 10 has fixed thereto a pair of laterally spaced feed fingers 1 8 which project substantially vertically downwardly of the support member 10 shown in Fig. 2. The trailing end of the trailing support member 10 is pivotally connected to the radially outer end of the crank arm 1 2 which is cranked in plan view (Fig. 3) in order to provide clearance for the bearings 1 6 as the latter move past the crank arm 1 2 during movement of the support members 6 and 10 in their continuous loop-like path.

Hence, at the commencement of the lower run of the feed fingers, the extremities of the trailing pair of feed fingers 1 8 describe a curved path which is indicated at 1 9 in Fig. 2 and which ensures that crop material does not remain lodged in the corner of the feed area 1 remote from the bale chamber 2. This clearance of crop material is ensured by the steep angle of descent of the fingers 1 8 at the commencement of the lower run of the fingers 7, 9 and 18 on the one hand and by the fact that the fingers 1 8 are positioned further to the right than the fingers 9 of the prior art structure of Fig. 1 on the other hand.

The upper ends of the pair of fingers 1 8 are connected to a boss 20 formed at the trailing end of the member 10, the boss 20 forming a pivot bearing for the radially outer end of the arm 1 2. Each finger 1 8 may comprise an upper portion and a lower portion rigidly interconnected by bolts, as indicated at 22 in Fig. 2.

It will be noted that the lower ends of the feed fingers 1 8 are constrained to move in a circular path 1 9 whilst the lower ends of the remaining feed fingers 7 and 9 are constrained to move in elongate continuous looplike paths, a portion of one of which is shown at 1 3. It will further also be noted that the various paths 1 3 and 1 8 partially overlap each other whereby, in operation adjacent feed fingers 7, 9 and 1 8 take over crop material from one another in a manner such that crop material is moved step by step from the outboard end of the feed area towards the inboard end thereof and is ultimately moved into the bale chamber 2 by the leading fingers 7.

Claims (8)

1. A baler for baling crop material comprising a feed mechanism including two relatively slidable elongate support members carrying a plurality of depending feed fingers, a feed area within which the feed fingers are movable, a bale chamber communicating with one end of the feed area and a bale plunger reciprocable within the bale chamber, the two support members being constrained to move in respective continuous loop-like paths having upper and lower runs and during lower runs of which one of the support members leads and the other trails as the feed fingers engage the crop material within the feed area and transfer the crop material to the bale chamber, at least one of the feed fingers being mounted on the trailing support member to ensure that crop material disposed at the other end of the feed area is moved towards the bale chamber, thereby preventing an accumulation of crop material at the other end of the feed area.

2. A baler according to claim 1, wherein said at least one feed finger is mounted on the trailing end of the trailing support member.

3. A baler according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said trailing end of the trailing support member is constrained to move in a circular path.

4. A baler according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the continuous loop-like paths in which the two support members move lie in a substantially vertical plane.

5. A baler according to claim 4, wherein said at least one feed finger is one of two such fingers which are spaced in a lateral direction perpendicular to said substantially vertical plane.

6. A baler according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the leading support member is constrained to move in an elongate continuous loop-like path.

7. A baler according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the paths of the extremity of the at least one feed finger on the trailing support member and the extremity of the adjacent feed finger on the leading support member at least partially overlap each other.

8. A baler constructed and arranged substantially as herein particularly described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.