GB2187415A - Machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine for forming large cylindrical bales of hay has a baling chamber (24) which is defined by a half cylindrical array of fixed-position rolls (60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72), and by belts (48) which are movable outwardly to accommodate a bale (92) as it grows in size. On each side of the baler the belts (48) are trained over a belt take-up roll (44) on a pivotted arm (54) which is loaded by a piston and cylinder unit (58) to maintain belt tension. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop This invention relates to a baling machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop.

Machines, towed by a tractor, for forming large cylindrical bales of hay (so called "round balers") are well known. As the machine advances, the crop is removed from a windrow by a pick-up mechanism and delivered rearwardlyto a baling chamberwhere it is rolled into a bale.

There are basically two forms of such machines, namely those with a fixed volume baling chamber defined by driven fixed-position rolls and those with a baling chamber defined by runs of driven belts which move outwardlyto enlarge the chamberto accommodate the bale as it grows in size. In both forms the hay is caused by the driven movement of the rolls or belts to roll round upon itself into a core and the core rotates about its horizontal axis and finally a completed bale is formed, the chamber being fed throughout with hay. The completed bale is tied with twine to maintain its shape and is discharged through a gate formed by a rear portion of the machine. A machine with fixed-position rolls, i.e. with a constant volume baling chamber, will produce a bale with a "soft" core and dense outer layers whilst one with movable-position belts, i.e.

with a variable volume baling chamber, will make a uniformly dense bale.

A machine has been proposed in GB-A-2 128542 in which the forward part of the baling chamber is defined byfixed-position driven rolls and the rear part by a plurality offixed-position conveyors having free (i.e. non-driven) belts. The baling chamber of such a machine is of constant volume.

Both forms of balers have certain drawbacks.

Those machines ofwhich the baling chamber is of constant volume clearly cannot be used to produce bales of different sizes as can the variable chamber balers. On the other hand, it is not simple in a variablevolumechambertowrapthebalewith net or sheet material, rather than twine, as is now often favoured. Furthermore, although it is possible when required to adapt a variable volume baler to produce a soft core bale additional equipment is usually needed to achieve this. A soft core bale is sometimes desirable in order to avoid loss of quality in some conditions when the crop is prone to be overpressed.

The present invention provides a baling machine which can produce soft core bales of different sizes in a variable volume chamber and which can be equipped very simply with apparatusforwrapping the bale with sheet or net.

According to the present invention a baling machineforforming cylindrical bales of crop has a baling chamber defined bya driven beltorbeltsand fixed-position rolls, the belt or belts being arranged to move outward ly to accommodate a bale as it grows in size.

Desirably the rolls too are driven.

Preferably the belt or belts are disposed so that at start of baling they have a runwhich limits the baling chamber and which is vertical or extends upwardly and forwardly. Desirably the run can be at an angle up to 40" to the vertical, for example upto 10 .

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the right hand side, considered when facing in the direction of travel, of a machine forforming large cylindrical bales of hay in its condition atthe start of baling; Figure 2 shows the machine of Figure 1 at an intermediate stage in bale formation; and Figure 3 shows the machine of Figure 1 at the completion of baling.

In the drawings, the baler includes a main frame 10 mounted on a pair of wheels of which onlythe right hand wheel 12 is shown. The main frame has an uprightfore-and-aft extending wall 14 on either side connected by transverse beams (not shown). A draft tongue 16 is connected to a transverse beam at the frontoftheframe l0andextendsforwardlyfor attaching the baler to a tractor (also not shown) which draws the machine. The rear half of the baler is in the form of a gate 18 swingable upwardly and rearwardly,from its position in Figure 1 atthestartof baling, about a gate pivot shaft 20 at the top ofthe baler. Hay lying in a windrow 22 is fed to a baling chamber 24 th rough its lateral throat 26 at the middle portion of the underside of the machine by a pick-up 28.As described thusfarthe machine is conventional.

A plurality of lateral belt-rolls extends over the width of the machine. Of these, rolls 30,32,34 are mounted on the gate 18, rolls 36,38 on the sidewalls 14, roll 40On atop arm42, and roll 44On a belt take-up and tensioning mechanism 46 at either side of the baler. The roll 38 is connected to a drive (not shown).

Six rubber belts 48 aretrained side-by-side over the rolls (with the initial exception of the roll 36) and move in an anti-clockwise direction as indicated by arrow 50. Arm 52 of the belts 48 between the rolls 34 and 38 (in Figure 1) provides the rear wall ofthe baling chamber 24, and the run is inclined upwardly and forwardly atan angle of 3 to the vertical.

Tension in the belts is maintained by the mechanisms 46 each of which comprises an upwardly extending idler arm 54 swingable about a pivot shaft 56 in its lower portion and pivotally connected at its lower end to the cylinder of a piston and cylinder unit 58 which in turn is pivotally connected at its piston end to the gate 18. The roll 44 is mounted between the upper ends of the two idler arms 54.

The forward wall of the baling chamber 24 is formed by an upstanding substantially half-cylindrical array of fixed-position rolls 60,62,64, 66,68,70 and 72, the lowest roll ofwhich, the roll 60, being of somewhat smaller diameter than the other rolls. The fixed-position rolls are all driven in a clockwise direction.

A net-wrapping apparatus 74 is disposed atthe front of the baler. It has a trough 76, across the width of the front of the machine, which contains a roll 78 of net (or sheet) which passes upwardly initially and then over a forward roll of a pair of side-by-sidefeed rolls 80,82 into the nip between the feed rolls.

Thence the net passes downwardly between a knife 84and its associated abutment 86 to a guide plate 88 which leads the net between the fixed-position rolls 66,68, the roll 68 having an arcuate shield 90 on its underside.

In operation, when hay laying in the windrow 22 is conveyed to the baling chamber by the pick-up 28, theoppositelymoving belt run 52 andthe fixed-position rol Is cause the crop to turn clockwise upon itself (as viewed in Figure 1)so that it becomes wound up into a cylindrical soft bale core 92 of increasing size which eventually overcomes the tension in the belts thereupon causing the idler arm 54to swing anti-clockwise (Figure 2) againstthe loading provided by the piston and cylinder unit 58, and the belts 48 contact the roll 36. The bale continues to grow in size until the position ofthe idler arm 54 shown in Figure 3 is reached.When the density of the outer layers of the bale is sufficiently high the pick-up 28 is stopped and the completed bale is wrapped with net, the tractor being stationary. The net is advanced by the feed rolls 80, 82 over the guide plate 88 and into the baling chamber 24. The bale at this time is still being turned by the belts 48 and the fixed-position rolls, and is caused to complete almost a furtherturn when the knife 84 is operated to severthe net, and the free end thereoffinally passes into the chamber overlying the initial wrap of netting.

With the bale now secured by the net the drive to the belts 48 and fixed-position rolls is cut, the gate 18 is opened using the two piston and cylinder units 58 (on either side of the machine), and the bale is deposited on the ground. The gate 18 is closed and thetractorthen resumes its course along the windrowwith the pick-up 28 once more in operation.

Claims (11)

1. A baling machine forforming cylindrical bales of crop having a baling chamber defined by a driven belt or belts and fixed-position rolls, the belt or belts being arranged to move outwardly to accommodate a bale as it grows in size.

2. A baling machine according to claim 1 in which the rolls are driven.

3. A baling machine according to claim 1 or2 in which the belt or belts are disposed so that at start of baling they have a run which limits the baling chamber and which is vertical or extends upwardly and forwardly.

4. A baling machine according to any preceding claim in which the run is at an angle upto 40" to the vertical.

5. A baling machine according to claim 4 in which the angle is up to 10 .

6. A baling machine according to claim 5 in which the angle is 3 .

7. A baling machine according to any preceding claim in which the rolls are disposed in an array of substantially a halfcylinder.

8. A baling machine according to any preceding claim including a belt tensioning mechanism comprising an arm pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, a belt take-up roll over which the said belt or belts are trained mounted on the arm at one side of the pivot and an arm loading device connected to the other side ofthe pivot.

9. A baling machine according to claim 8 in which the fixed rolls are mounted on a front portion of the machine, the machine includes a rear swingable gate for a completed bale, and the loading device forthe arm comprises a piston and cylinder unit pivotally connected between the arm and gate.

10. A baling machine according to any preceding claim including a net-wrapping apparatus comprising atrough container for receiving a roll of sheet or net, a pair of sheet or net feed rolls, a knife mechanism for shearing the sheet or net downstream ofthefeed rolls, and a guide plate for the sheet or net between the knife mechanism and a neighbouring pairofthefixed-position rolls.

11. A baling machine substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.