GB2257991A

GB2257991A - Bale opener

Info

Publication number: GB2257991A
Application number: GB9215503A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Josef Temburg
Original assignee: Truetzschler GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Truetzschler GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1991-07-22
Filing date: 1992-07-21
Publication date: 1993-01-27
Anticipated expiration: 2012-07-21
Also published as: ITMI921518A1; JPH05195326A; CH683528A5; IT1258118B; GB2257991B; ITMI921518A0; DE4127115A1; GB9215503D0

Description

225 7)l Bale 0Dener This invention relates to a bale opener, particularly

a travelling bale opener which is propelled back and forth along a series of fibre bales and which has a take-off device that detaches fibre flocks from the top 5 bale surfaces as the bale opener travels.

Typically, the opening device has at least one rapidly rotating opening or detaching roll supported horizontally in a downwardly open housing which is mounted on a tower and which, in cantilever fashion, projects horizontally laterally of the tower, in a direction transverse to the travelling (working) direction of the bale opener. As the height of the fibre bales is reduced during the fibre flock detaching operation, the cantilever housing, together with the opening device, is periodically moved downwardly with respect to the tower of the bale opener to maintain the opening roll (or opening rolls) in engagement with the bale surfaces.

The opening roll has a plurality of spikes or teeth (detaching elements) on its surface. The detaching elements form axially spaced groups; the detaching elements in each group are arranged circumferentially. Each group of detaching elements may be formed on the periphery of discs, axially spacedly secured to a core (hub) of the opening roll. Underneath the opening roll or opening rolls a grid may be positioned which is formed of a plurality of spaced grid bars oriented parallel to the direction of travel (working direction) of the bale opener. The grid bars which extend in the space between adjoining groups of detaching elements, engage the top fibre bale surfaces and thus stabilize the 5 fibre bales.

As the opening device is moved along the fibre bales and the detaching operation is in progress, in the upper bale surfaces side-by-side extending alternating furrows and ridges are formed, due to the spacing between the groups of detaching elements of the opening roll. Such ridges can be ablated only with difficulty, because the detaching elements do not reach the ridges formed of the compressed fibre material. Rather, the material which forms the ridges is torn out by being entrained by the fibre material engaged directly by the detaching elements. The ridges may be removed only gradually in several passes of the bale opener.

To provide for a more rapid elimination of the ridges and furrows during the detaching operation, it has been known to periodically shift the opening roll, relative to its supporting housing, in a horizontal direction, transversely to the working direction, to an extent which at least approximately equals one- half the axial centre-to-centre distance between adjoining groups of detaching elements. In the case where a grid is provided, the grid and the opening roll reciprocate as a unit. Such a construction is disclosed, for example, in United States Patent No. 4,281,437, issued August 4, 1981.

In the solution according to US Patent No. 4,281,437, a horizontal, transverse, axial mobility of the opening roll proper relative to its supporting housing has to be provided. Such arrangements are complex, particularly if, for example, several parallelarranged opening (detaching) rolls are provided.

In GB-A-2236121 a bale opener having bale support elements arranged in front of and behind an opening roll is described and the support elements are arranged so that they can be adjusted in opposite directions to one another towards and away from the bale. In Fig. 3 of GB-A-2236121 there is shown a bale opener having an opening roll mounted in a housing (referred to as an arm) with the bale opener and the housing displaceable horizontally in the direction towards and away from the tower.

It is an object of the invention to provide a bale opener including a take-off device, for example, an opening roll, that is movable by an improved arrangement in a horizontal direction transverse to the direction of travel of the bale opener.

According to the invention there is provided a bale opener for detaching fibre flocks from top faces of fibre bales, including a tower for travelling along a row of bales, a take-off device for taking fibre flocks from the top faces of the fibre bales, a housing which is open at the bottom and in which the take-off device is mounted, 4 an intermediate support mounted on the tower for vertical movement up and down the tower, the housing being slidably mounted on the intermediate support for horizontal movement in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the tower, and drive means for effecting the sliding movement of the housing relative to the tower.

The bale opener according to the invention enables the movement of the take-off device in a horizontal direction to be achieved in an especially simple manner, even though the take-off device is also able to move vertically relative to the tower. The take-off device can be shifted periodically in alternating directions to change the working path of take-off elements of the takeoff device as they pass through the bales to reduce or eliminate the formation of ridges on the top face of the bales.

Preferably, the drive means is arranged to provide a reciprocating movement of the housing, the reciprocating movement being of a predetermined stroke determined by the drive means. Providing an arrangement in which the stroke of the horizontal transverse movement of the take off device can be predetermined facilitates the obtaining of a constant and correct displacement of the take-off device.

Preferably the drive means comprises an eccentric drive and the limits of the reciprocating movement are determined by the eccentricity of the drive. The eccentric drive is preferably provided by a shaft which is arranged to rotate in only one direction and whose rotation is converted into a reciprocating movement of a drive member to which the housing is connected. The use of an eccentric drive provides an especially convenient way for converting rotary motion of a motor-driven shaft into reciprocating movement of the desired stroke.

The intermediate support preferably includes a horizontal beam extending from the tower, in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the tower and preferably the housing is supported on the horizontal beam and is slidable along the beam. The housing is preferably suspended from the beam. Such an arrangement provides an especially simple and satisfactory method of mounting the housing.

The bale opener may further comprise a grid sup- ported in the housing and extending below the take-off device for engaging top surfaces of the fibre bales; grid, the take-off device and the housing being movable as a unit by the drive means. The take-off device may have a plurality of fibre flock detaching teeth, the teeth being axially spaced from one another to define gaps therebetween, the grid being formed of spaced grid bars extending through the gaps between the teeth. The drive means may be arranged to displace the housing, the opening roll and the grate as a unit by an amount approximately equal to one-half of a centre-to-centre spacing between adjacent grid bars.

The take-off device preferably comprises an opening 6 roll mounted for rotation in the housing about a horizontal axis transverse to the direction of travel of the tower.

The take-off device may comprise first and second opening rolls mounted for rotation in the housing for rotation about respective horizontal axes transverse to the direction of travel of the tower.

The present invention further provides, in a bale opener for detaching tufts from top faces of fibre bales, including a tower for travelling along a fibre bale series in a direction of travel; a cantilever housing supported on, and projecting laterally from the tower; an opening roll supported for rotation in the cantilever housing and being oriented horizontally and transversely to the direction of travel; the improvement comprising displacing means for displacing said canti lever housing and said opening roll as a unit horiz ontally relative to said tower, in a direction transverse to the direction of travel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a motor is periodically energized to effect a transverse, horizontal shift of the housing, together with the opening roll and/or opening rolls and/or grates as a unit, relative to the tower. Such a motion is effected, for example, by a crank attached to the motor which, in each instance, is rotated through a predetermined angle, so that in consecutive operations the housing is alternately shifted back and forth.

By way of example an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a schematic front elevational view of a bale opener incorporating a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 Figure 3 is a partially sectional schematic side elevational view taken along line II-II of Figure 1, shown on an enlarged scale relative to Figure 1; and is a schematic fragmentary front elevational view of an opening roll and a grid of the bale opener, on an enlarged scale relative to Figure 1.

is Turning to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated therein a bale opener generally designated at 1 for removing fibre flocks from the top faces of a row of fibre bales 2 (only one is visible) as the bale opener travels therealong. The bale opener comprises a carriage 20 3 whose wheels 4 run on rails 5 secured to the ground. The direction of travel of the bale opener 1 is perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1.

A tower 6 which is mounted on the carriage 3 for travelling therewith as a unit, supports an open-bottomed 25 cantilever housing 7 by means of a beam assembly gener- - 8 ally designated at 8.

In the downwardly open cantilever housing 7, at its lower portion thereof, two opening or detaching rolls 9 are supported in a horizontal orientation perpendicular 5 to the direction of travel of the bale opener.

As the bale opener 1 travels on the rails 5 along the row of fibre bales 2, the opening rolls 9, rotated rapidly by a motor (not shown), detach fibre flocks from the upper bale surfaces and throw the fibre flocks into a suction hood 10 provided in the cantilever housing 7. A suction arrangement (not shown) generates an upwardly oriented air stream in the suction hood 10 for pneumatically removing the detached fibre flocks from the bale opener 1.

1 As the height of the fibre bales decreases by virtue of the fibre flock removal, the housing 7 has to be periodically lowered relative to the bale opener tower 6. The housing 7 is lowered by lowering the beam assembly 8 which is mounted for vertical movement relative to the tower 6 and can be raised and lowered by operation of a motor (not shown).

Turning to Figure 3, each opening roll 9 has a shaft 9b to which a plurality of axially spaced toothed discs 9c are secured. In each space defined between adjoining toothed discs 9c separate grid bars lla extend which together form a conventional grid 11 secured to the cantilever housing 7 in a manner not shown.

As a working pass of the bale opener 1 is in prog- ress, the axially spaced, circumferential tooth groups on discs 9c form furrows 2a in the fibre bales 2, alternating, as viewed transversely to the direction of travel, with ridges 2b formed between adjoining roll discs 9c.

Reverting to Figure 1, in order to remove the ridges 2b to thus equalize the top surface of the fibre bales as the detaching operation is in progress, the cantilever housing 7 is, in a controlled manner, displaceable periodically and alternatingly, in the directions A and B with respect to the tower 6, together with the opening rolls 9 and the grid 11 as a unit. The amount of each displacement preferably corresponds to one-half of the centre-to-centre distance a between two adjacent grid bars lla or to one-half of the centre-to-centre distance b between two adjacent roll discs 9c to thus ensure that ridges 2b which have been built up during a previous working pass or working passes will be ablated to thus equalize the top bale surfaces. A transverse horizontal displacement of the cantilever housing 7, together with the opening rolls 9 and the grid 11 may take place, for example, after each working pass or after a desired number of working passes.

The transverse horizontal displacement of the cantilever housing 7 may be effected by an eccentric drive assembly which includes an electric motor 12 mounted on a horizontal beam 13 forming part of the beam assembly 8 and mounted for vertical movement relative to the tower 6. The cantilever housing 7 is suspended from - 10 the horizontal beam 13 by means of vertical beams 14, 15 which also form part of the beam assembly 8 and which, at their upper ends, carry wheels 16 that are supported on a top running surface of the horizontal beam 13. The motor 12 drives a crank mechanism 17 which is connected to the movable assembly comprising the components 14, 15, 16. By means of an appropriate conventional control, triggered, for example, by non-illustrated limit switches energized at the end of a working pass, the motor 12 causes the crank mechanism 17 to rotate through a predetermined angle (preferably 180 to allow unidirectional rotation of the motor and facilitate the obtaining of the correct length of stroke) whereupon the cantilever hood 7 is displaced alternatingly in the one or the other direction A, B to an extent a.

Z

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A bale opener for detaching fibre flocks from top faces of fibre

bales, including a tower for travelling along a row of bales, a take-off device for taking fibre flocks from the top faces of the fibre bales, a housing which is open at the bottom and in which the take-off device is mounted, an intermediate support mounted on the tower for vertical movement up and down the tower, the housing being slidably mounted on the intermediate support for horizontal movement in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the tower, and drive means for effecting the sliding movement of the housing relative to the tower.
2. A bale opener according to claim 1, in which the drive means is arranged to provide a reciprocating movement of the housing, the reciprocating movement being of a predetermined stroke determined by the drive means.
3. A bale opener according to claim 2, in which the drive means comprising an eccentric drive and the limits of the reciprocating movement are determined by the eccentricity of the drive.
4. A bale opener according to claim 3, in which the eccentric drive is provided by a shaft which is arranged to rotate in only one direction and whose rotation is converted into a reciprocating movement of a drive member to which the housing is connected.
5. A bale opener according to any preceding claim, wherein the intermediate support includes a horizontal beam extending from the tower, in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the tower and the housing is supported on the horizontal beam and is slidable along the beam.
6. A bale opener according to claim 5, in which the housing is suspended from the beam.
7. A bale opener according to any preceding claim, further comprising a grid supported in the housing and extending below the take-off device for engaging top surfaces of the fibre bales; the grid, the take-off device and the housing being movable as a unit by the drive means.
8. A bale opener as claimed in claim 7, wherein the take-off device has a plurality of fibre flock detaching teeth, the teeth being axially spaced from one another to define gaps therebetween, the grid being formed of spaced grid bars extending through the gaps between the teeth.
9. A bale opener as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the drive means is arranged to displace the housing, the opening roll and the grid as a unit by an amount approximately equal to one-half of a centre-to-centre spacing between adjacent grid bars.
10. A bale opener as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the take-off device comprises an opening roll mounted for rotation in the housing about a horizontal axis transverse to the direction of travel of the tower.
11. A bale opener as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the take-off device comprises first and second 13 opening rolls mounted for rotation in the housing for rotation about respective horizontal axes transverse to the direction of travel of the tower.
12. In a bale opener for detaching fibre tufts from top faces of fibre bales, including a tower for travelling along a fibre bale series in a direction of travel; a cantilever housing supported on, and projecting laterally from the tower; an opening roll supported for rotation in the cantilever housing and being oriented horizontally and transversely to the direction of travel; the improvement comprising displacing means for displacing said cantilever housing and said opening roll as a unit horizontally relative to said tower, in a direction transverse to the direction of travel.
13. A bale opener as claimed in claim 12, wherein said displacing means comprises (a) mounting means for mounting said cantilever housing on said tower and for allowing a horizontal shifting motion of said cantilever housing relative to said tower in a direction transverse to the direction o travel; and (b) a motor operatively connected to said cantilever housing for effecting said shifting notion thereof.
14. A bale opener substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.