US3541948A

US3541948A - Cotton compress strapping system

Info

Publication number: US3541948A
Application number: US755886A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo Peter Sauer; Frank J Lindholm
Original assignee: Signode Corp
Current assignee: Signode Corp
Priority date: 1968-08-28
Filing date: 1968-08-28
Publication date: 1970-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 1987-11-24

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventors Leo Peter Sauer Glenview; Frank J. Lindholm, Park Ridge, Illinois [21] Appl. No. 755,886 [22] Filed Aug. 28, 1968 [45] Patented Nov. 24, 1970 [7 3] Assignee Signode Corporation a corporation of Delaware [54] COTTON COMPRESS STRAPPING SYSTEM 20 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs. 1

[52] U.S. Cl 100/3, 100/7, 100/25, 100/215, 100/218, 100/295 [51] Int. Cl B65b 13/20 [50] Field of Search 100/2, 3, 7, 25, 215, 218, 295

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,664,813 1/1954 Rose 100/25 Primary Exam iner-Billy J. Wilhite Att0rney-Dressler, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon ABSTRACT: A method and apparatus wherein a bale or like object is reduced in size in a press, and is allowed to partially expand into a holding means on a carrier assembly. The holding means removes the partially expanded object from the press, and mechanically transports it to a strapping station wherein loops of strapping are wound around the partially expanded object. The holding means then releases the object to allow it to expand further into snug engagement with the encircling straps. The strapped object is then removed from the strapping station and the carrier structure moves the holding means back to the press for reception ofa further object.

Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,541,948

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Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet 2 of4 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,541,948

Sheet 3 of 4 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,541,948

{in Mm Wy large output, on the ore order of pressing and strapping 1 COTTON COMPRESS STRAPPING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates'in general to the cotton baling art, and more particularly to a bale transfer and strapping structure useable in combination with a compress for reducing the size of a bale from a cotton gin.

In the past, it has been well known to use large steam operated pressing devices for compressing bales from a cotton gin to make standard density or high density bales to facilitate further handling and to reduce shipping costs. Bales from a cotton gin are approximately 50 inches high, and in known pressing devices, such bales are compressed to a height of approximately lOinches.

Prior art compressing devices have conventionally included movable door structures that enclose the bed area of the press, and the door structure is movable to a clearance position to allow a bale to be loaded into the press. When a bale is-in place the door structure is closed, and the press platens are moved relative to one another to reduce the size of the halo. After the bale has opened. and strapping is manually fed around the bale, with the strap ends being connected to one another with a buckle.

Prior art arrangements have been able to obtain a relatively lO-l20 bales per hour, but to obtain such a production rate, it has been necessary to employ a large numberof workers for not only applying strapping to the compressed'bales, but also to insert the bales into the press, remove the strapped bale therefrom, and actuate the press itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an arrangement that materially reduces the manpower requirements for a bale comdevice, while allowing the production rate of such a device to be substantially increased. To achieve this, the present invention provides a novel method and apparatus wherein compressed bales are mechanically removed from the compressing device and mechanically transported to a strapping station by a bale pickup and transporting device, with strap loops being automatically applied to the compressed bale at the strapping station. The bale pickup and transporting device then releases the bale and returns to the bale compressing device, while the strapped bale is moved from the strapping station.

It will be appreciated that the arrangement of the present invention allows the output of the bale compressing device to be significantly increased, in that an additional bale can be loaded in the device as soon as the pickup and transfer device moves away therefrom, whereas in the past the compressed bale remained in the press while it was strapped. By mechanically moving the compressed bale from the pressing device to the strapping station, the manpower needed. for this task is eliminated, and the automatic strap looping and sealing further minimizes the manpower requirement. The automatic strapping feature also contributes to the increase of press working time since it isless time consuming than the prior art manual method. In an exemplary form of the invention, the production rate for a conventional steam operated compress has been increased from approximately l00l20 bales per hour to 170- I90 bales per hour.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a strap feeding and sealing head, such as that illustrated in the pending application Ser. No. 664,338 of Sauer et al., filed Aug. 30, I967; and entitled Articulated Strapping Apparatus, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,512 on May 13, 1969, is positioned in line with a conventional steam operated bale compress, with the strap feeding and sealing head being positioned in general horizontalalignment with the bed area of the compress. Bale transfer means extends between the compress and the strapping head, and takes the form of a carriage assembly including bale pickup and holding means that is movable in a vertical plane between the compressing and the strapping stations.

' LII been compressed, the press doors are I The bale pickup and holding structure is formed by a plurality of laterally spaced upper and lower forks that are adapted to enter the compress between the platens to receive the compressed bale therebetween. The forks are retained in a fixed spatial relationship with respect to one another, so that when the lower compress platen is moved downwardly, the compressed bale is free to partially expand into transportable association with the forks. The fork assembly is free to move relative to the carrier assembly against the bias of a compres sion spring, so that when the lower platen is moved downwardly, the fork assembly will move to a position wherein the upper forks are clear of the upper compress platen.

The bale transfer structure includes guide means in the form of a curved cam trackway, and cam follower means on the carrier assembly travels along the trackway for controlling movement of the halo pickup and holding means during movement of the carrier assembly between the compress and the strapping station. The curved cam trackway is shaped so as to invert the carrier assembly during movement between the compress and the strapping station, so that the partially expanded bale will be presented to the strapping head facing oppositely to the direction it faced in the press.

After a plurality of strap loops have been completed around the bale at the strapping station, return travel of the carrier assembly toward the compress is initiated. Suitable release structure is then actuated for allowing the upper and lower forks to move relative to one another to release the bale. The released bale then expands into snug engagement with the encircling straps, while the carrier assembly continues its movement toward the compress. Suitable reset means is provided for returning the upper and lower forks into their predetermined spatial relationship for accepting a further bale that has been placed in the press.

Other features and objects of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the annexed drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG; I is a perspective view illustrating a preferred embodi ment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 1-

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the carrier assembly; and

FIGS. 6-l2 are diagrammatic side elevational views of the carrier assembly of the present invention and illustrating the steps by which the method of the present invention is performed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION or THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, thereis shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a conventional bale compressing device is indicated in its entirety at 20 in FIG. 1, and as illustrated therein, the compressing device includes an upper platen 21 and alower platen 22. As is well known,

platens

21 and 22 are steam powered for movement relative to one another to compress a bale therebetween, as for example from approximately a 50 inch height to approximately a 10 inch height. Upper platen 21 includes a plurality of downwardly opening longitudinally extending slots 23, while lower platen 22 includes a plurality of upwardly opening longitudinally extending slots 24.

Slots

23 and 24 have sufficient width and height to accept the fork members on the carrier assembly to be hereafter described. As is well known, a closure door 25 is movable from a storage position beneath a movable floor section 26 to facilitate loading and unloading of bales from between the

compress platens

21 and 22, to a position closing the bed area of the press during the bale compressing step.

The strapping head is indicated in its entirety at 30, and the strapping head 30 is carried upon a suitable frame 31 which supports the strapping head in horizontal alignment with the bed area of the compress 20, as can be best seen in FIG. 2. The strap feeding and sealing structure at the sealing head 30 is disclosed in detail in the above-mentioned Sauer ct al. application, and the disclosure of this application is hereby incorporated in its entirety in the present application. so that reference may be made to this application for details not specifically described herein. While the above-mentioned Sauer et al. application discloses strap feeding, guiding and sealing means in combination with the baling box of a baling press, it will become evident from the ensuing description that a baling press is not provided at the sealing station in the present invention, so that the disclosure of the above-mentioned Sauer et al. application is incorporated by reference in the present application only to the extent that it is not inconsistent with the teachings herein.

A plurality of strap feeding and sealing mechanisms 32 are provided at the sealing station, and six such mechanisms are provided in the illustrated embodiment. As is explained in the above-mentioned Sauer et al. application, the mechanisms 32 include sealer units of the general type shown in Leslie et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,707,429, with each sealer unit being powered by a two stage hydraulic cylinder device 33. The sealer units each include jaw mechanisms (not shown) of conventional type for guiding and gripping the free end of the strap and finally forming and notching a seal. A strap dispenser 34 is associated with each feeding and sealing mechanism 32, and strap 35 from each dispenser 34 is trained around a plurality of guide pulleys 36, with the strap then being directed around the bale at the strapping station by a guide surface 37a in guide chute means 37, as is well known.

The guide chute means 37 at the sealing station in the present invention differs from prior art arrangements, as typified by that described in the above-mentioned Sauer ct al. application, in that the guide chutes 37 of the present invention are open at the left-hand side (as viewed in FIGS. 9 and 10) so that the guide chutes at the sealing station direct the strap around the top, bottom and right-hand side of the bale. The guide chute means for controlling movement of the strap around the bale is completed by guide chute structure carried by the bale transporting structure, as will hereinafter appear.

As is also explained in the above-mentioned Sauer et al. application, the feeding and sealing mechanisms 32 are actuated by a common shaft that is hydraulically driven, and a suitable hydraulic power unit 40 is provided for this purpose. An electrical control panel 41 is provided adjacent power unit 40 to define an operator station, wherein a single individual controls actuation of the strapping and feeding mechanisms 32, as well as operation of the bale transfer mechanism to be hereafter described. The transport assembly is powered by sprockets 43 at opposite ends of a transversely extending shaft 42 which is rotatably mounted on frame 31. A hydraulic motor 44 is powered by drive unit 40 for rotating shaft 42 and sprockets 43.

The transport assembly for moving a bale from compress 20 to the strapping head 30 includes a carrier assembly 49 that is movable between a pair of laterally extending, horizontallydisposed guide tracks 50 and '51. The left-hand end of tracks 50 and 51 (as viewed in FIGS. 1-3) are secured to the compress 20 in the bed area thereof, while the right-hand end of the guide tracks 50 and 51 are secured to the frame structure 31 at the sealing station. Members 50 and 51 are mirror images of one another, and each include guide means on the inner face thereof for controlling movement of the carrier assembly 49 between the compress 20 and the strapping head 30. More particularly, each of members 50 and 51 include a horizontally disposed track 52 extending from end to end thereof for receiving follower means on carrier assembly 49 to be hereafter described. Members 50 and 51 further include cam tracks 53 which have horizontally disposed portions adjacent to the compress 20 and the strapping head 30, and which have downwardly curving portions adjacent the center thereof. As will become evident from the following description of the carrier assembly 49, cam tracks 53 serve to invert the carrier assembly v49 during movement between the compress 20 and the settling head 30, so that a bale is removed from the compress 20 with the carrier assembly 49 facing in one direction, with the bale being inserted in the strapping head 30 with the carrier assembly 49 facing in an opposite direction.

The carrier assembly 49 will be best understood from FIG. 5, and as illustrated therein, the carrier assembly includes a plurality of laterally spaced forks 60 secured to a frame member 61, and a plurality of laterally spaced forks 62 secured to a further frame member 63, with the forks 62 being normally retained in generally parallel relationship with respect to forks 60 by locking means to be hereafter described. Respective stub shafts 64 and 65 extend laterally outwardly from the left-hand end of

forks

60 and 62, as viewed in FIG. 5, at opposite sides of the carrier assembly 49, and shafts 64 and 65 are pivotally mounted in

suitable bearing structures

66 and 67, respectively, in carrier links 68 at opposite sides of the carrier assembly. As is evident from FIG. 5, carrier links 68 are generally T-shaped members, with bearing

structures

66 and 67 being provided adjacent opposite ends of the cross portion of the carrier links. The carrier assembly 49 includes a transversely extending frame member 69 that is secured between carrier links 68, and a counterbalance spring 70 is biased between frame member 63 and cross member 69 for purpose to hereafter appear.

The means for moving the carrier assembly 49 between the compress 20 and the sealing head 30 includes a traveler plate 72 at each side of the carrier assembly, with each traveler plate having a pair of spaced rollers 73 thereon that ride upon the above-mentioned track surface 52. Chain 74 adjacent guide members 50 and 51 are trained about sprockets 43 at the strapping station and about further horizontally aligned sprockets at the compress 20. The opposite ends 740 and 74b of each chain 74 is secured to a traveler plate 72, as by having end links 75 pass through bosses 76 on plate 72, with nuts 77 being threaded on links 75 to secure them to plate 72.

Each traveler plate 72 includes an inwardly extending pivot pin 78 that extends into an outwardly facing boss 79 on a carrier link 68 to pivotally mount the carrier assembly 49 relative to the traveler plate 72. A cam follower roller 80 extends laterally outwardly from each carrier link 68, and the cam fol lower rollers 80 ride upon the curved guide tracks 53 for controlling movement of the carrier assembly 49 between the compress 20 and the sealing head 30. As is evident from FIG. 2, when the carrier assembly 49 moves from the position adjacent'the compress 20 toward the position adjacent the sealing head 30, the movement of the cam follower rollers 80 along the left-hand portion of the curved cam track 53 will gradually elevate the

forks

60 and 62, and the carrier assembly 49 will be inverted as the cam follower rollers 80 pass over the midportion of the cam track 53 and move over the right-hand portion of the cam track. As is evident from FIG. 2, cam follower rollers 80 are offset slightly from a line through main traveler rollers 73, and the spacing of the

rollers

73 and 80 is correlated with the spacing between the guide track 52 and cam track 53 to dispose the carrier assembly 49 with the

forks

60 and 62. slightly inclined as they move into the compress 20.

The spacing between the

rollers

73 and 80, and the spacing between the guide track 52 and cam track 53 is correlated adjacent the sealing head 30 in a manner such that the

forks

60 and 62 enter the sealing head in a horizontal disposition.

A plurality of guide chute sections 82, one for each guide chute 37, is secured to the carrier assembly 49, as by having the guide chute section 82 secured to cross member 69. Each guide chute section 82 has a curved guide member 83 therein, and when the carrier assembly 49 is adjacent the sealing head 30, as is illustrated at the right-hand side of FIG. 2 and in FIG. 9, the guide surfaces 83 cooperate with the guide surfaces 37a on the chute means associated with the sealing head to complete a strap guiding path for each strap 35.

The carrier assembly 49 further includes locking means for releasably retaining the

forks

60 and 62 in a preselected size relationship with respect to one another. which size relationship is slightly larger than the compressed size of the bale. The locking means is indicated generally at 90 in FIG. 5, it being understood that a generally identical locking means is provided at each side of'the carrier assembly 49. Each locking means 90 includes a connecting link 91 having one end pivotally connected at 92 to an outermost fork 60, and a similar connecting link 93 has one end pivotally connected at 94 to the outermost fork 62. The lower end of link 91, as viewed in FIG. 5, is pivotally connected at 95 to the lower end ofa release lever 96, and the upper end oflink 93, as viewed in FIG. 5, is pivotally connected at 97 to the upper end of release lever 96.

Actuating link means is provided for moving the release lever 96 to an over center position wherein the pivot 97 is disposed to one side of a line through pivot 92, 95 and 94, so that the release lever 96 functions as a locking link. Herein, the actuating link means takes the form of a four bar parallel linkage means, including spaced parallel links 98 and 99 pivotally connected at one end to the pivot 97 and 95, respectively, at opposite ends of lever96, with the opposite ends of links 98 and 99 being connected at pivots 100 and 101, respectively, to the opposite ends of an upright actuating link 102.

Pivot 101 is defined by a transversely extending shaft 103 that is journaled in a bearing 103a in carrier link 68. A spring 105 is connected between link 102 and a fixed spring seat on the carrier assembly 49 for biasing the link 102 in a clockwise direction. as viewed in FIG. 5, against a stop 106 fixed on the carrier assembly 49. Spring 105 releasably biases the locking link 96 to the over center position, and with the link 96 in the over

center position forks

60 and 62 cannot move apart relative to one another.

The release means 109 includes a trip dog 110 that is connected to a shaft 111 which is pivotally mounted on the track structure adjacent the sealing head 30. A spring 112 biases the trip dog 110 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed. in FIG. 5, against a fixed stop 113 and trip dog 110 is positioned in the plane of a release dog 114 that is fixed to the shaft 102.

Thus, as the carrier assembly 49 moves toward the sealing head 30, release dog 114 moves into engagement with trip dog 110, but the engagement of stop 106 with link 102 prevents the shaft 103 from rotating. Accordingly, release dog 114 pivots trip dog 110 against the bias of spring 112, and the spring 112 returns the trip dog against stop 113 after the release dog 114 moves past the trip dog.

When the carrier assembly 49 begins its movement toward the compress 20 after the strapping of the bale is completed,

the engagement of release dog 114 with trip dog 110 will pivot,

the shaft 103 and link 102 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5, against the bias of spring 105 to move the locking link 96 over center, thus freeing

forks

60 and 62 for movement away from one another. As shaft 103 continues to pivot, the four bar linkage means defined by links 96, 98, 99 and 102 begins to flatten, and pivots 95 and 97 at the opposite ends of link 96 move toward the horizontal to move links 91 and 93 away from one another. This latter movement causes the

forks

60 and 62 to pivot about their respective pivots 64 and 65 to release the bale, as is illustrated in FIG. 10. A suitably shaped reset cam 115 is associated with the track structure 50 adjacent the sealing head 30, and is engageable with the fork structure 62 to push the same upwardly toward fork structure 60 to again move the locking link 96 over center to retain the

forks

60 and 62 in spaced parallel relationship as they enter the compress 20.

OPERATION The method of the present invention, and the operation of the structure, will be best understood from FIGS. 612.

A cotton bale B with the strap previously removed is placed in the compress 20.-and the doors 25 are then closed. The bale B is then compressed by effecting relative movement between

platens

22 and 23, and in an exemplary embodiment, the bale B is compressed from approximately a 50 inch height to approximately a l0 inch height. Whenthe bale is reduced to the desired size, the doors 25 are opened.

The operator then pushes a suitable button associated with control panel 41 to energize an electrical circuit for actuating the power unit 40 on hydraulic motor 44 to rotate shaft 42 and sprockets 43 and thereby drive transfer plates 72 and carrier assembly 49 via chains 74. As the carrier assembly 49 approaches the compress 20, the

forks

60 and 62 enter the

slots

23 and 24, respectively, in the

platens

21 and 22. it being un derstood that the'slots 23 and 24, while being narrow, have sufficient clearance to allow the forks to pass thereinto. As is evident from FIG. 6, the

forks

60 and 62 enter the bed area of the compress 20 at a slight uptilt because of the space relationship between

rollers

73 and 80, and track

portions

52 and 53.

The

forks

60 and 62 are retained in spaced parallel relationship with respect to one another at a distance slightly in excess ofthe compressed dimension ofthe bale B, and in an exemplary embodiment of the invention,

forks

60 and 62 are spaced from one another by approximately 14 inches. The operator of the compress 20 then drops the lower platen 22, and the bale B partially expands into engagement with

forks

60 and 62 as is illustrated at B in FIG. 7. The weight of the bale causes the

forks

60 and 62 to pivot slightly about pivot axis 78 against the bias of counterbalance spring 70, it being understood that the force of spring 70 is related to the weight ofa bale in a manner such that the spring 70 allows the bale top to clear the upper platen 21. a

The press operator at the control enclosure 41 then pushes a button to energize a suitable electric circuit to actuate the hydraulic motor 44, thereby moving the carrier assembly from left to right, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 8. During movement of the carrier assembly 49 from the press 20 to the strapping head 30, the rollers 73 on tracking plates 72 ride along guide track surface 52, while the cam follower rollers ride along the cam track 53 to invert the carrier assembly, forks and bale, so that the partially expanded bale B is inserted in the strapping head 30 facing in an opposite direction to that which it occupied in the compress 20. During the inversion of the carrier assembly, spring 70 is moved into a position where it assists the weight of the bale in retaining the carrier assembly 49 in the appropriate horizontal position to enter the strapping head 30.

Once the carrier assembly 49 is present at the sealing head 30, the strap feeding mechanism 32 is actuated and straps 35 from the dispensers 34 are fed around the

guide chutes

37 and 82 to complete aplurality of laterally spaced loops around the bale. The ends of the straps are then gripped, and the straps are pulled snugly around the bale. A seal is then applied to the strap and the strap is cut free, and structure such as that disclosed in the above-mentioned Leslie et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,707,429 may be used for this purpose. The strap feeding and sealing units are preferablyspaced away from the bale to give a controlled amount of looseness in thestrap, and this determines the final dimension of the finished bale B" when the

forks

60 and 62 are allowed to move apart relative to one another.

During the strap feeding and scaling step, a further bale is loaded in the compress 20, and when the strap sealing step is completed, the press operator again pushes a suitable button to energize an electric current to begin return movement of the carriage assembly 49 to the compress 20. As the

forks

60 and 62 begin to move with the loosely strapped partially expanded bale B, release dog 1 14 moves into engagement with trip dog 110, and release link 96 is moved from the over center position to allow the

forks

60 and 62 to move relative to one another. As the carrier assembly 49 continues to move, the

forks

60 and 62 open leaving the strap bale upon a suitable support surface 116 in frame assembly 31. As the forks move out of engagement with the bale, the bale B" expands into snug engagement with the surrounding straps, and in an exemplary embodiment, the final dimension of the fully expanded bale B" is approximately 22 inches high.

As the carrier assembly 49 continues in its movement towards the compress 20, reset cam 115 (FIG. ll) pivots the forks 62 toward the forks 60 and spring 105 pulls the link 96 to the over center position again locking the

forks

60 and 62 against movement relative to one another. The carrier assembly 49 lower proceeds to the compress 20. and the above described sequence is repeated. During return movement of the carrier assembly 49 to the compress 20, a pivotally mounted bale ejector 120 is actuated by a hydraulic cylinder 121 to move across support surface 116 and roll the bale B" from the strapping head 30 onto an exit conveyor 122. A spring 123 (FIG. 12) may be provided to assist in the return movement of ejector 120.

While preferred constructional features of the invention are embodied in the structure illustrated herein, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The method of handling and strapping a bale or like object comprising: inserting the object in a press; actuating the press to apply a force to the object to compress it to a preselected size; inserting a transfer structure into the press in spaced relation with respect to the compressed object; releasing the compressing force and allowing the object to partially expand into engagement with the transfer structure; withdraw ing the transfer structure from the press and transporting the partially expanded object to a strapping station; encircling at least one loop of strapping around the partially expanded object; moving said transfer structure away from said object to allow said object to expand further into tight engagement with said strapping loop; and removing said object from said strapping station.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the force applying step is performed by moving at least one press platen toward the other press platen, and wherein the transfer structure withdrawal step is preceded by the steps of moving at least one press platen away from the other press platen and allowing the weight of the compressed object to act upon the transfer structure to move the transfer structure to a clearance position relative to the press platens.

3. The method of claim 1 including the step of guiding the transfer structure for movementalong a fixed path during the transporting of the transfer structure from the press to the sealing structure.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the guiding step is performed by confining the transfer structure for movement in a vertical plane between horizontally spaced and aligned pressing and sealing stations.

5. The method of claim 4 including the further step of inverting the transfer structure during transportation thereof,

whereby said transfer structure is inserted in said press facing in one direction and presents the object at the strapping station facing in an opposite direction.

6. The method of claim [in which the transfer structure insertion step is performed by placing a first support element on one side of said object and a second support element on an opposite side of said object, and wherein said transfer structure moving step is performed by increasing the spacing between the support elements to free said object for expansion into said loop.

7. The method of claim 6 including the further steps of inserting another object in the press, and transporting said transfer structure from said strapping station to said press; the step of increasing the spacing between said support elements being performed in response to movement of said transfer structure from said strapping station toward said press.

8. The method of claim 7 including the further step of decreasing the spacing between said support elements to a preselected size after said transfer structure has moved away from said object. I

9. ln combination: means for compressing an object from an initial size to a reduced size; strapping means for applying at least one loop around said object, said strapping means being spaced from and generally horizontally aligned with said compressing means; unmanned carrier means for moving said object in a vertical plane from said compressing means to said strapping means; and means mounting said carrier means for movement between an object pick up position facing said compressing means and an inverted object strapping position facing said strapping means.

10. The combination of claim 9 in which said strapping means includes strap guide structure defining a portion of a track for guiding strap around said object, and wherein said carrier means includes strap guide structure which cooperates with the strap guide structure of said strapping means when said object has been moved to said strapping means to complete said strap guiding track.

11. The combination of claim 9 in which said compressing means includes spaced upper and lower platens movable relative to one another to compress an object therebetween, said platens each having a plurality of laterally spaced vertically open slots therein; and wherein said carrier means includes a plurality of laterally spaced upper forks and a plurality of laterally spaced lower forks, each platen slot being sufficiently wide and deep to receive a fork therein with clearance so that a compressed object can be received between said upper and lower forks when said platens are in compressing engagement with said object.

12. For use in combination with a compress for reducing the size of a bale or like object, transport and strapping structure comprising: a carrier assembly having holding means for taking an object from said compress and for holding said object during transport of said carrier assembly; means for retaining said holding means in a preselected size relationship larger than the reduced size of said object for allowing said object to partially expand a given amount into transportable association with said holding means; strapping means for applying a loop around said partially expanded object; and means for moving said carrier assembly between said compress and said strapping means.

13. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 12 wherein said holding means is defined by a set of laterally spaced upper forks and a set of laterally spaced lower forks.

14. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 13 in which said forks are mounted for pivotal movement relative to said carrier assembly. and wherein locking means is provided for normally retaining said forks against movement relative to said carrier assembly for establishing said predetermined size relationship.

15. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 14 in which said sets of forks are connected together by linkage means. and wherein said locking means is provided by having one link of said linkage means movable to an over center position for preventing movement of the remaining links of said linkage means.

16. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 15 in which said linkage means includes an upper connecting link pivotally connected at one end to said upper set of forks and a lower connecting link pivotally connected at one end to said lower set of forks. and wherein said one link has its lower end pivotally connected to the opposite end ofsaid upper connecting link and its upper end pivotally connected to the opposite end of said lower connecting link; said linkage means further including actuating link means for pivoting said one link over center to allow said sets of forks to move apart and thereby release said object.

17. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 16 including blocking means engageable with said actuating link means for preventing movement of said one link in one direction, and spring means engageable with said actuating link means and biasing the actuating link means against the blocking means to retain said one link over center.

18. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 17 including means for pivoting said actuating link means against the bias of said spring means to move said one linkover center, said means for pivoting said actuating link means being fixed and operating in response to movement of said carrier means after completion of a loop around said object.

19. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 18 including cam means engageable with one of said sets of forks to return said one link over center.

20. Transport and strapping structure as set forth in claim 13 in which said carrier assembly includes support structure supporting said sets of forks'for movement together as a unit, and wherein spring means is biased between said support structure and said sets of forks for controlling movement of said sets of forks relative to said support structure.