GB2054452A - Bale accumulators - Google Patents

Abstract

A bale collator for towing behind a baling machine to collate an array of eight bales, comprising a frame having two side channels (12, 13) each accommodating two bales end to end, a central channel (14) accommodating four bales side by side, a first diverter gate (16) to divert bales coming from the baling machine successively to one side and the other, a pair of secondary diverter gates (18, 19) to divert bales into the side channels (12, 13), a pair of turning gates (22, 23) with associated abutments (24, 25) to turn each bale entering the central compartment (14) through 90 DEG and a tail gate (26) with automatic release means (29, 30, 27, 28). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in the collating and stacking of bales Description of Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for collating an array of bales of straw or hay, the array having a configuration that enables a plurality of arrays to be stacked on top of each other in a stable manner.

Bale collator machines, (often known as bale sledges or bale accumulators) are well known and each such machine is arranged to be towed behind a baling machine and as the bales issue from the baling machine they are collated by the sledge or accumulator into an array, a common configuration being known as a "flat 8" in which the bales are collated into four separate channels there being two bales in each channel in end to end relationship.

The size of bales can vary however and generally speaking a bale is twice as long as it is wide.

Machines are also provided, for attachment to tractors or like vehicles, for picking up the array of eight bales in a single operation. However problems occur when eight bales are picked up and stacked on top of another eight bales and so on which is the normal method of collecting the bales until a cube of bales perhaps 6 or 7 or 8 bales high is produced the whole pile then being transported to a barn or the like by a transporter.

Problems occur since, when stacking one array of bales on another, the configuration of bales as afore-described means the bales forming the stack are not sufficiently interwoven and even when successive arrays are rotated through 900 the stack will form four individual "towers" each having two bales in each layer, the next layer having two bales at right angles to the lower two bales and soon; rather than forming an interwoven stack of all eight bales. This often leads to the complete stack or one of the "towers" falling over thereby making mechanised collection of the stack impossible.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for collating bales into an array in such manner that when one array is stacked on top of another, a stable structure is produced.

According to one aspect of the invention we provide a bale collator adapted for connecting to a baling machine so as to be towed behind the baling machine when in use, the bale collator having entry means adapted to receive bales from the baling machine and collating means adapted to form an array of eight bales the configuration being such that four bales are juxtaposed in side by side relationship the ends of the four bales defining two substantially parallel edges along each of which two further bales are arranged in mutual end to end relationship.

According to another aspect of the invention we provide a bale collator, for assembly of an array of eight bales, adapted for connecting to a baling machine so as to be towed behind the baling machine when in use, the collator having two outer channels each adapted to receive two bales in end to end relationship and a central channel adapted to receive four bales in side by side relationship comprising means for distributing successive bales to form the array and means for releasing the bales from the collator when the array is complete.

Such an array of bales allows for a stable stack to be made when one array is piled on top of the other simply by rotating excessive arrays through 90" about a vertical axis when building the stack. A well interwoven outer wall around the whole stack will be produced thus minimising or completely avoiding the problems mentioned above.

The bale collating machine itself may be of any suitable design that produces such an array and may be of the type whereby the bales are dragged along the ground to provide relative movement between the ground and the coilator causing operation of diverter gates to direct the bales into their correct positions, or alternatively may be powered by mechanical means or by hydraulic rams to move the bales in their required positions.

In a preferred form the collator comprises a frame having an open bottom, means at its forward end for connecting the frame to the rear of a baling machine to be towed thereby, a mouth portion at the forward end of the frame to receive a bale discharged from the baling machine, the longer axis of the bale being aligned substantially in the direction of travel of the frame, the frame having at each side, to the rear of the mouth portion, a channel of width substantially equal to the width of a bale and of length sufficient to accommodate two bales in end to end relationship and there being a central channel, between the two side channels of width substantially equal to the length of a bale and of length sufficient to accommodate four bales in side by side relationship.

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of bale collating means of the present invention; Figure2 is an enlarged view of the means for turning the bales through a right angle; Figure 3 is a view showing a single array of bales, and Figure 4 is a diagram of stacked bales formed from three arrays.

Referring first to Figure 1 a bale collator is shown having means indicated at 10 for securing to the rear of a baling machine so that bales issue from the baling machine to a mouth portion 11 of the collator which comprises three channels 12,13 and 14the channel 14 being approximately double the width of either of channels 12 and 13. The bale collator is provided with wheels 15 to enable it to be towed behind a baling machine.

A first diverter gate 16 is provided with an operating member 17, the operation of which will be described later. A pair of second diverter gates 18 and 19 are provided and are each mounted for limited pivotal movement about an approximately vertical axis. The gate 18 has a follower member 20 and the gate 19 also has a follower member which cannot be seen in the drawing but which is of the same construction as the follower member 20 and operates in the same way.

A pair of third turning gates 22 and 23 are provided each also capable of pivotal movement about an approximately vertical axis, the gate 22 having an abutment part 24 and the gate 23 having a similar abutment part 25. The abutment parts 24 and 25 are pivoted about the same axis as their respective turning gates 22,23 but can pivot independently of the gates, as described later. Finally, the bale collator has a tail gate 26 having catch elements 27 and 28, which maintain the tail gate 26 in a closed position as shown, and release elements operated by an automatic tripping mechanism 29 via cable 30. The manner of operation of the bale collator will now be described in detail.

The second diverter gates 18, 19 together with the third turning gates 22 and 23 will, when the bale collator is empty of bales, be resiliently biased by springs 31 and 32 into a position where the front of the gates 22 and 23 abut against the position of pivotal mounting of the first gate 16 so that the channels 12 and 13 are open and the central channel 14 is closed. The parts are shown in different positions in Figure 1, the two outer channels 12 and 13 being closed in this case and the central channel being open.

Commencing with gate 16 in the position shown the first bale that enters the opening 11 will therefore be diverted by gate 16 and gate 23 into the channel 12 and since the bales have a length approximately twice that of the width and the bale issues from the baler end first and the width of the channel 12 only permits entry of the bale end-on, the bale will take up a position longitudinally in line with fore and aft axis of the bale collator and abutting the tail gate 26.

Since there is no bottom on the bale collator the bales are dragged along the ground and as the bale collator itself is being towed behind a baling machine, the relative movement causes the bales to take up a position at the rearmost part of the machine.

During its course of travel the bale will have hit the operating member 17 connected to the first gate 16.

The operating member 17 is mounted for movement about a vertical axis and is biased by spring 33 to either one of two positions, the first of the positions being as shown in the drawing.

As the bale comes into contact with the operating member 17, the member 17 will be rotated in a clockwise manner (as viewed from above in Figure 1) until it has gone through approximately 90" whereupon the spring 33 will be stretched to its maximum stretched position, the arrangement then passing through an over-centre position and the spring 33 will then urge the operating member 17 to the second of its two positions in which it is rotated through approximately 180"from the position shown.

The operative connection between the operating member 17 and the first diverter gate 16 incorporates a "lost-motion" feature such that the gate 16 is not moved until the operating member 17 has gone through a certain angle (about 60"for example), whereupon connection between the operating member 17 and the gate 16 is made and the gate 16 will be moved in a clockwise manner about its pivotal axis to take up a position in which its front end abuts the other side of the bale collator.

The path of travel of the first bale will also cause it to come into contact with follower member 20 which when the gate 18 is in the position as above described (but not as shown), will project outwardly into the channel 12. Contact between the bale and the follower member 20 will cause the gate 18 to take up a position very much as shown in Figure 1. After the follower member 20 has moved out of contact with this first bale, the action of spring 31 will cause the gate 18 to move back to its initial position.

The first gate 16 is now in its other position (opposite to that shown in Figure 1) and the gate 19 is in a similar position to the gate 18, that is with its front end adjacent to the pivotal mounting of the gate 16. Thus the second bale coming from the baling machine will be deflected in an identical manner as the first bale so as to arrive at the rear end of the channel 13. Once again the operating member 17will be contacted bythis bale and the first gate 16 will be moved back to the position shown in Figure 1.

After the second bale has passed its follower member the gate 19 will return to the position shown in Figure 1 under the influence of spring 32.

The third bale will be deflected into the channel 12 which is already occupied by the first bale. Thus, during its movement into position, it comes into contact with the follower member 20 of gate 18 and will remain in contact with the follower member 20 since the presence of the first bale prevents it proceeding any further down the channel 12. The second gate 18 is thus now maintained in the position as shown in the drawing. The turning gate 23 will followthe movement of the second gate 18 into the position shown in Figure 1 because it is biased by the spring 34 which is connected between the two turning gates (see Figure 2).

Movement of the third bale into position in the channel 12 will once again have moved the operating member 17 and thus the gate 16 into its other extreme position. The fourth bale will be deflected into the channel 13 which is also occupied by a bale and, in a manner exactly similar to the third bale, will maintain the second gate 19 in the position shown in the drawing, the two channels 12 and 13 now being full of bales. The turning gate 22 will follow the movement of the second gate 19 by biasing means provided by the spring 34.

The first gate 16 will now be in the position shown in the drawing and the central channel 14 is open.

The fifth bale that enters the sledge will arrive in the opening 11 and be deflected by the first gate 16 and then engage the turning gate 23 so that this fifth bale is in a position where the leading corner of the bale abuts the abutment part 25 (see Figure 2). This immediately causes pivotal movement of the gate 23 and the abutment part 25 so that they move together about a substantially vertical pivotal axis provided by the mounting, through approximately 90" turning the bale through 90".

It will be apparent that the abutment part 24 could prevent complete turning of the bale by the gate 23 and abutment part 25 by projecting into the channel 13. However, the abutment part 24 is connected to the abutment part 25 and gate 23 by connection means, part of which is shown at 35, 35a and includes a cross member 40 (see Figure 2) which connects it to parts similarto parts 35 and 35a on abutment part 25, the connection (which is described in detail later) being such that as soon as any anti-clockwise movement of gate 23 and abutment part 25 occurs, the abutment part 24 is also pivoted about its vertical axis in an anti-clockwise manner, thus allowing a complete 90 turn of the bale.

Thus the bale is turned through 90C and takes up a position at the end of channel 14 lying at right angles to the bales in the channels 12 and 13.

The turning gate 23 and abutment part 25 are returned to the position as shown by spring 34.

Likewise the abutment part 24 returns with them also under the spring bias to the position shown.

Referring to Figure 2, it can be seen that any clockwise rotation of abutment part 24 (for example) will immediately cause contact between the part 35 and an upstanding peg-like part 41 of the turning gate 22, thus rotating the turning gate 22 with the abutment part 24. Such rotation will cause movement of the cross connecting member 40 in the direction shown by arrow A. This will cause clockwise rotation of part 42 and thus clockwise rotation of abutment part 25 in order to cause the abutment part 25 to take up a position adjacent the turning gate 23. Such movement allows free passage of a bale turned by turned gate 22 and abutment part 24 into the channel 14. Furthermore, such movement of the abutment part 25 does not cause any rotation of turning gate 23 since the part 42 is rotated clockwise out of contact with the peg-like extension 43 of turning gate 23.

As the fifth bale entered the channel 14 the operating member 17 of the first gate 16 was rotated and the gate 16 is now in the other of the two positions.

The sixth bale that enters the bale collector will be diverted by first gate 16 to engage turning gate 22 until it comes into contact with the abutment part 24, which abutment part 24 and turning gate 22 will operate in a similar fashion to gate 23 and abutment part 25, and rotate the bale through a right angle.

Such movement causes pivotal movement of the abutment part 25 in a clockwise direction to take up a position substantially planarwith the turning gate 23 to enable the bale, now having been turned through a right angle, to take up its position at right angles to the bales in channels 12 and 13 and in abutment with the fifth bale which is at the far end of the channel 14.

Movement of the fifth and sixth bales into the channel 14 will have caused contact between the downwardly depending member 36 provided on tail gate trip means 29. Such contact will have caused rotation of rod 37 and will have had the effect of tensioning the cable 30 but not sufficient to operate the trip. As soon as the bale has moved out of contact with the downwardly depending member 36 it will return to the position as shown, under the bias of spring 36A, with plenty of slack in the cable 30 and exactly the same will have happened with the sixth bale, i.e. the second to enter channel 14.

The seventh bale will enter the opening 11 and be diverted by gate 16 on to abutment 25, be turned by the abutment part 25 and turning gate 23 through a right angle and take up position in channel 14. This seventh bale will come into contact with downwardly depending member 36 and will not move out of contact therewith in view of the presence of the fifth and sixth bales already in position in channel 14and thus all the slack of the cable 30 will be taken up, the rod 37 having been rotated through virtually a right angle. Such rotation will bring a second member 38 into a position in which it will be downwardiy depending from the rod 37 and in position to be contacted by any bale entering the channel 14.

The eighth bale then anters the opening 11 and is deflected by the first gate 16 and comes into contact with abutment part 24 of turning gate 22 and is turned in a manner as afore-described through a right angle, the abutment part 25 having been moved out of the path of the bale in the manner previously described.

As aforementioned the part 38 is now projecting into the path of the eighth bale and when contacted by the bale will tend to cause further rotation of the rod 37 in a clockwise direction. The slack has already been taken out of the cable 30 and thus further rotation of the rod 37 causes the cable 30 to be pulled which releases the catch members 27 and 28 thus opening the tail gate 26.

It must be remembered that the bale collator is being towed behind a baling machine during operation thereof and so the bales will be left on the ground and the bale collator pulled away from them leaving an array of eight bales. The first gate 16 will be left in the position as shown in the drawings, the second gates 18 and 19 will be in a position with theirfront end adjacent the vertical pivotal mounting of the first gate 16, the turning gates 22 and 23 lying in a position adjacent the second gates 19 and 18 respectively and the bale collator is once again ready for collating another eight bale array.

It will be appreciated that the bale collator shown in the accompanying drawings is only one embodiment of a machine for forming the desired array. It is possible that the turning gates could be incorporated in the second gates for example by providing associated abutment parts 24 and 25 on gates 19 and 18, the exact shape and configuration of which may be altered in order for them to act satisfactorily as both diverter gates and turning gates.

As a still further alternative the second diverter gates 18 and 19 may be left substantially as they are and fixed abutments may be provided so positioned that when they contact incoming bales after the channels 12 and 13 are full, the bales necessarily turn through a right angle to take up a position in the central channel 14 aligned at right angles to the bales in channels 12 and 13.

As a further alternative the bale collator could be of completely different design and have a flat bed having pusher members which may be operated by hydraulic rams for example, the bales being forced to take up their required positions on the bed by said pusher members and, if need be, other guide members.

Figure 3 is an illustration of an array of bales formed by the collator shown in Figure 1,the bales marked B being the first four to enter the bale collator and the bales marked C being the last four.

This is important in itself since it ensures that the outer channels 12 and 13 of the bale collator are filled first which provides additional stability to the machine as the presence of bales in the channels of the bale collator causes quite considerable resistance to movement as they are dragged along the aground.

Furthermore, the manner in which the bales are formed in the baling machine produces a bale that is less likely to be damaged by being dragged along the ground end first so it is advantageous to ensure that the bales that are dragged along the ground for the longest time, i.e. the first entering the collator are longitudinally aligned with the direction of travel.

The importance of the array as shown in Figure 1 becomes apparent when it is required to stack one array of bales on top of another.

There are many proprietory machines, for attaching to lifting forks provided on the front of tractors for example, by means of which the array of eight bales can be picked up together and piled on top of another eight bales. A stack is usually made about seven bales high and the whole stack then picked up by a machine having a pair of side members, movable together by a hydraulic ram for example, to grip the sides of the stack which is then transported to a barn or the like.

As aforementioned, considerable trouble has occurred in the past with stacks of bales falling over.

The reason for this is that the bales have been collated in four channels having two bales in each channel in end to end relationship and, when stacked, even though successive arrays will be rotated through 90", relative to the array immediately below, the resulting stack will form four towers of bales, each tower only comprising two bales at each level and when the stack gets to a height of five or six bales, they often fall over, or one of the towers fall over, thereby making mechanised recovery of bales a difficult and time consuming process.

Referring now to Figure 4, a stack of three bales high is shown comprising three arrays 45, 46 and 47 in which successive arrays are arranged at right angles to each other. It will be noted that the interlocking of bales around the outside of the stack is complete and no separate towers are formed. A separate tower of bales comprising only two bales on each layer is formed in the centre of the stack.

However, since this central tower is surrounded by an interlocked wall of bales, the problems of bales falling off the stack due to instability is greatly reduced if not completely overcome thereby enabling more efficient mechanised baling, collating and transporting of bales of hay, straw or the like from the field to a desired place of storage.

Claims (5)

1. A bale collator adapted for connecting to a baling machine so as to be towed behind the baling machine when in use, the bale collator having entry means adapted to receive bales from the baling machine and collating means adapted to form an array of eight bales the configuration being such that four bales are juxtaposed in side by side relationship the ends of the four bales defining two substantially parallel edges along each of which two further bales are arranged in mutual end to end relationship.

2. A bale collator, for assembly of an array of eight bales, adapted for connecting to a baling machine so as to be towed behind the baling machine when is use, the collator having two outer channels each adapted to receive two bales in end to end relationship and a central channel adapted to receive four bales in side by side relationship comprising means for distributing successive bales to form the array and means for releasing the bales from the collator when the array is complete.

3. A bale collator according to Claim 2 comprising a frame having an open bottom, means at its forward end for connecting the frame to the rear of a baling machine to be towed thereby, a mouth portion at the forward end of the frame to receive a bale discharged from the baling machine, the longer axis of the bale being aligned substantially in the direction of travel of the frame, the frame having at each side, to the rear of the mouth portion, a channel of width substantially equal to the width of a bale and of length sufficientto accommodate two bales in end to end relationship and there being a central channel, between the two side channels, of width substantially equal to the length of a bale and of length sufficient to accommodate four bales in side by side relationship.

4. A bale collator according to Claim 3, having, at the rear of the mouth portion, a first diverter gate pivoted about a vertical axis and operating to deflect bales successively to one side and then to the other side of the central longitudinal axis of the frame, a pair of second diverter gates one disposed at the forward end of each side channel being pivoted about a vertical axis for movement between one extreme position in which it closes off the forward end of its associated side channel and another extreme position in which it deflects a bale into its associated side channel, said two second diverter gates, when each is in said other of its extreme positions, serving to close off the forward end of the central channel, and abutment means associated with the central channel to engage a bale entering the central channel lengthwise and cause the bale to turn through 90".

5. A bale collator according to claim 3 or claim 4 having, at the rear of the mouth portion, a first diverter gate pivoted about a vertical axis and operating to deflect bales successively to one side and then to the other side of the central longitudinal axis of the frame, a pair of second diverter gates one disposed at the forward end of each outer channel being pivoted about a vertical axis for movement between one extreme position in which it closes off the forward end of its associated outer channel and another extreme position in which it deflects a bale into its associated outer channel, said two second diverter gates, when each is in said other of its extreme positions, serving to close off the forward end of the central channel, and abutment means associated with the central channel to engage a bale entering the central channel lengthwise and cause the bale to turn through 90".

5. A bale collator according to Claim wherein said abutment means comprises a separate abutment associated with each second diverier gate.

6. A bale collator according to Claim 5 wherein each said abutment is associated with a turning gate pivoted about a vertical axis parallel to and close to the pivotal axis of the associated second diverter gate, said abutment being adapted to engage the front edge of a bale entering the central channel and the turning gate being adapted to engage the side of the bale.

7. A bale collator according to CLaim 6 wherein each abutment is pivotally mounted about a vertical axis and the abutments are connected together in such manner that when one is turned when engaging a bale the other is turned by the connecting means into a position in which it does not project into the central channel and allows free passage of said bale.

8. A bale collator according to any one of Claims 3 to 7 wherein the frame has, at the rear, a tail gate pivoted about a horizontal axis and held closed by release elements which are operated by an automatic tripping mechanism when the eighth bale of an array of eight bales has entered the central channel.

9. A bale collator according to Claim 8 wherein said automatic tripping mechanism is set in a "ready to operate" condition by movement of the seventh bale into the central channel and is fully operated by the arrival of the eighth bale in the central channel.

10. A bale collator substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

New claims dr amendments to claims filed on 21.11.80 Superseded claims 2, 3,4 New or amended claims:

2. A bale collator according to claim 1, the collator comprising two outer channels each outer channel having a width substantially equal to the width of a bale and a central channel between the two outer channels of width substantially equal to the length of a bale.

3. A bale collator as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 comprising a frame having an open bottom, means at its forward end for connecting the frame to the rear of a baling machine to be towed thereby, a mouth portion at the forward end of the frame to receive a bale discharged from the baling machine, means for distributing successive bales to form the array and means for releasing the bales from the collator when the array is complete.

4. A bale collator as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein each outer channel is adapted to receive two bales in end to end relationship and the central channel is adapted to receive four bales in side by side relationship.