GB2128542A

GB2128542A - Baler for forming cylindrical bales

Info

Publication number: GB2128542A
Application number: GB08325672A
Authority: GB
Inventors: France Capizzi
Original assignee: ITALO SVIZZERA MACCH AGRI
Current assignee: ITALO SVIZZERA MACCH AGRI
Priority date: 1982-10-06
Filing date: 1983-09-26
Publication date: 1984-05-02
Also published as: DE3336443A1; IT1156677B; GB8325672D0; IT8203553A0; FR2534112A1

Abstract

The machine comprises a constant volume cylindrical baling chamber (9) provided with driven conveyor devices (14, 15 and 16) that encourage the spiral winding of the material gathered and inserted into the said chamber (9), and a plurality of idly rotating rolls (13). The former are mounted in the tailgate (9b) and the latter in the fixed part (9a) of the chamber. The bale may be wrapped in plastics film unwound from a reel (21). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Machine for gathering fibrous material from the plane of site and for packing it in bales of a cylindrical shape The invention relates to a machine for gathering fibrous material from the plane of site and for packing it in bales of a cylindrical shape.

In the agricultural machinery field, machines have been known for years that are able to gather fibrous material (arranged in swaths on the plane of site) and then pack it in cylindrical bales.

The known machines can be classified in two main categories: a - machines having a variable volume winding chamber; b -- machines having a constant volume winding chamber.

The invention concerns the second of the above mentioned categories of machine that is envisaged having a device for gathering the product from the plane of site, downstream of which is placed a virtually cylindrical chamber formed in two halves, one pivoted to the other along a horizontal axis perpendicular to the forward movement directrix of the machine, parallel to the axis of the said chamber. One of the said halves is integral with, or at any rate fixed to, the base structure of the machine, while the other can be rotated upwards around the said axis in order to determine the opening of the chamber and to allow a formed bale to be discharged upon completion of the process of winding the material gathered.

A first known machine of the stated type (known by technicians in the field concerned as the Ven der Lely machine) is described in the Netherlands Patent No. 7311670 and this envisages the product winding chamber delimited bilaterally by two parallel walls and circumferentially by the following elements: a base conveyor that receives the material gathered from the plane of site and sends it into the inside of the winding chamber; at least one pair of continuous driven conveyors placed, one behind the other, downstream of the said base conveyor, designed to receive the material from the said base conveyor and to give the material a winding movement; and a fixed wall placed to follow on after the last of the said continuous conveyors, that extends up to the area where the material gathered enters the winding chamber.

With a machine of this type it is possible to bale fibrous material such as, for example, straw, hay, lucerne and similar, in various "layers" of a different density, this being to the advantage of conserving the product satisfactorily. At the initial bale forming stage, to be more precise, the material gradually being wound is placed freely inside the winding chamber without it being subjected to any compression on the part of the elements that delimit it circumferentially. Only once the bale becomes of a volume such as to fill completely the winding chamber and the material gathered continues to be fed into the inside of the said chamber, is there a progressive circumferential compression of the outer layers of the bale. This compression spreads gradually in a direction radial with respect to the bale, towards the core thereof.When a required compression value has been reached, the infeed of the product ceases and then, with the winding chamber door opened, the formed bale is discharged on to the plane of site.

A bale formed in this fashion has a core that is soft and an outer part that is nice and compact, the former favouring the aeration of the wound product, and the latter protecting it against the action of atmospheric agents.

On the part of certain manufacturers, it has been noted that presence of the fixed wall that partially delimits part of the winding chamber, provides strong resistance to the rotation of the bale in the inside of the said chamber, especially during the final forming stages. This necessitates the drive means used exerting considerable power and is the cause of noticeable wear on the part of the said wall, and thus of the machine, to the disadvantage of the life span and operating speed thereof.

In an attempt to overcome the problems briefly described above, some manufacturers have directed their efforts at studying solutions whereby the use is envisaged of driven means that practically define the entire circumferential wall of the product winding chamber.

One known solution of this type, called the "Welger system", described in the German publication P 2443838.8-23 envisages the placing, downstream of the said base conveyor, of a number of driven conveyors placed one after the other until the area has been reached where the product gathered from the plane of site passes into the inside of the winding chamber. In actual practice, the last continuous conveyor is located above the base conveyor and forms with this the "mouth" for the entry into the winding chamber of the material gathered.

The continuous conveyors are constituted by a number of transportation belts, side by side and inter-spaced one with respect to the other, all of which are driven by a mechanism that carries in rotation the drive rollers of each conveyor around which the said belts are wound, and derives its motion from the power take off of the towing means to which the machine is linked. This solution whereby it is possible to overcome, at least in part, the problems found with the Van del Lely solution, requires the conveyors having numerous mechanical linkages and subjects the belts that form each conveyor to considerable stress which rapidly causes the belts to wear and consequently to have to be replaced frequently.The spaces that exist between one belt and the other of each conveyor create vacant areas through which, to the disadvantage of the economical running of the machine, a considerable amount of the material gathered and being wound, is lost.

Another known solution envisages the circumferential wall of the winding chamber formed by a number of driven cylinders, placed parallel one at the side of the other, the axes of which are disposed on a circumference whose centre is coincident with the axis of the winding chamber. To drive all the rollers, this solution requires the use of a considerable number of chains and suitably spring loaded chain tightening devices that need to be constantly maintained and lubricated in order to prevent rapid wear.Besides this, in order to displace the product into the inside of the winding chamber, the various rollers are superficially provided with projections that constitute product movement teeth and these, in the event of the product being considerably damp, tend to drag part of the said product outside the machine, and when the product is dry, do not always achieve the desired displacing effect but skid with respect to the said product amassed in the winding chamber. Then again, the drive power needed to set in motion all the rollers which, together with the base conveyor, contribute in causing the bale to rotate inside the winding chamber during the final forming stage thereof, is considerable.

Following a technical analysis of the known methods, the inventor of the solution on which the invention described herein is based, decided to obviate the trouble caused by wear in the fixed wall winding chamber by transforming the said fixed wall into a wall formed with elements loosely sustained by the fixed structure of the machine in such a way as to be carried in movement by the bale being formed, once this grows to a volume such as to fill the winding chamber. In this way, the said elements do not oppose the rotation of the bale inside the winding chamber and simply contribute to the radial compression of the bale in the final forming stage thereof.

On the basis of this study, the main object of the invention is to make available a machine for winding fibrous products into bales of a cylindrical shape, wherein the driven devices for moving the product are limited just to one part of the winding chamber, and a number of idly rotating elements, supported by the structure of the machine, complete the wall that circumferentially delimits the winding chamber. In this way, the mechanism for driving the means that carry in movement the material gathered from the plane of site are numerically far less than those required in the above described known machines, for carrying in movement the product gathered and this, at least in the initial base forming stage, enables there to be a considerable saving in power, to the advantage of the economical running of the machine.

According to the invention, the said idle elements can preferably be rollers loosely supported by the fixed structure of the machine, parallel one to the other and placed one at the side of the other in such a way that the axes thereof can be joined by an arc of circumference, the centre of which is coincident with the axis of the winding chamber. Since the said rollers do not, in any way, have to attend to the moving of the product during the winding stage, they can be perfectly smooth, and with smooth rollers none of the material being wound is carried outside the machine and thus there is no loss of the product.

In view of the fact that in order to store the bales for a long period of time, in the best possible way, the current policy is to manually wrap them in plastic bags, and since a circumferential part of the winding chamber, constituted by the perfectly smooth, side by side, idle rollers, is available, the inventor decided to feed into the inside of the winding chamber, a plastic film destined to enshroud the formed bale, the said film being made to pass between at least one pair of idle rollers supported by the fixed structure of the machine.

Another object of the invention is, therefore, to make available a machine of the above mentioned type, provided with means for feeding into the inside of the winding chamber, a plastic film, the winding of which is timed to occur during the period taken for the complete formation of one bale, and prior to the discharge of this on to the plane of site. In actual practice, the inventor decided to equip the machine with a device able to unwind a plastic film from a reel so that it be oriented towards, and be made to pass in between, two of the idle rollers that circumferentially delimit the winding chamber.

The said device can be remote controlled by the operator so as to cause the film to move forward in between the said rollers upon completion of the "compression" stage of the baled material and prior to, or contemporaneously with, the final bale binding stage, so that the said film, moved by the said bale, is wound there around and is kept sealed by the same twine used for the binding of the formed bale.

The characteristics of the machine forming the subject of the invention will now be outlined in the description that follows of one preferred, but not sole, form of embodiment, given purely as an unlimited example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows, diagrammatically, the machine in question in a longitudinal section view at the bale formation commencement stage; Figure 2 shows, diagrammatically, the machine at the stage when a formed bale is being discharged on to the plane of site; Figure 3 shows, diagrammatically, one possible mechanism for driving the conveyors that carry in movement the product gathered.

With reference to the said figures, at 1 has been shown a device for gathering the product.

The said device is of a known type and, therefore, no description is given herein of the parts that go to make it up; simply, it is stated that it comprises a number of collection combs 2 connected to a driven cylinder 5 cantilever supported by the fixed structure of the machine. The driven cylinder 5 is mechanically connected (see Figure 3) to a motion distribution group 6, the input shaft 7 of which can be connected to the power take off of a tractor (not illustrated on the drawings) utilized for towing the machine. The mechanicai link between the driven cylinder 5 and the motion distribution group 6 can be achieved, for example, through an endless chain 3 mounted around two transmission wheels, 4 and 4a, respectively, the former keyed to the shaft around which the device 1 rocks, and the latter loosely supported by the fixed structure of the machine.The wheel 4a is, in turn, mechanically linked to another gearwheel fixedly mounted on the drive shaft of the motion distribution group 6, while the wheel 4 is linked to another wheel (not shown on the drawings) keyed to the shaft of the driven cylinder 5.

At 8 has been shown a belt conveyor (referred to hereinafter as the base conveyor) located downstream of the product gathering device 1 and able to channel the product gathered from the plane of site, into the inside of the winding chamber shown globally at 9. The belts that form the base conveyor 8 are mounted around a transmission cylinder 8a and a driven cylinder 10, the latter supported by the fixed frame of the machine and mechanically linked to the motion distribution group 6. This connection is possible using, for example, an endless chain 22 mounted around a wheel keyed to the shaft of the driven cylinder 10 and another wheel (not shown on the drawings) fixedly mounted to the same shaft to which is keyed the wheel 4a.

The winding chamber is constituted by two parts, or halves, 9a and 9b, respectively. The second part 9b is articulated to the first by means of a pin 11 that is placed in the upper part of the said first part and extends parallel to the axis of the said winding chamber 9.

The opening and closing of the winding chamber 9 is effected by rotating the second part 9b with respect to the first part 9a (see Figure 2) using, for example, a pair of hydraulically operated pistons 12 (placed one on each outer side of the winding chamber 9), the component parts of which (cylinder and rod) can be articulated to the part 9a and to the part 9b, respectively, of the winding chamber 9.

According to the invention, the first part 9a of the winding chamber 9 is circumferentially delimited by a number of rollers 1 3 which, placed one at the side of the other, loosely supported by the lateral walls 23, bilaterally delimit the said first part 9a. The second part 9b of the winding chamber 9 is circumferentially delimited by three conveyors or belts 14, 1 5 and 16 placed one behind the other. The first conveyor 14 is positioned immediately downstream of the base conveyor 8, while the final conveyor 1 6 is practically adjacent to the first of the rollers 13 that circumferentially delimit the first part 9a.

The conveyors 14, 1 5 and 1 6 are driven synchronously one with the other and, according to the example illustrated, are mechanically linked, in the way described below, to the motion distribution group 6.

To one extremity of the drive shaft of the motion distribution group 6 is keyed a gearwheel which, through an endless chain 17, is connected to another gearwheel 18, in turn fixedly mounted on the driven shaft of the conveyor 16. Also keyed to the said shaft is another gearwheel connected, through an endless chain 19, to a gearwheel fixedly mounted on the drive shaft of the conveyor 1 5. Likewise, with another chain 24 the motion is passed on to the drive shaft of the conveyor 14. It should be noted that the drive shaft of the conveyor 1 6 is coaxial with the pivot axis with respect to which the second part 9b of the winding chamber 9 is able to rotate around the first part 9a. In the active working stage, the conveyors 8, 14, 15 and 1 6 move in the direction shown by the arrows on the drawings.

During the operation of the machine, the material gathered from the plane of site tends initially to amass in the lowermost part thereof and, through the movement of the conveyors 8, 14 and 1 5, as well as shortly after, also of the conveyor 16, tends to wind itself into what forms the core of a bale. In this first stage, the rollers 13 are at a standstill. The roller 13 positioned in the region of the mouth through which the product enters the winding chamber 9, carried in motion by the incoming material, moves in a direction identical to the movement of the said material and, in practice, encourages the access of this to the winding chamber 9.

When the bale increases in volume to the extent of completely filling the chamber 9, as an effect of the direct contact between the outside layer of the wound material and the rollers 13, the latter are carried in rotation at the same peripheral speed as the bale without, therefore, causing any obstruction to the rotation of this in the inside of the chamber 9. With an increase in the quantity of the product placed in the chamber 9 (which is of a constant volume), there is a progressive action of compressing and compacting the outer layers of the bale, and this action gradually spreads towards the core of the said bale.Once a desired compression value (that can, for example, be checked by means of devices that "read" the pressure inside the hydraulically operated pistons 12) has been reached, the machine stops and then the chamber 9 is opened and the formed bale is discharged on to the plane of site.

This final stage can be preceded, in accordance with what is already commonly known, by a stage in which the formed bale is bound with twine wound several times around the cylindrical surface of the bale. In conformity with the solution envisaged by the inventor, to the fixed part 9a of the winding chamber 9 can be fastened a group 20 for supporting a reel 21 of plastic film. The said group can comprise two rollers 25, at least one of which driven, in between which the film unwound from the reel 21 is made to pass. The rollers 25 are positioned in such a way as to by symmetrical with respect to a plane passing between a pair of the rollers 1 3 so that the film unwound from the reel 21 can, passing between the said pair of rollers 13, enter the winding chamber 9. The setting in motion of the means for driving the rollers 25 (not shown on the drawings) can be controlled manually by the operator (through, for example, a pushbutton for operating a motor connected to the shaft of one of the said rollers) and, at the required time, cause just enough film to be unwound from the reel 21 for the front tip thereof to be "held in a vice" in between the outer surface of the formed bale and the rollers 13. In this condition, and with the bale constantly rotating, the automatic unwinding is achieved of the film from the reel 21 until the bale has been fully enshrouded, and upon completion of this stage the binding of the bale can be effected, whereby circumferentially it be thus perfectly protected.

For cutting the film unwound from the reel 21, the use is envisaged of a knife 26 operating in contrast with a fixed member 27. The said knife can be fastened to a guide device movable in the direction parallel to the axis of the chamber 9 or also in the direction of the fixed member 27. The said device can be remote controlled by the operator or automatically controlled with the use of means that verify the number of revolutions of the rollers 25 and set in action the said knife once a number of revolutions has been "read" that corresponds to the unwinding from the reel 21 of sufficient a quantity of film to fully enshroud the formed bale.

The foregoing description has obviously been given purely as an example and thus, in practice, variants of a constructional nature may be envisaged. For example, the various elements described may be replaced with others that are technically equivalent without, because of this, there being any deviation from the framework of protection afforded to the invention as claimed below.

Claims

1. Machine for gathering fibrous material from the plane of site and for packing it in bales of a cylindrical shape, of the type comprising a constant volume cylindrical chamber designed to receive the material from a device that picks it up from the plane of site, the said chamber being formed in two parts, side by side along a plane parallel to the axis of the said chamber, a first part of which is fastened to the fixed frame of the machine, while a second part is articulated to the first along a pivot axis iocated in the upper part of the first part, parallel to the axis of the said cylindrical chamber, characterized by the fact that the said first part of the product cylindrical or winding chamber is circumferentially delimited by a number of rollers placed side by side and supported, in a loose fashion, by the walls that bilaterally delimit the said first part of the winding chamber, the axes of which are parallel to the winding chamber and can be reached with an arc of circumference with the centre thereof on the axis of the winding chamber, and that the second part is circumferentially delimited by a number of continuous conveyor elements, movable synchronously in the same direction as the direction in which the material moves forward in the inside of the winding chamber, the first of the said conveyors being placed immediately downstream cf a base conveyor supported by the first part of the winding chamber, on which arrives the material gathered from the plane of site, and the last conveyor being adjacent to the first of the rollers that, in the upper part of the winding chamber, is loosely supported by the walls that bilaterally delimit the first part of the winding chamber.

2. Machine according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the rollers that circumferentially delimit the first part of the winding chamber have an outer surface that is perfectly smooth.

3. Machine for gathering fibrous material from the plane of site and for packing it in bales of a cylindrical shape, of the type comprising a constant volume cylindrical chamber designed to receive the material from a device that picks it up from the plane of site, the said chamber being formed in two parts, side by side along a plane parallel to the axis of the chamber, a first part of which is fastened to the fixed frame of the machine, while a second is articulated to the first, in the upper part, along a pivot axis parallel to the axis of the cylindrical chamber, characterized by the fact that the said first part of the material cylindrical or winding chamber is circumferentially delimited by a number of rollers placed side by side and supported, in a loose fashion, by the walls that bilaterally delimit the said first part of the winding chamber, and that externally to the said first part is envisaged a device for feeding in between two of the said rollers a plastic film unwound from a reel supported by the fixed structure of the machine.

4. Machine according to Claim 3, characterized by the fact that the said device that feeds the film in between two rollers that circumferentially delimit the first part of the winding chamber, comprises a knife for cutting the film unwound from the reel, the operation of which is controlled by the said device that "reads" the quantity of film unwound from the reel and wound around the formed bale.

5. Machine for gathering fibrous material from the plane of site and for packing it in bales of a cylindrical shape, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.