Abstract:
A baling roller for a round agricultural baler and a round baler with such a baling roller are proposed. The baling roller comprises a roller body with a jacket surface, which encloses the circumference and the length of the roller body. Furthermore, radially extending elevations are located, on the jacket surface, over the circumference and the length of the roller body. In order to optimize the pressing effect of the baling roller, the proposal is made that the elevations on the jacket surface have a greater radial extension on the end areas of the roller body than in an area of the roller body, lying between the end areas.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Pursuant to 35 USC §119, this application claims the benefit of and priority to German patent application no. 102014212713.0, filed on Jul. 1, 2014, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The invention concerns a baling roller for a round agricultural baler, comprising a roller body with a jacket surface, which encloses the circumference and the length of the roller body, and several elevations that extend radially, which are located on the jacket surface over the circumference and the length of the roller body. Furthermore, the invention concerns a round agricultural baler with such a roller. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Round agricultural balers are known. Agricultural crops, such as straw, grass, or grains, are formed into round bales in round balers thereby and wrapped with a wrapping material, for example, a net, foil or binding yarn. Such round balers have a picking and feeding device for the crops to be pressed, by means of which the crops are introduced into a feed opening of a baling chamber. The baling chamber comprises several baling rollers arranged in a circle, which extend over the width of the baling chamber between two side walls and are driven in a rotatory manner. For a better carrying or a better conveyance of the crops introduced into the pressing chamber, the baling rollers are provided with several elevations, which are distributed over the circumference of the baling rollers and which extend in a radial direction of the baling roller in the same thickness and over the length of the baling roller. Often, however, in this arrangement and formation of baling rollers, in particular, with dry crop conditions and with crops that have been cut short, there are accumulations of crops on the side areas of the round bales or near the side walls of the baling chamber. The shape of the round bale can then differ from the desired shape of the rotation cylinder, so that the shape of the round bale develops in the direction of a rotation hyperboloid (the jacket surface of the round bale is curved inwards in the direction of the rotation axis of the round bale, different from a straight line). This, in turn, can lead to problems with a subsequent net supply, so that the net cannot lie in an orderly manner around the side edges on the front surfaces of the completely pressed round bale, or is not even carried through the round bale. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The goal which is the basis of the invention is to be found in indicating a baling roller of the type mentioned in the beginning, by means of which the aforementioned problems are overcome. 
         [0005]    The goal is attained, in accordance with the invention, by the teaching of Patent claim  1 . Other advantageous developments and refinements of the invention can be deduced from the subclaims. 
         [0006]    In accordance with the invention, a baling roller of the type mentioned in the beginning has elevations on the jacket surface, which, on front surface end areas of the roller body have a greater radial extension than in an area of the roller body lying between the end areas. As a result of the elevations with different thicknesses along the length of the roller body or as a result of the elevations which are thicker on the end areas of the roller body, stronger pressing forces, on the end areas of the baling roller, are exerted on the round bales than in the area lying between the end areas. In this way, it is possible to avoid the establishing of a deformity, or a shape of the round bale that differs from a cylindrical shape can be effectively counteracted. As a consequence, the aforementioned defects or problems with the net binding can be avoided or at least minimized. 
         [0007]    The elevations on the jacket surface of the roller body can be formed by strip-shaped bands. They can be, for example, steel or sheet metal strips which are welded in the longitudinal direction or also in the shape of spirals along the length of the roller body. It is likewise conceivable for the elevations to be directly formed into the jacket surface material by, for example, a sheet metal formation process. It is also conceivable for the elevations to be formed by nubs arrayed next to one another, welded also, or by means of a suitable sheet metal formation. 
         [0008]    The bands have a greater thickness on the side end areas of the roller body than in the area of the roller body lying between the end areas. One-part bands with a thickness course differing over the length of the roller body can thereby be used, whose areas which are formed with a greater thickness extend into the end areas. Alternatively, bands with a varying thickness and length can be used, wherein shorter bands, only covering the end areas of the roller body, with a greater thickness in the circumferential direction, are arranged next to longer bands with a smaller thickness. The latter can then also extend to the end areas on one side or on both sides, which can offer manufacturing-technical advantages, for example, for the upgrading of already present baling rollers which are equipped with bands with a uniform thickness course. 
         [0009]    Furthermore, the bands on the side end areas of the roller body are formed lying above one another, so that the greater thickness is formed into the end areas, for example, by a double layer of bands, wherein a short band, covering an end area of the roller body, is placed or welded on the end of a long band, projecting into the individual end area. This variant is also suitable for the upgrading of already present pressing rollers with bands with a uniform thickness course, as are used in the state of the art. 
         [0010]    The baling rollers described above are, in particular, suitable for use in round agricultural balers with a constant pressing chamber. 
         [0011]    With the aid of the drawing which shows an embodiment example of the invention, the invention and other advantages and advantageous refinements and developments of the invention are described and explained in detail below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The figures show the following: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  a schematic side view of a round agricultural baler with baling rollers; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  a schematic perspective side view of a baling roller, in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in a first embodiment; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  a schematic side view of the baling roller from  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  a schematic perspective side view of a baling roller, in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in another embodiment; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  a schematic side view of the baling roller from  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  a schematic perspective side view of a baling roller, in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in another embodiment; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  a schematic side view of the baling roller from  FIG. 6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    A round baler  10 , schematically shown in  FIG. 1 , comprises a first housing part  12 , which is supported, by means of wheels  14 , on the ground  15 , and is connected, by means of a towing bar  16 , to a nondepicted towing vehicle, for example, a tractor. 
         [0021]    On a front, lower side of the first housing part  12 , in a forwards travelling direction, there is, in a known manner, a picking and feeding device  18  for crops, wherein the first housing part  12  surrounds a front part of a baling chamber  20 . On the back, upper corner area of the first housing part  12 , there is a bearing  22  for a swiveling second housing part  24 , which surrounds a back part of the baling chamber  20 . When opened (not depicted), the second housing part  24  frees an outlet (not shown), by means of which a bale (not shown), pressed by the round baler  10 , can be deposited or unloaded or expelled. The swiveling second housing part  24  can be actuated (opened and closed) by means of actuating motors (not depicted) and thus represents an outlet flap for a bale pressed in the baling chamber  20 . 
         [0022]    The round baler  10 , designed with a size-unchangeable baling chamber  20 , contains a plurality of pressing elements for the pressing of crops, running parallel to one another in the form of baling rollers  26  (by way of example, here only a few baling rollers  26  were provided with the reference symbol “ 26 ”), whose rotation axles  27  in a closed second housing part  24  are laid on a circular arc, and of which at least a few are driven. 
         [0023]    Furthermore, the round baler  10  comprises a bale wrapping device  30 , which is equipped with a supply roller  32  for wrapping material  33 . As wrapping material, a net or also foil can be preferably used. The bale wrapping device  30  comprises a feeding device  34  for the wrapping material  33 , by means of which the wrapping material  33  is conducted from the supply roller  32  into the baling chamber  20 . 
         [0024]    After the actual pressing process—that is, the crop pickup and formation of a round bale by the pressing rollers  26 —is concluded, a trip over the ground  15  is interrupted, since the round baler  10  is filled with the round bales and more crops cannot or should not be put into the baling chamber  20 . At this time, the bale wrapping device  30  is also activated, and a wrapping process following the pressing process is introduced. By a continuous rotation of the round bale found in the baling chamber  20 , the wrapping material  33  is wrapped around the round bale  20 . After a wrapping process is concluded, the round bale is dropped onto the ground  15  by opening the outlet flap (second housing part  24 ) via an unloading ramp (not shown. Then, the trip with the round baler  10  is again taken up and a new pressing process begins. 
         [0025]    The baling roller  26  are shown in several embodiment examples in two views in  FIGS. 2 to 7 , wherein  FIGS. 2 and 3 ,  4  and  5 , and  6  and  7  show an embodiment example of a baling roller in accordance with the invention. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the baling roller  26  comprises a roller body  36 , which is enclosed by a jacket surface  38  in circumference and length. The roller body  36  is designed as a cylindrical tube profile and can, for example, be formed by a sheet metal material in a formation process or rolling process. On the inside, the roller body  36  has, on its end areas, axle hubs  40 , which are fit into the tube profile and are used to hold or support the rotation axles  27 . 
         [0027]    Elevations  42  are formed on the jacket surface  38 ; they are made in the form of sheet metal strips  44  by strip-shaped bands, placed on the jacket surface  30 . The sheet metal strips  44  extend along the rotation axle  27  (longitudinal axle) of the roller body  36  over essentially the entire length of the roller body  36  and are preferably welded on the jacket surface  38 . As already mentioned, it is also possible to directly form the elevations by a sheet metal formation process (for example, by an embossing process or stamping process, or the like) into sheet metal material of the roller body. The sheet metal strips  44  have a changing height profile over the length of the roller body  36 , wherein, on the front, the roller body  36  has end areas  46 ,  48 , in which the elevations  42  are more pronounced (that is, are formed higher) than in an area  50  which lies between the end areas  46 ,  48  of the roller body  36 . That means that, in the end areas  46 ,  48  of the roller body  36 , the sheet metal strips  44  or elevations  42  have a greater thickness than in the area  50  lying between the end areas  46 ,  48 . In a baling process, the greater thickness of the sheet metal strips  44  or the elevations  42  in the end areas  46 ,  48  provides for a greater aggressiveness of the baling rollers  26  in the areas close to the side walls of the baling chamber  20 . Accordingly, stronger pressing forces are exerted on a round bale being formed by the end areas  44 ,  46  of the baling rollers  26  or the roller bodies  36  than by the areas  50  lying between the end areas  46 ,  48 . 
         [0028]    The embodiment example shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  differs from the embodiment example shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  only in that the elevations  42  are formed by metal sheet strips  44 ′ and  44 ″, which have a height profile which is constant over its length, wherein over the essentially entire length of the roller body  36 , a first layer of long sheet metal strips  44 ′ is placed and in the end areas  46 ,  48 , a second layer of short sheet metal strips  44 ″, applied on the first layer, is additionally placed, so that here too, as in the previously mentioned embodiment, the elevations  42  are, as a whole, more pronounced in the end areas  46 ,  48  (that is, are formed higher) than in area  50 , which lies between the end areas  46 ,  48  of the roller body  36 . This variant permits, for example, in a simple and material-economizing manner, the upgrading or modifying of baling rollers with constant elevations which are already present, so as to increase or pronounce more the elevations  42  in the end areas  46 ,  48  of the roller body  36 . 
         [0029]    The embodiment example shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  shows one additional variant, which, in particular, differs, with respect to the variants of the two previous embodiment examples, in that the elevations  42  are formed by sheet metal strips  44 ′ and  44 ″′, which are situated, next to one another in the circumferential direction, in the end areas  46 ,  48 . Over an essentially entire length of the roller body  36 , long sheet metal strips  44 ′ with a constant height profile, and in the end areas  46 ,  48 , also short sheet metal strips  44 ″′ are thereby situated next to the long sheet metal strips  44 ′ in the circumferential direction, wherein the short sheet metal strips  44 ″′ likewise have a constant height profile but a greater thickness, so that here too, as in the other two previously mentioned embodiment examples, the elevations  42  in the end areas  46 ,  48  are more pronounced (that is, are formed higher) than in the area  50 , which lies between end areas  46 ,  48  of the roller body  36 . This variant also permits, for example, in a simple and material-economizing manner, the upgrading or modifying of baling rollers with already present constant elevations, so as to increase or make more pronounced the elevations  42  in the end areas  46 ,  48  of the roller body  36 .