Abstract:
A wattle maker machine for attachment to a vehicle or for stationary use is disclosed. The machine produces wattles and the mobile version produces a ditch to put them in and positions the wattles in the ditch. The machine comprises a chute for receiving organic material, a processor for breaking up the organic material, a feed auger and a wattle pipe. Organic material is forced through the wattle pipe and into tubing made of net to produce wattles. The mobile version of the machine places wattles for erosion control as the wattles are produced. The linear speed at which wattles are produced is matched to the speed of the vehicle. A plurality of wattle pipes of different diameters are connectable to the machine to enable the production of wattles of more than one diameter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention is a machine that, when operably connected to a power source, will process organic material such as straw that has been baled and feed the processed organic material into a tube made of a net to produce a wattle. Preferably, the machine also includes a ditcher that is operable, when the machine is mounted on a vehicle, to produce a trench in the ground and the machine is further operable to position the just made wattle in the trench.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,985 discloses a stationary machine for producing straw filed tubes, referred to herein as wattles, primarily for use in reducing erosion by strategic placement of the tubes in the ground. The machine seems to be well suited to its purpose but the production of twenty five foot long wattles in a fixed location soon leads to problems of storage and transportation to a site where the wattles will be placed for erosion mitigation. The entire disclosure of this U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,985 is incorporated herein by reference.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention is a wattle maker and is preferably one that can be attached to a vehicle to produce wattles and a ditch to put them in, and even position the wattles in the ditch. The machine comprises a chute for receiving organic material such as straw, a processor for breaking up the organic material, a feed auger and a wattle pipe connected to the discharge end of the auger to receive processed organic material. The organic material is forced through the wattle pipe, out of the pipe and into tubing made of net to produce wattles. The mobile version of the machine places wattles for erosion control as the wattles are produced, thereby eliminating problems of wattle storage and transportation. As used herein, the term “wattle” shall mean a longitudinally extending tube made of porous material such as netting and filled with processed organic material including, but not limited to, leaves, straw, wood chips, grass and combinations of these, suitable for stemming or mitigating soil erosion. The diameter of a wattle is sometimes indicated by the application where the wattle will be used for erosion mitigation. The present invention preferably includes a plurality of wattle pipes of different diameters all adapted to be mounted on the machine to enable the production of wattles of more than one diameter.  
         [0006]     It is, therefore, an object of one aspect of the invention to provide a mobile wattle making machine that can be mounted on a vehicle, such as a tractor, and combined with a ditcher to produce a ditch into which the wattle can be placed as it is made.  
         [0007]     It is a further object of this aspect of the invention to provide a mobile wattle making machine that can be operated to produce wattle at the rate at which the machine is conveyed by a vehicle to which it is attached.  
         [0008]     It is a still further object of this aspect of the invention to provide a mobile wattle making machine with which the velocity of the machine and the rate of wattle production can be matched.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the invention to provide a wattle making machine that can be operated to produce wattles of different diameters.  
         [0010]     These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the disclosure herein of preferred embodiments, reference being made to the attached drawing figures. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a machine according to the invention mounted on a three point hitch of a tractor with the machine lowered to an operating position.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the machine shown in  FIG. 1  with the machine in a raised position  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is an end view, partially in cross section, taken along the lines  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a side view, mostly in cross section, of the machine shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is an end view of the machine shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4  showing some details of a tensioner which is disengaged.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is an end view like  FIG. 5  except that it shows the tensioner in an engaged condition.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a side view, partially in cross section, showing a second embodiment of the machine shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view taken along the line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a side view, partially in cross section, showing a different set-up for the machine shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is a cross sectional view taken along the line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 11  is a view of the machine shown in  FIG. 4  with a different processor implement.  
         [0022]      FIG. 12  is a side view of a piece of the processor implement shown in  FIG. 11 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]     Referring now in more detail to the drawing figures,  FIG. 1  shows a mobile wattle making machine indicated generally at  10  and supported on a three point hitch TPH which, in turn, is supported on a tractor T. The three point hitch is operable to support the machine  10  in a first position shown in  FIG. 1  and in a second position shown in  FIG. 2 . A power take off PTO of the tractor T is drivingly connected to an input shaft  12  of the machine  10  to provide shaft power as needed for the operation of the machine  10 , as described below.  
         [0024]     The machine  10  has a chute with a floor  14 , a rear wall which is coextensive with a rear wall  16  of the processor described below, a front wall that is coextensive with a front wall  18  of the processor described below, a top  20  and a lid  22  which can pivot about a hinge  24  between an open. position shown in  FIG. 3  and a closed position (not shown) in which the lid  22  closes the otherwise open end of the chute. The floor  14  and the lid  22 , when in the open position, are supported at an angle so that gravity assists in moving organic material OM from right to left, as shown in  FIG. 3  with an arrow, towards and into a processor  26  into which organic material, baled or not, is fed. The processor  26  includes a processor implement  28  mounted for rotation with a shaft  30  that is driven by power supplied by the power take off PTO or some other source of shaft power. The processor implement  28  is provided with cutters  32  that are effective to process organic material fed into the processor  26  through the chute. This processing could include mixing, breaking up and/or cutting the organic material as well as any binding material such as twine or the like that might be associated with the organic material OM. The processor implement  28  can take a helical form as suggested in  FIGS. 1, 2 ,  4 ,  5 ,  7  and  9  or, more preferably, the star cutter wheel form shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . 11  and  12 .  
         [0025]     The processor  26  is in communication with a feeder  34  that is positioned below the processor  26  so that processed organic material in the processor  26  is delivered by gravity into the feeder  34 . An auger  36  in the feeder  34  is supported on a shaft  38  which receives shaft power from the power take off PTO or another source of shaft power. The auger  36  is supported inside a housing  40  that is generally cylindrical and extends, circumferentially, all of the way around the auger except for the area that is open for communication between the feeder  34  and the processor  26 . Organic material that enters the feeder is transported by the rotating auger  36 , from left to right in  FIG. 4 , towards and out of a discharge end  42  of the housing  40 .  
         [0026]     Tubular net material  44  is supported on the portion of the housing  40  that is between the processor  26  and the discharge end  42  of the housing  40 . The net material  44  is fed onto the housing  40  just as sausage casing is fed onto the discharge pipe of a sausage making machine before sausage meat is discharged into the casing. Similarly, a portion of the net material  44  that is not on the housing  40  is closed, as indicated at  46 , and the feeder  34  discharges processed organic material from the discharge end  42  of the housing  40  into the net material filling the net material  44  with processed organic material and displacing the net material  44  from the housing  40 . It is preferred that a tensioner be associated with the housing  40  to increase the tension that must be applied to the net material  44  to displace it from the housing. One embodiment of a tensioner, shown in  FIG. 4 , comprises a tension block  48  that is pressed against the outside of the housing  40  by a tension block arm  50  supported so that the amount of pressure with which the tension block is pressed against the housing can be adjusted by a tension adjuster  52  which, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , is a nut which can be turned clockwise to increase pressure applied by the tension block to the net material  44 . The nut can be rotated counter-clockwise to decrease the pressure or to disengage the nut entirely so that the tension block arm can be lifted up and pivoted out of the way to facilitate the loading of net material  44  onto the housing  40 .  
         [0027]     A ditch cutter wheel  54  is supported on a shaft  56  which, in turn, is supported for rotation and to receive shaft power from the power take off PTO or some other source for shaft power. The cutter wheel  54  is supported on the machine  10  so that when it is supported on a tractor in the first position ( FIG. 1 ) the cutter wheel  54  is positioned to cut a ditch D as shown in  FIG. 1 . The cutter wheel  54  and the discharge end  42  of the housing  40  are aligned so that the machine  10  is operable to place a wattle W, as it is being made, into the ditch D, just after it is cut. In this way, the wattle W is placed in the ditch D as it is produced eliminating problems of storing wattles after they are produced and moving wattles to place them in ditches. It would be advantageous if the linear speed of the wattle W as it is leaving the discharge end  42  of the housing  40  could be set to match the linear speed of the tractor T or other vehicle on which the machine  10  is mounted. One way that this is achieved in the machine  10  is through a gate  58  ( FIG. 3 ) that is mounted adjacent to the processor  26  and the feeder  34 . The gate is mounted for reciprocating movement, effected through an actuator in the form of a cylinder  60 , between a first position (not shown) in which it substantially restricts the flow of organic material from the processor  26  into the feeder  34  and a second position, shown in  FIG. 3 , in which the flow of organic material from the processor  26  into the feeder  34  is substantially unrestricted by the gate  58 . This, in turn, controls the linear speed of a wattle as it leaves the discharge end  42  of the housing  40 . It is preferred that the actuator be subject to remote control by someone operating the tractor T or other vehicle on which the machine  10  is supported. This could be carried out with any known remote control technology or any remote control technology developed in the future.  
         [0028]     A person operating the tractor T with the machine  10 . mounted on it could set the speed of the tractor T, set the position of the gate  58  and then monitor the placement of the wattle W in the ditch D to see if the wattle speed and the vehicle speed are matched or if the wattle speed needs to be increased or decreased to match the speed of the tractor T. In case the speed of the wattle needs to be increased or decreased, the gate  58  can be moved towards the second position or towards the first position, respectively, until there is a match in the speeds. The machine should be monitored so that wattle speed corrections can be made, as needed, on the fly. Mirrors, video cameras and other remote monitoring equipment may be employed, as desired. It will be appreciated that there are vehicles besides a tractor that are suited to have the machine  10  mounted on them. For example, the machine  10  can be mounted on a skid steer and driven by shaft power provided by a power take off on the skid steer. If the skid steer is equipped with a variable speed power take off, the variable speed of the power take off can be used in conjunction with or instead of the gate  58  to control the linear speed of the wattle as it leaves the machine so that the speed of the vehicle and the linear speed of the wattle are matched.  
         [0029]     It has been determined that, in some cases, the net material  44  should be under more tension than can reasonably be achieved with the tension block  48 . Excellent results have been achieved with a tensioning assembly indicated generally at  62  in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The assembly  62  includes a plurality of tension blocks  64 , four of which are shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . Two blocks  64  are supported on a lower frame member  66  and two other blocks  64  are supported on an upper frame member  68 . The lower frame member  66  and the upper frame member  68  are pivotally connected as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The upper frame member  68  is supported on a tension block arm  70  which, in turn, is supported on and mounted, pivotally, on the machine  10  and, specifically, on the rear wall  16  (of the processor  26 . The tension block arm  70  can be pivoted to a tensioning position, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  or upwardly and out of the way to facilitate the placement of net material  44  on the housing  40  that terminates at the discharge end  42 . Once the net material  44  is in place, the tension block arm  70  can be pivoted to the tensioning position and the lower frame  66  and upper frame  68  brought together as shown in  FIG. 6 . A tension adjuster  72  is mounted on a threaded support shaft  74  which is supported on and extends from the lower frame member  66 . The tension adjuster  72  is adapted to engage a tension adjuster stop  76  that is supported on the upper frame member  68  so that the tension adjuster  72  can be rotated to cause the tension blocks to apply more or less pressure to the discharge end  42  of the housing  40 . The tension adjuster  72  is adjusted with the net material  44  (not shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) positioned between the tension blocks  64  and the discharge end  42  of the housing  40 . The more that the adjuster  72  is tightened, the more pressure the blocks  64  apply to the net material  44  and the more force will be required to be exerted by the feeder on the organic material in order to force it into the net material  44  and force net material  44  to pay out from the discharge end  42  of the housing  40 .  
         [0030]     Referring now to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a wattle machine indicated generally at  78  comprises a processor  80 , a feeder  82  including a housing  84  and a feed auger  86  and, of course, a chute (not shown) for feeding organic material into the processor  80 . The housing  84  is shorter than the housing  40  and the housing  84  terminates in a flange  88  which extends radially outwardly from the housing  84 . A shim  90  is provided along the outboard face of the auger housing flange  88  and a wattle pipe  92  is secured to the machine  78 . The wattle pipe comprises a compaction pipe  94  and a compaction pipe flange  96  which extends radially outwardly from the pipe  94 . Threaded fasteners  98  are used to secure the flange  96  to the flange  88 , thereby securing the wattle pipe  92  to the machine  78 . The diameter of the compaction pipe  94  is larger than the diameter of the auger housing. It will be appreciated that a compaction pipe having the same diameter as the auger housing  84 , could be supported on a flange like the flange  88 , as shown in phantom lines. This second wattle pipe could be used to produce wattles having a diameter corresponding roughly with the diameter of the auger housing  84  while the wattle pipe  92  can be used to produce wattles having a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the feeder housing.  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a wattle pipe  100  is attached to the machine  78  and the wattle pipe has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the wattle pipe  92 . The wattle pipe  100  comprises a compaction pipe  102  and a flange  104  that extends radially inwardly from the compaction pipe  104 . Fasteners  106  are used to secure the flange  104  to the flange  88 , thereby securing the wattle pipe  100  to the machine  78 . Thus, the machine  78 , whether it is combined with apparatus to make it mobile or not, employs wattle pipes of different diameters with a single feeder and processor unit to produce wattles of different diameters.  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , details of the preferred form of the processor are illustrated. On the processor shaft  30 , there are mounted a plurality of star-shaped cutter wheels  108 . There are about 2 or 3 cutter wheels  108  every foot and the cutter wheels are secured to each other by reinforcing rods  110  for rotation together. As can be seen in  FIG. 12 , each start shaped cutter wheel has a plurality of cutting edges  112  on the sides of a plurality of teeth. The processor comprising the star shaped cutter wheels works very well to cut up and break up organic material so that it can fall by gravity into the opening of the feeder.  
         [0033]     It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications are possible from the specific details of the invention shown in the attached drawing figures and described above with reference thereto, and can be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined in the attached claims.