MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL BALES OF CROP

Abstract: A baling machine for forming large cylindrical bales of hay has a gate (34) which can be raised to enable a completed bale to pass under it for discharge. The bale initially rests on a horizontal support (74) which is connected by a cable (90) and link (102) to the gate (34). On the gate (34) being raised, the moving gate (34) pulls the support (74) via the cable (90) and link (102) so that it swings downwardly in a rearward direction to form a discharge ramp along which the bale rolls onto the ground without fouling the gate. The arrangement is such, however, that in hilly terrain the gate (34) can be opened initially to an intermediate position corresponding to an intermediate swinging position of the support so that the bale runs down the support (74) onto the ground but then lodges against the gate (34) and is stopped from rolling. The gate (34) is raised further and the machine driven away from the bale which therefore does not have unwanted momentum derived from rolling down the support which would increase the tendency of the bale to roll too far over the sloping ground.

Description: This invention relates to a baling machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop having a gate which can be raised to open it to allow a completed bale to be discharged through the opening and a support for the completed bale which is pivoted at a position towards its forward end about a horizontal axis and is swingable between a non-discharge position and a discharge position to form a ramp down which the bale can role to the ground wherein suspension means being coupled between the gate and the support such that the support can be swung to the discharge position on the raising gate pulling the suspension means. Machines, towed by a tractor, for forming large cylindrical bales of hay (so called "round balers") are well known. As the machine advances, the crop is removed from a windrow by a pick-up mechanism and delivered rearwardly to a baling chamber where it is rolled into a bale. There are basically two forms of such machines, namely those with a fixed volume baling chamber defined by driven fixed-position rolls and those with a baling chamber defined by runs of driven belts which move outwardly to enlarge the chamber to accommodate the bale as it grows in size. In both forms the hay is caused by the driven movement of the rolls or belts to roll round upon itself into a core and the core rotates about its horizontal axis and finally a completed bale is formed, the chamber being fed throughout with hay. The completed bale is tied with twine to maintain its shape and is discharged by rolling through a gate formed by a rear portion of the machine. The gate is swingable about a horizontal pivot axis located at the top of the baler so that the gate moves rearwardly and upwardly from a closed position in which it is approximately vertical to a fully open position at an angle of about 60° to the vertical at which the completed bale can pass freely under it. At discharge, however, a bale can foul the gate if the latter is not sufficiently open before ejection starts. The rolling movement of the bale from the machine is then slowed and although the bale may nevertheless be discharged once the gate gains its fully open position, the bale tends not to roll away from the gate on reaching the ground. In these circumstances when the gate closes it will foul the bale lying below it, and so the baler has to be manoeuvred to clear this obstruction before the gate can be shut with consequent loss of time in the harvesting operation. In GB-A-2 138 354 it has been proposed to provide a horizontal grid supporting the bale which is triggered to move to a downwardly inclined position immediately opening of the gate has started. After discharge, an automatic signal indicates to the driver whether the bale is clear of the gate swing area. The grid extends far beyond the rear of the machine when the gate is closed so that the bale would probably be deposited sufficiently clear of the gate generally to enable closure without fouling. However, this adds significantly to the overall length of the machine, and a fully formed bale can still foul the gate during its opening phase. Similarly GB-A-2 114 505 also discloses a bale support which is swingable downwardly immediately the gate of the machine opens. A belt run between a lower portion of the front of the baler and the lowest part of the gate thrusts the completed bale down the ramp, and the gate must be raised through as much as 90° for discharge. In our co-pending European patent application (EP-A1-0 258 528), we have described a baling machine in which it is possible to alleviate the problem of the completed bale fouling the gate during opening thereof. The machine does not need to have undue length or a high-raising gate. According to that application a baling machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop has a gate which can be raised to open it to allow a completed bale to be discharged through the opening and a support for the completed bale which is swingable between a non-discharge position and a discharge position to form a ramp down which the bale can roll to the ground, the support being swingable to the discharge position in dependence on a predetermined opening of the gate sufficient for the bale to pass through the opening. The gate is connected to the support for this purpose by a simple mechanical arrangement. However, in hilly conditions large cylindrical bales, on discharge down a ramp, become endowed with a momentum which increases the likelihood of their continuing to roll too far over the sloping ground. In the baling machine set forth in the opening paragraph (DE-A1-32 34 661) there is also an immediate movement of the support as the gate starts to open. The support comprises two pivotally interconnected bottom members whereby the link is rigidly connected to the forward bottom member and pivoted to the suspension member which is an angle lever and coupled to the rearward bottom member. For unloading a bale the linkage is arranged such that at first the forward bottom member will be inclined with the rearward bottom member lying on the ground. Thereafter when the gate is raised almost as much as 90° the forward bottom member is raised into a horizontal position above the ground and the rearward bottom member is inclined such that it forms a discharge ramp. Suspension means disclosed in EP-A1-0 217 715 and in EP-A1-0 206 889 are coupled between the support and the gate and are responsive to the gate opening only after the gate has opened a predetermined amount. These documents are available only for the consideration of novelty and do not disclose all the features of the main claim. The present invention enables that in non-hilly conditions a fully formed bale does not foul the gate during its opening phase or in hilly conditions becomes endowed with a momentum which increases the likelihood of its continuing to roll not too far over the sloping ground. According to the invention the suspension means is a cable connected to the gate such that the support being swingable to the discharge position only on a predetermined opening of the gate having been reached which is sufficient for the bale to leave the baling chamber and characterized in that the support slopes in its non-discharge position rearwardly and downwardly at an angle of 5° to 8° to the horizontal and is abutting a stop bar in its non-discharge position with a forward portion wherein the said horizontal axis and the stop bar are fore-and-aft spaced such that a completed bale will initially rest on the support with its centre of gravity between the said axis and said stop bar. Thus in non-hilly conditions the gate is opened in one step and the bale rolls down the length of the support passing through the gate opening without fouling the gate. In hilly conditions the driver has the possibility to open the gate to a predetermined clearance to the ground (i.e. 1.2 m) or initially only to a predetermined position and to hold the gate in this position. The slight angle of the support is then enough to start the bale slowly rolling against the gate where the bale is stopped. Full opening of the gate is then initiated and the bale will be discharged without any inertia. An embodiment of a machine according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a view from the left of the side of a conventional round baler for forming large cylindrical bales of hay showing in broken lines some details within the machine; and Fig. 2 shows the machine of Fig. 1, also from the left, but with a discharge support arrangement for the completed bale. In the drawings, the baler includes a main frame 10 mounted on a pair of wheels of which the left hand one 12 only is shown. The main frame has an upright fore-and-aft extending wall 14 on either side, connected by transverse beams (not shown), with an upright beam 15 at the rearward edge of either wall. A draft tongue 16 is connected to a transverse beam at the front of the frame 10 and extends forwardly for attaching the baler to a tractor (also not shown) which draws the machine. A plurality of lateral rolls extends over the width of the machine (Fig. 1). One set of rolls 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 is journalled in the side walls 14, whilst another set consisting of rolls 28, 30, 32 is journalled in a gate 34 which is swingable about a pivot axis 35 at the top of the baler. There is also a pair of chamber restricting rolls 36, 38 and two belt take-up rolls 40, 41. Six rubber belts 42 are trained side-by-side over the rolls, with the exception of the roll 18 which acts as a stripper roll, to provide the configuration shown and they move in the direction indicated by arrows 44, the stripper roll 18 being driven anti-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1. However, alternate belts only are trained over the lower foremost roll 22, whilst the remaining belts by-pass this roll, to provide a staggered array which is of no significance in relation to the present invention but which is described in EP-A-0 070 537. Upwardly extending runs 46, 48 of the belts 42 define a baleforming chamber 50 the ends of which are provided by the side walls 14 and gate 34 and which has an inlet 52 for crop received from a pick-up 54 beneath it. In order to accommodate the increasing diameter of a growing bale core in the ba le-forming chamber 50, the size of the chamber must also increase and a belt take-up and tensioning mechanism is provided at either side of the machine. These mechanisms include a pair of rearwardly extending idler arms which are mounted rigidly at the forward end of the main frame 10 on a horizontal transverse shaft 56, providing a pivot connection for the arms, and of which the right hand arm 58 only is shown; the belt take-up roll 40 which is supported at either end at an intermediate location on the arms 58; and the pair of chamber restricting rolls 36, 38 supported at the free ends of the arms. The arms are biased in an anti-clockwise direction (in Fig. 1) by a pair of springs, one on either side of the main frame 10, of which only the right hand spring 60 is shown and only its arrangement will be described, the other being similar. The spring 60 is connected at its lower end by a post 62 to a lever portion 64 of the arm 58, the portion 64 being rigid with the pivot shaft 56, and at its upper end to one arm of a bell crank 66 the other arm of which bears one end of the take-up roll 41. The free end of the lever portion 64 is pivotally connected at a point 67 to the cylinder of a piston and cylinder unit 68, loading the arm 58, of which the piston 69 is in turn pivotally connected to the gate 34 at a point 70, a similar arrangement being provided also on the left hand side of the machine. As described thus far the baler is conventional. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, a support arrangement 72 is provided for a completed bale (not shown). This includes a support 74 inclined downwardly rearwardly at an angle of 5° to 8° to the horizontal and positioned below the rearward portion of the bale-forming chamber 50 when at its maximum size for a completed bale and located about wheel 12 axle level. The support 74 has two longitudinal side beams 76, only the left hand one being shown, and extends rearwardly but does not protrude beyond the back of the gate 34 so the support 74 is contained well within the confines of the rest of the machine. The support 74 is pivotally mounted at a position towards its forward end by means of a horizontal shaft 78 to which it is rigidly attached. Its forward end itself abuts, when in the horizontal position, a transverse stop bar 80 below it. The bar 80 is in the form of a tube which extends across the machine and carries behind it the axle (not shown) of the wheels. The following details apply to both sides of the machine, although for clarity only one side will be considered. A forwardly and upwardly extending lever 82 is rigidly connected to the shaft 78 which also has a post 84 rigid with it which extends rearwardly and upwardly. The post 84 is loaded at its free end by a spring 86 anchored to the frame 10. An abutment 88 for the lever 82 is provided to limit the latter's anti-clockwise swinging movement brought about by a cable 90 attached to the upper end of the lever. The cable 90 passes over lower pulleys 92, 94 and upper pulley 96 and is connectible selectively to one of two points 98, 100 on the upper portion of a link 102 which correspond to different desired openings of the gate 34 for correspondingly different bale diameters. The lower end of the link 102 is pivotted at the point 70 and so moves with the end of the piston 69 in the direction of arrow 104. In order to take up slack in the cable 90 a spring 106 is connected, at a point 108 intermediate the points 98 and 70, to the lever 102 and is anchored to the frame 10. To provide for fine adjustment of the cable the lower pulley 94 is mounted on a plate 110 pivotted at its lower end at point 112. The plate 110 carries at its upper end a screw adjuster 114 of which the screw abuts the leading face of the upright beam 15. When the gate 34 is swung by the piston and cylinder unit 68 from its closed position in Fig. 2 it will reach a preselected opening corresponding to the particular connection point 98 or 100 chosen for attachment of the cable 90 at which the cable will start to pull the lever 82 upwardly against the loading of the spring 86 so that the support 74 assumes, with continued opening of the gate 34, the position shown in broken lines in the Figure whereby the support 74 is swung downwardly about the shaft 78 to form a discharge ramp for the completed bale. On restoring the gate 34 to the closed position, the spring 86 will return the support 74 to its near horizontal position. As the gate 34 opens the bale falls onto the support 74 with its centre of gravity between (at a level above) the bar 80 and the horizontal shaft 78. It is therefore stationary until the support 74 starts to swing which occurs when the gate 34 has been opened about halfway, i.e. when the clearance between the gate and the ground is, say, about 1 metre. Thereafter the gate 34 and support 74 swing apart and the bale rolls freely through the gate opening to the ground. In hilly terrain where it is undesirable that the bale should reach the ground in motion, the arrangement is such that if the opening of the gate 34 is stopped by the tractor driver at slightly over 1 metre clearance from the ground, e.g. at 1.2 metres, then the bale will start rolling down the support 74, but because the gate 34 and support 74 are not now swinging apart the bale, although it will be deposited on the ground, will be lodged against the gate and so is stopped against further rolling. Next, opening of the gate 34 is re-started and continued until the gate is clear of the bale. The machine can then be driven away from the bale and finally the gate 34 closed and the baling operation started once more. If in more gently hilly conditions, it is desired to have some (but not too much) motion for the bale on its reaching the ground the arrangement can be such that the opening of the gate 34 is stopped at a position in which the bale will roll down the support 74 only, say, halfway and then become lodged against the gate. The opening is then continued and the bale rolls down the remainder of the support 74 and so has only a limited momentum on reaching the ground.

Claims: A baling machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop having a gate (34) which can be raised to open it to allow a completed bale to be discharged through the opening and a support (74) for the completed bale which is pivoted at a position towards its forward end about a horizontal axis (78) and is swingable between a non-discharge position and a discharge position to form a ramp down which the bale can role to the ground wherein suspension means (90) being coupled between the gate (34) and the support (74) such that the support (74) can be swung to the discharge position on the raising gate (34) pulling the suspension means (90) characterized in that the suspension means is a cable (90) connected to the gate (34) such that the support (74) being swingable to the discharge position only on a predetermined opening of the gate (34) having been reached which is sufficient for the bale to leave the baling chamber (50) and characterized in that the support (74) slopes in its non-discharge position rearwardly and downwardly at an angle of 5° to 8° to the horizontal and is abutting a stop bar (80) in its non-discharge position with a forward portion wherein the said horizontal axis (78) and the stop bar (80) are fore-and-aft spaced such that a completed bale will initially rest on the support (74) with its centre of gravity between the said axis (78) and said stop bar (80). A baling machine according to claim 1 characterised in that the cabel is connected to the gate (34) via a link (102), the cable (90) being connected at one end to the support (74) and at the other to the link (102) and the link (102) being connected to the gate (34) so that the support (74) can be swung to the discharge position on the gate (34) pulling the cable (90) and the link (102). A baling machine according to claim 2 characterised in that the link (102) has a plurality of connection points (98, 100) for the cable (90) corresponding to different predetermined openings of the gate (34). A baling machine according to claim 2 or 3 characterised in that the link (102) is loaded by a tensioning spring (106) so that the link (102) takes up slack in the cable (90). A baling machine according to any preceding claim characterised in that the support (74) is spring loaded toward the non-discharge position. A baling machine according to any preceding claim characterised in that the support (74) is contained within the confines of the machine. A baling machine according to any preceding claim characterised in that the transverse stop bar (80) supports an axle for wheels (12) of the machine.

Inventors: GUNTHER,DANIEL, LABERHEIM, RENE, VIAUD, JEAN, Laberheim, René
Applicants: DEERE & COMPANY
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A01F15
IPC codes: A01F15