BALE SHREDDER

Abstract: This invention relates to a bale shredding device which is intended for use in shredding bales of material such as straw, hay, or silage. Such a device in accordance with the invention and as shown by way of example in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawing comprises a stationary platform (ll) mounted beneath a bale-receiving tub (l2) having an open lower end, and a rotor (20) which is disposed in alignment with an aperture formed in said platform so as to be offset from the axis thereof, the rotor having a diameter which is substantially smaller than the internal diameter of the tub, there being also provided power-operated means for rotating the tub and the rotor about substantially parallel and spaced axes. The rotor is provided with upstanding blades (22) which extend upwardly above a bale support means (23) disposed above the rotor, and there may be provided further blades (22 b ) mounted around the periphery of the rotor and arranged in use to further chop or shred material removed by said first-mentioned blades from a bale placed in said tub and supported therein by said bale support means.

Description: Technical Field This invention relates to a device which is intended for use in shredding bales of material, such as, for example, straw, hay or silage. These bales are commonly formed and stored in a compressed condition and before the material in them can be used (e.g. for animal bedding or animal fodder) it is necessary to break them down into a looser and/or more finely divided condition in which the material can be distributed as may be desired. Background Art Devices are therefore used to chop such bales in order to reduce the material in them into the desired form and in one known kind of such a device use is made of a rotor which is provided with a plurality of blades or teeth which co-act (on rotation of said rotor) with a plurality of stationary blades to shred and chop the bale material which is engaged by said blades. Such devices may be required to deal with relatively small bales which are formed to a rectangular configuration in cross-section or with relatively large bales which are commonly formed to a circular configuration in cross-section. However devices which are intended to chop the smaller bales obviously suffer from having a restricted capacity whereas known devices intended for dealing with the larger bales usually have a relatively high power consumption. GB-A-2122480 shows such a device utilizing a non-rotatable tub to house the bale or bales and a rotor of larger diameter than the tub. Blades on the rotor co-act with fixed blades adjacent the periphery of the rotor. In certain applications the power consumption of such a device will be unacceptably high. There have also been suggested devices in which the bale is carried in a rotatable tub as disclosed in US-A-4485976. The device of US-A-4485976, which forms the basis of the prior art portion of claim 1, has a cutter which rotates about an axis transverse the axis of rotation of the bale and the tub and which thus has certain serious disadvantages including the need for substantial space below the tub in which to accommodate the vertically disposed cutter and an inefficient cutting action requiring a complex tub floor construction and having a high power consumption. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved bale shredding device which is capable of chopping and shredding in an economical manner both the smaller and larger bales. Disclosure of Invention In accordance with the invention there is provided a bale shredder device comprising a stationary platform, a bale container in the form of a tub disposed above said platform and having an open lower end, a rotor disposed in alignment with an opening formed in said platform so as to be offset from the axis thereof, said rotor having a diameter which is substantially smaller than the internal diameter of the tub, one or more blades mounted on the rotor and projecting into the tub and bale support means disposed above said rotor, the tub and the rotor being rotatable in use by power-operated means about substantially parallel and spaced axes, the arrangement being such that, in use, a bale placed in said tub is rotated thereby whilst said blade or blades remove material from the lower end of the bale. There may also be provided one or more further blades which are mounted around the periphery of the rotor and which act to further shred material removed by the first-mentioned blade or blades. Preferably the tub (which may for example have an internal diameter at least twice as large as the diameter of the rotor) is in use rotated in the same direction as the rotor and both the tub and the rotor may be driven from the power take-off mechanism of an agricultural tractor or by any other convenient means. In either case, the tub may be rotated by means of an endless belt which engages its exterior, although of course other means may be employed instead. The interior of the tub may be provided with adjustable or inter-changeable vanes which are adapted to grip a bale as it is pushed into the tub from the upper end thereof. The platform may be provided with stationary blades which co-act with the further blade or blades where these are provided. A plurality of fixed wedge elements may also be connected to the platform, such wedge elements acting to inhibit rotation of the removed material with the rotor. Preferably both stationary blades and wedge elements are incorporated. The bale support means is preferably in the form of a disc which is coaxial with the rotor and which is disposed above it, the height of said disc above the rotor being adjustable. Preferably the height to which said first-mentioned blade or blades project above the rotor is adjustable, although the or each such blade may be spring-loaded instead if desired. Brief Description of Drawings The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure l is a perspective view of one example of a bale shredding device in accordance with the invention Figures 2 and 3 are respectively schematic plan and side elevation views of the device seen in Figure l and Figure 4 is an enlarged schematic fragmentary section of the device. Mode for Carrying out the Invention Referring now to the drawings there is shown in Figure l a bale shredding device which incorporates a frame l0 for use in connecting the device to a conventional three point linkage of an agricultural tractor whereby the device may be carried by the tractor into any required position. The device includes a stationary housing or platform ll on which is mounted a generally cylindrical tub l2 which is open at both its upper and lower ends. The exterior of said tub is provided with a number of strengthening ribs l3 whereas its interior is provided with a plurality of spaced vanes l4 which, as shown, are of generally wedge-shaped configuration, the narrower ends being disposed adjacent to the upper end of said tub. Said vanes are adapted in use to grip a bale of straw or hay or other material which is inserted into the tub from the upper end thereof and the vanes can either be adjustable in position (as for example by means of fixing screws which extend through elongated slots) or interchangeable in order to accommodate different sizes and/or shapes of bale. The tub l2 is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said stationary platform ll and to this end there is mounted on the platform a plurality of roller assemblies such as are indicated by reference numeral l5. An endless chain l6 which is itself driven from the power take-off mechanism of the tractor (or from any other suitable means) serves to drive a gearbox l7 which has a driving pulley l8 which engages an endless belt l9 which in turn envelops the exterior of the tub l2 in order that it can be rotated about the aforesaid vertical axis. Referring now to Figures 2 and 4 the device also includes a rotor 20 which is aligned with but positioned somewhat below a circular aperture ll a formed in said stationary platform ll so as to be off set from the axis thereof and said rotor is also adapted to be driven by the aforesaid power take-off mechanism of the tractor via a rotor gearbox 2l (see Figure 3). The rotor is thus arranged to rotate about as vertical axis which is parallel to but spaced from the axis of rotation of the tub l2 and the rotor and the tub are arranged to rotate in the same direction of rotation. Furthermore the upper surface of said rotor 20 is provided with one or more blades 22 which at their upper ends project through the aforesaid aperture formed in the platform ll and into the space which is enclosed by the lower end of said tub l2. The blades 22 are mounted on the rotor 20 such that the height to which they project can be adjusted. The or each blade 22 may, for example, be mounted on a multi-apertured bracket 22 a so that height adjustment can be obtained by selection of the particular aperture in the bracket used. Alternatively, the or each blade 22 may be spring loaded instead of being fixed to a bracket. The rotor is also provided with bale support means in the form of a centrally arranged disc 23 which is mounted on the rotor so as to project upwardly therefrom and which is of upwardly convex form, said disc being adjustable in a vertical direction by any convenient means (not shown) so that it forms an adjustable bale support means which will determine, according to its vertical setting relative to the rotor, how far the upper ends or tips of the or each blade 22 will penetrate into the lower end of a bale which is positioned within the tub l2. Conveniently said means for adjusting the height of said disc 23 is disposed on the exterior of the device. Alternatively, as shown, a spacer 24 mounted between the disc 23 and the rotor 20 may be removed and another spacer of different thickness substituted. A plurality of downwardly projecting stationary blades 25 are mounted on the underside of the platform around the aperture ll a . These blades 25 coact with, as shown,upwardly directed further blades 22 b arranged around the periphery of the rotor 20. The blades 25 and 22 b coact to further shred material removed from the lower end of a bale in the tub by blades 22 and thrown outwardly by the rotor. Instead of the stationary blades 25, or in addition thereto, there may be a plurality of wedge elements 27 on the platform within the aperture ll a . These wedge elements contact material cut from the lower end of the bale and slow down the rotation of the mass of material on the rotor, so that such material arrives at the blades 22 a travelling at a lower tangential velocity than the blades, thereby allowing these blades to effect their chopping or shredding action. As will be seen from Figure 2 the internal diameter of the tub is substantially greater than the diameter of said rotor 20 and in one convenient example said tub diameter is in fact twice that of the rotor diameter. In an alternative arrangement (not shown) the further blades 25 are not used. There is also provided beneath said platform ll a chute 26 having an inlet which communicates with an annulus surrounding said rotor, and an outlet which is conveniently disposed beneath the tub l2 at one side of the device. Vanes 28 on the rotor are disposed in this annulus and create a draught such that, in use material which has been shredded and cut from the bottom end of a bale placed in the tub l2 will be discharged in relatively small or fine pieces sideways in a generally horizontal direction from the device. The rotation of the tub l2 as above described will impart a corresponding rotation to the bale contained within the tub and the rotation of the rotor in the same direction will provide in effect a kind of "servo" assistance which will generally reduce the power input required by the device. The rotation of the bale will of course also serve to move the bottom end of the bale round and across the rotating rotor in order that material can be chopped from the lower end of the bale by the rotor blade or blades. A part of the lower end surface of the bale will of course be supported by that portion of the upper surface of the platform ll adjacent to the aperture therein and this supporting surface may either be of continuous plain form or may be provided with a series of wheels or rollers or the like which can either be freely rotatable or alternatively driven in order to assist in the rotation of the bale. Industrial Applicability A bale shredding device formed in accordance with the present invention can be used to chop and shred bales of compressed material such as straw, hay or silage and the device is capable of dealing efficiently with bales of various sizes and shapes.

Claims: A bale shredding device comprising a stationary platform (11), a bale container in the form of a tub (12) rotatably disposed above said platform (11) and having an open lower end, a rotor (20) disposed in alignment with an opening formed in said platform (11), one or more blades (22) mounted on said rotor (20), means for rotating said tub (12) and, means for rotating said rotor (20), said rotor (20) having a diameter which is substantially smaller than the internal diameter of the tub (12), the device being characterized in that the axis of rotation of the rotor (20) is parallel to and spaced from the axis of rotation of the tub (12) so that the rotor (20) rotates about an axis parallel to but offset from the rotational axis of the tub (12), there being bale support means (23) disposed above said rotor (20) and the arrangement being such that in use when the rotor (20) rotates the blade or blades (22) of the rotor (20), which project into the tub (12), remove material from the lower end of the bale placed in the tub (12). A bale shredding device as claimed in Claim 1 characterized in that the tub (12) in use is rotated in the same direction as the rotor (20). A bale shredding device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized in that the tub (12) has an internal diameter which is at least twice as large as the diameter of the rotor (20). A bale shredding device a claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the tub (12) is rotated by means of an endless belt (19) which engages its exterior. A bale shredding device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the interior of the tub (12) is provided with adjustable or interchangeable vanes (14) which are adapted to grip a bale as it is pushed into the tub (12) from the upper end thereof. A bale shredding device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterized in that there are provided one or more further blades (22 b ) which are mounted around the periphery of the rotor (20) and which act to further shred material removed by said first-mentioned blade or blades (22). A bale shredding device as claimed in Claim 6 characterized in that there are provided one or more stationary blades (25) which are mounted on said platform (11) and which are arranged in use to co-act with said second blade or blades (22 b ). A bale shredding device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterized in that a plurality of fixed wedge elements (27) are connected to the platform (11) so as to inhibit rotation of the material removed by said first-mentioned blade or blades (22). A blade shredding device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said bale support means comprises a disc (23) which is coaxial with the rotor (20) and which is disposed above it, means being provided for adjusting the height of said disc (23) above the rotor (20). A bale shredding device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterized in that means are provided for adjusting the height to which said first-mentioned blade or blades (22) project above the rotor (20).

Inventors: PAUL, NICHOLAS JOHN
Applicants: KIDD FARM MACHINERY LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A01F29
IPC codes: A01F29, B02C18