Round baler with rollers and belts

Abstract: A round baler (10) utilizes a combination of rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) and belts (38) arranged to define a generally D-shaped bale starting chamber (37). An inner course (38a) of the belts (38) forms the rear wall of the bale starting chamber (37) while the rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) form the front wall of the bale starting chamber (37). The belt inner course (38a) extends upwardly and forwardly when the chamber (37) is empty and is expandable in length during bale formation.

Description: This invention relates generally to agricultural balers and, in particular, to such balers typically referred to as "round balers" which form cylindrical bales of crop material. Two basic types of round balers exist today. The fixed chamber type of round baler forms bales with a soft core and a hard outer shell whereas the expanding chamber type of round baler forms bales with a hard core and a relatively uniform density throughout. An advantage of soft core bales is that they suffer only minimal rotting of the core even if moist crop material is baled. However, a disadvantage of soft core bales is that they tend to sag into an odd shape when stored for extended periods of time. An advantage of hard core bales is that they minimize the sagging problem of soft core bales but a disadvantage of hard core bales is that they have core rotting problems. Three basic types of bale forming elements have been used in round balers. These are chain and slat aprons, belts and rollers. Each type of bale forming element has advantages and disadvantages. For example, an advantage of chain and slat aprons is that they are capable of starting bales in almost all crop conditions but a disadvantage of these aprons is that they often form bales with rough outer surfaces. An advantage of belts is that they form bales with smooth outer surfaces but belts have a disadvantage in that they have bale starting problems in certain crop conditions. Rollers also have the advantage of forming bales with smooth outer surfaces but they have a disadvantage of resulting in losses of crop material through the gaps between adjacent rollers. It has already been attempted to provide a round baler which incorporates as many advantages as possible of the two basic types of round balers and the three basic types of bale forming elements while minimizing the disadvantages thereof. One such baler is shown in EP-A-0 120 545 which proposes a. o. to combine a series of fixedly positioned rollers with expandable conveyor means in the form of either an apron chain or conveyor belts. However, this type of baler nevertheless occasionally still suffers from certain disadvantages and one such disadvantage again relates to the starting of the core formation. Indeed, in certain crop conditions, core formation actually either fails to start or the start occurs hesitatingly which equally is not acceptable. This problem is more critical with respect to balers having expandable conveyor means in the form of conveyor belts than with respect to balers wherein the expandable conveyor means are formed by an apron chain arrangement. Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a round baler which, on the one hand, enables the formation of cylindrical bales with hard cores, hard outer shells and smooth outer surfaces while minimizing crop losses and, on the other hand, prevents bale starting problems in almost all crop conditions. The present invention is defined in the appended claims and a round baler in accordance with this invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a round baler according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 2 is another side elevational view, partly in section, of the round baler of Fig. 1. The terms "forward", "rearward", "left" and "right" used in connection with the baler and/or components thereof are determined with reference to the direction of forward operative travel of the baler and should not be considered as limiting. Also the terms "upper" and "lower" are used principally throughout this specification for convenience and it should be understood that these terms equally are not intended to be limiting. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a round baler 10 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a main frame 12 supported by a pair of wheels 14. A tongue 16 is provided on the forward portion of the main frame 12 for connection to a tractor (not shown). An auxiliary frame or tailgate 18 is pivotally connected to the main frame 12 by stub shafts 20 for movement between a closed bale forming position shown in Fig. 1 and an open bale discharge position (not shown). A conventional pickup 22 is mounted on the main frame 12 and is supported by a pair of wheels 24. The pickup 22 includes a plurality of fingers or tines 26 movable in a predetermined path to lift crop material from the ground and deliver it rearwardly toward a floor roll 28 which is rotatably mounted between the sidewalls of the main frame 12. In accordance with the present invention, a first bale forming means comprises a series of rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 extending between the sidewalls of the main frame 12 in an arcuate arrangement. Drive means (not shown) are provided to cause rotation of the rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 in a clockwise direction as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. A second bale forming means comprises a plurality of belts 38 supported in a side-by-side arrangement between the sidewalls of the main frame 12 and between the sidewalls of the tailgate 18. The belts 38 are supported on guide rolls 40, 42, 44, 46 rotatably mounted in the tailgate 18 and on a drive roll 48 rotatably mounted in the main frame 12. Further drive means (not shown) are provided to cause rotation of the drive roll 48 which causes movement of the belts 38 along the path and in the direction indicated in Fig. 1 when the round baler 10 is empty. A pair of arms 50 are pivotally mounted on the tailgate 18 by a cross shaft 52 for movement between inner and outer positions shown in phantom and solid lines, respectively, in Fig. 2. Arms 50 carry an additional guide roll 54 for the belts 38. Resilient means (not shown) are provided to normally urge the arms 50 toward their inner position while resisting movement of the arms 50 from their inner position to their outer position. When the round baler 10 is in the empty condition as shown in Fig. 1, the inner course 38a of the belts 38 extending between the guide roll 46 and drive roll 48 cooperates with the rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 to define a generally D-shaped bale starting chamber 37. The inner course 38a of the belts 38 forms the rear wall of the chamber 37 while the rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 form the front wall of the chamber 37. The roller 36 is positioned adjacent the drive roll 48 to strip crop material from the belts 38, and the roller 30 is spaced from the floor roll 28 to form a throat or inlet 39 for the chamber 37. The arms 50 will be urged into their inner position shown in phantom in Fig. 2 in order to start a bale. As the round baler 10 is towed across a field by a tractor (not shown), the pickup tines 26 lift crop material from the ground and feed it into the bale starting chamber 37 via the throat 39. The crop material is carried rearwardly by the floor roll 28 into engagement with the inner course 38a of the belts 38 which carry it upwardly into engagement with the rollers 30, 32, 34, 36. The crop material is coiled in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to start a bale. Continued feeding of crop material into the chamber 37 by the pickup tines 26 causes the inner course 38a of the belts 38 to expand in length around part of the bale as the diameter of the bale grows. The arms 50 rotate from their inner position shown in phantom in Fig. 2 toward their outer position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 in order to permit expansion of the belt inner course 38a. when a full sized bale has been formed and then wrapped with a suitable material such as twine, the tailgate 18 is raised by conventional means such as hydraulic cylinders (not shown) to its open position for discharging the bale from the round baler 10. Subsequent lowering of the tailgate 18 to its closed position returns the inner course 38a of the belts 38 to the location shown in Fig. 1 since the arms 50 are returned to their inner position shown in phantom in Fig. 2. The round baler 10 is now ready to form another bale. It should be understood that the peripheral speed of the rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 is substantially the same as the speed of the belts 38. This results in less crop loss, lower power requirements and smoother bale surface. It will be understood that the combination of rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 and belts 38 used in the round baler 10 of the present invention results in the formation of cylindrical bales with hard cores, hard outer shells, and smooth outer surfaces. This combination of rollers and belts also prevents bale starting problems in almost all crop conditions. Also, crop loss is minimized in the round baler 10 of the present invention due to the location of the rollers 30, 32, 34, 36 above the throat 39.

Claims: A round baler comprising : a main frame (12); an auxiliary frame (18) pivotally connected to the main frame (12) for movement between a closed, bale-forming position and an open, bale-discharge position; an expandable bale chamber defined by a front wall formed by a series of rollers (30, 32, 34, 36), a rear wall formed by a run (38a) of endless flexible conveyor means (38), a floor roller (28) and a bale chamber inlet (39); said pivotal mounting (20) of the auxiliary frame (18) on the main frame (12) being located generally at or adjacent the bale chamber upper end; said series of rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) being rotatably mounted in the main frame (12) in an arcuate arrangement extending above the bale chamber inlet (39) and between said bale chamber inlet (39) and the pivotal mounting (20) of the auxiliary frame (18) on the main frame (12); said flexible conveyor means comprising a plurality of side-by-side extending endless belts (38) movably supported on a drive roll (48) rotatably mounted generally at or adjacent the bale chamber upper end and guide rolls (40, 42, 44, 46) rotatably mounted in the auxiliary frame (18); said run (38a) extending between said drive roll (48) and one of said guide rolls (46) disposed, when seen with the auxiliary frame (18) in the closed position, generally at or adjacent the bale chamber lower end and, said floor roller (28) being rotatably mounted in the main frame (12) at a distance from said series of rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) to determine said bale chamber inlet (39) therebetween and, again when seen with the auxiliary frame (18) in the closed position, adjacent said one guide roll (46); a pick-up (22) mounted on the main frame (12) adjacent the floor roller (28) and the bale chamber inlet (39); pivotally mounted take-up and tensioning arms (50) for the conveyor means (38) and disposed, on the one hand, to urge said run (38a) of the conveyor means (38), in the empty condition of the baler, into a rectilinear path extending between said one guide roll (46) and said drive roll (48) and defining, together with the series of front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36), the floor roller (28) and the bale chamber inlet (39), a generally D-shaped bale starting chamber (37) and, on the other hand, to permit, during bale formation, expansion of said run (38a) in a direction away from said series of front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) and outwardly between said one guide roll (46) and said drive roll (48) to extend along a curved path therebetween and delimiting, together with said series of front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36), said floor roller (28) and said bale chamber inlet (39), a generally cylindrically shaped, full size bale chamber when a bale being formed therein, reaches its maximum size, and characterised in that said drive roll (48) is rotatably mounted in the main frame (12) and provided between said series of front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) and said pivotal mounting (20) of the auxiliary frame (18) on the main frame (12) and again when seen with the auxiliary frame (18) in the closed position, said drive roll (48) is located forwardly of said one guide roll (46) whereby said run (38a) of the conveyor means (38) is inclined upwardly and forwardly from said one guide roll (46) in the empty condition of the baler (10). A round baler according to claim 1, characterised in that said front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) are mounted at fixed positions in the main frame (12). A round baler according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the pivotally mounted take-up and tensioning arms (50) comprise a pair of arms (50) pivotally mounted in the auxiliary frame (18) and carrying guide rolls (54) engaged with said conveyor means (38), and that resilient means are provided and associated with the arms (50) for urging said arms (50) with the guide rolls (54) thereon in a conveyor take-up position and resisting movement of these arms (50) with the guide rolls (54) thereon from said take-up position to an expanded conveyor position. A round baler according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the series of front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36), the endless conveyor means (38) and the floor roller (28) all are driven in the same direction and the one roller (36) of the series of front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) adjacent the drive roll (48) is positioned so as to brush past the endless conveyor means (38) extending around said drive roll (48) whereby, during operation, said one roller (36) strips crop material from said endless conveyor means (38). A round baler according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the front wall rollers (30, 32, 34, 36) and the conveyor means (38) are driven at substantially the same peripheral speed.

Inventors: JENNINGS RICHARD E, JENNINGS, RICHARD E.
Applicants: FORD NEW HOLLAND NV, NEW HOLLAND BELGIUM N.V.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A01F15
IPC codes: A01F15