Abstract:
A baler tie feed apparatus is provided having a compaction chamber, a platen and a door, wherein aligned channels are defined within the top and bottom of the compaction chamber, the platen and the door so as to define a plurality of continuous open channels surrounding a bale of compacted material having horizontal top and bottom portions and vertical front and rear portions. A tie feed apparatus is provided which comprises a plurality of elongate tie engaging members, each of which engages tying media inserted through the top and rear portions of the channels and is advanced to thread the tying media through the bottom portion of the channels.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention generally relates to a baler tie feed apparatus useful in conjunction with a baler used to compact loose material, such as trash, refuse and recyclables, into dense, compact bales. The invention has specific utility in tying a bale of compacted material to maintain its compacted size and shape once the bale is discharged from the baler. 
   It is well known to compact loose material by means of a refuse or recycling baler into dense, tightly packed bales to facilitate the transfer, storage, disposal and/or recycling of such material. The types of material which may be so compacted range from agricultural products, such as straw, hay, cotton and the like, to trash, refuse and recyclables. For the purpose of this discussion, the material will be referred to as trash, refuse or recyclables, although it will be apparent that the present invention has utility with respect to the compaction of such other materials as well. 
   Such balers typically consist of a hopper into which the material to be compacted is deposited, a compaction chamber in which the bale of compacted material is formed and a ram or platen which is activated to move the material from the hopper into the compaction chamber in which the material is compacted into a compact, dense bale. Once a bale is so formed, the platen is withdrawn and the bale discharged from the compaction chamber. Upon discharge from the compaction chamber, however, the compacted material in the bale will not maintain its shape, but tends to expand and increase in size. It is well known to tie the compacted bale with various media (such as twine, string, wire and metal banding) to minimize the size of the bale for handling, transfer, storage and/or disposal. 
   A number of different tying arrangements have been utilized for this purpose. The most basic tying arrangement includes manually wrapping the tying media around the bale after the bale is released from the baler and securing the opposed ends of the tying media once the bale is so wrapped. Since the material in the bale expands fairly quickly once the bale is removed from the baler, it is important to complete such manual wrapping as soon as possible to keep the expansion of the bale to a minimum. It is inevitable that some expansion will occur, however, no matter how quickly the bale is wrapped. 
   To solve the problems inherent with wrapping the bale manually after it is removed from the baler, it has been known to provide various means to wrap the bale while it is still in the baler and before it has an opportunity to expand. The primary challenge to be overcome in so doing is to wrap the bale with tying media while the bale is still located within the structure of the compaction chamber and the platen is in place. The prior art devices typically involve providing channels or openings within the compaction chamber and platen through which the tying media may be threaded to encircle the bale while the bale is in its most compacted form and prior to discharging the bale from the baler. These prior art solutions present their own set of problems, however. 
   One example of such prior art bale wrapping devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,364 to Freund. In that instance, a wire carrier is disclosed which moves partially around the bale to wrap a number of baling wires around the bale once formed. Once the baling wires have encircled the bale, a wire twisting mechanism is activated to twist the opposed ends of the baling wires to tighten and secure them. 
   Another example of such prior art bale wrapping devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,599 to Ulrich. In that instance, a baler is provided in which channels or grooves are provided in the bottom of the ram (platen), rear and floor of the baler. The channels or grooves are aligned to define continuous channels or grooves around three sides of the bale. Once the bale is formed, the door is opened and a “fish tool” is inserted into each channel to draw a number of wires or cords around three sides of the bale. Once so drawn around the bale, the opposed ends of the wires or cords are tied to secure the bale. 
   Another example of the prior art bale wrapping devices is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,969 to Anthony. In this instance, a number of wedge-shaped, bale compression members are provided on the inner faces of opposed platens which cause compressed areas in a cotton bale as the same is being formed. Wires are threaded through the recesses in the compression members to encircle the bale. Once the opposed ends of the wires are secured, the platens are withdrawn and the wires remain in place around the bale by passing out of the recesses through an opening. 
   Still yet another example of the bale wrapping devices of the prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,307 to Daniel et al. In this instance, a bale encircling, movable guide track is provided having opposed sections defining a wire receiving groove. Once the guide track is in place, a wire is passed through the groove to encircle the bale. The opposed ends of the wire are secured by twisting, and the wire is tensioned to pull the wire from between the opposed sections of the guide track. At that point, the movable portions of the guide track are removed to leave the wire tied around the bale. 
   All of the prior art devices utilize complicated, detailed mechanisms which are expensive to construct and maintain. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is one object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for wrapping a bale of compacted material such as trash and refuse while the bale is still under pressure. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for wrapping a bale of compacted material which is inexpensive and reliable in construction and operation. 
   To those ends, a baler tie feed apparatus is provided having a compaction chamber, a platen and a door, wherein aligned channels are defined within the top and bottom of the compaction chamber, the platen and the door so as to define a plurality of continuous open channels surrounding a bale of compacted material having horizontal top and bottom portions and vertical front and rear portions. The tying media (i.e., wire) is manually threaded though the top and rear portions of each channel until the end of the tying media is positioned adjacent the rear of the bottom portion of the channel. A tie feed apparatus is provided which comprises a plurality of elongate tie engaging members, each of which operates within the bottom portion of one of the channels between a rear position wherein the forward ends of each tie engaging member is located beneath the rear portion of one of the channels and a forward position wherein the forward ends of each tie engaging member is located beneath the front portion of one of the channels. The front ends of the tie engaging members are adapted to engage the tying media. A rack and pinion drive is provided to operate the tie feed apparatus between the rear and forward positions. In operation, once the tying media has been manually inserted through the top and rear portions of the desired channels, the tie feed apparatus is advanced from its rear position toward its forward position. In so doing, the front ends of the tie guiding members engage the corresponding tying media and thread it through the bottom portion of the corresponding channel until it reaches the front portion of the channel. At that point, the tying media can be manually grasped and extended upward through the front portion of the channel and secured to bind the bale. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a side plan view of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door in the closed position. 
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door in the closed position. 
       FIG. 3  is a side sectional view of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door in an opened position, showing the platen in rear position A. 
       FIG. 4  is a side sectional view of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door in an opened position, showing the platen in intermediate position B. 
       FIG. 5  is a side sectional view of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door in an opened position, showing the platen in forward position C. 
       FIG. 6  is a top sectional view of a portion of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door in an opened position. 
       FIG. 7  is a front plan view of the compaction chamber of a refuse baler according to the present invention with the door latched in the closed position. 
       FIG. 8  is a top sectional view of the compaction chamber of a refuse baler according to the present invention taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 9  is a front sectional view of the compaction chamber of a refuse baler according to the present invention taken along the line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 10  is a top sectional view of the door of a refuse baler according to the present invention taken along the line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 11  is a bottom elevational view of a baler tie feed apparatus according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 12  is a fragmented bottom perspective view of a tie feed apparatus and rack and pinion drive of a baler tie feed apparatus according to the present invention. 
       FIGS. 13   a,    13   b  and  13   c  are side sectional views of a baler tie feed apparatus according to the present invention showing a bale tie wire in various stages of wrapping a bale. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to the drawing, wherein like numerals represent like elements throughout the several views, there is shown a trash or refuse baler generally designated by the numeral  10 . Baler  10  comprises a housing  11  supported by a frame  12  having vertical frame members  13 , and defines a compaction chamber  15  at the front of housing  11  and a hopper portion  14  positioned rearwardly of and adjacent to compaction chamber  15 ; and a platen  16  operable within housing  11  between a rear position A wherein the leading edge of platen  16  is positioned substantially along the same vertical plane as the rear of hopper portion  14 , an intermediate position B wherein the leading edge of platen  16  is positioned substantially along the same vertical plane as the front of hopper portion  14 , and a forward position C wherein the leading edge of platen  16  extends into compaction chamber  15  adjacent to the front of compaction chamber  15 . 
   Frame  12  comprises spaced, vertical members  13  and spaced, upper and lower horizontal members (not shown) extending transversely of housing  11  and between the corresponding vertical members  13 . Vertical members  13  have feet  20  at their lower ends to permit attachment of baler  10  to the floor once in the desired location. 
   The front end of compaction chamber  15  comprises a door  21  hinged at one side to swing outwardly to facilitate removal of a bale of compacted material from compaction chamber  15  once fully formed. Door  21  may be locked in a closed position by a hydraulically activated latch mechanism  22 . 
   Baler  10  is provided with conventional controls. Platen  16  is operable between rear position A and forward position C by a power unit, generally shown as  23 , having a motor, hydraulic pumps and valves, acting on hydraulic cylinders to extend and withdraw platen  16  from one position to another. 
   The general operation of baler  10  is as follows. With platen  16  in position A and door  21  closed and latched shut, material to be compacted is deposited into hopper portion  14  through an upwardly facing opening in housing  11  by means of chute  24 . Once the material to be compacted is loaded into hopper portion  14 , power unit  23  is activated (either manually or automatically) to advance platen  16  toward position C, thereby moving the material into compaction chamber  15  and compacting it. Platen  16  will advance until the point at which the resistance of the material being compacted prevents further advancement. The power unit  23  is activated to advance platen  16  for a predetermined amount of time, at the end of which a switch is triggered to reverse the direction of platen  16  to retract it toward position A. While being retracted, platen  16  moves at a constant speed. By measuring the amount of time it takes platen  16  to return to position B, the distance traveled by platen  16  while being retracted (and thus the depth of the compacted material in compaction chamber  15 ) can be determined. When such return time indicates that the bale is fully formed (i.e., compaction chamber  15  is full), platen  16  is stopped at position B while the bale is tied as is more fully described below. Once the bale is tied, door  21  is opened by unlatching latch mechanism  22  and platen  16  is advanced again toward position C to push the bale from compaction chamber  15 . All of the foregoing operations are accomplished with conventional equipment and controls. 
   Compaction chamber  15  comprises a top portion  31 , a bottom portion  32  and side portions  33  extending between front frame member  12  and compaction chamber frame  34 . 
   Compaction chamber frame  34  has spaced, vertical side members  35  and spaced, upper and lower horizontal members  36 ,  37 . Top portion  31  of compaction chamber  15  is formed by a number of parallel “U” shaped ceiling beams  38  attached at one end to the underside of upper horizontal member of front frame member  12  and at the other end to upper horizontal member  36  of compaction chamber frame  34 . Ceiling beams  38  are oriented in such a manner that the webs of ceiling beams  38  face downwardly and form the ceiling of compaction chamber  15 . Ceiling beams  38  are spaced to define a number of parallel channels  39  between them. 
   Similarly, bottom portion  32  of compaction chamber  15  is formed by a number of parallel “U” shaped floor beams  40  attached at one end to the top of lower horizontal member of front frame member  12  and at the other end to the top of lower horizontal member  37  of compaction chamber frame  34 . Floor beams  40  are oriented in such a manner that the webs of floor beams  40  face upwardly and form the floor of compaction chamber  15 . Floor beams  40  are spaced to define a number of parallel channels  41  between them. Each floor beam  40  is positioned directly below a ceiling beam  38  such that the channels  41  are located directly below a corresponding channel  39 . 
   Construction of door  21  is best understood with reference to  FIGS. 5 ,  7  and  10 . Door  21  comprises a door frame  50  having spaced, vertical side members, spaced, upper and lower horizontal members and a plurality of parallel, vertical “U” shaped door beams  54  attached at one end to the inside of upper horizontal member and at the other end to the insider of lower horizontal member. Door beams  54  are oriented in such a manner that the webs of door beams  54  face inwardly (or rearwardly) toward compaction chamber  15  when door  21  is closed and form the forward wall of compaction chamber  15  when door  21  is closed. Door beams  54  are spaced to define a number of parallel channels  55  between them. Each door beam  54  is aligned with a corresponding ceiling beam  38  and floor beam  40  such that channels  55  are aligned with corresponding channels  39  and  41 . 
   Construction of platen  16  is best understood with reference to  FIGS. 6 and 9 . Platen  16  comprises a platen frame  60  and a platen face  61  located on the forward end of platen frame  60 . Platen frame  60  has the same general cross-sectional configuration as housing  11  and is sized to slide within housing  11 . Wear pads are provided to maintain contact and even spacing between platen frame  60  and the inside of housing  11 . Platen face  61  is comprised of a plurality of parallel, vertical “U” shaped platen beams  63  attached to one end to the front of the top of platen frame  60  and at the other end to the front of the bottom of platen frame  60 . Platen beams  63  are oriented in such a manner that the webs of platen beams  63  face forwardly toward compaction chamber  15  to form platen face  61 . Platen beams  63  are spaced to define a number of parallel channels  64  between them. Each platen beam  63  is aligned with a corresponding ceiling beam  38  and floor beam  40  such that channels  64  align with corresponding channels  39 ,  41  and  55 . Thus, it will be seen that each set of aligned channels  39 ,  41 ,  55  and  64  form a continuous channel around compaction chamber  15  when platen  16  is located between positions B and C. 
   A platen shear bar  65  is attached to the top of platen face  61 . Platen shear bar  65  has a forward facing cutting edge  66  and a plurality of slots  67  which are aligned and communicate with channels  64 . Slots  67  permit the introduction of tying members into channels  64  when the tying process is commenced as described below. Shear bar  65  will act to cut through and shear off any material deposited in chute  24  that does not fit within hopper portion  14  as platen  16  passes from hopper portion  14  toward compaction chamber  15 . 
   A stop plate  70  is attached across vertical members of compaction chamber frame  34  below the front of hopper portion  14 . Stop plate  70  is positioned such that it will lie beneath channels  64  in platen face  61  when platen  16  is in position B. A horizontal rod  71  is attached across the bottom of floor beams  40  slightly forward of stop plate  70  as shown. 
   As best seen in  FIG. 11 , a tie guide mechanism  80  is attached to and operable on the underside of housing  11 . Tie guide mechanism  80  comprises a transverse bar  81  and a plurality of tie push rods  82  attached to tie transverse bar  81  at one end and extending forwardly therefrom. Tie guide mechanism  80  is suspended beneath housing  11  by means of suspension brackets  83  extending downwardly from the bottom of housing  11  and bearing pads attached to suspension brackets  83 , with two or more of tie push rods  82  riding on bearing pads as shown. The number of tie push rods  82  is equal to the number of channels  41  in the bottom portion  32  of compaction chamber  15 . Tie push rods  82  are aligned with channels  41  such that one tie push rod  82  is operable within and along length of each channel  41 . The length of tie push rods  82  is greater than the length of compaction chamber  15 . Tie guide mechanism  80  is operable between a position D wherein the forward ends of tie push rods  82  are located slightly rearwardly of platen face  61  when platen  16  is in position B and a position E wherein the forward ends of tie push rods  82  extend forwardly of the front of door  21 . Tie guide mechanism  80  is moved between position D and position E by means of a rack and pinion mechanisms  85  wherein a rack is located on the underside of each of the outer tie push rods  82  and engage a corresponding pinion rotatable on a shaft  86  attached to a motor  87 . By operating motor  87  in a forward or backward manner, the rack and pinion mechanisms  85  will cause tie guide mechanism  80  to move forward or backward. Rack and pinion mechanisms  85  is operable by conventional control means (either manual or automatic). 
   The forward end of each tie push rod  82  is notched as at notches to engage a tie when a tie is inserted down through the channels  55  in platen face  61  as described below. 
   Operation of tie guide mechanism  80  is best understood with reference to  FIGS. 13   a  to  13   c . Once a bale of compacted material is fully formed, platen  16  is returned to position B, whereby the bale is contained entirely within compaction chamber  15 . A bale tie wire  90  is inserted beneath frame  12  adjacent the front of baler  10  into each of the ceiling channels  39  and each of the corresponding platen channels  64  until tie wire  90  is stopped by coming into contact with stop plate  70 . Once a tie wire  90  is so inserted through all channels  64 , rack and pinion mechanisms  85  are activated to move tie guide mechanism  80  forward from position D toward position E. As tie guide mechanism  80  is moved forwardly, notches in the forward end of each tie push rod  82  engage the corresponding tie wire  90  at a point slightly above its end and push it forwardly. As the ends of tie wires  90  move forward, the end of tie wires  90  come into contact with rod  71  which causes the ends of tie wires  90  to be bent back against themselves thereby securing tie wires  90  in corresponding notches while tie wires  90  are threaded through the corresponding channels  41  in the bottom portion  32  of compaction chamber  15 . 
   Once tie guide mechanism  80  is advanced to position E, the ends of tie wires  90  are manually advanced through the corresponding channels  55  in door  21  until tie wires  90  completely encircle the bale. Tie wires  90  are then cut and the opposed ends wrapped or otherwise secured. When all tie wires  90  have been so secured, door  21  is opened by releasing latch mechanism  22  and platen  16  is activated to advance it from position B toward position C, thereby expelling the bale from compaction chamber  15 . 
   While we have described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that other embodiments may be possible within the scope of our invention.