Abstract:
A bale tie-off accelerator chamber receives bales from the compression chamber of a baler, keeps them compressed and ties them while a new bale is being compressed. The time required to make a bale using the prior art includes the time it takes to push the material into the pressure chamber and then stepwise apply ties to the bale as it is ejected. The present invention allows the complete freshly-compacted bale to be ejected from the pressure chamber before ties are applied, thus allowing the next bale to be formed without waiting for stepwise tying of the preceding bale.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to PCT application no. PCT/US16/33307 filed May 19, 2016, which in turn claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 62/163,611, filed Jun. 1, 2015. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO A BIOLOGICAL SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0004]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0005]    Field of the Invention 
         [0006]    This invention is in the field of compacting and baling materials for additional handling. More specifically it is in the field of maintaining the shape and compactness of bales of recycled material and preventing such bales from shedding material after they are compacted. Still more specifically, it is in the field of improving the speed and efficiency of the baling and bale tying processes. 
         [0007]    Description of the Related Art 
         [0008]    Typical two-ram balers have an upward-facing charging hopper into which the material to be baled is dumped. A first hydraulic gathering ram pushes the material to be baled from a gathering chamber under the hopper into a pressure chamber to produce a substantially rectangular solid compacted bale. A second hydraulic ejector ram at right angles to the first ram pushes the compacted bale through a tier and out onto a bale table. As the bale is pushed through the tier, the ejector ram stops at intervals to allow a wire or strap to encircle the bale and be tied off. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Objects of the Invention 
       [0009]    The time required to make a bale using the aforementioned baler includes the time it takes to push the material into the pressure chamber and then stepwise apply ties to the bale as it is ejected. Assuming the supply of material is not a limiting factor, this time line limits the production rate of the baler. There has thus been a long-felt need for a way to reduce this cycle time. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention allows the freshly-compacted bale to be ejected essentially completely from the pressure chamber before ties are applied, thus allowing the next bale to be formed without waiting for stepwise tying of the preceding bale. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a top view of a prior art baler. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an oblique view of the prior art baler. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the baler of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an oblique view of the baler of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention in a narrow configuration. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention in a wide configuration. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention tying a wide bale. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is an oblique view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention tying a wide bale. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like elements among the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a top view of a prior art baler  1 . It is a two-ram baler have an upward-facing charging hopper  2  into which the material to be baled (not shown) is dumped. A first hydraulic cylinder  3  drives a gathering ram  4  in direction A to push the material from a gathering chamber  5  under the hopper  2  into a pressure chamber  6  where the pressure of the gathering ram  4  compacts the material. A second hydraulic ejector ram  7  at right angles to the first ram  4  pushes the compacted bale  8  in direction B out onto a bale table  9  through a tier  10 . As the bale  8  is ejected through the tier  10 , it stops at intervals to allow a wire or strap  11  to encircle the bale and be tied off. A wire or strap feeder stand  12 , which supplies ties to the apparatus, is also shown. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is an oblique view of the prior art baler  1 . This view shows some material  20  waiting to be placed into hopper  2  for processing into bales. Gathering chamber  5  is visible below hopper  2 . Pressure chamber  6  equipped with stiffeners  21  is shown in front of gathering chamber  5  in this view. Behind gathering chamber  5  in this view can be seen a gathering ram housing  22 . At right angles to this housing is the ejector ram housing  23 . At the left side in this view of pressure chamber  6  is ejection port  24 . One side of the ejection port door  25  can also be seen within ejection port  24 . A wire stand  12  is seen here farther in front of pressure chamber  6 . Strapping material, in this case baling wire  26 , is pulled from the wire stand  12  through a feeder tube  27  by the tier  10 , which causes the wire to encircle a bale (not shown) in a tier frame  28 . The tier  10  also has a mechanism  29  for twisting the wire around itself and cutting it off. The bale table  9  is visible in this view to the left of the tier  10 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a top view of an accelerator chamber  30  of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. It can be built into the prior art baler or made, in embodiments, as a stand-alone device. All of the parts seen in this view above and/or to the left of the pressure chamber  6  are the same as depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . What is new here is shown in an accelerator chamber  30  built into the prior art baler  1  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). It consists of left and right tier rails  32  supported at their proximal ends by the upper edge  33  of pressure chamber  6  and at their distal ends by rail stands  34 . The tier  10  is suspended between the rails  32  on glides  35  which allow the entire tier  10  to move toward and away from pressure chamber  6 . This view shows wires  11  already applied to bale  8 , but before they are all applied, a first wire  11   a  is applied by the tier  10  as bale  8  first emerges from ejection port  24  (only the top edge of which is shown here). This holds the bale distal end  36  together while the entire bale  8  is pushed out (downwardly in this view) and the ejection port doors (not visible here; see feature  25  in  FIG. 2 ) close. This allows a new charge of material to be compacted in the pressure chamber  6  while the tying operation takes place. Paddles  37 , attached at their proximal ends to ejection port  24 , hold the sides, top and bottom of the bale  8  in place while tier  10  applies the remainder of the wires  11  to the bale. (In this view, the bottom paddle is hidden by the bale.) In embodiments, paddles  37  may be extensible in the distal direction to accommodate bales of different lengths. 
         [0022]    In the first preferred embodiment of the method, the second wire  11   b  (hidden by tier  10  in dashed lines) is applied as soon as the bale  8  leaves the baler. Tier  10  is then indexed toward the ejection port  24 , applying wires  11   c - 11   f  in succession while the bale  8  remains motionless. Wire  11   g  is here being applied by tier  10  adjacent to the ejection port  24  and is therefore not visible. Note that wire stand  12  is positioned on the floor roughly between the extreme positions of tier  10 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is an oblique view of the baler of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. No bale is present in this view. It gives a better picture of bale holding paddles  37 , rails  32 , rail stands  34 , and glides  35 . Instead of having two rails  32  from which the tier  10  is suspended, it is possible in embodiments within the scope of this invention to use rails projecting from the bottom of the pressure chamber  6 , or four rails top and bottom. It is also within the scope of this invention in embodiments to put a wheeled undercarriage on the tier that runs on floor tracks or grooves, or other means of positioning tier  10  at desired wire placement points along a bale  8 . 
         [0024]    Balers are equipped with varying degrees of control over output bale parameters such as dimensions and density. In another embodiment of the present invention, one or more of paddles  37  may be extensible in the direction away from the baler so as to accommodate longer bales. For balers having automated control over bale length, extension of one or more paddles can be coordinated with baler length settings. Similarly, it is possible within the scope of this invention to manually or automatically set the spacing between the paddles  37  to match the cross-section of the bale being produced. 
         [0025]    To maximize the bale output rate using this invention, it is highly desirable to adjust and index the wire spacing automatically. One way to do this in an embodiment of the present invention is to attach a toothed rack to the top of the tier  10  that extends from the outermost position of the tier  10  to a fixed point on the baler such as the pressure chamber  6 , and drive it with a pinion that can be programmed to move the tier along the rails relative to the bale to place ties at any desired intervals. 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. This second preferred embodiment is like the first preferred embodiment in that it also saves time by tying each bale after it is ejected from the pressure chamber  6 . It is different from the first preferred embodiment, however, in that instead of moving a tier along the length of the ejected bale while the ejected bale itself is held by paddles, this second preferred embodiment accelerator chamber  30  allows the baler&#39;s ejector ram  7  to push a compacted bale (not shown in this view) into accelerator chamber  30  without stopping, and retract. Another distinction between this embodiment and the first is that it can strap bales of varying widths. This accelerator chamber  30  has left and right endless vertical rolling walls  50  and  51 , respectively, that catch the lead end of a bale (not shown in this view) as it emerges from pressure chamber  6 , grip the bale, and move it in direction B in this view. In this second preferred embodiment, tier  10  is stationary at the end (bottom end in this view) of accelerator chamber  30 . 
         [0027]    To accommodate bales of varying widths, left rolling wall  50  of accelerator chamber  30  is movable towards and away (horizontally in this view) from right rolling wall  51 . By working example, a way to accomplish this is through the use of left and right hydraulic cylinders  52  and  53 , respectively, acting on front and rear dividers  54  and  55 , respectively. In embodiments, this invention may utilize other means without limitation for setting the spacing between the rolling walls. In this figure, hydraulic cylinders  52  and  53  are shown retracted so as to pull front and rear dividers  54  and  55  towards each other. This pulls rolling walls  50  and  51  towards each other, establishing a narrow spacing C between the walls. 
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention in a wide configuration. Here, left and right hydraulic cylinders  52  and  53  are extended, pushing front and rear dividers  54  and  55  away from each other. This motion moves left rolling wall  50  of accelerator chamber  30  away from right rolling wall  51  to a wider spacing C′. 
         [0029]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention tying a wide bale  8 . Tier  10  has applied five tie wires  11  as bale  8  has been pushed through tier  10  by rolling walls  50  and  51 , respectively. Meanwhile, a new bale (not visible) is being compacted in pressure chamber  6 . 
         [0030]    Preferably, a biasing mechanism is employed to force left rolling wall  50  towards right rolling wall  51  while they are rolling so as to squeeze the bale while the straps or wires are being applied. In a working but not limiting example, the rolling walls are endless belts driven by two drive sprockets  70  at one end of accelerator chamber  30 , each held at the other end by idler sprockets  71 . In a working but not limiting example, rolling walls  50  and  51  freewheel against bale  8  while it is first ejected into accelerator chamber  30 , and then be driven to a point where the front bale end  72  is a certain distance through tier  10 . Subsequently, the rolling walls  50  and  51  move stepwise through tier  10 , stopping as each wire  11  is tied around bale  8 . When the rear bale end  73  of the bale reaches a certain distance rearward of the tier, the rolling walls eject the bale onto bale table  9 . By functional example and not by limitation, this second preferred embodiment of accelerator chamber  30  is powered by a 10 hp motor and pump, with timing sequencing provided by a Micrologix 1100 PLC. 
         [0031]      FIG. 8  is an oblique view of the baler of the second preferred embodiment accelerator chamber  30  of the present invention tying a wide bale. Here, bale  8  is shown part-way through tier  10  after having five wires  11  tied around it. Endless vertical rolling walls  50  and  51  can be seen here from an oblique angle. Rolling wall drive motors  80  are shown connected by v-belts  81  to drive sprockets  70 .