Abstract:
A supply roll of durable plastic wrapping material for use with a wrapping mechanism for wrapping cylindrical cotton modules formed in a module-forming chamber of a cotton harvester is made in lengths connected in end-to-end relationship with Velcro® hook and loop connections provided at opposite ends of each length and having sufficient holding strength for the leading length to remain connected to the following length during the wrapping process, but for permitting the leading length to separate from the following length when the supply roll is subjected to a braking force. Other Velcro® hook and loop connections are provided on the lengths of material for securing them about the module with their placement being such to permit modules from 5′ to 7.5′ in diameter to be wrapped using no more than two wraps of material. The lengths of wrapping material may be mechanically stripped from the modules at the gin and cleaned and mechanically reattached in end-to-end relationship and formed into rolls for reuse.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to wrapping cylindrical modules of crop material, and more specifically, relates to a reusable protective wrapping material for wrapping modules of cotton. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The current method of protecting cotton modules which have been compressed into large blocks, in a conventional manner, and left in the field is to place a protective tarp over the modules. These module tarps are removed and rolled up at the cotton gin where they are picked up by the growers and reused multiple times until the tarps wear out. The problem with this practice is that the tarps cover only the tops and sides of the modules leaving the bottoms of the modules subject to moisture and the like, which results in losses. To overcome this drawback, recent developments of module forming and wrapping devices have been incorporated in cotton harvesters which form cylindrical modules and wrap the entire peripheries of the modules with one-use plastic sheet material before discharging the modules onto the ground. While the entire circumference of the module is covered to protect it from rain, ground moisture and other contaminants, the wrapping material used requires each module to be wrapped with three to four layers of wrapping in order to hold the cotton together in the round module, which is problematic since the cost of this amount of wrapping material is quite expensive (currently about $35-$40), and, in addition, in fields with high yielding cotton it takes too long to wrap the module and the cotton harvester, which has an accumulator for holding cotton until the wrapping process is finished, has to stop or slow down to permit the module to be wrapped and ejected from the module-forming chamber since the accumulator fills up before the wrapping process is finished. 
     Another problem is that the wrapping material is supplied in rolls including separate Sections of wrapping material, each being of a length sufficient for wrapping a single Module, with the sections being connected end-to-end by folded adhesive joints which are pulled apart at the end of the wrapping process so as to expose adhesive on the tail of a wrapped section of wrapping material which causes the tail to sticks to a previously wrapped layer of the section of wrapping material so as to hold the wrapping material tight on the module. It has been found that the pre-applied adhesive, which must be weak enough to permit the tail to be separated from the wrapping material supply roll at the end of the wrapping process, is not strong enough to hold the tail in place in all conditions; especially When it is hot or there is contamination from leaf trash present U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,209 discloses a wrapping material supplied in rolls including sections of a length for wrapping a single module connected together end-to-end by pre-applied adhesive, in the above-described manner. 
     While it hat been proposed to apply Velcro® or Velcro®-type fastener strips to opposite ends of sections of plastic wrapping material for the purpose of securing the length of wrapping Material about a bale, it is not contemplated in these designs to use the Velcro® also as a connector for securing the lengths together in end-to-end relationship whereby the lengths can be gathered once used and reconnected together for reuse. Such a proposal is disclosed in UK Patent Application GB 2 221 841A, wherein, after use, the wrapping sections are gathered and connected together for reuse using adhesive strips. Another disclosure of Velcro® type material being used to secure plastic wrapping sections about a cylindrical module is found in Publication No. US 2006/0101624, dated 18 May 2006, wherein Velcro® is applied to discrete wrapping sections of one-use plastic wrapping material including net material, with the Velcro® including hooks or shapes designed for contacting underlying or overlying fiber elements of segments of the wrapping sections so as to fasten the wrapping material tightly around the circumference of the cylindrical item being wrapped. 
     The problem to be solved then is that of providing a reliable reusable plastic wrapping material suitable for wrapping cylindrical cotton modules. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention there is provided a reusable plastic wrapping material for wrapping cotton modules, and more specifically, there is provided such a wrapping material which represents an improvement over that disclosed in the aforementioned UK Patent Application GB 2 221 841 A. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a plurality of sections of a durable plastic wrapping material which are connected in end-to-end relationship so as to form a roll of wrapping material to be used in a wrapping device and which can be gathered, easily cleaned and reliably reconnected and rolled into supply rolls for reuse once removed from cylindrical items wrapped with the lengths of wrapping material. 
     The foregoing object is achieved by providing a connecting zone defined by Velcro® loops located on one side of one end of each of the sections of wrapping material and by affixing Velcro® or Velcro®-type hooks to an opposite side of an opposite end of each of the sections of wrap material, with the amount of Velcro® hooks being sufficient for holding adjacent sections of wrapping material together in end-to-end relationship during the process of wrapping a leading one of the sections together, but for allowing the adjacent sections to be separated from each other by applying a braking force to a supply roll of wrapping material once all but a tail section of the leading section is wrapped about a rotating module. A minimum of further connecting zones are provided with Velcro® hooks and loops so as to secure the tail section to the underlying wrap material once the tail section is pulled into the module-forming chamber by the rotating module. The Velcro® hooks are unidirectional which makes the hooks easy to clean using a brush operating in a direction to pull cotton fibers straight off the hooks. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic side view showing an expansible belt arrangement defining a module-forming chamber together with a portion of a wrap material feed mechanism for feeding wrapping material into the module-forming chamber for wrapping a module located there. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view showing a length of wrapping material comprising a plurality of sections connected together in end-to-end relationship to each other. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of one of the wrapping material sections shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic side view of the wrapping material section shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic end view of a cylindrical module having a first diameter and being wrapped with a wrapping material section constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention 
         FIG. 6  is a view like that of  FIG. 5  but showing a cylindrical module of a minimum size that can be wrapped by the wrapping material section shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  there is shown a module-forming chamber arrangement  10  including a chamber  12  containing a completed cylindrical module  14 . The module-forming chamber includes a plurality of flexible belts  16  supported in side-by-side relationship to each other across a plurality of fixed rolls including bottom front and rear rolls  18  and  20 , respectively, which delimit an inlet  22  of the chamber  10 . Proceeding clockwise from the bottom front roll  18 , are further fixed rolls including a lower front intermediate roll  24 , an upper front intermediate roll  26 , a top front roll  28 , a top front intermediate roll  30 , a top rear intermediate roll  32  an upper rear roll  34  and a lower rear roll  36 . A belt tension arm assembly  38  has a front end pivotally mounted forwardly of a mid-height location of the module  14 , with the arm assembly carrying a belt support roll  40  at a location intermediate opposite ends of the arm assembly, and carrying a pair spaced rolls  42  and  44  at its rear end. As is known in the art, an expansible loop of the belts  16  is formed between the fixed rolls  18  and  20 , the loop extending between the rolls  42  and  44  and engaging the roll  30 . A belt take-up loop is formed between the rolls  26  and  28  and is engaged with the roll  40 . A hydraulic cylinder arrangement and/or a tensioning spring arrangement (not shown) are connected to the arm assembly  38  and would resist its movement from a lowered starting position, corresponding to when the baling chamber  12  is empty, to a raised position, corresponding to when the baling chamber  12  is full, as shown. 
     Located at the rear of the chamber arrangement  10  so as to be beside a vertical rear run of the belts  16  extending between the rolls  34  and  36  is a wrapping material supplying arrangement  46  including a wrapping material supply roll  48  which is located so as to bear against an upper wrapping material feed roll  50 , which is driven and in engagement with a lower feed roll  52 , so that by driving the upper feed roll  52  the rolls  50  and  52  are counter-rotated so as to feed wrapping material between them. At the beginning of a module wrapping sequence, the rolls  50  and  52  are caused to counter-rotate and propel an end of the wrapping material against the downwardly traveling rear run of the belts  16 , the belts acting to carry the wrapping material to a pinch point defined between the belts  16 , where they pass around the lower rear roll  36  and a material guide pan structure (not shown) extending beneath a run of the belts extending fore-and-aft between the rolls  36  and  20 , the belts then acting to carry the wrapping material into the module-forming chamber  12  where the module  14 , which is being rotated counter-clockwise by the belts  16  engages and carries along the wrapping material so as to cause the wrapping material to envelope the module. Once a section of the wrapping material having a length sufficient for placing a predetermined number of wraps on the module  14  has been conveyed through the feed rolls  50  and  52 , as determined by a sensor  56 , which could be an infrared (IR) sensor for example, when the sections of the wrapping material are provided with a reflective material tag, a brake mechanism  58  is actuated which prevents further rotation of the wrapping material supply roll  48  with an increase in tension in the wrapping material downstream of the rolls  50  and  52  occurring so as to cause the section of wrapping material being wrapped about the module  12  to become separated from the next adjacent section, in a manner described below. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a length of wrapping material  60  comprising three identical wrapping material sections  62  having a length L connected together end-to-end in a manner described below. Each of the wrapping material sections  62  is constructed of a durable, moisture impermeable sheet of protective plastic material such as 12 oz., vinyl coated polyester, or equivalent, which is not stretchable, so it must be applied to the module  14  such that the circumferential speed of the module  14  during the wrapping process must be substantially equal to the speed that the wrapping material is delivered to the baling chamber  12 . One supplier of such material is Seaman Corporation which sells the material as Shelter-Rite® tarp fabric. While lower weight material might have adequate durability to be suitable, these lower weights are not readily available in the market place. Higher weights would probably work fine, but have the drawback that not as many material sections  62  could be placed on a given wrapping material supply roll  48 . 
     Referring now also to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , and as considered relative to being fed from a given wrapping material supply roll  48 , each wrapping material section  62  includes a leading end  64  and a trailing end  66 , with four equally spaced hook material squares  68  being secured to a top side of the section  62  at a location closely adjacent the leading end  64  in a linear pattern contained within a narrow leading end zone extending across the width of the wrapping material section  62 . Secured to a bottom side of the wrapping material section  62  in a trailing end zone extending across the width of the section  62  at a location closely adjacent the trailing end  66  is a narrow loop material strip  70 . The leading and trailing ends of adjacent wrapping material sections  62  are connected together with the hook material squares  68  being engaged with the loop material strip  70 . The preferred hook material for attaching one wrapping material section  62  to the next is a RF weldable unidirectional hook, while the preferred loop material is Velcro® 3607 Loop material manufactured by Velcro® USA, with attachment of this loop material being possible by a RF, hot air or hot wedge welding processes, or by sewing. 
     It is important to note that the above-identified unidirectional hook material has several distinct advantages over non-directional hook material. First, and most important, it is easier to clean for reuse since any cotton which gets caught in the hook material can be brushed off by operating a brush in a direction away from the hook. Second, it provides the maximum holding power for a given contact area with loop material so that a minimal amount of the unidirectional hook material may be used, with the amount being sufficient for securing the ends of the wrapping material sections  62  together during the wrapping process so that the leading section will pull along the next adjacent section until the brake  58  is applied to the wrapping material supply roll  48 , and then will become separated from the loop material without causing any damage to the wrapping material sections  62 . 
     The loop material strip  70  also plays a apart in securing the wrapping material section  62  about a completed module  14 . Specifically, provided for cooperating with the loop material strip  70  is a plurality of hook material strips  72  fixed to the top of the plastic sheet material in parallel relationship to each other and to a longitudinal center C of the of section  62 , but which could be disposed in mirror image sets located at opposite sides of, and angled slightly to the longitudinal center C. The hook material strips  72  are located within a zone spaced to the left from the leading end  64  of the wrapping material section  62  by a distance equal to approximately 12% of the length L of the section  62  and having a length approximately equal to 17% of the length L, thus placing the hook material strips  72  within the leading third of the length of the material section  62 . The hook material strips  72  each have a width approximately equal to the side dimension of the hook material squares  68 . 
     In any event, the distance between the center of the loop material strips  70  and a location of the hook material strips  72  slightly beyond half the length of the strips  72  is equal to the circumference of the largest bale intended to be wrapped with the illustrated wrapping material section  62 . The hook material strips  72  are preferably made of Velcro® HTH 719 Unidirectional Nylon hook material, which is not a weldable material, so it has to be sewn on. 
     An additional loop material strip  74  identical to the loop material strip  70  is secured across the underside of the wrapping material section  62  in parallel relationship to the strip  70  and at a location spaced from the strip  70  by a distance of approximately 13% of the length of the wrapping material section L, thereby making it possible to wrap a module having a diameter approximately 67%, or two-thirds, that of the maximum diameter intended to be wrapped with the illustrated wrapping material section  62 , this being done by placing approximately two wraps of the wrapping material section  62  about the smaller module. Also, it is noted that the loop material strips  70  and  74  are located at a trailing zone within the trailing 20% of the length of the wrapping material section  62 . 
     Except for leading and trailing end regions of the wrapping material sections  62 , each of the sections has a width which is sufficient to provide full coverage of the circumference of the module  14  with some misalignment of the wrapping material section. The leading end region of the wrapping material section  62  has opposite corner regions  78  tapered over a distance of approximately 10% of the section length L with the width of the material section being diminished by approximately 6% due to the taper. The trailing end of the wrapping material section  62  is also tapered, with opposite corner regions  80  being tapered over a distance half that of the corner regions  78 . The purpose of the tapered corner regions  78  and  80  is to reduce the amount of loose edge material and in that way increase the durability of the wrapping sections  62 . 
     A feature of the wrapping material section  62  which lends to its use as a wrapping material for modules  14 , is the provision of four RFID tags  82  located along the longitudinal center C of the material section  62 , with the leading tag being spaced from the leading end of the section  62  by a distance substantially equal to the length of the tapered end region, and with the tags  82  being equally spaced from each other and located within approximately the leading two thirds of the length L. The RFID tags  82  are provided for being read by readers (not shown) associated with the module forming arrangement  10  for controlling wrapping operations. The tags  82  have other uses such as providing identification of the grower and for indicating which side of the wrapped module  14  would be best for being in ground contact after the wrapped module  14  is ejected from the module-forming chamber  12 . 
     A further feature of the wrapping material section  62  which also lends to its use as a wrapping material for modules  14  is the provision of a visually discernable end marker  84  which leads, by a small distance, the loop material strip  70  adjacent the trailing end of the wrapping material section  62 , the marker  84  being in the form of a rectangle made visible by making it of a polyester material coated with a vinyl material having a color which contrasts with the color of plastic sheet material making up the wrapping material section  62 , the marker  84  being affixed to the section  62  by gluing, welding or sewing. The marker  84  will make it possible for the IR sensor  56  to sense when the trailing end of the wrapping material section  62  is passing through the feed rolls  50  and to generate and send a signal to a controller for controlling operation of the wrapping material roll brake  58  at the appropriate time for causing a leading wrapping material section  62  to become detached from the following section during wrapping of the leading wrapping material section about a given module  14  formed in the module-forming chamber  14 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown an example wherein the module  14  has a diameter of 7.5′ and is the maximum sized module intended to be wrapped by the illustrated wrapping material Section  62 , which has a length of 30′. As can be seen at the left side of the figure, the trailing end loop material strip  70  is engaged with the hook material strips  72  so as to hold the wrapping material section  62  tight about the module. It can be seen that the wrapping material  62  overlaps itself over only a slight distance of about 10% of the length L of the wrapping material section  62 . It is noted that the RFID tags  82  are dispersed about the circumference of the module  14  such that one of them will always be readable with a reader carried by a module handling device so that the modules  14  can be reoriented. For example, the illustrated module  14  would be reoriented through a clockwise rotation so that the wrapping material trailing end  66  would be at the right side, as viewed in  FIG. 5 , so that ground water or rain will not tend to run under the end  66 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , there is shown an example wherein a module  14 ′ has a diameter of 5′, which is the minimum sized module intended to be wrapped by the illustrated wrapping material section  62 , which is  30 ′ long. As can be seen close to the top of the figure, the loop material strip  74  is almost entirely engaged with the strip of hook material  72 , with an unattached tail of the wrapping material section  62  extending from the loop material  74  to the trailing end  66 , a distance which makes up approximately 18% of the length L of the wrapping material section  62 . Further, it is noted that almost two wraps of the wrapping material section  62  are located on the module  14 ′ and that the four RFID tags  82  are dispersed about the circumference of the module  14 ′ such that at Least one tag will be readable by a reader carried by a module handling device so that the module  14 ′ can be reoriented with the end  66  of the wrapping material section  62  being at the bottom of the module  14 ′ so that the module weight bears on the end  66  to maintain the wrapping material section  62  fixed about the module, with it being unlikely that ground or rain water passing under the end  66  will find its way to the module due to the long, uphill section involved. 
     Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.