Abstract:
A cylindrical baling press including a roller around which a belt is arranged to partially surround a baling chamber. In the region of the roller, the belt relinquishes contact with a cylindrical bale being formed within the baling chamber. In this region of the roller, a lateral wall enclosing the pressing chamber is provided with a bulge or an opening, which makes it possible for material present in a space between two belt sections to be engaged by the rotating cylindrical bale and expelled through the opening or back into the bale. This configuration avoids, or at least reduces, the chance of jamming caused by crop materials around the roller.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a cylindrical baling press used in agriculture for the forming of cylindrical bales of harvested crop material. More specifically, it relates to an improvement that reduces jamming and tracking problems by freeing entrapped crop material from a belt of the baling press. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Cylindrical baling presses have a baling chamber enclosed by lateral walls, with the other surfaces being enclosed in part by one or more belts guided around rollers so as to form loops and an opening for crop material. At the locations where the belt(s) move away from the cylindrical bale, crop material tends to become entrapped within interior spaces of the loops. This can lead to problems with jamming and/or tracking of the belt(s). In the book “Fundamentals of machine operations, hay and forage harvesting”, FMO 141B, D-00, p. 153, it is suggested that the lateral surfaces be left open. However, this solution is not effective until the baling process is nearly complete, at which point the risk of jamming and tracking problems is greatly reduced. In addition, this solution is most effective where the belt(s) are approaching the cylindrical bale, in which location the above problems rarely occur. 
   The present invention seeks to solve these issues by providing a general means to avoid accumulations of crop material in loops or between belt sections of a cylindrical baling press. 
   SUMMARY 
   The present invention provides a means by which crop material accumulated in a belt loop against a lateral wall, and engaged by peripheral surfaces of a rotating cylindrical bale, is removed from the interior space of the belt loop. The present invention is not limited to belts, but encompasses any tensile means which may surround a baling chamber. 
   According to one embodiment, the lateral wall includes an opening near a roller where crop material then accumulates. Removal occurs between a forward edge of the lateral wall opening and the space between the lateral wall and the roll. Crop material presses directly against an end face of the rotating cylindrical bale and is carried along by the bale and ejected through the opening. 
   In an alternate embodiment, a recess or outward bulge of the lateral wall, rather than an opening, is provided. As a result, the crop material will be fed to the end face of the cylindrical bale and be held adjacent to the end face until it becomes absorbed into the bale. The shape of the recess may be, for example, a wedge shape, which progressively approaches a peripheral surface, where the crop material is forced against the bale. 
   While most of the crop material is withdrawn from within the belt loop, not all of the crop material is necessarily fed to the end face of the cylindrical bale. To move all of the crop material to the end face, a conveying device may be provided to feed it back into the bale. The conveying device may be of an active type (for example screws, paddles, blowers, or the like) or may be passive (for example a chute or the like). Screw conveyors may convey in the axial direction or the tangential direction. 
   In addition, removed material may be re-fed into the bale by depositing the removed material onto the baler&#39;s intake and feed device. The intake and feed device is usually located below the opening or recess. This makes it simple for said crop material to be conveyed back into the baling process. 
   In order to successfully handle particularly tough, wet, and/or rigid crop material, a fragmenting device may also be provided near the end of the roller. This device will cut up long stalks and the like and enable them to be incorporated into the bale. The fragmenting device may be fixed to the roller itself, or may cooperate with the roller, for example, by means of blades on the roll and/or apart from the roll. Alternatively, chopping devices, rotary blades, or the like may be provided which are separately driven but which provide the same function. 
   Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent to persons skilled in the art after a review of the following description, with reference to the drawings and claims that are appended to and form a part of this specification. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings, which embodiment will be described in more detail hereinbelow. 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of a cylindrical baling press according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a top detail view of the baling press of  FIG. 1  showing the end of a roller and a protruding section of a lateral wall; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the cylindrical baling press of  FIG. 1  showing a conveying device near the end of the roller; and 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the roll of  FIG. 2  of the cylindrical baling press showing a fragmenting device and an open section of the lateral wall. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A conventional, towed cylindrical baling press according to the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1  and designated at  10 . It includes a vehicle frame  12 , laterally spaced walls  14 , rollers  16  and  16 ′, a bale-forming arrangement defined by one belt or a plurality of belts  18 , an intake and feed device  20  and a baling chamber  24 . The baling chamber  24  creates bales out of crop materials, for example, hay, straw, silage, or other crops. The baling chamber  24  is capable of varying in size, in a manner, not shown, but well known in the art, although other embodiments may have a baling chamber  24  with fixed dimensions. In the present embodiment, the size of the baling chamber  24  is varied by shifting the position of some of the rollers  16 ′ in response to the size of a cylindrical bale  28  being formed within the baling chamber  24 . In some embodiments, the baling press  10  may be industrial in scale and stationary, used, for example, to process wastes, wood, or any other material where forming into a bale may be useful for storage, transport or disposal. 
   Looking more closely at the vehicle chassis  12  of the towed embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , it includes an axle with wheels, and a tow shaft for coupling it behind a tractor vehicle, for example, a farm tractor. The vehicle frame  12  also includes a framework  22  which supports lateral walls  14 , the rollers  16  and  16 ′ and other devices (not illustrated), such as holding, confining, and positioning and binding devices. 
   The lateral walls  14  are large enough to approximately cover the end faces of the baling chamber  24 . Depending on the general configuration of the apparatus, the lateral walls  14  may be segmented parts of the vehicle chassis  12  or may be separate metal plates which cover the entire end face and may be movable or even controllable. Regardless of the configuration of the lateral walls  14 , the walls  14  of the present invention include parallel sections. respectively disposed for engagement with a major area of opposite end faces of a cylindrical bale  28  contained in the baling chamber  24 , and which each terminate at an open section  26  located behind and near an adjacent outboard end region of the roller  16 . Each open section  26  of the walls  14  is configured to avoid contact with a minor area of the end face of a cylindrical bale  28  located behind and near the roller  16 . 
   The rollers  16  and  16 ′ have various functions and therefore different design configurations, in general, all of the rollers  16  and  16 ′ have a roller body  30 . with the roller  16  and most of the rollers  16 ′ being rotatably mounted to the framework  22  or lateral walls  14 , by a shaft  32  (see  FIG. 2 ). However, some of the rollers  16 ′ are disposed on a stressing arm (not shown), configured to move the rollers  16 ′, carried by the stressing arm and hold the belt or belts  18  under constant tension. 
   According to the present invention, the roller  16  is of primary significance. The roller  16  delineates an upper boundary of an entrance to the baling chamber  24  and is located such that, after being routed around the baling chamber  24 , the belt, or belts  18  is, or are, guided over and partially around the roller  16  and up to an adjacent one of the other rollers  16 ′. Consequently, two belt sections  34  and  36  (see  FIG. 2 ) are formed, when a bale  28  is located in the chamber  24 , as shown, defining a space  38  in between having opposite ends in direct communication with the open sections  26 . The roller  16  is arranged such that the belt section  34  embraces the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical bale  28 , during formation of the bale, while the belt section  36  follows a path spaced from the circumference of the bale  28 . In the absence of the present invention, this would present the risk that the belt or belts  18  would carry away crop material and cause it to enter the space  38 , leading to jamming of the rollers  16  and  16 ′ and/or tracking problems with the belt or belts  18 . In prior art arrangements not having open sections such as the sections  26 , jamming regularly occurs near the end of the roller  16  toward the laterally spaced walls  14 . 
   The rollers  16  and  16 ′ may have different lengths. However, at least the shaft  32  of the roller  16  extends laterally beyond the baling chamber  24 . In  FIG. 4 , an embodiment is illustrated wherein the end region of the roller  16  includes a fragmenting device  40 , described below in more detail. 
   As indicated above, the bale-forming arrangement may include but one a full-surfaced belt  18  which extends over nearly the entire width of the baling chamber  24 . Alternatively, the bale-forming arrangement may configured as a plurality of the belts  18  arranged in parallel with a minimal separation between the belts such that nearly the entire width of the baling chamber  24  is covered (see  FIG. 3 ). In either configuration, the bale-forming arrangement (belt or belts  18 ) is guided by the roller  16 , redirected by approximately 180°, when a completed or nearly completed bale  28  is contained In the baling chamber  24 . 
   At the beginning of the baling process the belt  18  contacts the roller  16  directly, because they extend from below the roller  16  to the side of the neighboring roller  16 ′ adjacent to the baling chamber  24 . Initially the baling chamber  24  is kept to a minimal size. Increasing resistance applied to a lower belt by a tensioning device (not shown) forms a dense bale. The belts  18  cannot extend fully to the lateral walls  14  and, if a plurality of belts  18  are employed, the belts  18  may even move away from the lateral walls  14 . This creates the possibility that the crop material may leave the baling chamber  24  and enter the space  38 . In addition, there is a risk that the crop material will penetrate in between the belts  18  and the respective rollers  16  and  16 ′ and become trapped within the space  38 . A conveying device  42  may also be provided ( FIG. 3 ), near the roller  16 . 
   The intake and feed device  20  is of a conventional design. It includes a pick-up and, in the embodiment illustrated, a rotor (which may be in the form of a crop cutting device) which conveys the pressed crop material from the pick-up into the baling chamber  24 . The intake and feed device  20  is disposed below the tow roller  16  and, in the embodiment shown, is wider than the baling chamber  24 . 
   The fragmenting device  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) indudes cutters  46  (with cutting edges) which extend radiaily and are arranged in rows which run parallel to the axis of the roller body  30  at opposite end regions of the roller body which extend laterally beyond the bail-forming arrangement (belt or belts  18 ), as shown in  FIG. 3 . In the present embodiment, these cutters  46  are positioned relative to a cooperating cutter  48  to cut plant stalks and the like into smaller pieces. The cooperating cutter  48  may be mounted to either the framework  22  or the lateral walls  14 . Instead of mounting the cutters  46  in rows which run parallel to the axis of the roller body  30 , they may instead be arranged in rows which run at an angle to the axis or along a spiral or helical path. 
   The conveying device  42  is in the form of a screw conveyor driven, for example, by belts, a gear drive, electrical motor, or hydraulic motor. In other embodiments, the conveying device  42  may be undriven if configured to rotate by contacting the crops being fed into the baling chamber  24  by the intake and feed device  20 . If the conveying device  42  is in the form of a screw conveyor (as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 ), it moves the crop material along its axial length toward the center of the baling press  10 . The conveying device  42  may be arranged to move crops on either its upper or lower side, depending on where the crops are to be deposited. For most applications, other than particularly difficult conditions, the conveying device  42  is not necessary. 
   As mentioned above, the open sections  26  are respectively located at forward edge locations of parallel sections of the lateral walls  14  and are respectively in communication with opposite ends of the space  38  and opposite ends of the roller  16  In the embodiment illustrated, each open section  26  is defined by an outwardly inclined minor section of the wall  14 , and thus is configured as an outward a protrusion of the lateral wall  14  defining a rear boundary of an opening or space having an inner region, which when the bale  28  is located in the baling chamber  24 , is disposed beside, and exposed to, a minor forward area of the end face of the bale  28 . As viewed in horizontal section in  FIG. 2 . the is space is generally wedge-shaped, with the roller body  30  delimiting a forward side and the protrusion delimiting a rear side of the space, with a horizontal dimension of the space diminishing outwardly. Thus, the protrusion is arranged to extend away from the end face of the cylindrical bale  28  and the lateral wall  14  and is directed toward the end of the roller  16 . The opening or space within the open section  26  permits the crop material trapped within the space  38 , which is being moved or agitated by the belt  18 , to be ejected either downward onto the intake and feed device  20  or be directed by the inclination of the protrusion into engagement with the end face of the cylindrical bale  28 . The intake and feed device  20  conveys the crop material formerly trapped within the space  38  to be conveyed back into the chamber  24 , where it is picked up by the cylindrical bale  28 , preventing it from causing further problems or being wasted. 
   In an alternate embodiment (not shown), the open section  26  does not include the protrusion extending away from the lateral waIl  14 , but rather the wall just terminates so that no portion of the wall  14  exists outwardly of the minor area of the end face of the bale  28  when located in the baling chamber  24 . In this embodiment, a forward edge  44  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the lateral wall  14  is spaced rearward of the roller body  30  of the roller  16 , which delineates the upper boundary of the entrance to the baling chamber  24 . The edge  44  approximately subtends an arc defined by an outward projection of the circular surface formed by the side of the cylindrical bale  28 , creating an open circular segment in the lateral wall  14 . The shape of the opening need not be that of an arc; any shape suitable to allow entrapped crop material to escape the space  38  may be provided. In this embodiment, all crop material fed from the space  38  is ejected onto the intake and feed device  20  and retumed to the baling chamber  24 . In  FIG. 4 , the open section  26  is shown only in a partial view to show the edge  44  and illustrate the embodiment described above. 
   In an alternate embodiment (not shown), the open section  26  does not include the protrusion extending away from the lateral wall  14 , but rather just includes the opening. In this embodiment, a forward edge  44  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the lateral wall  14  extends through an arc across the circular surface formed by the side of the cylindrical bale  28 , creating an open circular segment in the lateral wall  14 . The shape of the opening need not be that of an arc; any shape suitable to allow entrapped crop material to escape the space  38  may be provided. In this embodiment, all crop material feed from the space  38  is ejected onto the intake and feed device  20  and returned to the baling chamber  24 . In  FIG. 4 , the open section  26  is shown only in a partial view to show the edge  44  and illustrate the embodiment described above. 
   As a person skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the above description is meant as an illustration of implementation of the principles this invention. This description is not intended to limit the scope or application of this invention in that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change, without departing from spirit of this invention, as defined in the following claims.