Abstract:
The invention is a baling machine with an articulated guide track disposed in three operationally distinct sections. One section of the articulated guide track, representing approximately one-half of the track perimeter, is movable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the large section completes a guide track perimeter. In the second position, the large section pivots away from tying heads of the baling machine to permit ejection of the bale from the machine.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to a wire bale binding machine that utilizes a three section return track for guiding wire around a bale of bulk fibrous material. Fibrous materials include cotton and nylon. 
     2. Related Art 
     Fibrous bulk materials include cotton and nylon. Fibrous bulk materials are commonly formed into bales by compression and binding. There is a continuing need in the art to improve this bale binding process by improving efficiency, reliability and accuracy. There are various constraints on improvements to the bale binding process including: (1) the nature of the fibrous material; (2) the compressive force or loading; and (3) the loading of the fibrous material into a bale compression box ; (3) wrapping baling wire around the bale. 
     Baling wire or baling strap performance requirements vary depending on the bulk material at issue. Such requirements range from general operational parameters to industry to standard specifications. The Cotton Council has a baling constraint wherein the length of the wire (or strap) around the bale must fall within a particular range and the tension that the wire (or strap) must withstand has a particular range. 
     U.S. Wire Tie, a company based in Carthage, Mo., has an existing system, the 340 Series, for baling bulk materials. This system uses a hydraulic twist knot wire tying system to bind bales. In such systems, 8 gauge wire is utilized as the baling wire. However, hydraulic systems are slowly becoming less desirable because any leak of hydraulic fluid onto the bulk material ruins the material and requires that the baling equipment be cleaned prior to restarting the baling operation. To avoid the ruination of bulk material and prevent the loss of operational time and avoid the accompanying cleaning costs, this, there is a need in the art to provide a power source for a baling machine that does not use hydraulic fluid. 
     As the inventors have explored the feasibility of electric systems, it has been discovered that such systems require electrically-powered, knot-tying heads that are substantially larger than hydraulic knot-tying heads. This larger dimension, however, results in an inability to feed the wire around the bale with enough clearance from the bale to permit tying and still fall within the required length and strength specifications of the Cotton Council. 
     Design, construction and operation of a bale forming and binding apparatus is also complicated by the often conflicting requirements of providing a means to precisely apply a binding to the bale simultaneous with the compression process. Thus, an immovable strapping guide can improve the accuracy and efficiency of the application of the strapping at the potential cost of complicating bale forming and output. A separable strapping guide can avoid these costs but can present impediments to the precise application of the strapping. Additional requirements to further coordinate cotton input, strapping feed and bound bale output present substantial impediments to the operational speed and accuracy of the bale binding system. 
     Operational speed and accuracy is also dependent upon the speed of the application of baling wire to a bale and the release of a bale. In manually-assisted systems, two workers assume positions on each side of a bale. As the compression box is filled with fibrous material and compressed, the compression is held until the workers can slide six wire ties under the bale. Once the ties are in place, the machine bends each tie around the bale such that the tie connectors on each end of each tie connect. Then, the compressive force on the bale is released and the bale expands in volume until limited by the baling ties. 
     Automated systems include the use of plastic straps which are threaded around a bale, with the ends being welded together. 
     There is a need in the art to provide an automated, non-hydraulic, non-plastic baling machine that provides operational speed and reliability. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is in view of the above problems that the present invention was developed. The invention is a baling machine with an articulated guide track disposed in three operationally distinct sections. One section of the articulated guide track, representing approximately one-half of the track perimeter, is movable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the large section completes a guide track perimeter. In the second position, the large section pivots away from tying heads of the baling machine to permit ejection of the bale from the machine. 
     The present invention accurately aligns a movable guide track section with a stationary guide track section. The invention utilizes electric and pneumatic power to avoid difficulties associate with hydraulically powered systems. 
     The guide track has specific curvature limitations which have been discovered to enhance operational speed, efficiency, and enablement. Specifically, the radius of curvature for the lower or bottom sections of the guide track is seven inches. The radius of curvature for the upper or top sections of the guide track is six inches. The invention utilizes number ten gauge wire within a guide track having these particular radius of curvature dimensions. It is believed that this is the first time that number ten gauge wire has ever been used in a baling environment for bailing five hundred pound bales of cotton. Prior art track curvatures were nine inches utilizing number eight gauge wire. 
     Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG.  3  and FIG. 4 are cross-section views taken along lines  3 — 3  and  4 — 4 , respectively of FIG. 1 illustrating the different operational aspects of a wire track guide. 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the binding strapping path, the bale form and the fastening head of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate like elements, FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A bale forming and binding apparatus  10  has two positions; the solid lines illustrate a first position wherein the movable wire guide section  48  completes the wire guide track trajectory as when the binding operation is occurring; and the broken lines illustrate a second position wherein the movable wire guide section  48  is in a position  48   a . A floor plate  12  supports vertical support stands  14  on either side of the bale forming and binding station  16 . A binding assembly carriage  18  is borne by stands  14 . The base extension  20  of the carriage  18  carries the fixed tying heads  40  and attached wire guide track sections  39 . The carriage  18  translates in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing along an overhead track  22  attached to the upper rear extent of the stands  14  and its motion is controlled by drive  24 . 
     Extending from the upper forward extent of the stands  14  are a pair of pivot axis brackets  25  holding the pivot axis  26  which carries the movable guide track support strut assembly  28 . Extending forward from the center of the strut assembly  28  is a member  30  pivotally connected at pin  32  to the piston arm  34  which is extended and withdrawn by action of the piston  36 . The action of the piston  36  may be by any means but is preferably pneumatic. 
     The binding wire entering the apparatus  10  from the wire supply (not shown) at the wire control head  41  are directed by guide track sections  38  to and from the tying head  40  which fastens the wire into a closed loop. The guide track section  44  lies in a channel within the bale forming compressor  42  which accommodates the wire trajectory above the bale forming station  46  containing the bulk material (not depicted). The positions  28   a ,  34   a ,  36   a  and  48   a  show the parts  28 ,  34 ,  36  and  48  in their respective positions when the apparatus is in the arrangement whereby the movable guide track section is at a remove from the bale forming station  46 . The upper movable guide track section terminus  50  and the lower movable guide track section terminus  52  meet the guide track sections  46  and  38  respectively to complete the wire guide track. The dashed line  54  illustrates the path of motion of the lower terminus  52  as it transits between positions. Movable guide track section  48  has an upper curve  51  and a lower curve  53  both of approximately ninety degrees and possessing radii of curvature of approximately six inches and approximately seven inches, respectively. 
     FIG. 2 depicts a top view of the apparatus in the arrangement with the movable guide track sections  48  in the removed positions  48   a  with the forward direction being towards the bottom of the page. The parts and positions are as numbered in FIG.  1 . The plurality of identical guide tracks  48   a  numbering six in total, disposed side by side from left to right, are shown as are the tying heads  40  numbering three in total. When binding operation is occurring the tying heads align with alternating guide tracks and then shuttle to the side one track and repeat to thereby complete the closing of six wire bindings in two operations. Alternatively, if there are only two tying heads, three iterations are required to apply six wire bindings. 
     FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of a wire track  100  construction in a closed state for the directing and fastening of the wire  112  about the bale. The two sides  102  of the track  100  are separated by a gap  104  which is shown as closed thereby forming the channel  106 . 
     FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of a wire track  100   a  construction in an open state for the releasing during fastening of a closed loop of the wire  112  in the direction shown by the arrow towards the compressed bale (not depicted) from between the sides  102   a  now separated to release the wire through the open gap  104   a . Hollows  108  combine to form the two sides of channel  106  when in the closed position. Spring means  110  mediate the transition of the track between the closed and the open positions. 
     In operation, when the movable guide track support strut assembly  28  is down, the binding wire entering the apparatus  10  from the wire supply (not shown) at the wire control head  41  and enters the tying head  40 . Within tying head  40 , the wire is gripped by a gripper (not shown). The gripper (not shown) rotates to push wire frictionally through the tying head  40  downward to the lower most guide track sections  38  and across, up, back, and then down the other guide track sections  38 , and then back into tying head  40  until the end of the wire actuates a limit switch (not shown). The wire thus forms a loop section with an overlapping wire portion located within tying head  40 . It is preferred to use ten (#10) gauge wire that is sold by U.S. Wire under the trade name ULTRA STRAP GALVANIZED. 
     At this point, tie pins  64   a  and  64   b , respectively, are extended. The tying head  40  twists the wire into a knot. In order to effect tying, tension is placed on the wire. This tension pulls the wire out of the two sides  102  as shown by the releasing action in FIGS. 3 and 4. As the wire is tensioned and breaks out of channel  106 , the wire is pulled around pins  64   a  and  64   b , respectively. This assists the wire in assuming a less sharp bend. 
     Once the tying head  40  has completed the twist knot, tie pins  64   a  and  64   b , respectively, are retracted by solenoid (not shown) which retraction pulls tie pins  64   a  and  64   b , respectively, out of contact with the wire. 
     Then, carriage  18  can translate to a second indexed position along overhead track  22 . Wire is again drawn by gripper (not shown) within tying head  40  to push the wire in a loop through guide track sections  38  and back into tying head  40 . Then, the twist knot process repeats. 
     For cotton bales, six baling wires are used to bind a five hundred pound bale of cotton. Thus, if three indexing heads are mounted to carriage  18 , carriage  18  must index between a first position and a second position to provide six straps. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates diagrammatically the strapping path above  45 , behind  47  and below  43  of the bale form  46  when the wire tying action is occurring. The wire is tied in a twist knot  62  within the tying head  40 . The free strapping segment  60  extends upward and downward from the ends of the tying head  40  around an upper pilot pin  64   b  and a lower pilot pin  64   a , respectively, to contact with the perimeter of the bale form  46  at points  60   a  and  60   b , respectively, which are at the upper and lower ends of the front side  61  of the bale form  46 . Quantities of distance separating aspects of FIG. 5 are indicated by letters. The height H is the separation between the wire paths  43  and  45  and the width W is the separation between the path  47  and the front side  61 . The tying head  40  produces a wire knot  62  of length L which is separated from the front side  61  by a distance D. The free strapping segment is subdivided into segment parts of lengths s 1  through s 4  corresponding in order to the distances along the free strapping segment from the point  60   b  to the pilot pin  64   b , from the pilot pin  64   b  to the upper end of the wire knot  62 , from the lower end of the wire knot  62  to the pilot pin  64   a  and from the pilot pin  64   a  to the point  60   a . The vertical separations y 1  through y 4  correspond in order to the vertical separation between the path  45  and pilot pin  64   b , between the pilot pin  64   b  and the upper end of the wire knot  62 , between the lower end of the wire knot  62  and the pilot pin  64   a  and between the pilot pin  64   a  and the point  60   a . The horizontal separations x 1  through x 4  correspond in order to the horizontal separations between the point  60   b  and the pilot pin  64   b , between the pilot pin  64   b  and the upper end of the wire knot  62 , between the lower end of the wire knot  62  and the pilot pin  64   a  and between the pilot pin  64   a  and point  60   a . Various mathematical relationships between these quantities include: 
      Total Wire Length≡ P=H +2 W+L+s   1   +s   2   +s   3   +s   4   
     
       
         Total Area Enclosed By Strapping=Cross-Section Area of Bale+Area Between Bale and Free Strapping=( H×W )+Ω 
       
     
     Where: 
     Ω≡Area Between Bale and Free Strapping→       Ω   =       [     D   ×                (     H   -                  ∑     i   =   1     4                     y   i         )       ]     +     [       y   2     ×                x   1       ]     +            [       y   3     ×                x   4       ]     +            1   2                     {       [       x   1     ×                y   1       ]     +     [       x   2     ×                y   2       ]     +     [                    x                3     ×     y   3       ]     +     [       x   4     ×     y   4       ]       }                                      
     s i  are determined exactly by the formula s i ={square root over (x i   2 +y i   2 )} where i:1→4 
     For a given baling project the quantities H, W &amp; P are generally prescribed by the job requirements. These requirements, the strapping utilized and particulars of the bale binding apparatus, will prescribe ranges for D &amp; L. Thus, the x i  &amp; y i , or equivalently, the s i  are the primary free design variables. 
     In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the several advantages of the invention are achieved and attained. 
     The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.