Abstract:
A non-powered rotor windguard improves the baling of stiff crop material such as cornstalks. The windguard comprises plastic teeth spaced evenly along a rotatable shaft. The teeth are generally three-pointed. The engagement of the teeth to the crop material provides the force to rotate the roller windguard.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/981,539 filed Oct. 22, 2007 entitled “Non-Powered Roller for Assisting Crop Pick-up With a Baler” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to agricultural equipment, and more specifically to a corn stalk baling method and apparatus. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Balers are used for many different crops. Balers are used to bale hay. Hay is usually classified as any type of grass or legume, such as alfalfa, that is fed to livestock such as cows and horses. 
         [0004]    Balers are also used to bale straw, which is the part of the plant above ground that is left after small grains such as wheat, oats, barley, or the like, are harvested, for instance with a combine harvester. A primary use for straw is for bedding for animals. Straw is also commonly used as mulch in gardens and in cattle rations. 
         [0005]    A third category of crop material baled using a baler is a stiff stalk crop, such as cornstalks, typically baled after the corn is removed from the stalk, such as with a combine harvester which saves only the corn kernels, or with a corn picker, which saves only the corn while it is still on a cob. It is this third category of crop material which is the most problematic to bale, primarily because of the stiff, long pieces of plant stalk, and in some cases, chopped, fluffy, lightweight, husks, leaves, and stalks. Cornstalks are commonly used as bedding for animals, such as cattle, or as a raw material for making a bio-fuel, such as ethanol. 
         [0006]    When baling cornstalks, the flow of crop material is not always a steady flow. Because cornstalks do not fold together like hay and straw material, cornstalks do not always flow easily into the baler pickup. This may cause them to pile up in front of the baler pickup as the baler is towed through a field, causing a large pile of cornstalks to be pushed along in front of the baler pickup instead of evenly entering the baler. This requires the operator to stop or slow the baler, reorganize the pile of cornstalks in front of the pickup of the baler and resume the baling operation. This problem can occur numerous times during the process of baling a field of cornstalks. 
         [0007]    Another problem with baling cornstalks is that the stiff stalks cause inordinate wear on individual components of the baler, especially on the pickup section of a baler as compared to using the baler for baling hay or straw. Consequently, those parts need replaced more often when baling cornstalks, and the baler itself may need to be replaced sooner than if it is used to bale only hay and straw. 
         [0008]    United States Patent Application 2006/0277888, published on Dec. 14, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses an integrated crop baffle and hold-down assembly used with a baler pick-up, and suspension for the same. Additionally, this document refers to a non powered roller (baffle) and rod windguard assembly and suspension means comprising a multi-bar linkage. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,732 discloses a suspended roller ahead of a forage harvester pickup to improve the pickup function. The roller suspension may incorporate a spring to counteract the weight of the roller. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,748 discloses a non-powered elongate roller that rotates with crop material. The roller is intended to compress large windrowed crops for better feeding. 
         [0011]    None of the above references address the special needs associated with baling stiff-stalked crops, such as cornstalks. 
         [0012]    Accordingly, there is a need for a simple attachment to the pickup portion of a baler that overcomes the aforementioned problems with baling crops having a stiff stalk, such as cornstalks. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The present invention relates to a windguard for the pickup of a baler having a rotor that turns only due to crop material passing between pickup teeth and the teeth of a non-powered roller. For the purposes of the present document, including the claims, the term: non-powered roller windguard is defined as a roller windguard that turns only due to its contact with crop material moving relative to the roller. A non-powered roller windguard is not directly driven by a chain, belt, hydraulic motor, etc. 
         [0014]    Disclosed are aggressive roller teeth and smooth rollers, polygonal, or rollers with rods laid on the roller&#39;s surface parallel to the roller&#39;s axis of rotation. The roller teeth may be shaped to enhance release of crop material, or to penetrate the crop. The teeth can be spaced, oriented, and/or sized to enhance crop feed, and rolling function. 
         [0015]    Sleeves are provided between the teeth and over the shaft to which the teeth are affixed. These sleeves are free to rotate, slow or stop independently from the shaft as an anti-wrap feature. The sleeves can be sized to enhance flotation and rolling function. 
         [0016]    The roller, in one embodiment of the invention, may be positioned with the windguard rods below the roller centerline, and the roller teeth extending under the rods to touch the crop material. 
         [0017]    Suspension embodiments can include springs—extension and compression—steel torsion, rubber torsion, gas springs, counterweights (the latter being non-elastic). Mounting structures can include utilizing an existing Vermeer 600 M series baler frame horizontal slot as an attaching point. Other embodiments allow for mounting the roller device to the windguard mount, front tube or the outboard rods. The mounting arm orientation shown in the drawings is rearward, or trailing, from the pivot, but the mounting arms could be forwardly positioned from the pivot. 
         [0018]    In one embodiment, the roller can be fixed with respect to the fore and aft movement. In another embodiment, the roller is movable fore and aft with the pick-up movement via the roller mounting being attached to the crop fins on each side of the pick-up. As the pickup raises, the crop fins push the roller mount forward in the baler frame slot. In the latter case, the roller teeth could be positioned such that the teeth encroach upon the pickup tines somewhat in a baling position. In that case, the roller moves away from the pickup for transport position. In the fixed case, the crop fins are not connected to the roller assembly. 
         [0019]    The roller windguard of the present invention moves in an upward arc in response to crop pressure or windrow size. 
         [0020]    Adding a cross strut across the roller mount arms serves to prevent one side from rising independently and putting a bind on the roller shaft bearings. Movement could also be prevented by utilizing a dual bearing arrangement at each end of the roller. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a baler pick-up and roller interacting to gather crop; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the non-powered roller; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3   a  is a side view of a tooth in a first embodiment; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3   b  shows the tooth of the first embodiment in a plurality of orientations; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a tooth in a second embodiment; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a tooth in a third embodiment; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a tooth in a fourth embodiment; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7   a  is a side view of a series of teeth with angled hubs; 
           [0029]      FIG. 7   b  is a side view of an alternative mounting in which the roller is mounted from a tine windguard; 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view of the alternative mounting; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 9  is a side elevation view of a baler fitted with the non-powered rotor of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]    Refer now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals correspond to the same or similar parts throughout the drawings. The present invention as depicted in  FIG. 1  is that of a non-powered roller windguard  14  having teeth  15 . The windguard  14  aids a pick-up apparatus  17  for a baler  900  (see  FIG. 9 ). The present invention is considered a simplification of other roller windguard technologies which are powered, such as that shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/739,194 to Woodford, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The roller windguard  14  described herein is lightweight, effective, and does not require a hydraulic motor or other drive device. Rather, it utilizes energy from the pickup and the relative movement of the crop material  13  to rotate and perform its function. 
         [0033]    The purpose of a roller windguard  14  is to provide an upper boundary for the crop material  13  as it passes over the pickup  17  and toward the bale chamber. The roller  14  must be sufficiently massive to engage the crop  13  consistently, yet sufficiently light to be forced upward as the crop material  13  passes over the top of the pickup  17 . 
         [0034]    The preferred embodiment comprises a thin walled, square, steel tube  22  as seen in  FIG. 2 . The steel tube  22  is attached by journal bearings  21  at its outer ends to link arms  16  which pivot about a pivot axis parallel to but not collinear with the axis of rotation of the journal bearings  21 . 
         [0035]    Plastic teeth  15  are fitted on the tube  22  and spaced along its length by plastic tubing sleeves  23 . The plastic sleeves  23  have an inner diameter such that they may rotate independently of the steel tube  22 , thus effectively reducing or preventing crop wrap on the windguard  14 . A cotter pin  27  is used to keep the bearings  21  from dislodging from the mounting links  16 . The mounting links  16  are rotatably connected to the windguard  14  at an axis of rotation, and to a mount structure  25  at the axis of pivot mentioned above. Hence, the windguard  14  is permitted to move through a substantially vertical arc with variations in the depth of the crop material  13  over the pickup  17 . 
         [0036]    A plethora of suspension and mounting strategies are available from which to choose. For instance, compression/tension rubber springs, steel springs, torsion springs, gas springs, or counterweight (inelastic). None of these are shown in the drawings due to the abundance of prior art for these devices which are well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Concept testing has utilized common extension springs to suspend the roller assembly. One spring was hooked to each roller mount arm. Each spring extends upward and forward with the opposite spring end-hooks hooked to bolts on the roller frame mount. The roller frame mount can either be fixed in the throat of the baler, or the mount can move fore and aft with pickup movement. In the latter case, the mount assembly, including the springs and the roller assembly, move together as one. In the latter case the roller assembly moves forward as the crop fins (each side of the pick-up) push against the roller frame as the pick-up raises. As the pick-up lowers, the crop fins pull against the roller frame, causing the roller assembly to move rearward. In a fixed condition scenario, the roller assembly mount is not connected to the crop fin movement. 
         [0037]    The plastic crop engaging teeth  15 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3   a,    3   b,    7  and  8 , are substantially equilateral triangles in the current embodiment. An axis  28 , extending through the centroid of the triangle, comprises its axis of rotation when mounted on the square roller tube  22 . Centered about the centroid of the triangle is preferably an eight-point drive hub  19  passing through the material of the tooth  15 . This hub  19  allows for each tooth  15  to be oriented about the axis of rotation  28  in eight (8) different orientations separated by an incremental angle of 45°. Not all these orientations are practically unique for a three-pointed tooth  15  that is symmetric about all three lines passing from the points through the centroid. Three unique orientations are shown in  FIG. 3   b,  where the tooth  15  is shown in solid, long dash, and short dashed lines in the three orientations. 
         [0038]    The longitudinal spacing and arrangement of the crop engaging teeth  15  along the square tube  22  is such that they are not aligned with the pick-up tines  18 . That is, each pick-up tine set exists in a vertical plane not coincident with any vertical plane containing a crop engaging tooth  15 . As the pickup  17  pulls in crop by rotating clockwise, as shown in  FIG. 1 , against the main direction of baler travel  110 , the tines  18  pass between the vertical planes containing the crop engaging teeth  15 . The tines  18  may be sufficiently long to actually pass between the teeth  15 . This imparts a counter clockwise rotation to the windguard  14  as shown in  FIG. 1 . This gives the roller windguard teeth  15  the ability to aggressively “climb” on the crop material  13  as the crop material  13  passes over the pick-up  17 ; and to position other teeth  15  adjacent to the tines  18  for further rotation. If the crop material  13  becomes sufficiently deep such that the windguard  14  lifts by rotation of the mounting links  16  about the pivot axis  25 , and the tines  18  no longer pass between the teeth  15 , the motion of the crop material  13  itself is sufficient to keep the windguard  14  turning by pushing on the triangular points  15  and generating a moment about the roller axis of rotation  28 . 
         [0039]    Crops such as hay do not generally require the assistance of the roller windguard  14  as described herein, while it is often more necessary to mitigate build-up of fluffy crop material or cornstalks  13  ahead of the pick-up  17  which can sometimes lead to stoppages due to plugging. The present invention gives the operator the benefit of better feeding by reducing build-up ahead of the pick-up  17  for some crop harvesting. The windguard  14  is also lightweight and easily removable since it is a non-powered apparatus. The windguard  14  is less complex and safer than those found on prior art balers due to being non-powered. The crop engagement remains aggressive due to the tooth  15  design. 
         [0040]    The non-powered windguard  14  disclosed herein can be mounted on a baler  900  wall with a bushing in a slot as well as an alternative embodiment in which the windguard  14  would be pivotally mounted by links extending downward from the ends of a standard windguard. 
         [0041]    A number of other variations on the current embodiment described herein are possible as alternative embodiments. 
         [0042]    The basic triangular shape of the tooth  15  can be modified to have convex curvature on the leading edges as shown in  FIG. 4 , and as is commonly known in the prior art. This may enhance the rolling tendency of the windguard  14  as the rounded shape causes the crop engagement force to increase as the tooth  15   a  rotates into the crop material  13 . It may also help to reduce crop wrap. 
         [0043]    The tooth  15   b  shown in  FIG. 5  comprises another modification to the equilateral triangular shape to have convex curvature on both edges of each point. The benefits of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  would be seen along with additional crop wrap reduction when the operator has to back out due to crop material  13  having plugged in the region of the pickup  17 . 
         [0044]    The tooth  15   c  shown in  FIG. 6  is that of any of the other teeth  15 ,  15   a,    15   b  modified by the addition of short tines  20  affixed to each point. The tines  20  have a slight curvature away from the direction of rotation  610  as shown, and extend to a greater radial distance than the tooth points for a more aggressive “climb.” The tines  20  poke into the crop material  13  to a greater distance and with higher pressure than a triangular point. 
         [0045]    To help the crop material  13  to flow into the baler  900  more evenly across the length of the bale chamber and create a more evenly built-up bale, the crop engaging teeth  15  may be mounted to the windguard tube  22  in orientation increments of less than 45°. To effect this, the tooth hub  710  is as shown in  FIG. 7   a,  where adjacent teeth have drive hubs  710  angularly incremented a predetermined amount. In this manner, the row of teeth  15  may act as a helix auger as shown in  FIG. 7   b  to control the flow of crop material  13  into the bale chamber. 
         [0046]    As an alternate embodiment, the links  16  may be mounted to the ends of the standard tine windguard  26  as seen in  FIGS. 7   b  and  8 , rather than mounting to the baler frame. A result is simplicity and ease of removal/attachment. 
         [0047]    In still another embodiment, depicted in  FIG. 1 , the windguard  14  is simply pivotally mounted in position and mass “tuned” such that it could raise and lower, yet engage the crop  13  effectively because the system is of an appropriate mass. This system need not be aided by a spring, or have any of the other mounting elements such as those found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/739,194 to Woodford. While an uplift spring is not used in this embodiment, such a spring could be used if desired. 
         [0048]    In an additional embodiment of the drive for the windguard  14 , rather than be driven by the pick-up tines  18  and crop flow  13  alone, a ground engaging wheel may be used to direct or indirect drive the windguard  14  to supplement the rotational energy being imparted in the current embodiment resulting in more torque on the windguard  14  to overcome rolling resistance. Of course, the roller windguard  14  of this embodiment would not fit the definition of non-powered roller windguard. 
         [0049]    Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the preferred embodiments do indeed accomplish the aforementioned objects. Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.