Round baler including ultrasonic film sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11096334-B2
Application number	US-201916504569-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2019
Priority date	Jul 6, 2018
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

A round baler includes a bale chamber in which a round bale can be produced, and a wrapping device with which a completely pressed round bale can be wrapped with a first film in the bale chamber, and a feed device for introducing the first film into the bale chamber. The round baler also includes a feed point at which the first film can be fed to the bale chamber, and an ultrasonic sensor which is arranged at the bale chamber. The ultrasonic sensor is arranged at the bale chamber in such a way that with the ultrasonic sensor it is possible to determine whether the film is present on a surface of the round bale.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A round baler comprising:
a bale chamber in which a round bale can be produced;
a wrapping device with which a completely pressed round bale can be wrapped with a first film in the bale chamber;
a feed device for introducing the first film into the bale chamber;
a feed point at which the first film can be fed to the bale chamber,
an ultrasonic sensor positioned to emit an ultrasonic pulse toward the round bale, and arranged at the bale chamber to determine a presence of the first film on a surface of the round bale;
wherein the bale chamber includes a side element in which a sensor opening is formed, and a screening element is arranged on the sensor opening in such a way that no harvested material passes from the bale chamber onto and/or into the sensor opening; and
wherein the ultrasonic sensor is arranged and configured in such a way that the ultrasonic sensor encloses an orientation angle with the surface normal of the surface of the round bale and does not receive an echo of the ultrasonic pulse if the first film is present on the surface of the round bale.

2. The round baler according to claim 1 , further comprising a bale-wrapping device for wrapping the round bale with a second film, wherein the bale-wrapping device adjoins the bale chamber along a longitudinal axis of the round baler.

3. The round baler according to claim 2 , wherein the first film has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second film.

4. The round baler according to claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic sensor is arranged on a securing element, and the securing element is attached to the bale chamber.

5. The round baler according to claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic sensor is arranged downstream of the feed point or upstream of the feed point.

6. The round baler according to claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic sensor includes two or more ultrasonic sensors.

7. The round baler according to claim 1 , wherein feeding of the first film and/or rotation of the round bale can be adjusted as a function of an output signal of the ultrasonic sensor.

8. The round baler according to claim 1 , further comprising a control unit, and the ultrasonic sensor has a signal connection to the control unit.

9. The round baler according to claim 1 , wherein the orientation angle is between ten degrees and eighty five degrees relative to normal of the surface of the round bale.

10. A round baler comprising:
a bale chamber in which a round bale can be produced;
a wrapping device with which a completely pressed round bale can be wrapped with a first film in the bale chamber;
a feed device for introducing the first film into the bale chamber;
a feed point at which the first film can be fed to the bale chamber;
an ultrasonic sensor positioned to emit an ultrasonic pulse toward the round bale, and arranged at the bale chamber to determine a presence of the first film on a surface of the round bale;
wherein the ultrasonic sensor is arranged and configured in such a way that the ultrasonic sensor encloses an orientation angle with the surface normal of the surface of the round bale and does not receive an echo of the ultrasonic pulse if the first film is present on the surface of the round bale;
wherein the bale chamber includes a side element in which a sensor opening is formed through which the ultrasonic sensor is positioned to emit the ultrasonic pulse, and a screening element is arranged on the sensor opening in such a way that no harvested material passes from the bale chamber onto and/or into the sensor opening; and
a bale-wrapping device for wrapping the round bale with a second film, wherein the bale-wrapping device adjoins the bale chamber along a longitudinal axis of the round baler.

11. A round baler comprising:
a bale chamber operable to form a round bale;
a wrapping device operable to wrap the round bale with a first film in the bale chamber;
an ultrasonic sensor positioned to emit an ultrasonic pulse toward the round bale at an orientation angle of between ten degrees and eighty five degrees relative to normal of a circumferential surface of the round bale such that the ultrasonic sensor does not receive an echo of the ultrasonic pulse when the first film is present on the circumferential surface of the round bale; and
wherein the bale chamber includes a side element in which a sensor opening is formed, and a screening element is arranged on the sensor opening in such a way that no harvested material passes from the bale chamber onto and/or into the sensor opening.

12. The round baler according to claim 11 , further comprising a holding element attached to the ultrasonic sensor and configured to position the ultrasonic sensor adjacent the sensor opening in the side element and outside of the bale chamber.

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Lebeau Jonathan
• Gresset Pascal
• Perrotin Frederic

Classifications

• A01F2015/076

  Wrapping device incorporating sensors · CPC title

• B65B41/12

  Feeding webs from rolls · CPC title

• B65B41/16

  by rollers · CPC title

• B65B57/12

  and operating to control, or stop, the feed of wrapping materials, containers, or packages · CPC title

• B65B27/125

  and wrapping or bagging · CPC title