Combined packer and stuffer means

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9480205-B2
Application number	US-201214362853-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 3, 2012
Priority date	Dec 4, 2011
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

An agricultural baler of the rectangular type has a feeder of which the movement is directly derived from and synchronized with the movement of the reciprocating plunger.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An agriculture baler of a rectangular type comprising:
a wheeled frame;
a baling chamber mounted to said frame and extending generally fore-and-aft with respect to an intended direction of movement of the baler and having an inlet opening in a lower wall thereof;
a compressor mounted for reciprocation within the baling chamber over the inlet opening for compressing successive charges of crop material fed through said inlet opening into said baling chamber to form a bale thereof;
a feeder duct communicating at one end with the inlet opening in the baling chamber and curving downwardly and forwardly there from and terminating in a lower, forwardly facing open crop receiving mouth; this feeder duct comprising upper and lower curved walls of which the upper wall comprises slots, extending generally from said crop receiving mouth to said inlet opening in the baling chamber for cooperation with feeder tines;
a feeder comprising a feeder fork with feeder tines, wherein the feeder is configured to move the feeder tines along two distinct trajectories, a packing trajectory for accumulating a charge of said crop material in the feeder duct, and a stuffing trajectory for stuffing said charge of said crop material into the baling chamber,
wherein:
the movement of the feeder is directly derived from and synchronized with the movement of the reciprocating compressor through a linkage spanning between the feeder fork and a pivot point where a pitman arm attached to the compressor, and
the feeder fork comprising at a first rearmost end for cooperating with the feeder duct a series of laterally spaced-apart elongated feeder tines, and at a second rearmost end is rotably attached to the linkage, the linkage comprising a pair of cranks connected through pivots, and wherein the fulcrum of the feeder fork is rotably coupled to a first end of a spacer rod and the spacer rod is rotably coupled at a pivot point at a second rearmost end to the wheeled frame.

2. Agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the linkage is pivotally attached either to the pivot point of the pitman arm or to a pivot point on the reciprocating compressor other than the pivot point of the pitman arm.

3. Agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the position of the feeder tines relative to the feeder duct is determined by the relative positions of the crank, feeder fork and spacer rod, operably connected through pivots and fulcrum.

4. Agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the feeder tines may describe a trajectory in and outside the feeder duct which is partly at the lower end in the feeder duct, the packer trajectory, or partly at the upper end in the feeder duct, the stuffer trajectory.

5. Agricultural baler according to claim 4 , wherein the packer trajectory has two parts, a packer stroke with a duration of half of the reciprocating movement of the compressor, and a rest stroke with a duration of half of the reciprocating movement of the reciprocating compressor.

6. Agricultural baler according to claim 4 , wherein the stuffer trajectory consists of two parts, a packer stroke with a duration of half of the reciprocating movement of the compressor, and a steer stroke with a duration of half of the reciprocating movement of the reciprocating compressor.

7. An agricultural baler according to claim 5 , wherein the switch-over from packer to stuffer trajectory is controlled by the relative rotational position of the spacer rod.

8. Agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the spacer rod is configured as a single revolution clutch assembly.

9. Agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein a clutch may be triggered by a trip sensor in the feeder duct.

10. The agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the spacer rod is ratably coupled in the pivot point at the second rearmost end to the frame such that a position of pivot point is fixed relative to the feeder fork.

11. The agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the compressor is a plunger and the cranks are pivotally attached to the plunger such that the movement of the feeder is only derived from the movement of the plunger.

12. The agricultural baler according to claim 1 , wherein the pivotally connected cranks are arranged to place the compressor in driving connection with the feeder fork.

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Naeyaert Karel
• Vandamme Dirk A R
• Vande Ryse Johan A E
• Rosseel Bram

Classifications

• A01F2015/102

  the pressing chamber is fed from the bottom side · CPC title

• A01F15/10 Primary

  Feeding devices for the crop material {e.g. precompression devices} · CPC title

• A01F15/101 Primary

  Feeding at right angles to the compression stroke (A01F15/106 takes precedence) · CPC title