U.S. patent application number 10/372036 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-11 for forage compacting method and apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to HWD HOLDINGS LTD.. Invention is credited to Hunter, Douglas Andrew, Littlewood, Richard Wayne.
Application Number | 20030226336 10/372036 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29712458 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030226336 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hunter, Douglas Andrew ; et
al. |
December 11, 2003 |
Forage compacting method and apparatus
Abstract
A forage compactor for compressing forage or crop into bales of
increased crop density for transportation. A crop feed area feeds
crop to a conveyor where it is moved to a scale area for proper
bale weight. An indexer severs the crop while moving it from the
scale area to the compression chamber. The crop is compressed and
moved to a strapping chamber where straps are applied to the
compressed crop. The bound bale is manipulated as desired at the
product handling area downstream from the strapping. chamber. The
crop is provided with substantially constant stress during
compression and moisture sensors in the strapping chamber sense the
moisture content of the severed crop within the bale to be bound.
The weight of the crop within the compression area may be reduced
to reduce machine overloading. Keyway plungers provide reduced side
loading on the main ram used for crop compression. The feed inlet
area is located on the same side of the. compression chamber as the
exit chamber to allow for more efficient operation and area
utilisation.
Inventors: |
Hunter, Douglas Andrew;
(Calgary, CA) ; Littlewood, Richard Wayne;
(Cochrane, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HWD HOLDINGS LTD.
Suite 202
1590 Bellevue Avenue
West Vancouver
BC
V7V 1A7
CA
|
Assignee: |
HWD HOLDINGS LTD.
|
Family ID: |
29712458 |
Appl. No.: |
10/372036 |
Filed: |
February 20, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10372036 |
Feb 20, 2003 |
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09580480 |
May 26, 2000 |
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6526731 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
53/502 ;
53/529 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B30B 9/3078 20130101;
A01F 15/042 20130101; A01F 15/005 20130101; A01F 15/046 20130101;
B30B 9/3007 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
53/502 ;
53/529 |
International
Class: |
B65B 001/32; B65B
001/24 |
Claims
We claim:
1. Forage compactor to compress forage into bales comprising a crop
inlet area, a scale, a conveyor to convey crop to said scale, an
indexer to convey said crop from said scale to a compression
chamber, a compress plunger to compress said crop in said
compression chamber and an eject plunger to eject said compressed
crop from said compression chamber, said compressed crop being
ejected from a crop outlet area downstream of said compression
chamber, said crop inlet area and said crop outlet area being
located on the same side of said conveyor.
2. Forage compactor as in claim 1 and further comprising at least
one pump to provide hydraulic fluid to said compress plunger, said
pump having a pressure compensator, said pressure compensator being
operable to allow said compress plunger to exert a substantially
constant pressure on said crop within said compression cylinder for
a predetermined time period and a hydraulic fluid relief sensor to
relieve said pressure on said crop following said predetermined
time period.
3. Forage compactor as in claim 2 and further comprising a moisture
sensor downstream from said compression chamber, said moisture
sensor sensing the moisture in said bale.
4. Forage compactor as in claim 3 and further including a container
controller to determine the total weight to be held by said
container, the number of bales to be held by said container and the
optimal weight of each of said bales to be held by said container
to obtain said total weight, said container controller being
operable to increase the weight of bales if said weight of some of
said bales is less that said optimal weight.
5. Forage compactor as in claim 4 and further comprising a sensor
to determine hydraulic fluid pressure within said compression
chamber during compression of said crop within said compression
chamber and the weight of said crop within said compression
chamber, said sensor reducing the weight of said crop within said
compression chamber when said fluid pressure exceeds a
predetermined limit.
6. Forage compactor as in claim 5 and further comprising a keyway
in said compress plunger and said compression cylinder, and a key
extending between said keyways.
7. Forage compactor as in claim 6 and further comprising platens at
said strapping chamber to hold said compressed crop and a strapping
assembly mounted for reciprocal movement adjacent said platens,
said strapping assembly being operable to install at least one of a
plurality of straps on said compressed crop within said
platens.
8. Forage compactor as in claim 7 and further comprising bagging
apparatus operable to install bagging on said compressed crop
downstream of said platens.
9. Forage compactor as in claim 8 and further comprising a bale
chamber between said strapping chamber and said compression
chamber, said bale chamber being operable to hold said compressed
crop upon ejection of said crop from said compression chamber.
10. Forage compactor as in claim 9 wherein said strapping assembly
includes quick connect electrical fasteners and a hydraulic
cylinder removable from said strapping assembly, said strapping
assembly being movable on rails adjacent said strapping chamber and
being removable from said rails upon disconnection. of said
hydraulic cylinder.
11. Forage compactor as in claim 10 wherein said compression
chamber has a wall, said wall and said load indexer having
complementary knives to sever said crop during movement of said
crop by said load indexer from said scale horizontally into said
compression chamber.
12. Forage compactor as in claim 11 and further comprising a
plurality of hydraulic pumps to provide hydraulic fluid pressure to
said compress and eject plungers and a controller to sense the
power required by said compression chamber, said controller
initiating operation of more of said plurality of hydraulic pumps
during relatively low power required by said compression chamber
and fewer of said plurality of hydraulic pumps during relatively
high power required by said compression chamber.
13. Forage compactor as in claim 12 wherein said compress plunger
has a compression stroke and an eject stroke and further comprising
a sensor to determine the position of said compress plunger during
said eject stroke, said sensor initiating deceleration of said
compress plunger during said eject stroke when said compress
plunger reaches a predetermined position.
14. Forage compactor as in claim 13 wherein said compactor includes
a plurality of movable components being movable manually, said
controller prohibiting interference of said movable components
during said manual movement.
15. Forage compactor as in claim 13 wherein said manual movement
takes place within an operating cycle, said manual movement being
monitored by said controller and wherein said manual movement is
terminated, said controller completing said cycle of operation
following termination of said manual movement.
16. Forage compactor as in claim 15 and further comprising a
hydraulic manifold having an inlet port and an outlet port and
being operably connected to said compression cylinder, said
hydraulic fluid passing directly from at least one of said inlet or
outlet ports directly to said compression cylinder.
17. Forage compactor as in claim 16 and further comprising a bale
configuration assembly, said bale configuration assembly comprising
a first elevator to receive a compressed bale, a first rotator to
rotate said compressed bale, a first slider to move said compressed
bale in a nonrotated position from said elevator, a roll down plate
to receive said compressed bale and being operable to rotate said
compressed bale, a second slider to move said compressed bale in a
non-rotated position from said roll down plate or elevator and a
second rotator to rotate said compressed bale from said roll down
plate.
18. Forage compactor as in claim 17 wherein said compression
chamber comprises walls, a top and a bottom, said top and bottom
being connected by removable bolted connections.
19. Forage compactor to compress crop within a compression chamber
by a compress plunger operable within a compression cylinder, said
compactor comprising a plurality of pumps to supply hydraulic fluid
to said compression cylinder and being operable to move said
compress plunger to a compression position, one of said pumps
having a pressure compensator, said pressure compensator being
operable to allow said compress plunger to exert a substantially
constant pressure on said crop within said compression cylinder for
a predetermined time period and a hydraulic fluid relief sensor to
relieve said pressure on said crop following said predetermined
time period.
20. Forage compactor for compressing crop into bales within a
compression chamber, said compactor further comprising a strapping
chamber downstream from said compression chamber, said strapping
chamber having a moisture sensor to measure the moisture of said
crop of said compressed bale within said strapping chamber.
21. Forage compactor for compacting crop into compressed bales,
said compressed bales including bales exiting a crop outlet area at
a first predetermined time and previous bales exiting said crop
outlet area at a second predetermined time, said second
predetermined time being subsequent to said first predetermined
time, a container for holding a predetermined number of said
compressed bales, said compactor including a scale for weighing
crop, a compression chamber for compressing said weighed crop into
said previous and subsequent bales, a crop outlet area downstream
of said compression chamber for receiving said previous and
subsequent bales and a controller for determining the individual
weight of said bales comprising said total number of bales, said
controller being operable to increase the weight of said subsequent
bales if said previous bales are underweight.
22. Forage compactor to compress crop into bales comprising a scale
to weigh said crop, a compression chamber to compress said weighed
crop during a compression operation, a pump to provide hydraulic
fluid under pressure to said compression chamber and a sensor to
sense the pressure of said hydraulic fluid during said compression
operation and to control said weight of said crop if said pressure
of said hydraulic fluid in said compression chamber exceeds
predetermined limits.
23. Forage compactor to compress crop into bales comprising a
compression chamber defined by a compression cylinder and a
compress plunger reciprocal within said compression cylinder, at
least one keyway in said compress plunger, at least one keyway in
said compression cylinder, and a key extending between said
keyways.
24. Forage compactor as in claim 23 wherein said key extends
axially along said compression cylinder and said compress
plunger.
25. Forage compactor as in claim 24 and further comprising a second
keyway in said cylinder, a second keyway in said compress plunger
and a second key extending between said second keyways.
26. Forage compactor to compress crop comprising a compression
chamber, a compress plunger to compress crop within said
compression chamber, a strapping chamber downstream of said
compression chamber to strap said compressed crop, said strapping
chamber being defined by platens holding said compressed crop on
opposite sides of said compressed crop, a strapping assembly
mounted for reciprocal movement along said platens, said strapping
assembly being operable to install at least one of a plurality of
straps on said compressed crop within said platens.
27. Forage compactor as in claim 26 wherein said strapping assembly
includes quick connect electrical fasteners and a hydraulic
cylinder removable from said strapping assembly, said strapping
assembly being movable on rails adjacent said platens and being
removable from said rails upon disconnection of said hydraulic
cylinder.
28. Forage compactor as in claim 27 and further comprising bagging
apparatus operable to install bagging on said compressed crop
downstream of said platens.
29. Forage compactor for compressing crop into bales in a
compression chamber, said compactor comprising a crop outlet area
to receive crop ejected from said compression chamber in the form
of a compressed bale, a crop holding station to hold said bale and
a strapping chamber to strap said bale upon movement of said bale
from said holding station to said strapping chamber, said bale
ejected by said compression chamber being moved to said strapping
chamber by a movement length defined by approximately two
bales.
30. Forage compactor to compress crop comprising a compression
chamber having a wall and an indexer to move said crop into said
compression chamber through said wall, said wall and said indexer
having complementary knives to sever said crop as said crop moves
through said wall into said compression chamber.
31. Forage compactor as in claim 30 wherein said indexer moves said
crop to said compression chamber through said wall in a
substantially horizontal movement, said complementary knives having
horizontal relative movement while said crop is severed.
32. Forage compactor to compress crop in a compression chamber
comprising a compression chamber, a compression cylinder, a
compress plunger movable in said compression cylinder, a plurality
of hydraulic pumps to provide fluid pressure to said compression
chamber and a controller to detect the power required by said
pressure of said fluid within said compression chamber, said
controller initiating operation of more of said plurality of
hydraulic pumps during relatively low. power required by said
compression chamber and fewer of said plurality of hydraulic pumps
during relatively high power required by said compression
chamber.
33. Forage compactor to compress crop within a compression chamber
comprising a compress plunger having a compress stroke and an eject
stroke, sensors to determine the position of said compress plunger
during said eject stroke, and controllers operable from said
sensors to initiate deceleration of said compress plunger during
said eject stroke when said plunger reaches a predetermined
position.
34. Forage compactor as in claim 33 wherein said sensors are
proximity sensors.
35. Forage compactor to compress. crop within a compression
chamber, said compactor comprising a plurality of movable
components and a controller, said components being movable
manually, said controller being operable to prevent interference
between said components during said manual movement of said
components.
36. Forage compactor as in claim 35 wherein said components move
within an operating cycle, said manual movement being monitored by
said controller and wherein said manual movement is terminated,
said controller completes said cycle of operation.
37. Forage compactor to compress crop within a compression chamber,
said compression chamber having a compression cylinder and a
compress plunger movable within said cylinder, said cylinder being
supplied with hydraulic fluid under pressure from a manifold, said
manifold having inlet and outlet ports, said manifold being
connected directly to said compression cylinder, said hydraulic
fluid passing directly from at least one of said inlet or outlet
ports to said compression cylinder.
38. Forage compactor bale configuration system comprising a first
elevator to receive a compressed bale, a first rotator to rotate
said compressed bale, a first slider to move said compressed bale
in a non-rotated position from said first elevator, a rolldown
plate to receive said compressed bale and being operable to rotate
said compressed bale, a second slider to move said compressed bale
in a non-rotated position from said rolldown plate and a second
rotator to rotate said compressed bale from said rolldown
plate.
39. Forage compactor comprising a compression chamber defined by
walls, a top and a bottom, said top and bottom being connected by
removable bolted connections.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to a compactor and, more
particularly, to a forage compactor which is hydraulically powered
and operated and which compresses forage into optimal size bales
for container transport.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The formation of hay bales is, of course, well known. Such
balers are used in agricultural operations in the field to form
harvested hay into bales having generally either rectangular or
circular dimensions. The bales so formed allow improved handling
and storage and have a weight which allows convenient manipulation
following their formation. Such bales are typically stored and used
in locations relatively close to the harvesting location.
[0003] Commercial markets have now been established for forage in
locations far removed from where the forage crop is harvested and
formed into bales. For example, markets in the Asian and Middle
Eastern countries have opened for forage from material harvested in
North America and Australia. Thus, the transportation of such
forage at a reasonable cost and maintaining such forage in
marketable condition during transportation has become an important
focus in order to profitably sell such forage.
[0004] Forage compactors to recompact standard hay bales are known.
Such compactors generally act to take standard hay bales, separate
the material making up the bales and recompact such material at a
density which is much greater than the density of the forage in a
standard bale while retaining generally the same dimensions. Thus,
the recompacted bale may be shipped utilizing a far more efficient
volume of space with an increased quantity of forage making up the
bale
[0005] A typical forage compactor is described in U.S. Pat. No.
5,001,974 (Gombos) entitled HAY BALE RECOMPACTING SYSTEM. Gombos
teaches a compactor having an inlet allowing the crop to enter into
a compression chamber where the crop is compressed. Following
compression, the crop leaves the compression chamber from an outlet
positioned on the opposite side of the compression chamber from the
inlet. A strapping operation is disclosed in which straps encircle
each bale. The strapping operation takes place following the
removal of the forage. from the compression chamber.
[0006] The Gombos apparatus, however, suffers disadvantages. First
an operator must be located on the same side of the compactor as
the strapping unit since strapping units are not reliable under the
severe operating conditions of the compactor. In order to properly
remove twines from the incoming bales, an operator should be
located on the inlet side of the compression chamber; that is, near
the end of the main compression cylinder where the operator is in
proximity to the highly stressed tie rods of the compression
cylinder and the hydraulic hoses providing the high pressure
hydraulic oil feeding the cylinder. This position is not a
preferred operator location because the chances for an accident are
increased. Further, being located at this point does not allow the
operator to ensure that the scaling of the product is consistent.
To overcome the latter problem, yet another operator is needed. The
former problem relating to safety considerations remains.
[0007] A further disadvantage with Gombos is that the inlet and
outlet locations located on opposite sides of the compression
chamber necessarily dictate that the plant layout is inefficient.
The forage compactor must be centrally located on the plant floor
as opposed to being located against a wall, for example, where
better overall utilization of floor space area can occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided
a forage compactor to compress forage into bales comprising a crop
inlet area, a scale, a conveyor to convey crop to said scale, an
indexer to convey said crop from said scale to a compression
chamber, a compress plunger to compress said crop in said
compression chamber and an eject plunger to eject said compressed
crop from said compression chamber, said compressed crop being
ejected from a crop outlet area downstream of said compression
chamber, said crop inlet area and said crop outlet area being
located on the same side of said conveyor.
[0009] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor to compress crop within a compression
chamber by a compress plunger operable within a compression
cylinder, said compactor comprising a plurality of pumps to supply
hydraulic fluid to said compression cylinder and being operable to
move said compress plunger to a compression position, one of said
pumps having a pressure compensator, said pressure compensator
being operable to allow said compress plunger to exert a
substantially constant pressure on said crop within said
compression cylinder for a predetermined time period and a
hydraulic fluid relief sensor to relieve said pressure on said crop
following said predetermined time period.
[0010] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor for compressing crop into bales within
a compression chamber, said compactor further comprising a
strapping chamber downstream from said compression chamber, said
strapping chamber having a moisture sensor to measure the moisture
of said crop of said compressed bale within said strapping
chamber.
[0011] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor for compacting crop into compressed
bales, said compressed bales including bales exiting a crop outlet
area at a first predetermined time and previous bales exiting said
crop outlet area at a second predetermined time, said second
predetermined time being subsequent to said first predetermined
time, a container for holding a predetermined number of said
compressed bales, said compactor including a scale for weighing
crop, a compression chamber for compressing said weighed crop into
said previous and subsequent bales, a crop outlet area downstream
of said compression chamber for receiving said previous and
subsequent bales and a controller for determining the individual
weight of said bales comprising said total number of bales, said
controller being operable to increase the weight of said subsequent
bales if said previous bales are underweight.
[0012] According to still yet a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a forage compactor to compress crop into bales
comprising a compression chamber defined by a compression cylinder
and a compress plunger reciprocal within said compression cylinder,
at least one keyway in said compress plunger, at least one keyway
in said compression cylinder, and a key extending between said
keyways.
[0013] According to still yet a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a forage compactor to compress crop comprising a
compression chamber, a compress plunger to compress crop within
said compression chamber, a strapping chamber downstream of said
compression chamber to strap said compressed crop, said strapping
chamber being defined by platens holding said compressed crop on
opposite sides of said compressed crop, a strapping assembly
mounted for reciprocal movement along said platens, said strapping
assembly being operable to install at least one of a plurality of
straps on said compressed crop within said platens.
[0014] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor for compressing crop into bales in a
compression chamber, said compactor comprising a crop outlet area
to receive crop ejected from said compression chamber in the form
of a compressed bale, a crop holding station to hold said bale and
a strapping chamber to strap said bale upon movement of said bale
from said holding station to said strapping chamber, said bale
ejected by said compression chamber being moved to said strapping
chamber by a movement length defined by approximately two
bales.
[0015] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor to compress crop comprising a
compression chamber having a wall and an indexer to move said crop
into said compression chamber through said wall, said wall and said
indexer having complementary knives to sever said crop as said crop
moves through said wall into said compression chamber.
[0016] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor to compress crop in a compression
chamber comprising a compression chamber, a compression cylinder, a
compress plunger movable in said compression cylinder, a plurality
of hydraulic pumps to provide fluid pressure to said compression
chamber and a controller to detect the power required by said
pressure of said fluid within said compression chamber, said
controller initiating operation of more of said plurality of
hydraulic pumps during relatively low power required by said
compression chamber and fewer of said plurality of hydraulic pumps
during relatively high power required by said compression
chamber.
[0017] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a forage compactor to- compress crop within a compression
chamber comprising a compress plunger having a compress stroke and
an eject stroke, sensors to determine the position of said compress
plunger during said eject stroke, and controllers operable from
said sensors to initiate deceleration of said compress plunger
during said eject stroke when said plunger reaches a predetermined
position.
[0018] According to still yet a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a forage compactor to compress crop within a
compression chamber, said compactor comprising a plurality of
movable components and a controller, said components being movable
manually, said controller being operable to prevent interference
between said components during said manual movement of said
components.
[0019] According to still yet a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a forage compactor to compress crop within a
compression chamber, said compression chamber having a compression
cylinder and a compress plunger movable within said cylinder, said
cylinder being supplied with hydraulic fluid under pressure from a
manifold, said manifold having inlet and outlet ports, said
manifold being connected directly to said compression cylinder,
said hydraulic fluid passing directly from at least one of said
inlet or outlet ports to said compression cylinder.
[0020] According to still yet a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a forage compactor bale configuration system
comprising a first elevator to receive a compressed bale, a first
rotator to rotate said compressed bale, a first slider to move said
compressed bale in a non-rotated position from said first elevator,
a rolldown plate to receive said compressed bale and being operable
to rotate said compressed bale, a second slider to move said
compressed bale in a non-rotated position from said rolldown plate
and a second rotator to rotate said compressed bale from said
rolldown plate.
[0021] According to still yet a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a forage compactor comprising a compression
chamber defined by walls, a top and a bottom, said top and bottom
being connected by removable bolted connections.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described,
by way of example only, with the use of drawings in which:
[0023] FIG. 1A is a diagrammatic isometric view of the forage
compactor according to the invention;
[0024] FIG. 1B is a diagrammatic plan view of the forage compactor
of FIG. 1;
[0025] FIGS. 1C-1E are diagrammatic plan views of the bale movement
and compression operation;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic isometric view of the product
handling apparatus according to the invention;
[0027] FIG. 3A is a diagrammatic plan view of the compress plunger
particularly illustrating one of the two keyways used to guide the
plunger in the compress cylinder;
[0028] FIG. 3B is a diagrammatic isometric partial view of the
compress plunger particular illustrating the keyway and the key
extending the compress plunger and the compression cylinder;
[0029] FIG. 3C is a diagrammatic isometric view of the key
particularly illustrating the low friction coating,
[0030] FIG. 4A is a partial diagrammatic side-view of the strapper
assembly particularly illustrating the indexing plate used to
control strap placement;
[0031] FIG. 4B is a diagrammatic front view of the strapping
assembly installing strapping on a compressed bale held between the
platens of the forage compactor and the strapping station according
to the invention;
[0032] FIGS. 4C is a diagrammatic views of the screen used by the
operator and the representation of the strapped and compressed bale
obtained with each strap configuration;
[0033] FIG. 4D is a diagrammatic side view of the strapper assembly
particularly illustrating the components used for removal and
installation of the strapper assembly;
[0034] FIG. 5 is a graphical depiction of the pressure in the main
hydraulic cylinder as a function of displacement of the main ram
within the cylinder;
[0035] FIG. 6A is a diagrammatic side view of the compress plunger
in the compressed position and illustrating the deceleration
sensors;
[0036] FIG. 6B is a diagrammatic schematic illustrating the fluid
flow from the hydraulic pumps used for the compress and eject.
plungers;
[0037] FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of the stackable
hydraulic pumps used to maintain desired hydraulic pressure in the
various systems used in the forage compactor according to the
invention;
[0038] FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic plan partial sectional view of the
compression chamber particularly illustrating the overkill and
eject positions of the main plunger and with a wall of the
compression chamber being formed by the load indexer;
[0039] FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic side view of a rotating knife
assembly used to cut the twine binding the bales being fed to the
forage compactor according to the invention;
[0040] FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic side sectional view of the
manifold located in contact with and on the end of the compression
cylinder which carries the compress plunger; and
[0041] FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrammatic views of the operator
screen used to configure the bales for subsequent handling and the
actual orientation of the bales on the floor of the operating room
holding the forage compactor for movement by the row pusher.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
[0042] Referring now to the drawings, a forage compactor according
to the invention is generally illustrated at 100 in FIGS. 1A and
1B. It comprises a feed table generally illustrated at 105, an
inlet area generally illustrated at 101 for the uncompressed hay or
forage, a "bull pen" or buffer area generally illustrated at 102
for the uncompressed detwined forage, a scale pan area generally
illustrated at 103 which is located downstream from the "bull pen"
area 102, a compression chamber generally illustrated at 104
sidewise located from the scale pan area 103, a strapping chamber
generally illustrated at 110 sidewise located from the compression
chamber 104 and a product handling area generally illustrated at
111, all of which will be described and illustrated hereafter.
[0043] A plurality of hay bales 112 of the known generally
rectangular variety are positioned on the feed table 105 by means
of a variety of well known bale delivery devices. The twine (not
illustrated) maintaining the bales in an assembled form is manually
cut and removed from the bales 112 following the positioning of the
bales 112 on the feed table 105. The bales 112 are also tested for
appropriate moisture content.
[0044] The crop is conveyed to the conveyor pan 120 upstream of the
intake indexer 114 by feed table indexer 113. The crop on the
conveyor pan 120 is then conveyed to the bullpen area 102 located
under the intake indexer 114 by the cross-conveyor indexer 126.
[0045] The bales 112 comprising forage or crop are in their
generally loosened, detwined configuration and are guided by the
sides of the conveyor pan 120. The intake indexer 114 includes two
forage movement fingers 121 which extend downwardly from a chain
drive 122 located over the crop on the conveyor 120. The fingers
121 move the crop towards the scale pan 103 and are pivotally
mounted so that they may rotate forwardly or clockwise as viewed
from the side when they are moving backwards over the crop so as
not to interfere with the crop on the conveyor 120 when returning
from the scale pan area 103.
[0046] Intake indexer 114 moves a predetermined amount of crop 112
to the scale pan area 103. The intake indexer 114 is coordinated
with the weight of the crop moved into the scale pan area 103 so
that when the load cells (not illustrated) connected to the floor
130 of the scale pan 103 measure the appropriate amount of crop 112
that has entered the scale pan area 103, movement of the crop into
the scale pan area 103 by the intake indexer 114 will terminate.
The movement of the reciprocating intake indexer 114 is such that
it will not interfere with the load indexer 124 when the crop is
moved into the compression chamber area 104.
[0047] The floor 130 within the scale pan area 103 is mounted on
hydraulic cylinders 131 (only one of which is illustrated).
Following the weighing operation, the floor 130 is moved upwardly
by the hydraulic cylinders 131 in order to compress the crop within
the scale pan area 103 so as to optimize the package size of the
compressed bales 141. The floor 130 will remain in its compression
position during the movement of the load indexer 124 as it moves
the crop from the scale pan area 103 into the compression chamber
104.
[0048] The load indexer 124 severs the crop being moved into the
compression chamber 104 by way of knives 125 (only one of which is
illustrated) which are located so as to sever crop material by
their relative movement (FIG. 8) while the load indexer 124 moves
horizontally relative to the wall of the compression chamber 104.
The load indexer 124 compresses the crop within the compression
chamber 104 and maintains its position during compression by the
compress plunger 132.
[0049] The compression chamber 104 is expandable to increase its
size, if desired, so as to increase the size of a compressed bale.
A plurality of bolts 156 maintain the compression chamber 104 in
its assembled position. If the compression chamber 104 is desired
to be expanded so as to create a bale of greater size, the bolts
156 are removed and shims are used to enlarge the compression
chamber 104. Other components will also necessarily be required to
be replaced or modified such as the compression plunger 132 and the
eject plunger 150 so as to appropriately fit the enlarged
compression chamber 104.
[0050] Compress plunger 132 within hydraulic cylinder 133 provides
the necessary force to compress the forage within the compression
chamber 104. The compress plunger 132 is hydraulically operated by
a plurality of stacked hydraulic pumps generally illustrated at 135
(FIG. 7).
[0051] The hydraulic pumps 135 comprise a high pressure hydraulic
pump 136, two medium pressure pumps 137 and an auxiliary pump 138,
the latter being used to power the auxiliary devices and the high
pressure and medium pressure pumps 136, 137 being used to provide
fluid to the compress plunger 132 and eject plunger 150.
[0052] When there is little resistance being offered to the
compress plunger 132 as is the case when the stroke of the compress
plunger 132 is just commencing all three pumps 136, 137 will be
operating so the compress plunger 132 is moving relatively quickly.
As the resistance within the compression chamber 104 builds,
however, the pumps 137 are shifted out or terminated, pump 137
located next to the auxiliary pump 138 being the first to terminate
operation. Shortly thereafter, as horsepower again reaches the
setpoint, the medium pressure pump 137 located adjacent the high
pressure pump 136 will be shifted out. This is done to limit the
power being required to that of the rated power of motor 136 which
powers the pumps 135. Thus, the compress plunger 132 will move
relatively more slowly as the pressure increases. Finally, only the
high pressure pump 136 will be operating and this pump 136 includes
a pressure compensator which will reduce the fluid displacement of
the pump 136 to near zero at the maximum pressure position as will
be described.
[0053] Pumps 135, including variable displacement pump 142, provide
hydraulic fluid to the various hydraulic components of the forage
compactor 100. Variable displacement pump 142 has an adjustable
swash plate (not illustrated) which allows the compress plunger 132
to maintain a predetermined pressure on the forage within the
compression chamber 104 as seen in FIG. 5. When the predetermined
pressure is reached during the compression stroke, the pump 136
"swashes" to almost zero fluid displacement thereby maintaining the
predetermined pressure on the crop in the compression chamber 104
until a solenoid actuated hydraulic control valve 145 redirects the
fluid of the pump 142 back to the reservoir 146 after a
predetermined time period. A sensor 144 detects the pressure in
main cylinder 133 and a timer within the programmable logic
controller ("PLC") provides an appropriate signal to the solenoid
actuated hydraulic control valve 145 after the predetermined
elapsed time at the predetermined pressure. This will provide
pressure relief and the compress plunger 132 will fall back from
the overkill position 127 (FIG. 8) to the eject position 128.
[0054] A further control feature is illustrated in FIG. 6. Two
sensors in the form of proximity switches 147, 148 are positioned
adjacent the path of compress plunger 132. These sensors 147, 148,
define the position of compress plunger 132 where, during retract,
deceleration is desired to be initiated. When the initial sensor
147 is reached, pump 137 adjacent auxiliary pump 138 will be
shifted out. After a predetermined period of time, pump 137
adjacent high pressure pump 136 will be shifted out. It is
desirable to terminate operation of the two pumps 137 stepwise for
smooth operation. Accordingly, when sensor 148 is reached, last
pump 136 is shifted out. This operation is similar for the
operation of the load indexer 124.
[0055] It will be noted that the use of proximity sensors 147, 148
override the use of the earlier described pressure sensors which
likewise produce the step down operation. This is so to prevent any
damage to the machine components. Thus, although the pressure is
low and not of concern to the operation of motor 136, the pumps 137
will be shifted out to being the deceleration portion of the stroke
of compress plunger 132. Hydraulic fluid may also be used to dampen
the stroke of compress plunger 132 near the end of the compression
stroke.
[0056] The high pressure pump 136 (FIG. 6) with its adjustable
swash plate allows the compress plunger 132 to compress the crop
within the compression chamber 104 until a predetermined pressure
level is reached, conveniently 5000 psi as is illustrated in FIG.
5. When this pressure is reached, the compress plunger 132 utilises
such pressure to maintain compression on the crop for a
predetermined and brief period. The compress plunger 132 then backs
off to the eject position 128 (FIG. 8) wherein the eject plunger
140 can subsequently move the crop to the exit location of the
compression chamber 104 without damaging the fiber being
compressed. This has an advantage in that compressed bales 141
constructed by the pressure of the compress plunger 132 in
compression chamber 104 have a more constant density throughout
thus creating compressed bales 141 of increased uniform density.
This technique has the further advantage that the "spring back"
effect of the fiber making up the compressed bales 141 which is
obtained with the "constant pressure" technique using the compress
plunger 132 and the variable displacement pump 142 is such that the
tension in the straps 153 (FIG. 4B) encircling the compressed bales
141 is quite adequate to maintain the compressed bales 141 in their
compressed condition throughout the subsequent transportation
operation and such tension does not contribute to strap breakage,
all as will be described.
[0057] Provision is provided for manual operation of the compactor
100. In the event the operator desires to manually operate the
compactor 100, the programmable logic controller (PLC) 165 provides
for determination of which components are being manually operated
and prohibits the operation of any other component which could
interfere with the operation of the component being manually
operated. For example, if the compress plunger 132 is being
operated, the PLC will not allow the operation of the eject plunger
150 when interference could result even if the operator mistakenly
attempts to operate the eject plunger 150 during the compression
stroke of the compress plunger 132. Likewise, the PLC determines
whether a component is being moved by two elements. If that is the
case, the PLC will ensure each element completes its individual
movement prior to the movement of the other element. For example,
in the event the crop is being compressed by both the load indexer
124 and the compress plunger 132, the PLC will require the load
indexer 124 to complete its movement prior to operation of the
compress plunger 132.
[0058] The PLC also provides for automatic continuation of the
manual operation until the completion of a cycle in the event the
operator wishes to return to automatic operation. Thus, if the
operator wishes to return to automatic operation during the
compression stroke of compress plunger 132, the PLC will have
monitored the manual operation. The automatic operation, suddenly
enabled, will dictate that the PLC complete the compression stroke
and the remaining steps in the cycle prior to commencing a new
cycle. This removes the necessity of requiring the operator to
manually return all operating components to their initial operating
positions prior to the commencement of the next automatic
cycle.
[0059] Reference is made to FIGS. 3A and 3B which illustrate the
keyways 149 of the compress plunger 132. The keyways 149 extend
along a portion of the length of the compress plunger 132 and the
top and bottom of the compression chamber 104 for a distance equal
to the travel distance of the compress plunger 132. A key 158 (FIG.
3C) of the same general length is inserted into the keyways 149. A
retaining strap 159 maintains the key 158 is coated with a low
friction material such as TEFLON (Trademark) to assist smooth
operation. The key 158 assists in transferring offset or sidewise
directed force exerted on the compress plunger 132 to the frame of
the compactor 100, such sidewise directed force, for example,
arising because of rocks or other generally non-compressible
material in the compression chamber 104.
[0060] The hydraulic fluid required for operation of the compress
plunger 132 is directed by way of a manifold 160 mounted to the end
of the compression cylinder 104 opposite from the end in which the
actual crop compression takes place. Hydraulic fluid from the pumps
135 enters the manifold 160 and is directed by the manifold 160 to
the cylinder 104 when the compression stroke is initiated. Upon
compression of the crop by the compress plunger 132, and when it is
desired to reverse the flow of hydraulic fluid so as to retract the
compress plunger 132, the fluid flow will be reversed such that
fluid in the downstream side of the compress plunger 132 will flow
to the tank and fluid will be pumped into the upstream side of the
compress plunger 132 thereby to assist in plunger return. The
mounting of the manifold 160 on the cylinder 104 allows for the
elimination of hoses, etc. which are subject to damage and high
pressure and also increases the efficiency of the fluid circulation
since the exit and inlet passages in both the manifold 160 and
compression cylinder 104 are adjacent and in direct communication
with each other.
[0061] An eject plunger 150 (FIG. 1B) of crop ejector 140 is used
to eject the crop from. the compression chamber 104 following the
removal of the main ram 132 from any interference position within
the compression chamber 104. Eject plunger 153 moves the compressed
bale 141 into the strapping chamber 110. In this position, moisture
sensors 151 located on one or both sides of the strapping chamber
110 sense the moisture on the sides of the newly severed edge of
the compressed bale 141 and give a good representative value for
the moisture content of the bales 141 because of the severed crop
newly exposed to the ambient air. In the event the sensors 1151
sense unacceptably high moisture content, it will alter the
behaviour of the strapper assembly 152 as will be described.
[0062] A compressed bale 141 will remain within the strapping
chamber 110 until moved from that position by a subsequent
compressed bale 141. The subsequent compressed bale 141, while
being moved from the compression chamber 104 to the strapping
chamber 110 by eject plunger 150, will move compressed bale 141
previously within the strapping chamber 110 to the area between the
platens 162.
[0063] The platens 162 are closely associated with the strapping
assembly 152 which reciprocates on strapper rails 153 located above
strapping chamber 110 as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The strapping
153 is provided at a plurality of locations on the compressed bale
141 about the platens 162 as desired by the operator.
[0064] With reference to FIG. 4A, a plurality of proximity sensors
163 are illustrated, conveniently five (5). Each proximity sensor
163 is mounted on the platens 162 and each is encountered by the
strapping assembly 152 as it travels in the directions indicated. A
screen 166 is available to the operator. The screen 166 allows the
operator to select either three, four or five straps around the
crop 141 between the platens 162 in the strapping chamber 110. If,
for example, the operator selects four strapping positions, only
four (4) of the proximity sensors will be enabled as illustrated.
The center proximity sensor will not be enabled. Thus, the strapper
assembly 152 interrogates each proximity sensor 163 as it travels
to determine whether it is intended to provide a strap 153 at that
particular location. When it reaches the center proximity sensor,
it will not install a strap 153 and the compressed bale 141 will be
ejected with only four (4) straps installed, none at the center
position. This particular configuration for the strapping would be
useful, for example, when the compressed bales 141 are intended to
be severed in half as will be described.
[0065] The movement of the strapping assembly 152 is intermittent
as it reciprocates; that is, the strapping assembly 152 provides
strapping 153 to one bale at the desired locations while travelling
one direction. Strapping 153 is applied to the next bale 141 while
the strapping assembly is travelling in the opposite direction.
[0066] The strapper assembly 152 is mounted for enhanced removal
and replacement as viewed in FIG. 4D. The strapper piston 167 is
rotatable about axis 168 and a pin 169 is mounted so as to be
complementary to a groove 170 on the strapper assembly 152. Quick
connect connections 171 are removed from their sockets in the
strapper assembly 152, pin 169 is removed from groove 170 and the
strapper assembly 152 is easily removed from the rails 155 (FIG. 1)
on which the strapper assembly 152 moves. Thus, the breakdown of a
strapper assembly 152 will not require extended maintenance with
the compactor 100 shut down in order to perform such
maintenance.
[0067] The strapping 153 is applied around the outside of the
platens 162 within which the compressed bale 141 is held in its
compressed position (FIG. 4B). As the bale 141 leaves the platens
162 by reason of a compressed bale 141 being ejected from the
compression chamber 104 by the eject cylinder 140, the straps 153
are pulled along with the bale 141 thereby stripping the straps 153
from the platens 151. The spring-back effect of the compressed
fiber when free of the restraining force of the platens 162 will
provide appropriate tension to the straps 153 thereby to keep the
bales 141 in secure assembled condition throughout subsequent
transportation.
[0068] An indexing plate 154 (FIG. 4A) is mounted to the strapper
assembly 152. The indexing plate 154 has a plurality, conveniently
five (5), positions 163 thereby to allow any number of straps 153,
between one and five, to be placed around the bale 141 being held
within the platens 162, the straps 153 being applied to the bale
141 outside the platens 151 as earlier described. Any of the
locations 163 may be selected or eliminated thereby to allow the
strapper 152 to omit the application of a strap at such location.
Among the factors which dictate the number of straps 153 to be
placed on the bale 141, are type of crop and the size and density
of the compressed bale 141 and whether it is intended to sever the
bale into halves.
[0069] If the moisture within the crop is excessive as measured by
the moisture sensors 151, the strapping assembly 152 is advised by
computer relayed instructions. The strapper 152 will position only
a minimum number of straps 153 on the bale 141 to save strapping
material and to thereby flag the particular bales 141 containing
defective crop due to high moisture content. This will allow the
defective bales to be more easily recognized and discarded after
their exit from the strapping chamber 110.
[0070] The inside area of the platens 162 may be coated with low
friction material such as TEFLON (Trademark) material to reduce
friction, reduce damage to the product, lower power requirements
and to generally facilitate ejection of the bale 141 from the
platens 162.
[0071] A bagging operation utilising the platen assembly 161 is
also contemplated. In the event the customer wishes the crop to be
placed within a plastic enclosure or bag, the bag may automatically
or manually be placed directly over the platens 162. Thereafter,
the strapping 153 may be applied as earlier described or the
strapping operation may be eliminated. Likewise, the strapping may
be placed around the plastic bagging rather than in direct contact
with the platens 162 and the crop. Alternatively, the bag could be
positioned over the platens 151 after the straps 153 are applied by
the strapping assembly 152.
[0072] Following the strapping/bagging operation, the ejected and
compressed bale 141 is processed in the product handling area 111.
With reference to FIG. 2, the bale initially. enters .the cutter
box generally illustrated at 180. Cutter box 180 includes a
removable knife 181. If it is intended to sever the bale into
halves, the knife 181 will be positioned as indicated. and the
cutter box plate 182, under the influence of piston 183, provides
pressure on the bale as it is severed on the knife 181.
[0073] The bale will exit the cutter box 180 and move onto the
elevator 184 which is in its elevated position. At this point, the
bale orientation process will commence.
[0074] The bale may be oriented in any of six different positions
with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B. The operators screen 190 will
have the six(6) possible positions 191 of the bale illustrated at
the bottom of the screen 190 by way of icons. The operator will
select the configuration of the bale desired by touching the
appropriate icon 191 on the screen 190. This will transfer the
desired orientation to the central area 192 of the screen 190 and
will be illustrated as the first of the bales in a row which will
be of the desired number of bales. The procedure proceeds for each
bale illustrated in the first. row 193 until the desired number of
bales in the row 193 is reached at which time the procedure will
proceed for the second row 194 and so on until the desired number
of rows is completed with the desired number of bales in each row.
This will produce the orientation of the bales as illustrated in
FIG. 11B on the floor of the operating room in which the compactor
is located.
[0075] The desired orientation of the bale is then provided by
computer input to the product handling apparatuses downstream of
the cutter box 180, namely the elevator 184, the roll down pan 194
and the rotator 195. For the bale to be oriented in any of the
six(6) possible positions, it must be allowed to rotate about any
or all of three(3) axes, namely the x, y and z axes as illustrated
in FIG. 2. Each of the orientation processes is described
below.
[0076] To obtain a final bale configuration where there are no
rotations desired, i.e., the bale will remain in the same
orientation as when it departs from the cutter box 180, the bale is
initially conveyed to elevator 184 by cutter box plate 182.
Elevator 184 lowers and slider 197 extends to move the bale into
the range of slider 198. Slider 198 extends and the bale is moved
in indicated direction B to its final oriented position before
subsequent movement to the bale made by the row pusher 199.
[0077] If it is desired to obtain a final position for the bale in
which the bale rotates about the "x" axis as viewed in FIG. 2, the
elevator 184 carrying the bale will lower and slider 197 will move
the bale to a position within rotator 195. Rotator 195 will rotate
the bale about the "x" axis and move it in direction B. Slider 98
will advance it to its final oriented position.
[0078] If it is desired to obtain a final position where the bale
is rotated about the "y" axis, the bale is removed from the cutter
box 180 by the cutter box plate 182. It is then advanced by slider
197 onto roll down pan 194 which is in the horizontal position.
Roll down pan 194 rotates about the "y" axis and the lowered bale
is moved by slider 198 to its final oriented position.
[0079] If it is desired to rotate the bale about the "z" axis as
viewed in FIG. 2, rotator 196 will move the bale to roll down 194
which will rotate and lower the bale. Rotator 195 will then rotate
the bale and slider 198 will advance it to its final oriented
position.
[0080] If it-is desired to-rotate the bale about both the "z" and
"x" axes, the rotator 196 will rotate the bale onto the roll down
pan 194 which will rotate and lower the bale. Slider 198 will move
the bale into its final oriented position.
[0081] If it desired to have rotation about the "z" and "y" axes,
slider 197 will move the bale to the roll down pan 194 where it
will rotate about the "y" axis. Rotator 195 will rotate the bale.
Slider 198 will advance it to its final oriented position.
[0082] The row pusher 199 will move each row as it is deposited
from the product handling area so as to receive the next row. When
the desired number of rows is formed, a forklift using a squeeze
attachment will lift the rows formed and place them at a desired
location for further processing such as shrink wrap fitting and the
like. The bales are then deposited into a known shipping container
for transport to its eventual destination.
[0083] Software is provided for enabling the shipping container to
carry the maximum amount of weight in compressed bales. The maximum
weight which can be carried by the container is entered into the
PLC together with the maximum number of bales known to fit into the
container. This will allow the PLC to calculate the desired weight
of each bale to make up the maximum amount of weight carried by
container. For example, in the event portions of the crop are
difficult to compress without exceeding operating parameters of the
compactor such as fluid pressure and the like, with the result that
the bales formed are lighter than usual, the PLC will attempt to
increase the amount of weight in subsequent bales if the crop
becomes easier to compress.
[0084] Thus, the system will allow the operator to create a desired
bale configuration with bales of varying weights to load the
shipping container in the most efficient manner. OPERATION
[0085] In operation, a plurality of ordinary hay bales 112, will be
continuously fed into the cross conveyor pan 120 from the feed
table 105 by the feed table indexer 113. While on the feed table
105, the bales 112 are tested for moisture content and detwined.
The crop from the bales 112 is moved along the conveyor pan 120 by
the cross conveyor indexer 126 to the bullpen area 102. The crop is
moved into the scale pan area 103 by the feed fingers 121 of the
intake indexer 114.
[0086] Within the scale pan area. 103, the crop is weighed to
ensure the appropriate quantity is present in order to form bales
141 of the desired weight of crop and to ensure the compression
chamber 104 is not overloaded. When the correct quantity of hay in
the scale pan area 103 is reached, the scale pan lifts and the load
indexer 122 moves against the crop on the scale pan 103 and moves
it into the compression area 104. The crop is severed by knife
surfaces 125 between the load indexer 122 and the housing of the
compression chamber 104 while it is being moved by the load indexer
122. The load indexer 122 reaches a furthermost position within the
compression chamber 104 and forms a wall (FIG. 8) for the
compression chamber 104 during the compression step.
[0087] As the crop is compressed within the compression chamber 104
by the compress plunger 132, and as the power required by the
compression operation reaches a predetermined set point, the
hydraulic pumps will drop off until only the high pressure pump 136
remains. When the high pressure pump 0.136 reaches its own pressure
set point, conveniently 5000 psi., the swash plate will swash to
near zero as earlier set forth. The pressure on the crop is
maintained for a predetermined time period whereupon the compress
plunger 132 will retract to the eject position.
[0088] The compressed crop within the compression chamber 104 is
ejected by crop ejector 140 into the strapping assembly 152 where
it is measured for moisture by the moisture sensors 151 and where
it assumes a "dead" or inactive status pending another compression
operation.
[0089] Following a subsequent compression operation, the "dead"
bale 141 is moved by a compressed bale ejected from the compression
chamber 104 to the platen assembly 161 where it assumes a position
between the platens 162. The strapping assembly 152 will move on
rails 155 and apply strapping 153 to the platens 162 at the desired
locations on the platens 162 according to the strapping locations
163 (FIG. 4A) selected by the operator. When a second compressed
bale 151 is ejected from the compression chamber 104, the bale 141
being held between the platens 162 will be ejected with the
strapping 153 being pulled off the platens 162.
[0090] The compressed and strapped bale 141 moves to the cutter box
180 where it is severed into halves, if desired. It then moves to
the product handling area 111 where it is oriented as desired and
placed in rows, as desired. When the desired number of rows is
reached, forklift squeeze will lift the bales and move them to the
container or to a shrink wrap area where shrink wrap packaging is
applied.
[0091] It is contemplated that the manual steps of introducing the
ordinary bales to the feed table, breaking the twine binding the
bales initially introduced to the machine and moving the bales to
the scale area could be replaced with an automatic twine removing
apparatus and conveyor system which would convey the crop directly
to the scale area. For example and with reference to FIG. 9, a
rotating knife 201 could be mounted beneath the conveyor surface
200. As the knife 201 rotates about the pulleys 202, the knife 201
will sever the twin 203 which binds the hay bales 204.
[0092] While specific embodiments of the invention have been
described, such descriptions are for the purpose of illustration
only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention as defined in accordance with the accompanying
claims.
* * * * *