Improvements in Square Balers

Abstract

A square baler including a baling chamber having a floor formed of spaced profiles, side walls and a top wall, and a density belt surrounding the baling chamber. The density belt is formed of a U-shaped frame having three beams welded to one another to define a floor beam for supporting the floor of the baling chamber and two upright beams for supporting the side walls of the baling chamber and a tensioning rod releasably secured to the upper ends of the two upright beams to prevent the upright beams from splaying apart.

Claims

1. A square baler comprising: a baling chamber comprising a floor formed of spaced profiles, side walls and a top wall, and a density belt surrounding the baling chamber, wherein the density belt comprises: a U-shaped frame comprising three beams welded to one another to define a floor beam for supporting the floor of the baling chamber and two upright beams for supporting the side walls of the baling chamber, the two upright beams each having an upper end, and a tensioning rod releasably secured to the upper ends of the two upright beams to prevent the upright beams from splaying apart, the tensioning rod having a first end and a second end.

2. The square baler of claim 1, wherein the ends of the tensioning rod are screw threaded, and wherein the density belt further comprises nuts fitted to the ends of the tensioning rod to secure the tensioning rod to the upright members.

3. The square baler of claim 2, wherein the tensioning rod is pre-tensioned so as to apply a force drawing the free upper ends of the upright beams of the density belt towards one another.

4. The square baler of claim 1, wherein the baling chamber further comprises a movable top door pivotably mounted on the upper ends of the two upright beams.

5. The square baler of claim 4, wherein a pivot axis of the top door is coincident with an axis of the tensioning rod.

6. The square baler of claim 4, wherein the top door comprises at its forward end a transversely extending reinforcement beam.

7. The square baler of claim 6, further comprising knotters mounted on a plate that is prevented from bowing outwards by abutments positioned to engage beneath the reinforcement beam of the top door.

8. The square baler of claim 7, wherein the abutments are formed as transversely spaced upstanding brackets that define between them channels to allow debris blown away from the knotters to enter into the baling chamber.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1 is a rear view of a conventional bale case as described above,

[0023] FIG. 2 is a partial rear view of a square baler of the invention with knotters fitted to the bale case but prior to the mounting of a tensioning rod on the density belt and to fitting of a pivotable top door,

[0024] FIG. 3 is a similar view to that of FIG. 3 with the tensioning rod and the pivotable top door in position,

[0025] FIG. 4 is a schematic section through a vertical plane passing through the axis of the tensioning rod, and

[0026] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view illustrating the engagement of the knotter assembly with a transverse reinforcement beam of top door of the baling chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The bale case 110 shown in FIG. 2 has a density belt 116 that comprises a U-shaped frame consisting of two lateral upright beams 117 and a horizontal beam (not seen in the drawing) that lies beneath the floor of the baling chamber. These three beams are permanently welded to one another. The density belt 116 lacks a welded top beam and the upper ends of the upright beams 117 are instead formed with bearing sleeves 152 for receiving a separate tensioning rod to be described below by reference to FIG. 4.

[0028] FIG. 2 also shows a knotter assembly 150 positioned atop the bale case forward of the density belt 116. The knotter assembly 150 comprises a plurality of transversely spaced knotters 151 supported on a common plate secured to the top wall of the baling chamber.

[0029] In FIG. 3, the same bale case 110 is shown with a pivotable top door 160 mounted in position to serve as a movable top wall of the baling chamber. The rear end of the top door 160 can be raised and lowered by means of hydraulic cylinders (not shown) for the purpose of varying the crop density. The top door 160 is formed of spaced profiles 162 which at their front end are welded to, and reinforced by, a transversely extending beam 164. As described in more detail below by reference to FIG. 4, the beam 164 is pivoted about the tensioning rod that passes through the bearing sleeves 152.

[0030] Referring now to FIG. 4, on each side of the bale case, the bearing sleeve 152 extends between two parallel vertical side walls 170 and 172 of the respective upright beam 117 of the density belt. A bearing bush 174 is mounted within the sleeve 152, the bush 174 having a central bore for receiving a tensioning rod 176 that extends transversely across the full width of the bale case. The tensioning rod 176 has threaded ends onto which nuts 178 are tightened to apply a force to the upright beams 117 of the density belt in a direction to draw the upright beams 117 towards one another and to withstand the forces of the compressed crop within the baling chamber that act to splay the upright beams of the density belt apart.

[0031] The forward facing end of the reinforcement beam 164 of the top door is formed with a tube 166 through which the tensioning rod 176 passes with clearance. Further bushes 168 are positioned in tubular sleeves projecting laterally from the top door 160 to act as pivots that allow the top door 160 to rotate about the axis of the tensioning rod 176.

[0032] In this way, the transverse reinforcement beam 164 of the top door 160 provides the desired resistance to bowing of the top wall of the baling chamber. However, as it is not welded to the uprights 117, any flexing of this door beam 164 does not risk cracking welds connecting it to the upright beams 117 of the density belt. If desired, the bushes 168 between the sleeves 169 and the tensioning rod 176 may be crowned to allow flexing of the door reinforcement beam 164 without applying torsional forces to the tensioning rod.

[0033] As best seen from FIG. 5, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the support plate 200 of the knotter assembly 150 has upstanding brackets 210 that engage beneath the tube 166 to prevent deformation of the knotter assembly 150 by the compressive forces acting on the crop. The brackets 210 are transversely spaced from one another so as to leave channels between them through which crop debris dislodged by blowers from the knotters may flow into the baling chamber.

[0034] It will be clear to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims. In particular, it is not essential for the top door of the baling chamber to be pivoted about the tensioning rod. It may instead be pivoted in further bearing sleeves provided in the upright beams of the upright beams of the density belt, similar for example to the bearing sleeves 152.