Bale opening device

Abstract

A bale opening device for opening bales wrapped and/or tied with wrapping material comprises a supporting structure for supporting the bale to be opened, and a gripping mechanism to grip the wrapping material, and again to pull it away from the bale. In addition, the device comprises a remover taking and gripping the wrapping material from the gripping mechanism. The remover is then actuated so as to remove the wrapping material from the bale and the gripping mechanism. The remover and the gripper are mutually arranged so to enable the gripping mechanism returning back towards the supporting structure essentially at the same when the remover is actuated to remove the wrapping material.

Claims

1. A bale opening device for opening bales by removing a wrapping material, the wrapping material comprising one or more of an enclosing material and a binding material, wherein the device comprises: a supporting structure for supporting a bale to be opened; a gripping mechanism, introduced near the bale, configured to mechanically catch and grip any of the enclosing material and the binding material of the wrapping material for the bale to be opened, and further configured to move away from the bale with said mechanically caught and gripped wrapping material by a mutual movement of the gripping mechanism and the bale; a cutting device configured to cut the wrapping material at least on one side of the bale when said gripping mechanism is introduced near with the bale but before said gripping mechanism is moved away from the bale with said mechanically caught and gripped wrapping material; and a remover comprising one or more longitudinal rods configured to be rotated around a rotation axis, wherein the gripping mechanism with the mechanically caught and gripped material is moved to a vicinity of the one or more longitudinal rods, the remover is configured to be actuated to rotate the one or more longitudinal rods around the rotation axis to wind and catch the wrapping material from the gripping mechanism for removing the wrapping material from the bale, wherein the remover and the gripping mechanism are mutually arranged to enable the gripping mechanism moving back toward the supporting structure from the vicinity of the one or more longitudinal rods after said wrapping material is caught by the remover and while said remover is actuated to remove said wrapping material.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the remover includes at least two longitudinal rods, and the gripping mechanism is configured to move and introduce said wrapping material between the at least two longitudinal rods, whereupon said at least two longitudinal rods are configured to be actuated to wind and catch said wrapping material.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein said at least two longitudinal rods are rotatable around a common rotation axis for winding and catching said wrapping material.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a clearing plate for clearing said wrapping material from the remover.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein said clearing plate is configured to be moved along the one or more longitudinal rods in order to push and remove the wrapped material wound around the one or more longitudinal rods.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said remover is configured to move aside after catching said wrapping material thereby enabling said gripping mechanism to move back toward the supporting structure from the vicinity of the one or more longitudinal rods.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the wrapping material is transferred to the remover by the movement of the gripping mechanism or by introducing an additional device transferring at least a portion of said wrapping material to the remover.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said remover is coupled with a pivoted or movable arm, wherein said arm is configured to move in relation to a pivot point and enable transferring the wrapping material from the remover.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the cutting device is arranged in connection with said gripping mechanism.

10. The device of claim 1, comprising at least two gripping mechanisms configured to be introduced around the bale to be opened and to press the bale inducing a pressure into the bale and a stress to the wrapping material in order to facilitate cutting of the wrapping material.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein a first of the two gripping mechanisms is configured to pull the gripped wrapping material from the bale and wherein a second of the two gripping mechanisms is configured to be stationary or move only a shorter distance than said first gripping mechanism and grip the wrapping material during the movement of the first gripping mechanism.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein said gripping mechanism includes a frame element and tooth means coupled with said frame element, wherein said tooth means are configured to move in an overlapping manner or relative to each other and grip said wrapping material of the bale.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the supporting structure is a horizontal hinged and pivoted table or plate, or a horizontal hinged or pivoted table or plate configured to be coupled with a conveyor for transferring said bale for removing the wrapping material.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein said bale opening device is a mobile vehicle.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the enclosing material is a foil, a film, a plastic material or a net-like material.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the binding material is a strap, a wire or a string.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Next the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to exemplary embodiments in accordance with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate a side view of an exemplary bale opening device 100 for opening wrapped bales according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention,

(3) FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate a frontal view of an exemplary bale opening device 100 for opening wrapped bales during different opening phases according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, and

(4) FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a top view of an exemplary bale opening device 100 for opening wrapped bales during different opening phases according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate a side view, FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate a frontal view, and FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a top view of an exemplary bale opening device 100 and its functional steps and method for opening wrapped bales according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, which are described in more details below.

(6) The bale opening device 100 comprises a supporting structure 102 for supporting bale to be opened (bale is not shown). In addition the device 100 comprises also a gripping mechanism 103 configured to be introduced with the bale (step 10), to grip the wrapping material (step 10), and again to be moved away (steps 20, 30, 40) from the bale with the gripped wrapping material. The bale opening device 100 comprises also a removing means 101, which again comprises at least one rod 101a, 101b or tumbler, which is configured to catch and grip the wrapping material when introduced by the gripping means 103. This can be implemented e.g. so that the removing means comprises at least one rod 101a, 101b between which the gripping means 103 is configured to be moved with the gripped wrapping material, as can be seen e.g. in FIGS. 3A-3C. The removing of the wrapping material can be implemented by winding or rotating the removing means 101, such as said rods 101a, 101b, whereupon the wrapping material is coiled or winded into a kink or cluster, such as a conglobation.

(7) Even if the removing means 101 may be implemented in many ways, one advantageous embodiment is shown in Figures, where the removing means 101 comprises two longitudinal, essentially parallel rods 101a, 101b. The rods may are advantageously coupled to have a common rotation point 101c in the area between the rods so that they are rotatable around the common rotation point and thereby causing the winding effect for the wrapping material. The gripping mechanism 103 is then configured to move between said two rods 101a, 101b (from the position described in FIG. 2A, 2B or 3A to the position described in FIG. 2D or 3D; and especially step 30), after which the rods can be rotated at least few rounds (step 40) and thereby gripping the wrapping material (so when the gripping mechanism 103 is at position described in FIG. 2D or 3D).

(8) After the removing means 101 has gripped the material, the gripping means 103 may release the wrapping material and return its original position, so back to the vicinity of the area where the bales to be opened is introduced (to the position described in FIG. 2A or 3A). The retuning movement of the gripping means can be implemented e.g. by stopping the rotation of the rods 101a, 101b, whereupon the gripping means 103 may move back to its original position between the stationary rods, whereupon the rods can be rotated again when the gripping means has bypassed them (position described in FIG. 2B or 3A), or the retuning movement of the gripping means may be implemented by sidestepping the removing means (such as described in FIG. 1B).

(9) The removing means is configured, according to an embodiment, to move side, thereby allowing the returning movement of the gripping means. The side movement may be totally horizontal movement or inclination as described in FIG. 1B, but also other side movements are possible. It is to be noted that the removing means may be actuated, such as rotated, advantageously simultaneously when the gripping means is returning (especially if the side step or side moving of the removing means is implemented). This fastens the bale opening process very much, because there is no need to wait the total removing of the wrapping material before the gripping mechanism can return.

(10) When the wrapping material has been removed from the bale by rotating the rods 101a, 101b, the wrapping material must also be cleared from the rods.

(11) Thus the device advantageously comprises also a clearing means 104 for clearing the wrapping material from the removing means 101, especially from the rods 101a, 101b, after winding said wrapping material. The clearing means may be arranged in the connection of the removing means. The clearing means may be for example a plate or the like 104, which is configured to move along the rod e.g. towards the free end of the rod and thereby push and clear the wrapped material wound around said rod(s) away, such as is shown in FIG. 1B.

(12) It is to be noted that the removing means, such as rods, may be pivoted 105 so to allowing sidestep movement of the removing means, whereupon due to clearing the wrapped material wound can be transferred at the distance from the bale opener, such as to the loading pallet. According to an example the device may also comprise another type of clearing means, such as a groove or the like in the connection with loading pallet, whereupon the relative movement of the removing means and the groove may be arranged so to clear the wrapped material around the removing means, especially around the rods (not shown). This has cleat advantages namely the device can keep the removing means as well as environment of the device easily clear, which again improves safety, since there is no litters in the vicinity of the device.

(13) According to an embodiment the removing means 101 may also be implemented by at least one rotating roller 101a and a counter part of it, which may be another rotating roller 101b or a fixed body. The roller and/or the counter-part may be arranged so that they allow the movement of the gripping means between them and introduction of the wrapping material to the removing means. For example the first roller and the counter-part may be pressed against each other after the gripping mechanism has been moved between them, after which the roller and the counter-part may be moved side with the wrapping material (which is pressed between the roller and the counter-part) and thereby allowing the returning movement of the gripping mechanism. The removing of the wrapping material is implemented by rotating at least roller so that it will pull the wrapping material away from the bale as well as from the gripping mechanism. Again it is to be noted that the roller and its counter-part may be configured to perform sidestep movement so to remove the wrapping material at the distance, such as to the loading pallet. Advantageously the removing means comprises two rotating rollers, which can be rotated into the both directions (clockwise and counter clockwise), whereupon the rollers may clean e.g. possible jams easily.

(14) Still, according to an exemplary embodiment the removing means may be implemented by at least one hook mechanism 101a, 101b, arranged so that said gripping mechanism is enabled to move next to the hook mechanism and thereby introduce the wrapping material to the hook mechanism. The introduction may also be implemented by an additional operator, or the hook may be arranged to make a hooking movement and thereby catch the wrapping material. In addition, the hook is configured to be actuated, such as hook and/or rotate so to grip to the wrapping material introduced by said gripping means or any additional operator. The movement of the hook can be implemented so to allow the returning ovement of the gripping mechanism. The hook may be arranged into a pivoted arm, for example.

(15) According to an example the hook mechanism comprises also a clearing mechanism, which can be implemented e.g. by a frame having an opening, through which the hook is pivoted in a turning manner. After the hook has been actuated and thereby the wrapping material has been removed from the bale, the cleaning of the hook can be performed by turning the hook through the opening so that the rim of the opening is configured to clean any wrapping material from the hook during turning movement of the hook through the opening.

(16) According to an embodiment the bale opening device may comprise at least two gripping means 103A, 103B, which are configured to be introduced around the bale to be opened and to press the bale and thereby inducing pressure into the bale and stress to the wrapping material, whereupon the wrapping material is easy to cut.

(17) The gripping mechanism used in the bale opening device may be any gripping mechanism known from the prior art. It may comprise for example a frame element and tooth means (gripper) coupled with the frame element. The tooth means may be configured to move in an overlapping manner or relatively to each other so to leave e.g. loops between the tooth means, but still inducing pressure to the wrapping material without cutting it, and thereby providing gripping effect to the wrapping material of the bale.

(18) The supporting structure 102 may comprise e.g. a table 102A, which is configured for receiving the bale to be opened. The supporting structure may be coupled with a conveyor 106 for transferring the bale to the supporting structure. The bale opener may also comprise a roller 107 arranged between the supporting structure 102, 102A and the conveyor 106, where the roller comprises a cutting means, such as a blade, having common rotation axis with the roller. The roller facilitates the transferring of the bale from the conveyor to the table so that the bale would not jam between them. Additionally when the roller comprises the blade, it cuts the wrapping material in the bottom side of the bale at the same time when transferring the bale from the conveyor to the table.

(19) It is to be noted that the bale opening device may also be implemented as a mobile device, even if only stationary mounted devices are only shown in Figures. There the supporting structure 102 comprises advantageously a clamping mechanism, where the clamping mechanism comprises at least two fork-like means. The fork-like means may comprise the gripping mechanism 103 and configured to be centralized around the bale with a free mutual movement thereof, when it is moved towards the bale.

(20) It is to be noted that the mobile device may comprise any of the bale opening devices and functionalities described in this document, such as the gripping means 103 and especially the removing means 101. In addition it is to be noted that the non-mobile (fixedly mounted) bale opening device may also comprise clamping mechanism 108 for holding the bale in the place during gripping and cutting operations, as well as also during removing operation of the wrapping material.

(21) The opening device comprises advantageously also a cutting means 109, such as a blade, configured to cut the wrapping material at least in one side of the bale when said gripping mechanism 103 (step 10) is introduced with the bale, but advantageously before said gripping mechanism 103 is moved away (steps 20, 30) from the bale with said gripped wrapping material.

(22) The invention has been explained above with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, and several advantages of the invention have been demonstrated. It is clear that the invention is not only restricted to these embodiments, but comprises all possible embodiments within the spirit and scope of the inventive thought and the following patent claims. Especially it is to be noted that the bale opening device may be implemented by a device locating essentially stationary on the ground, or it can be implemented by a mobile device having suitable clamping mechanism and other bale opening functions and means described in this document. In addition it is to be noted that the wrapping material may be e.g. foil or film, plastic material, net-like material, or other web-like wrapping material, and that the invention is not limited to any special wrapping material. In addition the bale may be bound or tied by binding material, such as strap, wire or string, such as plastic or metal material, which can be construed as said wrapping material removed by the bale opening device according to the present invention. Of course it is also to be understood that the current invention can be applied with any kinds of wrapped bales, and is not limited only for the waste material bales.