BALE WRAPPING APPARATUS FOR A BALER, LOADING AID AND BALER

Abstract

A bale wrapping apparatus includes a first wrapping material roll having a first wrapping material, and a first unrolling device. The first unrolling device in turn includes a loading device for loading the first unrolling device with the first wrapping material roll. The loading device is mounted pivotably about a pivot axis and is pivotable between a loading setting and an operating setting. The loading device has a pressure roller, wherein the pivot axis is arranged parallel to the rotational axis of the pressure roller. In the operating setting, the loading device, by means of the pressure roller, acts on the first wrapping material roll such that the first wrapping material roll can be subjected by the loading device, by means of the pressure roller, to a contact pressure force.

Claims

1. A bale wrapping apparatus for a baler, the bale wrapping apparatus comprising: a first wrapping material roll; a first unrolling device having a loading device for loading the first unrolling device with the first wrapping material roll; wherein the loading device is mounted pivotably about a pivot axis and is pivotable between a loading setting and an operating setting; wherein the loading device has a pressure roller rotatable about a rotational axis that is parallel to the pivot axis; and wherein the pressure roller engages and applies a contact pressure force to the first wrapping material roll, when the loading device is disposed in the operating setting, to secure the first wrapping material roll in place in the first unrolling device.

2. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the first unrolling device includes a guide roller contacting the first wrapping material roll, and a brake roller contacting the first wrapping material roll, wherein the guide roller, the brake roller and the pressure roller engage the first wrapping material roll along three lines of contact when the loading device is disposed in the operating setting.

3. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the loading device includes at least two pivot arms, with each pivot arm having a first end mounted pivotably about the pivot axis and another end to which the pressure roller is rotatably mounted.

4. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 3, further comprising a carrying element arranged on the pivot arms.

5. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 3, wherein the loading device includes at least one loading roller arranged substantially perpendicular to the pivot axis and the rotation axis.

6. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 5, wherein the at least one loading roller is supported by the at least two pivot arms.

7. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the first unrolling device includes at least one guide roller arranged parallel to the pivot axis.

8. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the first unrolling device includes a brake roller arranged parallel to the pivot axis.

9. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 1, further comprising a loading aid selectively attachable to the first unrolling device for guiding and delivering the first wrapping material roll onto the loading device when the loading device is disposed in the loading setting.

10. The bale wrapping apparatus set forth in claim 9, wherein the loading aid includes two guide arms, with the first wrapping material roll guidable by the two guide arms onto the loading device.

11. A round baler comprising: a housing defining a baling chamber and operable to form crop material into a bale having a cylindrical shape; a bale wrapping apparatus attached to the housing and operable to wrap the bale with a wrap material, the bale wrapping apparatus including: a first wrapping material roll; a first unrolling device having a loading device for loading the first unrolling device with the first wrapping material roll; wherein the loading device is mounted pivotably about a pivot axis and is pivotable between a loading setting and an operating setting; wherein the loading device has a pressure roller rotatable about a rotational axis that is parallel to the pivot axis; and wherein the pressure roller engages and applies a contact pressure force to the first wrapping material roll, when the loading device is disposed in the operating setting, to secure the first wrapping material roll in place in the first unrolling device.

12. The round baler set forth in claim 11, wherein the first unrolling device includes a guide roller contacting the first wrapping material roll, and a brake roller contacting the first wrapping material roll, wherein the guide roller, the brake roller and the pressure roller engage the first wrapping material roll along three lines of contact when the loading device is disposed in the operating setting.

13. The round baler set forth in claim 11, wherein the loading device includes at least two pivot arms, with each pivot arm having a first end mounted pivotably about the pivot axis and another end to which the pressure roller is rotatably mounted.

14. The round baler set forth in claim 13, further comprising a carry element arranged on the pivot arms.

15. The round baler set forth in claim 13, wherein the loading device includes at least one loading roller arranged substantially perpendicular to the pivot axis and the rotation axis.

16. The round baler set forth in claim 15, wherein the at least one loading roller is supported by the at least two pivot arms.

17. The round baler set forth in claim 11, wherein the first unrolling device includes at least one guide roller arranged parallel to the pivot axis.

18. The round baler set forth in claim 11, wherein the first unrolling device includes a brake roller arranged parallel to the pivot axis.

19. The round baler set forth in claim 11, further comprising a loading aid selectively attachable to the first unrolling device for guiding and delivering the first wrapping material roll onto the loading device when the loading device is disposed in the loading setting.

20. The round baler set forth in claim 19, wherein the loading aid includes two guide arms, with the first wrapping material roll guidable by the two guide arms onto the loading device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a baler having a bale wrapping apparatus.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the bale wrapping apparatus having a first unrolling device with a loading device in unladen state.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of the bale wrapping apparatus having the first unrolling device with the loading device in a loading setting.

[0033] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of the bale wrapping apparatus having the first unrolling device with the loading device in an operating setting.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows a schematic side view of the bale wrapping apparatus having a separating device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that terms such as above, below, upward, downward, top, bottom, etc., are used descriptively for the FIG.s, and do not represent limitations on the scope of the disclosure, as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, the teachings may be described herein in terms of functional and/or logical block components and/or various processing steps. It should be realized that such block components may be comprised of any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions.

[0036] Terms of degree, such as generally, substantially or approximately are understood by those of ordinary skill to refer to reasonable ranges outside of a given value or orientation, for example, general tolerances or positional relationships associated with manufacturing, assembly, and use of the described embodiments.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a first illustrative implementation of a baler, which is configured as a round baler 10, having a bale wrapping apparatus 30. The round baler 10 represented in FIG. 1 includes a first housing part 12, which is supported by means of wheels 14 on a ground surface 15 and is connectable by means of a drawbar 16 to a towing vehicle (not shown), for example a (farming) tractor.

[0038] On a front, lower side of the first housing part 12, viewed in the forward direction of travel 17, is located, in a known manner, a receiving and conveying device (not shown) for harvested material, wherein the first housing part 12 surrounds a front part of a baling chamber 20. On the first housing part 12, in particular on the upper region of the first housing part 12, is located a bearing (not shown) for a pivotable second housing part 24, which surrounds a rear part of the baling chamber 20. The second housing part 24, in the opened state (not shown), opens up an outlet (not shown), through which a bale (not shown) pressed by the round baler 10 can be deposited or unloaded or ejected. The pivotable second housing part 24 can be actuated (be opened and closed) by means of servomotors (not shown) and thus constitutes an outlet flap for a bale pressed in the baling chamber 20.

[0039] The round baler 10, configured with a fixed-size baling chamber 20, contains a multiplicity of mutually parallel running pressing elements for pressing harvested material, in the form of pressing rollers 26 (by way of example, just a few pressing rollers 26 have here been provided with the reference symbol 26), the rotational axes of which, when the second housing part 24 is closed, are situated on a circular arc, and of which at least some are driven. Alternatively, the round baler 10 can also be configured in known manner, with a fixed-size baling chamber 20 or as a round baler 10 with variable baling chamber 20, in which case the pressing elements can be configured, likewise in known manner, as belts, straps or chain arrangements (not shown).

[0040] The round baler 10 further includes the bale wrapping apparatus 30, which is furnished with a first wrapping material roll 32 including a first wrapping material 33. The bale wrapping apparatus 30 includes a first unrolling device 80, which includes a loading device 82 for loading the first unrolling device 80 with the first wrapping material roll 32.

[0041] The bale wrapping apparatus 30 may also include a second unrolling device on which, in particular in which, a second wrapping material roll 34 including a second wrapping material 35 can or is arranged. As the first wrapping material 33, a film can preferably be used, and the second wrapping material 35 can be configured either as a twine or as a film of some other type, or as a mesh. The first wrapping material roll 32 can be arranged in a first compartment 36, and the second wrapping material roll 34 can be arranged in a second compartment 38 of the round baler 10, in particular the bale wrapping apparatus 30. The bale wrapping apparatus 30 further includes a feed device (not shown), for the first and/or second wrapping material 33, 35, by means of which the first wrapping material 33 is guided from the first wrapping material roll 32, and/or the second wrapping material 35 is guided from the second wrapping material roll 34, into the baling chamber 20. Preferably, the feed device can guide the first wrapping material 33 from the first wrapping material roll 32, or the second wrapping material 35 from the second wrapping material roll 34, into the baling chamber 20.

[0042] Once the actual pressing operation, thus the take-up of harvested material and the formation of a round bale by the pressing rollers 26, is concluded, the bale wrapping apparatus 30 is activated, and a wrapping operation following the pressing operation is initiated. Upon initiation of a wrapping operation, in the introduction phase the first and/or second wrapping material is guided in the direction of the baling chamber 20, by a mechanically triggered feed movement, so that a free wrapping material end of the first and/or second wrapping material roll 32, 34 can come into contact with the round bale rotating in the baling chamber 20, and the first and/or second wrapping material 33, 35, is carried along and received by the bale. By rotation of the round bale, the first and/or second wrapping material 33, 35 is wrapped in the wrapping phase, in one or more layers, around the periphery of the round bale. The wrapping operation is concluded with the separation phase, in which the first and/or second wrapping material 33, 35 wrapped around the round bale is separated from the first and/or second wrapping material roll 32, 34 by a separating device 60.

[0043] That schematic representation of the bale wrapping apparatus 30 according to the disclosure that is shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, having a first unrolling device 80 with loading device 82, shows the loading device 82 in an unladen state (FIG. 2), in a loading setting (FIG. 3) and in an operating setting (FIG. 4). The bale wrapping apparatuses 30 substantially corresponds to the bale wrapping apparatus 30 and first unrolling device 80 shown in FIG. 1, so that, below, merely details and/or differences are discussed. The first unrolling device 80 includes the loading device 82 for loading the first unrolling device 80 with the first wrapping material roll 32. The loading device is mounted pivotably about a pivot axis 84 and is pivotable between a loading setting (FIGS. 2 and 3) and an operating setting (FIG. 4). The loading device 82 further has a pressure roller 86, wherein the pivot axis 84 is arranged parallel to a rotational axis 88 of the pressure roller 86. In the operating setting, the loading device 82, by means of the pressure roller 86, acts on the first wrapping material roll 32 such that the first wrapping material roll 32 can be subjected by the loading device 82, by means of the pressure roller 86, to a contact pressure force. Moreover, the first wrapping material roll 32, as shown in FIG. 4, can be at least partially held by the loading device 82 in the operating setting by means of the pressure roller 86. Equally, a position of the first wrapping material roll 32 can be at least partially secured by the loading device 82 in the operating setting by means of the pressure roller 86, in particular in the first unrolling device 80. In the operating setting of the loading device 82, the pressure roller 86 is in engagement with the first wrapping material roll 32. In the loading setting, the loading device 82 is loadable with the first wrapping material roll 32, i.e. it is possible to insert a first wrapping material roll 32 into the loading device 82, or to remove the same. The loading apparatus 34 is created and arranged such that a first wrapping material roll 32 can be placed relatively comfortably by an operator onto the loading device 82 and can be brought into the operating setting. By contrast, if the loading device 82, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, is moved from the loading setting into the operating setting, the first unrolling device 80, by means of the laden loading device 82, is loaded with the first wrapping material roll 32. The pivot axis 84 or a thereto parallel axis here serves as a tilt edge, via which the first wrapping material roll 32 is tiltable by means of the loading device 82 when the loading device 82 is moved from the loading setting into the operating setting. Due to the dual function of the loading device 82, that is to say loading of the first unrolling device 80 and exertion of a contact pressure force by means of the pressure roller 86, a structure of the bale wrapping apparatus 30 or of the baler 10 that is complex in design terms and mechanically complex, can be dispensed with, and the bale wrapping apparatus 30 or the baler 10 can be easily started up.

[0044] The first unrolling device 80 includes three guide rollers 100, but can also comprise more or fewer, and a brake roller 50. The guide rollers 100 and the pressure roller 86 and the brake roller 50 are arranged parallel to the pivot axis 84. The guide rollers 100 and/or the brake roller 50 can be brought into engagement, or can be in engagement, with the first wrapping material roll 32 and/or the first wrapping material 33. The three guide rollers 100 are of freely rotating configuration, and the brake roller 50 is configured such that it is freely rotating and, if need be, brakable. At least one of the guide rollers 100 and the brake roller 50 can be brought into engagement with the first wrapping material roll 32 in the operating setting. As a result, the first wrapping material roll 32, in the operating setting of the brake roller 50, the guide roller 100 and the pressure roller 86, can be held at three points along three lines of contact when the loading device 82, by means of the pressure roller 86, acts on the first wrapping material roll 32.

[0045] The loading device 82 includes two pivot arms 102, which at one end 104 are mounted pivotably about the pivot axis 86 and at the respectively other end 106 of which the pressure roller 86 is rotatably mounted. At the respective one end 104, the pivot arms 102 can be mounted on the frame or chassis or the side wall of the baler 10 by means of bearings. Equally, at the other end 106, the pressure roller 86 can be rotatably mounted by means of further bearings. The bearing and/or the further bearings can be formed by a shaft, journal or the like, which define(s) the pivot and/or rotational axis 84, 88, which can in turn extend transversely to the direction of travel 17.

[0046] Furthermore, a carrying element 108 is arranged on or fastened to the pivot arms 102. Three loading rollers 110 are also provided, wherein two of the loading rollers 110 are arranged or rotatably mounted on the pivot arms 102, and parallel to the pivot arms 102 a loading roller 110 is arranged or rotatably mounted on a strut between the pressure roller 86 and the carrying element 108.

[0047] Moreover, to the first unrolling device 80 is assigned a loading aid 112 for guiding and delivering the first wrapping material roll 32 to the loading device 82 in the loading setting. The loading aid 112 includes two guide arms 114, on which respectively a guide roller 116 is rotatably mounted. The first wrapping material roll 32 is easily guidable by means of the two guide arms 114 with the respective guide roller 116, and easily feedable to the loading device 82. The guide arms 114 are arranged in a V-shape relative to one another.

[0048] Furthermore, a bolt 118 is provided on the loading device 82, in particular such that the loading device 82 is lockable in the operating setting. The bolt 118 can be mechanically configured and/or pretensioned in one or both direction(s), or can be movable by means of external force. The loading apparatus 82 can be secured by means of the bolt 118 in at least the operating setting, which is advantageous when external forces act on the loading device 82.

[0049] The schematic side view shown in FIG. 5 shows the bale apparatus 30 from FIG. 1 with a separating device 60.

[0050] The representation of the bale wrapping apparatus 30 substantially corresponds to the bale wrapping apparatus 30 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, so that, below, merely details and/or differences are discussed. As is represented in detail in FIG. 5, the bale wrapping apparatus 30 includes a drive and brake device 42, which is connected to a drive roller 44. The drive roller 44 can be in engagement with the second wrapping material roll 34 and/or can be in a frictional engagement. The drive and brake device 42 further includes a combined drive and brake drum 46, which can be connected to a variably tensionable drive belt (not shown) and/or a variably tensionable brake belt (not shown). The drive and brake drum 46 is connected in a rotationally secure manner to the drive roller 44.

[0051] The first wrapping material roll 32 can be in engagement with the brake roller 50 or can be in a frictional engagement therewith. Furthermore, the bale wrapping apparatus 30 includes the separating device 60 for separating the first and/or second wrapping material 33, 35 from the first and/or second wrapping material roll 32, 34. There is additionally provided a further blocking device 70, which cooperates with the brake roller 50, wherein the blocking device 70 is actuatable by means of the separating device 60 such that a rotary movement of the brake roller 50 is brakable, in particular stoppable and/or blockable, with the blocking device 70.

[0052] The separating device 60 includes an actuator 62, which is movable between at least one active separating position and an inactive separating position. The blocking device 70 is here actuatable by means of the separating device 60 such that a rotary movement of the brake roller 50 is brakable, in particular stoppable and/or blockable, with the blocking device 70, when the separating device 60 is in the active separating position or is moved into the active separating position. The blocking device 70 includes an actuatable brake lever 72, which is rotatable about a pivot point 74. The brake lever has at a first end a brake element 76, which is configured as a stop. At a second end, the brake lever 72 is connected to the separating device 60. More specifically, the actuator 62 of the separating device 60 can also be connected via a connecting element 64 to the brake lever 72. The blocking device 70 can additionally comprise a restoring element 78. A second end of the brake lever is connected to the actuator 62. The brake roller 50 includes a brake coupling 52, which is configured as a disc and is connected in a rotationally secure manner to the brake roller 50. The brake coupling 52 additionally includes three actuating elements 54, which are configured as driver. The actuating elements 54 are grippable with the brake element 76. The brake lever 72 is here actuatable by means of the separating device 60, in particular the actuator 62, such that the brake element 76 bears against the actuating element 54.

[0053] The detailed description and the drawings or FIGS. are supportive and descriptive of the disclosure, but the scope of the disclosure is defined solely by the claims. While some of the best modes and other embodiments for carrying out the claimed teachings have been described in detail, various alternative designs and embodiments exist for practicing the disclosure defined in the appended claims.