US3901007A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hay roll forming machine
Assignee: New Holland North America Inc
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Filing: 1974-06-12
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Granted: 1975-08-26
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Expires: 1994-06-12
Abstract
Abstract A machine to form compact rolls of hay of substantial size by picking up a swath or windrow of hay and the like from a field, engage it by cooperating upper and lower endless flexible aprons driven in suitable directions and at suitable relative speeds to coil the hay into a compact roll while supported upon floor means mounted stationarily in the bottom of the machine to effect baling of the hay without any appreciable loss upon the ground. The lower apron moves longitudinally along said floor and when the roll type bale of hay reaches a predetermined diameter, the upper apron raises, which stops driving the same, to provide an exit through which the lower apron assists in ejecting the bale onto the ground. The upper apron comprises transverse bars which aggressively engage the upper part of the roll and compresses it in a manner to provide substantially uniform density throughout. The relative speeds at which the lower apron and upper apron are driven is variably adjustable to produce different characteristics in the density of the roll of material produced by the machine and also effect other operational characteristics.
Inventors
- 👤 Allison W Blanshine
- 👤 Jack W Crane
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 22:43
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01F; A01F15/00; A01F15/07; A01F15/08; A01F15/0875; A01F15/0883; A01F2015/078; A01F2015/0795; A01F15/18; A01F2015/183; A01F2015/186
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
193 words
A machine for forming a roll of crop material, comprising in combination: a. a mobile frame adapted to travel across a field; b. material delivery means supported by said frame; c. endless flexible members supported by said frame and mounted above said delivery means; d. means extending transversely between and interconnecting said endless flexible members; e. said delivery means together with said flexible members and said transverse means interconnecting said members defining a roll forming region extending between opposite sides of said frame; f. means to drive at least a portion of said delivery means in a predetermined direction to deliver crop material from the field to said roll forming region and also drive said flexible members for movement in a direction opposite to that of said portion of said delivery means; and g. said transverse means which interconnect said flexible members also extending transversely across said delivery means for engagement with the upper surface portions of said crop material being delivered to said region and in cooperation with said delivery means for applying pressure to said crop material to effect positive rotating movement of said material and form it into a roll.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
193 words
A machine for forming a roll of crop material, comprising in combination: a. a mobile frame adapted to travel across a field; b. material delivery means supported by said frame; c. endless flexible members supported by said frame and mounted above said delivery means; d. means extending transversely between and interconnecting said endless flexible members; e. said delivery means together with said flexible members and said transverse means interconnecting said members defining a roll forming region extending between opposite sides of said frame; f. means to drive at least a portion of said delivery means in a predetermined direction to deliver crop material from the field to said roll forming region and also drive said flexible members for movement in a direction opposite to that of said portion of said delivery means; and g. said transverse means which interconnect said flexible members also extending transversely across said delivery means for engagement with the upper surface portions of said crop material being delivered to said region and in cooperation with said delivery means for applying pressure to said crop material to effect positive rotating movement of said material and form it into a roll.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The machine according to claim 1 wherein said transverse means which extend between and interconnect said flexible members is generally transversely aligned with the longitudinal centerlines of said flexible members.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
107 words
The machine according to claim 1 in which said transversely extending means interconnecting said endless flexible members comprise a series of similar elongated members spaced apart longitudinally along said flexible members and adapted to afford positive engagement with said upper surface portions of said crop material as formed into a roll in said machine to effect said positive rotation of said roll while the lower portion thereof is in Engagement with said delivery means and cooperative therewith to effect said positive rotation of said roll unidirectionally, said elongated members being relatively rigid and operable to evenly compress said roll of material across substantially the full length thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
59 words
The machine according to claim 3 in which said mobile frame has opposite sides and said material delivery means comprises endless flexible means supported for movement of the upper span thereof in said predetermined direction, and said endless flexible means being disposed between said opposite sides of said frame and defining the lower boundary of said roll forming region.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
66 words
The machine according to claim 4 further including a floor fixedly supported by said frame and said upper span of said endless flexible means being supported by said floor for movement of said span longitudinally of said frame between the opposite ends of said floor, whereby said floor supports a roll of crop material while being formed out of contact with the surface of a field.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
52 words
The machine according to claim 5 in which said endless flexible means have projections thereon to effect positive frictional engagement with the lower portion of a roll of crop material in cooperation with engagement of the upper portion of said roll by said interconnecting elongated members carried by said endless flexible members.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
71 words
The machine according to claim 6 in which said projections on said endless flexible means are of a construction to provide more aggressive engagement with the roll of material than the transverse interconnecting elongated members extending between said endless flexible members and comprising an upper apron, said projections thereby affording adequate driving power to overcome the frictional drag resulting from a roll of crop material engaging said floor while being rotated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
The machine according to claim 4 in which said endless flexible means comprise a series of endless chains spaced apart transversely across said floor and said floor having guide channels in which the upper spans of said chains slidably move.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
75 words
The machine according to claim 8 further including shaft means carried by said frame adjacent opposite ends of said floor and a plurality of pairs of sprocket gears respectively mounted on said shaft means and opposite pairs thereof respectively receiving said chains therearound to support said chains, and said drive being operable to drive said chains through connection to said shaft means for said sprocket gears which are positioned adjacent one end of said floor.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
139 words
The machine according to claim 1 in which said endless flexible members comprise chains and said means extending transversely between and interconnecting said endless flexible members comprise elongated bars connected at the ends thereof to said chains to form an upper apron, and said machine further including shaft means supported by said frame and sprocket gears supported by said shaft means adjacent opposite sides of said frame of said machine above said material delivery means, certain of said sprocket gears being idlers and one of said gears adjacent each side of said machine respectively being fixed to the opposite ends of one of said shaft means extending between said opposite sides of said machine, and said drive means is connected to said shaft means to drive said chains simultaneously in unison and also thereby prevent skewing of said bars.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
148 words
The machine according to claim 10 further including supporting means for certain of said idler sprocket gears for said upper apron, said supporting means being movable within the machine to dispose sections of said upper apron in compact contracted arrangement from which the lower span of said upper apron expands as the diameter of a roll of forage material expands during formation thereof, and means operable upon said supporting means to resist expansion of said lower span of said upper apron and thereby cause the same to impart pressure upon the upper surface of said roll and force the bars of said upper apron positively against said upper surface to compress said roll and effect movement thereof toward the forward end of said machine in opposition to the movement of the lower surface of said roll by said material delivery means toward the rearward end of said machine.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
100 words
The machine according to claim 1 in which said material delivery means comprises a lower apron and said endless flexible members and means extending between and connecting the same comprise an upper apron, and said drive means includes separate components for driving said lower and upper aprons, said separate drive components being adapted respectively to be adjusted relatively to each other to move said lower and upper aprons at desired relative linear speeds to provide maximum efficiency in power consumption to drive the same relative to the resulting degree of relatively uniform density throughout the rolls formed within the machine.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The machine according to claim 12 in which said desired relative linear speeds of said lower and upper aprons are substantially equal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
54 words
The machine according to claim 12 in which the speed of said lower apron is arranged to be substantially no more than five percent greater than that of said upper apron while requiring greater overall driving power but effecting greater uniformity of density in said rolls produced than if said speeds were substantially equal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
227 words
The machine according to claim 1 in which said material delivery means comprises an endless lower apron and said endless flexible members and means extending between and interconnecting the same comprise endless chains spaced transversely apart and bars extending between and connected at the ends thereof to said chains to constitute an endless upper apron, said lower apron having aggressive projecting means thereon and said bars on said upper apron comprise aggressive projecting means, said aggressive means respectively being engageable with the upper and lower portions of a roll of crop material, said machine also including an upper frame movably connected at one end to said frame means of the machine, said upper frame having guide means for said chains of said upper apron to support the lower span thereof for movement in the opposite direction from the movement of the upper span of said lower apron, the rearward end of said upper frame extending downwardly into relatively close proximity to the rearward end of the lower apron to position the portion of the upper apron carried thereby to obstruct discharge movement of a roll of forage material from said lower apron when being formed within said machine and thereby resisting any tendency of the lower apron to move said roll toward the discharge end of said lower apron during formation of said roll in the machine.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
104 words
The machine according to claim 15 further including power means connected to said upper frame, upwardly extending members on said frame means of said machine, and said upper frame being pivotally connected at the forward end thereof to said upwardly extending members, said power means being operable when a roll of forage material has been formed to a desired diameter to raise from obstructing position the downwardly extending rear end of said upper frame and the portion of the upper apron carried thereby to permit the continued rearward movement of the upper course of the lower apron to discharge said roll from the machine.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
141 words
A machine for forming a roll of crop material comprising in combination, a. a mobile frame adapted to travel across a field, b. a floor connected fixedly to said frame and adapted to receive a swath of crop material to be formed into a roll, c. conveying means movable in a predetermined direction relative to said floor and adapted to convey said material along said floor in said direction, d. endless flexible members movably supported by said frame respectively adjacent opposite sides thereof and above said conveying means for movement in a direction oppoSite that of said conveying means, and e. means interconnecting said endless flexible members and extending transversely across said conveying means for compressing and driving engagement with said material in cooperation with said conveying means to effect positive rotation of said material and form it into a roll.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
141 words
A machine for forming a roll of crop material comprising in combination, a. a mobile frame adapted to travel across a field, b. a floor connected fixedly to said frame and adapted to receive a swath of crop material to be formed into a roll, c. conveying means movable in a predetermined direction relative to said floor and adapted to convey said material along said floor in said direction, d. endless flexible members movably supported by said frame respectively adjacent opposite sides thereof and above said conveying means for movement in a direction oppoSite that of said conveying means, and e. means interconnecting said endless flexible members and extending transversely across said conveying means for compressing and driving engagement with said material in cooperation with said conveying means to effect positive rotation of said material and form it into a roll.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
140 words
The machine according to claim 17 in which said conveying means comprise a series of endless chains spaced apart transversely to said direction of movement thereof and having projecting lugs thereon and constituting a lower apron, and said means interconnecting said endless flexible members comprising a series of bars extending between said endless flexible members and connected thereto in spaced relationship to each other to form an upper apron aggressively engageable with the upper portion of a roll of material in opposition to the aggressive engagement thereof by the lugs on the lower apron, said bars extending across the roll of material for the full length thereof and compressively engaging the upper portion of said roll evenly throughout the length of it while the projections on the lower apron effect circumferential orientation of the fibers of material in said roll.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-08-25 | 1979-02-24 | 1979-08-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-08-25 | 1983-02-24 | 1983-08-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-08-25 | 1987-02-24 | 1987-08-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |