Rotary baling machine

Claim 2

A machine for forming a cylindrical bale of cut crop material comprising: a mobile frame, a conveyor belt movably supported on said frame and including an upper belt flight movable rearwardly relative to said frame, means on said frame for picking up and delivering material to be baled to said conveyor belt, a packer roller extending transversely and in close proximity to a forward portion of said upper belt flight for feeding material therebetween, a first roller disposed in parallel relation to said packer roller and above the latter for rotation about an axis stationary to said frame, a second roller extending transversely and in close proximity to an intermediate portion of said upper belt flight, belt means movably supported on said frame and being guided by said first and second rollers to form a lower belt flight therebetween, means for simultaneously moving said upper and lower belt flights in opposite directions for rotating crop material therebetween to form a rotating cylindrical bale with its bottom surface portion moving rearwardly, means yieldably resisting extension of said lower belt flight and maintaining the latter in contact with the surface of the bale being formed, and means for maintaining the bale in rearwardly spaced relation with respect to and out of contact with said packer roller during formation of the bale, wherein the means for maintaining the bale in rearwardly spaced relation includes members movable rearwardly and upwardly during the initial stage of formation of the bale.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1 in which said second roller is supported for movement horizontally and rearwardly relative to said first roller as the bale is being formed.

Claim 4

The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said lower belt flight of said belt means includes a plurality of belts moving in parallel spaced paths, wherein said members comprise a plurality of transversely spaced fingers depending between said paths, and wherein means are provided for supporting said fingers for simultaneous movement in response to formation of said bale from a bale starting position spaced rearwardly of said packer roller and first roller to a bale completed position above said first roller and below the center of the completed bale.

Claim 5

The combination set forth in claim 3 in which said upper belt flight, lower belt flight, and said fingers form a transversely extending bale starting chamber, and in which said upper and lower belt flights form a bale forming chamber after said fingers have moved from a position above said lower flight and out of said bale starting chamber.

Claim 6

A crop handling machine for forming a cylindrical bale of cut crop material comprising: a mobile frame including a forward body portion having a pair of vertically extending wall members at opposite sides of said frame, a conveyor belt having an upper belt flight movable rearwardly relative to said frame and being disposed between said wall members, means for receiving cut crop and delivering it to said conveyor belt, a rearward body portion pivoted to the upper portion of said wall members for swinging movement between closed and open positions, a first material confining roller disposed transversely of said conveyor belt for rotation about a stationary axis on said forward body portion, a second material confining roLler disposed in close proximity to said conveyor belt and being supported by said rearward body portion for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said first roller, belt means movably supported on said frame and being guided by said first and second rollers to form a lower belt flight therebetween, means for simultaneously moving said upper and lower belt flights in opposite directions for rotating crop material therebetween to form a cylindrical bale, a plurality of rollers supported for rotation on said forward body portion and on said rearward body portion, and shuttle means including at least one roller extending transversely of said frame and supported for generally horizontal movement at the top of one of said body portions, said belt means being trained from a pair of said plurality of rollers on the other of said body portions to said shuttle roller, said shuttle roller being movable horizontally in response to deflection of said lower belt flight during formation of the bale.

Claim 7

A crop handling machine for forming a cylindrical bale of cut crop material comprising: a mobile frame including a forward body portion having a pair of vertically extending wall members at opposite sides of said frame, a conveyor belt having an upper belt flight movable rearwardly relative to said frame and being disposed between said wall members, means for receiving cut crop and delivering it to said conveyor belt, a rearward body portion pivoted to the upper portion of said wall members for swinging movement between closed and open positions, a first material confining roller disposed transversely of said conveyor belt for rotation about a stationary axis on said forward body portion, a second material confining roLler disposed in close proximity to said conveyor belt and being supported by said rearward body portion for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said first roller, belt means movably supported on said frame and being guided by said first and second rollers to form a lower belt flight therebetween, means for simultaneously moving said upper and lower belt flights in opposite directions for rotating crop material therebetween to form a cylindrical bale, a plurality of rollers supported for rotation on said forward body portion and on said rearward body portion, and shuttle means including at least one roller extending transversely of said frame and supported for generally horizontal movement at the top of one of said body portions, said belt means being trained from a pair of said plurality of rollers on the other of said body portions to said shuttle roller, said shuttle roller being movable horizontally in response to deflection of said lower belt flight during formation of the bale.

Claim 8

The combination set forth in claim 5 and further comprising means yieldably resisting movement of said shuttle roller.

Claim 9

The combination set forth in claim 5 in which said second material confining roller is movable rearwardly in response to formation of the bale and in which said rearward body portion is pivoted toward an open position in response to rearward movement of said second material confining roller.

Claim 10

The combination set forth in claim 7 and further comprising additional means for yieldably resisting movement of said rearward body portion to its open position.

Claim 11

The combination set forth in claim 5 in which said pair of said plurality of rolls is supported transversely of said frame at an upper portion of said other of said body portions.

Claim 12

The combination set forth in claim 6 in which said means for resisting movement of said shuttle roll includes spring biasing means disposed at opposite sides of said frame and operatively connected to opposite ends of said shuttle means for continuously resisting movement of said shuttle roll towards said other of said body members.

Claim 13

The combination set forth in claim 10 and further comprising a pair of link chains at opposite sides of said frame, each of said chains having opposite ends connected to opposite ends of said shuttle means, respectively, and to said spring biasing means, respectively, and a pair of sprockets rotatably supported at an upper portion of said one of said body portions and receiving an intermediate portion of each of said chains, said sprockets being interconnected for rotation as a unit on movement of said shuttle means.

Claim 14

A crop handling machine for forming a cylindrical bale comprising: a mobile frame including a pair of parallel vertically extending wall members at opposite sides of said frame, a conveyor belt having a portion movable rearwardly relative to said frame and being disposed between said wall members, means for receiving cut crop and delivering it to said conveyor belt, a gate structure pivoted to the upper portion of said frame member for swinging movement between closed and open positions, a first material confining roll disposed transversely above a forward portion of said belt to rotate about a stationary axis relative to said frame, a second material confining roll disposed in close proximity to said conveyor belt and being supported by said gate structure for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said first material confining roll, a plurality of rolls supported for rotation on a forward portion of said frame and on a rearward portion of said gate structure, a plurality of transversely spaced belts passing below said first and second material confining rolls and over said plurality of rolls on said frame and said gate structure to form a bale chamber between said conveyor belt and portions of said belts passing between said first and second material confining rollers, said second material confining roll being movable horizontAlly rearwardly as said bale increases in size to urge said gate towards an open position to enlarge the capacity of said bale chamber, said frame including guide means for receiving the ends of said second material confining roll, said guide means including an upper guide surface for preventing upward vertical movement of said second material confining roll and for maintaining said roll in uniformly spaced relation to said conveyor belt as said second material confining roll moves rearwardly.

Claim 15

A crop handling machine for forming a cylindrical bale comprising: a mobile frame including a pair of parallel vertically extending wall members at opposite sides of said frame, a conveyor belt having a portion movable rearwardly relative to said frame and being disposed between said wall members, means for receiving cut crop and delivering it to said conveyor belt, a gate structure pivoted to the upper portion of said frame member for swinging movement between closed and open positions, a first material confining roll disposed transversely above a forward portion of said belt to rotate about a stationary axis relative to said frame, a second material confining roll disposed in close proximity to said conveyor belt and being supported by said gate structure for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said first material confining roll, a plurality of rolls supported for rotation on a forward portion of said frame and on a rearward portion of said gate structure, a plurality of transversely spaced belts passing below said first and second material confining rolls and over said plurality of rolls on said frame and said gate structure to form a bale chamber between said conveyor belt and portions of said belts passing between said first and second material confining rollers, said second material confining roll being movable horizontAlly rearwardly as said bale increases in size to urge said gate towards an open position to enlarge the capacity of said bale chamber, said frame including guide means for receiving the ends of said second material confining roll, said guide means including an upper guide surface for preventing upward vertical movement of said second material confining roll and for maintaining said roll in uniformly spaced relation to said conveyor belt as said second material confining roll moves rearwardly.

Claim 16

The combination of claim 12 in which said guide means maintains said second material confining roll in uniformly spaced relationship to said conveyor belt until said material confining roll is moved to the rearward portion of said conveyor belt, said gate structure being movable in response to enlargement of the bale to move said material confining roller from said guide means to a spaced relation from said conveyor belt to permit escape of material from said bale chamber to limit capacity thereof.

Claim 17

The combination of claim 12 in which said guide means are adjustable to vary the spacing between said second material confining roller and said conveyor belt.

Claim 18

A machine for forming cylindrical bales of cut crop material comprising, a mobile frame having a pair of opposed vertical walls; roller assemblies including a pair of end rollers and an intermediate roller located between the rollers of said pair of rollers, said rollers disposed transversely of said frame and having ends mounted in operative positions in said walls for rotatably mounting said assemblies; a one piece, endless and spliceless conveyor belt trained around said assemblies and movable thereon, each of said walls forming slots and roller assembly removal openings, said slots extending from said operative positions in said walls to said removal openings, and means for detachably securing said assemblies to said walls in said operative positions, whereby said roller assemblies can be moved in said slots to said removal openings and out of said removal openings to free said one piece belt for removal, the slots and openings for said intermediate roller being of closed configuration with respect to their outer limits whereby removal of said intermediate roller is in a direction parallel to its axis and laterally out through one of said vertical walls.

Claim 19

A machine for forming cylindrical bales of cut crop material comprising, a mobile frame having a pair of opposed vertical walls; roller assemblies including a pair of end rollers and an intermediate roller located between the rollers of said pair of rollers, said rollers disposed transversely of said frame and having ends mounted in operative positions in said walls for rotatably mounting said assemblies; a one piece, endless and spliceless conveyor belt trained around said assemblies and movable thereon, each of said walls forming slots and roller assembly removal openings, said slots extending from said operative positions in said walls to said removal openings, and means for detachably securing said assemblies to said walls in said operative positions, whereby said roller assemblies can be moved in said slots to said removal openings and out of said removal openings to free said one piece belt for removal, the slots and openings for said intermediate roller being of closed configuration with respect to their outer limits whereby removal of said intermediate roller is in a direction parallel to its axis and laterally out through one of said vertical walls.

Claim 20

The combination of claim 15 and further comprising an additional roller assembly, and bracket means on said frame for supporting said additional roller assembly rearwardly of said walls, said belt being trained over said additional roller assembly, said bracket means being removable for removal of said additional roller assembly from within said endless belt.

Claim 21

The combination of claim 15 in which each of said roller assemblies includes a belt supporting structure disposed between said walls, and axle portions projecting from opposite ends of said roller assemblies and through adjacent walls.

Claim 22

The combination of claim 17 in which said means for detachably securing said roller assemblies includes a bearing member for each axle portion, and in which said bearing members are detachably connected to said walls.

Claim 23

In a machine for forming a cylindrical bale, a frame including a pair of vertically disposed walls at opposite sides thereof, an endless and spliceless conveyor belt movably supported between said walls for conveying crop material therebetween, each of said walls having perimeter portions, first and second roller assemblies having portions disposed between said walls and being supported for rotation about axes extending transversely of said frame and spaced from said perimeter portions of said walls, a third roller assembly rotatable about an axis spaced from said walls and parallel to said axes of said first and second roller assemblies, bracket means detachably supporting said third roller assembly at opposite ends to said wall portions, said conveyor belt being supported for movement by said first, second and third roller aSsemblies, a roll containing compartment formed by said belt, said wall portions and said bracket means and containing said first, second and third roller assemblies, said walls each forming a slot extending generally from the intersection of each axis of said first and second roller assemblies to the perimeter of the respective wall, said first and second roller assemblies having axle portions extending from opposite ends of said first and second roller assemblies and disposed within said slots, said bracket means being removable from said frame to expose the side of said roll containing compartment, and bearing means rotatably supporting said axle portions at the intersection of said axes, said first and second roller assemblies being movable with the respective axles in said slots beyond a perimeter portion of said walls upon removal of said bearing means, at least one of said roller assemblies being removable from the exposed side of said roll containing compartment.

Claim 24

In a machine for forming a cylindrical bale, a frame including a pair of vertically disposed walls at opposite sides thereof, an endless and spliceless conveyor belt movably supported between said walls for conveying crop material therebetween, each of said walls having perimeter portions, first and second roller assemblies having portions disposed between said walls and being supported for rotation about axes extending transversely of said frame and spaced from said perimeter portions of said walls, a third roller assembly rotatable about an axis spaced from said walls and parallel to said axes of said first and second roller assemblies, bracket means detachably supporting said third roller assembly at opposite ends to said wall portions, said conveyor belt being supported for movement by said first, second and third roller aSsemblies, a roll containing compartment formed by said belt, said wall portions and said bracket means and containing said first, second and third roller assemblies, said walls each forming a slot extending generally from the intersection of each axis of said first and second roller assemblies to the perimeter of the respective wall, said first and second roller assemblies having axle portions extending from opposite ends of said first and second roller assemblies and disposed within said slots, said bracket means being removable from said frame to expose the side of said roll containing compartment, and bearing means rotatably supporting said axle portions at the intersection of said axes, said first and second roller assemblies being movable with the respective axles in said slots beyond a perimeter portion of said walls upon removal of said bearing means, at least one of said roller assemblies being removable from the exposed side of said roll containing compartment.

Claim 25

The combination set forth in claim 19 in which the slots associated with each of said axles of one of said first or second roller assemblies define paths in said wall extending parallel to each other.

Claim 26

A machine for forming a cylindrical bale of cut crop material comprising: a mobile frame, a conveyor belt movably supported on said frame and including an upper belt flight movable rearwardly relative to said frame, means on said frame for picking up and delivering material to be baled to said conveyor belt, a packer roller extending transversely and in close proximity to a forward portion of said upper belt flight for feeding material therebetween, a first roller disposed in parallel relation to said packer roller and above the latter for roation about an axis stationary to said frame, a second roller extending transversely and in close proximity to an intermediate portion of said upper belt flight, belt means movably supported on said frame and being guided by said first and second rollers to form a lower belt flight therebetween, means for simultaneously moving said upper and lower belt flights in opposite directions for rotating crop material therebetween to form a rotating cylindrical bale with its bottom surface portion moving rearwardly, and means yieldably resisting extension of said lower belt flight and maintaining the latter in contact with the surface of the bale being formed, said first roller maintaining the bale in rearwardly spaced relation to said packing roller during formation of the bale, said lower belt flight of said belt means including a plurality of belts moving in parallel spaced paths, and further comprising a finger assembly including a plurality of transversely spaced fingers depending between said path, and means supporting said fingers for simultaneous movement in response to formation of said bale from a bale starting position spaced rearwardly of said packer roller and first roller to a bale completed position above said first roller and below the center of the completed bale, and wherein said means for supporting said fingers includes links pivoted to said frame and to said finger assembly, said finger assembly including a guide means engageable with said lower belt flight for moving said fingers toward said bale completed position, said guide means being initially spaced from said lower belt flight to maintain said fingers in a bale starting position until the upper part of said bale enlarges to move said lower belt flight into engagement with said guide means.

Claim 27

A machine for forming a cylindrical bale of cut crop material comprising: a mobile frame, a conveyor belt movably supported on said frame and including an upper belt flight movable rearwardly relative to said frame, means on said frame for picking up and delivering material to be baled to said conveyor belt, a packer roller extending transversely and in close proximity to a forward portion of said upper belt flight for feeding material therebetween, a first roller disposed in parallel relation to said packer roller and above the latter for roation about an axis stationary to said frame, a second roller extending transversely and in close proximity to an intermediate portion of said upper belt flight, belt means movably supported on said frame and being guided by said first and second rollers to form a lower belt flight therebetween, means for simultaneously moving said upper and lower belt flights in opposite directions for rotating crop material therebetween to form a rotating cylindrical bale with its bottom surface portion moving rearwardly, and means yieldably resisting extension of said lower belt flight and maintaining the latter in contact with the surface of the bale being formed, said first roller maintaining the bale in rearwardly spaced relation to said packing roller during formation of the bale, said lower belt flight of said belt means including a plurality of belts moving in parallel spaced paths, and further comprising a finger assembly including a plurality of transversely spaced fingers depending between said path, and means supporting said fingers for simultaneous movement in response to formation of said bale from a bale starting position spaced rearwardly of said packer roller and first roller to a bale completed position above said first roller and below the center of the completed bale, and wherein said means for supporting said fingers includes links pivoted to said frame and to said finger assembly, said finger assembly including a guide means engageable with said lower belt flight for moving said fingers toward said bale completed position, said guide means being initially spaced from said lower belt flight to maintain said fingers in a bale starting position until the upper part of said bale enlarges to move said lower belt flight into engagement with said guide means.

Claim 28

The combination set forth in claim 21 and further comprising biasing means resisting movement of said finger assembly from said bale starting position.

Claim 29

A crop handling machine for forming a cylindrical bale comprising: a mobile frame including a pair of parallel vertically extending wall members at opposite sides of said frame, a conveyor belt having a portion movable rearwardly relative to said frame and being disposed between said wall members, means for receiving cut crop and delivering it to said conveyor belt, a gate structure pivoted to the upper portion of said frame member for swinging movement between closed and open positions, a first material confining roll disposed transversely above a forward portion of said belt to rotate about a stationary axis relative to said frame, a second material confining roll disposed in close proximity to said conveyor belt and being supported by said gate structure for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said first material confining roll, a plurality of rolls supported for rotation on a forward portion of said frame and on a rearward portion of said gate structure, a plurality of transversely spaced belts passing below said first and second material confining rolls and over said plurality of rolls on said frame and said gate structure to form a bale chamber between said conveyor belt and portions of said belts passing between said first and second material confining rollers, said second material confining roll being movable horizontally rearwardly as said bale increases in size to urge said gate towards an open position to enlarge the capacity of said bale chamber, and guide means associated with said frame and said second material confining roll for maintaining the latter in uniformly spaced relation to said conveyor belt as said second material confining roll moves rearwardly, and wherein said gate structure includes a main gate structure and an auxiliary gate structure connected together for relative pivotal movement about a generally transverse axis and in which said second material confining roll is supported on said auxiliary gate structure for horizontal movement rearwardly during relative movement of said main and auxiliary gate structures.

Claim 30

A crop handling machine for forming a cylindrical bale comprising: a mobile frame including a pair of parallel vertically extending wall members at opposite sides of said frame, a conveyor belt having a portion movable rearwardly relative to said frame and being disposed between said wall members, means for receiving cut crop and delivering it to said conveyor belt, a gate structure pivoted to the upper portion of said frame member for swinging movement between closed and open positions, a first material confining roll disposed transversely above a forward portion of said belt to rotate about a stationary axis relative to said frame, a second material confining roll disposed in close proximity to said conveyor belt and being supported by said gate structure for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said first material confining roll, a plurality of rolls supported for rotation on a forward portion of said frame and on a rearward portion of said gate structure, a plurality of transversely spaced belts passing below said first and second material confining rolls and over said plurality of rolls on said frame and said gate structure to form a bale chamber between said conveyor belt and portions of said belts passing between said first and second material confining rollers, said second material confining roll being movable horizontally rearwardly as said bale increases in size to urge said gate towards an open position to enlarge the capacity of said bale chamber, and guide means associated with said frame and said second material confining roll for maintaining the latter in uniformly spaced relation to said conveyor belt as said second material confining roll moves rearwardly, and wherein said gate structure includes a main gate structure and an auxiliary gate structure connected together for relative pivotal movement about a generally transverse axis and in which said second material confining roll is supported on said auxiliary gate structure for horizontal movement rearwardly during relative movement of said main and auxiliary gate structures.

Claim 31

The combination of claim 23 and further comprising means for yieldably resisting movement of said gate structures relative to said frame.

Claim 32

The combination of claim 24 in which said means for yieldably resisting movement are selectively adjustable to select the magnitude of resistance of relative movement of said main and auxiliary gate structures.