Round baler and discharge means

Claim 1

In combination with a tractor drawn round bale forming machine of the type wherein there is a bale forming chamber of fixed size having a horizontal axis and including a lower section comprising a wheel mounted main frame, a pickup reel, a bottom conveyor incorporating a multiplicity of side by side belts entrained on transversely extending rollers rotatably mounted in the main frame and means for driving said pickup reel and bottom conveyor; there being further provided an upper section of the machine which includes a subframe, hinge mounted along its front edge to said main frame, the inner rear, top and front sides of said subframe being lined with conveying elements which make up the generally cylindrical periphery of all of the bale forming chamber exclusive of that encompassed by the bottom conveyor, each conveying element in the upper section comprising a plurality of side by side belts entrained on an upstream and a downstream roller, said rollers being spaced apart and mounted for rotation in said subframe, there being a space between the last of the serially arranged conveying elements and the uppermost surface of said bottom conveyor to form thereby an inlet to said bale forming chamber, the upper and lower sections having a joint therebetween which is spanned by a releasable latch for retaining said upper and lower sections in a locked condition during the bale forming operation; the improvement comprising: sensor means for signalling that a bale is ready for discharge from said bale forming chamber; latch opening means for releasing the locked condition between said upper and lower sections; pivoting means mounted between said main frame and said subframe for rotating said upper section upward about said hinge and forming thereby an open tailgate through which a completed bale can be rearwardly discharged, the location of said hinge being generally at the same height above ground as the central axis of said chamber, thereby causing the path followed by the rearmost part of said upper section to not pass rearward of the lower section during opening of said tailgate; bale releasing means utilizing gravitational force to create diametral pressure on the completed bale and causing ellipsoidal flexing thereof; and bale discharging means including continuous movement of said bottom conveyor in a front to rear direction throughout, causing the completed bale to drop off the back of the machine, followed thereafter by immediate reclosure of said tailgate without need for machine movement to gain clearance with respect to the discharged bale.