System and method for continuous bale forming
AssigneeCNH Industrial America LLC
InventorsJohn Posselius, John D. Gardus
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A crop feeding mechanism for a harvester includes one or a plurality of screws or augers positioned in a hollow chamber of defined by the interior surface of an elongated frame, whereby the interior surface is tapered with decreasing volume in it rear portion. The one or a plurality of screws or augers are affixed upon a rotating axis and, as crop material is fed into the chamber, the one or a plurality of screws or augers conveys crop material rearward toward the tapered end and compact the crop materials so that the compacted crop material is extruded out of an opening at the rear end at a rate and temperature and in a form sufficient to allow a net wrap mechanism positioned at or near the opening to wrap the crop into a bale.
Claims19
A baling system comprising:
- (a) a crop feeder mechanism comprising an elongated frame extending between a crop collection mechanism and a bale chamber, said elongated frame comprising:
- a front portion with at least one front opening configured for receiving crop material collected by the crop collection mechanism;
- a rear portion comprising at least one rear opening configured for extruding crop material from the crop feeder mechanism to the bale chamber;
- and
- at least one member mechanically linked to a subframe of a harvester;
- wherein the front and rear portions of the elongated frame comprise a contiguous internal surface defining a hollowed interior;
- wherein the continuous internal surface is substantially tapered in the rear portion such that the hollow interior is continuously decreasing in volume from a frontward to rearward direction;
- and
- (b) a net wrap system positioned rearward of the crop feeder mechanism;
- wherein the crop collection mechanism is positioned frontward of the crop feeder mechanism;
- wherein the bale chamber is positioned rearward of the crop feeder mechanism;
- wherein the crop feeder mechanism comprises at least one auger longitudinally oriented in a frontward to rearward direction and affixed to a rotating axis such that one end of the auger is positioned at or proximate to the at least one rear opening configured for extruding crop material from the crop feeder mechanism to the bale chamber;
- and
- wherein the crop feeder mechanism comprises a temperature control element positioned at or proximate to the at least one rear opening.
A baling system comprising:
- a crop feeder mechanism comprising an elongated frame extending between a crop collection mechanism and a bale chamber, said elongated frame comprising:
- a front portion with at least one front opening configured for receiving crop material collected by the crop collection mechanism;
- a rear portion comprising at least one rear opening configured for extruding crop material from the crop feeder mechanism to the bale chamber;
- and
- at least one member mechanically linked to a subframe of a harvester;
- wherein the front and rear portions of the elongated frame comprise a contiguous internal surface defining a hollowed interior;
- wherein the continuous internal surface is substantially tapered in the rear portion such that the hollow interior is continuously decreasing in volume from a frontward to rearward direction;
- and
- wherein the crop feeder mechanism comprises a temperature control element positioned at or proximate to the at least one rear opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.