Continuous Round Baler Chambers and Conveyor System

A bale forming apparatus for forming cylindrical bales of material, the bale forming apparatus comprises:

• an intake device with an outlet,
• a bale forming device,
• a bale supporting construction,
• a bale pushing device,
• a pivotal guiding member, and
• several further guiding members,
• the bale forming device comprises a bale forming means adapted for surrounding a bale forming chamber adjacent to the outlet,
• the guiding members are adapted for guiding the bale forming means,
• the intake device is adapted for conveying material through the outlet into the bale forming chamber,
• the bale forming device is adapted for forming a bale from material conveyed in the bale forming chamber by means of the bale forming means, the bale supporting construction is adapted for carrying a bale which has been formed in the bale forming chamber,
• the bale pushing device is pivotally mounted such that the bale pushing device:
• can be pivoted around a pivoting axis into a pushing start position and from the pushing start position in a pushing direction into a pushing end position and back from the pushing end position into the pushing start position and
• performs a reciprocating movement when being pivoted from the pushing start position via the pushing end position back into the pushing start position,
• the bale pushing device is arranged such that pivoting the bale pushing device from the pushing start position in the pushing direction pushes a bale formed in the bale forming chamber away from the outlet and onto the bale supporting construction,
• the pivotal guiding member is pivotally mounted and can be pivoted into a guiding position,
• the bale forming apparatus is adapted such that:
• pivoting the bale pushing device into the pushing end position causes the pivotal guiding member to be pivoted into the guiding position and
• pivoting the bale pushing device back from the pushing end position into the pushing start position moves the bale pushing device towards the outlet,
• the pivotal guiding member in the guiding position contributes to guiding the bale forming means
• such that a bale forming chamber surrounded by the bale forming means and adapted for forming a further bale is also provided when the bale support construction carries a bale.

Bale forming apparatus according to claim 24, characterized in that the bale supporting construction is pivotally mounted such that the bale supporting construction can be pivoted

• into a bale receiving position and
• into at least one further position,
• the bale forming apparatus is adapted for pushing a bale onto the bale supporting construction being in the bale receiving position by pivoting the bale pushing device into the pushing end position,
• the bale forming apparatus is further adapted for pivoting the bale supporting construction carrying a bale from the bale receiving position into the further position, thereby increasing the distance between
• the bale on the bale support construction and
• the outlet of the intake device.

A method for forming cylindrical bales of material,

• the method comprises the steps that an intake device conveys material through an outlet into a bale forming chamber adjacent to the outlet of the intake device,
• a bale forming device forms a cylindrical bale in the bale forming chamber by means of a bale forming means surrounding the bale forming chamber, the bale is formed from material which is conveyed into the bale forming chamber,
• the bale forming means is guided by several guiding members,
• a bale pushing device is pivoted around a pivoting axis from a pushing start position in a pushing direction into a pushing end position and back from the pushing end position into the pushing start position
• such that the bale pushing device performs a reciprocating movement when being pivoted from the pushing start position into the pushing end position and back into the pushing start position,
• pivoting the bale pushing device in the pushing direction pushes the bale formed in the bale forming chamber away from the outlet and onto a bale supporting construction,
• pivoting the bale pushing device back from the pushing end position into the pushing start position moves the bale pushing device towards the outlet, pivoting the bale pushing device into the pushing end position further causes a pivotal guiding member to be pivoted into a guiding position,
• the guiding element in the guiding position contributes to guiding the bale forming means such that a bale forming chamber surrounded by the bale forming means is also provided while the bale supporting construction carries the bale having been pushed by the bale pushing unit, and the forming of a further bale is started in the provided bale forming chamber.