Hay roll forming machine
AssigneeSperry Rand Corporation
InventorAllison W. Blanshine
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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 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 all the hay without loss upon the ground. As the roll type bale of hay increases in diameter, the upper apron engages the upper portion thereof and applies constant unit pressure thereon to produce substantially uniform density throughout the roll regardless of diameter thereof. Tension spring means are used to produce the pressure applied to the roll by the upper apron to effect such constant unit pressure upon the roll.
Claims6
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 means mounted upon said frame above said delivery means;
- d. said delivery means together with said endless flexible means defining a roll forming region therebetween spaced above the field and extending between opposite sides of said frame;
- e. means on said frame 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 endless flexible means for movement in a direction opposite to that of said portion of said delivery means, said endless flexible means engaging a circumferential area of a roll of crop material when said roll is being formed within said roll-forming region;
- f. positioning means movably mounted by said frame and engaged with said endless flexible means;
- and
- g. spring means supported by said frame and interconnected to said positioning means for imposing a pulling force thereon which normally disposes the same in a first position which in turn disposes said endless flexible means in a contracted position, said spring means being capable of progressively yielding under the imposition of a progressively increasing reverse pulling force thereon, said spring means so yielding when such reverse force is imposed thereon by said endless flexible means through said positioning means as said flexible means expands from its contracted position and said positioning means moves away from its first position due to engagement of said endless flexible means with increasing circumferential areas of the roll as the diameter thereof increases during forming of the roll at said roll-forming region, said spring means in so yielding due to such increasing reverse pulling force being imposed thereon causing a substantially uniform pressure to be exerted upon said roll within said roll-forming region by said endless flexible means as increasing circumferential areas of said roll are engaged by said endless flexible means to thereby produce a roll of crop material having substantially uniform density throughout said roll.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.