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US 4,731,984 AGranted
Balers
AssigneeTexas Industries, Inc.
InventorCornelis van der Lely
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeTexas Industries, Inc.
InventorCornelis van der Lely
Estimating the term…
A baler has winding elements for forming a bale of crop. A formed bale is bound with binding material such as twine or wire from a binding mechanism. When a bale is fully formed, a cable is pulled by the operator of the tractor towing the baler which actuates the binding mechanism and simultaneously operates a change-speed gear to increase the speed of the winding elements. The bale thus rotates faster during binding than it does while it is being formed. This reduces time required for binding. When the bale has been bound, it is discharged through a door which pivots upwards for this purpose. Pivoting of the door pulls a further cable which returns the change-speed gear to the lower speed position and actuates the binding mechanism so that the next bale can be formed. The bale chamber is substantially cylindrical with rotatable elements around the interior of its curved sides. One group of such elements is pivotable about a pivot axis adjacent the baler's pick-up device and bears on the forming bale to assist in its formation and ensure it is sufficiently compressed. The individual rotatable elements are rods or tubes or a plurality of same spaced from and arranged to rotate about a common axis, such plurality being parallel to coincide with a cylindrical surface, or helical to coincide with a hyperboloidal surface relative to its axis of rotation.
A baler for forming compact cylindrical rolls of substantial size of hay or the like which comprises a bale coiling space which is defined by a rear wall, a forwad wall and two parallel side walls which constitute the lateral boundaries of said bale coiling space;
A baler adapted to be towed from a tractor comprising a pick-up device for picking up crop lying on the ground, a generally cylindrically shaped space for bale forming defined by a rear wall, a forward wall and two substantially parallel side walls laterally bounding said space for bale forming, said forward and rear walls each being provided with bale winding elements, means for driving said elements from a power take-off shaft of the tractor, said driving means including change speed means for driving said elements at at least two different speeds relative to that provide by said power take-off shaft, said side walls each having wall portions connected to said rear wall, said wall portions extending forwardly beyond the centerline of said cylindrically shaped bale forming space so that said wall portions each comprise the major part of the corresponding said side wall, said rear wall being pivotably connected to said forward wall by pivot means which extends parallel to and substantially directly over said centerline, said wall portions each having a forward edge which initially extends forward from said pivot means and then continues downwardly forward of said centerline and therefrom continues rearwardly to under said centerline, said forward edges defining between them a bottom opening which extends under said centerline through which a bale can be discharged when said wall portions are pivoted upwardly relative to said pivot means, said driving means connected to drive said rear wall bale winding element from proximate said pivot means, opening means for said rear door and said wall portions which is so constructed and arranged to open said rear wall and said wall portions rearwardly and upwardly about said pivot means relative to said forward wall, said change speed means causing driving means to turn said winding elements at the higher of said speeds until said rear wall and said wall portions are opened.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.