Round baler end wrap control
AssigneeNew Holland North America, Inc.
InventorMark K. Chow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a round baler having a microprocessor based controller for controlling the pattern in which twine is wrapped around a bale, factory installed programs, selectable by an operator through actuation of control keys, provide a plurality of twine wrap patterns each of which includes two wraps at each end of the bale. An operator's panel is provided with keys which, when actuated, modify the number of end wraps. The factory installed programs are not otherwise modified. When a factory installed program is selected, the number of end wraps placed on each end of the bale is determined by the modified number of end wraps.
Claims14
In a round baler having filament dispensing means selectively movable opposite a rotating bale of crop material to wrap the bale with filament, the filament dispensing means being controllable by a controller having control means for executing a factory installed bale-wrapping program stored in a non-volatile memory to place on a bale a preset number of circular starting wraps, a preset number of circular intermediate wraps and a preset number of circular end wraps as specified in said bale-wrapping program, the improvement comprising:
- an addressable storage location for storing a value representing said preset number of end wraps;
- manually actuated switch means;
- and,
- modification means responsive to said switch means for modifying said value in said addressable storage location representing said preset number of end wraps specified in said program to obtain a further value representing an operator-specified number of circular end wraps, said preset number of starting wraps and said preset number of end wraps specified in said bale-wrapping program being unchangeable,
- said control means being responsive to a value in said addressable storage location and said program in said non-volatile memory for controlling said filament dispensing means to place on said bale exactly said preset number of circular starting wraps and no more, exactly said preset number of circular intermediate wraps and no more and the number of circular end wraps represented by said further value and no more each time said control means executes said program.
In a round baler having filament dispensing means selectively movable opposite a rotating bale of crop material to wrap the bale with filament, the filament dispensing means being controllable by a control means operable in response to a factory installed bale-wrapping program stored in a non-volatile memory to place on a bale a preset number of circular starting wraps, a preset number of circular intermediate wraps and a preset number of circular end wraps, a method of selectively varying the number of end wraps placed on a bale, said method comprising:
- providing an addressable storage location for storing a value representing said preset number of end wraps;
- providing manually actuated switch means for changing a value in said addressable storage location;
- selectively actuating the switch means to chance the value in said addressable storage location to a further value representing an operator-specified number of circular end wraps without in any way altering either said preset number of starting wraps or said preset number of intermediate wraps;
- and,
- wrapping the bale with exactly said preset number of circular starting wraps and no more, exactly said preset number of circular intermediate wrap and no more and exactly the number of circular end wraps represented by said further value and no more.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.