Twineball storage for balers
AssigneeAGCO Corporation
InventorsPatrick Kendrick, Thomas G. Schrag, Jeffery A. Baldauf, Linda L. Heidebrecht
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Abstract
Cylindrical twineballs are stored on their sides with the twine dispensing end of each ball facing outwardly away from the baler to facilitate operator access. The twineballs are stored in a pattern consisting of horizontal rows and upright columns, with the upright columns inclined laterally so as to present an overall, generally skewed parallelogram effect to maximize the packing density within a given amount of space. The balls are supported within cradles that may advantageously be interconnected to present multiple, horizontally extending, transversely corrugated shelves. The shelves are upwardly and outwardly inclined to help retain the balls in place.
Claims52
In a crop baler that uses twine from twineballs to bind a bale produced by the baler, an improved twineball storage apparatus comprising:
- a twine box having a plurality of superimposed, generally horizontally extending rows of cradles,
- said rows of cradles being configured for supporting stored generally cylindrical twineballs on their cylindrical sides with twine dispensing ends thereof facing generally horizontally outwardly away from the baler,
- said rows of cradles being vertically spaced apart when the baler is viewed in side elevation;
- and
- a plurality of twine guides positioned adjacent to an outer end of the twine box and adjacent to an outer end of the cradles.
In combination:
- a crop baler that uses twine to bind a bale produced by the baler;
- and
- a plurality of generally cylindrical twineballs,
- each of said twineballs having a pair of opposite ends and a cylindrical side extending between said ends,
- said crop baler including support members for supporting the twineballs on their cylindrical sides,
- one end of each twineball comprising a twine dispensing end of the twineball from which twine is dispensed to other parts of the baler,
- said twineballs being supported on the baler with said twine dispensing end thereof facing generally horizontally outwardly away from the baler.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.