Method and apparatus for securing baled items
AssigneeTama Plastic Industry
InventorsNissim Mass, Tsafrir Lior, Matan Inbar
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Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention includes an apparatus for securing a wrapping material around an item, such as a baled agricultural item, the apparatus including a main plate and at least one projection, the projection including a heating element and a height adjustment mechanism, wherein the height adjustment mechanism controls a force applied to the wrapping material by the projection and provides a force for moving the projection.
Claims21
An apparatus for securing a wrapping material around an item, wherein the wrapping material has a leading end and a following end, the following end having a tail portion, wherein the wrapping material wraps around the item with at least one complete revolution forming at least one underlying layer such that the tail portion of the wrapping material overlaps the underlying layer, the apparatus comprising:
- a main plate positioned on a surface;
- and
- a plurality of projections extending from the main plate, each of the plurality of projections including a heating element and an independent height adjustment mechanism, wherein the independent height adjustment mechanism for a given projection controls a force applied to the wrapping material by the projection and provides a force for moving the projection from the main plate towards the item, and wherein the heating element is configured to weld the tail portion to the underlying layer by transferring heat to the tail portion,
- wherein the apparatus is configured such that the tail portion of the item is welded by the heating elements of the plurality of projections as the item rolls on the surface over the main plate.
A method of securing a wrapping material around a baled item, comprising:
- baling an item using a baling machine;
- wrapping the baled item with a wrapping material having a leading end and a following end, the following end having a tail portion, wherein the wrapping material wraps around the baled item with at least one complete revolution forming at least one underlying layer such that the tail portion of the wrapping material overlaps the underlying layer;
- contacting the tail portion with an apparatus, the apparatus comprising a main plate positioned on a surface and a plurality of projections extending from the main plate, each projection including a heating element and an independent height adjustment mechanism, the height adjustment mechanism for a given projection controlling a force applied to the wrapping material by the projection and providing a force that moves the projection from the main plate towards the item;
- welding the tail portion to the underlying layer by transferring heat to the tail portion from the heating elements of the plurality of projections to form a welded wrapped baled item, wherein the baled item passes over the main plate and the plurality of projections as the baled item rolls and as the tail portion of the wrapping material is welded to the underlying layer;
- and
- removing the welded wrapped baled item from the baling machine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.