Hesston Corporation

Hay & Forage Industries

Charles F Hood

Thomas G Schrag

Scott A Morton

Victor D Goeckner

Kurt Graber

A hay baler for producing large rectangular bales picks up crop material directly underneath the fore-and-aft bale chamber of the machine as the baler advances across the field and stuffs charges of the picked up hay into the overhead chamber for compaction by a fore-and-aft reciprocating plunger. Sensors associated with the two laterally spaced driving arms of the plunger detect the extent of uneven crop loading into the baling chamber through measuring any differential in compressive loading on the arms and cause a visual display in the cab of the towing tractor which indicates the direction and magnitude of steering correction which is required to reestablish even loading of the baler. A microcomputer receives the outputs from the driving arms, processes the same and appropriately activates the display monitor in the cab.

Reciprocating plunger crop baler having monitoring system for checking

During the process of binding a bale of crop material with binding twine in a crop baler, malfunction of the knotter is checked once upon completion of the binding sequence for one bale, and then a second time after the twine has been prepared by the knotter for formation of the next bale. The monitoring system is particularly appropriate for a double knotting mechanism in which each knotter operates through two complete operating cycles during each actuation thereof, a first cycle to complete a knot associated with the just finished bale, and a second cycle to complete a knot in two separate strands of twine to prepare the same for the next successive bale. The position of a slack takeup arm moved by the binding twine between a number of positions during the double knotting sequence is monitored by the electronic portion of the system, including a computer, so that if the takeup arm is located improperly at one of the critical checking times in the sequence, such condition is reported to the operator through a visual display in the tractor which tows the baler.

Monitoring system for detecting malfunction of knotting mechanism on a

An electrical circuit is provided for testing for an open circuit or short circuit in an inductive coil, solenoid, or the like. The preferred circuit includes a computer activated device for selectively imposing a direct current voltage on a coil, a detector for detecting current flow through the coil induced by the voltage and for producing a current flow signal indicative of the magnitude of the current flow, a comparator for comparing the current signal with the reference signal and for producing respective first and second comparison signals when the current flow magnitude is respectively less than or greater than a reference magnitude, and a computer for determining whether the respective first and second comparison signals are produced during respective first and second points in time, such being a test indicative of the electrical integrity of the coil, solenoid, or the like.

Circuit for testing inductive coils

Bales emanating from the discharge end of a baler are received on an accumulating trailer provided with a weighing scale that, in combination with an electrical system, automatically determines the weight of certain of the successively issuing bales and conveniently displays such weight to the operator in the cab of the towing vehicle so that the operator can monitor the quality and condition of bales prepared by the machine on an ongoing, non-stop basis. An onboard computer preferably forming a part of the electronic system controls the process and assures its accuracy, while also providing information such as the average weight of bales weighed since last resetting the system.

Growing community of inventors

Ranchester, WY, United States of America

Charles F Hood