Hesston Corporation

George Yatcilla

Allen A White

Garold L Fleming

Cecil L Case

Thomas W Ankenman

Kurt Graber

Harold Keith Garrison

William Peterson

Loren L Alderson

The knotting mechanism of a crop baler has a spring-loaded arm normally pulled down to a lowered position by the binding twine during operation of the knotter. However, if the knotter accidentally fails to tie a knot or the twine otherwise slips loose, the resulting slack will allow the arm to swing upwardly, and this motion may be used to trigger a switch for setting off an alarm or to raise a signal flag, either of which would indicate that the knotter needs attention.

Knotting monitor for crop balers

Hydraulic 'squeeze cylinders' control the size of the discharge orifice on an extrusion baler and are operated by a control circuit that relieves pressure in the cylinders in response to the buildup of a certain predetermined pressure level in the circuit. Pressurized fluid for the squeeze cylinders is supplied by a single-acting pump cylinder that is connected between the reciprocal plunger head and its push rod in such a way as to deliver a slug of pressurized fluid into the circuit on each compression stroke of the plunger, the pump drawing in a fresh slug from a reservoir during each retraction stroke of the plunger. A pilot-operated relief valve is operated by circuit fluid when the latter reaches the predetermined pressure level to open a relief path for fluid in the squeeze cylinders, and specially calibrated ports in the circuit between the pump and the cylinders cause the relief valve-operating portion of the circuit on the pump side of the calibrated ports to exist at a higher pressure level than the remaining portion on the squeeze cylinder side.

Bale density control system

An 'extrusion' type baler controls bale density by regulating the size of the discharge orifice of the bale case, and the 'squeeze' cylinders which provide power for changing the size of the orifice are hydraulically connected to a special pump associated with the plunger of the machine so that pressurized oil is added to or taken away from the cylinders depending upon the resistive force encountered by the plunger and its pump during the compaction stroke. The loader which stuffs a new charge of material up into the baling chamber ahead of the retracted plunger may, under certain circumstances, fail to load a new charge of material. The plunger, however, continues to reciprocate at all times and would thus add an additional slug of oil to the cylinders following deactivation of the loader but for the presence of a special control valve in the circuit which precludes flow of oil from the pump to other components of the circuit unless the loader has been operated through a loading stroke immediately prior to the next compaction stroke of the plunger. When a predetermined pressure level is achieved in the circuit, a relief path will open so as to depressurize the cylinders by an incremental amount.

Crop-loading-responsive fluid supply circuit in bale density control

Pressurized fluid for the squeeze cylinders of an 'extrusion' baler is supplied by a single-acting pump cylinder that is connected between the plunger head and its push rod in such a way as to deliver a slug of pressurized fluid into the circuit on each compression stroke of the plunger, the pump drawing in a fresh slug from a reservoir during each retraction stroke of the plunger. The push rod is connected to the plunger in a cranked relationship so that the radial distance between the end of the push rod and the fulcrum point of the crank comprises one lever arm, such lever arm being many times smaller than the lever arm between the fulcrum point and the point of connection of the crank of the pump cylinder.

Plunger drive connection in bale density control system

In a baling operation that uses a continuously reciprocating plunger, if the next charge to be stuffed into the chamber has not yet reached the desired size and density by the time the stuffing fork is ready to begin its next operating cycle, the fork is temporarily deactivated, without affecting the plunger, until the charge reaches full size and density. Thereupon, the fork stuffs the entire charge into the baling chamber in a single cycle of operation for compaction by the plunger. The baler is loaded from the bottom of the baling chamber through an upwardly curved duct that serves both as an accumulating chamber and as a precompression area into which the charge is progressively packed by a rotating, retractable finger drum at the lower end of the duct. A backstop for precompression purposes may be presented at the top of the duct in a number of alternative ways, i.e., the moving plunger itself may be of such length as to cover the duct during a large portion of its stroke; the stuffing fork may be stopped at a position within and extending across the duct; or an auxiliary device may be rocked into and out of the duct in timed relation to operation of the fork.

Apparatus for loading and baling crop material

In the event that tying needles should be left in the path of travel of the baling plunger as a result of a malfunction in the drive for the needles, a safety control linkage will take over to withdraw the needles from the path of travel as the plunger continues in operation. During the baling process and before initiation of a tying cycle, the linkage reciprocates freely without effect on the tying needles as a result of a lost-motion connection therewith. The relationship between the linkage and the needles is such that the linkage has no effect on the needles when the latter are swung into operation by their driving mechanism, the linkage only coming into play if such mechanism should fail and be thus unable to withdraw the tying needles in the normal manner.

Tying needle safety control for crop balers

Method for loading and baling crop material

Bales are successively formed in the baling chamber of the machine by intermittently packing an additional charge of new material against the trailing end of a forming bale to progressively push the bales toward the discharge end of the chamber. When the bale reaches its predetermined size, a needle swings across the bale chamber behind the trailing end of the bale and presents a binding strand to a knotter. The knotter unites the presented end of the strand with an end previously held by the knotter during a packing cycle such as to form a secure, tied loop about the bale. As the needle retracts from the knotter, it places a new length of strand across the bale chamber in preparation for the loop around the next, succeeding bale, and it is during such retraction of the needle that a slackening device draws a supply of slack in the strand and lays the same along the proximal side of the preceding bale. Hence, as the next bale is incrementally advanced through the chamber, the slack supply becomes progressively depleted as it strings out along the forming bale. Thus, until the slack supply is entirely consumed, the strand need not be pulled through the interface between the preceding and forming bales in order to string out the strand along the bale.

Slackening mechanism for bale tier

The shaft which drives the tying needles of a baler back and forth across the bale chamber has a cam-operated brake associated therewith for intermittent application and release of the brake at preselected points along the path of swinging travel of the needles. The cam is located at the peripheral edge of a rotary member of the brake, and a follower is rocked by the cam to, in turn, shift a non-rotating brake member away from the rotary member to thereby release the brake. A series of coil springs yieldably bias the two members into cooperating frictional interengagement to apply the brake.

Brake for tying needles of crop baler

The discharge end of a bale chamber may be constricted or enlarged such that bales being packed rearwardly through the chamber may be increased or decreased in density by regulating their resistance to exit from the chamber. Bell cranks at the four corners of the chamber are coupled with shiftable walls of the latter in such a way that pressure increases or decreases are simultaneously experienced by all of the walls upon introduction or release of hydraulic fluid to a pair of power devices which interconnect the two cranks on each side of the chamber. The two legs of each bell crank are of equal radial length with respect to the axis of swinging movement of the crank so that equal moment arms are produced by such legs to accomplish substantially uniform pressure around the bale within the chamber.

Growing community of inventors

Newton, KS, United States of America

George Yatcilla