Ag-bag Corporation

Ag-bag International Limited

Mike Koskela

Larry R Inman

Walter L Jay

Richard G Lovell

A machine for compacting organic material such as silage and inserting the compacted material into an elongate elastic bag. A rotor positioned at an inlet of a tunnel propels and compacts the material. A barrier positioned in the tunnel strategic to the rotor restricts the flow of material directly into the bag. The barrier forces the material to flow through the barrier and upwardly over the barrier to insure complete filling of the bag. The barrier may be immovable or may be arranged to be pivoted to alter the resistance to the material flow.

Device and method for compacting agricultural material in a storage bag

A machine for inserting baled material into an elongate elastic sheath. The machine has a moveable upper frame for enlarging the opening through which the bales will travel as they are inserted into the sheath. An elastic sheath is mounted on and surrounds radially moveable paddles and an end of a cradle. The paddles are moved radially outward to enlarge the opening of the sheath and thereby stretch the sheath. The cradle receives the bales to be inserted into a sheath and has a bale pusher for pushing the bales into the sheath. The bale pusher has ram extensions that are pivoted into a position to extend the reach of the pusher to facilitate inserting the last bale into the elastic sheath and through the machine. The machine is portable and has wheels that are mounted in one position for the bagging operation and are mounted in another position for transporting the machine. Adjustment mechanism is provided for adjusting the wheels in the bagging position to adjust for ground clearance to minimize the drop off distance for the bales as they enter the sheath and are deposited on the ground. Bale pushers are mounted to the upper frame for aligning an upper tier of stacked bales that may be skewed relative to a bottom tier.

Square bale bagger

A bagger for organic material that incorporates gates that are yieldably biased to restrict the movement of the material into the bag until the material has been compacted. The gates are mounted at each side of a tunnel adjacent a material propelling rotor of the bagger. The rotor propels and compacts the material against the gates and when the force is sufficient the gates will yieldably open to permit material to flow into and deploy a portion of the bag on the ground. The arrangement of the gates reduces the force applied to the bag and thus limits the force urging the bagger to move away from the bag deposited on the ground.

Bagger for organic material

A machine for sheathing bales of material such as hay, straw and the like. The machine has radially adjustable posts mounted on a polygon frame to stretch a resilient sheath for the free insertion of the bales. The polygon frame is configured with vertical sides that closely conform to the width dimension of the largest sheath in its stretched condition. The machine width is dictated by the frame width, i.e., the distance between the vertical sides and accordingly the machine has a width only as needed to accommodate the designated bale size, the restricted width being desirable for shipping and towing. The movable posts are strategically positioned and individual cylinders are provided for opening and closing the posts for optimum utilization of the power source for the posts.

Bale sheathing method and apparatus

A machine for sheathing bales of material such as hay, straw and the like The machine has radially adjustable fingers to stretch a resilient sheath for the free insertion of the bales. The machine has elevating and guide mechanism for elevating and guiding the bales through the machine and as the bales exit the machine they are encased in the sheath. The resilient sheath will shrink to its original size to thereby fit closely to the contour of the bale. The machine has a swing away tow bar for offsetting the machine to either the left or right of the towing unit permitting the towing unit to travel on either side of the bale row. The swing away tow bar may be adjusted to a center position for ease of towing the machine from one job site to another or down a roadway. The swing away tow bar eliminates much of the side draft experienced previously.

A rotor arrangement for a bagging machine includes a tooth configuration providing both uniform power requirements and well directed compaction forces for uniform distribution of compacted crop material within a storage bag. The rotor arrangement includes right lead and left lead tooth groups wherein members of each right lead and left lead tooth groups sequentially enter a slot of a stripping comb beginning with the right and left, respectively, member of the group. The right lead groups occupy the same length portion of the rotor arrangement as corresponding left lead groups, but are angularly offset whereby rightward compaction forces of one group are followed by leftward compaction forces of the other group. The right and left tooth groups may be organized according to double-helix mounting patterns upon a mounting member. The net compaction force is substantially straight away from the rotor arrangement and has substantially uniform power requirements for uniform compaction within the storage bag.

Growing community of inventors

Astoria, OR, United States of America

Mike Koskela