Package making – Wrapping machines – Cinched or wiped around initial wrap
Patent
1991-12-13
1993-07-06
Coan, James F.
Package making
Wrapping machines
Cinched or wiped around initial wrap
53287, 56218, A01D 3900
Patent
active
052243230
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a bale wrapper apparatus which is primarily intended for use in applying plastics film wrapping around a round-bale of cut grass or straw in substantially airtight manner, so as to enable the wrapped bale to be stored for future use of the contents of the wrapped bale when required.
Bale wrapper apparatus are used to wrap a round-bale of straw, in order to shield the straw from exposure to the weather, so that dry straw material can be fed to animals, or used as bedding when required. Bales of straw can also be treated with ammonia, prior to wrapping, so that fermentation of the straw can take place during storage, and which enhances the nutritional content of the straw when fed to animals subsequently.
Bale wrappers are also used to wrap newly formed bales of cut grass, and by virtue of the substantially airtight wrapping of the bales which is possible, the grass matures into silage over a period of time, and this also is a very valuable source of food for animals.
The use of bale wrappers to form silage from bales of grass is growing rapidly, since it avoids the need for silage towers and silage "clamps" to be used. Substantial capital outlay is required to install silage towers, and there is also a considerable problem, both with silage towers and silage clamps, concerning the inevitable generation of silage effluent. This has to be carefully collected, and then disposed of in an approved manner, and there are substantial financial penalties applied when unathorised disposal of silage effluent is allowed to take place. For this reason, therefore, bale wrappers are now being used to a rapidly increasing extent to wrap round-bales of grass, which can then be stored through the summer, autumn and winter months, during which time densely packed grass ferments to form silage, and which is readily available for feeding to animals when required.
One bale wrapper apparatus which is being sold widely throughout Great Britain and Europe, and elsewhere, is known as a Silawrap Machine which is manufactured by Underhaug AG and which forms the subject of GB patent 2159489B and foreign equivalents.
Reference is directed to this patent specification, for a fuller disclosure of the means by which bale wrapper apparatus of this type can be used to apply a plastics film of stretchable material around a bale while the bale is rotated simulataneously about a horizontal and a vertical axis. This takes place by virtue of the placement of the round-bale on a turntable, with the axis of the bale extending substantially horizontally, and rollers provided on the turntable are driven so as to rotate the bale about its horizontal axis. Simultaneously, the entire turntable is rotated about a vertical axis, and by virtue of this simultaneous rotation of the bale about horizontal and vertical axes, a sheet of strechable film withdrawn from a dispenser reel and initially attached to the bale can form a substantially airtight wrapping around the bale.
There are two main types of bale wrapper in use at the present, namely mobile bale wrappers which can be trailed behind a tractor to be used in a field, and bale wrappers which will normally be used at a fixed location, e.g. in a stackyard.
The present invention is primarily concerned with a mobile bale wrapper which can be moved through a field and can automatically pick up bales lying on the ground and then carry out a bale wrapping operation thereon. One version of the Silawrap bale wrapper made by Underhaug has a side mounted pick-up mechanism which enables a newly deposited bale lying on the ground to be automatically engaged by the pick-up mechanism as the bale wrapper apparatus is moved forwardly, and the mechanism can then be operated to raise the bale from the ground and then to transfer the bale laterally so as to be deposited on the turntable. Wrapping of the bale then takes place, followed by rearward tilting of the turntable in order to deposit the wrapped bale on the ground.
This side mounted pick-up mechanism increases the overall width of the bale
REFERENCES:
patent: 4018036 (1977-04-01), Cicci
patent: 4641484 (1987-02-01), Popelka
patent: 4685270 (1987-08-01), Brambilla
patent: 4934131 (1990-06-01), Frisk et al.
patent: 4972656 (1990-11-01), Haugstad
Coan James F.
Kverneland Underhaug AS
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