Materials bagging machine

Details Materials bagging machine Materials bagging machine

2000-09-29

2001-06-05

Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)

Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea

Processes

Bag filling

C141S073000, C141S114000, C141S313000, C053S527000, C100S100000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06240980

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to bagging of materials, e.g., such as agricultural material, using a bagging machine that collects, compacts and loads the material into a large bag deployed from the machine and more particularly it relates to the manner of compacting and filling the bag.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bagging of agricultural materials such as silage is accomplished by large mobile machines having a wheeled chassis supporting a tunnel. The tunnel is irregularly shaped but roughly resembles a short cylinder about 4 ft. in length and 6 ft.-12 ft. in diameter. Material is forced into the tunnel through an inlet end at the forward end of the tunnel, the material is compacted in the tunnel and then fed through the open end at the rear of the tunnel and into a bag that encloses and surrounds the open rear end of the tunnel. The feeding process is continuous and the bag is deployed off the tunnel as the machine moves away from the bag. When filled, the bag may be 8 ft.-12 ft. in diameter and up to 500 ft. in length.
A concern in the bagging of such materials is compaction and total filling of the bag (sometimes referred to simply as compaction). If the material does not fill the bag, i.e., it is not tightly compacted into the bag, there is the obvious loss of efficiency (more bags are required for storing a given quantity of material, the bags take up more space, filling bags too loosely takes more time than filling one bag tightly) and the not so obvious concern for bag tearing (loose folds in the bag are more likely to be snagged and wind damaged) and material preservation (the compacted material inhibits circulation of air which induces spoiling of the material).
The early versions of these bagging machines attained the desired fill and compaction by placing a backstop at the end of the bag with cables extended from the backstop along the sides of the bag and to a reel at each side of the bagging machine. The reels deployed cable only when a desired back pressure was achieved and thus as the bag was filled, additional bag length was deployed only when the existing bag length was desirably compacted.
The backstop and cable (each cable being, e.g., 300 ft. in length) were initially considered an undesirable necessity. Once the bag was filled, the long cables had to be rewound back onto the reels, the backstop loaded onto the machine and hauled to a new site where start up required remounting the backstop and cable connections.
Compaction can be enhanced by providing the bagging machine with brakes. However, the pressures needed to achieve sufficient compaction and filling of the bag will typically produce skidding of the machine's wheels and particularly in conditions where the ground surface is slippery as when wet. Other systems intended to replace the backstop and cable connection include devices in the tunnel, e.g., internal cables and gate-like members that impede the flow through the tunnel (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,676,594, 5,857,313 and 5,860,271). Still others provide for an anchor device to be embedded in the bag material (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,247 and application for U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/335,240). However, none of these replacement systems achieve the desired compaction as previously achieved using the backstop and cable system. The present invention is believed to be a step closer to achieving the desired compaction and filling of the bag.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
To appreciate the invention, one must first appreciate what is taking place as the material is being bagged. The following explanations are based at least in part on theory but are believed to accurately explain how and why the invention works as it does.
The inlet to the tunnel is an opening that is narrow in height and substantially the width of the tunnel and located near the tunnel floor. A rotor occupies this opening and as it rotates, tines carried by the rotor force, e.g., silage material, through the inlet. Consider the situation wherein the bag deployment is inhibited by the backstop. The material is first piled up against the backstop and then the space forward of the backstop is filled in. All during this process, the material is also being compacted. As the resistance to compaction and bag filling increases, the resistance to material flow into the tunnel and bag increases. The rotor is equal to this task and continues to force material into the tunnel.
The flow of material seeks the path of least resistance and builds upwardly. As the material height increases, the weight of the material further increases the resistance and much of the pressure is now directed forwardly against the front tunnel wall, i.e., above the inlet, as well as upwardly and rearwardly. As long as the backstop is prevented from moving relative to the tunnel (or vice versa), the material movement continues to fill the tunnel upwardly. The operator need only appreciate at what point in the pressure build up that the entire tunnel is filled and desirably compacted. The brakes on the cable reel drums are set to release at that pressure and the machine moves forward to deploy additional bag length. The bag and the material in the bag remain stationary and the movement of the machine away from the bag produces additional space behind the machine for receiving additional material. This process is repeated until the bag is filled.
The process as described requires a pressure build up far in excess of what is needed to compact the silage. However, the excessive pressure is required in order to fill the bag to the top. That is, the movement of the incoming silage to the unfilled space at the top of the bag requires forcing the material upwardly through a 3 ft.-5 ft. thickness or more of the material that has already been compacted.
The alternate processes using gates in the tunnel are designed to pre-compact the material but they do not successfully force the material to the upper reaches of the bag. The alternate anchor device inhibits movement of the machine but there is again difficulty in achieving the holding power necessary to force the material to the upper reaches of the bag.
THE INVENTION
The present invention is largely a recognition that achieving the desired density of the material is not the problem but instead it is the need to achieve the force necessary to cause material flow upwardly through the compacted material depth so as to fill the bag to the upper reaches of the bag height. The invention provides a solution to the problem in the form of an upwardly and rearwardly directed ramp. The ramp begins near the rotor at the front of the tunnel and extends upwardly and rearwardly to the rear end of the tunnel where it reaches a height of 2 ft.-3 ft. (this height may vary). Material flow is directed up the ramp and off the ramp end and directly into the bag. The material in the bottom 2 ft. or 3 ft. of the bag is compacted from the top down as material is forced over the ramp. Thus, as back pressure builds to the point where the machine is forced forward (opposed by the brakes of the machine), the forward movement opens a gap behind the ramp which as explained is filled from the top down. The pressure required to direct material to the top of the bag is significantly reduced (the material height or depth that has to be penetrated by material flow is reduced) and is within the capability of the machine brakes which is also sufficient to produce the desired compaction.
Whereas U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,671,594 and 5,857,313 provide a press plate that purports to direct the material outwardly and upwardly, it extends only a short distance in the tunnel. As material builds in the tunnel, the material will simply flow up and over the plate and follow a path of least resistance along the bottom of the tunnel and in the manner as discussed above. Such does not provide the desired filling of the bag and in both patents, cable loop compression is provided to enhance compaction of the material inside the tunnel.
The advantages of the invention will be better understood and appreciated upon referenc

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