Harvesters – Raking and bundling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-18
2001-10-16
Will, Thomas B. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Raking and bundling
C100S088000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301869
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to baler devices and more specifically it relates to a baler plug removing system for unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab.
Hay balers, particularly round hay balers, are notorious for plugging up in the front pickup portion and the feed rollers. Depending upon weather and hay conditions, sometimes the hay will wrap around the feed rollers. Other times the hay will “build up” in the pickup portion of the baler without entering the feed rollers. Typically, the user must turn off the power take-off to the baler and get out of the tractor to manually remove the plugged hay. During undesirable weather conditions, this can be physically demanding upon the user because of the immediate climate changes. Many users of balers find it easier to leave the power take-off engaged when attempting to unplug the baler. This is extremely dangerous and often leads to the user either losing a limb or becoming completely drawn into the baler usually leading to death of the user. Hence, there is a need for a baler plug removing system that eliminates the need for the user to leave the comfort of the tractor cab and risk bodily injury.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Balers have been in use for years. Typically, the conventional round baler will have a plurality of belts rotating about a plurality of rollers, a pickup for receiving the hay row, and a pair of opposing counter-rotating feed rollers that feed the hay from the pickup between the belts thereby forming the round bale. Often times the hay will become plugged within the pickup or the feed rollers making it difficult for the user to continue baling. The user must stop baling and manually unplug the baler. This is not only time consuming but also physically demanding upon the user. In addition, many farm accidents occur when a user is attempting to unplug the baler while the baler is still in operation. There currently is no system that allows a user to unplug a conventional baler without leaving the tractor cab.
Examples of attempted baler unpluggers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,516,389 to Core; 4,444,098 to Soteropulos; 5,447,022 to Webb; 4,782,652 to White; 4,604,858 to Esau et al; 5,826,418 to Clostermeyer et al which are all illustrative of such prior art.
Core (U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,389) discloses a round hay-baling machine. Core teaches a pickup assembly, a wind guard assembly, a latch assembly, and a twine tie assembly that has an elongated cable at opposite ends of the twine tie and to the latch assembly. When the baler is plugged, the twine tie assembly is actuated to pull the cable thereby releasing the latch assembly to allow the wind guard assembly to pivot away from the pickup assembly.
Soteropulos (U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,098) discloses a cylindrical baler with selfcleaning gate. Soteropulos teaches a frame with a pair of opposing sidewalls, a plurality of side-by-side endless belts on rollers, and a bale discharge gate.
Webb (U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,022) discloses a crop cutting apparatus for a round baler. Webb teaches a crop severing device that extends into the expandable chamber to cut crop material on the surface of the cylindrical package as it is being formed.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab. There currently is no system for unplugging a baler without the user having to physically remove the hay from the pickup and feed rollers.
In these respects, the baler plug removing system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of baler devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new baler plug removing system construction wherein the same can be utilized for unplugging a conventional hay baler without the user having to risk bodily injury or leave the comfort of the tractor cab.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new baler plug removing system that has many of the advantages of the baler devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new baler plug removing system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art baler devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a support member having a front edge, a plurality of wheels rotatably attached to the support member, a pair of opposing tracks that are secured to the conventional baler that receive the plurality of wheels, a pair of front bearing for guiding the front of the support member, a pair of rear bearings for guiding the rear of the support member, a first blade member slidably positioned upon the front edge of the support member, a motor mechanically connected to the first blade member to reciprocate the first blade member upon the support member and a pair of hydraulic cylinders connected to the support member for extending/retracting the support member along the tracks. It can be appreciated that other well known means of extending/retracting the support member along the tracks, such as an actuator chain gear system, may be utilized instead of a pair of hydraulic cylinders. When hay becomes plugged between the feed rollers of the conventional baler, the user actuates the pair of hydraulic cylinders that extend the support member and the reciprocating first blade member into the feed rollers thereby pushing and severing the plugged hay. The user retracts the support member and the first blade member from the feed rollers when the hay plugged between the feed rollers has been removed.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a baler plug removing system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.
Another object is to provide a baler plug removing system that unplugs a conventional baler.
An additional object is to provide a baler plug removing system that can be added to an existing baler.
A further object is to provide a baler plug removing system that reduces the amount of “down time” incurred by unplugging the baler.
Another object is to provide a baler plug removing system that allows the user to unplug a baler without leaving the comfort of the tractor cab.
A further object is to provide a baler plug removing system that reduces the amount of injuries incurred by farmers from unplugging balers.
Another object is to provide a baler plug removing system is adaptable to most designs of balers.
A further object is to provide a
Inforcer, Inc.
Mammen Nathan
Neustel Michael S.
Will Thomas B.
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