Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A device for deploying tubular, flexible, sheet material,
and methods of utilization thereof
Field of the invention
This invention relates to a device for forming an
extended tube usable as storage or as a shelter, by
deploying a compressed assembly of tubular, flexible,
sheet material (normally plastic material), and to methods
for utilizing such device.
The primary intended use of the device is for the
bagging of bales of forage (e.g. grasses and legumes) for
the production of silage.
Another use of the device is for constructing a
greenhouse.
Yet another use of the device is the construction of
a temporary shelter for human occupation.
Prio
It is known to bag so-called "round" bales of forage
(the bales are actually cylindrical) in individual plastic
bags. A round bale handler for this purpose is described
in my prior Canadian patent No. 1,209,538 issued August
12, 1986, and in my equivalent U.S. patent No. 4,648,769
issued March 10, 1987.
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Summary of_the $nvention
One object of the present invention is to provide a
device that will facilitate the efficient, mechanised
storage of round bales in an elongated plastic tube. The
bales are arranged along the tube in an end-for-end
relationship. At the same time they are also preferably
arranged in a triangular side-by-side stacked relationship,
i.e. with two bales resting on a lower part of the tube on
the ground and a third bale supported above and between
the two lower bales, with the upper part of the plastic
tube extending over this triangular assembly.
A further object of the invention is to provide a
device that can be used for deploying an extended tube of
flexible sheet material, for use either in the storage of
round bales as explained above, or in the storage of other
goods, or in the formation of a shelter, such as a green-
house or a form of temporary housing.
Brief Description of the Drawings
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An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the
drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side view of the device with some parts
cut away;
Figure 2 is an end view, as seen on the line II-II in
Figure l;
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Figure 3 is a section taken on the line III-III in
Figure l;
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side view illustrating how
the device is used;
Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V in Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a cut-away side view of a modification; and
Figure 7 is a partial sectional taken on the line
VII-VII in Figure 6.
Detailed Description of the Prefered Embodiments
As seen in Figures 1 to 3, a deploying device 9 consists
of a framework of steel members, comprising parallel,
horizontally extending, tubular members 10 to 18, arranged
in the shape of an arch and interconnected by transverse
tubular members 19 and 20 that are spaced apart in the
front-to-rear direction. The rearward member 19 extends up
one side of the framework from a bottom end l9a, over the
convex top thereof, and down the other side to the other
bottom end l9b. The forward member 20 is similar, except
that its bottom ends are joined together by a transverse
portion 20a. Covering and supported by this framework
there is a skin 21 of sheet steel that is provided with a
series of horizontal ridges 22 spaced around its full
extent from one lower edge 23 to the other lower edge 24.
Secured to the member 20 at the front end of the device
there is a steel guard plate 25, an inner edge 26 of which
defines the same arch-shape as the framework. An upper
part 25a of the guard plate 25 is hinged to lower parts 25b
by hinges 27 to enable the upper part to swing forward and
down. This arrangement lowers the total height of the
device for transportation. In use, the upper part 25a will
be secured in its erect position as shown in the drawings.
Secured to a lower forward face of the guard plate 25 on each
side of the device, there is a vertical tubular member 28 that
is curved forward at 29 and then rearwardly to form a skid 30
by means of which the device is supported on the ground.
Alternatively, the member 30 can serve to mount wheels
(not shown) that support the device on the ground.
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The portions 29 on each side of the device together support
an elongate rubber roller 31 that extends horizontally
across the front of the device and contacts the ground
while being freely pivotable about its axis. Pivoted by a
pin 32 to each member 28 there is an upstanding arm 33 of a
horizontal draw bar 34, in the transverse centre of which
there is a hook 35.
The front ends of the skids 30 are interconnected
across the device by a square-section, tubular member 36
and by a flat, horizontal, stabilizing platform 37. At the
rear edge of such platform there is a further, transverse,
tubular member 38. The member 36 acts as a stop for the
bottom edge of a vertical, protector plate 39 which hangs
down from a hinge 40, whereby, when desired, this plate can
be swung ~orwards and upwards to lie vertically against the
front of the device.
On the outside surface of the skin 21, about one third
of the distance to the rear of the device from the front
guard plate 25, there is welded a further tubular member 41
that forms a bulge that extends over the full extent of the
arch from its respective bottom ends 41a, 41b.
At their rear ends the upper members 13, 14 and 15 have
rearwardly projecting, extension rods 13a, 14a and 15a.
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate diagrammatically the
preferred manner of using the device for bagging bales.
A compressed assembly of tubular, plastic, sheet material
50, arranged in accordian pleats, is mounted over the arch
defined by the skin 21 immediately behind the guard plate
25. An end of this material (not shown) will have been
pulled off the device by hand~ closed, and anchored at a
desired location by suitable means. As the device 9 is
moved forward on its skids 30 and roller 31 along the
ground 42, the tubular sheet material 50 is drawn rear-
wardly away from the accordian pleat assembly over the
skin 21. The ridges 22 serve to facilitate this relative
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movement and to avoid the sheet material 50 adhering to the
skin 21. Immediately in front of the location where the
sheet material 50 passes over the bulge caused by the member
41, there will be placed a tube 51 to lie over the sheet
material 50~ This tube 51 is preferably made of PVC piping
and extends around almost the entire circumference of the
tubular material 50. The two ends of this tube 51, which are
preferably located beneath the device 9, are then inter-
connected by an elastic member (not shown). The tube 50 thus
becomes a closed hoop extending comparatively tightly around
the tube of sheet material 50 on the skin 21 of the device,
but nevertheless havîng some ability to expand and contract
its diameter by means of flexure of the elastic member that
joins its two ends. The tube 51 and member 41 thus cooperate
to form means for inhibiting (but not preventing) relative
movement between the device 9 and the extended tube of sheet
material 50 formed behind the device. Combined with the
anchoring of the initial end of the material, the result is
to apply a forwardly directed tension to the extended tube as
the device travels forward.
The bales of forage are introduced into the extended tube
50 by means of a round bale handler of the type described in
the above-mentioned patent. Only the forward tool portion 52
of this handler is shown in outline in Figure 4. This tool
portion 52 will be mounted on a tractor (not shown), whereby
it can be moved Eorwards and backwards, sideways, and up and
down, as required. A round bale 53 is speared by, and
supported on, a spike 58 that projects from the tool portion
52. This spike 58 can place a bale 54 on top of the lower
portion of the plastic material that rests on the ground in a
loading area situated beneath a rearwardly projecting over-
hang of the skin 21. Shown at 54-57 are similar bales that
have already been loaded into the extended tube 50 in the
end-for-end and side-by-side triangular arrangement described
above. Figure 4 shows ~he next bale 53 in the process of
being placed between, and on top of, the bales 54, 55.
Figure 5 shows a previously loaded third bale in position as
bale 56. When the bale 53 is thus in position, the spike 58
is withdrawn from it, if necessary employing a hydraulically
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operated push-off plate 59 to prevent the bale from being
withdrawn with the spike. The long reach of the round bale
handler is especially use~ul in enabling the bales to be
effectively introduced into the tube through the arch
formed by the deploying device and deposited on the plastic
material lying on the ground in the loading area or on an
already loaded bale, beneath the overhang.
If the goods to be stored are other than bales, a
loading machine best suited to the handling of such goods
can be used to load them into the extended tube as it is
formed.
A transverse I-beam 60 of the tool portion 52 has a
hole at each end, into which holes there are hooked the two
ends of a loop of cable 61, the centre of which is used to
engage the draw-bar hook 35 for pulling the device 9 forward
along the ground. The cable 61 will tend automatically to
centre itself in the hook 35. However, in addition, during
such forward pulling operation the spike 58 can be inserted
in the space 62 (~igure 5) between the stacked bales. This
ensures centering and straight pulling of the device 9.
The forward movement of the device will preferably be
incremental, rather than continuous, with the bales being
inserted while the device is stationary between movements.
During the forward movement, the roller will serve the
function of smoothing the path in front of the device, e.g.
pushing any sharp rocks into the ground and flattening any
straw stubble or other projecting growth, in order to
minimise damage to the plastic material that comes to lie
on the ground.
The invention is not limited to use with bales. Any
other goods can be stored in the extended tube as it is
being formed, and can serve the function of retaining the
tube erect.
Another use for a modified version 9' (Figures 6 and 7)
of the device 9 is for the construction of a shelter for
temporary human accommodation, or for the storage of goods,
or as a greenhouse. In the former cases the plastic
material of the tube 50 will preferably be opaque (e.g. a
plastic sheet reinforced with nylon fibers, white on the
outside, and black on the inside). On the other hand, for
greenhouse use, the material of the tube 50 will be
translucent. As shown in Figure 6, the device 9' is shorter
in the front-to-rear direction than the device 9, but other-
wise it has essentially the same in structure, although the
arch is semicircular (Figure 7). If preferred, the arch can
be semielleptical or of any other convenient curved shape.
The framework members 11 and 17 support a platform 63 on
which a man can stand to erect a fixed support framework
(not shown) that will be required to keep the tube 50 erect
as it is deployed behind the device when the latter moves
forward. Such a support framework could, for example,
consist of a system of aluminum or fiberglas tubes designed
for easy locking into place at regular intervals along the
extended tube as it is formed.
When such a shelter is used as a greenhouse, if desired
the portion of the tube 50 that forms the floor can be cut
down the middle and rolled to the sides to provide access
to the ground. Alternatively, the crops can be planted
through the plastic. As a still further alternative, the
plastic can be left intact and a hydroponic system used.
The device 9' can be moved forward by any suitable
means, one of which, as shown in Figure 6, is a winch 64
mounted on the platform 63 and having a cable 65 extending
forwardly to a fixed object (not shown), in which case
there will no longer be any need for the draw bar 34.
~oreover, when a greenhouse is being formed, the roller
31 can often be dispensed with, especially if the ground
has already been cultivated in advance.
The triangular stacking arrangement adopted in the
present process is advantageous in providing good air
circulation around the stored bales, a feature that is
especially useful when the bales are of straw and require
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to be treated with an injection of anhydrous ammonia in the
known manner. By injecting the gaseous ammonia at one
location in the loaded and sealed tube, a large number of
bales can be treated simultaneously by virtue of the space
62, much more economically from the viewpoint of labour
than has hitherto been possible.
Alternatively, the air can be evacuated from the loaded
and sealed tube by a suitable vacuum device, e.g. as is
often desirable for the storage of vegetables etc.
Finally, the product, i.e. a sealed tube loaded with
bales that in due time become edible animal silage, can
constitute a feeding station to which the animals are
brought, without any need to transport the silage to the
herd. The farmer need simply slit the plastic material
from one end of the tube to the other to expose the silage,
and then mount an electric fence along the silage, through
which fence the animals can feed in an orderly manner.
