Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02352550 2001-07-04
CROP MATERIAL PROCESSOR
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a crop material processor and more
particularly to a crop material processor for disintegrating baled crop
materials.
$ackground of the Invention
Crop materials, such as straw, hay or other like forage, or animal bedding,
are
often baled for storage and transportation. In some instances, it is necessary
to break
the bale apart in order to spread the crop material for animal bedding or to
dispense the
crop material as feed.
A machine to disintegrate bales of crop material is sometimes known as a baled
crop material processor. A typical machine is described in US Patent 4,830,292
which
issued to Frey on May 16, 1989. A baled crop material processor basically
comprises
a container for receiving the bales, a disintegrator often in the form of a
roller with
cutters or flails for chopping or shredding the material from the bale, a
mechanism
including manipulator rollers to direct the bale to the disintegrator and a
discharge slot
such that the crop material is discharged from the bail processor. Any number
of
manipulator rollers are possible, however, the disintegrator is located
between and
below two of the manipulator rollers. The baled crop material is supported and
rotated
by the rollers. As the crop material bale rotates the disintegrator breaks
apart the outer
portion of the baled crop material first and then proceeds to break apart the
crop
material towards the centre of the bale until the crop material is completely
broken
apart. As the baled crop material is disintegrated, the loose crop material is
driven by
the flails to be discharged from the machine through the discharge slot. The
discharged crop material can be formed into windrows or discharged into feed
bunks
to be used as feed or it may be scattered to be used as animal bedding.
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One of the major problems which appears to occur with baled crop material
processors is that they tend to jam. This occurs when loose crop material
wraps
around the manipulator rollers or passes between the manipulator rollers and
the walls
of the container. Jams are generally dislodged by reversing the direction of
rotation of
the manipulator rollers. It has been found that jamming rarely occurs when the
bale is
firm, the result being that the only loose crop material that is produced, is
by the
disintegrator in the disintegrator opening between the manipulator rollers;
this loose
crop material is immediately driven out of the processor through the discharge
slot.
Loose crop material may be created by the manipulator rollers themselves, the
rotation
of the bale may shake it apart or the engaging action of the rollers may tear
or break
the crop material bale apart.
Usually, as the crop material bale rotates, the amount of crop material
disintegrated is not uniform from the outside to the inside of the crop
material bale.
This occurs because the outside is usually much harder than the inside, that
is the
inside is more loosely baled. Thus, when the exterior of the crop material
bale is being
disintegrated, that is at the start of the process, the crop material bale is
hard. Rotating
a hard crop material bale is relatively easy, and therefore uniform
disintegration takes
place along the periphery of the crop material bale. Furthermore, the crop
material
bale only breaks apart in the area of disintegration, the other parts of the
periphery
remain intact due to the hardness of the bale. However, once the softer, inner
core of
the crop material is reached, the crop material bale is often too loose to
remain intact.
Therefore, the softer, inner core is sometimes difficult to rotate. The softer
inner core
tends to break apart because of the rotation, and this loose crop material can
cause
jamming and impede rotation of the manipulator rollers.
Also, the teeth on the manipulator rollers engage the crop material bale to
effect
the rotation. This engaging action tends to grab the crop material bale. This
grabbing
action can be very similar to the disintegration action, and hence loose crop
material
can be created. Furthermore, the grabbing action may not release the crop
material
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bale and hence pull the crop material around the roller causing a wrap around
situation.
Moreover, if the crop material bale moves longitudinally and impacts the front
or
back wall of the container, then the crop material may be torn from the bale
by the
wall or the rotation of the crop material bale may be impeded by the contact
with the
wall of the container. Often, the result of this impeded rotation is that the
teeth of the
manipulator rollers tend to break the crop material bale apart, and this crop
material
may jam the roller, which is undesirable.
A further difficultly is to control bales of irregular shape such as
rectangular
bales, frozen bales or bales that have been stored for a period of time and
are flat on
one side. Sometimes, irregularly shaped bales can cause a jam to occur since
they do
not rotate properly.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need to provide a crop material
processor for
disintegrating baled crop material capable of keeping to a minimum the amount
of
loose crop material in the processor that may cause jamming.
Summary of the Invention
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a baled crop material
processor that minimizes jamming.
These and other objects are achieved in a baled crop material processor for
disintegrating baled crop material. The crop material processor comprises a
container
having a bottom, a front wall, a back wall, and left and right side walls for
receiving
and containing the crop material. A disintegrator having a flail roller that
is rotatable
about its own longitudinal axis is mounted to extend between the front and the
back of
the container. A number of flails are pivotally fixed about the flail roller
such that
they will extend radially from the flail roller as the flail roller rotates.
The processor
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further includes a discharge opening at the bottom of either the left or the
right side
wall to discharge the disintegrated baled crop material and a mechanism for
supporting
and manipulating the baled crop material so that it will be moved to the
disintegrator
in such a manner that disintegration of the baled crop material is carried out
primarily
by the disintegrator.
In accordance with an aspect of this invention, the processor may be
unidirectional, discharging the disintegrated crop material either to the left
or to the
right of the processor, or the processor may be bidirectional with a mechanism
for
allowing the operator to discharge from the left or the right. The direction
of rotation
of the flail roller will depend on the side of the processor that discharge is
desired.
The flail roller will rotate in the counter-clockwise direction for discharge
to the left
and in the clockwise direction for discharge to the right.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the support and
manipulation
mechanism includes at least two manipulator rollers rotatably mounted inside
the
container substantially parallel to the flail roller wherein at least one
roller is located
on each side of the flail roller to define a disintegration opening where crop
material is
accessed by the disintegrator. The cross-section of the manipulator rollers
may be
substantially square. A number of paddles that are channel shaped with a
projecting
end that is curved outwardly are mounted about each of the rollers. The
paddles are
positioned such that the plane of the paddles is at an angle 8 to a plane
through the
axis of the manipulator roller, where 0 s 8 s 90° and may be in the
order of 4~ °.
With regard to a particular aspect of this invention, the lead surface of the
paddles are made to face in different directions. In particular, the lead
surface of the
paddles at the front of the processor face towards the back of the processor,
and the
lead surface of the paddles at the back of the processor face towards the
front of the
processor.
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With regard to another aspect of the invention, the processor includes a
mechanism for connection between the processor flail roller and the a source
of
rotating power to assure that the flail roller rotates in the desired
direction. In
particular for a bidirectional processor, the direction of rotation may be
switched from
one to the other.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, each of the side walls
are
shaped to form a protrusion into the container in close proximity to the
paddles of the
manipulator rollers. Each of the side walls also has a substantially vertical
wall
portion below the protrusions and a wall portion sloping outwardly from above
the
protrusion.
The support mechanism further includes a number of hoops mounted in spaced
relationship within the container along the container length and positioned
above and
substantially perpendicular to the flail roller and the manipulator rollers.
Another particular aspect of the present invention is exemplified in the
flails that
are mounted on the flail roller, each flail comprises a bar with one end
having at least
one prong with a bevelled edge and the other end having a hollow cylindrical
section
to receive a bolt for pivotally mounting the flail to the flail roller.
Many other objects and aspects of this invention will be clear from the
detailed
description of the drawings
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention are described in the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the invention;
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Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Figure
1,
viewed in the direction indicated by II;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines III of the embodiment
shown
in Figure l;
Figure 4 is a side view of the flail in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 5 is a front view of the flail in figure 4;
Figure 6 is a back view of the manipulator paddle in accordance with the
present
invention;
Figure 7 is the top view of the manipulator paddle in figure 6;
Figure 8 is an embodiment of the processor in accordance with the present
invention to provide an alternate rotation direction for the flail roller;
Figure 9 illustrates a gear box used with the present invention;
Figure 10 illustrates a belt/chain pulley arrangement;
Figure 11 illustrates a bidirectional discharge processor in accordance with
the
present invention;
Figure 12 illustrates a further embodiment of a bidirectional discharge
processor
in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 13 illustrates a flail for a bidirectional discharge processor; and
Figure 14 illustrates a gear box for a bidirectional discharge processor.
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7 _
Detailed Description
By way of overview, the present description will include the structure of the
crop
material processor, the operation of the crop material processor and the
advantages of
the crop material processor in accordance with the present invention in that
order.
The baled crop material processor 1 in figures 1, 2 and 3 is built on a
chassis 3
that has a hitch 2 fixed to it for pulling the processor 1 by another machine,
usually a
tractor. Power to the baled crop material processor 1 is usually in the form
of a power
take-off and hydraulics that is provided by the tractor.
The baled crop material processor includes a container 10 that is mounted on
the
chassis 3 into which bales of crop material 12 are loaded. The crop material
12 may be
any type of hay, straw or other forage that can be used as feed or bedding for
animals.
The container 10 includes a front wall 100, a back wall 102, two sidewalls
104, 106
and a bottom 108. The front wall 100 of the container 10 is closest to the
tractor, the
back wall 102 is farthest from the tractor. The left side wall is identified
as wall 104,
while the right side wall is identified as wall 106.
Mounted inside the container 10 is a disintegrator 14 that includes a flail
roller
16. The flail roller 16 extends between the front wall 100 of the container 10
and the
back wall 102 of the container 10, normally along its entire length. The flail
roller 16
is mounted on bearings fixed to the front and back walls 100 and 102
respectively so
as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis. An input shaft 161 for
connection to the
2~ tractor power take-off is connected to the flail roller 16 to rotate it
under the control of
the tractor. The power take-off on most tractors rotates in only one
direction, that
being counter-clockwise when looking back from the tractor, thus the flail
roller 16 of
the disintegrator 14 will rotate in the counter-clockwise direction when
looking at it
from the front wall 100 as shown by the arrow 17.
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The disintegrator 14 further comprises a number of flails 18 pivotally mounted
on the flail roller 16. The flails 18 are intermittently spaced along the
length and
around the circumference of the roller 16. A flail 18 is illustrated in side
view in
figure 4 and in front view in figure 5. Flail 18 comprises a solid metal bar
180 having
a rectangular cross-section in this embodiment which is reverse bent at point
181 and
182. One end 183 of the bar is welded to a hollow cylindrical section 184 for
pivotally
mounting by a bolt 185 to two supports 186 that are welded to the roller 16.
The other
end 187 of the bar 180 is bevelled to provide a cutting or tearing edge 188.
The
reverse bend in the bar 180 allows it to lay close to the roller 16 when on
its back; the
cutting edge 188 faces away from the roller 16.
A discharge opening 40 is located at the bottom of the side walls 104 of the
container 10 which in this case is the left side wall. The discharge opening
40 is
formed by wall 104, the bottom 108 and the end walls 100 and 102 such that the
flails
18 on the flail roller 16 drive the shredded crop material along the bottom
108 to
discharge it from the processor 1. In addition, a discharge door 41 is hinged
at 42 to
an extension 43 from the side wall 104 such that it may be raised or lowered
to guide
the shredded bale material as it is discharged. When the discharge door 41 is
raised,
the discharged material will be spread over a wide area; when the discharge
door 41 is
lowered, the discharged material will form a windrow as the machine 1 moves;
and
when the discharge door 41 is in an intermediate position, the discharged
material can
be directed into a feed bunk.
The baled crop material processor 1 further includes means 24 for manipulating
the crop material 12 such that it will be disintegrated by the disintegrator
14, the
purpose of the manipulation means 24 is to maintain the crop material 12
substantially
intact for disintegration primarily by the disintegrator 14.
The manipulation means 24 comprises at least two rollers 26 rotatably mounted
inside the container 10 parallel to and above the flail roller 16. Each roller
26 extends
between the front wall 100 and the back wall 102 of the container 10. Each
roller 26 is
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_9_
rotatable about its own longitudinal axis in either direction usually by a
hydraulic
motor 262, though electrical motors may also be used. A pair of rollers 26,
one on
each side of the flail roller 16, defines a disintegration opening 28 where
crop material
12 is presented to the disintegrator 14. In this particular embodiment, the
cross-
section of the rollers 26 is substantially square having flat surfaces 261
however, it
may also be round. In order to rotate the bale 12 in a clockwise direction
which is the
preferred direction, both rotors 26 are made to rotate in a counter-clockwise
direction.
In addition to rotating the baled crop material, the rollers 26 define a
support surface
on which the crop material 12 is supported.
Further, a number of paddles 30 are mounted longitudinally along each side 261
of each of the rollers 26. The paddles 30 project substantially perpendicular
to the
roller surfaces 26. As illustrated in figures 6 and 7, the projecting end 301
of the
paddles 30 is curved outwardly. The paddles 30 are channel shaped to define a
front
1 ~ surface 302 with flanges 303 at the back for reinforcement.
When mounted in a spaced relationship on each side of the rollers 26, the
paddles 30 are positioned at an angle 8 relative to a plane through the axis
of roller 26
that is perpendicular to the side 261. In addition, the front side of the
paddles face the
direction of rotation. The angle 8 is more than 0 ° and less than 90
°, and is preferably
in the order of 45 degrees. Half of the paddles 30 closest to the front wall
100 of the
container 10 are angled such that they face towards the back wall 102, while
the other
half of the paddles 30 closest to the back wall 102 of the container 10 are
angled such
that they face towards the front wall 100. The front half of the paddles 30
are
2~ positioned in a substantially mirror image configuration relative to the
back half of the
paddles 30.
The manipulation means 24 further includes the side walls 104, 106 of the
container 10 to support the bale in the container. In addition, one or both
side walls
104 and 106 are adapted to be in close proximity to the curved edge 301 of the
paddles
30. The preferred profile for the walls 104 and 106 is illustrated in figure 2
wherein
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the walls 104 and 106 include a protrusion 32 projecting into the container 10
proximal to the support surface 261 defined by the rollers 26. The side walls
104 and
106 further have a substantially vertical wall portion 34 located below the
protrusion
32 and a wall portion 33 sloping outwardly from above the protrusion 32.
Also mounted inside the container 10 are a number of hoops 22 which prevent
the bale or bundles of loose crop material from dropping into the
disintegrator 16 all at
once. The hoops 22 are mounted between the sidewalk 104 and 106 of the
container
and are spaced so that the flails 18 and the paddles 30 pass between the hoops
22 as
10 the roller 16 and the rollers 26 rotate.
Though the embodiment of the baled crop material processor 1 has been
described as discharging the disintegrated bale crop material to the left of
the
processor l, it is within the scope of the present invention to provide a
processor 1
from which the disintegrated bale crop material is discharged from the right
of the
processor 1 as illustrated in figure 8. The construction of such a machine
would be the
minor image of the machines described with respect to figures 1 to 3. In this
embodiment, the flail roller 16 would be made to rotate in a clockwise
direction and
the flails 18 would be mounted on the roller 16 facing in the direction of
rotation. In
addition, the manipulator rollers 26 would continue to be rotatable in either
direction,
though clockwise would be their preferred direction of rotation. The paddles
30 on the
rollers 26 would be mounted facing the direction of preferred rotation.
Finally, the
discharge opening would be located on the right wall 106.
As indicated above, many tractors are unable to provide a power take-off that
rotates in a clockwise direction. Thus, the baled crop processor 1 in the
embodiment
in figure 8 further includes a gearbox 50 for converting the counter-clockwise
rotation
of the power take-off to a clockwise rotation required by the flail roller 16.
As
illustrated in figure 9, the gearbox 50 includes a enclosed housing 500 for an
oil bath
and a flange 510 for mounting the gear box to the front wall 100 of the
processor 1.
Two gears 501 and 502 fixed to shafts 503 and 504 are rotatably mounted within
the
CA 02352550 2001-07-04
housing by bearings 505, 506 and 507, 508 respectively. Gears 501 and 502
would
normally provide a 1 to 1 ratio, but other ratios could be used. Shaft 503
includes a
female input 509 to receive the shaft of the flail rotor 16. Shaft 504 has an
extension
511 outside of the housing 500 to which the power take-off shaft is connected
through
a universal joint coupler. When the power take-off shaft 161 rotates in its
normal
counter-clockwise direction, the flail roller 16 will rotate in the clockwise
direction as
shown in figure 8.
Though a particular gearbox has been shown, other gearboxes with or without
clutches, belts or chains may also be used to provide rotation reversal. In
addition,
under certain conditions, it might be preferable to drive the flail roller
using a
hydraulic motor. As most tractors do not have sufficient hydraulic capacity
for such a
motor, a hydraulic motor/power take-off pump configuration would be used. A
hydraulic motor provides the advantage of being able to rotate the flail
roller in either
direction.
Figure 10 schematically illustrates an arrangement 60 of belt or chain driven
pulleys that can provide a clockwise rotation to the flail roller from a power
take-off
turning in the counter-clockwise direction. In figure 10, pulleys 601, 602,
and 603 are
fixed relative to one another. Pulley 601 is connected to the flail roller 16,
pulley 602
is adapted to be connected to the power take-off shaft 161 and pulley 603 acts
as an
adjustable idle pulley. A belt or a chain is mounted about the pulleys as
shown and
tightened by pulley 603. As the pulley 602 is driven in the counter-clockwise
direction by the power take-off, pulley 602 will rotate in the clockwise
direction.
Figures 11 and 12 illustrate in cut away view, embodiments of a baled crop
material processor 1 where the operator can decide whether the disintegrated
crop
material is to be discharged from the left side or the right side of the
processor 1. The
processor 1 is similar to the processors described with regard to figures 1,
2, 3 and 8 in
that it includes a container 10 with side walls 104 and 106, a front wall 100
(cut
away), a back wall 102 and a base plate 118. The processor further includes a
flail
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roller 16 with flails 19, and at least two manipulator rollers 26 with paddles
30.
However, it would be preferable to use bidirectional flails 19 of the type
shown in
figure 13. Flail 19 comprises a solid metal bar 190 having a rectangular cross-
section.
One end 193 of the bar 190 is welded to a hollow cylindrical section 194 for
pivotally
mounting by a bolt 195 to two supports 196 that are welded to the roller 16.
The other
end 197 of the bar 190 is forked to provide two bevelled prongs 198 and 199
that each
provide a cutting or tearing edge. The prongs provide for a cutting or tearing
edge for
each rotation direction of the roller 16.
The processor further includes optional left and right discharge openings 40a
and
40b respectively. The left discharge opening 40a is located at the bottom of
the side
wall 104 of the container 10 whereas the right discharge opening 40b is
located at the
bottom of the right side wall 106. In figure 11, discharge opening 40a is
formed by
wall 104, the end walls 100 and 102 and a moveable bottom wall 109 that is
bolted in
place such that the flails 19 on the flail roller 16 rotating counter-
clockwise drive the
shredded crop material along the bottom wall 109 and the base plate 118 to
discharge
it from the processor 1 to the left. Alternately, the moveable bottom wall may
be
bolted between the side wall 104 and the base plate 118 such that the
discharge
opening 40b is formed by wall 106, the end walls 100 and 102 and a moveable
bottom
wall 109 such that the flails 19 on the flail roller 16 rotating clockwise
drive the
shredded crop material along the bottom wall 109 and the base plate 118 to
discharge
it from the processor 1 to the right. In figure 12, the moveable bottom wall
110
comprises a curved plate 111 slidably mounted within curved channels 112. The
moveable bottom wall 110 can be slid to be in contact with wall 106 to form
discharge
opening 40a with side wall 104 and the end walls 100 and 102 such that the
flails 19
on the flail roller 16 rotating counter-clockwise drive the shredded crop
material along
the curved plate 111 and the base plate 118 to discharge it from the processor
1 to the
left. Alternately, the curved plate 111 may be slid to be in contact with the
side wall
104 such that the discharge opening 40b is formed by wall 106, the end walls
100 and
102 and a moveable bottom wall 111 such that the flails 19 on the flail roller
16
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rotating clockwise drive the shredded crop material along the curved plate 111
and the
base plate 118 to discharge it from the processor 1 to the right.
In addition, the processor includes two discharge doors 41 a and 41 b. Each
discharge door 41a, 41b. is hinged at 42a, 42b to an extension 43a, 43b from
the side
walls 104 and 105 respectively such that when in use they may be raised or
lowered to
guide the shredded bale material as it is discharged, and when not in use they
may be
raised to a rest position. When the discharge door 41 a, 41 b is raised, the
discharged
material will be spread over a wide area; when the discharge door 41 a, 41 b
is lowered,
the discharged material will form a windrow as the machine 1 moves; and when
the
discharge door 41 a, 41 b is in an intermediate position, the discharged
material can be
directed into a feed bunk.
As illustrated in figures 11 and 12, it is desirable to be able to rotate the
flail
roller 16 in either direction. This may be accomplished by a tractor having a
controllable power take-off that may be rotated in either direction. Then
again, a
hydraulic motor/power take-off hydraulic pump arrangement could be used.
However,
a further embodiment for providing alternate rotation direction from a
unidirectional
power take-off is illustrated in figure 14. A gearbox 70 similar to the one
illustrated in
figure 9 can convert the counter-clockwise rotation of the power take-off to a
clockwise rotation that is applied to the flail roller 16 or it can apply the
counter-
clockwise rotation of the power take-off directly to the flail roller 16. The
gearbox 70
includes a enclosed housing 700 for an oil bath and a flange 710 for mounting
the gear
box 70 to the front wall 100 of the processor 1. Two gears 701 and 702 fixed
to shafts
703 and 704 are rotatably mounted within the housing by bearings 705, 706 and
707,
708 respectively. Gears 701 and 702 would normally provide a 1 to 1 ratio, but
other
ratios could be used. Shaft 703 includes a female input 709 to receive the
shaft of the
flail roller 16. Shaft 704 has an extension 711 outside of the housing 700 to
which the
power take-off shaft can be connected through a universal joint coupler. Shaft
703
also has an extension 712 outside of the housing 700 to which the power take-
off can
be connected. When the power take-off shaft 161 is connected to extension 711
and
CA 02352550 2001-07-04
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rotates in its normal counter-clockwise direction, the flail roller 16 will
rotate in the
clockwise direction, however the operator has the option of connecting the
power take-
off shaft 161 to extension 712 to make the flail roller 16 rotate in the
counter-
clockwise direction. Similarly the pulley system illustrated in figure 10 can
be
converted to a bidirectional pulley system by extending the shaft on pulley
601 for
connection to the power take-off.
Turning now to the operation of the crop material processor, reference to
figures
1 to 14 is still made throughout.
The crop material 12 is generally in the form a bale, usually round, of some
type
of forage such as straw or hay. The crop material 12 is loaded into the
container 10
onto the rollers 26 and the hoops 22. The orientation of the crop material 12
as it is
placed inside the container 10 does not matter . In addition to supporting the
crop
material 12, the purpose of the rollers 26 is to rotate the crop material 12
so that there
is always some portion of it available for disintegration by the flails 18. If
the crop
material 12 had no support, the flails 18 would cut a tunnel in the crop
material 12 and
jam. The walls 104 and 106 of the container 10 also support the crop material
12. The
slope of the sidewalk 104 tend to support the crop material 12 if it falls
apart into
loose crop material, as well as to enhance the turning of an irregularly
shaped bail.
Bales are often irregularly shaped, for example, round bails often have a flat
side from
sitting in the field.
As the rollers 26 rotate the baled crop material 12 in either direction, the
flail
roller 16, located near the bottom 108 of the container 10, disintegrates the
crop
material 12 by the extended rotating flails 18. The flails 18 grasp some of
the crop
material 12 and drive the loosened crop material 12 to the discharge slot 40
where the
disintegrated crop material 12 exits the crop material processor 1. It is
preferred to
rotate the bale in the clockwise direction as shown by arrow 120 in figure 2
when the
flail roller 16 is rotating in the counter-clockwise direction, ie the flails
18 and the bale
12 are moving in the same direction at their point of contact. For smooth
operation it
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is always preferred to have the bale 12 and the flail roller 16 rotating in
opposite
directions.
In accordance with the present invention, the manipulation means 24 which
includes rollers 26 and walls 104 and 106 combine to control the baled crop
material
12 so that the disintegration is performed primarily by the flails 18.
The curved paddles 30 on rollers 26 rotate the crop material 12 without
substantially breaking the crop material 12 apart. The leading corner 303 of
the curved
paddle 30 grasps the crop material 12 and rotates it and the curved upper
surface 301
tends to pull the paddle 30 out of the crop material 12 as the rollers 26 are
rotated. If
the paddle 30 were to continue grasping the crop material 12, the paddle 30
would
tend to pull the crop material apart and loose crop material could wrap around
the
roller 26 and/or be pulled between the side walls 104, 106 and the rollers 26,
this could
contribute to jamming. Therefore, the crop material 12 is maintained
substantially
intact while being rotated.
Further, the angled paddles 30 tend to guide the crop material 12
longitudinally
toward the centre of the crop processor l, that is away from the end walls 100
and 102.
Therefore, the end walls 100 and 102 are less likely to impede the rotating
crop
material 12 and cause the rollers 26 or the end walls 100 and 102 from
breaking apart
the crop material.
Moreover, the shape of the sidewalk 104 and 106 of the container 10 further
enhance the of the manipulation means 24. Since the paddles 30 are in close
proximity to the walls 104, 106 due to the protrusion 32, loose crop material
tends to
be prevented from passing between the walls 104, 106 and the rollers 26. If a
small
amount of crop material 12 does pass by the protrusion 32, the vertical
portion 34
allows for a gap so that the small amount of crop material 12 can readily pass
under
the roller 26 so as to not jam the crop material processor 1. Furthermore, the
sloped
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portion 33 of the sidewalk 104, 106 tends to allow any loose crop material 12
to be
carried up, away from the roller 26.
The direction of rotation of flail roller 16 in conjunction with the shape of
the
bottom 108 (figures 2 and 8) or the moveable bottom 109, 111 with base plate
118
(figures 1 l and 12) provides for a continuous flow of the crop material from
the time
that it is disintegrated by the flails 18, 19 to the time that it is
discharged from the
processor 1 either to the left or to the right.
The previously described embodiments of the present invention provide for
many advantages, including the following.
The curved paddles 30 contribute to the rotation of the baled the crop
material
12 without breaking the bale apart. The angled paddles 30 guide the baled crop
material 12 to remain centred within the length of the container 10. The
paddles 30
which are reinforced by their channel shape allow for aggressive rotation of
the baled
crop material 12.
The square cross-section of the rollers 26 offers greater support and allows
for
more aggressive rotation of the baled crop material 12. Further, square
rollers 26 may
be more readily manufactured and the base of the paddles 30 can be flat for
mounting.
The shape of the side walls 104, 106 tends to prevent passage of loose
material
between the walls 104, 106 and rollers 26 guiding the loose material upward
and away
from the rollers 26 while at the same time allowing material falling by the
walls 104,
106 to drop away freely. In addition, the falling loose material will fall
into the flow
of the material being discharged from the processor 1. All of these contribute
to the
overall advantage of preventing jams within the processor 1.
The ability to reverse the direction of rotation of rollers 26 is also
advantageous
since it provides a mechanism for unjamming a processor 1 particularly in the
areas of
CA 02352550 2001-07-04
- 17-
the rollers 26 or if the baled crop material 12 refuses to rotate in any
particular
direction.
A processor 1 which discharges the disintegrated baled crop material from the
right of the processor 1 is particularly advantageous in that it allows the
operator to
more adequately and comfortably control the operation. Most tractors have
their
controls located on the right hand side of the tractor and so it is more
natural and
common for the operator to observe the operation of the farm equipment behind
him
by turning to the right. The bidirectional processor 1 (figures 1 l and 12)
provides the
operator total versatility since it allows the operator to discharge the
disintegrated
baled crop material in any way desired.
A further advantage of the invention is that the flails 18 cut the twine that
ties the
crop material bale 12 together. The cut twine usually wraps around the flail
roller 16
1 ~ during the operation of the crop processor 1. The operator does not have
to cut the
twine around the crop material bale 12 before loading and needs only to remove
the
twine from the flail roller 16 before an amount of twine accumulates and
impedes the
operation of the crop processor 1.
Many modifications to the above described embodiments of the invention can be
carried out without departing from the scope thereof, and therefore the scope
of the
present invention is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
