ES1312103U - EQUIPMENT FOR CONTINUOUS EXTRACTION OF BALE ROPE. - Google Patents

Abstract

Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, characterized in that it is constituted from a frame (1) on which a table (2) is established that includes a conveyor chain (3) that receives the bales (4) in a transverse position, with its strings (5) arranged on its lower and upper base and lateral faces, table (2) that includes a static blade (6) arranged longitudinally, on which the bales (4) are passed, behind which a gantry (7) is arranged on whose sidebar, and in correspondence with its middle area, a telescopic arm (9) is linked through a joint (8) that can be extended by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (10) and that can be tilted laterally by means of a second hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (11), with the particularity that the telescopic arm (9) ends at the bottom in a head (13) that includes at least one folding claw (14) by means of a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder, and that adopts a perpendicular arrangement to the strings. (5), having a claw seat (15) on which the claw is wedged with the ropes in the claw actuation maneuver. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Equipment for continuous bale rope extraction

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The present invention relates to equipment that has been specially designed to be able to extract the strings from bales of forage, straw, cardboard or any other packed material, all through a continuous process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the practical field of application of the invention, that of livestock farming, it is common to use straw left over from the cereal harvest as feed for livestock.

This straw, as is known, is supplied in properly compacted prismatic bales that are stabilized by ropes to ensure their configuration.

Although there are known devices for unstacking these bales from trailers or piles established in the facilities in question, once the bale has been unstacked, the ropes that partially wrap it must be removed so that the straw is unclumped, a manoeuvre that until now was carried out manually, which is a problem and requires significant physical effort, since the rope itself, although easy to cut with any sharp accessory, is not so easy to remove, as it is "crushed" by the weight of the bale itself.

In an attempt to overcome this problem, document US 5375316 is known, which describes a system for collecting bale cables in which a circular saw is used to cut the cables, which are then rolled up using a complex mechanism.

The fundamental problem with this device is that the circular saw, when rotating at high speed, can cause sparks when coming into contact with soil or small stones that could be found among the straw, metal elements such as screws or pieces detached from the machinery intended for baling it, which would cause a fire, being an extremely dangerous solution for the field of application pursued in the present invention.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The recommended continuous bale string extraction equipment fully satisfactorily resolves the problem described above, allowing the strings to be removed from prismatic bales quickly and easily, through a continuous, much safer process.

To this end, and more specifically, the equipment of the invention is made up of a frame on which a table is placed with a conveyor chain on which the bales are deposited with their corresponding ropes.

The conveyor chain advances the bales placed on the table in a controlled manner, passing them through a static blade arranged longitudinally on the table in an intermediate area. This blade is responsible for cutting the bales' strings at their lower base, while they advance slowly, preventing any sparks from being generated.

It should be noted that the present invention is intended for cutting ropes of a textile or plastic nature, but in no way for cutting metal cables, which are completely obsolete in the intended field of practical application, so the blade edge will have a high durability by virtue of the nature of the elements it is intended to cut.

Once the strings have been cut, the bales continue to advance to the end of the table where a gantry is located, in the middle of which there is a telescopic arm that tilts transversely to the table, which ends in a string extraction head.

Said head includes a folding claw by means of a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder, which adopts a perpendicular arrangement to the bales, and consequently to the strings thereof, so that said head, once brought close to the bale by virtue of the telescopic nature of the arm to which it is associated, allows the strings to be extracted when the claw is activated, and closes by embracing the strings against a claw seat, materialised in a double plate with a curvature in accordance with that of the claw, between which a longitudinal space or slot is defined on which the claw is wedged, with the strings, thus preventing them from slipping.

Depending on the specific needs of each case, the claw may be single or double, without affecting the essence of the invention.

Once the strings have been firmly grasped by the head, the latter will move vertically through its telescopic arm, to completely extract the strings, to subsequently fold laterally like a pendulum, extend again and open the claw or claws, so that the strings fall by gravity outside the work area of the table, making the bale advance once devoid of strings to a discharge area, corresponding to the end of the table, on which a trailer or any other device can be placed to transport the de-clumped straw.

Optionally, this maneuver is facilitated by including pairs of arms on the sides of the bale on which rotating bars are placed that act as tensioning elements for the rope and that guide said ropes in their extraction maneuver.

Finally, it remains to be noted that the device will include sensors and a control and programming interface that will allow the movement of the different moving elements involved in the device to be controlled so that the equipment can adapt to bales of different sizes.

This creates an extremely versatile mechanism that can work continuously and adapt to bales of different sizes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that will be made below and in order to help better understand the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of its practical implementation, a set of drawings is included as an integral part of said description, in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a perspective view of a device for the continuous extraction of bale strings made in accordance with the object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a side perspective view of the device of the invention.

Figure 3.- Shows a perspective detail of the equipment at the level of the rope cutting area and their extraction.

Figure 4.- Shows a perspective detail of the string extractor head in its lateral tilting position and discharge of said strings outside the work area of the table.

Figure 5.- Shows another perspective view of the equipment of the invention.

Figure 6.- Finally, it shows a detail in perspective of a variant of the equipment in which it has a double claw.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the figures shown, it can be observed how the equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings of the invention is constituted from a frame (1) on which a table (2) is established that includes a conveyor chain (3) on which the bales (4) are deposited in a transverse position, with their strings (5) arranged on their lower and upper base and lateral faces.

According to figure 2, on the middle rear area of the table (2) and in a longitudinal arrangement, a static blade (6) is established on which the bales move in the movement of the conveyor chain, causing the cutting of said ropes (5) at a lower level of the base of the bales.

Immediately behind said blade, a gantry (7) is established, on the side of which, and in correspondence with its middle area, a telescopic arm (9) is linked through a joint (8), which can be extended by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (10) and which can be tilted between a pair of lateral guides (12) by means of a second hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (11).

The telescopic arm (9) ends at the bottom in a head (13) that includes a folding claw (14) by means of a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder, and that adopts a position perpendicular to the ropes (5), having a claw seat (15) materialized in a double plate of curvature according to that of the claw, between which a longitudinal space or slot (16) is defined on which the claw is wedged, with the ropes, thus preventing its sliding.

Optionally, the ropes in their extraction maneuver will be passed through lateral tensioners (18) materialized in rotating bars supported on horizontal arms (17), as shown in figure 4, attached to the gantry (7), and which exert a vertical tension on the ropes until they are completely detached from the bale, facilitating said unlinking process.

It only remains to point out finally that the folding claw (14) can be double, as shown in figure 5, without affecting the essence of the invention.

As previously mentioned, it will include sensors and a control and programming interface that allows the movement of the different moving elements involved in the device to be controlled so that it can adapt to bales of different sizes.

Based on this structure, the team's operations are as follows:

a) The bales (4) are placed crosswise one by one on the table (2).

b) The conveyor chain moves the bales by passing them through the blade (6), which causes their strings to be cut at the level of their lower base.

c) The bale with the ropes cut is advanced until it is placed under the gantry (7).

d) The telescopic arm (9) expands downwards until the head (13) is flush with the bale.

e) The claw (14) is activated, locking into the bale and causing the strings to be firmly held between the claw seat (15) and the claw itself (14).

f) The telescopic arm is retracted vertically upwards to a height sufficient for the strings to separate from the lower base of the bale.

g) The telescopic arm (9) is swung laterally on the side guides (12) to the position shown in figure 3.

h) The claw (14) is released, causing the ropes to fall by gravity towards a collection area away from the work area of the table (2).

i) The bale is advanced again until it leaves the table (2), falling by gravity into a collection device, which causes the bale to become unclumped.

Once the strings have been firmly grasped by the head, the latter will move vertically through its telescopic arm, to completely extract the strings, to subsequently fold laterally like a pendulum, extend again and open the claw, so that the strings fall by gravity out of the work area of the table, making the bale advance once devoid of strings to a discharge area, corresponding to the end of the table, on which a trailer or any other device can be placed to transport the de-clumped straw.

Claims (1)

1a.- Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, characterized in that it is constituted from a frame (1) on which a table (2) is established that includes a conveyor chain (3) that receives the bales (4) in a transverse position, with its strings (5) arranged on its lower and upper base and lateral faces, table (2) that includes a static blade (6) arranged longitudinally, on which the bales (4) are passed, behind which a gantry (7) is arranged on whose sidebar, and in correspondence with its middle area, a telescopic arm (9) is linked through a joint (8) that is extendable by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (10) and that can be made to tilt laterally by means of a second hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (11), with the particularity that the telescopic arm (9) ends at the bottom in a head (13) that includes at least one folding claw (14) by means of a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder, and that adopts a perpendicular arrangement to the head (13). the ropes (5), having a claw seat (15) on which the claw is wedged with the ropes in the claw actuation maneuver. 2a.- Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, according to claim 1a, wherein the equipment includes sensors and a control and programming interface for the movement of the different moving elements that participate in the equipment to adapt to bales of different sizes. 3a.- Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, according to claim 1a, wherein the telescopic arm (9) is capable of laterally tilting between a pair of lateral guides (12) provided in the gantry (7). 4a.- Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, according to claim 1a, wherein in correspondence with the exit end of the table (2) a discharge area for the bales without strings is defined. 5a.- Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, according to claim 1a, wherein a string unloading area (5) is defined laterally to the gantry (7). 6a.- Equipment for the continuous extraction of bale strings, according to claim 1a, wherein the equipment has lateral tensioners (18) for the strings in the extraction process, materialized in rotating bars supported on horizontal arms (17) attached to the gantry (7).