Bale accumulator and bale accumulation methods
First Claim
1. A bale accumulator for grouping rectangular bales for group baling, comprising:
- a depositor mounted adjacent to a platform for sequentially depositing bale sets onto the platform, each bale set when deposited onto the platform being a pair of rectangular bales positioned upright and side-by-side in a packing orientation with their corresponding long sides being axially juxtaposed;
a packer apparatus mounted adjacent to the platform for packing one bale set at a time from the platform into a bundler trailing the platform each time a bale set is deposited onto the platform from the depositor;
the depositor comprising;
an inlet;
an outlet adjacent to the platform;
a first bale-receiving area and a second bale-receiving area on either side of a divider between the inlet and the outlet, a first entrance to the first bale-receiving area, and a second entrance to the second bale-receiving area;
a gate mounted to the divider for movement between a first position and a second position, the gate including a first diverting arm, a second diverting arm, and a trigger arm;
the first diverting arm extends into the first bale-receiving area, the second diverting arm closes the first entrance to the first bale-receiving area from the inlet leaving the second entrance to the second bale-receiving area open to the inlet for enabling a rectangular bale to drop into the second bale-receiving area through the second entrance from the inlet, and the trigger arm extends into the second bale-receiving area in a path of rectangular bales through the second bale-receiving area, when the gate is in its first position;
the second diverting arm extends into the second bale-receiving area, the first diverting arm closes the second entrance to the second bale-receiving area from inlet leaving the first entrance to the first bale-receiving area open to the inlet for enabling a rectangular bale to drop into the first bale-receiving area through the first entrance from the inlet, and the trigger arm extends into the first bale-receiving area in a path of rectangular bales through the first bale-receiving area, when the gate is in its second position;
each time a rectangular bale passes through the second bale-receiving area when the gate is in the first position it strikes the trigger arm in the second bale-receiving area rotating the gate from the first position to the second position in response moving the trigger arm out of the path of rectangular bales through the second bale-receiving area for enabling the rectangular bale to drop onto the platform through the outlet from the second bale-receiving area; and
each time a rectangular bale passes through the first bale-receiving area when the gate is in the second position it strikes the trigger arm in the first bale-receiving area rotating the gate from the second position to the first position in response moving the trigger arm out of the path of rectangular bales through the first bale-receiving area enabling the rectangular bale to drop onto the platform through the outlet from the first bale-receiving area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bale accumulator for grouping bales for group baling includes a platform, a depositor mounted adjacent to the platform for sequentially depositing bale sets onto the platform, each bale set when deposited onto the platform comprises a pair of bales positioned upright and side-by-side in a packing orientation so that their corresponding long sides are axially juxtaposed, and a packer apparatus mounted adjacent to the platform for packing one bale set at a time from the platform into a group baler trailing the platform each time a bale set is deposited onto the platform from the depositor without changing the packing orientation of the bales of each bale set.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A bale accumulator for grouping rectangular bales for group baling, comprising:
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a depositor mounted adjacent to a platform for sequentially depositing bale sets onto the platform, each bale set when deposited onto the platform being a pair of rectangular bales positioned upright and side-by-side in a packing orientation with their corresponding long sides being axially juxtaposed; a packer apparatus mounted adjacent to the platform for packing one bale set at a time from the platform into a bundler trailing the platform each time a bale set is deposited onto the platform from the depositor; the depositor comprising; an inlet; an outlet adjacent to the platform; a first bale-receiving area and a second bale-receiving area on either side of a divider between the inlet and the outlet, a first entrance to the first bale-receiving area, and a second entrance to the second bale-receiving area; a gate mounted to the divider for movement between a first position and a second position, the gate including a first diverting arm, a second diverting arm, and a trigger arm; the first diverting arm extends into the first bale-receiving area, the second diverting arm closes the first entrance to the first bale-receiving area from the inlet leaving the second entrance to the second bale-receiving area open to the inlet for enabling a rectangular bale to drop into the second bale-receiving area through the second entrance from the inlet, and the trigger arm extends into the second bale-receiving area in a path of rectangular bales through the second bale-receiving area, when the gate is in its first position; the second diverting arm extends into the second bale-receiving area, the first diverting arm closes the second entrance to the second bale-receiving area from inlet leaving the first entrance to the first bale-receiving area open to the inlet for enabling a rectangular bale to drop into the first bale-receiving area through the first entrance from the inlet, and the trigger arm extends into the first bale-receiving area in a path of rectangular bales through the first bale-receiving area, when the gate is in its second position; each time a rectangular bale passes through the second bale-receiving area when the gate is in the first position it strikes the trigger arm in the second bale-receiving area rotating the gate from the first position to the second position in response moving the trigger arm out of the path of rectangular bales through the second bale-receiving area for enabling the rectangular bale to drop onto the platform through the outlet from the second bale-receiving area; and each time a rectangular bale passes through the first bale-receiving area when the gate is in the second position it strikes the trigger arm in the first bale-receiving area rotating the gate from the second position to the first position in response moving the trigger arm out of the path of rectangular bales through the first bale-receiving area enabling the rectangular bale to drop onto the platform through the outlet from the first bale-receiving area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A bale accumulator for grouping rectangular bales for group baling, comprising:
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a depositor mounted adjacent to a platform for sequentially depositing bale sets onto the platform, each bale set when deposited onto the platform being a pair of rectangular bales positioned upright and side-by-side in a packing orientation so their corresponding long sides are axially juxtaposed; a packer apparatus mounted adjacent to the platform for packing one bale set at a time from the platform into a bundler trailing the platform each time a bale set is deposited onto the platform from the depositor; the depositor comprising; an inlet; an outlet adjacent to the platform; a first bale-receiving area and a second bale-receiving area on either side of a divider between the inlet and the outlet, a first entrance to the first bale-receiving area, and a second entrance to the second bale-receiving area; a gate mounted to the divider for movement between a first position and a second position, the gate including a first diverting arm, a second diverting arm, and a trigger arm; the first diverting arm extends downwardly from the divider into the first bale-receiving area between the first entrance and the outlet, the second diverting arm extends upwardly from the divider closing the first entrance to the first bale-receiving area from the inlet leaving the second entrance to the second bale-receiving area open to the inlet for enabling a rectangular bale to drop into the second bale-receiving area through the second entrance from the inlet, and the trigger arm extends downwardly from the divider into the second bale-receiving area between the second entrance and the outlet in a path of rectangular bales through the second bale-receiving area, when the gate is in its first position; the second diverting arm extends downwardly from the divider into the second bale-receiving area between the second entrance and the outlet, the first diverting arm extends upwardly from the divider closing the second entrance to the second bale-receiving area from inlet leaving the first entrance to the first bale-receiving area open to the inlet for enabling a rectangular bale to drop into the first bale-receiving area through the first entrance from the inlet, and the trigger arm extends downwardly from the divider into the first bale-receiving area between the first entrance and the outlet in a path of rectangular bales through the first bale-receiving area, when the gate is in its second position; each time a rectangular bale passes through the second bale-receiving area when the gate is in the first position it strikes the trigger arm in the second bale-receiving area rotating the gate from the first position to the second position in response moving the trigger arm out of the path of rectangular bales through the second bale-receiving area enabling the rectangular bale to drop onto the platform through the outlet from the second bale-receiving area; and each time a rectangular bale passes through the first bale-receiving area when the gate is in the second position it strikes the trigger arm in the first bale-receiving area rotating the gate from the second position to the first position in response moving the trigger arm out of the path of rectangular bales through the first bale-receiving area enabling the rectangular bale to drop onto the platform through the outlet from the first bale-receiving area. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification