Channel baler with cross binding

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a channel baling press having the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Balers are generally used to compact loose materials that need to be shaped into an advantageous form for transport and storage. Various different types of presses are known for the production of cuboid bales. One type is a two-ram baler, in which a first press ram compacts the material into a press box and a second ram ejects the pressed bale into a tying device. The other type is a single-ram baler, in which a press ram presses the material from a feed area into a bale channel. In this bale channel, the material is compacted against bales already present there. The friction of the existing bales in the bale channel creates the counterpressure required for compaction. At the end of the bale channel, the bales are ejected in the same direction in which the pressing process took place.The bale is tied when a predetermined length of the bale in the pressing direction is reached.

[0003] The terms "tying", "strapping" and "bandaging" are used synonymously in this field.

[0004] The material to be compacted can be very diverse, ranging from light, easy-to-compact materials such as recycled plastic waste and cardboard to materials that are difficult to compact, such as old tires or scrap metal. The degree of compaction and the tendency of the material to expand backwards vary greatly. The way the compacted material is held in a formed bale can also vary. Materials that interlock during the pressing process can form a very well-defined bale. Materials with more round cross-sections that are difficult to compact tend to form unstable bales. For this reason, a so-called vertical tying system is advantageous for channel balers. This system creates a number of parallel ties across the front end in the pressing direction, the upper and lower long sides, and the rear end.This tying prevents material from falling out on the lower long side when the bale is lifted and moved.

[0005] Especially for materials that are difficult to compact and have a high tendency to expand backwards, it can be advantageous to use both vertical and horizontal strapping to ensure that the long sides of the bale are also strapped. This is then referred to as cross strapping.

[0006] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "vertical" and "horizontal" in this context are not to be understood in a narrow sense, such as meaning a direction parallel to the gravity vector or orthogonal to the gravity vector. Rather, the directions referred to as vertical and horizontal are essentially to be understood in this sense, with the horizontal direction roughly corresponding to the baling direction. Depending on the design and installation of the channel baler, it can also have an angle of several degrees, for example, 2° to 10°, relative to the horizontal. Accordingly, the vertical direction is to be understood with a tolerance range of several degrees, for example, 2° to 10° relative to the vertical.In this sense, a vertical binding creates a loop of bandaging material around the bale, which runs in a vertical plane, with the vertical plane essentially spanned by the vertical direction and the pressing direction. The horizontal binding is created in a horizontal plane, spanned by the pressing direction and a horizontal line oriented perpendicular to the pressing direction.

[0007] While cross-tying or cross-strapping ensures robust bale tying even with difficult-to-handle materials, it is not necessary for simple materials. It is therefore advantageous if the horizontal tying system can be switched on and off as needed. Manually switching the horizontal tying system on and off is difficult and time-consuming because it requires operators to access the safety area of ​​the channel baler, and the channel baler must therefore be shut down for this process.

[0008] German Patent Application DE 10 2008 000 988 A1 discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for producing large bales in a large baler. A binding device uses both wire and flexible binding materials for binding.

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a channel baler in which a cross-tying system with automatically switchable and switchable horizontal tying is provided.

[0010] This object is achieved by a channel baling press having the features of claim 1.

[0011] Because in a generic channel baler with cross tying with an input area, a bale channel adjoining the input area and a press ram which compresses material from the input area in a pressing direction into the bale channel, as well as with a first permanently active bandaging device and with a second automatically switchable and switchable horizontal bandaging device for producing bales by strapping the pressed material with a bandaging material, wherein both bandaging devices each comprise a connecting device for connecting ends of the bandaging material, in particular in the form of drilling devices, and the first bandaging device has a first, vertically oriented transverse transfer device for the bandaging material, in particular in the form of a pulling device, and the second bandaging device has a second, horizontally oriented transverse transfer device for bandaging material,also preferably in the form of a pulling device, it is further provided that the second bandaging device has automatic holding and separating means operating in dependence on a control system for holding and separating the bandaging material. The bandaging material of the horizontal bandaging device can be separated, kept ready, and re-tied as needed in dependence on a control system. Access by operating personnel to the corresponding assemblies is not required. The process can be carried out automatically and thus quickly and safely. In particular, it is also possible to change the type of bandaging (cross-banding or simple, vertical strapping) from one bale to the next. The cross-banders are preferably designed with multiple tracks, in particular with three to five tracks.

[0012] Furthermore, if the automatic holding and separating devices are arranged laterally on the same side next to the bale channel, the bandaging material can be separated in close proximity to the holding devices and stored there ready for the next horizontal strapping. This reduces the amount of bandaging material that is discarded. Guide devices, in particular deflection rollers, are provided on the same side of the bale channel to guide the respective strand of bandaging material so that it can be grasped by the pulling device and pulled transversely to the pressing direction along the back of the finished bale across the pressing channel.

[0013] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, it is provided that the guide means can be moved essentially parallel, i.e. parallel or at an acute angle, to the pressing direction. In another embodiment, the guide means can also be arranged so as to be pivotable about an approximately vertical axis, so that the guide means can be moved between a first and a second position. The first and the second position are spaced apart from one another in the conveying direction. Whether the positions are spaced apart from one another transversely to the conveying direction is irrelevant. The guide means can thus influence the strand guidance, for example in such a way that the strand enters the effective range of the holding and separating means or is guided out of it.Furthermore, it can be alternatively or additionally provided that the automatic holding means and / or the automatic separating means are movable substantially parallel, i.e., parallel or at an acute angle, to the pressing direction. Then, the strand of bandaging material held in the holding means and / or the intended separation point in the region of the bandaging device can be moved, for example, from a rest position to an operating position and back, in order to, for example, feed the bandaging material to the pulling device in a targeted manner.

[0014] A particularly effective holding means, which can withstand even high tensile forces acting on the bandaging material, has a separate, particularly concave, abutment for each track and a matching, particularly wedge-shaped clamping element. These are preferably hydraulically actuated. It is particularly advantageous if a holding means is provided for each track of the bandaging material, and all holding means are jointly controllable and driven, particularly synchronously.

[0015] It is also advantageous if the channel baler has a separate separating device for shearing off the banding material for each lane, and these can also preferably be controlled and driven together, especially synchronously. This allows the separating process to be carried out particularly quickly and reliably.

[0016] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the holding means does not operate in abutment against the abutment, but rather deforms the bandaging material by pushing a portion of the bandaging material into the abutment without strictly clamping it between the clamping member and the abutment. This deformation generates enough friction for bandaging material such as steel wire to produce a sufficient holding force. A further preferred embodiment provides for the holding means and the separating means to be driven by a common, in particular hydraulic, actuator. This simplifies control, particularly when all holding means and all separating means are driven jointly.

[0017] The bandaging material is, for example, in the form of a steel wire, which is held for each track in a left and a right strand relative to the pressing direction and is drawn off from a supply spool for this purpose. Preferably, a twisting device is provided on the side of the channel baler opposite the holding means, in particular a twisting device with two driven twisting grippers or twisting hooks, namely a twisting hook located closer to the press ram and upstream in the pressing direction, and a twisting hook located closer to the bale exit and downstream in the pressing direction for each track of the horizontal bandaging device. In this way, both the bandaging material of both strands of a track at the trailing end of the finished bale and the bandaging material of both strands of the leading end of the subsequent bale are reliably connected, in particular twisted.

[0018] Particularly preferably, the twist hooks of the second, horizontal bandaging device can be driven separately, preferably all upstream twist hooks jointly and / or synchronously, and all downstream twist hooks likewise jointly and / or synchronously. A second separating device can be arranged between each upstream twist hook and each downstream twist hook.

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. They show: Fig. 1 - Fig. 15: a part of a channel baler in plan view with a bale channel, a press ram movable therein and a horizontal bandaging device in a longitudinal section, each in different positions and operating states of the bandaging device; Fig. 16: a drill device with separating device and drawing needle in a front view; and Fig. 17: the drill device from Fig. 16in a different operating position.

[0020] The Figure 1 shows a top view of part of a channel baling press. The illustration is a schematic sectional view in a longitudinal section parallel to a pressing direction P. The drawing plane is a horizontal plane of the device, spanned by the pressing direction P and a transverse direction Q oriented perpendicular to the pressing direction P.

[0021] The channel baler has an input area 1 (not shown in detail), into which the material to be compressed is loosely inserted. A hydraulic unit 2 is provided to move a press ram 3 from the input area 1 into a bale channel 4, thereby compacting the material to be compressed there. Several working strokes of the press ram 3 produce a bale 5.

[0022] Viewed in the pressing direction P, in a downstream region of the bale channel 4, approximately where the working stroke of the hydraulic unit 2 ends, a bandaging device with several components that are essentially known from the prior art is provided. The bandaging device comprises, in detail, a supply spool 10 (on the left in this illustration) and a supply spool 11 (on the right). In this exemplary embodiment, the two supply spools 10 and 11 hold a bandaging material in the form of a virtually endless steel wire for strapping the produced bales. A left strand 12 of the bandaging material runs from the supply spool 10 through a left guide means 13, which is formed by two deflection rollers and guides the wire to a wire inlet (not shown in detail) of the bale channel 4.On the opposite side, a right strand 14 runs from the supply reel 11 to a right guide means 15, which also has two deflection rollers and guides the wire to a right wire inlet of the bale channel.

[0023] Next to the bale channel 4, in the area of ​​the guide means 13 and 15, a connecting device 17 is arranged, which in this case is designed as a drilling device due to the use of steel wire. This device will be described in more detail below. It is important here that the connecting device 17 comprises a first drilling hook 18 and a second drilling hook 19, each of which can be driven separately. The first drilling hook 18 is driven by a first drive 20 for rotation about a horizontal axis of rotation oriented parallel to the transverse direction Q. The second drilling hook 19 is driven by a second drive 21 about a corresponding parallel axis of rotation. Both drives 20, 21 are controlled by a control system 22, which is only shown schematically.

[0024] The connecting device 17 further comprises a drawing needle 23, which can be moved parallel to the transverse direction Q by a drive 24 depending on the control 20. The design of the drawing needle 23 is known per se from the prior art.

[0025] On the right side of the bale channel 4, the guide means 15 is arranged on an actuator 25, which is designed to move the guide means 15 not far from the control unit 20 parallel to the pressing direction P. The actuator 25 can, in particular, be hydraulically driven. Between the guide means 15 and the bale channel 4, the right-hand strand 14 of the bandaging material runs via a combined holding and separating means 26, which is not shown in detail here. The combined holding and separating means 26 is also hydraulically actuated and has a concave, fixed abutment and a movable, matching wedge-shaped clamping element, between which the bandaging material can be clamped and held. A separating means in the form of a shearing device is also provided.

[0026] In the operating state of the channel baler, which is Figure 1As shown, a first bale 5 has been completely produced and compacted. The pressing pressure with which the bale 5 was compacted is maintained by the hydraulic unit and the pressing ram 3 in order to prevent the bale 5 from expanding backwards as long as it has not yet been strapped or bandaged. During the pressing process, the bale 5 has automatically taken bandaging material with it, namely from the left supply spool 3 and the right supply spool 11. The strand 12 lies on the left side of the bale 5 in the pressing direction P. The strand 14 lies on the side leading in the pressing direction P and on the right side of the bale 5. The two strands 12 and 14 are connected to one another in a tensile strength manner in a twist 28 that was previously created by the connecting device 17.

[0027] Starting from this state, bale 5 should now be strapped completely horizontally. The next step for this is shown in the Figure 2To make the drawing clearer, not all reference numbers are repeated; instead, only the reference numbers of those elements involved in the respective process step are shown.

[0028] The Figure 2 shows that starting from the operating state in Figure 1 the drawing needle 23 and in the drive 24 is moved transversely into the bale channel 4, more precisely into a horizontal groove 29 of the press ram 3.

[0029] The Figure 3shows how the drawing needle 23 has been moved to its right-hand end position. One end 30 of the drawing needle 23 has been moved between the right-hand guide means 15 and the combined holding and separating means 26 and under the strand 14 located there into an extreme right-hand position (relative to the pressing direction P). The end 30 of the drawing needle 23 has a head, which is not shown in detail here. The head essentially comprises a catching element in the manner of a barb and a roller over which the strand 14 can roll.

[0030] In the Figure 4The further process sequence is illustrated, in which the drawing needle 23 has grasped the strand 14 and is pulled back to the left by the drive 24. The strand 14 is thereby carried along and rolls over the roller at the end 30 of the drawing needle 23. Since the strand 14 is attached to the twist 28, the required length is drawn off the second supply spool 11 by the guide means 15.

[0031] In the Figure 5 the pulling needle 23 has been retracted to its starting position and has thereby grasped both the right strand 14 and the left strand 12 and pulled into the area of ​​the twist hooks 18 and 19.

[0032] The procedural steps that are included in the Figures 1 to 5are illustrated, in principle proceed in the same way with a conventional banding device. However, the channel baler illustrated here is intended to offer the option of selecting, in the horizontal banding shown, whether the bale produced in each case should be tied horizontally or not, and to carry out the necessary steps automatically. It should also be mentioned that a conventional vertical banding system, which is not shown in the figures, is present in this channel baler and that this is always active. The bales produced are therefore either strapped vertically and horizontally, as in the case of bale 5 shown here, or only strapped vertically when the horizontal strapping is switched off.

[0033] The Figure 6now shows the process step that is carried out when the next bale, not yet produced, is to be manufactured without horizontal banding. In this step, only the downstream twisting hook 19 has been driven and has gripped and twisted the strands 12 and 14 extending from the bale downstream of the pulling needle 23, so that with a second twist 28', the bale 5 is completely strapped and secured against re-expansion. A separating device assigned to the connecting device 17 then severed the two strands 12 and 14, so that the bale 5 is free of the virtually endless strands 12 and 14 and can be dispensed. The ends of the strands 12 and 14, which were created upstream of the pulling needle 23, initially remain in the area of ​​the upstream twisting hook 18.

[0034] Now, as in Figure 7As illustrated, the actuator 25 is controlled to move the guide means 15 parallel to the pressing direction P into a downstream end position. This movement pulls the free end of the right strand 14 out of the upstream twist hook 18. It lies loosely in the groove 29 of the pressing ram 3.

[0035] At the same time as the Figure 7 The movement of the right guide means 15 shown in the drawing also brings the strand 14 closer to the combined holding and separating means 26. In the Figure 8It is illustrated that the holding and separating means 26 is now closed by vertically advancing the clamping element (not shown in detail), whereby the strand 14 is clamped and held in place. Furthermore, the free end of the strand 14 located in the groove 29 is severed by the associated separating device close to the holding means 26 and is present as a section 31. This section 31 is discarded in the further process in which it is incorporated into the subsequently produced bale.

[0036] The Figure 9 shows the binding device of the channel baler in the same condition as the Figure 8. In the meantime, another bale 35 has been produced in the bale channel 4. Since the left strand 12 and the right strand 14 are currently not connected to each other, neither of the strands 12, 14 has been carried along by the bale 35. The bale 35 is not strapped horizontally, but only vertically. The discarded section 31 lies at the front end in front of the bale 35 and is strapped together with the bale 35 by the vertical banding.

[0037] In the next step, the channel baler is prepared for the horizontal strapping of the next bale.

[0038] In Figure 10For this purpose, the drawing needle 23 is retracted into the groove 29 of the press ram 3. At about the same time, the right guide means 15 is moved back into its upstream starting position by the actuator 25. The free end of the right strand 14 continues to sit in the holding means 26. The distance between the second guide means 15 and the combined holding and separating means 26 has now returned to the value that was already in the initial situation of the Figures 1 to 6 was present.

[0039] In the Figure 11 the pulling needle 23 has again arrived in its right end position and reaches between the combined holding and separating means 26 and the second guide means 15 under the right strand 14.

[0040] The Figure 12shows how the drawing needle 23 has grasped the right strand 14 with its head 30 and, in the backward movement, has taken it into the groove 29. In doing so, the strand 14 is pulled off the right supply spool 11. The free end remains secured in the combined holding and separating means 26.

[0041] In Figure 13 the pulling needle 23 has arrived in its left starting position or rest position and has taken the strand 14 with it, so that it has reached the area of ​​the two twist hooks 18 and 19. The Figure 5 to Figure 6 The first strand 12, which was severed, is still present with its free end in this area. Now, in the transition to Figure 14 the drive motor of the upstream twisting hook 18 is actuated and the right strand 14 is twisted in its section between the pulling needle 23 and the second guide means 15 by the first twisting hook 18 with the free end of the left strand 12.

[0042] Figure 14shows that this creates a twist 36 that firmly connects the left strand 12 and the right strand 14. The section of the right strand 14 located between the drawing needle 23 and the combined holding and separating means 26 is then severed by the separating device of the connecting device 17, the clamping device is released, and the severed wire is now present as section 37 in the groove 29. This section 37 is again discarded.

[0043] The Figure 15 Finally, shows how a third bale 45 was produced, through which the non-horizontally strapped bale 35 was conveyed further in the pressing direction in the bale channel 4. The third bale 45 in the sequence shown has in turn taken with it the two strands 12 and 14 connected to each other in the twist 36. The channel baler is now in the state of Figure 1 The bale can now be strapped completely horizontally.

[0044] The operator can now choose whether the next bale should be cross-tied, i.e., strapped both vertically and horizontally, or whether only vertical strapping should be performed. Depending on the design of the channel baler, the control system 22 can also make this decision itself, for example, by comparing predefined parameters of the produced bales 5, 35, and 45 against target values.

[0045] If the bale following bale 45 is to be strapped horizontally, the pulling needle picks up the bale starting from Figure 15 the right strand 14 and the left strand 12 between the two twist hooks 18 and 19 (as in Fig. 2 to 5(shown). Then, twisting hooks 18 and 19 are controlled simultaneously, creating two twists, between which strands 12 and 14 are then separated. One twist then remains with bale 45 and completes its horizontal banding, while the next twist is taken from the leading side of the bale still to be produced and becomes the starting point for the next horizontal strapping.

[0046] If the bale following bale 45 is not to be strapped, the process steps are carried out as above using the Figures 2 to 15 described.

[0047] In the Figure 16 the connecting device 17 is in a horizontal end view of the one in Figure 1right side, i.e. from the side where the bale channel 4 is located. The connecting device 17 comprises a housing 46, which carries the two drives 20 and 21 on its upper side. On the visible front side, three groups of twisting hooks 18 and 19 are arranged, which are rotatably mounted in the housing 46. A total of three pairs of twisting hooks 18 and 19 arranged one above the other are provided, since the connecting unit 17 is intended for three parallel tracks of bandaging. Between the twisting hooks 18 and 19, the pulling needle 23 of each track can be seen, whereby here the view is of the front-side free end 30, which in operation, for example, in Figure 3 grasps and pulls the strand 14. The strand 14 runs, as in Figure 16visible, behind a roller 47, which is arranged in the head 30 of the drawing needle 23 to reduce friction. Between the three twisting hooks 18 upstream with respect to the pressing direction P and the three downstream twisting hooks 19, there is a separating device 48, also designed in triplicate, with an actuator 49, a movable knife bar 50 carrying three knives 51, and three stationary counter knives 52. The twisting hooks 18 and 19 grasp and twist the strands 12 and 14 either synchronously, as is required for the horizontal strapping of successive bales. Alternatively, the twisting hooks 18 and 19 can also be driven individually, since, in contrast to the prior art, two separate drives 20 and 21 are provided, each assigned to a group of twisting hooks 18 and 19, respectively. If, as in Figure 6, only the downstream twisting hooks 19 are driven by the drive 21, only a trailing twist of the finished bale is made. The following bale then remains without strapping. If, as in Figure 14 If only the upstream twisting hook 18 (or the group) is driven by the drive 20, twists are made for the leading side of a bale to be produced after the preceding bale has not received a horizontal strapping.

[0048] The Figure 17 shows the connecting device 17 from Figure 16 , whereby not all reference numbers are repeated. In this position, the actuator 49 of the separating device 48 has been activated and moves the knife bar 50 upwards, so that the knives 51 are moved against the stationary knives 52 and shear off the material strands 12 and 14 lying between the two knives. Figure 17 corresponds to the state of the connecting device 17 in Figure 6.

[0049] The embodiment described above thus allows a channel baler to be equipped with multiple horizontal tying tracks in such a way that the horizontal tying can be selectively switched on and off, and in particular, even switched from one bale to the next. The switch from bales with horizontal tying to bales without horizontal tying, and vice versa, can be performed automatically by the control system at the operator's discretion. With appropriate sensors and programming, an autonomous automatic switchover can even occur without operator intervention.

Claims

1. Channel baling press with cross binding, having - an input region (1), - a bale channel (4) adjoining the input region (1) and - a press ram (3) which presses material from the input region (1) into the bale channel (4) in a pressing direction (P), and having - a first permanently active vertical strapping device and having - a second horizontal strapping device which can be switched off and on automatically for producing bales by strapping the pressed material with a strapping material in a plurality of tracks, - the strapping devices each comprising a connecting device (17) arranged on one side of the bale channel (4) and - the first strapping device having first transverse applicators and - the second strapping device having second transverse applicators, as well as guide means (15) for guiding the strapping material, characterized in that the second strapping device has automatic holding means and separating means (26), which operate as a function of a controller (22), for holding and separating the strapping material.

2. Channel baling press according to claim 1, characterized in that the first transverse applicators are first, vertically aligned drawing devices and that the second transverse applicators are second, horizontally aligned drawing devices.

3. Channel baling press according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the automatic holding and separating means (26) are arranged laterally on the same side next to the bale channel (4).

4. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automatic holding and separating means (26) are arranged laterally on the side opposite the drilling device next to the bale channel (4).

5. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that guide means (15) adjacent to the automatic holding and separating means (26) can be moved parallel to or at an acute angle to the pressing direction (P) or can be pivoted about a vertical axis in order to move the strapping material into or out of the effective range of the holding and separating means (26).

6. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide means (15) can be moved essentially parallel to the pressing direction (P).

7. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a separate holding means (26) is provided for each track.

8. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding means (26) have a separate, in particular concave abutment and a matching wedge-shaped clamping member for each track.

9. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding means (26) are jointly controllable and driven, in particular hydraulically driven.

10. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding means (26) are designed in such a way that they deform the strapping material, in particular steel wire, between the clamping member and the abutment and force it into a free space of the abutment.

11. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a separate separating means (26) for shearing off the strapping material is provided for each track of the second strapping device.

12. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the separating means (26) of the second strapping device are jointly controlled and driven.

13. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding means and the separating means (26) of the second strapping device are driven jointly by a single actuator (25).

14. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one drilling device is provided on the side of the channel baling press opposite the holding means (26), in particular a drilling device with two driven drill hooks (18, 19) for each track, namely with an upstream drill hook (18) and a downstream drill hook (19) for each track of the second, horizontal strapping device.

15. Channel baling press according to claim 14, characterized in that all upstream drill hooks (18) of the drilling device can be driven together and / or synchronously, and separately all downstream drill hooks (19) can also be driven together and / or synchronously.

16. Channel baling press according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a second separating device (48) is arranged in each case between an upstream drill hook (18) and a downstream drill hook (19) of the second strapping device.