Single Ram Baler Movable Wall Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Single ram balers face issues with wire breakage when baling materials with high expansion coefficients, such as plastic, due to insufficient expansion capacity, leading to reduced bale size, efficiency, and increased costs with additional wire assemblies or expansion steps.
Innovation Solution
A single ram baler design with a hydraulic actuator capable of moving between retracted, tying, and overstroke positions, featuring a wire-catch assembly and an extrusion channel with movable walls to allow material expansion before wiring, reducing wire breakage and maintaining efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the amount of material compacted is reduced to prevent wire breakage, then wire breakage is avoided, but bale size and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a movable wall in the extrusion channel that can dynamically adjust the channel's cross-sectional area. During the baling process, the wall moves to increase the channel opening, allowing the compacted material to expand before wiring. This dynamic adjustment prevents wire breakage by reducing expansion forces at the wiring moment while maintaining the ability to process normal amounts of material, thus preserving productivity.
2Reliability
If an additional wire assembly is added to cross-tie bales, then wire breakage is prevented, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by allowing the compacted material to expand within the extrusion channel before the wiring operation occurs. The movable wall creates expansion space in advance, enabling the material to relieve internal stresses before being wired. This prevents wire breakage during the single wiring operation, eliminating the need for additional cross-tie wire assemblies.
3Reliability
If expansion time is increased to allow material expansion, then wire breakage is reduced, but process efficiency and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The movable wall provides dynamic expansion space that is available throughout the compaction and wiring cycle. Rather than requiring a separate static expansion time period, the system continuously accommodates material expansion as it occurs, eliminating time loss while preventing wire breakage.
4Reliability
If the extrusion channel cross-section is adjusted to allow expansion, then wire breakage is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extrusion channel is segmented into fixed walls and a single movable wall. This segmentation allows the channel cross-section to be dynamically adjusted by moving only one component rather than reconfiguring the entire channel structure. The simple addition of the movable wall provides expansion capability without significantly increasing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The baler effectively compacts and wires materials with high expansion coefficients without additional wire assemblies or expansion steps, maintaining process efficiency and reducing wire breakage, by allowing controlled expansion within the baler's extrusion channel.
Implementation Method 1
a ram mounted for reciprocation in the housing and an actuator operatively connected to the housing and to the ram. The actuator is operable to move the ram between a retracted position, a tying position and an overstroke position
Implementation Method 2
As the ram moves backward, the baled material tends to expand. However, because the bale is wired, such expansion is limited and the bale generally maintains its configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention generally pertains to a single ram baler for baling recycled material. More specifically, the single ram baler of the present invention comprises a ram operable to move between a retracted position for receiving the recycled material and a tying position for allowing the compacted material to slightly expand before wiring the same.