The present invention relates generally to wrapped modules and, more specifically, to removing plastic wrap from round seed cotton modules.
Round bales or modules of harvested material such as seed cotton can be wrapped in material for bale integrity and protection. For example, cotton harvesters are being developed with on-board processing systems wherein compacted bales are formed directly on the harvester. Such a system is shown, for example, in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,032,446 and 6,263,743. The compacted bales reduce cotton loss, increase transportability and facilitate expedited handling to the cotton gin.
Additional difficulties are encountered when a bale or module of harvested material is supported within a wrap such as plastic sheet or netting to protect and maintain integrity of the formed material. When processing seed cotton, the handling system must be able to effectively separate all the cotton material from the wrap before the baled seed cotton enters the cotton gin. The cotton bales can weigh several tons and have a diameter and a length on the order of eight feet. The wrapped cotton loses bale shape integrity quickly as the wrap is removed, and therefore providing a compact and clean entry configuration while allowing full cotton removal, eliminating spillage, and providing reliable wrap removal have been sources of difficulty. When using a wrap such as polyethylene film, any wrap material not removed and entering the gin contaminates the cotton and makes spinning of the cotton into thread at the spinning mills very difficult. If plastic is found in the cotton at the mill, the cotton is often sent back to the grower's warehouse or the price is deeply discounted.
In a co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/803703 filed 18 Mar. 2004 and titled SEED COTTON HANDLING SYSTEM, a system is described wherein a cutting device severs the wrap on bales as they are conveyed, allowing the cotton to drop into a receiver. However, depending on the cut location relative to the adherence location of wrap overlap, unattached hanging inner tail remnant pieces can be formed which separate from the remainder of the wrap and drop into the receiver to contaminate the cotton. An efficient and reliable wrap removal process is needed which essentially eliminates all contamination of the ginned cotton by the wrap material.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved bale or module wrap removal system which overcomes most or all of the aforementioned problems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved bale or module wrap removal system which eliminates unattached wrap material remnants which would otherwise contaminate crop material in the bale during processing. It is yet another object which to provide such a system which is particularly useful for round bales of cotton wrapped in plastic material such as polyethylene.
It is still another object to provide an improved cotton bale or module wrap material removal system which eliminates wrap material contamination of the cotton and which provides easy removal of the entire wrap while assuring full separation of the cotton from the wrap. It is another object to provide such a system which assures that the wrap remnants remain connected and do not detach from the remainder of the wrap material.
In one embodiment, plastic wrap on round bales of cotton is partially slit starting at one end of the bale and continuing to a location offset from the opposite end of the bale. One or more partial lengthwise slits define an egress area and allow the cotton to fall into a gin input hopper in a controlled manner to prevent spillage and maintain the entire wrap, including any non-adhered inner tail remnants, attached to an intact circumferential wrapper portion at the end of the bale opposite the slit end. The non-slit wrapper end portion is the grasped and pulled from end of the bale, and the remaining cotton material drops into the receptacle free of contamination by any wrap material. All of the wrap material is connected together so the intact wrapper can be easily removed and discarded or recycled.
The system allows the wrap to remain completely connected and be easily removed from the bale in one piece. The bale wrap can be slit and removed with the bale in either a horizontal or a vertical position or in any other angular position. The partial slits define an egress area and facilitate controlled cotton release and automation of bale opening and wrap removal processes. The system easily accommodates modules and bales of different sizes, densities and moisture content.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings and the following detailed description.
Referring to
The separating station 30 includes a horizontal conveyor 40 receiving the bales 12 from the inclined conveyor 22, a wrap cutting device 42, and a wrap removal device 44. The bales 12 include a wrapper 52 shown as a generally solid, continuous sheet of plastic material such as polypropylene that protects and maintains the integrity of the bales during storage, transport to the gin, and handling at the gin. As shown in
As shown, the bale 12 is a round bale having an axis 12a. The bale wrap 52 is formed from a generally rectangular sheet of plastic and is wrapped around the compacted cotton so that the end 52a is approximately parallel to the bale axis 12a. The cutting device 42 provides one or more slits 62 shown by way of example at 62a, 62b (
The bale 12 includes first and second ends 64 and 66, respectively, and the cutting device 42 slits the wrap lengthwise along a length of the wrap 52 substantially less than the total length of the bale (
The cutting device 42 can include one or more knives or saw blades 82 movable against the wrap 52 and held in position as the conveyor 40 moves the bale 12 axially towards the hopper 32. Alternatively, the blade or blades 82 can be moved axially relative to the wrap 52 by a movable cutter support. It is to be understood that other suitable bale wrap cutting devices may also be used.
Although the bale 12 is shown with the axis 12a in a horizontal attitude, the bale wrap 52 can also be slit, emptied and removed with the bale axis in an upright position as shown in
A splitter baffle 90 located at the input side of the hopper 32 supports the bottom of the wrap 52 as the conveyor moves the slit bale 12 over the hopper. The baffle 90 helps prevent the wrap 52 from falling into the hopper 32 and also breaks up and separates the falling cotton 14.
Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.