AU616575B2 - Chopping device for chopping long stem animal feed material - Google Patents

Description

1' *41i Ap V a o Co Pr Re 6 4 616575 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) FOR OFFICE USE Class Int. Class plication Number: Lodged: mplete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: iority, lated Art: I 1 p 4 4 c

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^cG-rr u AS KLpA Name of Applicant: -ROBERT -W--L-I-AM -AMOS.-TAYLOR-and *BEA-T-R-I-GE .JOY-T-A-Y-LOR Address of Applicant: -I-sl-and-Road

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35;0 N -Geohuna, Victoria-, -3568 N o ob 0 .Gommonwea-1-th -of--Aust-ra-lia- or<A CA 1 Actual Inventor(s): ROBERT WILLIAM AMOS TAYLOR Address for Service: Davies Collison Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Commonwealth of Australia Complete specification for the invention entitled: "Chopping Device for Chopping Long Stem Animal Feed Material" The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:iVii;; 1, j 1 891102,gjndat.039,taylor2.1,1 I oaJm~l~lxur~r L r /?3 4 The present invention relates Lo a chopping device, especially a device for chopping long stem animal feed material, and in particular to a device for chopping blades of such material e.g. round bales.

Conventionally, hay or other fodder in a round bale is removed by peeling the outer layer from the bale and discharging the fodder directly for use. Fodder in this form consists of relatively long stems which is not satisfactory for all uses. It has been proposed to comminute the fodder directly after removal from the bale by feeding the fodder through a rotary cutter assembly. There is al7so a tendency for the fodder to remain in contact with the cutter assembly for such a period that it is comminuted into particles of too small a size.

The invention provides a device for chopping bales, :0::comprising rotary cutter mcans mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, means for supporting a bale with the lower part of the bale adjacent the cutter means and for tumbling or rotating t he-bale such that an outer layer is reoe.fo.hebl and is fed to the cutter means to be 100comminuted by the cutter means and discharged by the rotation of the cutter means, and means mounted on the device to cooperate with the bale, said means being driven to move the bale periodically further away from the cutter means while the bale is being tumbled or rotated by the bale supporting S means and then to allow the bale to return towards the cutter means.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure l is a perspective view of a bale peeling and chopping device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic end elevation in the direction of arrow in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic transverse sectioff along line B-B of Figure 1; tk A 4.

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-3- Figure 4 is a schematic end elevation of a cutter drum; and Figures 5A and 5B are schematic plan views of different forms of blade for the drum.

As shown in the drawings, a device for peeling and chopping round bales comprises an elev',ted bale supporting struCture comprising opposed side walls 2 and a bale support surface 4 extending between the side walls and inclined downwardly from one end to an opposing end. The inclined bale support surface is 0000 defined by an endless conveyor comprising conveyor 0 0 achains 6 having flights 8 of bar-like form and which extend between the side walls 2. The conveyor chains 0000 are entrained around driving sprockets 10 on a driving 000 00 00 15 shaft 12 and sprockets 14 on an idle shaft 16.

00 Immediately downstream of the lower end of the conveyor 4 is a cutter drum 20 which extends the width of the conveyor. The cutter drum 20 is mounted for a rotation about a horizontal axis parallel with that of Goa 20 the driving and idle shafts 12, 16 and carries flail blades 22 arranged at intervals along the length of 0 0 the drum. Adjacent blades are egui-angularly spaced 0 a around the axis of the druin. As shown, Ciae drum has 00 four such blades arranged along its length, adjacent 40. 25 blades being angularly spaced by 9Q0*. Each blade 22 is pivotally mounted on the drum about an shaft 24 parallel to that of the drum and rotation of the drum causes the blades to swing outwardly, as shown in Figure 3.

The cutter drum 20 is enclosed within a housing comprising a part-cylindrical upper wall 30 which 4 surrounds the upper portion of the drum and a partcylindrical lower wall 32 which merges with a rectilinear inlet ramp 34 adjacent the lower end of the conveyor 4 (see Figure The front side of the housing is open to provide an inlet 36 which extends the length of the drum and which is defined from above by the lower edge of the part-cylindrical upper wall and from below by the inlet ramp 34. The rear side of the housing is open in its lower portion to define an outlet 38 which extends the length of the drum and °0 a faces towards the inlet 36. The outlet 38 00 00 o o 0 communicates with a removable discharge chute o oo Each blade 22 is of approximately right-angled 0 0 .0 configuration as viewed in cross-section. This 0 0.oo 15 configuration enables each blade to generate a 0.0 substantial air flow during rotation of the cutter drum. As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, each blade 22 is sharpened at its tip portion 22a and also along its 00ooo0 lateral edges 22b. A fixed anvil bar 42 preferably of 00 20 triangular section extends along the lower edge of the 00inlet 36 to the housing to co-operate with the tips of the rotating blades 22 to produce a shearing action on 00o000ooo0 0 0 matter fed to the drum 20, the length of each blade 22 o °o and the depth of the anvil bar 42 being such that 0 0 25 there is a small clearance between the blade tips and the angle bar during rotation.

The device may be set up to provide a relatively fine cut, or a coarser cut with particles of mixed length. To provide the fine cut a grill is mounted over the inlet 36 to the housing, the grill comprising a series of grill bars 44 each located between respective groups of blades 22; in this configuration, the blades used are the narrower blades as shown in Figure 5A. To provide the coarser cut, the grill is removed and the wider blades shown in Figure 5B are used.

A bale support member 50 is located above the housing to support the lower side of a bale. In the embodiment shown, the bale support member extends the length of the housing and is in the form of a roller mounted for rotation about an eccentric axis. The oo eccentric support roller 50 is driven in synchronism o°°oo with the conveyor 4.

0o 0 A bale to be peeled is loaded onto the device so 00oo 0o 0o that it is supported on the conveyor 4 with its axis 15 horizontal and transverse to the conveyor, and with the lower end of the bale resting against the eccentric support roller 50. The conveyor 4 is driven in the direction indicated by the arrows to peel the outer layer from the bale and to direct the peeled 20 matter towards the inlet 36 of the cutter housing, a'o° this action of the conveyor 4 also causing rotation of the bale. The cutter drum 20 rotates at high speed 0 4 in the direction indicated to generate an intense air 00000 ooo flow which draws the peeled matter into the lower part 0000 25 of the housing in which it is sheared and chopped by 00 the action of the rotating blades 22 and anvil bar 42.

Any long particles which become wrapped around the blades will be cut by the sharpened lateral edges 22b of the blades. The cut particles are discharged through the outlet 38 by the combined effects of the Sforces imparted by the rotating blades 22 and the

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airflow generated by the blades 22. The airflow carries the particles along the discharge chute 40 for discharge into a bin or other receptacle.

During this action, the bale is resting against the eccentric roller 50. The eccentric rotation of this roller 50 causes the bale to move repeatedly from a position in which it lies closely adjacent to, or against, the cutter housing, and a position further from the cutter housing. This oscillating movement of the bale is of importance to the operation of the 0o° device as it periodically creates a substantial gap °o o between the lower part of the bale and the cutter o housing to facilitate the ingress of a large volume of oo 0 ooo air which is drawn into the inlet 36 of the housing by °°00 15 the rotating cutter drum. The oscillation also acts 0001 0 a to briefly interrupt, or-at least to substantially reduce, the flow of peeled matter to the cutter drum when the bale is furthest from the housing. These two 0, 20 effects prevent blockage of the cutter drum during "0 a 20 operation and act to permit a regular, strong,.

0 00 o 0000 discharge of comminuted matter. The eccentric roller o 50 also acts to loosen the outer layer of the bale for 0 o 0 0 0 0 subsequent peeling.

000000 o 0 0 The direction of drive of the conveyor 4 and Goo 25 eccentric roller 50 may be reversed so that the bale is peeled, with discharge being from the top end of the conveyor without comminution by the cutter drum.

In this mode, the device thus acts like a conventional bale peeler.

The device may be mounted in a frame for free-standing operation, for example in a barn. In i r~r-_r 7 this form, the device may include an electric drive motor with appropriate transmission to the cutter drum, conveyor belt and eccentric support roller.

However, in the preferred embodiment as illustrated, the device is mounted on a wheeled chassis 60 to be towed behind a tractor, the device being arranged laterally of the chassis whereby discharge occurs to one side via the discharge chute.

Preferably, the chassis 60 also mounts a bale lifter 62, the lifter extending to the rear of the chassis so as to pick-up a bale and then load it into the device 0 °0 for peeling or for peeling and comminution.

O oo Alternatively, the device may be mounted as an oQ 0 attachment to the bale handler described in Australian o 0 15 patent application 40308/85 to which reference should

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be made for full details.

In the preferred embodiment, the device is powered from the PTO of the tractor. The cutter drum o° o 20 is preferably directly driven via a mechanical 00 0 20 drive transmission so as to rotate at a constant 000 speed, for example up to 2000 r.p.m. The conveyor 4 0o and eccentric support roller 50 are driven in 0 synchronism by a hydraulic motor which facilitates variation in their drive speed and also reversal of 25 their directions of drive as discussed earlier. The discharge chute 40 is movable to an upright position (as shown at 40a in dotted lines in Figure 2) for transport of the device on the open road. In the vertical position, the outlet 38 from the housing is directly exposed and the device can be operated to discharge comminuted matter substantially horizontally i 8 through the outlet whereby to form a layer for bedding purposes. The chute 40 may be provided with suitable extension pieces 70, if required.

A retaining roller 72 (Figure 2) may optionally be mounted on a suitable support above the upper end of the conveyor 4 to retain the bale in position even if the device is operating in a steeply sloping environment.

The device described herein operates to efficiently deliver large volumes of comminuted hay or other fodder peeled from a bale. The fodder is in contact with the cutter drum only over a relatively small proportion of its rotation (typically over an arc of about 600) during movement of the fodder 15 through the bottom part of the housing. This has the effect of reducing the overall power requirements and also obviates the comminution into very small particles which would have no value.

The embodiment has been described by way of example only and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

0 0 0 0 0 0 a a 0o 4 o 0 0 0 00 0 0000 000040 I a t 0 0 4000a t 01t 00 t

Claims (9)

1. A device for chopping bales, comprising rotary cutter means mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, means for supporting a bale with the lower part of the bale adjacent the cutter means and for tumbling or rotating the bale such that an outer layer is removed from the bale and is fed to the cutter means to be comminuted by the cutter means and discharged by the rotation of the cutter means, and means mounted on the device to co-operate with the bale. said means being driven to move the bale periodically further away from the cutter means while the bale is being tumbled or rotated by the bale supporting means and then to allow the bale to return towards the cutter means.

2. A device according to Claim 1 wherein said supporting means is adapted to support a round bale with its axis substantially horizontal and to rotate the bale about said axis.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the means for supporting and notating the bale comprises an endless conveyor on which the bale rests.

4. A device according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said means operative to move the bale periodically comprises an eccentric roller being rotatable to effect oscillating movement of the bale.

A device according to Claim 4, when appendant to Claim 3, comprising means for driving the roller and conveyor in synchronism.

6. A device according to Claim 5, comprising means for reversing the direction of the conveyor.

7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cutter means is within a housing having an inlet positioned to receive matter removed from the bale, and an outlet through which matter comminuted by the cutter means is discharged, said cutter means comprising means for generating an airflow to draw matter into the inlet and to discharge the comminuted matter through the outlet.

8. A device according to Claim 7, when appendant to S r'NT 0 10 Claim 3, wherein the inlet is located at a discharge end of the conveyor and extends the width of the conveyor, and the rotating cutter means is co-extensive with the inlet and includes pivotal blades spaced in the direction of the axis of rotation of the cutter means, the blades being shaped to create the airflow.

9. A device according to Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 24th day of July, 1991. o 4 coo o UNDERHAUG AS S D 0 o By its Patent Attorneys 0 DAVIES COLLISON o 00* °ooo to I o r I ,4 i