GB2100106A - Straw planter for forming plant-protecting barrier - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for planting straw or the like material comprising a cradle for supporting a round bale of straw or the like material with its axis of rotation horizontal, the cradle being formed at least in part by means, e.g. a plurality of rollers 1, for engaging and rotating the bale about its axis, a stripper roller 2 having a helically extending series of flexible stripping fingers 12 for engaging and removing the straw from the bale, and planting means 8 arranged to receive straw stripped from the bale. Preferably the apparatus comprises aligning means for the straw comprising a pair of contra-rotatable drums 4 each formed with s series of radial flanges preferably of sawtooth form, the arrangement being such that the flanges on one drum are interleaved with those on the other drum, and between which rotatable members the straw is dropped to cause the straw to be aligned by contact with the rotating flanges. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Straw and the like planters The invention relates to straw and the like planters of the kind generally described in our U.K. Patent Specification No. 1463294 which describes apparatus for pressing into the ground straw or the like material comprising a movable support struture carrying for rotation about a horizontal axis a ground engaging member having periphery provided with a plurality of projections and further comprising means for depositing filaments of straw or like material on the ground into the path of said member such that the latter can engage deposited filaments and press them into the ground so that they project upwardly from the ground to form an upstanding barrier. U.K.Patent Specification No. 1463294 also describes inter alia a method of forming an upstanding barrier from filaments of straw or the like material wherein a rotatable ground engaging member having its periphery provided with a plurality of projections engages the filaments intermediate their ends and presses the filaments into the ground such that their ends project upwardly from the ground to form an upstanding barrier. The ground engaing member is preferably a disc.

A problem associated with such straw planters has been the need to remove straw manually from a bale during use of the machine and the present it correctly aligned to the planting apparatus since such work is tiring and dusty. It is an object of the invention to provide automatic apparatus for carrying out these functions.

The problems to be solved include the control of the removal of the straw from the bale so that the correct quantity is always available to the planter and the aligning of the straw crosswise relative to the rotatable ground engaging disc.

To overcome or at least mitigate against the problems in removing in controlled fashion straw from the bale we provide according to the invention a cradle for supporting a round bale of straw with its axis of rotation horizontal, the cradle being formed at least in part by means for engaging and rotating the bale about its axis and stripper means having stripper fingers for engaging and removing the straw from the bale. Preferably the means for engaging and rotating the bale comprise a plurality of rollers, e.g. four rollers, at least two of which may be formed with means, e.g.

axially extending flanges, for enhancing the grip with the bale.

The stripper means may be disposed between the inner pair of said rollers and is preferably in the form of a roller formed with a helically extending series of stripping fingers. The stripping fingers may be resilient and are preferably of rubber or the like. Surprisingly we have found that it is preferable to rotate the stripping roller in the same direction as the bale engaging and driving rollers. A collector roller is preferably provided adjacent to and slightly below the level of the stripper roller to collect straw from the stripper roller and feed it to straw aligning means.

According to the invention the aligning means for the straw comprises a plurality, preferably a pair, of rotatable members formed with a series of radial flanges between which rotatable members the straw is dropped to cause the straw to be aligned by contact with the rotating flanges and to fall so aligned onto a conveyor which feeds the straw to the ground engaging disc. Preferably the arrangement is such that the straw to be aligned is dropped between a contra-rotating flanged members of which are interleaved. The flanged members may be rollers or drums, and preferably the flanges are formed at intervals with radial projections.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an automatic straw planter; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the working parts of the automatic straw planter of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the working parts shown in Fig. 2, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of one portion of the automatic straw planter.

In the drawings there is shown an automatic straw planter adapted to be towed behind an agricultural tractor and supported by the three point linkage of the tractor. The apparatus comprises a hopper 1 4 for receiving a round bale of straw 10 with its axis of rotation horizontal, the apparatus being supported on ground engaging wheels 1 5 and being provided with a pair of straw planting discs 8 of the kind generally described in our U.K. Patent Specification No. 1463294.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2 to 4 the apparatus comprises a series of four rollers 1 which are arranged to form a trough or cradle for supporting the round bale of straw 10 with its axis of rotation horizontal. The rollers 1 are arranged to be driven in rotation so that the straw bale 10 is rotated and to enhance the grip between the bale and the rollers 1 the outermost or upper pair of rollers is provided with axially extending flanges 11, and the innermost or lower pair of the rollers 1 are formed with generally tangential spikes 1 6. Stationary supports 1 8 are provided between the innermost pair of the roller 1 to prevent the straw bale from falling therebetween when its diameter decreases.Between and below the lower or inner pair of rollers 1 is disposed a stripper roller 2 formed with a helically extending series of stripper fngers 12, e.g. of rubber or the like resilient material which engage the straw as it rotates and remove straw therefrom. As indicated by the arrows in the drawing we prefer to rotate the stripper roller 2 in the same sense as the rollers 1 rather than in opposition since we find that in this manner the straw is stripped from the bale in a more controlled fashion.

Straw removed from the bale by the stripper roller 2 falls downwardly under gravity and is contacted by a contra-rotating collector roller 3 formed with radial projections 1 7, which roller is positioned to one side of and slightly below the stripper roller 2 so that the straw is guided onto straw aligning drums 4 disposed below the stripper roller 2. The aligning drums are provided in contra-rotating pairs and each of the aligning drums is provided with a series of radial flanges 1 3 of saw-tooth form, the arrangement being such that the flanges of one drum of each pair are staggered with respect to the flanges of the other drum of the pair and that the axes of the two drums of each pair are sufficiently close that the flanges of the drums are interleaved.The result is that straw falling between the drums contacts the rotating flanges and is twisted into alignment with the axes of the drums before falling onto a belt conveyor 6 which conveys the straw towards the ground engaging discs 8. While the straw travels along the conveyor 6 it is guided by means of a stationary deflector chute 7, the sides of which may if desired be inclined. The straw thus falls on the ground in front of the disc 8 and crosswise with respect to the disc so that the straw is pressed into the ground to form an upstanding barrier to protect young crops from wind damage and the like as can best be seen in Fig. 4.The disc 8 is preferably formed with a series of radial projections about its periphery to improve its engagement with the ground and the disc is carried by a castor assembly 9 which is pivoted about a vertical axis on the machine frame at a position in front of the axis of rotation of the disc 8 so that the disc is able to follow changes in direction of the machine.

In the drawings there is shown an assembiy comprising two ground engaging discs 8 and the associated mechanism for feeding straw automatically to the two discs. It will be appreciated that the straw planter could be made to feed a single disc or alternatively several discs. However in the arrangement shown in the drawings we prefer to position a pair of contra-rotating rollers 1 9 above and between the two pairs of aligning drums 4 to prevent straw from falling between the pairs of aligning drums and to ensure that the straw is evenly divided between the pairs of aligning drums.

The apparatus is preferably powered directly from the tractor although as an alternative it might be possible to drive the apparatus via its ground engaging wheels. Pf desired, instead of being supported on a tractor three point linkage, the apparatus may be semi mounted on the tractor.

Claims (14)

1. Apparatus for planting straw or the like material comprising a cradle for supporting 3 round bale of straw or the like material with its axis of rotation horizontal, the cradle being formed at least in part by means for engaging and rotating the bale about its axis, stripper means having stripping fingers for engaging and removing the straw from the bale and planting means arranged to receive straw stripped from the bale.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for engaging and rotating the bale comprise a plurality of rollers at least one of which is formed with means for enhancing its grip with the bale.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stripper means is disposed between a pair of the rollers.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the stripper means is a roller provided with a helically extending series of the stripping fingers.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the stripping fingers are resilient.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the stripping fingers are of and elastomeric material.

7. Apparatus according to claim 2 and 4, wherein the stripper roller is arranged for rotation in the same direction as the bale engaging and rotating rollers.

8. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising a collector roller provided adjacent to and below the stripper roller to collect straw from the stripper roller.

9. Apparatus according to any previous claim, comprising aligning means for the straw comprising a pair of contra-rotatable members formed with a series of radial flanges between which rotatable members the straw is passed to cause the straw to be aligned by contact with the rotating flanges.

1 0. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the flanges of the pair of contra rotatable members are interleaved.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the contra-rotatable members are rollers or drums.

1 2. Apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the flanges of the contra-rotatable members are formed at intervals with radial projections.

1 3. Apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, comprising a conveyor for receiving straw from the aligning means for feeding the straw to planting means.

14. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the planting means comprises a ground engaging disc.

1 5. Apparatus for planting straw or the like material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.