This invention concerns an automatic drying machine for drying of especially bales of pressed harvested material e.g. hay and bales of straw.

The most common method to dry pressed harvested material, especially bales, is first of all to connect the drying device to a transport vehicle before the drying device it is pushed into the bale. When the drying device has been pushed into the bale, it has to be disconnected from the transport vehicle where after a hose must be mounted, to connect the drying devise to a blower.

There are also drying devices which must be hammered or screwed manually into the bale.

These drying devises are most often designed to avoid further compression of the material by constructing the displacement parts long and narrow either as sharp pipes or bars formed as an oblong cage.

The problem to be solved according to mis invention is to be able to dry pressed harvested material, especially bales, without having to mount a drying device On a transport vehicle or manually to need to hammer the drying device into the bale. According to this invention, an automatic drying machine is suggested, according to introduction to requirement 1.

The characteristic feature of the invention is that a conveyor is mounted on the machine which transports the bales in front of a movable slide, on which hollow displacement parts are mounted. These are to be pushed into the bale where a blower injects air through the displacement parts and into the bale

As the automatic drying machine is one whole unit which consist of a conveyor transporting bales till and from the machine, a steel construction, on which there is mounted a movable slide with hollow displacement parts and a blower to supply the displacement parts with air, it will be possible to dry several successive bales without use of staff or vehicles. Preferred construction forms for the invention are described more detailed below with reference to each drawing, where: Fig. 1 is a slantwise picture of the automatic drying machine

Fig. 2 is a slantwise picture of the distributor channel with the hollow displacement parts

Fig: 3 part of the distributor Channel and the displacement parts

Fig.4 displacement parts seen from above Fig. 1 shows the automatic drymg niachine, which according to the invention includes a conveyor (1) on which one or more bales of pressed harvested material can be placed and transported to the front of the hollow displacement parts, (2) mounted on an air duct (3) and placed on a movable slide, (4) which is able to move forth and back horizontally by help of a hydraulic piston (5). When the bale is in front of the hollow displacement parts (2) the conveyor stops (1) and the movable slide (4) pushes the hollow displacement parts (2) into the bale. When the displacement parts (2) are pushed into the bales, the blower starts (6) and air is injected through a hose (7) to the displacement channel (3) and out again through the hollow displacement parts (2).

When the bale is considered finished drying, after a given time of interval, the hollow displacement parts (2) are drawn from the bale which is conveyed ( 1) away from the hollow displacement parts giving place for the next bale to be dried.

Fig. 2 shows the hollow distributor channel (8) on which the hollow displacement parts (9) are mounted. The preferred construction will be that there are five or more displacement parts in one or more rows on top of each other.

Fig. 3 shows a part of me distributor channel (10) and the displacement part (11) where it is illustrated how the drying air (12) is able to inject from the blower (fig 1) (6) into the distributor channel, (10) through the pipe (13) on the displacement part (11) and out again between the two pieces of bar/plate (14), which expands the pressed material, and into the bale.

Fig. 4 shows the preferred construction form of the hollow displacement part seen from above. The displacement part consists of a four-sided pipe (16) which is mounted on the displacement channel ( 3) (10). On this pipe there* are welded two pieces of flat bar or plate (15) which slope towards the centre in horizontal plane (17) where they end in a point (18).

Where the two flat bars/plates ( 15) slope towards the centre (17), it is essential to obtain as big an expansion of the pressed material as possible to form a channel in the material, which makes it possible for me drying air to come out. Therefore, the preferred construction form of the displacement part is (17) to make it as width as possible, as it is of vital importance to the efficiency of the drying process;