It is current practice in the cotton growing areas of United States to compact the raw picked cotton in the field by compressing the cotton into portable molds. The picked cotton is dumped into the open top of the molds and is lightly compacted compared to the compaction of cotton in a cotton bale. When the compaction is completed, the mold is removed and a rectangular mass of cotton remains which is referred to as a cotton module. The size is generally standardized at either 32 or 36 feet in length with a height of 8 to 10 feet and tapered sidewall that are 7 feet to 8 feet apart at the top of the module.
The purpose of the modules is to store raw cotton until such time as ginning capacity is available. The modules frequently are left in the field for many weeks or months until such time as they are picked up and transported to the gin. During this time period they are exposed to rain and wind and a waterproof cover is needed to protect the module from rain and also to secure the top from blowing away in the wind. The waterproof cover preferably must be secured to withstand winds in the range of 50 mph to 60 miles per hour that occur especially in the semiarid regions where irrigation is used. The cover protects the cotton module from wind erosion as the modules are transported on high speed vehicles.
While protecting the top from wind erosion is usually sufficient to eliminate wind loss, some covers are equipped with mesh sides that depend from the bottom edge of the waterproof portion of the cover to prevent side wall erosion. These mesh sides also allow the module to "breathe" or be ventilated.
Various schemes have been used to secure the cover to the module to prevent blowing off in the wind. Metal spikes and hooks have been driven into the sides and ends to which ropes are tied. These are generally not favored because of the chance that an overlooked spike or hook might enter the gin and damage it. Some modules are compacted with transverse ropes or webs disposed under the bottom of the module and up the sides so that the cover can be secured to the ends of these transverse ropes. Horizontal ropes have been used that are disposed in the bottom edge of the cover or the bottom edge of the mesh in covers using mesh. Also horizontal ropes have been tied around the module below the cover to which cover ropes are tied.
The amount of labor involved in securing a cover to a module is becoming critical and there is a need for a cover that is factory equipped with a tie down that is effective and that can be quickly attached to the module.