CA1126698A - Round bale handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Bale handling apparatus is disclosed which in one embodiment is capable of self-loading a plurality of, for example, four large round hay bales, transporting the hay bales, stacking the hay bales, loading a stack of hay bales for transporting to another area, and unrolling a hay bale.
The apparatus comprising a frame, a chassis for movably sup-porting the frame over the ground, and a bale engaging assem-bly for releasably engaging a bale at the ends thereof and for loading the engaged bale onto the frame at one side of one end thereof. A transversely movable carriage can move such a bale to the other side of the frame to make room for a further bale on the one side. The frame is pivotably mount-ed to the chassis at the other end thereof and can be tilted with respect thereto so that bales which have been loaded onto one end of the frame can be displaced rearwardly so as to make room for loading of additional bales. In addition, the frame can be rotated by position of approximately 90°
with respect to the chassis so that a stack of bales can be made.

Description

~12~8 The present invention relates to article handling app-aratus and more particularly relates to apparatus for handling bales such as large round hay bales and is a divislon of Appli-ation Number 321,327 filed 13 February 1979.
Heavy and bulky article equipment has usually been designed only with respect to the particular type of article and to handle the article in a very limited way. Thus, there is one piece of equipment to pick up individual articles, a second piece of equipment to transport a plurality of articles, a third piece of equipment to unload the articles from the transporter and a fourth piece of equipment to stack the articles. This is generally the case for equipment designed to handle the modern large round hay bales. Whereas the conventional box-shaped hay bale was relatively small and weighed less than 50 pounds, the round hay bale is made with a diameter of 5 or 6 feet and commonly weighs between 600 and 3,000 lbs. depending upon material density and moisture content and is approximately 5 feet long.
Commercial farm equipment exists in which the large round hay bales are wound in situ at the same time the hay is being harvested. Modern farming techniques call for the baler to follow or be part of the hay harves-ting equipment and form the large hay bales and deposit them in a plurality of rows. The hay bales are then collected, usually by a forklift and deposited on a transporting piece of equipment. After the bales have been taken to the storage location another piece of equipment is usually required to unload the transporter and yet another piece of equipment is required to stack the hay bales. Finally, still another piece of apparatus is usually used for unrolling the hay and distributing the hay to live-stock, such as cattle.

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~12~ 8 Prior art devices for lifting, transporting, stackinq, unrolling and otherwise handling the large round hay bales are disclosed in the following United States Patents: Adam, No. 4,117,9~0 which discloses a side self-loading, rear self-discharging trailer for transporting a number of round hay bales; Grillot, No. 4,088,272 which discloses a bale self-loader and shredder; McFarland, No. 4,084,707 which discloses a round bale, self-loading, transporting, and unrolling machine;
Smith, No. 4,037,741 which discloses a bale loading and trans-porting apparatus having a feed rack structure for allowing livestock to feed on the bales; Godberson, No. 3,968,940 which discloses apparatus mountable on a three-point hitch of a trailer for engaging, lifting, transporting, and unwinding a single round bale of hay; Brummit, No. 3,908,846, which discloses a large round bale handling apparatus mountable on a three-point hitch of a tractor for engaging, lifting, transporting, and unwinding a single round hay bale; Waske et al, No. 3,897,880 and Hostetler, No. 3,896,956, each of which discloses a device mountable on a pick-up truck or en-gaging, lifting, and transporting a single bale of hay. In addition, French Patent No. 2,337,496 and Canadian Patent 980,731 disclose further devices mountable on a three-point hitch of a tractor for handling round hay bales. Finally, United States Patents Nos.3,902,612 to Hall and 3,820,673 to McVaugh disclose specifically designed trucks for loading and transporting cable reels.
A study of the devices depicted in the aforedescribed patents and of some commercially available machines reveals several deficiencies. Although some of these machines per-form a number of functions regarding the handling of hay - 3 - ~

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bales, none of the machines combine into one apparatus the features of self-loading; the ability to load in the hay baler path; the ability to transport and unload the hay bales; the ability to stack the hay bales; the ability to retrieve hay bales arranged in a line; and the ability to unwind the hay bales. In addition, several of the devices employing chain conveyers for bale movement cause damage to the hay and the twine as the hay bales are being handled.
In addition, many serious accidents have occurred through improper use of those machines employing a front end loader and many of the self-feeding systems result in a large a-mount of hay wastage and excessive intake as well as signi-ficant losses in transporting of the bales.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other deficiencies of the prior art devices and provides a machine for automatically loading, stacking and retrieving large articles. If the articles are large round hay bales, the present invention is also capable of unrolling and feed-ing the hay. It is also a function and advantage of the pre-sent invention that all of the foregoing functions are capa-ble of being performed by a single, relatively inexpensive, remarkably sturdy machine. In one particular embodiment of the present invention, a trailer-type machine using hy-draulic and/or electrical motive forces is easily attach-able to be pulled by any self-propelled vehicle such as a tractor or a pick-up truck, and the hydraulics and electri-cal connections are easily connected to the pulling vehicle.
The present invention, when used with large round hay bales, is capable of loading at least four bales placed in a line in the field while following the path of the hay ~ - 4 -baler and is capable of safely transporting the bales to a storage area and stacking them on end in a two or three high stack. A stack of at least four bales can be retrieved at a time and loaded onto the present apparatus for transporta-tion to the animal feed area where the bales can be unrolled one at a time. With the present invention, the hay bales are easily and efficiently handled with a minimum of damage to the hay bale and a minimum of hay loss.
In one aspect of the present invention, a bale hand-ling apparatus comprises an elongate main frame having front and rear ends and which is capable of holding a plurality of articles or bales and a means for movably supporting the frame for movement over the ground. The apparatus also has bale engaging means for releasably engaging a bale and for loading and unloading the engaged bale respectively onto and off the frame from one end thereof, and a tilting means having a transverse axis of rotation for tilting the frame with respect to the supporting means about the transverse axis such that a bale loaded onto one end of the frame can be slid to the other end of the frame in order for a second bale to be loa2ed onto the frame at the first end.
In another aspect of the present invention, consid-eration is given to the limited hydraulic capability of the conventional farm equipment. A conventional farm tractor has a maximum number of external hydraulic functions which it can support, typically four for a farm tractor having a dual hy-draulic system. Therefore, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a multi-function bale handling apparatus which limits the total number of hydraulically operated implements to a minimum. In one aspect of the in-~lZ~

vention, the bale handling apparatus uses four hydraulic actuators to perform six functions, namely: a first hydr-aulic actuator to open and close two bale grasping arms;
a second hydraulic actuator to transversely move a loaded bale from one side of the frame to the other side of the frame; a third hydraulic actuator to move a previously loaded bale from one end of the frame to the other end of the frame; and finally a fourth hydraulic actuator which, in combination with a cam and cam follower and a radius arm performs the compound functions of lowering and lift-ing the bale engaging arm adjacent a bale which is situated on the ground, of swinging or pivoting the bale engaging arms from a position along side the frame to a position parallel to the frame while raising the bale engaging arms to a position above the frame so that a bale can be placed thereon.
A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a bale handling apparatus which comprises an elongate frame having front and rear ends and capable of holdins a plurality of longitudinally arranged bales and means for movably supporting the frame over the ground. The bale handling apparatus further comprises bale engaging means for releasably engaging a bale wherein the bale engaging means comprises a support member, means for pivotably mounting the support member to the frame for substantially horizontal pi-votal movement, about a generally vertical axis, and means for pivoting the support member horizontally and rotating the support member vertically about a horizontal aixs. The pivoting and rotating means further comprises a hydraulic motor means and a cam assembly such that through actuation ~ - 6 - ~

~lZ66;~

of just the hydraulic means, the support member is both pivotably swung and rotated.
In another aspect of the present invention, the number of hydraulic actuators is minimized as a result of the hydraulic actuator which operates the grasping movement of the arms of the bale engaging means being alinged along a horizontal, pivotal axis of the bale engaging means. This aspect of the invention is particularly useful for a bale handling apparatus which is removably mountable in the bed of a conventional half-ton or three-quarter ton pick-up truck.
In this aspect of the present invention, the bale handling apparatus comprises an elongate frame having front and rear ends and capable of holding a plurality of longitudinally arranged bales, bale engaging means pivotably mounted on the frame for releasably engaging a bale and for loading and unloading the engaged bale respectively onto and off the frame at one end thereof, and means for moving a first load-ed bale from said one end of the frame to the other end of the frame. The bale engaging means includes a substantially horizontally extending member and two arms pivotably attched near respective ends thereof to the corresponding ends of---the support member. A single fluid actuating means for sim-ultaneously pivoting the two arms is connected between the respective terminal ends of the arms and extends through the pivotal axis of the support member.
In a further aspect of the invention, a bale handling apparatus comprising an elongate, mobile trailer having a frame and a means for movably supporting the trailer over the ground. The apparatus also has a tiltable bed mounted to the frame, the bed being capable of supporting a plurality ~ - 7 - ~

1126~i9B

of bales oriented in one direction. Means are provided for pivotably mounting the bed to the frame for tilting about an axis generally perpendicular to the firstmentioned direction.
Means are additiorally provided for tilting the bed about the second axis such that the oriented bales are unloaded from the trailer in a vertical stacked arrangement onto a supporting surface such as the ground.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advan-tages of the present invention are discussed in or are appa-rent from the description and drawings of the presently pre-ferred embodiments of the invention found hereinbelow.
The invention will now be described by way of example only, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view taken from a photograph of a prototype according to one embodiment of the present in-vention adapted for the handling of large cylindrical bales and which is embodied in a powerless, trailer-type vehicle;
Figure 2 is a plan view, with parts removed, taken from a scaled blueprint of a slightly different trailer-type, round hay bale handling apparatus than that shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is a side elevational view taken from a scaled blueprint of the hay bale handling apparatus depicted in Fig-ure 2;
Figure 4 is a side elevational view, similar to Fig-ure 3, taken from a scaled blueprint, but with the bale en-gaging means retracted to the trailer loading position;
Figure 5 is an end elevational view, partly in cross-section taken along line 5-5 of Figure 2;
Figure 6 is a side elevational view, with parts removed ~ - 8 - ~

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taken from a scaled blueprint, depicting the trailer bed in a tilted position;
Figure 7 is a side elevational view, taken from a scaled blueprint, of a box swivel assembly which contains a cam for causing the initial rotation about a horizontal axis of the arms of the bale engaging means during lifting of a bale;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view, taken from a scaled blueprint, taken along lines 8-8 of Figures 7 and ~;
Figure 9 is a top plan view, taken from a scaled blue-print of the box swivel assembly shown in Figure 7;
Figure 10 is an enlarged view, taken from a scaled blueprint, of the circled area of Figure 2 showing the co-op-eration between the cam and roller cam follower and the pivot points and motion control strut of the bale engaging assembly;
Figure lO(a) is an enlarged detail view, taken from a scaled hlueprint, of the bar-lifting equalizer shown in Figure 10;
Figure lO(b) is an enlarged detail view taken from a scaled blueprint, of the trunnion shown in Figure 10;
Figure lO(c) is an enlarged detail view taken from a scaled blueprint, of the bracket and lever hinge shown in Figure 10;
Figure lO(d) is a detail section taken on line B-B
of Figure 10 with some parts removed for clarify;
Figure 11 is a perspective view depicting the assembly of the components according to Figures lO(a) - lO(c), with some co-operating parts shown in phantom outline to provide co-relation with Figures 10 and lO(d);
Figure 12 is a plan view showing the pivoting of the 1126~8 bale engaging assembly and an engaged bale depicted in dash lines as the bale is rotated through sixty of the ninety de-grees it is moved as it is being off loaded from the bed of the carriage assembly;
Figures 13-19 are schematic representations depict-ing the handling of a bale with the embodiment of the present invention depicted in Figure 1. These figures respectively depict a ground supported bale being engaged, the bale being loaded onto the carriage assembly, a second bale being loaded onto the carriage assembly, the two previously loaded bales being shifted from the forward part of the carriage assembly to the mirrorred part by the tilting of the c~rriage assembly, loading the fourth bale, off loading all four bales in a stacked arrangement by pivoting the bed of the carriage assem-bly, and unrolling a bale to the side, such that, as the car-riage assembly is moved forward the supporting wheels do not pass over the unrolled hay;
Figure 20 is a plan view taken from a scaled blue-print, of another embodiment of the present invention in which the bale handling apparatus is shown positioned in the bed of a pick-up truck;
Figure 21 is a side elevational view, taken from a scaled blueprint, of the embodiment of the invention depict-ed in Figure 20;
Figure 22 is an end elevational view, taken from a scaled blueprint, of the embodiment of the invention depict-ed in Figure 20.
With reference now to the drawings in which like numerals represent like elements through the several views, and in particular with reference to Figure 1, a bale handling '~ - 10 -apparatus according to the present invention in the embodiment of a non-powered trailer 30 is depicted. ~railer 30 is com-prised of a carriage assembly 32 and a yoke assembly 34 de-signed to be attached to a self-propelled vehicle, such as a conventional farm tractor (not shown) which has a conven-tional dual hydraulic system. Carriage assembly 32 is com-prised of a wheeled base assembly 36 having two, two-wheeled transverse axle assemblies 38 and 40 and an elongate base frame 42, and a bale support platform 44 pivotably mounted at the rearward portion thereof to base assembly 36.
sale support platform 44 includes a support bed 46, and two transversely arranged, rearwardly disposed bale pans 48 and 50 which are spaced apart and fixedly mounted to the rearward half of support bed 46. A forward bale pan 52 is mounted for transverse movement on support bed 46 with a conventional hydraulically operated orbit motor (not shown) and roller chains 54. Forward bale pan 52 is movably by the orbit motor and roller chains 54 between a first position in which it is in longitudinal alignment with the right rear bale pan 50 and a second position in which it is in longitudinal alignment with left rear bale pan 48. All three bale pans 48, 50 and 52 have a shallow, flat bottomed U-shaped transverse cross-section and open ends, and can be made from thick sheet metal.
Longitudinally movably mounted to support bed 46 and shown in the rearward position is a fork assembly 56 comprised of a base member 58 and four tines 60 rig~dly mounted to base member 58 and disposed substantially perpen-dicular thereto. Base member 58 is rigidly attached to a - 30 longitudinally movable trolley 64 depicted at a rearward ~126~8 position and movable therefrom to approximately the trans-verse midline of support bed 46 by a conventional hydrauli-cally operated orbit motor 66 and roller chains 68.
Pivotably n,ounted to the forward right hand corner of base frame 42 is a bale engaging means depicted in Fig-ure 1 in the longitudinally extending or transport position.
Bale engaging means 70 is comprised of two, spaced apart bale grasping arms 72 and 74 pivotably mounted near corres-ponding proximal end portions 75 and 78 to corresponding ends of a support beam 80, and a hydraulic cylinder 82 con-nected between proximal end portions 75 and 78 of arms 72 and 74. Rotatably mounted to the distal ends of arms 72 and 74 through a swinging like asse~bly 84 are triangu-larly shaped, bale grasping plates 86 having inwardly pro-jecting spikes 88 mounted on the inwardly facing surfaces thereof.
For exemplary purposes only, the specifications for the prototype trailer 30 depicted in Figure 1 can include an overall length of 19 feet 4 inches and an overall empty width of 11 feet. A trailer made of all metal construction would weigh empty a little less than two and a half tons and would be capable of supporting four, two thousand pound round hay bales.
With reference now to Figures 2-6, a slightly modi-fied trailer according to the present invention, with parts removed for clarity, is depicted. The detailed description of the components of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention will be given with respect to a slight-ly modified trailer 30' depicted in these figures. However, for the sake of convenience, the same numerals willbeused ,~ - 12 - ~

~Z66~8 to identify the various components as were used in Figure 1.
As is clearly shown in Figures 2, 3 and 5, base frame 42 of wheeled base assembly 36 is comprised essentially of a plurality of sp~ced apart longitudinal, channel-shaped beams 100 and a plurality of transverse, channel-shaped beams 102, and is mounted from axle assemblies 38 and 40 with trans-versely spaced leaf springs 104 and 106. Likewise, support platform 44 is comprised of a criss-cross pattern of longi-tudinal beams 108 and transverse beams 110 and is pivotably ld connected to base frame 42 with a pair of spaced apart, axial-ly aligned axles 112. A pair of tilting hydraulic cylinders 114 are transversely spaced apart and connected at their cor-responding forward ends to a base frame transverse beam 102 and connected at their corresponding rear ends to a support platform transverse beam 110. Extention of hydraulic cylin-ders 114 results in the tilting of support platform 44 about axles 112. Axles 112 and the positioning and extension length of tilting cylinders 114 are selected such that the support platform can be rotated through an angle of approximately 95 such that the bottoms of tines 60 engage the ground as shown in dashed lines in Figure 6. Pivotably mounted to the sides of support bed 46 and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom are a long guide rail 116 and a short guide rail 118. When not needed, guide rails 116 and 118 can be rota-ted to a substantially vertical position and locked in place to a longitudinal beam 108 with a lock bolt 120 (See Figure S). Guide rails 116 and 118 are retained in their operation-al positions by the engagement of the terminal ends thereof with corresponding angle irons 122.
With particular reference to Figure 2, it can be seen ~ - 13 - ~

~iZ66g8 that fork assembly 56 is fixedly attached to the rear end of support bed 44 and that trolley 62 is connected through brace member 64 to a further transversely extending base member 124 having upstanding plates 126 rigidly mounted to corresponding end portions of base member 124. Longitudi-nal trolley 62 is mounted in two parallel, spaced apart rails 128 with four tapered rollers 130. As mentioned a-bove, trolley 62 is moved along rails 128 with an orbit motor and roller chain assembly (not shown in Figure 2).
Also shown in Figure 2 is a lateral trolley 132 gen-erally rollably mounted on two parallel, spaced apart and laterally extending rails 134 with four tapered rollers 136.
Also mentioned above, lateral trolley 132 is positioned with an orbit hydraulic motor and roller chain assembly. Forward bale pan 52 is removably mounted onto lateral trolley 132 and is used for transversely positioning a round hay bale. Longi-tudinal trolley 62 is used for moving two rearwardly located round hay bales to a forward position through the engagement of plates 126 with the hay bales.
With reference now to Figures 2-5 and 7-10, the unique mounting means for mounting the bale engaging means 70 to base frame 42 will now be described in greater detail. A box swi-vel assembly 138 having a rear mounting plate 140 is rigidly attached to a base frame transverse beam 102 with mounting means such as bolts 142 extending through orifices 144 of mounting plate 140. Box swivel assembly 138 includes top and bottom, vertically spaced apart bearing plates 146 and 147 having coaxially aligned bearing cups 148 with orifices 140 located at the outward side thereof. Box swivel assem-bly 138 further comprises an inward side 152 which extends ~3 - 14 - ~

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vertically between top and bottom bearing plates 146 and 147.
The remaining front and outward side of box swivel assembly 138 is open. Mounted to the forward portion of side 152 are forward and rearward curved cam plates 154 and 156 forming a vertical camming channel 158 therebetween. Top bearing plate 146 is larger than and extends more forwardly than bottom bearing plate 147 such that top bearing plate forms a top cover over camming channel 158 and the bottom of cam-ming cahnnel 148 is left open.
With particular reference to Figures 2 and 4, as des-cribed hereinbefore, bale engaging means 70 is comprised of a support beam 80 and two grasping arms 72 and 74. It is noted for the sake of convention that the inward and outward directions and the forward and rearward directions as shown in plan in Figure 2 and are with respect to carriage assem-bly 32.
As shown in Figure 10, a stop bolt 161(b) is provid-ed to enable adjustment of the bale grasping arms. Bolt 161(b) is attached to extend through plate 161(c), Figures 10 and 20 extension of the bolt through lock-nut 161(d) determines the degree of adjustment.
Support beam 80 more particularly includes a horizon-tally extending, hollow frame member 160 having a square cross-section and two generally H-shaped journal boxes 161 and 162 and 16~ rigidly mounted to each end thereof. Journal boxes 161 and 162 each has an aligned bore 163 extending com-pletely through the distal ends of each side thereof. As shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 10, locking pin bores 161(a) and 162(a) respectively are provided to accommodate pins (not shown) which may be introduced to secure either ~ - 15 -of grasping arms 72 and 74 in a fixed position s~ that the fixed arm can penetrate between two adjacent bales while the free, unpinned arm will move to grasp the appropriate bale. Perpendicu]arly, rigidly mounted near one end of frame member 160, and extending in the opposite direction of bale grasping arms 72 and 74, are two parallely extending connecting members or support arms, an inwardly disposed connecting member 164 and an outwardly disposed connecting member 165. At the mid-portion of each connecting member are two co-axially aligned bores which define a horizontal axis of rotation A of bale engaging means 70. Also rigidly mounted to the same side of frame member, but located be-tween outward connecting member 165 and journal box 162, are two brackets 166 and 167. Each grasping arm is comprised of an angular shank portion 168 made from a square metal tube and having a vertical bore (not shown) at the proximal end thereof, grasping plate 86 pivotably attached to the distal end at the inside face thereof, as described more fully here-inbelow, and two journal plates 169 rigidly mounted at one end thereof to the other end of shank portion 168 along the top and bottom thereof as as to extend coaxailly therebeyond.
As depicted in Figure 2, journal plates 168 are pivotably mounted inside the extending sides of the corresponding frame member journal box 161 or 162 with a pivot pin 170 which also extends through the journal box bore 163 in the proximal end of shank portion 168. At the free end of each journal plate 168 are coaxially, vertically aligned bores 171 for receiving the connecting linkage of a hydraulic motor means s~ch as a hydraulic cylinder 172. Bores 171 are also vertically positioned on either slde of horizon-f-~ - 16 - f~

liZ6698 tal axis of rotation A.
Hydraulic cylinder 172 is comprised of a double acting piston and cylinder arrangement with outwardly extend-ing, articulated ]inkage comprised of an outward shaft 173 and an inward shaft 174. Outward shaft 173 is pivotably connected at the outward end thereof to bore 171 at the end of arm 74, and at the inward end thereof to the end of cylinder 172 and a pivotal support link 175, the other end of which is pivotably connected to outer bracket 167. In-ward shaft 174 is pivotably connected at the inward end thereof to bore 171 at the end of arm 72, extends through the coaxially aligned bores in connecting member 164 and 165 and is pivotably connected at the outward end thereof to the piston tail of cylinder 172 and a pivotal support link 176, the other end of which is pivotably connected to inner brac-ket 166. Thus it can be seen that as cylinder 172 contracts, the rearward ends of arms 72 and 74 are pulled toward each other, thereby opening the outer ends thereof so as to per-mit a bale to be disposed therebetween. Extension of cylin-der 172 reverses the sequence and permits the spikes 88 of bale grasping plates 86 to be forced into the bale as the bale is grasped by arms 72 and 74. It may however be neces-sary, as shown only in Figure 4, to introduce a synchroniz-ing link 176(A) between support links 174 and 176, the ef-fect of this would be to ensure that arms 72 and 74 will move in an equalized manner during opening and closing.
With reference now in particular to Figures 10~10(d), and also Figures 3 and 4, the means for vertically and hori-zontally pivoting of bale grasping means will now be des-cribed. Extending through both bores of connecting members .~ - 17 - '~

164 and 165 and rigidly attached thereto is a bearing sleeve 177. Journalled around bearing sleeve 176 is one end of a trunnion 178. The other end of trunnion 178, in turn is ro-tatably mounted ir bearing cups 118 of box swivel assembly 138 for rotation about a vertical axis at the centre of bore 150. Thus, support beam 80 of bale engaging means 70 is pi-votably mounted to base frame 42 at the forward right hand corner thereof (as seen in Figure 2) through trunnion 178 and box swivel assembly 318. Trunnion 178 in one embodiment is comprised of a steel tube having a first short pipe extend-ing through one end and a second short pipe extending through the other end in a direction perpendicular to the first pipe so that one end of trunnion 178 can be rotated about hori-zontal axis A and the other end can be rotated about a ver-tical axis in box swivel assembly 138. An exemplary dis-tance between the axes in the trunnion end pipes is 9 in-ches with one short pipe being 7~ inches long and the other one being 8 3/4 inches long.
Horizontal swinging movement of bale engaging means 70 is caused by the extension of a single hydraulic cylin-der 180, one end of which is pivotably attached to base frame 42 at brackets 181, and the othex end of which is universal-ly journalled with a ball and socket connection 182 to a lever-hinge bracket 183. Lever-hinge bracket 183 has a box-shaped housing 184 with an open bottom and spaced apart co-axially aligned bearing cups 185 in either side for being pivotably mounted around bearing sleeve 177 on either side of trunnion 178. Angularly extending from the top of hous-ing 184 is a lever portion 185, the distal end of which re-ceives ball and socket connection 182. At the lower portion ; ~ - 18 - !~

llZ66~8 of the back of housing 184, just below horizontal pivot axis A is an orifice through which a bolt 186 is mounted substan-tially triangularly-shaped guide plate 187 at the upper ver-tex thereof (as s~own in Figure 4) to lever-hinge bracket 183.
The lower two vertices of guide plate 187 are enlarged into bosses 188 and 189 which can selectively engage the underside portions of inwardly connecting member 164 and outwardly con-necting member 165 as bale engaging means 70 is swung, there-by causing vertical pivoting of arms 74 and 76 into the first lifting phase of the operation, as support beam 80 is rotated.
rnhus looking specifically at Figure lO(d), when the inner edge 183(b) of the lever hinge bracket 183 contacts stop block 183(a), which is in this embodiment fixedly at-tached as by welding to trunnion 178, this essentially com-mences the rotation phase, edge 183(b) and the block 183(a) remaining in contact while the cylinder 180 is under load.
It may however be necessary, as shown schematically in Figure lO(d) to provide one or more springs 178(a) operably extend-ing between trunnion 178 and bracket 183. Such springs would ensure that the edge 183(b) and the block 183(a) remain sub-stantially in contact during the upward and downward operat-ing modes. As will be apparent, when lowering in the verti-cal phase, bracket 183 moves away from block 183(a), the cy-linder 180 is then acting on bracket 183 which at this in-stance can be considered as a free floating lever which may not without springs 178(a) cause the arms 72 and 74 on their supporting beam 80 to move downwardly in unison therewith Support beam 80 is also connected to base frame 42 through a strut 190 that is attached at one end through a heavy duty ball and socket joint 191 to the distal, rearward b` - 19 ~

~iZ6698 end of outward connection member 165 and that is pivotably attached at the outer end to a flange 192 on frame 42 through a second heavy duty ball and socket joint 192, the fourth and last connection between the base frame 42 and support beam 80 is a cam follower or roller 194 that is rotatably mounted to the distal, rearward end of inward connection member 164 (as best seen in Figure 4) and the engagement thereof into and in ca~ming channel 158 as bale engaging means is swung to its outward position (clockwise in Figure 10 10).
The interactions among cam follower 194 and cam plates 154 and 156, strut 190, guide p~ate 187 and lever-hinge brac-ket 183, and cylinder 180 is as follows. When bale engaging means (see Figure 4) is in its rearward loading position, bale engaging arms are in a substantially vertical position with bale grasping plates inclined over support bed 46 (Fig-ures 1 and 5), cylinder 180 is contracted and cam follower 194 is disengaged from camming channel 158. As soon as cylin-- der 180 begins to expand, the force is applied to support beam 20 80 at the horizontal plane of rotation axis A through lever-hinge bracket 183, which is above the lower pivotal conne-c-tion of strut l90 (Figures 4 and 5). The restrictive action of strut 190 results in a counter clockwise movement being (as seen in Figure 5) applied to the end of connecting mem-ber 165 below the horizontal pivot of support beam 80. Hence arms 72 and 74 begin to be lowered. The lowering of arms 72 and 74 continues as cylinder 180 is extended and as con-necting member 165 is rotated counter-clockwise from its initial vertical position shown in Figure 5 to the horizon-tal position shown in Figure 3. The arc of travel of strut ~2~98 ball and socket connection 191 ~s shown at 195, in Figure 2.
Also as outwardly connecting member 165 is raised, inward connecting member 164 is similarly raised and swung from its depending position shown in Figure 4 to its horizontal position shown in plan in Figure 10. At a point in between, cam follower 194 at the end of inwardly connecting member 164 enters the bottom of camming channel 158 (see Figure 8).
Upon further extension of cylinder 180, cam follower 194 en-gages cam plates 156 and 154 and is constrained by them.
Cam follower 194 is first prevented from further rearward motion by rear cam plate 156 and as it is raised, it is forced forward applying a supplementary counter clockwise rotational movement to beam 80 and causing further lowering of arms 72 and 74 (see dashed lines in Figure 3). Because the counter clockwise rotational movement exerted by strut l90 is a trigonometric function, it becomes increasing less as for-ward connecting arm nears its horizontal position. However, at this point, the camming action on cam follower comes into being and assist the action of strut 190.
As mentioned above, the swinging force resulting from operation of cylinder 180 is applied through lever-hinge bracket 183 at a point thereto which is rearward and above the axis rotation thereof (i.e., of rotational axis A) (see Figures 4 and 10). Therefore, a force assisting the rotation of arms 72 and 74 is applied through lever-hinge bracket 183 to guide plate 187 which is located forward and below rota-tional axis A, and thence through bosses 188 and 189 thereof to the underside (as seen in Figure 10) of connecting members 164 and 165 respectively.
Thus, it can be seen that support beam 80 is swung ~ 21 -6~

horizontal about a pivot in box swivel assembly 138 and is ro-tated about axis A through the action of a single hydraulic cylinder working in combination with other non-hydraulically affective means. In addition, so that only one hydraulic cylinder need be used to operate both grasping arms 72 and 74, hydraulic cylinder 180 extends through the orifices in arms 172 and 174 and through corresponding, concentric ori-fices in bearing hinge 178 such that hydraulic cylinder 180 drives through the axis of rotation of frame member 160.
With reference to Figure 5, as mentioned above,bale engaging means 70 includes a bale grasping plate 86 pivotably mounted through a swinging link assembly 84 to the distal end of each grasping arm 72 and 74. Swinging link assembly 84 permits bale engaging means 70 to be useable with a plurality of bale diameters. In the embodiment de-picted in Figure 5, swinging link assembly 84 is comprised of a generally triangularly shaped link 198 having a first pivot 200 for rotatably mounting bale grasping plate 86 thereto and a second pivot 202 for being rotatably mounted to the terminal ends of bale grasping arm 72 or 74. Located near second pivot 202 at the terminal end of bale grasping arm 74 but spaced slightly inwardly thereof and located on the outward side of bale grasping arms 74 as depicted in Figure 5 is a flange 204 having an orifice therein. A pair of orifices 206 are located in the lower corners of link 198.
A locking bolt 208 when inserted through one of orifices 206 and the flange orifice coaxially align~d therewith, locks bale grasping plate 86 into either an upright position as shown in solid lines or a downward position as shown in dashed lines in Figure 5, for the handling of larger or small-~ - 22 - ~

1~26698 er bales, respectively.
As shown in Figure 3 in dashed lines, a stabilizer wheel 210 can be provided at the forward end of trailer 30 to provide stability thereof when depositing the first bale or unloading the last bale. With trailer 30 unladen, sta-bilizer wheel 210 will preferably be approximately three in-ches above the ground and hence be out of the way during transporting of trailer 30.
The operation of a bale handling apparatus according to the present invention in one embodiment for handling large round bales is depicted in Figures 13-19. In these figures, the present invention is embodied in trailer 30 which is connected by a yoke assembly 34 to the draw bar 250 of a tractor, only the large wheel of which is shown at 252. As seen in Figure 13, bale engaging means 70 is in the engaging position and control valve 224 is operated so as to supply pressurized fluid to the appropriate end of bale squeeze hydraulic cylinder 172 so as to first open up arms 72 and 74 such that bale grasping plates 86 can be placed on either end of a first ground supported hay bale 300 upon the forward movement of tractor 252. Control 224 is then positioned so as to supply pressurized fluid to the other side of bale squeeze cylinder 172 and thereby engage grasping arms 72 and 74 with each end of hay bale 300.
As soon as first hay bale 300 has been engaged with engaging means 70, control valve 224 is operated so as to supply pressure to the appropriate side of bale lift and ro-tate cylinder 180 for the retraction thereof. As cylinder 180 begins to retract, because of camming action on roller 194 and of the interplay of strut 190 and guide plate 187, arms 72 and 74 are rotated vertically and swung horizontally so as to raise bale 300 to a second loading position at the near forward end of trailer 30. It has been assumed that lateral trolley 132 has been appropriately positioned so that bale 300 can be received. When bale 300 is positioned as shown in Figure 14, arms 72 and 74 are over their pivot point so that upon the actuation of bale squeeze cylinder 172, bale 300 will be released into the appropriately posi-tioned forward bale pan 52. As soon as bale 300 is located in pan 52, control valve 222 is actuated so as to position the pan to the distal lateral side, thereby transferring a bale 300 to the far left side of trailer 30.
As soon as first hay bale 300 has been positioned to the other side of trailer 30, a second hay bale 302 can be loaded onto the near side of trailer 30, as shown in Fig-ure 15, using the same sequence of steps as described above.
The two bales 300 and 302 are now in position to be moved to the rear of trailer 30. This is accomplished by bring-ing fork assembly 56, mounted on trolley 62 up to the back of bales 300 and 302. Control valve 238 is then actuated to supply pressurized hydraulic fluid to deck tipping cyIin-ders 114 which in turn tilts bale support platform 44 to an angle well above the angle of response of the bales, as shown in Figure 16. Bales 300 and 302 are then transferred by gra-vity to left rear bale pan 48 and right rear bale pan 50, respectively, movement being controlled by the fork assembly 56 which is moved hydraulically to the rear of the trailer 30. In this regard, it is noted that control valve 238 is operated so that only the desired angle of tilt of support platform 44 is obtained.

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The support platform ~4 is then lowered and the aforementioned procedure is repeated to load two more bales, 304 and 306, onto the forward portion of trailer 30. The bales are then transported to the desired storage area where-upon control 238 is again actuated, but this time for a suf-ficiently long enough period of time so that deck tipping hydraulic cylinders 114 extend all the way. This results in bale support platform 44 being rotated clockwise approxi-mately 90-95 until tines 60 rest on the ground. If trailer 30 is then pulled forward by tractor 252, a stack of four bales 308 will be formed. Obviously, a stack of bales can be loaded onto trailer 30 simply by reversing the aforemen-tioned steps, reference being had to Figure 18.
Finally, referring to Figure 19, the bale handling apparatus according to the present invention can also unroll a bale of hay by off loading a bale, such as bale 306, and placing it on the ground forward of and along side of trailer 30. With bale engaging arms 72 and 74 still engaged with bale 306, grasping plate 86 rotates about first pivot 200.
As soon as bale 306 has been unravelled, bale 304 can be off loaded and also unravelled. Thereupon, lanyard 235 is ac-tuated by the operator and pressurized fluid is admitted to the appropriate side of orbit motor 66. Orbit motor 66 thereupon moves longitudinal trolley 62 forwardly and with tines 60 in engagement with bales 302, they will be moved forward to the front of trailer 30. As mentioned above, longitudinal trolley 62 can be returned to its rearward position with springs as soon as the hydraulic pressure is released from forward motor 66. Alternatively, orbit motor 66 can be positively driven to return longitudinal trolley ~ 5 - ~

66~il 62 to its rearward position.
With reference now to Figures 20, 21 and 22, a se-cond embodiment of the bale handling apparatus according to the present invention is depicted at 400 and which is designed to fit in the bed of a conventional pick-up truck, shown in dashed and dotted lines at 402. Apparatus 400 is comprised of bale engaging means 470 which is substantially similar to bale engaging means 70 depicted in Figures 2-6. Therefore, bale engaging means 470 will not be described further except to note that two hydraulic arm rotating cylinders 404 and 405 are utilized and are connected through a pivotal coupling 408 to a flange 410 which in turn is rigidly attached to support beam 480. Bale grasping arms 472 and 474 are substantially the same as arms 72 and 74 and are similarly mounted to the respective ends of support beam 480. In addition, it is noted that the arms-rotating hy~raulic cylinder 580 also drives through the pivot axis of bale engaging means 470.
This feature of driving through the pivot axis of bale en-gaging means 470 is important since it enables one cylinder 580 to be applied as the prime mover for both of the baler grasping arms 472 and 474, without restricting the angular rotation of arms 472 and 474, as would be the case if cylin-der 580 were connected for example to the underside of bale engag1ng means 70.
~ The apparatus in addition to bale engaging means 470 is also comprised of an elongate frame 420 that is sized to fit in the bed of truck 402 and be attached thereto with means such as chains 422. Frame 420 is comprised of an angled base plate 424 having a large, flat, horizontally extending section 426 sized to fit between the wheelwells of the bed ~ - ~ 3 .
~lZ6698 of truck 402 and a rear downward depending section 427 which engages the end of the bed of truck 402 and limits forward movement of frame 420. Frame 420 further comprises a for-ward vertical housing 428 for containing the hydraulic equip-ment depicted schematically therein. Frame 420 also privides a longitudinally extending track section which includes two parallel, spaced apart tracks 430.
Slidably mounted on tracks 430 is a bale receiving cradle 432, the forward end of which is attached to a hydrau-lically operated cylinder 434.
The operation of bale handling apparatus 400, once it has been loaded and secured to a pick-up truck 402, is rela-tively simple. Truck 402 is backed up to a round hay bale disposed on the ground and arms 472 and 474 are rotated apart to the dashed position shown in Figure 22 by supplying pres-surized hydraulic fluid to the appropriate side of bale squeezing cylinder 580. Then, bale rotating cylinders 404 and 406 are supplied witn pressurized hydraulic fluid to the appropriate side thereof so as to rotate support beam 470 and arms 472 and 474 to a position such as shown in dashed lines in Figure 21. When the height of grasping plates 86 has been adjusted with cylinders 404 and 406, cylinder 580 is extended and arms 472 and 474 engage the round hay bale. Cylinders 404 and 406 are then actuated to rotate support beam 480 counter-clockwise as shown in Figure 21 and position the hay bale on cradle 432. After actuating hydraulic cylinder 434 to posi-tion the hay bale to the forward position as shown in Figure 21, a second hay bale can be loaded in a similar manner and rest on a stationary, supporting cradle 440. However, be-cause of the smallness of the bed of truck 402, the second '~ - 27 - t~

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bale cannot be fully loaded thereon and consequently, arms 472 and 474 will have to remain engaged with the second hay bale as it is being transported.
Finally, it is noted that the hay bale can be unrolled in much the same way as the apparatus depicted in Figures 2-6, namely by placing a hay bale on the ground and with bale grasp-ing plates 86 still engaged, driving truck 402 in the forward direction, thereby permitting the hay bale to unroll.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to presently preferred embodiments thereof, it should be obvious to those skilled in the art that the scope and spi-rit of the present invention covers obvious modifications thereto.
For example, the apparatus according to the invention could be utilized to grasp the bales across their diameter, - thus permitting the bales to be loaded onto the trailer frame with the longitudinal axis of the bale installed trans-versally of the frame.
Alternatively, tilting of the frame with respect to the supporting chassis could be affected about the longitu-dinal axis of the chassis so as to permit side stacking of a plurality of bales.
Furthermore, by hinging the tines mounted on the back of the frame, bales could be slid off the rear of the trailer upon tilting of same about the transverse axis of the chassis.
Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those 28 skilled in the art the manner of carrying out the invention.

Claims (3)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS

1. Round bale handling apparatus comprising a mobile unit having an elongate bed for supporting at least two round bales, a cradle movably mounted on said bed and means for moving said cradle from one end of said bed where a bale is loaded thereon to the other end of said bed where said bale can be retained so that a second bale can be loaded at said one end of said bed; and a bale handling assembly for lifting and loading bales from the ground onto said bed at one end thereof, said bale handling assembly comprising a frame including two, spaced apart, pivotably mounted counter-levered grasping arms for releasably grasping a bale there-between at the distal ends thereof, means for pivoting said arms between a bale grasping position and a bale releasing position, said arm pivoting means comprising a linear actuator coupled between the proximal ends of said arms at the proximal terminal end sides of the pivots thereof, and means for pivotably mounting said frame about a generally horizontal axis to said mobile unit, and means for pivoting said frame about said horizontal axis, and mounting means for mounting said linear actuator to said frame through said frame mounting means and on said horizontal axis.

2. A bale handling assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said linear actuator is a single hydraulic cylinder which drives said arms through said frame mounting means.

3. A bale handling assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said bale handling assembly further includes adjustable bale grasping means mounted at said arm distal end, said bale engaging means comprising a bale grasping member, a swing link assembly having a swing link, a first pivot for pivotably mounting said swing link to said arm distal end, a second pivot spaced from said first pivot for pivotably mounting said swing link to said grasping member and means for change-ably locking said swing link at a plurality of positions to said arm distal end so that the radius of said grasping member from said horizontal pivot axis can be changed and hence bales of different diameters can be accommodated.