ES382514A1 - Bale handling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A bale handling machine attached to a tractor, for feeding bales from the ground to a trailer of the tractor, comprises a bale scooping unit 60 for picking up and delivering bales on to an elevating unit 22 which transfers the bales on to the trailer, the scooping and elevating units being interlinked for simultaneous rotation in a vertical plane in opposite directions upon engagement of the bale. The scooping unit 60 comprises a pair of bale gripping jaws 78 mounted on parallel arms 68 and hydraulically movable towards each other to grip the bale therebetween, the arms 68 being mounted on further arms 62 which are rotatable about a horizontal axis through linkage from an hydraulic ram 14. The elevating unit 22 comprises a fixed board 40 along which a bale pusher 24 is moved by a parallelogram linkage 32, 34 linked to the scooping unit actuation linkage, whereby as the bale is being lifted by the unit 60 the pusher 24 is moved to the lowest end of the board 40, after which the bale drops on to the board upon release of the grippers 78 and the arms 62, 68 return to their lowest position with consequent movement of the bale pusher 24 up the board 40 to deliver the bale to a discharge shoot 7. The latter includes a one way spunwheel 140 and is adjustable for inclination. The hydraulic rams for operating the grippers 78, and the ram 14 are operated from a common hydraulic circuit controlled by a valve 118, the latter being operated to cause a gripping and lifting of a bale once it strikes a disc 110 on control linkage 112, and being operated to cause grip release and upward movement of the pusher 24 once link 18 of the scooping unit strikes a disc 138 on control linkage 136. Rails 102 on skids 106 orient and guide the bales into position between the grippers 78.