GB2158111A - Improvements in and/or relating to feeding out hay bales - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for feeding out a large round bale which provides a cradle 1 in which a bale can be rotated about its longitudinal axis by chains 2. The invention comprises providing such apparatus with a rotatable teasing element 9 carried by the apparatus which acts upon a bale from above so as to loosen the material thereof as the bale is being rotated thereby facilitating the feeding off of the material to towards a side of the cradle. The teasing element can be moved between operative and inoperative positions. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in and/or relating to feeding out hay bales The present invention relates to improvements in and/or relating to apparatus for feeding out hay bales.

In New Zealand patent specification nos. 187987 and 206390 there is disclosed apparatus of a kind suitable for the feeding out of large round bales.

The full disclosure of those specifications is hereby corporated by way of reference. Such apparatus works efficiently in unwinding and feeding out as a narrow windrow hay or other fodder that has been baled. Such apparatus however runs into some difficulty where the bale has been formed with a solid core since there is a tendancy for the bale to retain its integrity when partially unwound and thus defy the bale shredding and feeding out effects of the preferred chain carried slats with their upstanding bale penetrating points. Indeed some bales are so tightly wound that the pointed spikes carried by the slats do not penetrate and achieve any worthwhile unwinding of the bale. With this therefore in mind a modification of bale feeding apparatus is deemed appropriate to take into account difficulties encountered with such bales.

In United States Patent No. 4195958 granted April 1, 1980 there is disclosed bale unrolling apparatus which includes wheel members adapted to roll across the outer surface of the bale to provide urging of the bale towards rotatable members which take feed material therefrom. Without such urging members the feed of material would be intermittent at best. It should be appreciated however that there is no disclosure of a cradle defined by an endless conveyor which both at least partly supports and rotates the bale disposed therein.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatus and means and1or methods which will go at least some way to meet the above mentioned desiderata or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly in one aspect the present invention consists in feedout apparatus suitable for feeding out a large round bale comprising means defining a trough or cradle (hereinafter cradle) to carry a large round bale thereon with the longitudinal axis of the large round bale substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cradle, means defining the cradle incorporating bale feedout means actuable to revolve the large round bale in the cradle and to feed material from the bale at least towards one side of the cradle, and bale teasing means comprising a rotatable teasing element positionable above the cradle so that in use it can contact the bale along a substantial extent of the length of the bale in the loosening of the material therefrom, the teasing element being rotatable by such contact about a rotational axis substantially parallel to both the longitudinal axis of the large round bale and the cradle and means dependent from said means defining a cradle which supports said teasing element at or adjacent a distal end thereof, said means dependent from said means defining a cradle being capable of being positioned to hold the bale teasing element sufficiently clear of the cradle to allow the easy loading of a bale thereon and subsequently being positioned so that the same will cause the rotatable teasing element to maintain contact with the bale within the cradle until such time as at least a substantial amount of the bale has been fed out.

Preferably said rotatable teasing element has a rotational axis which can move within constraints relative to said means which support said teasing element.

Preferably said means which support said teasing element is pivoted about a pivot axis substantially parallel to both the rotational axis of said rotatable teasing element and the longitudinal axis of the cradle.

Preferably said rotatable member is an elongate member which rotates about its longitudinal axis.

Preferably said rotatable teasing element is iongitudinally vaned.

Preferably the pivot of said means which supports said teasing element is arranged so that gravity will stabilise same in a condition which allows the easy loading of the cradle and yet when rotated from that condition about its pivot axis will bias the teasing element into contact with a bale disposed within the cradle.

Preferably said means means defining a cradle includes an endless conveyor which both supports, at least in part, the bale and rotates the same to feed material from the bale at least towards one side of the cradle.

One preferred form of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus in accordance with the present invention showing diagrammatically important features thereof including a sub-frame arrangement capable of being pivoted in the arrowed direction under the effect of gravity when destabilized by movement or other means so as to present the preferred vaned bale teasing means inwardly so that the same is capable of contacting a bale positioned on the endless feed out means (shown in part only) when the same is rotated in a clockwise direction, Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the preferred form of the longitudinally vaned teaser apparatus, Figure 3 is a front perspective view of preferred fork means capable of lifting the apparatus as shown in Figure 1, and showing how, if desired, a hydraulic motor can be carried by the fork assembly to engage with appropriate means of the apparatus of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a side elevational perspective view of the hydraulic motor engagement means shown in Figure 3, Figure 5 is a similar view to that of Figure 1 but showing a different form of apparatus defining the cradle, i.e. one using sprockets to maintain the chain for supporting the slats (only some of which again are shown for convenience), Figure 6 is an end view of the support frame for the rotatable element, for example, at line aa showing the preferred four vane construction of the rotatable teasing element, and Figure 7 is a similar view to that of Figure 3 but showing how the hydraulic connections and the iike can be disposed of relative to the means defining the forks etc.

In a preferred form of the present invention the means defining a cradle 1 is of a kind known in the art. It includes thereon endless feed out means 2 comprising roller chains carrying a pluraiity of slats or the like members 3 (one only shown for ease of drawing) having upstanding bale engaging members dependent therefrom which are capable of being moved to move a bale at least in a clockwise direction in relation to the apparatus shown in Figure 1 when a bale is longitudinally positioned therein. In the form of the invention shown in Figure 1 tubular members 4 receive fork members 5 dependent from the three point linkage of a tractor.

A hydraulic motor 6 has a portion 7 thereof capable of being meshed with the portion 8 so as to be capable of rotating one way or the other the endless feed out arrangement 2 and its slats 3.

Positioned to one side of the apparatus is a longitudinally vaned (or fluted) member as shown in Figure 2 which member 9 is capable of rotating about the longitudinal axis thereof. Such rotation is as a result of a rotational mounting from sliding members 10 disposed within channel members 11 which are pivoted, for example, by pivots 12 (one only shown) so as to be movable from an upstanding and substantially unstable condition as shown in the drawing down to the stable condition where the bale teasing means 9 extends inwardly of the trough defined by the cradle to thereby be in a position against which a bale will rub - thereby rotating the bale teasing means 9 - to thereby loosen the hay and allow the effective feeding thereof by the feeder apparatus.

It is found that a longitudinally vaned member is best, since it results in a minimum of tangle and nevertheless achieves a worthwhile loosening effect.

It is also considered important to ensure a floating mount of the bale teasing apparatus whatever form it takes to avoid jamming. In the preferred form of the present invention this floating mount takes the form of the sliding of floating mounts 10 within channel 11 and the pivotal mounting of the channel members 11 which form part of a subframe which carry the teaser apparatus 9.

In the preferred form of the present invention it is preferred that the teaser apparatus be biased downwardly to counter the lifting effect of a bale under the action of the feeder apparatus. It is preferred however, that the bale to be fed out is rotated in such a direction that it tends to come under the bale teaser apparatus.

Of course with the apparatus as shown in the drawings the endless conveyor can be rotated in either direction to achieve feeding out to either side. Preferably however the endless conveyor is operated so that the feeding out is towards the side on which the teasing element is mounted.

As can be seen it is envisaged that the means supporting the teasing element is biased under gravity so that the teaser element contacts the bale as it is rotated theretowards. At the same time it is envisaged that the mans for supporting the teaser element can be taken over top centre so that the same when unshaken by movement of the whole apparatus is relatively stable sufficiently long for the lowering of a fresh bale into the apparatus. An adjustment of this over centre condition is shown in Figure 6.

The main difference between the form of apparatus as shown in Figures 1 and 5 is the fact that with an arrangement as shown in Figure 1 a roller chain as such is utilised. In the arrangement as shown in Figure 5 normal link chains can be utilised having regard to the provision of numerous sprockets throughout and indeed additional sprocket systems such as at 13 to hold the chain taut.

It is believed that the apparatus of the present invention will find wide spread acceptance, especially where hard centred large round bales are to be fed out.

Claims (8)

1. Feedout apparatus suitable for feeding out a large round bale comprising means defining a trough or cradle (hereinafter cradle) to carry a large round bale thereon with the longitudinal axis of the large round bale substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cradle, means defining the cradle incorporating bale feedout means actuable to revolve the large round bale in the cradle and to feed material from the bale at least towards one side of the cradle, and bale teasing means comprising a rotatable teasing element positionable above the cradle so that in use it can contact the bale along a substantial extent of the length of the bale in the loosening of the material therefrom, the teasing element being rotatable by such contact about a rotational axis substantially parallel to both the longitudinal axis of the large round bale and the cradle and means dependent from said means defining a cradle which supports said teasing element at or adjacent a distal end thereof, said means dependent from said means defining a cradle being capable of being positioned to hold the bale teasing element sufficiently clear of the cradle to allow the easy loading of a bale thereon the subsequently being positioned so that the same will cause the rotatable teasing element to maintain contact with the bale within the cradle until such time as at least a substantial amount of the bale has been fed out.

2. Feedout apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotatable teasing element has a rotational axis which can move within constraints relative to said means which supports said teasing element.

3. Feedout apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein said means which supports said teasing element is pivoted about a pivot axis substantially parallel to both the rotational axis of said rotatable teasing element and the longitudinal axis of the cradle.

4. Feedout apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotatable member is an elongate member which rotates about its longitudinal axis.

5. Feedout apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said rqtatable teasing element is longitudinally vaned.

6. Feedout apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the pivot of said means which supports said teasing element is arranged so that gravity will stabilise same in a condition which allows the easy loading of the cradle and yet, when rotated from the condition about its pivot axis, will bias the teasing element into contact with a bale disposed within the cradle.

7. Feedout apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said means defining a cradle includes an endless conveyor which both supports, at least in part, the bale and rotates the same to feed material from the bale at least towards one side of the cradle.

8. Feedout apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.