NZ522992A - Apparatus for feeding out bales with cradle pivotable about longitudinally extending support shaft - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus is attachable to a vehicle, such as a tractor via a three-point linkage. Cradle 19 is pivotable about longitudinally extending shaft 7.

Description

52 2 9 9 2 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 No: Date: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION BALE FEEDER We, KEITH THOMAS LARSEN, a New Zealand citizen, 44 RD, Urenui, Taranaki, NEW ZEALAND and KERRY WARREN LARSEN, a New Zealand citizen, 38 Tuiti Street, Waitara, Taranaki, NEW ZEALAND, do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: I ' OFR?p AAcP*°PERty 1 office of n.z. ~ 5 DEC 2002 ntotivea 2 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for loading, unloading and feeding out bales.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION There are a number of known round bale handling apparatus for distributing fodder to livestock. These apparatus usually comprise a device for rotating the bale and some 10 means for unrolling and peeling off fodder from the bale, allowing it to fall to the ground. These apparatus are usually towed around a field by a farm vehicle with the fodder being peeled off while the device is moving, thereby enabling the fodder to be distributed around the field.

Typically, the process of feeding out a bale includes loading, unwrapping, and tearing fodder from the bale. Bales may consist of silage, baleage or hay, and may be made from grass or any fodder material. The size and shape of bales may also vary from large to small, and from circular to square in cross-section. Some of the bale feeders have loading mechanisms for bales.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a bale feeder with an improved bale loading, unloading, and feed out capability, or at least to provide the public with a 25 useful choice.

The present invention broadly consists in a feeder apparatus for loading, unloading and feeding out bales, the feeder apparatus including: a support shaft having a longitudinal axis; a cradle supported by the support shaft which has a loading bay for loading and 30 unloading a bale and a feed out mechanism operable to feed out a loaded bale, the cradle being operable to pivot about the longitudinal axis of the support shaft; and an intellectual property office of n.z. 1 8 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 3 attachment means configured to attach the support shaft to a vehicle so that the support shaft and thereby the cradle are cantilevered from the vehicle.

Preferably, the pivoting of the cradle is hydraulically actuated.

Preferably, the feeder apparatus includes a hydraulic cylinder and ram arrangement which extends between a part of the cradle and a part of the attachment means. More preferably, movement of the hydraulic ram relative to the hydraulic cylinder causes the cradle to pivot about the support shaft.

Preferably, the cradle has a v-shaped framework.

Preferably, the feed out mechanism is located on one side of the cradle and the loading bay is located on the other side of the cradle.

Preferably, the loading bay extends from one side of the cradle.

Preferably, the loading bay includes a lifting arm and a lifting bar. More preferably, the lifting arm extends from the cradle such that its longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the 20 longitudinal axis of the support shaft and the lifting bar extends from toward the end of the lifting arm distal to the cradle such that its longitudinal axis is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support shaft.

Preferably, the feed out mechanism includes endless loop chains, connected together by 25 one or more spiked lateral rods.

Preferably, the chains are supported by the support shaft and are coupled to a rotatable drive shaft of the cradle, and wherein the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support shaft. More preferably, the drive shaft is drivable 30 by a hydraulic motor. intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED Preferably, the chains are coupled to the drive shaft by sprockets attached to the drive shaft.

Preferably, the attachment means is a three-point linkage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment feeder of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the feeder depicted in Figure 1, Figure 3 a is a plan view of a portion of a feed out mechanism engaged with a drive shaft, Figure 3b is an elevation view of the portion of the feed out mechanism engaged with 20 the drive shaft shown in Figure 3a, Figure 4a is a plan view of a portion of the feed out mechanism installed on a central pivot column, Figure 4b shows an elevation view of the portion of the feed out mechanism installed on the central pivot column, Figure 5 is an elevation view of the feeder showing the cradle in load/unload, and feed out positions, Figure 6a is a perspective view of the feeder loading a bale, intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 25 Figure 6b is a perspective view of the feeder in a feed out position with a loaded bale, Figure 7 is a perspective view of the feeder with an additional frame adapted for bales of non-circular cross-section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the feeder 1 is shown in Figure 1, with an exploded view shown in Figure 2. The feeder 1 can be connected to a tractor by way of a three point linkage 66 and is adapted for loading, unloading, and feeding out bales.

The feeder 1 includes a cradle 19 for holding a bale. The cradle 19 is substantially "V" shaped, with one side being formed by a support frame 6, and the other from feed out support arms 12a, 12b. In the preferred embodiment, the angle formed between the support frame 6 and support arms 12a, 12b is approximately 120°, although it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the cradle can form any other suitable angle. The support frame 6 includes a series of rods 13 that support a bale during loading/unloading and feeding out. The arms 12a, 12b support a drive shaft 17 for rotating a feed out conveyor or mechanism 2. The feed out conveyor 2 is installed between the support arms 12a, 12b on the drive shaft 17 and a free running central pivot column 7, in the form of a support shaft, that extends through the apex 46 of the cradle 19. The feed out conveyor 2 includes two parallel chains 23 connected laterally by spiked rods 14 for tearing feed. The feed out conveyor 2 will be explained in detail later with reference to Figures 3a, 3b, 4a, and 4b.

Attached to, or integrally formed with the support frame 6 is a lifting arm 4 and lifting bar 5, which with the frame 6, forms a bale loading bay 45. The central pivot column 7 connects to a three point linkage assembly 66, for attaching the cradle 19 to a vehicle. The linkage 66 comprises a horizontal 67 and vertical 68 arm adapted for connection with the corresponding three point linkage assembly on a tractor. The linkage 66 also includes a curved bar member 69, which is adapted laterally under, and across, the horizontal arm 67 to support the feeder 1 when it is not attached to a vehicle. A 'ntellectual property office of n.z. 1 8 MAR 2004 RECEIVPn 6 hydraulic arm 9 controls rotation of the cradle 19 about the central pivot column 7 between a load and unload position. The cylinder of the hydraulic arm attaches to the vertical arm 68 of the three point linkage 66, by way of a link that extends through a lug 72 on the end of the cylinder and one or more lugs 10 on the linkage 66. Similarly, the 5 ram attaches to the lifting arm 4 by way of a sleeve 73 that rotates about a pin 11 protruding from the arm 4.

Figures 3a to 4b illustrate the feed out conveyor 2 in more detail. The conveyor 2 includes a pair of rotating chains 23 that support a plurality of rods 14, that straddle the 10 chains 23. Each rod 14 supports a number of spikes 22 for tearing fodder. The chains 23 are installed on a drive shaft 17, and the central pivot column 7. More particularly, the chains 23 consist of a number of pivotably attached linkages 25, with rollers 24 disposed at the pivot points. The rollers 24 engage in the teeth of sprockets 21 disposed at each end of the drive shaft 17, and also roll on the central pivot column 7. The rollers 15 24 are large enough in diameter to ensure the linkages 25 remain clear of the central pivot column 7 as the chains 23 rotate. Each end of the drive shaft 17 is rotatably mounted in a respective support arm 12a, 12b, so that the shaft 17 extends laterally between the arms 12a, 12b. The shaft 17 is driven by a motor 3, which in a preferred embodiment, is a high torque, high power, low speed revolution, hydraulic motor that 20 enables a tractor of lower horse power, for example under 60 horse power, to operate the feeder 1. The motor 3 is coupled to the shaft 17 at point 3 by a suitable means, which in turn rotates the sprockets 21 to drive the chains 23 in a conveyor action. In doing so, the conveyor moves the spikes disposed on the lateral rods between the chains. The other end of the feed out conveyor 36 freely rotates about the central pivot 25 column 7.

Figure 5 illustrates the manner in which the hydraulic ram 9 alters the cradle 19 from a loading/unloading position 91, to a feed out position 92. Extension or retraction of the ram 9, as shown by arrow 64 causes the entire cradle 19 to tilt or pivot about the central 30 pivot column 7 as shown by arrow 65. In the loading position 91, the hydraulic ram extends substantially fully to apply a force on arm 4 that rotates the cradle 19 anticlockwise about the central pivot 7, until the arm 4 rests horizontally on the ground. In intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 7 this position the support arms 12a, 12b protrude at an angle of approximately 60° from the ground. In this position, a bale can be installed in the loading bay 45 in a manner to be described below. Once the bale is in the loading bay 45, the hydraulic ram 9 retracts to pull the lifting arm 4, and rotate the entire cradle 19 clockwise into the feed out position 92. In this position, the lifting arm 4 and support arms 12a, 12b are spaced at an equal angle either side of the vertical portion 68 of the linkage 66. The exact feed out orientation can be altered to adapt the feed out rate. The hydraulic arm 9 holds the cradle 19 in this position during the feed out process, in which the endless conveyor 2 is driven to tear off portions of the bale and distribute them to the side of the cradle 19.

Figures 6a and 6b, illustrate the loading and feed out process. In one embodiment of the invention, the feeder 1 may be used in the entire process of loading, unwrapping, and feeding out bales. Alternatively, the feeder 1 may be used simply as a transport device by only loading and unloading the bales without feeding out. Initially, the cradle 19 is 15 attached to a vehicle, such as a tractor, in a suitable manner by way of the linkage 66. The vehicle is omitted from Figures 6a and 6b for clarity. Preferably, the hydraulic pressure required to power and control the hydraulic motor 3 and ram 9 is tapped from the hydraulic plug-in connections typically available in modern tractors. Hydraulic connections are made from the hydraulics of the tractor to the hydraulic arm 9 and 20 hydraulic drive motor 3 of the cradle 19. This gives the operator control over the cradle 19 from the tractor. In particular, it enables the operator to tilt the cradle 19, operate the feed out conveyor 2 and adjust the overall height of the feeder 1 via the three point linkage controls.

To load a bale 50, the bale is first placed on its round side onto substantially level ground 43, as shown in Figure 6a. This can be achieved through various conventional means, for example, by a front end loader on a tractor or the like. The cradle 19 of the feeder 1 is then tilted clockwise using the hydraulic ram 9 so that the lifting bar 5 and arm 4 of the loading bay 45 are near and parallel to the ground 43. The operator may 30 need to lower or raise the entire feeder 1, via the tractor's three point linkage controls, to obtain the correct loading bay 45 alignment with the ground 43. The operator then reverses the feeder's loading bay 45 toward the bale 50 so that the lifting bar 5 is intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 8 aligned with one side of the round bale 47 and the edge of the support frame 6 is aligned with the other side of the bale 42. The loading bay 45 is of sufficient width to support the bale 50 in a stable manner when the cradle 19 is tilted. It will be appreciated that width of the bay 45 can be altered by extending or retracting the length of the lifting 5 arm 4 to accommodate for different sized bales.

Typically bales are wrapped in net wrapping, twine, or netting or some form of containment perimeter. For example, silage bales are often wrapped in a plastic film to seal the bale from air. While the bale 50 is still on the ground within the loading bay 45, 10 the operator may cut any wrapping, string, or netting from the round bale. This may be achieved by cutting the wrapping along the side of the bale 50, and across both ends of the bale. The operator can then peel the wrapping back over the bale 50 and onto the lifting bar 5, thereby exposing the bale and leaving the wrapping dangling from the lifting bar 5.

Referring to Figure 6b, once the bale is in the loading bay 45, the operator can tilt the cradle 19 anticlockwise about the central pivot column 7, via the hydraulic ram 9, thereby lifting the bale 50 up from the ground. The bale 50 is supported in the loading bay 45 by the edge of the support frame 6, the lifting bar 5 and lifting arm 4, and when 20 the cradle 19 reaches a particular tilt the bale will roll into the cradle apex 46. As the bale 50 rolls into the cradle 19, the remainder of the wrapping is left dangling over the lifting bar 5 where it can be removed by the operator. The operator may then drive the tractor, with the feeder 1 and loaded bale 50 cantilevered out the back, to the location where the fodder is to be feed out to livestock. The operator can then activate the feed 25 out conveyor 2 to distribute fodder from the bale 50 as the tractor moves along.

When the feed out mechanism 2 is activated, the bale 50 will unroll, for example in direction B, as shown in Figure 6b. As the motor 3 rotates the chains 23, the spiked rods 14, which are attached at spaced intervals to the rotating chains 23 and in an alignment 30 parallel to the central pivot column 7, unroll and tear fodder from the bale 50. The torn fodder 48 spills over the side of the cradle 19 and onto the ground. The operator may control the amount of fodder being distributed onto the ground by altering the tilt of the intellectual property office of n.z. 1 8 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 9 cradle 19 by the hydraulic ram 9. For example, if the support arms 12a, 12b are substantially parallel to the ground, the feed out will be relatively quick. Conversely, if the support arms 12a, 12b are at an higher angle to the horizontal, such as shown in Figure 5, the rate of feed out will be much slower. Also, the speed the tractor is driven 5 and the speed at which the motor 3 rotates the chains 23 and spiked rods 14 can be altered to control the rate and density of fodder distribution. The direction of rotation of the feed out mechanism 2 may also be controlled. For example, the motor 3 may be reversed by the operator, thereby unrolling the bale 50 in direction C. As the bale 50 is unrolled, the torn fodder is feed onto the ground through the space 18 between the 10 central pivot column 7 and the support rods 13. This enables the operator to tailor the , rotation of the feed out mechanism 2 with the direction the bale was wrapped by the baler.

It will be appreciated that the feeder 1 can be adapted to work with bales of different 15 size and shape. For example, the feeder 1 could be used with large or small bales that may be round, square or rectangular in cross section. An additional frame 77, as shown in Figure 7, may be adapted across the support frame 6 and the loading bay 45 when a bale of non-circular cross-section is to be used with the feeder 1. In this application sections of a loaded square bale, supported in the cradle 19, are distributed to the ground 20 by the feed out conveyor 2.

As mentioned, the feeder may also be used simply as a bale transport device by omitting the unwrapping and feed out processes. For example, round bales may be loaded, as described above, transported to the desired destination, and then unloaded by reversing 25 the loading process. When transporting the feeder 1, with or without a loaded bale, the operator may tilt the cradle 19 to allow the tractor and feeder to maneuver through narrow gateways or roadways.

It will be appreciated that the feeder could be adapted to other vehicles, and this may 30 include using a connection means different to that of the three point linkage in the preferred embodiment. intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED The foregoing description of the invention includes preferred forms thereof. Modifications and alternatives as would be obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be incorporated in the scope hereof. intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 11

Claims (16)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A feeder apparatus for loading, unloading and feeding out bales, the feeder apparatus including: 5 a support shaft having a longitudinal axis; a cradle supported by the support shaft which has a loading bay for loading and unloading a bale and a feed out mechanism operable to feed out a loaded bale, the cradle being operable to pivot about the longitudinal axis of the support shaft; and an attachment means configured to attach the support shaft to a vehicle so that 10 the support shaft and thereby the cradle are cantilevered from the vehicle.

2. A feeder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pivoting of the cradle is hydraulically actuated. 15

3. A feeder apparatus according to claim 2, including a hydraulic cylinder and ram arrangement which extends between a part of the cradle and a part of the attachment means.

4. A feeder apparatus according to claim 3, wherein movement of the hydraulic 20 ram relative to the hydraulic cylinder causes the cradle to pivot about the support shaft.

5. A feeder apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cradle has a v-shaped framework. 25

6. A feeder apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the feed out mechanism is located on one side of the cradle and the loading bay is located on the other side of the cradle.

7. A feeder apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the 30 loading bay extends from one side of the cradle. intellectual property office of n.z. 18 MAR 2004 RECEIVED 12

8. A feeder apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the loading bay includes a lifting arm and a lifting bar.

9. A feeder apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the lifting arm extends from 5 the cradle such that its longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support shaft and the lifting bar extends from toward the end of the lifting arm distal to the cradle such that its longitudinal axis is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support shaft.

10 10. A feeder apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the feed out mechanism includes endless loop chains, connected together by one or more spiked lateral rods.

11. A feeder apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the chains are supported by 15 the support shaft and are coupled to a rotatable drive shaft of the cradle, and wherein the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support shaft.

12. A feeder apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the drive shaft is drivable by 20 a hydraulic motor.

13. A feeder apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the chains are coupled to the drive shaft by sprockets attached to the drive shaft. 25

14. A feeder apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment means is a three-point linkage.

15. A feeder apparatus according to claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed. 30

16. A feeder apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. intellectual property office of n.z. 1 8 MAR 2004 RECEIVfrn