A device for loading and unloading bales of straw and similar material

Claim 1

A device for loading and unloading bales of straw or similar material, comprising a carriage adapted to be coupled to a pulling vehicle and having a loading space which is open at its top, a number of partitions taking mutual parallel and upright positions being provided which divide said loading space into a number of juxtaposed, bale-wide compartments, the bottoms of each compartments being adapted to be let down into a position permitting the bales to be unloaded from the respective compartment, a bale-wide distribution case being mounted on top of the carriage for movement across the loading space in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the partitions, said distribution case having one end connected to a device for supplying the bales to be loaded, the bottom of the distribution case comprising elements, which are movable from an operative supporting position into a position permitting the bales to be dropped out of the case, characterized in that the partitions and the distribution case extend in the traveling direction of the carriage, that the compartments are open on the rear side of the carriage, that the bottoms of the compartments are interconnected so as to let all of them down simultaneously into the unloading position, and that the bale supplying device extends from a location adjacent the coupling point upwardly towards the receiving end of the distribution case which faces into the traveling direction of the carriage.

Claim 2

A device for loading and unloading bales of straw or similar material, comprising a carriage adapted to be coupled to a pulling vehicle and having a loading space which is open at its top, a number of partitions taking mutual parallel and upright positions being provided which divide said loading space into a number of juxtaposed, bale-wide compartments, the bottoms of each compartments being adapted to be let down into a position permitting the bales to be unloaded from the respective compartment, a bale-wide distribution case being mounted on top of the carriage for movement across the loading space in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the partitions, said distribution case having one end connected to a device for supplying the bales to be loaded, the bottom of the distribution case comprising elements, which are movable from an operative supporting position into a position permitting the bales to be dropped out of the case, characterized in that the partitions and the distribution case extend in the traveling direction of the carriage, that the compartments are open on the rear side of the carriage, that the bottoms of the compartments are interconnected so as to let all of them down simultaneously into the unloading position, and that the bale supplying device extends from a location adjacent the coupling point upwardly towards the receiving end of the distribution case which faces into the traveling direction of the carriage.

Claim 4

A device according to claims 1-2, characterized in that the let-down bottom elements of the distribution case may also be constituted by flaps which are pivoted about the lower edges of the side walls of the dis­tribution case and which extend - in the unloading position - downwardly in the planes of said side walls, said flaps being provided with counter weights which tend to keep the flaps into their operative (horizontal) supporting positions, the weight of a complete longitudinal bale row being enough to have the flaps turn, against the action of the counter weights - into their unloading positions.

Claim 6

A device according to claims 1-4, characterized by two side walls and a bottom, each comprising at least two telescopic rods, which form the connection between an up-right U-frame constituting the entrance of the device and the vertical and lower horizontal edges delimitating the inlet opening of the distribution case, the rod ends being in each connecting point capable of pivoting about both a horizontal and a vertical axis.