Apparatus for gathering and pelletizing natural forages

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR FORMING DENSE PELLETS OF NATURAL FORAGE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A FRAME MOUNTED ON WHEELS FOR MOVEMENT THROUGH A FIELD OF CUT FORAGE, AN AUGER ROTATABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME, AN AUGER HOUSING ENCLOSING SAID AUGER AND HAVING AN INPUT OPENING ADJACENT THE UPPER PART OF THE AUGER AND A DISCHARGE OPENING ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF SAID AUGER, MEANS FOR PICKING UP NATURAL FORAGE FROM A FIELD AND CONVEYING IT ADJACENT THE INPUT OF SAID AUGER HOUSING, SAID PICK UP AND CONVEYING MEANS INCLUDING A FINGER DRUM SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS ADJACENT TO THE INPUT OF SAID AUGER, A RAM SUPPORTED ADJACENT TO THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID AUGER FOR RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT, A HOUSING ENCLOSING SAID RAM, MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING SAID RAM SO THAT SUCCESSIVE CHARAGES OF FORAGE FROM SAID AUGER ARE COMPACTED AGAINST PRECEDING CHARGES IN SAID HOUSING, A MULTI-CELLULAR DIE CAVITY SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME AHEAD OF SAID RAM HOUSING TO FURTHER COMPRESS THE CHARGES OF FORAGE COMPACTED BY SAID RAM AND TO SPLIT THE CHARGES INTO A PLURALITY OF SMALL SIZE PELLETS, CONVEYING MEANS AFFIXED TO SAID FRAME AND HAVING AN INPUT ADJACENT TO THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID DIE CAVITY AND A DISCHARGE END REMOTE THEREFROM, A STORAGE BIN PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME IN JUXTAPOSITION TO THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID CONVEYING MEANS, FINE AND TRASH IRON REMOVAL APPARATUS HAVING INPUT AND DISCHARGE ENDS AFFIXED TO SAID STORAGE BIN WITH ITS INPUT SIDE NORMALLY ADJACENT TO THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID CONVEYING MEANS WHEREBY THE FINISHED PELLETS ARE TRANSFERRED BY SAID CONVEYING MEANS TO THE INPUT OF SAID FINE AND TRASH IRON REMOVAL APPARATUS, SAID FINE AND TRASH IRON REMOVAL APPARATUS INCLUDING MEANS FOR SEGREGATING PELLETS HAVING TRASH IRON EMBEDDED THEREIN AND MEANS FOR REMOVING FINES FROM THE PELLETS AND RETURNING THEM TO THE INPUT SIDE OF SAID AUGER FOR RECOMPRESSION, MEANS OPERABLE TO PIVOTALLY ROTATE SAID STORAGE BIN AND FINE REMOVAL APPARATUS TO DISCHARGE PELLETS STORED THEREIN, AND POWER MEANS SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME ADAPTED TO OPERATE THE COMPONENTS OF THE APPARATUS SO THAT PELLETS ARE CONTINUOUSLY FORMED AS THE PELLETIZING APPARATUS IS MOVED THROUGH A FIELD OF CUT FORAGE.