Stacking attachment for a hay baler

Claim 1

A HAY BALE STACKER ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED WITH AND TOWED BY A HAY BALING MACHINE TO RECEIVE A GROUP OF BALES OF HAY AS THEY ARE DISCHARGED FROM THE MACHINE, TO ARRANGE THE BALES IN A RECTANGULAR STACK A SELECTED NUMBER OF BALES HIGH, A SELECTED NUMBER OF BALES WIDE, AND A SELECTED NUMBER OF BALES LONG, AND TO RELEASE THE STACK WHEN IT IS COMPLETED, AND COMPRISING IN COMBINATION THEREWITH: (A) A BOX-LIKE BODY INCLUDING LONGITUDINAL SIDE WALLS AND LONGITUDINAL INTERMEDIATE WALLS DIVIDING THE SAME INTO A SELECTED NUMBER OF COMPARTMENTS, ESTABLISHING THE WIDTH OF THE STACK AN D PROPORTIONED SUCH THAT THE WIDTH OF EACH COMPARTMENT IS SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE HAY BALE, THE HEIGHT OF EACH COMPARTMENT IS SLIGTLY GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT OF THE STACK AND THE LENGTH IS GREATER THAN THE LENGTH OF THE STACK; (B) A FLOOR STRUCTURE ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE STACK WITHIN THE STACKER AND MEANS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH ADAPTED TO PERMIT THE STACK TO SLIDE REARWARDLY FROM THE SAME AFTER THE STACK IS SO FORMED; (C) A CHUTE AT THE FRONT END OF THE BODY ADAPTED TO BE NORMALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE COMPARTMENT TO RECEIVE BALES FROM THE MACHINE AND TO GUIDE THE SAME INTO THE COMPARTMENT, SAID CHUTE BEING AT A HEIGHT ADAPTED TO PERMIT ONE BALE TO BE MOVED ONTO THE TOP OF ANOTHER TO THE FULL HEIGHT OF THE STACK; (D) A SHIFTING MEANS AT THE FRONT END OF THE BODY ADAPTED TO SHIFT THE CHUTE LATERALLY ACROSS THE BODY FROM ALIGNMENT WITH ONE COMPARTMENT TO ALIGNMENT WITH ANOTHER COMPARTMENT TO THEREBY SUPPLY BALES TO ALL COMPARTMENTS; (E) A HOLDING MEANS TRAVERSING THE COMPARTMENTS AT THE REAR OF THE BODY ADAPTED TO NORMALLY HOLD BALES WITHIN THE COMPARTMENTS, BUT BEING RELEASABLE TO RELEASE BALES THEREFROM; (F) A TRIGGER MEANS IN EACH COMPARTMENT ADAPTED TO ACTUATE RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF BALES WITHIN THE COMPARTMENT WHEN THE COMPARTMENT IS FILLED WITH BALES; AND (G) A CONTROL MEANS ADAPTED TO BE ACTUATED BY ACTUATION OF THE TRIGGER MEANS TO INITIATE SHIFTING OF THE SHIFTING MEANS WHENEVER ONE COMPARTMENT IS FILLED WITH HAY BALES AND TO INITIATE RELEASING OF THE HOLDING MEANS WHENEVER ALL COMPARTMENTS ARE FILLED WITH HAY BALES TO RELEASE THE STACK FROM THE COMPARTMENT.