Vehicle for transporting haystacks and the like

Claim 2

A vehicle for transporting formed haystacks and the like, comprising: a normally horizontally oriented elongate support frame including a bed structure comprised of a plurality of laterally spaced apart elongate tines extending in a fore and aft direction, a hitch on said frame adjacent the front end thereof and being connectable to a prime mover, a pair of ground engaging wheel assemblies positioned on opposite sides of and connected with said frame intermediate the ends thereof for supporting the latter for travel over the surface of the ground, cooperating shiftable pairs of elements on said frame and on each of said ground engaging wheel assemblies to permit vertical translation of said frame relative to said ground engaging wheel assemblies between a lowered position and an elevated position, extensible power means connected between said frame and each of said wheel assemblies for elevating said frame relative to said wheel assembles, said frame when in the lowered position being positioned closely adjacent the ground and when urged rearwardly sliding below a haystack supported on the ground, said frame being maintained in a substantially horizontal position during its vertical movement, a substantially vertically disposed pusher member shiftably mounted on said frame and being shiftable in a front and rearward direction, longitudinally of said frame from a forward retracted position adjacent the front of said frame to a rearward position adjacent the rear of said frame, said pusher member when shifted from the retracted forward position to the rearward position, progressively unloading a haystack positioned on the frame, power means connected to said pusher member and being mounted on said frame and extenDing longitudinally thereof, said power means being operable for shifting said pusher member in a forward and rearward direction.

Claim 3

The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein said tines are of substantially uniform cross-sectional shape that terminate in a pointed rear-end, each tine having an enlarged portion adjacent its rear-end to facilitate unloading of the stack from the frame.

Claim 4

A vehicle for transporting formed haystacks and the like, comprising: a normally horizontally oriented support frame including a bed structure comprised of a plurality of laterally spaced apart elongate tines extending in a fore and aft direction, a hitch on said frame adjacent the front end thereof and being connectable to a prime mover, a ground engaging wheels, means interconnecting said frame with said ground engaging wheels to permit vertical translation of said frame relative to said ground engaging wheels between a lowered position and an elevated position, said frame when in the lowered position being positioned closely adjacent the ground and when urged rearwardly sliding below a haystack supported on the ground, a substantially vertically disposed pusher member shiftably mounted on said frame and being shiftable in a front and rear direction, longitudinally of said frame from a forward retracted position adjacent the front of said frame to a rearward position adjacent the rear of said frame, said pusher member when shifted from the retracted forward position to the rearward position, progressively unloading a haystack positioned on the frame, means on said frame for shifting said pusher member in a forward and rearward direction, a frame member fixedly connected to the forward ends of said tines so that said tines are mounted at their forward ends only to the frame and project rearwardly in cantilever fashion therefrom, and a movable support underlying said tines and shiftably mounted on said frame for shifting movement in a forward and rearward direction between a retracted forward position adjacent the front end of said frame and a rearward position adjacent the rear end of the frame for support of the rear end portions of the tines when a stack is positioned on said frame, and means on said frame for shifting said support between the retracted forward position and the rearward support position.

Claim 5

A vehicle for transporting formed haystacks and the like, comprising: a normally horizontally oriented support frame including a bed structure comprised of a plurality of laterally spaced apart elongate tines extending in a fore and aft direction, a hitch on said frame adjacent the front end thereof and being connectable to a prime mover, a ground engaging wheels, means interconnecting said frame with said ground engaging wheels to permit vertical translation of said frame relative to said ground engaging wheels between a lowered position and an elevated position, said frame when in the lowered position being positioned closely adjacent the ground and when urged rearwardly sliding below a haystack supported on the ground, a substantially vertically disposed pusher member shiftably mounted on said frame and being shiftable in a front and rear direction, longitudinally of said frame from a forward retracted position adjacent the front of said frame to a rearward position adjacent the rear of said frame, said pusher member when shifted from the retracted forward position to the rearward position, progressively unloading a haystack positioned on the frame, means on said frame for shifting said pusher member in a forward and rearward direction, a frame member fixedly connected to the forward ends of said tines so that said tines are mounted at their forward ends only to the frame and project rearwardly in cantilever fashion therefrom, and a movable support underlying said tines and shiftably mounted on said frame for shifting movement in a forward and rearward direction between a retracted forward position adjacent the front end of said frame and a rearward position adjacent the rear end of the frame for support of the rear end portions of the tines when a stack is positioned on said frame, and means on said frame for shifting said support between the retracted forward position and the rearward support position.

Claim 6

The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means includes a pair of chain and sprocket drive means mounted on said frame and extending longitudinally thereof, said chain and sprocket drive means being connected to said pusher member, and a motor connected to said chain and sprocket drive means for operating the same.

Claim 7

The vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein said hitch includes a pair of interengaging vertical disposed members one of said vertically disposed members being connected with said frame and the other of said members have means thereon for connection with a prime mover, said vertically disposed members being shiftable with respect to each other during vertical movement of said frame.

Claim 8

The vehicle as defined in claim 3 wherein said means for shifting said movable support comprises a chain and sprocket drive mounted on said frame.