Bale handling apparatus

Claim 2

A bale handling apparatus for lifting, loading, unloading, stacking and unrolling large cylindrical bales of hay, said bale handling apparatus comprising a portable support structure, a holding means for retaining the bale, an elevating means mounted on the support structure for lifting the holding means, a first rotation means on the holding means for rotating the bale about the center of the bale to unroll the hay in the bale and a second rotating means mounted on the elevating means for rotating the bale about an axis other than the center of the bale thereby producing a spiraling layer of hay as the hay in the bale is unrolled.

Claim 3

The bale handling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the holding means for retaining the bale includes a support member, clamp links having an upper and a lower end, means movably supporting the upper ends of the clamp links on the support member for translating motion of said upper ends toward and away from each other and for pivoted movement of the lower ends of the clamp links toward and away from each other.

Claim 4

The bale handling apparatus of claim 2 additionally including projections pivotally mounted at the lower ends of the clamp links and directed inwardly whereby positioning the projections at the ends of a bale of hay and actuating the movably supporting means will cause the clamp links to translate and rotate toward each other thereby causing the projections to be forced into the ends of the bale of hay and wherein the first rotation means rotates the projections thereby causing the bale of hay to rotate about its center and unroll the hay in the bale.

Claim 5

The bale handling apparatus of claim 3 wherein the movably supporting means includes a first telescoping member which is slidably mounted in the support member and has one of the clamp links pivotally mounted therein, a second telescoping member which is slidably mounted in the support member and has the second clamp link pivotally mounted therein and hydraulic clamping cylinders pivotally mounted between the support member and each of the clamp links, and wherein the first rotation means includes a hydraulic motor mounted on the clamp link and operatively connected to the projections to cause rotation of the projections.

Claim 6

The bale handling apparatus of claim 4 wherein the second rotating means includes a rotary bearing mounted between the elevating means and the support means and a hydraulic motor mounted on the elevating means and operatively connected to the support means thereby permitting the hydraulic motor to rotate the support means, clamp links and hay bale.

Claim 7

The bale handling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the elevating means includes an actuation link having a first end and a second end, means pivotally supporting the first end of the actuation link on the support structure for rotating the actuation link, an intermediate link having an upper and a lower end, means pivotally supporting said lower end on the second end of the actuation link, a lifting link, means pivotally supporting one end of the lifting link on the upper end of the intermediate link for rotating the lifting link relative to the intermediate link and wherein the holding means is mounted at the free end of the lifting link.

Claim 8

The bale handling apparatus of claim 6 additionally including a guide on the support structure and a flexible cable operatively connected to the actuation link, passing through the guide on the support structure and operatively connected at its second end to the intermediate link.

Claim 9

A bale handling apparatus for attachment to a farm tractor having a three-point hitch, said bale handling apparatus comprising a portable support frame extending transversely of the tractor, an attaching means for connecting the support structure to said three-point hitch thereby permitting up and down movement of the support structure through actuation of the three-point hitch, an actuation link having a first end and a second end, means pivotally supporting the first end of the actuation link on the support structure for rotating the actuation link, an intermediate link having an upper and a lower end, means pivotally supporting said lower end on the second end of the actuation link, a lifting link, means pivotally supporting one end of the lifting link on the upper end of the intermediate link for rotating the lifting link relative to the intermediate link, and a holding means mounted at the free end of the lifting link for retaining the bale.

Claim 10

A bale handling apparatus for attachment to a farm tractor having a three-point hitch, said bale handling apparatus comprising a portable support frame extending transversely of the tractor, an attaching means for connecting the support structure to said three-point hitch thereby permitting up and down movement of the support structure through actuation of the three-point hitch, an actuation link having a first end and a second end, means pivotally supporting the first end of the actuation link on the support structure for rotating the actuation link, an intermediate link having an upper and a lower end, means pivotally supporting said lower end on the second end of the actuation link, a lifting link, means pivotally supporting one end of the lifting link on the upper end of the intermediate link for rotating the lifting link relative to the intermediate link, and a holding means mounted at the free end of the lifting link for retaining the bale.

Claim 11

The bale handling apparatus of claim 8 wherein the means pivotally supporting said lower end on the second end of the actuation link includes a pivot between the intermediate link and the actuation link, a flexible cable operatively connected at one end to the actuation link and at the opposite end to the intermediate link, and a guide on the support structure through which the flexible cable passes.

Claim 12

The bale handling apparatus of claim 9 additionally including a rotating means mounted on the lifting link for rotating the bale about a generally vertical axis.

Claim 13

A bale handling apparatus for attachment to a farm tractor having a three-point hitch, said bale handling apparatus comprising a portable support frame extending transversely of the tractor, an attaching means for connecting the support structure to said three-point hitch thereby permitting up and down movement of the support structure through actuation of the three-point hitch, transversely disposed support wheels on the support structure, a pair of transversely spaced apart actuation links, actuation means for rotating said actuation links about a transverse axis of said tractor, a pair of intermediate links pivotally connected at one end to the actuation links, a pair of lifting links pivotally connected at one end to the intermediate links, lifting actuation means for rotating the lifting links relative to the intermediate links, a pair of flexible cables operatively connected at one end to the actuation links and at the opposite end to the intermediate links, a pair of guides on the support structure through which the flexible cables pass, a gimbol mounted on the lifting link, a support member mounted to the gimbol, a pair of telescoping members slidably mounted on the support member, a pair of clamping links pivotally connected at one end to the telescoping members, projection means mounted on the clamping links for gripping a bale of hay, means for sliding the telescoping members toward and away from each other and for pivoting the clamping links toward and away from one another to force the projection means into the ends of the bale.

Claim 14

A bale handling apparatus for attachment to a farm tractor having a three-point hitch, said bale handling apparatus comprising a portable support frame extending transversely of the tractor, an attaching means for connecting the support structure to said three-point hitch thereby permitting up and down movement of the support structure through actuation of the three-point hitch, transversely disposed support wheels on the support structure, a pair of transversely spaced apart actuation links, actuation means for rotating said actuation links about a transverse axis of said tractor, a pair of intermediate links pivotally connected at one end to the actuation links, a pair of lifting links pivotally connected at one end to the intermediate links, lifting actuation means for rotating the lifting links relative to the intermediate links, a pair of flexible cables operatively connected at one end to the actuation links and at the opposite end to the intermediate links, a pair of guides on the support structure through which the flexible cables pass, a gimbol mounted on the lifting link, a support member mounted to the gimbol, a pair of telescoping members slidably mounted on the support member, a pair of clamping links pivotally connected at one end to the telescoping members, projection means mounted on the clamping links for gripping a bale of hay, means for sliding the telescoping members toward and away from each other and for pivoting the clamping links toward and away from one another to force the projection means into the ends of the bale.

Claim 15

The bale handling apparatus of claim 11 additionally including a means for rotating the support member about a generally vertical axis.

Claim 16

The bale handling apparatus of claim 12 additionally including means for rotating the projection means about a generally horizontal axis.

Claim 17

The bale handling apparatus of claim 12 wherein the projection means comprise a rotary bearing mounted in at least one of the clamp links, a bale claw shaft extending through the rotary bearing, a shield disc mounted on the shaft, an elongated prong mounted in the center of the disc, a radially displaced tine attached to the disc for preventing rotation of the bale about the elongated prong, and a hydraulic motor mounted on the clamp link and operatively connected to the bale claw shaft to cause rotation of the shaft and disc.

Claim 18

The bale handling apparatus of claim 11 additionally including telescoping means for extending the support wheels transversely of the support structure thereby increasing the stability of the handling apparatus.

Claim 19

The bale handling apparatus of claim 7 additionally including a means for weighing the bale of hay.

Claim 20

The bale handling apparatus of claim 11 additionally including a means for weighing the bale of hay.