US4068804A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and machine for tearing apart stacked crop material bales
Assignee: Blue Leaf IP Inc
•
Filing: 1975-12-22
•
Granted: 1978-01-17
•
Expires: 1995-12-22
Abstract
Abstract A machine for tearing apart stacked crop material bales has a pivotal load bed with stack clamping mechanisms arranged about the bed for retrieving a stack of crop material bales by placing the load bed in an upright retrieving position, moving the upright load bed alongside the stack, actuating the clamp mechanisms to engage and retain the bale stack against the load bed and then pivoting the load bed with the stack retained thereon from the upright position to a horizontal position. A fore-and-aft moveable rolling rack mounted transversely across the load bed will advance the entire stack longitudinally along the load bed from time to time to position a leading vertical transversely-extending tier of bales, in a succession of such vertical tiers which form the stack, onto a horizontal platform positioned along one end of the load bed. A pusher or feeder mechanism is disposed along the platform and moveable transversely between a lateral side of the platform and a shredding drum being rotatably mounted about a vertical axis and disposed laterally outwardly from an opposite side of the platform. Movement of the pusher mechanism toward the shredding drum causes endwise feeding of the leading vertically standing, transverse tier of bales into the shredding drum. A deflector shroud partially surrounding and covering the vertical shredding drum assists in guiding or directing the shredded, loose crop material to a desired feeding location alongside the machine.
Inventors
- 👤 L. Dennis Butler
- 👤 Gene R. Butler
- 👤 Anthony E. Furtado
- 👤 Jerry W. Welker
- 👤 Donald M. Grey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 16:37
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01K; A01K5/00; A01K5/001; A01K5/005; A01F; A01F29/00; A01F29/005
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
386 words
In a machine for tearing apart crop material bales from a stack thereof, the combination comprising: a mobile chassis; a load bed pivotally mounted near its one end to said chassis and moveable between a generally horizontal position and a genrally upright retrieving position in which said load bed may be disposed generally against a side of said bale stack, said one end being the rear end with respect to the primary direction of travel of the machine; stack retaining means including a pair of stack supporting arms mounted to said load bed and extending in a generally upright relation therefrom respectively adjacent opposing corners of said one end thereof, said arms being operable for movement between respective open positions disposed outwardly from opposite lateral sides of a lower end of said stack and respective closed positions disposed in supporting engagement with said stack lower end when said load bed is disposed in its upright stack retrieving position, and a pair of stack clamping arms mounted to said load bed and extensible in a generally upright relation therefrom respectively adjacent opposing corners of said other opposite end thereof, said arms being operable for movement between respective open positions disposed outwardly from opposite lateral sides of an upper end of said stack and respective closed positions disposed in clamping engagement with said stack upper end when said load bed is disposed in its upright stack retrieving position; means mounted on said load bed for advancing said stack longitudinally along said load bed toward an opposite other end of said load bed opposite to its one end when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position; a generally horizontally-positioned platform mounted on said chassis adjacently along said other end of said load bed when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position, said platform capable of receiving and supporting a leading portion of said stack each time said stack advancing means advances said stack longitudinally along said load bed; a crop material bale shredder operatively mounted on said chassis adjacent one lateral side of said platform; and feeder means mounted to said chassis along said platform and moveable toward said shredder for feeding said leading stack portion along said platform in a transverse relation to the longitudinal extent of said load bed and into said shredder.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
386 words
In a machine for tearing apart crop material bales from a stack thereof, the combination comprising: a mobile chassis; a load bed pivotally mounted near its one end to said chassis and moveable between a generally horizontal position and a genrally upright retrieving position in which said load bed may be disposed generally against a side of said bale stack, said one end being the rear end with respect to the primary direction of travel of the machine; stack retaining means including a pair of stack supporting arms mounted to said load bed and extending in a generally upright relation therefrom respectively adjacent opposing corners of said one end thereof, said arms being operable for movement between respective open positions disposed outwardly from opposite lateral sides of a lower end of said stack and respective closed positions disposed in supporting engagement with said stack lower end when said load bed is disposed in its upright stack retrieving position, and a pair of stack clamping arms mounted to said load bed and extensible in a generally upright relation therefrom respectively adjacent opposing corners of said other opposite end thereof, said arms being operable for movement between respective open positions disposed outwardly from opposite lateral sides of an upper end of said stack and respective closed positions disposed in clamping engagement with said stack upper end when said load bed is disposed in its upright stack retrieving position; means mounted on said load bed for advancing said stack longitudinally along said load bed toward an opposite other end of said load bed opposite to its one end when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position; a generally horizontally-positioned platform mounted on said chassis adjacently along said other end of said load bed when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position, said platform capable of receiving and supporting a leading portion of said stack each time said stack advancing means advances said stack longitudinally along said load bed; a crop material bale shredder operatively mounted on said chassis adjacent one lateral side of said platform; and feeder means mounted to said chassis along said platform and moveable toward said shredder for feeding said leading stack portion along said platform in a transverse relation to the longitudinal extent of said load bed and into said shredder.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
135 words
The combination as recited in claim 1, wherein said feeder means comprises: track means mounted on said chassis along said platform oppositely from said load bed and extending between said one lateral side and an opposite other lateral side of said platform; and pusher means mounted on said track means to extend outwardly therefrom toward said load bed in overlying relation to said platform, said pusher means being moveable along said track means between a position adjacent said opposite other lateral platform side remote from said shredder wherein said leading stack portion may be positioned between said pusher means and said shredder and a position adjacent said shredder such that in moving to said latter position toward said shredder from said position remote therefrom said pusher means feeds said leading stack portion into said shredder.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
The combination as recited in claim 1, further comprising: shroud means positioned partially about said shredder for confining the shredded crop material so as to feed said material out from said shredder at a predetermined location about said shredder.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The combination as recited in claim 1, wherein said shredder extends in a generally upright relation to said platform and is rotatably mounted about a vertical axis.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
55 words
The combination as recited in claim 1, wherein said shredder is disposed adjacent said one lateral side of said platform and extending outwardly beyond the overall machine width when in use, said shredder being moveable to a storage position within the overall machine width when not in use for facilitating road transporting of said machine.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
The combination as recited in claim 5, wherein said shredder is rotatably axially mounted on movable track means which are fixed to said chassis; and hydraulic means are operably connected between said chassis and said movable track means whereby, through actuation of said hydraulic means, said shredder may be selectively moved between positions of storage and use.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
318 words
In a machine for tearing apart crop material bales from a stack thereof, the combination comprising: a mobile chassis; a load bed pivotally mounted near its one end to said chassis and moveable between a generally horizontal position and a generally upright retrieving position in which said load bed may be disposed generally against a side of said bale stack, said one end being the rear end with respect to the primary directon of travel of the machine; means arranged about said load bed and operable for retaining said stack against said load bed when said load bed is disposed in its upright position against said stack side and is moved from its upright position to its horizontal position; means mounted on said load bed for advancing said stack longitudinally along said load bed toward an opposite other end of said load bed opposite to its one end when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position; a generally horizontally-positioned platform mounted on said chassis adjacently along said other end of said load bed when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position, said platform capable of receiving and supporting a leading portion of said stack each time said stack advancing means advances said stack longitudinally along said load bed; a crop material bale shredder rotatably axially mounted on movable track means which are fixed to said chassis adjacent one lateral side of said platform and extending beyond the overall machine width when in use; hydraulic means operably connected between said chassis and said movable track means whereby, through actuation of said hydraulic means, said shredder may be selectively moved between positions of storage and use; and feeder means mounted to said chassis along said platform and moveable toward said shredder for feeding said leading stack portion along said platform in a transverse relation to the longitudinal extent of said load bed and into said shredder.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
318 words
In a machine for tearing apart crop material bales from a stack thereof, the combination comprising: a mobile chassis; a load bed pivotally mounted near its one end to said chassis and moveable between a generally horizontal position and a generally upright retrieving position in which said load bed may be disposed generally against a side of said bale stack, said one end being the rear end with respect to the primary directon of travel of the machine; means arranged about said load bed and operable for retaining said stack against said load bed when said load bed is disposed in its upright position against said stack side and is moved from its upright position to its horizontal position; means mounted on said load bed for advancing said stack longitudinally along said load bed toward an opposite other end of said load bed opposite to its one end when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position; a generally horizontally-positioned platform mounted on said chassis adjacently along said other end of said load bed when said load bed is disposed in its horizontal position, said platform capable of receiving and supporting a leading portion of said stack each time said stack advancing means advances said stack longitudinally along said load bed; a crop material bale shredder rotatably axially mounted on movable track means which are fixed to said chassis adjacent one lateral side of said platform and extending beyond the overall machine width when in use; hydraulic means operably connected between said chassis and said movable track means whereby, through actuation of said hydraulic means, said shredder may be selectively moved between positions of storage and use; and feeder means mounted to said chassis along said platform and moveable toward said shredder for feeding said leading stack portion along said platform in a transverse relation to the longitudinal extent of said load bed and into said shredder.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The combination as recited in claim 7, further comprising: shroud means positioned partially about said shredder for confining the shredded crop material so as to feed said material out from said shredder at a predetermined location about said shredder.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The combination as recited in claim 7, wherein said shredder extends in a generally upright relation to said platform and is rotatably mounted about a vertical axis.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
55 words
The combination as recited in claim 7, wherein said shredder is disposed adjacent said one lateral side of said platform and extending outwardly beyond the overall machine width when in use, said shredder being moveable to a storage position within the overall machine width when not in use for facilitating road transporting of said machine.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
BE512003A
Cited
US3129739A
Cited
US3208491A
Cited
US3401810A
Cited
US3510013A
Cited
US3631992A
Cited
US3656638A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-01-16 | 1981-07-18 | 1982-01-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-01-16 | 1985-07-18 | 1986-01-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-01-16 | 1989-07-18 | 1990-01-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |