Round bale loader and carrier

Claim 1

In a bale carrier which includes a longitudinally extending open chassis, ground engaging wheels supporting said chassis intermediate the ends thereof, means to raise and lower said chassis relative to the wheels from a bale pickup and discharge position to a transport position and vice versa, a pair of bale receiving glide rails mounted in said chassis in spaced and parallel longitudinally extending relationship and hitch means on the front of said chassis for attachment behind a conventional round baler assembly; the improvement which comprises a bale receiving cradle assembly mounted at the front of said chassis for directly receiving bales over the front of said chassis from the associated baler, whereby the longitudinal axis of the directly deposited bale is in a transverse position relative to said chassis, said cradle assembly being moveable from a transverse bale receiving position at the front of said chassis and within the confines thereof to a longitudinal bale transfer position within the confines thereof and vice versa, means associated with said cradle assembly to substantially horizontally swing said bale through substantially 90° whereby the longitudinal axis of said bale is substantially parallel to said glide rails after said swinging, and means to engage said bale with the ground within the confines of the chassis, after said swinging, by moving said chassis to the bale pickup position whereby when said chassis is moved forwardly and moved to the transport position, the ground-engaged bale is moved rearwardly an incremental amount relative to said chassis, and picked up by said glide rails.