BACKGROUND OF THE I~JE~TION
FIE~D OE T~E I~/ENTlON.
The present invention relates generally to agricultural e~uipment and more specifically to bale wagons.
D~SCRIPTIO~ OF THE PRIOR ~RT.
Wit.r. the trend in farming pra~ices towards increased mechanisation, the automatic bale wagon, such as the type illustlated in US Patent No. ~.610.442 and Canadian Patent No. 902.003 has been gaining in acceptance as an essential farm implement. In these bale s eq ~ enti ~-~ wagons, bales are loaded onto a first receiving table which-ec~u~k~
: moves two or more bales in end-to-end relationship onto a second transfer table, whereupon a tier of bales is accumulatedO When a full complement of bales for a tier has been loaded upon the second transfer table, the latter is elevated from a somewhat horizontal position to a substantial vertical po.ition to dispose the tier of bales either against a rolling rack upon a load bed of wagon or ag~lnst the forward face of a previously deposited tier of bales. All operations of the various receiving and transfer tables, rolling rack and final unloading of the load bed are accomplished by hydraulic means and associated .~ fluid circuits and co~trol valves which are operated by appropriate CamS~
trip members and other means such as described in detail in the afore-mentioned patent specification.
After acc~lmulating successive bale tiers to form a compl.eted bale Etack on the load bed, the bale stack may be transported to a desired location for discharg~ from the wagon in a composite stack.
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~ale wagons ha~e now evolved to the point wher~ not only can they pick up -nd ~idual bales in the field and stack them or retricve an entirs &tack, but they are a]so able automatically to unload the wagon one bale at ~ time.
Bale wagons of the type3hereinbefore described are ~ener3l1y satisfactory when operating in generally flat fieldsO HGwever, when ~sing these bale wagons in hilly conditions, certain proble~s are encountered~ One problem occurs when operating on slopes tr~nsverse to the longitudinal axis of the bale wagon. Baies loaded on the fir~t recei~-ing table occasionally move too far to the one or other side~
This movement often occurs during the trans~er o~ the bales from the first receiving table to the second transfer table, whereby bales m~y either fall onto the ground or may become arranged in an irregular Gr 1006e tier on the transfer table. An irregular or loose tier m~y result in bale6 falling onto the ground as soon as the second transfer table starts cycling. Even if no bales fall to the grour.d, other problem~ may be encountered; for-example an irregular and loose pattern on the second transfer table will result in an unstable load on the 103d rack which in turn results in unstable stacks in the oase of a stacking wago~. AlSo9 i~ales in the front tier of the stack on the load bed may tend to fall back on the second transfer table,thereby disturbing the entire automatic loading operation. In the case of a bale wagon comprising a bale-by-ba;e ur.loading mechanism, similar problems may occur during the unloading i process.
2~ When the bale wagon is operated on an upward incline, then the bales which are transferred from the first recei~ring table onto the second tr~nsfer t~ble have a tendency either to roll or 61ide rearw~rdly on the ~econd .: ' ''"'~
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1C~63S60 transfer table. This results, of course, in an irregular tier and a disturb-ance of the automatic operation of the wagon as the second table strip member may be actuated prematurely. The operator then has to stop the wagon when this occurs and unload the irregular tier manually and re-arrange the bales on the second transfer table.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to overcome or attenuate one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages of the known bale wagons.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an automatic bale wagon for hauling bales lying in a field comprising: a mobile chassis adapted for movement in a forward direction across the field; a bale pick-up means mounted on the chassis for picking up bales from the ground during movement of the bale wagon across the field; a load table for receiving bales picked up from the ground by the bale pick-up means and being pivotable between a bale-receiving position and a bale-unloading position; further bale receiving means for receiving bales from the load table on movement from the bale-receiving position to the bale-unloading position; and means on the load table movable from an inoperative to an operative position when the load table is moving from its bale-receiving position to its bale-unloading position for retaining a bale deposited on the load table in a predetermined position dur-ing said movement of the load table.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided in an automatic bale wagon for handling bales lying in the field and having a mobile chassis; bale pick-up means, a load table, a transfer table and a load bed; the bale pick-up means being arranged for picking up bales from the ground during movement of the wagon across the field and for loading said ~ ,~ bales in a layer on the load table; the load table being movable between a ' .: : . :
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`` ~063560 bale-receiving position and a bale-unloading position in which latter position bales loaded thereon are transferred to the transfer table to form a tier of bales thereon comprising a plurality of layers of bales; the transfer table being movable between a bale-receiving position and a bale-unloading position and arranged to offload a tier of bales formed thereon onto the load bed to form a stack of bales thereon comprising a plurality of tiers of bales;
the improvement comprising: members pivotally mounted intermediate their ends on the underside of the load table; a bale-retaining element mounted to one end of each pivot member; stop means on the chassis for cooperation with the other ends of the pivot members when the load table is in its bale-receiving posi-tion and for holding the bale-retaining elements in a retracted inoperative position and resilient means cooperable with the pivot members for when the stop means are disengaged pivoting the members under resilient force to a position in which the bale-retaining elements project through associated apertures in the load table and for engaging bales on the load table and re-taining them in position; the movement of the load table from the bale-receiv-ing position to the bale-unloading position disengaging the pivot members from the associated stop means and movement of the load table in the reverse direction effecting re-engagement of the pivot members with the respective stop means and the consequential retraction of the associated elements.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an automatic bale wagon for hauling bales lying in a field comprising: a mobile chassis adapted for movement in a forward direction across a field;
a bale pick-up means mounted on the chassis for picking up bales from the ground during movement of the bale wagon across the field; a load table for receiving bales from the pick-up means and being pivotable between a bale-receiving position and a bale-unloading position; a transfer table mounted to the chassis for cooperation with the load table; the load table being arranged -5 ~
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to offload layers of bales onto the transfer table on movement from the bale-receiving position to the bale-unloading position and to form a tier of bales thereon; a load bPd mounted to the chassis for cooperation with the transfer table; the transfer table being movable between a bale-receiving position and a bale unloading position in which latter position the bale tier formed thereon is transferred to the load bed to form a stack of bales thereon comprising a plurality of tiers of bales, and means on the load table movable from an in-operative to an operative position when the load table is moving from its bale-receiving position to its bale-unloading position for maintaining bales deposited on the load table in a predetermined position during said movement of the load table.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Bale wagons embodying the present invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the bale wagon, : Figure 2 is a partial view, on a larger scale, of the portion indi-cated at II in Figure 1, with certain components omitted, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines III-III of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the components in a different operative position, Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines V-V of Figure 4, Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 but of another embodiment, Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines VII-VII of .~ Figure 6, Figure 8 is a view in the direction of arrow VIII in Figure 7, -Sa-:
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Fig~re.c 9 ~.rd 10 are schematic v.ews of bydr-lulic co~.Fonents as used i~ Figures 6~7 ar.d 8, ~igure 11 is ~ view gener~lly similar to Figure 2 ~ut to s. larger scale and showi.ng compcr.ents omitted fr~ Figure 2 ~nd ~-i.ce vsrs~, Figures 12 and 13 are views simi.l~r to Figure 11 with th--COmpo!lentS i.n different operati.ve posi.tion3.
DE~AII,F~ DESCRIPTION 0~ THE INVENTION
1C~ IN ~E~ERAL
~ne basic features of the bale wagons to be described ~~e ~et forth kereinafter to an extent sufficient for the present inventi^n to be appreciated and understood. ~owever9 certain components~ in partic~lar the hydraulic system by which the various elements of the 1, bale wogon are activated ard controlled9 are shown only diagr~mmat-ic~lly. Opsration of certain of these elements, s3pecially the `- corltrol. valves for the hydraulic cylinder unitsS is ir.i.tiated by cert3.in trip mechanisms, cams, etc., the details of which are not shown in the .
drawings o~ the present application but are ~llustrated and descr~bed in US Patent No. 3.610.442 and Canadian Pat6nt No. 902.003, to which .. attention is directed for a more complete de.ccription and illustration of trle s~me.
ReferrinB to the accompanying drawings and particularly to .:
Figure 1, the bale wagon comprises a chassi.s, indicated generally at 1, 2~ mounted on two pairs of wheels, only the .right hand ones 2 being seen in Figure 1. The chassis 1 is formed of left- and ri~ht--hand, lorgitudina1-ly-extending rails 3 of which onl.y on~ i~s ~seen.
- - 6 - ~ -~063S~0 Although it is rot specifically sho~9 the forward ends of the longi-tudinally extending rails 3 converge i.n a clevis assembly which ad.~pt the wagon to be secured to a tractor (not shown), or other towing vehicle, located at the front thereofO Power for the wagon i~ obtained 5 from the tractor power-t~ke-off ir. a con~-entional manner, but not specifically sho~
Mounted at the forward end of the chassis 1 and extending transJersely thereof is a first load on receiving table 4 comprising two transversely-extending beams 5 and 6 which are mounted on a forwardl.y~
~0 extending korizontal portion 7 of an L-shaped structure indic~ted generally at 80 The L-shaped structure 8 includes a rear, upwardly-extend.r.g leg portion 9 which is pivotally secured at 10 to spaced brackets 11, only one of which is shown, mounted on the right- and left-hand side rails 30 A hydraulic actuator 12 is pivotally secured by a pivot pin to the framew work of the bale wagon. The rod 15 of the cylinder 12 is pivotally secured at 13 to an arm 14 which is welded9 or otherwise secured, to the L-shaped ~ember 8 of the receiving table 4. As the actuator 12 is extended, the receiving table 4 is swung upwardly about its pivot point 109 thereby transferring any bales which have been accumulated on the table (such as bales A) onto a second, or transfer table 16.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the bales A are first introduced to the receiving tabl.e 4 by means of a pick-up 17 which lifts bales from the ground and directs them to the receivine table 4r The transfer table 16 ~s also mounted on a pair of L-shaped structures 28, each having a forwardly-extending leg portion and an upward-ly~extending rear leg portion 20 which!is disposed at right angles to thç
. - 7 -, ~owe~ leg portionO Each of the upwardly-extending leg portions 20 is &acured by a pivot pin 21 to a depending lug 22 mo~ted on the forward end of a load ~ed 23~ A bed surface 24 of the tranFfer table 16 is lormeA
acrofis the forwardly-extending leg portions and provides a surface upon ~-hich bale tiers are formed. When the transfer table 16 is in its norm3l ; tierforming positon, it is disposed in the position shown in Figure lo A hydraulic actua~or 25 is secured by a pivot pin to the load bed 231 with the rod end 26 ~f the actuator pivotally connected by a pivot pin to a r~arwardly-extending member 27 fixed by its forward end to the raar 1~ portion of the L-shaped structure 28. -The load bed 23 includes a platform assemoly 29.
When the requisite number of bales kas been accumulated on table 16 from the table 4, to form a first tier of bales thereon, the hydraulic actuator 25 is operated by trip means (not shown) so that it extends and causes the table 16 to swing upwardly about its pivot pin 21 through approximately 90. ln tkis manner, the first b~le tier formed on tke transfer table 16 is transferred from a generally horizontal positon on the table 15 to a generally vertical position on a rearwardly-disposed bed ~; -or load table 23 against a rolling rack 30 which is thus forced rearwardly.
Successive tiers of bales placed on the load bed 23 by the table i6 will effect fur-ther rearward movement of the rack 30 relative to the load bed 23.
The bale tiers are laterally confined on the load bed 23 by right- and lefthand side bars 31, only the right hand side shield being shown in ~ig. 1. Each of the side bars 31 is supported by upwardly-extending front and rear struts 32, 33 respectively.
The rolling rack 30 is adapted to be advanced forwarly and rearward]y by means of a cable system (not shown).
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~06~S60 Wher the operator of the bale w.lgcn desires to unload the wagon ore bale 3t a time, the bale ti.sr last deposited cn tre 1.o~d bed 23 is trsnsferred back to the now inclined table 16 by forw3rd movemer.t of the rol.ling rack 23. A cross conveyor (not shown) engages tke end b~le of ~he 1,owermost layer of bales &nd disch~rges it. from the bale wagon. Bale engaging me~ns (not shown) have previously er.gaged the l,ayer of b~les next to the lowermost layer on the transfer t3ble and shift.,-d th.~?~m upwardl.~ on the bed surfaGe 24 to permit ready discharge of the lowermost laJ~r~ When the l,ower~?loEt layer has been discharged9 the b?,71e eng~ging means are retracted to allow th7e previousl.y retained layer to fall and become the lowermost layer for discharge, the bale eng3ging means then engaging and li.fting the next layer. Tkis operation ~ is repeated until the whole tier has been discharged, whereupon the : rolling rack is moved further forward to trar.sfer the next tier ont.o , 1S the t~ble 16.
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~, FR~FERRE~ EMoeODI~1~7.
With particular reference to Figurès 2~59 improvements in the receiving table 4 will now be described in more detail. ~_votally mounted ~ :
on the lower side of the front tr~verse bean 6 of the receiving table 4 ' ' -?0 are a plurality of bale?-retaini7lg member~ 34 kaving at cne e.7.d fingers 35 which can project from bel.ow through apertures 36 in the beam 6 and having other ends 37 adapted for abutment against adjustable .stops 38 on the long;tudinally~extendir.g rails 3. Secured between the ends of the membexs 34 are arms 39 to which or.e end of respective spri.ng~ 40 are ttachad. The other ends of the springs 40 are secured to support 41 o~ the be~7. 6. The springs 40 are arr?.~.ged so as to urge the finger3 35 to pro 7.ect through the apertures 36.
_ 9 The ends 37 abut against the ad~ustable stops 38 when the receiving table is in its normal receiving position, thereby retracting the fingers 35, as is best - seen in Figure 3. Thus the bales can easily be loaded on to the receiving table 4 by the pickup 17 without any interference of the fingers 35. The abutment ends 37 of the members 34 are released from the stops 38 as soon as the actuator 12 starts lifting the receiving table 4 and the springs 40 immediately urge the fingers 35 through the apertures 36 to penetrate the bales A. As a result, the bales A are transferred in a proper manner to the transfer table 16, even in those situations where the wagon is operating on transverse inclines. The bale retaining members 34 thus prevent bales from falling onto the ground during the cycling of the receiving table 4 and ensure that a~ltight and regular tier is formed on the transfer table 16. This also means that in case of a stacking wagon, stable stacks are formed, and in the case of a bale-by-bale unloading wagon, problems during the unloading cycle are avoided.
With particular reference now to Figures 11 to 13, a future feature of the bale wagon of Figure 1 is illustrated which feature is particularly useful when the wagon is operated on an upward or downward incline in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the wagon. Bale retaining arms 50 are pivoted at their forward end to a support 51 and the weight of the arms urges them to their lowermost position, as shown in Figure 11, in which stops 52 on the arms 50 abut against the supports 51. The arms 50 contact the bales A on the receiving table 4 constituting the first bales of a new tier and are raised during the transfer of these bales to the table 16, which is affected by pivotal movement of table 4. This is illustrated in Figure 12, wherein the receiving table 4 is shown in an intermediate position in the bale transfer cycle.
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-.- ' ' ' : ' .: ' 10~3560 Thus the ar~ns 5~ prevent the bales A from moving transversely during trar.sfer to t~ble 15 which is an added advantage when operating on transverse slopes. The arms 50 remain i.n contact with the transferred bales A (shown as bales B in Figure 13) and thus retain them in position on the transfer tabl.e 16. As other bales are tr&nf6rred to table 16, the arms 50 engage and retain the forwardmost balesO The contact pressure ; of the arms 50 may be increased by spr~ng means, for exampleO It will be appreciated that the arms 50 prevent bales from falling back on the receiving table 4 when the wagon i.s operated on a downward incline and will ',~
restrain bales from rolling or sliding too far rearwardly on the second or transfer t~ble 16 when placed thereon9 and when the wagon is operated on an upward incline in the direction of the.longitudinal axis of the wagon. It will be clear that the automatic operation of the bale wagon ' is in no way disturbed by the arms 50 and that tight and regular tiers :, will be formed on the second'or transfer table 16.
~ MODI~IED E~ODIMENT
; Figures 6 to 10 show an alternative arrangement of the invention ' in which the spring loaded bale-retaining members 34 of Figures 2 to 5 ar~ replaced by hydraulically~controlled bale retaining means 42. The means 42 comprise a rock shaft 46 which is piYotally mounted in brackets 43 on the beam 5, fingers 47 which can penetrate into the bal.es through the openings between the transverse beam 5 and 6, and an arm 49 pivotally connected to a hydraulic actuator 44. The actuator 44 is pivotally mounted ~5 at its other end on the receiving table 40 A return spring 45 is arranged ,' parallel to the actuator 44 between the member 4' and the receiving table 4.
The hydrauli.c actuator 44 is arrar.ged hydraul.ically in parallel with the !
, a^tu3tor 12 by pressure line 48 (Figures 9 and 10) and when not activated9 t~e pi~tons of both actuators are retractedO This me~ns that also the fing~rs 47 3re in a retracted, non~operative position~ ~le actuator 44 requires less force to e~fect extension and hence~ when pressure is supplied in pres~lre line 48 for lifting the receiving table 4, the piston of the actuator 44 will be extended first. This means9 that the fingers 47 will penetrate the bales A before the receiving table 4 starts cycling ~nd hence retain the bales in position irre~pective of the nature of the terrain on which the bale wagon is operating~ When the bales have been transferred to 'he transfer table 16, the pressure in pressure line 48 is interrupted ~nd the receiving table 4 returned to its normal receiving position. At the came time, the return spring 45 causes the piston of actuator 44 ~nd the fingers 47 to retract, whereby the table is ready to receive further bales from the pick-up 17 ~5 It will be understood that, while with reference especially to fig~res 1 to 10, the bale retaining fingers 34 have been described in connection with the first load table 4, it is obvious that these fingers equally may be provided on the transfer table 16 for holding bales deposited thereon and forming a tier of bales, in a predetermined position during 2~ movement of the transfer table toward the load bed.
From what preceeds, it will be appreciable that an automatic bale bale wagon according to the invention can be utilized in circumfitances wheraon the u~e of conventional automatic bale wagons is practically impossible or wherein the operation thereof i8 affected considerably.
In other wordsq the problems which otherwise ccmmonly are encountered when operating with an automatic bale wagon on slopes transverse to the ~ 12 ~.
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longitudinal axis of the wagon and/or on upward ;nclines on the direction of the longidutinal axis of the wagon, are avoided or at least attenuated to a great extent.
Indeed, when the first receiving table transfers bale to the second transfer table, the bale-retaining fingers associated therewith hold the ba]es deposited on the receiving table in a predetermined position, thus avoiding the bales to fall off the receiving table during the transfer cycle thereof, and avoiding a loose or irregular tier to be formed on the transfer table as well as all subsequent problems which otherwise resulted from the formation of such a loose andirregular tier. The tendency of the bales to roll or to slide rearwardly on the transfer table when deposited thereon, and when the wagon is operated on an upward incline in longitudinal direction of the machine, ~; is eliminated or at least reduced substantially by the action of the aims, overhanging the receiving table.
It is thought that the improvement provided by the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts thereof described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrifying all of its material advantages, the forms hereinbefore described being merely exemplary embodiments thereof.
Other aspects of an automatic hillside bale wagon are described and illustrated in our co-pending Canadian patent application No. 275,199, filed March 31, 1977.
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