AU754793B2 - Improvements in/or relating to forage feed out apparatus - Google Patents

Description

-1-

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Nominated Persons:

I.

HUSTLER HANDLING EQUIPMENT Russell Henry CURRIE; Beryl Margaret CURRIE; James Robert CURRIE; Stephen Henry CURRIE; Valerie Kathryn CURRIE and Denise Marjorie CURRIE Michael Gerrard BLOEMEN Actual Inventor: Address of Service: Invention Title: SHELSTON WATERS MARGARET STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 "IMPROVEMENTS IN/OR RELATING TO FORAGE FEED OUT

APPARATUS"

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- 2 This invention relates to forage feed out apparatus.

There is an increasing tendency to harvest hay in large bales, and various devices have been produced to aid in feeding out a line of forage for stock from these bales.

Ordinarily the apparatus is supported on or towed by a tractor and is arranged to support the bale with some mechanism to feed out the hay from the bale as a line of loose hay suitable for consumption by stock. It is desirable that such apparatus be relatively simple, robust and versatile.

It is an object of the present invention to provide forage feed out equipment which will V go some way to meeting the above mentioned requirements or which will at least provide a useful choice over existing and known forage feed out apparatus.

So 15 Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides a forage feed out apparatus including: a chassis arranged to be operatively mounted on or in association with a vehicle in use; feed out means including two or more rollers each having radially extending teeth at intervals therealong which cooperate in use to draw out feed from a bale whilst 20 rotating the bale; drive means to rotate the feed out means; and means for urging a bale towards said feed out means as the size of the bale diminishes.

One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a pictorial view of the feed out apparatus according to the present invention omitting the support frame for operatively engaging the apparatus on the tractor, Figure 2 is a pictorial view as shown in Figure 1 but with the cradle positioning 'means extended to move the cradle closer to the feed out rollers, Figure 3 is a cross sectional view, of the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2, Figure 4 is a pictorial view of the support frame mounted on a tractor, a. a.

a a a a a a a a a.

a a a a a. a a.

a a.

a a a a a a a -3 Figure 5 is a detail of the feed out rollers, and Figure 6 is a detail of the drive means.

The present invention comprises forage feed out apparatus to support a large round hay bale which apparatus when operatively mounted on a tractor allow hay from the bale to be feed out in a line of loose hay for stock.

The feed out apparatus 1 as illustrated in Figure 1, may be stably supported on the ground ready to receive a large round bale. A chassis 2 fabricated from suitable hollow box members provides such a stable support and incorporates sockets 3 and 4 to be engaged by prongs of a tractor mounted support frame so that the chassis can be elevated and supported from a three point linkage assembly of a tractor as wifl-be further described in more detail here below.

Extending outwardly towards one side of the chassis is a sub frame 5 which provides mounting for two parallel feed out rollers 6 and 7. The feed out rollers are arranged to be driven through a transmission means which forms part of a drive that will be more particularly described in connection with Figure 6.

Pivotally mounted to the chassis 2 and extending in the opposite direction to the roller *supporting frame 5 is a cradle 8. In use the cradle 8 supports a bale 9 in association with the feed out rollers 6 and 7. A back frame 10 restricts rearward movement of the bale 9.

The position of the cradle 8 is controlled by a hydraulic ram 11 which is shown In the open position ready to receive a bale in Figure 1 with the bale shown in place in Figure 3 and is shown in the extended position with the cradle closest to the feed rollers in Figure The chassis 2 allows the apparatus to be stably supported on the ground as illustrated in Figure 1 and a bale 9 can be lifted into the cradle when in such a position.

The present invention includes a support frame 12 supportable on a three point linkage of a tractor 13 and the frame has projecting from the lower corners thereof two parallel arms or prongs 14 and 15 arranged in use to engage in the engaging sockets 3 and 4 to provide a stable support for the chassis 2 in operative engagement with the support frame 12. The prongs 14 and 15 will also a~llow an opera~r from the tractor to move a bale from its stored position and lift the bale 9 into the cradle as shown in Figure 3.

The frame 12 also has supported thereon a hydraulic motor 16 which is panr of the drive means to provide the power for the feed out rollers 6 and 7.

The feed out rollers 6 and 7 are each driven in the same direction and have radially extending teeth with the teeth on the two rolls being operatively associated to facilitate removal of hay from the bale and also to act as a clearing means to ensure there is a minimum likelihood of hay becoming entangled on the feed out rollers. For example, there are three sets of these interacting teeth along the rollers but as will be appreciated this number could be varied.

*.The top roller 6 has a radially extending disk 17 from which project at regular intervals spiked protuberances or teeth 18.

Roller 7 has two parallel disks 19 and 20, with the disks arranged so that the gap there :between accommodates the associated disk 17 and teeth 18 on roller 6. Both rollers are preferably driven to rotate in the same direction and the interaction between the disks and teeth causes a tearing and feed out action to deliver without tangling a supply of hay from the bale 9 to deliver loose hay to a line of stock formed. Each of the disks 19 also has 00* spikes or teeth 20 in a manner similar to that in the disk 17.

1 0..:The roller 6 and 7 must be driven by a suitably. powered drive means to ensure that the hay can be removed by the teeth on the rollers 6 and 7 and feed out from the bale 9.

The hydraulic motor 16 mounted on the frame 12 is arranged to be automatically engaged by the transmission means associated with the rollers so that when the prongs 14 and engage the sockets 3 and 4 the transmission will couple with the hydraulic motor 16.

It is desirable to ensure that the transmission allows for a sufficient reduction in gearing to provide appropriate power to the rollers 6 and 7. By way of example the transmission has a coupling 21 with the drive shaft 22 that engage with a coupling drive engagement on the hydraulic motor 16. The coupling 21 drives a sprocket 23 which has a chain drive to a sprocket 24 on roller 6. Sprocket 23 is free to rotate on the shaft of the roller 7 and the sprocket 24 is fixed to the shaft of roller 6. To achieve the desired gearing the sprocket 23 is for example, a 13 tooth sprocket 6 and the sprocket 24 is a 28 tooth sprocket. A return chain drive via sprockets 25 and 26 (both 28-tooth sprockets) provides the drive for the roller 7. The transmission is appropriately guarded by a guard 27.

To use the present invention the chassis 2 is supported on a stable base and a bale 9 loaded therein preferably using the prongs or forks on the frame 12. Once the bale is in position the prongs are engaged with the chassis and the chassis lifted into position so that the roller transmission couples with the hydraulic motor 16. The positioning ram is, also operatively connected to provide the operator with a means of raising the cradle relative to the feed out rollers. A pressure sensitive control could be used to automatically regulate the appropriate positioning of this cradle to ensure that the bale is retained in the correct position relative to the feed out rollers.

When it is desired to feed out hay the drive through the hydraulic motor 16 is provided to the rollers 6 and 7 rotation of the rollers causes the protruding teeth to tear hay from the bale and feed loose hay in a line as the unit is moved over ground. The positioning means ensures that the bale is maintained in operative association with the feed out rollers. The gearing provided through the transmission ensures that there is adequate power delivered to the feed out rollers.

The unit is robust simple in operation and versatile. The cradle illustrated is particularly adapted for a round bale but a modified cradle or a cradle with adjusting components could be set up so that either a round or a rectangular or square bale could be used in the apparatus.

The apparatus is particularly designed for the feed out mechanism as illustrated using the inter-engaging teeth on two associated rollers. However, the arrangement of the cradle and chassis could be used in association with other feed out means. Also while there are significant advantages in providing a unit which can allow separation from the cradle and its supporting chassis from the mounting frame on the tractor it will also be feasible to provide a unit where the cradle was permanently mounted in association with the three point linkage. This will require a separate handling means to move the bale into Position on the cradle.

Claims (14)

1. A forage feed out apparatus including: a chassis arranged to be operatively mounted on or in association with a vehicle in use; feed out means including two or more rollers each having radially extending teeth at intervals therealong which cooperate in use to draw out feed from a bale whilst rotating the bale; drive means to rotate the feed out means; and means for urging a bale towards said feed out means as the size of the bale diminishes.

2. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the chassis includes a S•lower section with engaging sockets for enabling linkage to a vehicle. *o

3. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the chassis includes a sub frame upon which the feed out rollers are mounted. o S4. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 20 wherein the chassis includes a back frame for restricting rearward movement of a bale. **00 A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the rollers are parallel and driven in the same direction.

6. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the drive means is adapted to drive the rollers at a speed of rotation of less than 200rpm in use.

7. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the drive means is adapted to drive the rollers at a speed of rotation of about in use.

8. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each roller has three or more sets of radially extending discs having spiked protuberances or teeth extending therefrom.

9. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claimed 8 wherein each set of discs on the first roller has one disc and each set of discs on the second roller has two complementary discs defining a gap therebetween which accommodates the spiked protuberances or teeth from discs on the first roller in use to act as a clearing means to minimise hay being retained about the rollers. o10. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the urging means includes a cradle pivotally mounted to the chassis.

11. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the cradle is 15 dimensioned to support a large round bale in use such that the outer curved periphery of the bale is maintained in engagement with the feed out means. ooooo

12. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11 wherein a position control means moves the cradle about the pivot to maintain the outer surface of •o o coo* 20 the bale in contact with the feed out means.

13. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the position control means is a hydraulic ram.

14. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a linkage means for linking the chassis to a vehicle, the linkage means including a lifting frame adapted to attach to the rear of a vehicle and a plurality of prongs projecting from the lifting frame arranged in use to engage in the engaging sockets of the chassis. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the drive means includes a hydraulic motor.

16. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein a transmission means is geared to transmit sufficient power from the hydraulic motor to the feed out means.

17. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein the transmission means includes a drive shaft coupling for engaging with a complementary coupling on the hydraulic motor.

18. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein the drive shaft coupling means drives first and second rollers via a chain and sprocket arrangement. We see. '0006* 19. A forage feed out apparatus as claimed in claim 18 wherein the drive shaft "Oes: coupling includes two pins on one coupling plate for engaging with two pins transversely oriented in use on an opposing coupling plate. A forage feed out apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 15th Day of February, 2001 HUSTLER HANDLING EQUIPMENT Attorney: STUART M. SMITH Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS