Bale unroller

A bale unroller for unrolling a generally cylindrical bale of hay for removal of a continuous sheet of hay therefrom, said bale unroller comprising:

• supporting means for supporting said bale in said bale unroller;
• said supporting means comprising a floor which is elevated above the ground and is further inclined upwardly from a rear of the bale unroller toward a discharge end thereof;
• a boxlike container to enclose the supporting means;
• a side door for gaining access into said bale unroller and for placing a bale of hay therein when said door is in an opened position;
• latching means for retaining the door when said door is in a closed position;
• movable means disposed along said supporting means for engaging said bale to impart rotative movement to said bale for unrolling a sheet of hay therefrom, said movable means comprising a plurality of parallel and spaced apart angle irons extending transversely across said supporting means and a plurality of continuous chains interconnecting ends of said angle irons;
• means for adjusting tension in said chains;
• roller means disposed above said supporting means for engaging against said bale and for containing said bale in said bale unroller during rotative movement of the bale, said roller means comprising a plurality of horizontally disposed rollers at spaced vertical positions along a discharge end of said unroller, each of said rollers provided with longitudinal irregularities along the surfaces of said rollers;
• gravity and rotative means for urging said bale toward said roller means, said gravity and rotative means comprising rotatable means disposed above and rearwardly of the bale for rotatably engaging against the bale, means for pivotally connecting said rotatable means to a frame member of said bale unroller such that the rotatable means is pivotable in a pendulumlike manner relative to said frame member;
• means for lifting said rotatable means to an elevated position to facilitate insertion of a bale into said bale unroller, said lifting means thereafter being operable to permit said rotatable means to engage said bale by gravitational forces;
• discharge means for discharging said sheet of hay from said bale unroller, said discharge means comprising a chute for receiving the continuous sheet of hay as it emerges from the bale unroller between the movable means and the roller means, a paddle wheel disposed above said chute, said paddle wheel resiliently and pivotally supported above the sheet of hay and the chute to accommodate variations in thickness of the sheet of hay;
• hydraulic drive means operatively connected to said movable means and said roller means to provide movement therefor;
• and
• additional hydraulic drive means operatively connected to said paddle wheel to provide drive therefor.

A method of unrolling a generally cylindrical bale of hay for removal of a continuous sheet of hay therefrom, said method comprising:

• providing a bale unroller having an elevated floor relative to the ground, means movable along said floor for imparting rotative movement to said bale, roller means disposed above said floor for engaging against and retaining said bale in said bale unroller during rotative movement of said bale and rotative means for urging said bale toward said roller means including means for lifting said rotative means, and drive means for said movable means;
• lifting said rotative means to an elevated position;
• inserting said cylindrical bale into said bale unroller;
• lowering said rotative means against said cylindrical bale to urge said bale into engagement with said roller means;
• and
• driving said movable means to impart rotative movement to said bale to unwind and remove a continuous sheet of hay therefrom.