Bale feeder

Abstract

A forage feed out machine, the machine comprising; a cradle with a series of transverse rollers extending across and forming a base for a bale; the cradle being mounted on a chassis and wheels such that it is pivotable backward and forward by hand; at least one of the rollers being ground driven. The width and the height of the cradle is such that a range of different sized bales, preferably round, can be loaded and fed out by the machine. A main roller which feeds out the feed has a ridge along its surface, this ridge providing a means for intermittently feeding out forage material in discrete clumps from the periphery of the bale. The ridge acts as a blade or paddle which removes the feed from the periphery of the bale and also initially raises and moves the bale. The cradle is formed by a pair of side frame members linked by three spaced apart transversely extending rollers on which the bale is supported, the bale being retained in position by transverse pins positioned at the center of each side of the bale and adapted to slide in guide slots formed in the side frames as the bale's size reduces during feeding out.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.