Bale cutting machine

A bale cutting machine for cutting bales of hay and the like, comprising:

• a flat bed having a pair of opposed upright sidewalls,
• a bed support structure,
• a bale pusher means for advancing a bale along a longitudinal axis of the bed between the sidewalls from an entry end of the bed to a discharge end of the bed,
• a bale cutting knife having a sharpened, removable blade affixed in a knife frame positioned at a right angle to a longitudinal axis of the bed and extended over the discharge end of the bed,
• a first fulcrum pin ball joint mounted on a vertical end surface of a first upright sidewall and a second fulcrum pin ball joint mounted on a vertical end surface of a second upright sidewall with the ball joints having a common longitudinal axis parallel to a flat upper surface of the bed and midway between the bed upper surface and a top of each sidewall at the entry end of the bed,
• a first knife frame support arm positioned outboard of the first upright sidewall and a second knife frame support arm positioned outboard of the second upright sidewall and parallel to the first knife frame support arm, the first support arm connected at a lower end to the first ball joint by a first fulcrum pin and affixed at an upper end to a first end of the knife, and the second support arm connected at a lower end to the second ball joint by a second fulcrum pin and affixed at an upper end to a second end of the knife for oscillating movement about said first and second fulcrum pins, thereby swinging the knife through an arc from the discharge end bed upper surface to a position above the sidewalls at the discharge end of the bed;
• a power means for advancing and retracting the bale pusher along the longitudinal axis of the bed, and
• a power means for imparting oscillating movement to the knife in an arc about the fulcrum pins.