Bale picking truck
OwnerGary L. Keldermaninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Biomass may become an important source of combustible fuel in the future. For biomass, such as switchgrass, to be economically viable as a fuel, the processes required to take the plant material from a green, growing plant in the field to an energy dense package must be efficient. A self-propelled bale picking truck simplifies and speeds bale collecting, stacking, and staging for loading onto a truck for transport over the road.
Claims14
A method for loading a plurality of bales from a ground surface on which the plurality of bales is disposed onto a bale picking truck, said bale picking truck comprising a pickup assembly operatively, pivotally attached to the bale picking truck, said pickup assembly comprising a plurality of gathering chains, the method comprising:
- (a) disposing the pickup assembly on a front of the bale picking truck;
- (b) approaching at least one of the plurality of bales with the pickup assembly;
- (c) pivoting the pickup assembly to dispose said pickup assembly near the ground and adjacent the at least one bale;
- (d) engaging the at least one bale with at least one of the plurality of gathering chains;
- (e) drawing the at least one bale onto the pickup assembly with the at least one of the plurality of gathering chains;
- (f) raising the pickup assembly up with respect to the bale picking truck;
- (g) lifting the at least one bale up to a level higher than the ground surface;
- (h) capturing the at least one bale with the gripper bars;
- and
- (i) holding the at least one bale at a predetermined level independently of a position of the pickup assembly.
An apparatus for picking up bales in a field wherein said bales were baled, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) ground engaging wheels;
- (b) a cab for an operator;
- (c) an engine;
- (d) a pickup assembly disposed at a front of the apparatus;
- (e) at least one gathering chain on the pickup assembly;
- (f) a pickup assembly lift for articulating the pickup assembly relative to a remainder of the bale picking truck;
- (e) at least one gripper bar to capture at least one bale at a location higher than the pickup assembly;
- and
- (f) wherein the gripper bar comprises includes two gripper bars;
- where the pickup assembly pivots upward to lift a first bale to a position whereby the tripper bars can grip the first bale;
- wherein the pickup assembly pivots upward to lift another bale into a position below the first bale, thereby raising the first bale until the second bale can be gripped by the gripper bars forming a stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.