Patent ID: 11944041
Assignee: nan
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC A  F  Y | IPC A  F

Claim 13:
14. A bale drying apparatus comprising:
a support frame;
a bale space delimited within said support frame and sized to receive at least one hay bale within said bale space;
an air manifold movably coupled to the support frame and connected or connectable to an air source from which air is supplied to said manifold;
a plurality of spears each attached to the air manifold, each comprising a hollow interior fluidly connected to an interior space of the air manifold therewith to receive the supplied air therefrom, and each comprising a plurality of apertures therein through which the supplied air can exit the hollow interior of the spear;
wherein
the air manifold is movable between a deployed position in which the plurality of spears penetrate into the bale space, and a retracted position in which the plurality of spears are retracted out of said bale space;
the air manifold is movably carried on the support frame by at least one crank arm pivotably coupled to the support frame; and
at least one actuator is connected between the support frame and said at least one crank arm and operable to pivot said at least one crank arm in both a deployment direction moving the air manifold toward the deployed position and a retraction direction moving the air manifold toward the retracted position.