Abstract:
The grasping system is a farm implement used for moving bales. The grasping system has an upper rail assembly attached by a connecting assembly to a base. The upper rail assembly closes onto a bale and a spike strip pierces the bale and any covering. The bale is then moved and any covering is cut. The upper rail assembly is released from the bale by the connecting assembly.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/254,594, filed by Cole on Oct. 23, 2009 and entitled “Grasping System”, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to equipment used for agricultural purposes. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Round cotton bale bagging machines have recently come to market and farmers are beginning to use these baggers to bag their cotton. These bags or round bales of cotton are heavy and difficult to move from the field or from the gin or other places. Many of the current movers have tines, which often pierce the bags. 
         [0004]    Much of the equipment used in farm work needs to be simple with very few moving parts. When farm equipment has too many moving parts, the likelihood of any one part breaking increases. Then, crop harvesting and production ceases until the part is fixed. In agriculture, farms have a limited amount of time between harvesting and getting the product to the market that cannot be wasted on fixing machinery. Also, farm machinery with too many parts risk injury to farm laborers, including getting their clothing or body parts tangled into the device. Therefore, there is a need for equipment to move round bagged bales of material, such as cotton, using a simple product. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present disclosure is a bale moving device. The invention is an attachment that can be placed on a front loader or other farm equipment. The invention is a grasping assembly with an upper rail assembly comprising one or more rails in a semi-circular configuration with optional cross members. The upper rail assembly is attached to the lower base by an opening assembly comprising a hinge assembly and a hydraulic cylinder. The base has one or more rails with optional cross members and a second end perpendicular to the base with a protrusion. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a side view of the grasping assembly approaching a cotton bale according to the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a three-dimensional view of the grasping assembly according to the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the spike plate according to the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a close-up view of the hinge assembly according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present disclosure is a grasping assembly. The invention is an attachment that can be placed on a front loader, three-point hitch system, wheel loader, or other farm equipment. 
         [0011]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 , the invention is a grasping assembly  100  with an upper rail assembly  200  attached by an opening assembly  300  to the base  400 . On the base is a connecting assembly  500 . The invention is used to grasp and move any-sized covered bales  600 . 
         [0012]    The upper rail assembly  200  can be comprised of one of or more rails  210  with a distal end  220 , which may be cross-member, and one or more interstitial cross-members  230 . The proximal end  240  is attached to the opening assembly  300 . The upper rail assembly  200  can be made of steel tubing, steel sheets, high density polymers, or other metals. The upper rail assembly  200  can be configured in a semi-circular or other arrangement near the covered bale  600  to correspond with the shape of the covered bale  600 . 
         [0013]    The opening assembly  300  can be comprised of a hinge assembly  320  and a hydraulic cylinder  310 . The hydraulic cylinder  310  is placed on the first side, or the side closest to the farm implement, and the hinge assembly  320  is placed on the second side. The opening assembly  300  is used to move the distal end  220  closer or further away from the base  400 . 
         [0014]    The hinge assembly  320  can have hinge plates  380  welded to the first end  440  of the base  400  so as to position the upper rail assembly  200  laterally and rotationally in relationship with the first end  440  of the base  400 . The hinge plates  380  are machined to allow for the insertion of replaceable low friction thrust bearing plates  360  to control lateral displacement of the upper rail assembly  200  and to eliminate the wear on the sides of the hinge plates  380  and the upper rail assembly  200 . Each rail  210  has two hinge plates  380 . 
         [0015]    The rotation of the upper rail assembly  200  is determined by the orbit around the pin  330  inserted into the bore of the hinge plates  380 . The pin  330  is fixed rotationally and axially by a collar arrangement  350  welded onto the hinge plate  380 . The proximal end  240  is precision bored on the same axis as the bore in the hinge plate  380  for an interference fit with the outside diameter of a cylindrical low friction bearing plate  370 . Inside diameter of this bearing plate  370  is such as to allow proper clearance for lubrication to be introduced through grease fitting passage  334  and grease exit  336  machined into the pin  330 . The pin  330  can be attached to the collar  350  by a bolt  332 . 
         [0016]    The location of the pivot point of the upper rail assembly  200  is determined by the design and placement of the hinge plate  380  and pin  330 . This allows the operator to approach the covered bale  600  with minimal vertical movement of the unit. 
         [0017]    The base  400  has a lower rail assembly  410 , including one or more rails  420  with optional cross-members  430 . The second end  450  is a protrusion that is mostly perpendicular to the base  400 . The second end  450  may have end in either in one or more rails  420  or a spike plate  700  with one or more spikes  710 . 
         [0018]    The limit of rotation of the upper rail assembly  200  is determined by the overall stroke length of the base  400  and by pivot points and by where hydraulic cylinder  310  is connected to the upper rail assembly  200  and the base  400 . Hydraulic cylinder  310  diameter and the length of the base  400  can be varied to accommodate any variations in future covered bale  600  configurations regarding diameter or weights. The base  400  is of sufficient length to allow the closure of the upper rail assembly  200  on covered bales  600  of any size. 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a spike strip  700  with one of more spikes  710 . The spike strip  700  can be attached on the distal end  450  of the base  400  and can also be attached to the distal end  220  of the upper rail assembly  200 . The spikes  710  on the spike strip  700  pierce any covered bale  600 . The covered bale  600  is cut by hand and the spikes  710  remain embedded in the cover releasing it from the covered bale  600 . 
         [0020]    The front loader  800  is attached by the connecting assembly  500  to the grasping system  100 . The upper rail assembly  200  has one or more lines  900  connecting it to the hydraulic cylinder  310  and the actuator  810  or controls in the front loader  800 . The actuator  810  controls the upper rail assembly  200  using the opening assembly  300 .