Abstract:
A dual tractor hitch used to pull twin hay balers which have an acid tank for treating baled material.

Description:
This invention claims the benefit of the U. S. Provisional application 60/281,421, filed Apr. 5, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a hydraulic driven dual tractor hitch for pulling twin hay balers and which has an acid tank used for treating baled hay. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Hitches for balers, trailers and the like are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,180 to Weiss discloses a hitch arrangement for balers that is automatic side discharge type balers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,174 to Koehn discloses a towing apparatus used to tow vehicles for road travel or place the towed vehicles in a nonaligned position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,456 to Hadley et al. discloses a towing apparatus used to tow vehicles in an aligned position or a side-by-side position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,849 to Houck discloses a towable implement that is convertible between a laterally expanded use position and a laterally narrow transport position. 
     In the present invention a hydraulic driven dual tractor hitch is used to pull twin hay balers and has an acid tank for treating the baled material, all as will be detailed in the specification that follows hereafter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a dual tractor hitch which is used to pull twin hay balers and which has an acid tank for treating the baled material. 
     It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for an improved tractor hitch which is connectable to multiple material balers to enable simultaneous baling. 
     Another object is to provide for such a hitch where there is an acid distributing applicator and two balers that may be aligned with one in front of the other behind the towing vehicle. 
    
    
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to readers from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the front portion of the hitch structure used to support the bailers shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial side view of the three point hitch connection shown in FIG.  1  and its associated members. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view of part of the rear bale bumper. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the present invention. A conventional self powered tractor  1  which is used to pull the two substantially identical trailing balers  3  and  5  (partially shown). A supporting steel structure  7 , with a spanning beam, acts as a bridging frame to interconnect the tractor  1  to the balers  3  and  5 . The structure  7  may be hollow to retain fluid, like oil, which can be pumped in or out of the frame by a hose connection. A three point hitch  6  is used to connect tractor  1  to the frame structure  7 . Hydraulically lines  9  also interconnect the conventional main hydraulic pump  11  to conventional hydraulically operated motors  13  used to operate the two balers. Some of the lines  9  are connected to the hollow interior of the oil filled structure  7  via connections such as at point  10 . Side swivel connectors one for each baler, interconnect the hydraulic supply lines to the hydraulic motor for each baler. 
     On the opposite side of the main structure  7  there is a pressurized hose (not shown) coming from the bottom of the main hydraulic pump  11  that is connected to the front of the structure  7  and continues along the length of the beam. At about ¾ of the way down the length of the beam of structure  7 , this hose drops down to connect with the rear hydraulic motor  13  on the second baler  5 . 
     Supported on the top surface of the structure  7  is a tank  17  forming part of an acid applicator used to apply acid to the formed bales of material, like hay. This acid is supplied to the hay from each baler by connecting lines  10 . These separate acid supply lines may extend side by side with the hydraulic lines  9  for the balers  3 , 5  and are represented by the numbers  10 . The acid supply lines  10  could also run within the hollow frame structure  7 . 
     In another version of the present invention, the same tank  17  sits on top of a steel bracket  18  mounted off the back lower beam, both of which are shown in dotted line format. Conventional oil filters  19  are also placed in the hydraulic lines to filter the oil being conveyed to the hydraulic baler motors. Also shown is vent pipe  21  mounted to the upper part of the frame structure  7 , the steerable rear axle  23  and the rear bale bumper  25  (see FIG.  4 ). It is noted that the hydraulic lines  9  extend to the rear baler along the upper surface of the structure  7  to permit not only the operation of the baler motor but also to permit steering of the supporting undercarriage  27  of the rear baler. Undercarriage steering is accomplished by selectively supplying pressurized hydraulic fluid (e.g., oil) to the rear axle  23 . 
     FIG. 2 is a top schematic view of the front portion of the underlying hitch frame structure  27  used to support the balers shown in FIG.  1 . Substantially identical structures  27  are used for each bailer undercarriage and therefore only one is illustrated. Connecting hoses have been omitted for simplification purposes. The ball hitch  29  mates with the hitch connection on the tractor  1  to permit pulling the structure and all attached components including the two bailers (not shown). The hydraulic pump  30  is mounted on a supporting mounting plate  31  which plate is in turn mounted to a frame support  32  fixed at its ends to a front member (not shown). 
     The four connected sides  33  form a rigid rectangular shaped frame which has four connected corners. Reinforcing corner steel plates  35  are welded to the corners and are used to increase the rigidity of this frame with sides  33 . A pin  37  fixed to the extension members of ball hitch  29  is also shown. Additional reinforcing side plates  39  are also illustrated on two opposite sides of the rectangular framing formed by the sides  33 . At the lower side  33  is a hitch plate/pin  41  used to connect the conventional bailer  3  or  5  (not shown) to the undercarriage shown in FIG.  2 . Two opposite side jack stands  43  are used, when lowered, to support the undercarriage and the bailers if attached. 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial schematic side view of the three point hitch connection  6  shown in FIG.  1  and its associated members. The purpose of the hitch is to interconnect the undercarriage  27  of the baler  3  to the front tractor  1  (not shown). A power take off (PTO) shaft  45 , partially shown, mounts the tractor to the undercarriage and is used as a power source to run the main pump  11  (see FIG.  1 ). Most of the connecting hydraulic lines are not shown in FIG.  3 . These lines carry pressurized oil and would extend from the top and bottom of the main pump  11 ,as shown in dotted line format. Lines from the main pump  11  supply pressurized fluid to each of the hydraulic pumps  30  on each bailer as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     In FIG. 3, at the upper portion of the hitch, is hook  47  used to mount an extension from the vertical hitch member  49  to the tractor extension assembly, including the standard or conventional “quick hitch” vertical component  51 . The hook has a pin rod that may be adjusted to fall into three different spaced notches  48  formed in an opening in the extension to member  49 . Between the two vertical components  49  and  51  is the pivotally mounted jack stand  43  in its raised position. A lower front baler hitch point  53  is shown opposite the supply chain  55  that goes to the hitch of the tractor  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view of part of the rear baler bumper  25  for the rear or second baler  5 . The two front tires  59  of baler  5  have a connecting hitch axle  61 . The oil filled hollow steel frame  7  has dotted lines to indicate the approximate location of the interior cavity, which has a lower closed oil drain plug  63 . A hydraulic line or hose (not shown) would be connected to a connection to supply oil or fluid to the hydraulically operated components in the baler, such as motor  13  (see FIG. 1) and a steerable rear axle  23 . By using an interior frame  7  oil reservoir input and output lines  9 , directed to the hydraulically operated pump, motor and axle  23 , may be protected and reduced. 
     The rear baler bumper  25  is designed to push bails away from the front of the second baler  5  as this baler moves towards the viewer. To do this the spaced parallel bars  65 , forming the bumper, are slanted to extend outwardly from the front to the rear. Bumper support frame members  67 , fixed to the spaced bars  65  at one end, extend to the undercarriage  27  of the rear hitch to maintain the bumper in place relative to the baler  5 . The direction of the arrow indicates the general path a contacted bail would be pushed as the tractor (not shown) moves forward towards the viewer. Additional vertical bumper frame supports  69  maintain the two bumper frame members  65  in a spaced relationship. 
     In use the two small square hay balers  3  and  5  (see FIG. 1) are connected to the self-contained oil filled hitch structure  7 . Each of the hydraulic motors on each baler may be simultaneously operated to bale hay. The operation of the balers is performed by hydraulic motors mounted on each balers, which motors are connected to and in fluid communication with oil supplied from the main pump  11 . In turn, pump  11  is driven by the main tractor via shaft  45  (see FIG.  3 ). Hoses  9  from the main pump are used to feed the hydraulic fluid connected via a 360 degree inlet swivel connectors  15 . This type of swivel connector allows for maximum hitch turning freedom. The rear baler  5  is connected to the steerable rear axle  23  which functions to allow the rear baler to be displaced to the left or right of the front or first baler  3  for easy road transit. The hitch structure  7 , with the acid applicator tank  17 , is used to simultaneously apply acid onto the hay entering both balers. Connected to the rear axle  61  of the rear undercarriage of baler  5  is the rear bale bumper (see FIG. 4) that is used as a pushing bar designed to migrate bales from the first baler  3  out of the way of the second trailing baler  5 . The hitch is connected to the tractor  1  by using a standard, or conventional, quick hitch coupler  51  and uses a stabilizer chain  55  to minimize excessive baler movement during the baling operation. 
     The hitch of FIG. 3 was designed and developed for commercial hay production on a farm. Results of its use have been very successful with a tremendous reduction in hay baling time to a rate of 10 acres an hour which is considerably faster than a known single hay baler operation. 
     Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the method of using the same has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.