Abstract:
An agricultural transporter ( 1 ) for carrying discrete items is described, the transporter ( 1 ) having an elongate tray ( 20 ) having a front end and a rear end, a wheel means to support the tray ( 20 ), wherein the tray ( 20 ) comprises a plurality of rollers ( 26 ) to enable the conveyance of the items from one part of the tray ( 20 ) to another part. In another embodiment, a transporter is described that includes a bale wrapper mounted to the side of the transporter.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2005/000096, filed on Jan. 31, 2005, designating the United States of America, and published, in English, as PCT International Publication No. WO 2005/072511 A1 on Aug. 11, 2005, which application claims priority to Australian Patent Application No. 2004200315 filed Jan. 29, 2004, the contents of the entirety of each of which are incorporated herein by this reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     This invention relates to an agricultural transporter and, more particularly, to an agricultural trailer adapted for articulated attachment to a prime mover such as a tractor.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Agricultural transporters, particularly in the form of trailers, known to the applicant that were available prior to the invention include a static tray surface used for the transfer of discrete items, such as hay bales, from one part of the transporter to another part. Agricultural trailers have been described that include rails or tracks along which the bales may slide. However, the sliding of such items may still involve significant frictional resistance and may make the movement of items on the transporter impractical.  
         [0004]     The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art in Australia or elsewhere.  
       DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention provides an agricultural transporter for carrying discrete items, the transporter having: 
        (a) an elongate tray having a front end and a rear end; and     (b) wheel means to support the tray; and     wherein the tray comprises a plurality of rollers to enable the conveyance of the items from one part of the tray to another part.        
 
         [0009]     Preferably, the transporter is in the form of a trailer having a hitch for articulated attachment to a prime mover. In particular, in another inventive aspect, the prime mover may comprise the front half of an articulated tractor. An articulated tractor includes a motor driven front half articulated to a rear half that provides a steering mechanism. The steering mechanism of an articulated tractor includes the articulated joint providing a turning point for the rear half to turn relative to the front half and a hydraulic ram offset from the turning point. The expansion or contraction of the ram is operative in order to vary the spacing between the front and rear halves on that side of the turning point, whereby to turn the whole front half and effectively provide a mechanism for steering. The invention utilizes this arrangement by substituting the trailer of the invention (or any other compatible trailer used in industry, particularly the agricultural industry) for the rear half of the articulated tractor. The trailer is hitched to the articulated pivot point of the tractor and the resulting vehicle is steered by the combined operation of the front tractor half&#39;s pivot point and the hydraulic ram.  
         [0010]     Preferably, the rollers are arranged parallel to one another. However, the rollers may be aligned at varying angles relative to one another, for example, where an item is to be moved through an arc or around a corner. Therefore, the rollers may vary in diameter along their lengths to facilitate to movement of an item through an arc. Preferably, however, the rollers are of substantially constant cross-sectional diameter whereby their external shape is substantially elongate and cylindrical. Preferably, the rollers are aligned laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the transporter and are mounted for rotation about parallel horizontal axes in elongate beams extending the length of the tray and forming part of a frame structure in turn forming part of the tray. Preferably, the rollers rotate freely. However, at least one of the rollers may be driven or the transporter may include a number of spaced driven rollers interposed by one or more freely rotating rollers. The driven rollers may be driven by a continuous drive chain or belt, conveyor belt to cover the rollers, or other suitable means.  
         [0011]     Preferably, the transporter includes tray tilt means for dispensing the items from the transporter. Preferably, the tray tilt means lifts the front end of the tray thereby allowing the items to slide off under the impetus of gravity. However, where the items are stackable hay bales, the tray tilt means may be capable of dispensing the items into stacked columns or piles. For this purpose, the tray tilt means may be capable of tilting the tray to substantially 90° relative to the ground surface whereby to off load the items in a neatly stacked configuration. It will be appreciated that a side tray tilt means could, in some circumstances, be preferred to a front end lifting means and a side tray tilt means is considered within the scope of this invention. The tray tilt means may include any suitable lifting means, such as pneumatic or hydraulic rams and/or mechanical linkages.  
         [0012]     Preferably, the transporter includes side wall plates that are movable onto the rollers whereby to form a flat tray floor surface. The side wall plates may be permanently affixed to the transporter, such as by hinge means affixed to the sides of the tray. The side wall plates may be made from a variety of panel materials. Particularly preferred is chequer plate steel.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the transporter includes side wall supports adapted to receive removable wall barriers extending part or all of the length of the tray. The side wall supports may be used to support the side wall plates in the upright position to expose the rollers. The removable wall barriers may be elongate rails extending between the side wall supports in order to retain items on the wall plate covered tray out of the hay baling season. Accordingly, the movable side wall plates provide utility for the transporter, both in the hay baling season and in general use around a farm at other times of the year.  
         [0014]     Preferably, the transporter further includes a hay bale wrapper mounted to one side of the transporter. Hay bale wrappers are typically directly towed by a prime mover such as a tractor. However, heretofore, hay bale wrapping machines have not been mounted onto a hay carting trailer, whether at the side of the trailer, the end or in any other position on the trailer. The reasons that such an arrangement has not been adopted are manifold, but primarily the combination has previously been considered to be cumbersome and unworkable.  
         [0015]     Accordingly, in another aspect of the invention, there is provided a hay bale wrapper including: 
        a) mounting means for attachment to a hay carting transporter and bale wrapping means;     b) height adjustment means for lowering bale support means of the wrapper to ground level to collect a hay bale and raising the bale support means to the level of the tray of the transporter; and     c) tip means to transfer the bale once wrapped from the wrapper to the tray.        
 
         [0019]     Preferably, the bale wrapper includes spaced rollers adapted to rotate the hay bale. The spaced rollers may be mounted within a wrapper frame and preferably extend horizontally in a configuration similar to the spaced tines of a fork lift. The spaced rollers may include a roller surface having a texture or configuration adapted to frictionally engage with the hay bale in order to effectively rotate it upon rotation of the spaced rollers. For example, the spaced roller surface of at least one of the rollers may be a rubber material having the properties of wear resistance and a high frictional surface. Alternatively, the spaced rollers may include ribs, grooves, or ridges capable of frictionally engaging the hay bale to ensure its rotation upon rotation of at least one of the spaced rollers. One of the spaced rollers may be made from low frictional material, such as iron or steel. The spaced rollers may be the same as the plurality of tray rollers.  
         [0020]     Preferably, the bale wrapper includes a wrapping arm operable to rotate about a hay bale to apply a protective wrap thereto. The bale wrapper may include a horizontal boom from which the vertical wrapping arm depends. The wrapper arm may be driven and include an upper horizontal arm of sufficient length to space a downwardly depending arm attached to the outer end of the upper arm from the extremities of the hay bale in order to be rotatable completely around the hay bale.  
         [0021]     Accordingly, the bale wrapper may include a frame that supports the spaced rollers and to which the mounting means, height adjustment means and the tip means are attached. The frame may include a vertical pillar from which extends the horizontal boom from which a driven L-shaped wrapping arm rotatably depends. The spaced rollers may be adapted to rotate the bale about a generally horizontal axis, while the wrapping arm having the vertical orbiting arm effects the wrapping of the bale by rotating about a vertical axis.  
         [0022]     The hay bale wrapper may be mounted to the underside of the transporter. The mounting means may include quick release connections. Quick release connections may include eyelet lugs welded or otherwise mounted onto the trailer, for example, to the height adjustment means, and to the wrapping table and a pin releasably insertable through the eyelets to join the eyelet lugs in a fixed connection. The lifting apparatus, such as a hydraulic ram, may be connected between the wrapping table (or other attachment such as fork lift) to the transporter by a quick release coupling. Such male/female quick release hose couplings are commercially available and will be known to the skilled person.  
         [0023]     Different wrapping tables may be incorporated in the hay bale wrapper to suit different sized and shaped bales. The hay bale wrapper may include a turntable wrapper such as the sila wrapper from Knurvaland or the McHale wrapper, for example. Other bale wrapper table arrangements known to the skilled person are considered to fall within the scope of the agricultural transporter of the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]     The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of one or more preferred embodiments, in which:  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an agricultural transporter in the form of a trailer according to one embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the transporter of the first embodiment from a different perspective. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown an agricultural transporter in the form of a trailer  1 . The transporter can, of course, be in the form of a driven transporter such as a truck with an open or walled tray. In the preferred form, the transporter is a trailer  1  having a dual axle arrangement  10 .  
         [0028]     The trailer  1  includes a tray  20  having a rectangular frame  22  extending about its periphery. The front of the tray is supported by a draw bar  12 . The draw bar  12  is straddled by a slot  16  formed in the front apex of the A-frame drawbar  11 . The slot  16  is defined by the underside of the pillar  24  and the angled arms  17  of the frame  11 . The draw bar  12  is fixed to the tray  20  through a hydraulic ram  13  articulated between the draw bar at hinge  14  and an upright stand  21  extending from the rectangular frame  22  at an upper hinge  15 . Accordingly, the tray  20  is able to be lifted relative to the draw bar  12  by extending the hydraulic ram  13 . At its fullest extent, the hydraulic rain  13  is adapted to lift the tray  20  to a point where the tray is normal to the ground. The angled arms  17  of the frame  11  extend from the slot  16  out to the sides of the rectangular frame  22  where they are fixed either side of the tray  20  at articulated joints  18 .  
         [0029]     The articulated joints  18  are the hinge or pivot points of the draw bar frame  11  for tipping the tray  20  by actuating the hydraulic ram  13 . The frame  11  comprises in integral form the following components: the draw bar  12 , the slot  16  and the angled arms  17 , all components being bolted or welded together to form a rigid structure.  
         [0030]     Side wall supports  23  are provided on the rectangular frame  22  to support the side wall plates  25  when they are upright as shown for wall plate  25   a . The wall plates  25  are hinged to the rectangular frame  22  so that they may be easily moved between the wall position  25   a  and a floor position  25   b . A fourth floor plate  25   c  is non-hingedly provided adjacent a bale wrapping machine  30  attached to the side of the trailer  1 . The floor plate  25   c  is completely removable when the bale wrapper  30  is in operation. When the trailer  1  is used for general purposes outside the hay baling season, the floor plate  25   c  is placed in position on the floor as shown so that the trailer  1  can be used for carting items requiring a solid tray floor. The angled wall supports  23  extend at an inclination of about 10 to 20° to the vertical so that the weight of the wall plates  25  keeps them in place against the supports  23  in general use. However, where the trailer  1  is likely to be used in rough terrain or the wall plates  25  are made of a relatively light material that might be displaced from their upright position in general use, then a simple clamp or latch mechanism may be provided to secure the wall plates  25  in place. When the wall plates  25  are used as a floor for the tray  20  so that they are folded down and lay horizontal, the trailer  1  may further be provided with removable rails (not shown) extending between the upright supports  23  to retain the items to be transported by the trailer  1 .  
         [0031]     The tray  20  includes a plurality of rollers  26  extending laterally between the side beams of the rectangular frame  22 . The rollers  26  are mounted for rotation about horizontal axes on brackets welded or bolted to the rectangular frame  22  side beams. Preferably, the rollers  26  are not driven but are freely rotatable. The rollers may be hollow metal or plastic cylinders and may have an abrasion-resistant surface, such as rubber or a tough polymeric surface such as polypropylene or polycarbonate. However, a plain metal surface will perform adequately in most applications. The rollers  26  are preferably spaced to permit free rotation and to minimize the overall weight of the trailer  1 . For example, the spacing between each roller  26  may be between 100 and 200% of the diameter of each of the rollers  26 . The rollers  26  may be identical or may vary depending on their position on the trailer  1 . Preferably, the rollers  26  are identical to keep manufacturing costs and design variation to a minimum.  
         [0032]     Attached integrally to the front of the draw bar  12  is an extendable hitch or coupling  50  for connecting the trailer to a prime mover, tractor, etc. The hitch  50  extends in and out. Contraction is for more efficient storage or transport. Extension is for towing and/or when the trailer is in use.  
         [0033]     Referring specifically to  FIG. 2 , removably attached to the side of the trailer  1  is the bale wrapper mechanism  30 . The bale wrapper  30  is mounted to the side of the trailer  1  by height adjustment means that may be in the form of one or more hydraulic rams and/or a multiple link mechanism. The height adjustment means is operable to lower the bale wrapper  30  so that the wrapper frame  31  rests on the ground. The wrapper frame  31  is in the shape of a horizontal U on which is mounted a pair of spaced bale rollers  32 ,  33 . The outer roller  32  is identical to the rollers  26  and is adapted to freely rotate about its axle mounted on an outer arm  34  of the wrapper frame  31 . The inner roller  33  is of a larger diameter due to an outer rubber layer  35  adapted to better grip the bale. The inner roller  33  is driven by a motor (not shown) housed within the inner arm  36  of the wrapper frame  31 .  
         [0034]     Extending from the bridge  37  of the wrapper frame  31  is a vertical pole  38 . The upper end of the pole  38  terminates with a horizontal boom  39  fixed to the pole  38  and extending over the wrapper frame  31  at a mid point of the foot print of the wrapper frame  31 . Mounted on the boom  39  is a motor  40  having a belt or chain drive adapted to drive vertical axle  41 . Alternatively, the bale wrapper  30  may be mounted so that the boom  39  extends from the front of the trailer.  
         [0035]     On the underside of the boom  39  and rotatably attached to the axle  41  is an inverted L-shaped arm  42  having a vertical arm  43  adapted to orbit a hay bale to be wrapped by the bale wrapper  30 . Mounted at the base of the vertical pole  38  is a film roll holder  44 .  
         [0036]     In use, the trailer  1  is driven alongside a hay bale to be wrapped resting on the ground. Hay bales should be wrapped shortly after formation. For example, in warmer climates, it is desirable to wrap hay bales within two hours of formation, whereas in colder climates a longer delay is not critical provided the bales remain dry.  
         [0037]     The bale wrapper  30  is lowered so that the wrapper frame is aligned close to the ground so that the inner and outer arms  34 ,  36  can be slid like fork lift tines under and around the hay bale. Once the hay bale is located on the wrapper rollers  32 ,  33 , the wrapping process may be commenced once the bale wrapper  30  is lifted so that the rollers  32 ,  33  are lifted up to the same level as the tray  20 . The roller  33  rotates, thereby tumbling the hay bale (not shown). Where the hay bale is cylindrical in shape (“round”), the tumbling motion will typically be end on end (i.e., about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis), rather than rotation being through its longitudinal axis. The film roller holder  44  supports a roll of film  45  (see  FIG. 1 ) that is applied in multiple layers to the hay bale by the orbiting action of the vertical arm  43  so that the hay is completely sealed within the film  45 . Preferably, the bale wrapper  30  applies about two layers of film  45  to ensure a satisfactory seal, although in some applications, up to four layers may be desirable. The bale wrapper  30  preferably further includes film cutting means and film tying means to prevent unraveling of the wrap.  
         [0038]     The bale wrapper  36  includes a lifting frame  51  on which is mounted a wrapping table incorporating the wrapper frame  31 . The wrapping table is mounted by connections underneath the side of the trailer  1  to enable the quick connection of different types of wrapping tables, such as the wrapping table shown in  FIG. 2  or a turntable sila wrapper sold by Knurvaland or the McHale turntable wrapper, etc. The trailer  1  can also support the mounting of a square bale loader to the trailer, such as on the side or end of the trailer  1 .  
         [0039]     Quick release connections include eyelet lugs welded onto the hydraulic lifting frame in turn mounted to the underside of the trailer. Corresponding eyelet lugs are welded to the side of the wrapping table. A pin releasably insertable through the eyelets can be used to join the respective eyelet lugs in a fixed connection. The connection comprises a pair of sets of eyelet lugs spaced along the opposing sides of the trailer and the alternate wrapping tables. The connection is quickly released by removal of the pins so that another wrapping table can be substituted.  
         [0040]     Also shown are hydraulic rams  52  and  53 . Hydraulic ram  52  is adapted to lift the lifting frame  51  to raise and lower the bale wrapper  30 . Hydraulic ram  53  is adapted to tilt the lifting frame  51  to tilt hay bales onto the tray  20  and to maintain the bale wrapper  30  in the tilted position for transport or storage of the trailer  1 . Pivot points  54  about which the tiltable frame  51  tilts are shown.  
         [0041]     On completion of the wrapping process, the bale wrapper  30  is tilted towards the tray  20  by the operation of a tip means in the form of a hydraulic ram  46  extending along the bridge  37  and anchored by hinge means at the fixed end of the outer arm  34  and to the rectangular frame  22  so that the wrapped hay bale is tipped onto the tray  20 . All rollers  26  are exposed in this operation as all wall plates  25  are in the wall position resting against the wall supports  23 . As the trailer  1  progresses under the drive of the prime mover, the bale rolls over the rollers  26  down to the rear end of the trailer  1  where a removable barrier  28  prevents the bale from rolling off the end of the trailer  1 . In some eases, it may be necessary for the bale to be manually moved down to the rear end of the tray. By this process, a plurality of bales may be wrapped and loaded onto the trailer  1  to be carted to a storage facility or location. At the storage facility or location, the tray may be tipped to its full extent by the operation of the ram  13  whereby the tray assumes a near vertical orientation, permitting the hay bales to slide off the rear of the trailer  1  (the rear barrier  47  having been removed or folded so as not to be an obstruction) and the bales may be stacked neatly without further handling. The ram  13  is then retracted so that the tray once again assumes its horizontal position for transport. At other times of the year, it may be desirable to use the transporter for carting items such as wrapped hay bales, agricultural machinery, etc., and the transporter is adapted for this multiple purpose by the provision of the wall plates  25  being folded down and forming a solid floor surface.  
         [0042]     When used in this specification and claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising ” and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.  
         [0043]     It is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be made to the features of the possible and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention as herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.