Patent ID: 6851908

Claim:
A bale accumulator for use with a baler for producing rectangular bales of agricultural crops as the baler traverses a field in a forward direction of travel, and extruding the bales longitudinally from a rear end of the baler, said accumulator comprising: a hitch for connecting the accumulator to the rear end of the baler to be towed thereby; a platform for receiving bales extruded by the baler; positioning means for arranging the bales in a selected array on the platform; a pusher mounted for movement longitudinally of the platform; actuating means on the accumulator for moving the pusher rearwardly along the platform to move bales along the platform; a rear bale support rearwardly of the platform for supporting bales as they are moved off of the platform by the pusher; and a forward bale support extending forwardly from the pusher for supporting a bale in front of and above the pusher as it is extruded from the baler, the forward bale support comprising: an elongate support member; a rear support mount mounting a rear end of the support member on the pusher to travel therewith along the platform; and a front support mount for mounting a forward portion of the support member on the baler for longitudinal sliding movement relative to the baler.