Patent Document

This application is based on and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/682,383, filed on May 19, 2005, entitled HAY BALE BUNDLING APPARATUS AND METHOD. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a machine for combining multiple, individual hay bales into larger bundles. More particularly, it relates to a mobile bundling apparatus that can follow a baler in the field, converting individual bales into larger hay packages. The invention also relates to a combination of the bundler with bale stacking apparatus, and to a method for bundling hay bales and wrapping the bundle. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     For more than the last 100 years, farmers have been baling hay in manually manageable hay bales which are generally rectangular. The typical size for such a hay bale is 36 to 38 inches running the length of the bale across as the hay fibers, with an end panel of approximately 14″×18″ in dimension. Thus the face of the hay with exposed fiber ends has a dimension of 36″×14″. This traditional-formatted bale is held together by two wrappings of binder twine which extend down the length of the 36 inch sides and around the ends, enclosing the parallel hay fibers. 
     Some 25 years ago farmers started to switch over from standard sized bales to either rolls or giant sized bales. Rolled hay produces a single round bale that is approximately 5 feet in diameter and approximately 4 feet long, in the direction of the central axis. Polyester netting is used to wrap the round bales three or four times. The netting has openings which are approximately 1 to 2 inches square. There is no need to fasten the final cut end of the netting, since enough of the hay sticks out from the spiral round bale that the netting snags on protruding fibers. 
     The disadvantage of the round bales is that the hay has to be unwound; at least, the easiest way to remove hay from the bale is to unwind the spiral. But this is not nearly as convenient as removing a standard bale and carrying a standard bale to where animals are to be fed. 
     Additionally, giant sized bales that are 4 by 4 by 8-10 feet in cubic dimensions have been increasingly introduced into agriculture. In both cases, these larger hay bales require farm machinery, e.g. a forklift or a tractor with a front-end lift, to move the bales. Farmers are increasingly turning to large sized bales. It is very hard to get farm laborers today who will move standard sized bales by hand, since it is backbreaking work. 
     On the other hand, the customer may often prefer the standard sized bale. In particular, horse owners have a need for standard sized bales so the hay can be stored in a hayloft and moved in manageable amounts to feed the horses. This invention addresses a compromise between these two competing interests. 
     A Spanish company, “Arcusin” has built a machine that bundles 14 small bales into a large square held together by binder twine. The Spanish machine follows a standard hay baler in the field, collecting the 14 bales and fastening them together for deposit on the ground behind. These large bale-bundles are then loaded by machine onto wagons and trucks for delivery. In this specific machine, the hay bales rest on a surface while they are wrapped with the binder twine. 
     An American company in Pittsfield, Ill. makes a machine called a “Bale Band-It” that bundles individual hay bales, wrapping the bales together with wire. This unit is pulled behind a standard baler. As the bales exit the baler they are directed into the “Bale Band-It”. When 21 small bales are in the chamber, the bales are bundled together by wrapping them with steel banding wire. During this wrapping process, the bales rest on a support surface. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,466 shows a device where a plurality of small bales are stacked, lifted by articulated arms and wrapped in a several different types of materials, then the arms lower the wrapped bundle to the ground. Using the arms to lift the stacked bales and rotate them while being suspended in the air requires a rather complicated and expensive device. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,738 describes an automated hay bale stacking and bundling system wherein hay bales are elevated vertically in order to be placed in a stack, from above. 
     There remains a need to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a machine to pick up bales of hay from the field or from the baler, to stack the bales in a manual or a mechanical way in a predetermined package shape and size, then wrap the packages with netting or plastic before discharging the wrapped package to the field. There remains a further need to accomplish this using a relatively inexpensive piece of machinery. This invention addresses those needs. 
     The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a hay bundling apparatus or “hay bundler” for wrapping a plurality of hay bales into a hay bale bundle is provided. The wrapping of the stack of bales to form a bundle proceeds by grasping the stack with a rotatable clamping means and removing the support surface from beneath the stack in order to permit rotation and wrapping of the stack to occur. 
     This hay bundling apparatus for wrapping a plurality of hay bales into a hay bale bundle may comprise:
         a) a support surface for receiving as a stack individual hay bales to be assembled into a bundle;   b) a pair of clamping means positioned for grasping said stack of hay bales, said clamping means being rotatable about a fixed axis;   d) first actuation means for effecting movement of the clamping means to grasp the stack of bales when it is positioned on the support surface; and   e) second actuation means to rotate the clamping means and stack of hay bales grasped between the clamping means,
 
wherein the support surface is capable of occupying two positions namely, a first position wherein the support surface supports the stack of bales in position between the clamping means before rotation, and a second position wherein the support surface is removed from beneath the stack of bales after the clamping means have engaged the bales so as to provide sufficient clearance to permit the clamping means to rotate the stack of bales.
       

     This hay bundling apparatus may further comprise means for dispensing wrapping material for enveloping the stack of bales while the stack is being rotated by the clamping means whereby, when the floor is in the second position with the stack of bales grasped between and being rotated by the clamping means, wrapping material may be dispensed to envelop the stack of hay bales to form said hay bundle. 
     More particularly, this apparatus may comprise a frame with a floor, a front portion for receiving individual hay bales and a back end portion for dispensing bundled bales. Optionally the apparatus may be provided with at least two wheels for movement along the ground. Stop means in the form of a rear gate may be positioned along the back end of the frame, the gate being moveable from a closed position to contain hay bales on the floor before bundling to an open position to allow removal of the bundled bales from the frame thereafter. 
     A feature of the invention is the presence of a pair of rotatable clamping means, preferably in the form of panels, mounted along each side of the frame. While described as panels, these clamping means function as grasping means for engaging and containing multiple bales of hay. Accordingly, they need not necessarily comprise a flat bearing surface but may, for example, consist of a field of bale-engaging spikes; for example the spikes could be arranged along a series of radial spokes. These clamping means or panels are positioned laterally on either side of a portion of the floor upon which hay bales are to be assembled. Such panels may be oriented in an upright plane perpendicular to the floor in order to receive the stack of bales there between. The frame includes first actuation means for effecting movement of the clamping panels towards each other to grasp a stack of bales positioned there between, and a second actuation means to rotate the panels about a common axis with a bundle of the hay bales grasped between the clamping panels. The axis of rotation is preferably fixed relative to the frame and is close to the center of the panels, and will also be fairly close to the center of gravity of the bundle. 
     The floor has an adjustable portion which is capable of occupying two positions. In the first position the floor is elevated and aligned to support the bales of hay to be grasped by the clamping panels before rotation. In the second position the floor is removed, such as by being lowered, from beneath the assembled bundle of bales after the clamping panels have engaged the bales. The floor, when in this second position, is removed from the bundled bales so as to provide sufficient clearance to permit the clamping panels to rotate the bales about the fixed axis of the panels, allowing the bundle to be wrapped with wrapping material so as to secure the bales within the bundle. 
     Various means may be provided to allow the adjustable floor portion to take up its second position. The adjustable floor portion may be in the form of a trap door provided with a first end which is pivotably connected to the frame, as by a hinge means, allowing a second end of the floor portion to pivot downwardly from the first position. Before pivoting, the floor portion is held within the frame at the second end by a pair of latches connecting the second end to the frame. The action of the floor in pivoting downwards allows clearance for the clamping panels, and for the assembled hay bales carried by the panels, to rotate while a roll of dispensed wrapping material envelops the hay bales into a bundle. The pivoting floor portion is preferably pivoted at its front end so that when lowered it assists in removing the bundle of bales from the rear end of the machine. 
     Various types of wrapping material may be used including string and sheeting, such as polyethylene film. A preferred wrapping material is netting which is wrapped around the bales most suitably transversely to the direction of the binder twine. An advantage of using netting is that, once a bundle is formed, the multiple layers of netting can be severed and a single bale removed without the bundle otherwise falling apart. Because the netting snags on the sides of the bales, even when cut, the netting remains in place holding the remaining bales in position. 
     The apparatus described above is efficient in terms of energy, as well as simplicity, since unlike in the prior art &#39;466 patent referred to above there is limited need for lifting bales, and the whole bundle does not need to be lifted as a unit. Rather, a method used in the invention involves:
         forming a first series of side-by-side bales into a first vertical stack positioned on an adjustable floor portion;   forming a second series of bales into a second vertical stack positioned against the first stack;   forming one or more subsequent vertical stacks of bales adjacent to the previously positioned stacks to form a generally rectangular assembly of bales,   clamping opposed sides of said assembly between a pair of clamping means which are arranged to rotate about a common fixed horizontal axis;   allowing said adjustable floor portion to be lowered such that it does not prevent rotation of said assembly of bales when rotated about said axis; and   rotating said clamping panels to rotate the assembly of bales while applying wrapping material to form a wrapped bundle.       

     Preferably the series of side-by-side bales are formed by means of a bale stacking apparatus, and the procedure includes feeding individual bales into the apparatus and forming a first side-by-side row of the bales, and then pivoting the first row upwards through about a right angle to form a first of the vertical stacks, before pushing said vertical stack into position on said back area of the adjustable floor portion, and repeating these operations to form the assembly of bales. 
     The bale stacking apparatus may be a mobile, automatic bale-stacking device. In such case, the hay bundler is provided with wheels and a coupling means for removably attaching the hay bundler to a pre-existing type of hay baler. The components of the automatic bale-stacking device may be conveniently positioned either in front of the bundler frame or within that frame itself. This latter option will be described next. 
     Bales produced by a standard prior art hay baler arrive presented to the automatic bale-stacking device with a generally horizontal orientation. The bales are then reoriented into an upright orientation so that they stand on a bale-receiving portion of the floor of the frame on one of their smaller end faces. This reorientation can be effected by a number of means including by way of machinery which manipulates the bales. It may also occur by allowing the bales to tip under gravity when they are delivered from the hay baler to the hay bale stacker, falling from an elevated position and horizontal orientation and turning, initially, to occupy a vertical orientation while falling into a receiving area so that their end faces would normally strike and finally rest upon the bale receiving floor portion. This represents a rotation of the bales through 90° in space. 
     The up-ended bales may then be assembled into a bundle between the clamping panels. As an example, this may be affected by having the up-ended bales slid by, for example, hydraulically actuated guide arms, across the extended frame floor portion consecutively until a number e.g. four, of the up-ended bales have been assembled in a row. A further bale positioning means, again for example a hydraulically actuated pushing bar, may then advance the assembled, up-ended bales together as a group onto the floor surface between the clamping panels. This procedure may be carried out for a number of cycles e.g. three, until a “cube” e.g. a rectangular solid, of upended bales is present between the clamping panels. At that point, loading of the clamping panel station may cease. Then the clamping panels may engage the hay bales and floor portion beneath the hay bales may retire towards its second position. The bundling of the hay bales may then proceed as previously described. 
     While it is possible to assemble a bundle of bales wherein each individual bale in the bundle is vertically orientated as just described, i.e. upended, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention the arriving bale is rotated a second time from its initial upright orientation through a further 90° until the bale lies horizontally on the floor of the bale stacker which is also the front portion of the bundler. This requires rotating the bale in a second plane which is orthogonal to the original plane corresponding to the orientation of the bale as originally presented to the automatic bale-stacking device. 
     This rotation may be effected in the number of ways. One way is to use a mechanical device that will force the hay bale to assume the new orientation. A preferred means for reorienting the bale is to direct the bottom end face of the upended ball onto an inclined surface extending upwardly within the receiving area from the floor beneath. This inclined surface redirects the upended bail to fall within the second plane until it lies horizontally on the floor adjacent to the receiving area. 
     It is standard in hay balers for a bale to exit the baler with the string or twine enveloping the hay extending along the upright and underneath surfaces of the bale. This orients the ends of the hay fibers to be exposed on either side of the bale. After the last manipulation has been completed, as previously described, a bales so delivered to the automatic bale stacking device will lie on the floor with the ends of the hay fibers on one side in contact with the floor. 
     A bale so positioned is then slid by, for example, hydraulically actuated advancement mechanism, across the extended frame floor portion of the stacker clearing a space for a further bale to be deposited in front of the advancement mechanism. The process of receiving additional bales may then proceed consecutively until a number e.g. four, of the reclining bales have been assembled in a row. 
     The assembled rows of bales lying horizontally on the floor of the stacker are then each elevated as a unit or “rack” (or stack) by lifting means, such as hydraulically actuated arms, that swing in each assembled row upwardly through an angle of 90° or more to deposit the rack on a portion of the floor proximate to the clamping panels. A further bale positioning means, again for example a hydraulically actuated pushing bar, may then advance the assembled, up-ended stack of bales together as a group onto the floor surface of the bundler between the clamping panels and towards the gate. Alternately, and preferably, the rack of bales is directly slid along the floor between the clamping panels, and the upending and pushing of a subsequent rack of bales has the effect of advancing an earlier rack of bales further into the region between the clamping panels. This procedure may be carried out for a number of cycles e.g. three, until a “cube” i.e. a rectangular solid, of upended bales is present between the clamping panels. At that point, loading of the clamping panel station may cease. Then the clamping panels may engage the hay bales and the floor portion beneath the hay bales may be withdrawn or lowered towards its second position. The bundling of the hay bales may then proceed as previously described. 
     While the automatic bale-stacking device has been described as integrated into the frame of the hay bundler, it may also be constructed as a separate apparatus. In this case the bale stacking device or apparatus would possess its own frame with a front end and a back end; means to removably attach the bale stacking apparatus to a hay baler positioned at its front end; and means to removably attach the bale stacking apparatus to a hay bundler as described at its back end. Once connected, this bale stacking apparatus would serve to guide individual hay bales received from a standard hay baler into an assembled bundle for wrapping by the hay bundler. 
     The foregoing summarizes the principal features of the invention and some of its optional aspects. The invention may be further understood by the description of the preferred embodiments, in conjunction with the drawings, which now follow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the hay bale bundling machine. 
         FIG. 2  is a right side elevation view of the machine shown in  FIG. 1 , with an adjustable portion of the floor in the lowered position. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the machine shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a rear plan view of the machine shown in  FIG. 2 , with the gates in the open position. 
         FIG. 5  is a rear plan view of the machine with the floor in the raised position and the gates closed, illustrating the rotation mechanism for the two clamping panels. 
         FIG. 6(   a ) is an illustration of the net or wrap, with the anti-slip mechanism shown in the close-up view. 
         FIG. 6(   b ) is an illustration of the movement of the clamping panels as cylinders which control the first actuation means retract and extend. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic of the hydraulic circuit providing power for the operation shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . 
         FIG. 8  through  FIG. 12  are perspective views of the machine sequentially demonstrating the operation of the hay bale bundling machine from the first column of bales being stacked to the ejection of the wrapped package. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of an automatic bale-stacking machine along with the machine from  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the two machines from  FIG. 13  assembled together. 
         FIG. 15  is a left side view of the automatic bale stacking mechanism from  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 16  is a top view of the automatic bale-stacking mechanism from  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic of the hydraulic system providing power for the operations shown in  FIGS. 18  to  FIG. 31 . 
         FIG. 18  is a side view of a bale entering the automatic bale-stacking machine. 
         FIG. 19  is a side view of the bale being pivoted into a horizontal position in the automatic bale-stacking machine. 
         FIG. 20  through  FIG. 23  are top views of the automatic bale-stacking machine sequentially showing the additional of up to four bales. 
         FIG. 24  through  FIG. 29  are side views demonstrating the operation of the automatic bale-stacking machine from the four hay bales being rotated into an upright position through to the full group of hay bales being assembled. 
         FIG. 30  and  FIG. 31  are perspective views of the grouped hay bales being wrapped and ejected from the machine as the automatic bale-stacking machine begins stacking another group of hay bales. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring first to  FIGS. 1  through  FIG. 12 , a hay bundling machine  40  for receiving small, rectangular, bales of hay from a hay baler, accumulating the bales into cube-shaped stacks manually, wrapping the bales with a wrapping material, and ejecting the packaged bundle can be seen. 
     The hay bundler  40  is provided with a frame  1  moveably supported over the ground by wheels W, preferably including a front castor wheel (not shown). The machine  40  is adapted for connection to a standard, prior art baler (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) by a tongue and coupling. The standard baler is typically connected to a tractor (not shown) in a conventional manner that will provide transportation power to move the baler and the machine  40  over the field. Hydraulic power is supplied by the tractor to operate the hydraulic functions of the machine  40 , as described in greater detail below. 
     The machine  40  is towed over the field by the baler and the tractor. The machine  40  has a floor  3  which includes a dropping portion  3   a  located between clamping panels  4 , this dropping portion being urged upwards by spring means  26  indicated in  FIG. 5 . As the baler ejects the bales of hay, a person operating the system of  FIGS. 1 to 12  manually stacks the bales in their appropriate place on the floor of the unit to form a series of vertical stacks between the clamping panels  4 , as can be best seen in  FIG. 8 . A section of wrapping material  2  extends across the floor  3  over which the bales  42  are placed. 
     Further features of the invention are seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6   b . As shown, two gates  6  are provided at the exit end of the frame  1 , each pivoted to a side of the hollow upstanding end  1   a  of this frame and which are urged into closed position by springs  11 .  FIG. 5  also shows locking pins  13  extending down from lower, outer portions of gates  6  and which engage in openings in the displaceable floor portion  3   a  when this floor portion is in its raised position, i.e. level with the fixed portion of the floor  3 . These locking pins  13  are released when the floor portion descends. 
     The clamping panels  4  are each in the form of a generally square plate with inwardly extending spikes S suitable for penetrating, grasping and holding the sides of a bundle of hay bales. The panels are mounted on platens  4   a  each held by a shaft  4   b , these shafts being rotatable in bearings  4   c . As best seen in  FIG. 6   b , the bearings  4   c  are held at upper ends of triangulated movable supports  7   d  forming the upper part of an assembly  7 . Each assembly  7  has pairs of parallel links  7   b ,  7   c , having lower ends pivoted respectively on a side of frame  1  and on the outer end of supports  7   a  projecting outwardly from the frame. These assemblies  7  maintain the bearings  4   c  horizontal as they are moved inwardly and outwardly by hydraulic cylinders  8  connected between the outer portions of supports  7   a  and upper ends of links  7   b.    
     The means for rotating the panels  4  are shown in  FIG. 5  as including a rotation motor  20  that drives a main transmission shaft  19  through sprockets and a chain  23 . At each end of the transmission shaft  19  are additional sprockets, each of which drives a chain  25  which extends to a clamping panel sprocket  10  on shaft  4   b . Motor  20 , shaft  19 , and the other sprockets and chains thus provide a second actuation means that can cause the clamping panels  4  to rotate. Since the single motor  20  and transmission shaft  19  drive both the clamping panels  4 , the two panels  4  are always synchronized and rotate hay bundle  60  (shown in  FIG. 10 ) at the same speed and with the same effort. 
     A pair of steel cables (not shown) is attached at one end to a movable part of support  7   d , and the other end to each of two latches  16  that restrain the displaceable floor portion  3   a  from dropping. The cables are arranged so that as the movable supports  7  are pushed inwardly by the cylinders  8  these cables are drawn so that they pull on the latches  16 , unlocking the displaceable portion  3   a  of the floor  3 . 
     Further features of the apparatus shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  6   a  and  7  will be described in relation to operation of the apparatus. 
     In operation, an operator may manually stack the bales one by one to form the first stack  42  of four bales  42 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . The first stack is placed against the gates  6  located on the discharge side of the machine  40 . The gates  6  serve as a positioning guide and prevent the bales  42  from falling. After the first column of bales  42  is placed in position, the operator then forms the second and third stacks of four bales, as seen in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . Once all twelve bales  42  are in place forming a hay bale bundle  60 , the operator of the machine  40  activates the directional control valve  54  ( FIG. 7 ) to start the wrapping cycle. 
     Hydraulic power is provided from the tractor to the machine  40  through hydraulic lines (not shown). Quick connect couplings are used to connect the hydraulic lines from the tractor to the baler and from the baler to the machine  40 . Only a small amount of hydraulic power is required to operate the machine  40 . A flow of 8 gpm with a pressure of 1500 psi would normally be more than sufficient. 
     When the directional valve  54  is activated, the flow of oil is directed to the sequence valve  55 . In the first sequence the flow is directed to the clamping cylinders  8  and to the pilot cylinder  56  attached to the selector valve  32  which will activate the directional control valve spool to put the flow in stand-by for the rotation motor  20 . As seen in  FIG. 6   b , as the cylinders  8  extend the movable supports  7   d  are pushed inwardly. The cylinders  8  continue to extend until the clamping panels  4  have compressed the bundle of bales  60  with enough force (typically achieved at around 1000 psi in the cylinders) so that the package of bales  60  will not drop when the displaceable portion  3   a  of the floor  3  drops down. 
     When the clamping cylinders  8  have reached their peak pressure, the flow of oil is re-directed from the sequence valve  55  to the hydraulic motor  20  to start the rotation of the package  60 . 
     As the clamping panels  4  begin to rotate, the rollers  27 , seen in  FIG. 2  as being attached to arms  57  extending from the lower front corners of the clamping panels  4 , push the displaceable portion  3   a  of the floor  3  down, rotating it about its hinges against the force of spring means  26 . Once this displaceable portion  3   a  of the floor  3  has been lowered, the locking pins  13  extending downwardly from the gates  6  are freed from the floor portion  3   a , allowing the gates  6  to open and giving full clearance for the package of bales  60  to rotate. Once the bundle of bales  60  starts to rotate, the corner of the bundle  60  hooks the underlying layer of wrapping material  2  which is dispensed from a reel having its own control means including hydraulic pump  9 ; details of the reel R and associated parts being shown in  FIG. 6   a  and being further described below. As the displaceable portion  3   a  of the floor reaches its maximum downward position, it is temporarily held in place by two hooks  17  that are engaged by two rotating drums  22  carried on the transmission shaft  19 , as seen in  FIG. 5 . These hooks  17  remain engaged in that position until the end of the rotation cycle. 
     In the first revolution of the bundle of bales  60 , no tension is applied to the wrapping material  2 , so as to ensure that such material  2  does not to lose its grip on the hay bundle  60 . After the first revolution is completed, however, tension is applied to the wrapping material  2  by a self-contained hydraulic system  38 , seen in  FIG. 7 , and which includes the pump  9 . The package of bales  60  will then make another two and ¾ revolutions before coming to the repositioning cycle. 
     As seen in  FIG. 5 , as the main transmission shaft  19  rotates, it drives another small counter shaft  24   a  by way of sprockets and a chain  24 , with a 4-1 reduction ratio. The effect is that the main transmission shaft  19  will rotate four times before a rotation count cam  15 , connected to the counter shaft, makes one revolution. Once the package of bales  60  has made 3 and ¾ revolutions, the rotation count cam  15  activates a selector valve  32  and stops the flow to the hydraulic motor  20 . The hooks  17  are then released from the drums  22  and the displaceable floor portion  3   a  rises back up, to the extent permitted by the presence of the bundled hay  60 , under the influence of the spring means  26  attached to the frame  1 . A shock absorber could also optionally be used to control the rate of lift of the displaceable floor portion  3   a . A hydraulic accumulator then discharges its pressure to the motor  20  and completes the ¼ revolution of the package of bales  60 , to reposition the clamping panels  4  at their starting rotational orientation. The rotation count cam  15  is also thereby repositioned to its starting point 
     When the rotation count cam  15  activates the selector valve  32 , the flow of oil is then redirected to a pilot cylinder  56  attached to the directional control valve  54  and actuates the directional control valve spool to reverse the flow of hydraulic fluid to the clamping cylinders  8 . As the clamping cylinders  8  retract each one pulls the middle section of the movable supports  7   d , which in turn withdraw the clamping panels  4  and let the wrapped bundle of bales  60  drop towards the floor  3 . 
     When the wrapped package of bales  60  is released by the clamping panels it is heavy enough to force displaceable portion  3   a  of the floor  3  into the lowered position against the force of spring means  26 , the latches  16  still being disengaged, so that the floor portion  3   a  is then angled to form a ramp which allows the bundled package  60  of bales to slowly slide out of the machine  40 , as seen in  FIG. 12 . Once the package  60  has reached the end of displaceable floor portion  3   a , a blade (not shown) at the end of the floor portion  3   a  cuts the wrapping material  2 . After the package of bales  60  has been ejected, the gates  6  are closed by springs  11 , the floor portion  3   a  is move upwards by springs  26  and upon reaching its upward position it locks itself by operation of latches  16 , once the articulated arms  7  are fully retracted. 
     The net tensioning mechanism  38  (indicated in  FIG. 7 ) mentioned above is better understood with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6   a.    
     Looking firstly at  FIG. 6   a , as the wrapping material  2  is being pulled by the package of bales  60 , it unrolls from a roll R. An anti-slip mechanism  30  includes a circular metal tubing  30   c  that is inserted in the roll of wrapping material  2 , and a shaft  30   b  that runs parallel inside the metal tubing  30   c  and has the net tensioning pump  9  connected to it. Two sets of four pivoting blades  30   a  are attached around the shaft  30   b  at each end, which shaft extends along the length of the metal tubing  30   c . The blades  30   a  are generally positioned at 90 degrees from each other. When the tensioning pump  9  experiences a back pressure it restricts the shaft  30   b  from rotating freely and thus pushes the rotating blades  30   a  outwardly through slots in the metal tubing  30   c , so that they extend outwardly away from the metal tubing  30   c  and into the cardboard tubing  2   a  of the roll R of wrapping material  2 . This prevents the roll of wrapping material from slipping easily and develops tension in the wrapping material  2 . The more tension is applied to the wrapping material  2  by the tensioning pump  9 , the more the pivoting blades  30   a  dig into the cardboard tubing  2   a  and a greater tension is provided in the wrapping material  2  enveloping the hay bundle  60 . 
     When the net tensioning pump  9  is rotating, it pumps oil from the reservoir to a selector valve, and when no tension is required the flow is directed back to the reservoir. This selector valve is shown at  14  in  FIG. 5 , and as shown it is positioned to be acted upon by a tensioning cam  18  which is mounted on the same shaft  24   a  which carries the cam  15 . When the selector valve  14  is actuated by the tensioning cam  18 , the flow of fluid being pumped by the pump  9  is directed to an adjustable relief valve which restricts the flow and creates pressure on the tensioning pump  9 , which acts as a brake and forces it to slow down. An appropriate setting for the relief valve is at 700 psi. 
     As noted, the tensioning cam  18  is mounted on the same counter shaft  24   a  as also carries the rotation cam  15 , and thus has a ratio of 1-4 with respect to the main transmission shaft  19 . The cam  18  is arranged so that, after the first revolution of the package of bales  60 , the selector valve  14  is actuated by the tensioning cam  18  and redirects the flow from pump  9  towards a relief valve and applies the braking action to the reel R. 
     As mentioned above, the individual bales may be stacked into a cube manually or, as another option, an automatic bale-stacking machine  150 , shown in  FIGS. 13-31  may be provided.  FIG. 14  shows the bale-stacking machine  150  attached to the wrapping machine  40  to create a fully automatic wrapping machine  170 . 
     Similar to the wrapping machine  40  mentioned above, a draft tongue  128  is welded to the bale-stacking machine  150 , so when it is part of the fully automatic wrapping machine  170  it may be connected to a baler and a tractor (not shown), for movement throughout a field. As with the wrapping machine  40 , hydraulic power from the tractor may operate the hydraulic functions shown in  FIG. 17  of the bale-stacking machine  150 . Further particulars of the apparatus will be explained in relation to their operation.
         In  FIG. 17 , the following hydraulic components are present:   #  61  Accumulator   #  62  Relief valve (net tensioning)   #  63  Selector valve (2 position-6 way) extend and retracts cyls. 8     #  64  Selector valve (2 Position-3 way) On &amp; off for Cylinders  8     #  65  Pilot cylinder (activates Selector valve #  63  to retract cylinders # 8 .)   #  66  Pilot cylinder (activates selector valve #  64 )   #  67  Flow divider (for cylinders # 8 , to move at same speed.)   #  68  flow divider (for cylinders #  131 )       

     Starting at  FIG. 18 , the advancement of a hay bale  42  progressing through its initial entry into the bale-stacking machine  150  is shown. As the bale  42  is ejected from the baler, it is pushed along a ramp  141  attached to the baler by a subsequent bale also being ejected from the baler. This is shown in  FIG. 18 , with the hay bale  42  in initial position A. As the bale  42  reaches the end of the ramp  141 , the bale pivots downward under gravity into position B and strikes against a suspended barrier  149  which forms a flexible front side of a receiving chute  135  which is off-set to one side of the entry end of the machine  150 . This barrier  149  is anchored at its top but is trapped at its bottom so as to permit only vertical sliding. The barrier  149  flexes to give way to the bale  42 , forcing it into the receiving chute  135  in a vertical orientation shown as position C. 
     As shown in  FIG. 19 , the bottom  135   a  of the receiving chute  135  is elevated up from the floor  101  at the input end of the stacker, sloping down to floor  101  at an angle, forcing the bale  42  to pivot into a horizontal orientation as shown as successive positions C-D-E in  FIG. 19 . By falling into horizontal position E, the bale  42  depresses pedal  143 , shown in  FIGS. 20 and 21 , activating the selector valve  161  which in turn activates a hydraulic pusher cylinder  129  attached to the rear end of the machine  150 . 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 20 , as the pusher cylinder  129  extends, bale pusher plate  145  advances the bale  42  forward, into position F. Once the bale  42  comes off the pedal  143 , hydraulic flow is redirected in the selector valve to cause or allow the pusher cylinder  129  to retract, with the help of a spring. This above process, from  FIG. 18  through to  FIG. 20  is repeated three more times, as seen in  FIGS. 21-23 . Once the fourth bale has been pushed into the bale-positioning chamber  133  between the panels  134 , which are aligned with clamping panels  4  as seen in  FIG. 14 , the first bale has been advanced so that it activates a lever  144  ( FIG. 16 ) which will start the positioning cycle of the row of four bales  42 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , two lifting forks  136  extend at 90 degrees from a shaft  152 . At opposite ends of the shaft  152  are linking plates  148  to which a pair of hydraulic cylinders  131  are attached. Two stabilizing members  151 , with two wheels  153 , are mounted on the shaft  152  to make a trolley or carriage  154  which can move the shaft  152  in a generally fore-and-aft direction, the trolley being guided by two horizontal tracks  146  welded to the frame of the bale-stacking machine  150 . 
     Once the bale  42  activates the lever  144 , hydraulic power is transmitted to the cylinders  131 . As the cylinders  131  extend, linking plates  148  rotate, swinging the forks  136  upwardly and bringing the laid-out row of bales  42  from a horizontal to a vertical position as in  FIG. 24 . The assembled bales, now a stack, are held in a vertical position by a stopper (not shown) that is mounted on the linking plates  148 . When the bales  42  reach a vertical position the trolley  154  unlocks itself, and as the cylinders  131  continue to extend, the trolley  154  moves, advancing the vertical stack of bales  42  between front portions of the clamping panels  4 , as seen in  FIG. 25 . The trolley advances the stacked bales  42  by a little over the width of the bale. Once located between the clamping panels  4 , the stack of bales  42  is held in place with tensioning bands (not shown) attached to the clamping panels  4 . 
     The trolley continues to move until it locks itself and activates the selector valve  147  to retract the cylinders  131 . As the cylinders  131  retract, the linking plates  148  are rotated, bringing the forks  136  down ( FIG. 26 ). Once the forks  136  are all the way down, the trolley unlocks itself and is pulled back by cylinders  131 . It is important that the mechanism rotates the forks  136  down before pulling them back, so that they pass underneath the additional bales which are being simultaneously inserted into the positioning chamber  133 . 
       FIGS. 28 and 29  show this process repeated as two more rows of bales are positioned vertically between the clamping panels  4 , until 12 bales are together to form a bundle of bales  60 . Once the third row of bales is in place, the selector valve shown in  FIG. 17  starts the wrapping and ejecting cycle of the bundle of bales, as shown in  FIGS. 30 and 31 . 
     On this basis, a description has been provided of a hay bale bundling machine and an optional automatic hay bale stacker. These two combined units will allow farmers to produce large hay bundles from standard size bales. Once so formed, such large hay bundles may then be manipulated and stored in the manner of large hay bales. 
     CONCLUSION 
     The foregoing has constituted a description of specific embodiments showing how the invention may be applied and put into use. These embodiments are only exemplary. The invention in its broadest, and more specific aspects is further described and defined in the claims which now follow. 
     These claims, and the language used therein, are to be understood in terms of the variants of the invention which have been described. They are not to be restricted to such variants, but are to be read as covering the full scope of the invention as is implicit within the invention and the disclosure that has been provided herein. 
     It is understood that suitable modifications and equivalents may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Technology Category: 1