Compacting system for stacking bulk hay

Claim 2

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay to be compacted into a stack, a longitudinally extending edge compactor having outwardly and downwardly inclined longitudinally extending edge compacting side walls mounted for vertical reciprocal movement within said receptacle, the bottom edge of each of said compacting side walls extending contiguous with and movable along the corresponding side wall of the receptacle, actuating means for reciprocating said edge compactor thereby engaging and inwardly and downwardly compacting a side edge of the hay with the longitudinally extending side wall, and unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle.

Claim 3

The wagon of claim 1 further comprising: accumulator means for receiving and temporarily storing loose hay delivered into said wagon while said edge compactor is in the act of compressing the hay.

Claim 4

The wagon of claim 1 wherein said unloading means comprises: means for utilizing said receptacle to discharge compacted hay therefrom.

Claim 5

The wagon of claim 1 wherein said edge compactor bridges between sides of the receptacle and further comprising: an opening formed in one end of said edge compactor to permit delivery of loose hay therethrough into the interior of said wagon both when the edge compacting side wall is engaging and is not engaging the side edge of the hay.

Claim 6

The wagon of claim 1 further comprising: delivery means for delivering loose hay into said wagon.

Claim 7

The wagon of claim 1 further comprising: a first door means normally comprising one end of said receptacle, second door means normally comprising one end of said compactor adjacent said first door means, and opening means operable to open said first and second door means to permit unloading of compacted hay from said wagon.

Claim 8

The wagon of claim 6 wherein said opening means comprises: rod means pivotally connected to said receptacle and to said first door means serving to normally maintain said first door means in a closed positiOn defining an end of said receptacle and movable to lift said first door means to an open position permitting free movement of the compacted hay out of said wagon, fluid cylinder means having a piston rod connected to said rod means and operable to move said rod means to cause movement of said first door means between said closed position and said open position, and flange means carried by said second door means and engagable by said first door means during movement of said first door means to cause said second door means to move with said first door means to said open position.

Claim 9

The wagon of claim 6 wherein: said second door means is hingedly connected to said compactor, rail means are mounted on said second door means, bracket means are mounted on said first door means and engage said rail means to retain said first door means in position and to permit movement of said second door means with said compactor, and said opening means comprises fluid cylinder means mounted on said compactor and having a piston rod connected to said second door means and operable to move both of said door means between a closed position defining one end of said wagon and an open position permitting free unloading of compacted hay from said wagon.

Claim 10

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay to be compacted, a compactor having at least one outwardly and downwardly inclined side wall mounted for reciprocal movement within said receptacle, actuating means for reciprocating said compactor, unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle, said receptacle comprising: a plurality of spaced, vertically extending support members disposed with sides thereof facing the interior of said wagon, and a plurality of panel members extending between said support members to define an open-topped, generally box-like container, said actuating means comprising: a plurality of pulleys mounted adjacent to the upper and lower ends of selected ones of said support members, cable means carried by said pulleys for movement thereabout, attaching means securing said cable means to said compactor, and drive means for driving said cable to cause reciprocal movement of said compactor.

Claim 11

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay to be compacted, a compactor having at least one outwardly and downwardly inclined side wall mounted for reciprocal movement within said receptacle, actuating means for reciprocating said compactor, unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle, said receptacle comprising: a plurality of spaced, vertically extending support members disposed with sides thereof facing the interior of said wagon, and a plurality of panel members extending between said support members to define an open-topped, generally box-like container, said actuating means comprising: a plurality of pulleys mounted adjacent to the upper and lower ends of selected ones of said support members, cable means carried by said pulleys for movement thereabout, attaching means securing said cable means to said compactor, and drive means for driving said cable to cause reciprocal movement of said compactor.

Claim 12

The wagon of claim 9 wherein said cable means comprises: a continuous cable extending about all of said pulleys and disposed to extend upward outside of each of said selected support members and downward inside of each of said selected support members.

Claim 13

The wagon of claim 10 wherein said drive means comprises: a fluid cylinder, a piston rod projecting from said fluid cylinder and movable by said cylinder between an extended position and a retracted position, and a pulley carrying said cable and mounted on the end of said piston rod for movement with said piston rod.

Claim 14

A hay wagon comprising: a vehicle with a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay, edge compacting means comprising an axially extending side section diagonally oriented in respect to both the vertical and the horizontal, the compacting means being mounted to and vertically movable in respect to a side wall of the receptacle for angularly engaging and compacting a longitudinal edge of hay in the receptacle to form a self-sustaining stack, and power means for displacing the edge compacting means vertically along and contiguous with said side wall into and out of angular engagement with said longitudinal side edge of the hay in the receptacle to simultaneously exert compacting pressures on said hay edge in downward and inward directions.

Claim 15

A hay wagon comprising: a vehicle with a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay, edge compacting means comprising an axially extending side section diagonally oriented in respect to both the vertical and the horizontal, the compacting means being mounted to and vertically movable in respect to a side wall of the receptacle for angularly engaging and compacting a longitudinal edge of hay in the receptacle to form a self-sustaining stack, and power means for displacing the edge compacting means vertically along and contiguous with said side wall into and out of angular engagement with said longitudinal side edge of the hay in the receptacle to simultaneously exert compacting pressures on said hay edge in downward and inward directions.

Claim 16

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay, a compacting mechanism reciprocally supported by at least one side of the receptacle for periodically engaging and compressing hay, power means for generally vertically lowering and elevating the compacting mechanism in respect to hay in the receptacle and in respect to said spaced sides causing the compacting mechanism to engage and compact the hay when lowered, means for continuously picking up loose hay from a ground-engaging position while simultaneously compacting the hay, and for intermittently delivering the picked-up hay into said receptacle for compacting.

Claim 17

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay, a compacting mechanism reciprocally supported by at least one side of the receptacle for periodically engaging and compressing hay, power means for generally vertically lowering and elevating the compacting mechanism in respect to hay in the receptacle and in respect to said spaced sides causing the compacting mechanism to engage and compact the hay when lowered, means for continuously picking up loose hay from a ground-engaging position while simultaneously compacting the hay, and for intermittently delivering the picked-up hay into said receptacle for compacting.

Claim 18

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay, means for delivering loose hay to the receptacle comprising a telescopic influent means delivering hay to the interior of the receptacle, a compaction mechanism above the receptacle, power means for vertically lowering and elevating the compaction mechanism and collapsing and extending the telescopic influent means to simultaneously deliver hay to and compact hay within the receptacle.

Claim 19

A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay, means for delivering loose hay to the receptacle comprising a telescopic influent means delivering hay to the interior of the receptacle, a compaction mechanism above the receptacle, power means for vertically lowering and elevating the compaction mechanism and collapsing and extending the telescopic influent means to simultaneously deliver hay to and compact hay within the receptacle.

Claim 20

A crop wagon comprising: a container on the frame of a vehicle, the container comprising side walls each comprised of a vertically movable upper and a fixed lower section, each upper section being supported for said movement by the adjacent fixed lower section and diagonally disposed with respect to the horizontal and vertical; a crop delivery unit for continuously picking up crop from the ground and continuously conveying the crop to the interior of the container to form a stack, the stack being below the upper side wall sections when said upper side wall sections are vertically elevated; power means for lowering the upper angular section of each side wall from time to time into contiguous pressure relation with the side edges of crop stacked within the container to consolidate and seal the edges and to create a crown at the top of the stack.

Claim 21

A crop wagon comprising: a container on the frame of a vehicle, the container comprising side walls each comprised of a vertically movable upper and a fixed lower section, each upper section being supported for said movement by the adjacent fixed lower section and diagonally disposed with respect to the horizontal and vertical; a crop delivery unit for continuously picking up crop from the ground and continuously conveying the crop to the interior of the container to form a stack, the stack being below the upper side wall sections when said upper side wall sections are vertically elevated; power means for lowering the upper angular section of each side wall from time to time into contiguous pressure relation with the side edges of crop stacked within the container to consolidate and seal the edges and to create a crown at the top of the stack.

Claim 22

A crop wagon comprising: a bed for receiving a crop; a compactor disposed remotely above the bed; a crop delivery unit for picking up the crop from a field and delivering it to and spreading it along the bed; power means for reciprocating the compactor between said remote disposition and a contiguous compacting relation with the crop within the wagon; crop accumulator means interposed between the delivery unit and the bed to temporarily store the incoming crop while the compactor moves between its remote and compacting positions and thereafter deliver the stored crop to the bed, thereby accommodating continuous pick up of the crop from the field concurrent with compaction of the crop on the bed.

Claim 23

A crop wagon comprising: a bed for receiving a crop; a compactor disposed remotely above the bed; a crop delivery unit for picking up the crop from a field and delivering it to and spreading it along the bed; power means for reciprocating the compactor between said remote disposition and a contiguous compacting relation with the crop within the wagon; crop accumulator means interposed between the delivery unit and the bed to temporarily store the incoming crop while the compactor moves between its remote and compacting positions and thereafter deliver the stored crop to the bed, thereby accommodating continuous pick up of the crop from the field concurrent with compaction of the crop on the bed.