Abstract: A bulk seed cart includes a seed bin with sloping sides converging at a bottom mounted discharge hopper to which a conveyor is removably connected for unloading seed from the cart. The conveyor is supported by a telescoping boom mounted on the side of the cart and the boom, and attached conveyor, can be raised or lowered via an attached hydraulic lifting cylinder. The boom can be pivoted from side to side and the conveyor is attached to the boom via a swivel assembly, which, once the conveyor is detached from the seed cart, allows the conveyor to be swiveled 180 degrees and attached to a nearby source of seed, such as another seed cart, a stationary bin, a truck or railroad car, etc., with the conveyor being directed toward the seed bin in the seed cart. Seed can thus be unloaded from the source and loaded into the seed cart via the conveyor. The lifting cylinder, the telescoping boom and the conveyor motor are all controllable via a single remote control module.

Abstract: An auxiliary PTO assembly is designed for attaching a front mounted auxiliary rotary driven hydraulic pump to an OEM truck engine. The PTO assembly includes an auxiliary belt drive pulley which is formed by a ring which is shrink-fitted around a harmonic balancer which forms a portion of an OEM fan drive pulley. A bracket attached to the OEM engine is adapted to hold the hydraulic pump and a plurality of idler and tensioner pulleys. Installation of the inventive assembly is relatively simple and straight forward and entails virtually no modification of the OEM components. The entire PTO assembly including the auxiliary drive belt and the hydraulic pump are accommodated behind the original position of the OEM cooling fan such that the fan shaft does not need to be extended.

Abstract: A grain cart is equipped with a lower and an upper discharge chute. Within each chute, a discharge auger is positioned to move grain or other particulate agricultural products up the chute. The cart includes a bin with four sides, each of which slopes toward the bottom center of the bin. An intake opening for the lower chute is positioned in the bottom center of the bin. The lower discharge chute extends from the bottom center of the bin and upward at an angle to a first discharge opening where grain is discharged from the lower chute into a sleeve which extends downward at an angle and which connects with an intake opening of the upper chute. The upper chute is rotatable about the sleeve and extends outward therefrom to a second discharge opening.

Abstract: A horizontally oriented three sided frame is adapted to hold a round hay bale. An endless chain driven conveyor encircles the floor of the frame to cause the round bale to rotate about a longitudinal axis thereof while simultaneously urging a portion of the perimeter of the bale against a rotary drum cutter arrayed just above the floor on one side of the frame. The cutter chops the hay bale into individual strands for feeding to livestock. A spacer, commonly called a concave, is pivotably attached to the frame, and is spaced from and extends longitudinally along the top of the rotary drum. The spacing between the concave and the drum is adjustable. By adjusting this spacing, as well as the speed of rotation of the rotary drum and the speed of rotation of the round bale via the conveyor, the length of hay strands cut by the cutter is adjustable.

Abstract: A horizontally oriented three sided frame is adapted to hold a round hay bale. An endless chain driven conveyor in the floor of the frame causes the round bale to rotate about a longitudinal axis while simultaneously urging a portion of the perimeter of the bale against a sickle bar cutter arrayed just above the floor on one side of the frame. The cutter chops the hay bale into manageable portions for feeding to livestock. The sickle bar cutter includes a conventional reciprocating cutter bar with triangularly shaped cutting teeth arranged continuously along the bar. A specially designed blade guide allows the entire cutting surfaces of the teeth to extend past the blade guide as they reciprocate. This insures that the hay bale is fed rapidly into the reciprocating teeth since no blade guide teeth enter the cutting gaps between the cutting teeth as they reciprocate and thus do not interfere with the advancement of the hay bale into cutter.

Abstract: A mower vehicle includes a vehicle frame and single front and rear driven wheels. First and second blade housings are pivotally connected to each other along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle frame and are attached to first and second side frames, respectively. Each side frame is pivotally attached to the vehicle frame near the rear thereof with a hydraulically retractable and extendable cylinder assembly urging each side frame downward or upward in response to changes automatically sensed in the slope of the terrain. Ground engaging outrigger wheels attached to each side frame contact the terrain and the vehicle frame is thus maintained in a generally upright position.

Abstract: A riding mower includes a frame, front steering wheel, two rear wheels and two mower blade housings located laterally relative to the frame with blades located within the housings. Telescoping drive shafts extend generally longitudinally from a belt drive mechanism located at a rearward end of the frame to the blade housings to drive each of the blades within the housings. Hydraulic cylinder assemblies and a leveling system are provided to pivot the frame with respect to the rear wheels and about a longitudinal axis in response to changes in slope of the surrounding terrain, maintaining the frame in a generally upright orientation. The telescoping drive shafts extend and retract in response to the angular movement of the frame with respect to the blade housings that remain close to the ground surface.

Abstract: A bale wrapping apparatus having an infeed conveyor, a wrapping mechanism and an outfeed conveyor synchronized to convey bales through the apparatus while continuously wrapping a bale in the wrapping mechanism and forming a continuous protective cocoon around a row of bales. The wrapping mechanism includes a rotating cage and a pair of film dispensers that cooperatively wrap layers of film in successively overlapping helically wound paths around the bale. The apparatus is self-motivated when wrapping so as to discharge a continuous row of wrapped bales.

Abstract: A mower vehicle includes a vehicle frame and single front and rear driven wheels. The vehicle is adapted to conform generally to slopes and the like by maintaining the frame in a generally upright orientation. First and second blade housings are pivotally connected to the frame and swingable about an axis extending longitudinally of the frame. The first and second blade housings extend laterally from opposite sides of the frame. Each blade housing carries a driven cutting blade. The blade housings are open to one another and have a shared discharge passage at a center rear section thereof. The blades overlap slightly and rotate in synchronized reverse rotations relative to one another. Hydraulic cylinder assemblies are provided to actuate the first and second blade housings about the longitudinal axis in response to changes in slope of the surrounding terrain.

Abstract: A bale support arm is raised into the space between a bale trailer frame and the bale lift fork thereof to prevent a large round bale from sagging into that space, and possibly being damaged, during loading of the bale. Pairs of parallel frame links connected to the frame of the trailer and links connected to the fork are pivotally connected respectively to define hinge joints. In one embodiment of the invention for low-bed bale trailers, the bale support arm extends between the hinge joints. As the fork pivots upwardly, the arm is lifted as the links fold upwardly into the space between the fork and trailer and partially supports the tilting bale. In a second embodiment for high-bed bale trailers, a pair of arm lifting levers are connected to the hinge joints. The levers are connected by respective anchor links to the fork, and the bale support arm extends between the outer ends of the levers.

Abstract: A truck bed bale lift is provided for lifting large round bales of hay onto a flat bed truck. The bale lift assembly includes a pair of hugger arms which grip the hay bale to be manipulated and a mechanism for rotating the hugger arms through a loading/unloading arc. The lift mechanism comprises a rotatable crossbar on which the hugger arms are mounted. The crossbar is pivotally mounted to the rear of the truck and is rotated by a pneudraulic ram mounted underneath the flatbed to engage a series of links attached to the crossbar. The particular linkage system used provides adequate mechanical advantage for the lifting of the hay bale without needing an excessively large equipment structure. The particular structure described permits the flatbed portion of the truck to be kept relatively free of obstruction from portions of the bale lift assembly.

Abstract: A grain drill suspension system including a support member comprising a parallelogram link structure and a walking beam member. The walking beam member has furrow cutting discs attached to a front portion thereof and a press wheel attached to a rear portion thereof. The support member includes parallel vertical members and cross links. The walking beam is pivotally connected at a medial portion thereof to a rear vertical member of the parallelogram structure. A front vertical member is attached to a vertically adjustable attachment member associated with the suspension system. A first spring extends upwardly from a rear portion of the walking beam to the rear vertical member biasing the furrow cutting discs downwardly. A second spring cooperates with the front vertical member and the cross links resiliently urging the rear vertical member and walking beam downwardly. The springs, along with the position of the front vertical member, cooperate to determine the depth of the furrow cut by the furrow discs.

Abstract: A carrier for cylindrical bales of hay utilizes a single, elongate, tubular main body member with an axle and wheels mounted thereto for movement and drafting as a trailer. A plurality of bale supporting cradles are mounted along the main body member at intervals. The cradles are rotatable about a vertical axis for selectively carrying the bales with the bale longitudinal axes either longitudinally or transversely aligned to the main body member for loading by various types of equipment. The cradles are also tiltable from side to side of the main body member by a latch extending between the main body member and a cradle pivot structure to allow gravitational force to tilt the cradle and drop the bale onto the ground.