A bale processor apparatus has a bale processing chamber mounted on a chamber frame on wheels for travel in a travel direction. A lift arm frame is pivotally attached to a rear end of the chamber frame about a lift pivot axis, and a lift actuator pivots the lift arm frame from a lowered position to a raised position. A bale turning assembly is pivotally attached to the lift arm frame and bale fork tines are attached to the bale turning assembly. A turning actuator pivots the bale turning assembly from a standard position, where the bale fork tines extend rearward from bale processing chamber to a turned position, where the bale fork tines are rearward of the bale processing chamber and perpendicular to the travel direction. A shear bar cuts twine on rectangular bales as they fall into the chamber but does not affect cylindrical bales.

A bale processor of a type having flail rotor providing an outer support surface with a plurality of flails mounted thereon are mounted for movement therewith around a flail rotor axis for engaging the bale and removing material from the outside of the bale. A plurality of depth control bars are disposed between adjacent flails for controlling the distance that the outer end of the flails extend into the outer surface of the bale. In one embodiment the depth control bars are positioned close to the outer support surface of the flail rotor whereby the depth control bars prevent a buildup of twine or netwrap on the outer support surface of the flail rotor. In another embodiment engagement members rigidly attached to the frame, separate from the depth control bars, are disposed between flails for preventing a buildup of netwrap/twine on the flail rotor.

This invention relates to bale feeders and bale feeder drums. A lower drum and an upper drum have inter-engaging teeth which grip feed from a bale as they rotate. Lower bale feeder drum has inclined paddles and/or paddles with a tapering profile. The configuration of the paddles helps centralize bales during the feeding process, and helps to break up and stretch feed. The tapering profile of the paddles improves grip of feed by teeth on the drums.

A bale processor has a bale chamber mounted on a frame and a disintegrator shreds material from a bale and discharges shredded material laterally. A fan receives the shredded material through a fan inlet and blows the material out through a fan discharge. A conveyor receives the shredded material from the disintegrator along an inner side thereof. A side opening extends along an outer side of the conveyor and a side door is movable from a closed position, where the side opening is closed and the conveyor is enclosed and moves the shredded material along the conveyor and into the fan inlet, to an open position where the outer side of the conveyor is open and the conveyor moves the shredded material laterally out through the side opening. An auger conveyor mounted only on an end opposite the fan inlet leaves the fan inlet unobstructed, increasing capacity.

A bale spreader including one or more rotors rotatably attached to a first and second support member is provided. The bale spreader includes an apron that extends below the rotor(s), and may be configured to operatively feed a particulate material into the rotor(s). The rotor(s) may include a plurality of flail knives or hammers configured to chop and/or shred a particulate material as the rotor(s) is/are rotated. The rotor(s) may be rotated by an optimized hydraulic system connected to the auxiliary hydraulic system of an agricultural implement or vehicle. Furthermore, the bale spreader may include a plurality of tines, screen members, and a flop bar configured to secure particulate material within the bale spreader.

A bale processor has a bale chamber mounted on a frame and a disintegrator shreds material from a bale and discharges shredded material laterally. A fan receives the shredded material through a fan inlet and blows the material out through a fan discharge. A conveyor receives the shredded material from the disintegrator along an inner side thereof. A side opening extends along an outer side of the conveyor and a side door is movable from a closed position, where the side opening is closed and the conveyor is enclosed and moves the shredded material along the conveyor and into the fan inlet, to an open position where the outer side of the conveyor is open and the conveyor moves the shredded material laterally out through the side opening. An auger conveyor mounted only on an end opposite the fan inlet leaves the fan inlet unobstructed, increasing capacity.

Processing of baled material includes a bale opening stage, a separation stage, and a decortication stage. The bale opener features a conveyor moving incoming bales toward a toothed extractor with an array of teeth driven on a revolutionary path moving upwardly past the adjacent end of the conveyor to rake through the bale and extract material therefrom. The conveyor tilts upward reduce a working angle between the conveyor and the toothed extractor to urge the shrinking bale toward the moving teeth. A separation stage features multiple sets of vertically stacked, counter-rotating rollers with different characteristics from one set to the next. A decorticator has an external container, an internal drum rotatably supported therein, and an array of teeth on the drum. Driven rotation of the internal drum spins the fibrous stalks around the internal drum and impacts the fibrous stalks against surrounding interior wall surfaces of the external container.

A re-bale feeder (10) comprising an open-topped box frame into which material is placed, a conveyor (12) within the box frame operative to urge the material in a longitudinal direction towards an exit end. Also disclosed is a bale former (30) comprising a rotating loading roller (31) with a plurality of radially extending members extending therefrom, a surround cage surrounding at least a forward side of the loading roller (31), the surround cage (33) having a plurality of opening therein to allow the radially extending members of the rotating loading roller (31) to extend therethrough during rotation of the loading roller (31), and a baling system to receive material loaded by the loading roller (31) and form the material into one or more bales and a bale assembly.

Shredder for shredding agricultural products, such as bales of straw, the shredder comprising: a shredding device (20) for shredding the loaded agricultural products and a blowing device (5) for blowing the shredded agricultural products from the shredding device (20) toward and through an outlet opening (3), wherein the blowing device (5) comprises at least two blowing elements (21a, 21b), wherein the two blowing elements (21a, 21b) are arranged rotatably about their respective blowing rotational axis, wherein rotating the blowing elements (21a, 21b) about their blowing rotational axis causes the shredded agricultural products to be blown from the shredding device (20) toward and through the outlet opening (3).

An improved silo bag extractor that can collect grain or other flowable materials contained therein. As the extractor empties the silo bag's contents into an accompanying grain cart, it simultaneously performs differentiated cuts on the bag, effectively dividing it in two bands of plastic that are directed to the left and right sides of the machine, where they wind tightly around roll-up assemblies equipped with consumable rigid plastic cores. On terminating grain extraction, the used plastic sheet takes the form of two very dense bales that can each weigh 100 kilos or more depending on the original size of the bag. These bales are then released from the machine automatically, proffering several advantages: not having to manually collect large swaths of plastic, not having to rewind the plastic on a second contraption and accomplishing lesser compaction in the process, easier storing and handling, and lower transportation costs to recycling centers.