摘要 |
A vehicular bale retriever and stacker including a multistage hoist assembly which picks up and stacks a plurality of huge first and second hay bales on a transport platform. The hoist assembly comprises a rigidly reinforced support column having a cylindrical lift member slidable along the column and rotatable about a vertical axis passing therethrough. Pivotally attached to this lift member is a hoist arm having an operable grapple assembly mounted thereto. Operator control of the elevation and rotation of the lift member and the pivotal movement of the hoist arm presents a multistage hoist which enables the operator to maneuver the grapple assembly through generally vertical and horizontal arcs at different elevations, relative to the platform, so as to seize first and second ground-adjacent hay bales and stack the same in the loading area of the transport platform. A ram assembly pushes the stacked hay bales to the rear of the transport platform allowing for subsequent stacking of first and second hay bales in the loading area. Upon reaching a fully loaded capacity the vehicle is driven to a central storage area. The transport platform is then swung to a vertical position which juxtaposes the plurality of first and second hay bales stacked thereon into an elongated vertical stack of hay bales in the bale storage area.
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