Pivoting Gooseneck Bale Trailer with Telescoping Cradle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hay trailers are inefficient and wasteful due to the need for tractors to load and tow them, leading to slow operations, high fuel consumption, and significant 'bad side' hay waste, where bales absorb moisture and mold, resulting in substantial inedible hay loss.
Innovation Solution
A bale trailer system with a gooseneck that pivots and telescoping arches, allowing the cradle to be lowered and raised independently, enabling forward loading and unloading, and partial unloading at specific locations, reducing the need for tractors and minimizing exposure to moisture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional trailers require tractors for loading and towing, then the bales can be transported, but the operation becomes slow and fuel-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The trailer is divided into a stationary frame and a moveable cradle that can be independently raised and lowered. This segmentation allows the cradle to be lowered for loading without moving the entire trailer, enabling faster loading operations and reducing the need for tractor assistance, thereby improving productivity and reducing fuel consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The trailer is equipped with a hydraulic system that enables the cradle to be raised and lowered independently, allowing the trailer to load and unload bales without requiring a tractor for lifting operations. This self-service capability eliminates the time-consuming process of tractor-assisted loading and reduces fuel consumption during transport.
2Productivity
If the entire trailer must be loaded and unloaded at once, then loading is simplified, but hay waste increases due to inability to deliver partial loads
Solution Approach 1:
The cradle is designed as a separate, moveable component that can be independently raised and lowered. This allows the trailer to unload bales one at a time or in small groups by lowering the cradle to the ground at specific locations, enabling partial deliveries to multiple pastures without requiring complete unloading, thus reducing hay waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The cradle's height is made dynamically adjustable through the hydraulic system, allowing it to be lowered to the ground for loading and unloading operations. This dynamic capability enables flexible loading and unloading patterns, including partial deliveries at multiple locations, improving both loading efficiency and reducing hay waste.
3Productivity
If bales sit in the field for several days before transport, then baling operations can continue, but moisture absorption and mold increase
Solution Approach 1:
The trailer can be positioned near the baling area in advance, and the cradle can be lowered to immediately load bales as they are baled. This preliminary positioning and readiness to load reduces the time bales spend sitting in the field, minimizing moisture absorption and mold while maintaining baling continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rapid loading capability enabled by the moveable cradle allows the system to quickly transfer bales from the field to the trailer, minimizing the time bales spend exposed to ground moisture. This rushing through the loading process reduces harmful moisture absorption while maintaining continuous baling operations.
4Ease of operation
If conventional trailers use large hydraulics to lift the entire trailer, then loading is possible, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic system is designed to lift only the moveable cradle and its contents, not the entire trailer. This segmentation of the lifting function reduces the weight that must be lifted, thereby reducing hydraulic energy consumption while maintaining full loading capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cradle is extracted as a separate, moveable component from the stationary trailer frame. This extraction allows the hydraulic system to operate independently on just the cradle portion, significantly reducing the energy required for lifting operations compared to lifting the entire trailer, while preserving complete loading functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system reduces the risk of breakdowns, saves time and fuel, and minimizes hay waste by allowing precise unloading and maintaining the bale's original side facing down, thus reducing mold and rot.
Implementation Method 1
a gooseneck that pivotably couples to a hauling member, wherein the gooseneck pivots between a first gooseneck position askew of the hauling member and a second gooseneck position behind the hauling member
Implementation Method 2
a pair of arches, wherein each arch of the pair of arches comprises at least two telescoping support members
Implementation Method 3
each of the at least two tubular elongate skids angled with respect to a ground such that the at least two tubular elongate skids support a rounded bale
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system and method for transporting bales is described. A system for transporting bales includes a hauling truck, a trailer pivotably coupled to the hauling truck by a gooseneck, the trailer comprising telescoping arches, wherein the telescoping arches move a cradle between a loading position, wherein tubular elongate skids slide into a space between a round bale and a ground in the loading position, and a transport position, wherein an angled portion of the tubular elongate skids lift the bale off the ground in the transport position, and wherein the gooseneck pivots the trailer to a driver's side of the hauling truck in the loading position, and wherein the hauling truck loads the bale while moving forward.