The present invention relates to a bale lifting arrangement mounted on a bale lifter that is located on an agricultural vehicle with lifting arms for the transport of bales.

Bales into which straw or feed for livestock is packed in an airtight condition without having been dried require transport within a farm. An example of such transport is transport from a. field, where . the bales are initially located, to the farm where the bales are to be stored or prepared for use, for example. The form of bales used today is essentially that of a cylinder. These bales are normally transported with the aid of an agricultural vehicle, such as a front-loader with lifting arms, tractors with lifting arm arrangements at the rear and front lifting arms, or tractors with lifting arm arrangements at the rear. A bale lifter is located at the front of the arms of the front-loader and at the front or the back, or both, of the tractor. The bale lifter has the form of a sector of a circle in order ^■ for the bale lifter to be able to grip the cylindrical bale, preferably grip the bale in a hydraulic manner, in order to be able to lift the bale and hold it in place. The cover of the bale consists of a plastic film, which is sensitive to pointed objects. For this reason, no protruding objects are used under the bale in order to hold the bale up, since it would be possible for the object to cause holes in the bale when the object is to be inserted under it. The bale is, instead, lifted up by the bale lifter. Once the bale lifter has gripped the bale either at the front or the back, or both, of the agricultural vehicle, the bale or the bales can be transported to the intended destination.

This method of transport, however, is not very efficient. There may be long distances over which only one bale can be transported during each lift of the bale, and this causes the transfer of a large number of bales to take a long time. This is not efficient from a number of points of view: the cost of personnel, the wear on the agricultural vehicles and the cost of fuel.

The present invention thus relates to a bale lifting arrangement located at the front or back, or both, of an agricultural vehicle, such as, for example, a vehicle known as a "front loader" or a tractor with forward lifting rams, whereby a bale lifter is located at the lifting arm arrangement of the agricultural vehicle, where the bale lift is-arranged to grip and lift a first bale, and where the bale lift is arranged to be tilted in towards the agricultural vehicle, and it is characterised in that a bale support is attached on top of a bale lifter, at the front or the rear, or both, of the agricultural vehicle, and in that the bale support is arranged to support a second bale, loosely placed on top of the said first bale, when the bale lifting arrangement is tilted in towards the agricultural vehicle.

The invention is described in more detail below, partially with reference to the attached drawings showing embodiments of the invention, where

- Figure Ia shows schematically a tractor seen from the side with lifting arms at the front and back and with a bale lifter located between the relevant lifting arms of the tractor.

- Figure Ib shows the tractor according to Figure Ia, although here the bale lifting arrangement with bales is tilted in towards the tractor.

- Figure 2 shows a bale lifting arrangement seen obliquely from the front and from above.

- Figure 3 shows the bale lifting arrangement from directly above gripping a first and a second bale. - Figures 4 - 5a, 5b and 5c show another embodiment of the invention.

The present invention concerns a bale lifting arrangement 9, which is located at the front or the back, or both, of an agricultural vehicle 1, such as a vehicle known as a "front loader" or a tractor with forward lifting arms, whereby a bale lifter 2 is located on the front loading arms or lifting arms 4 of the agricultural vehicle 1. A bale lifter 2 is arranged to grip and lift a first bale 6, see Figure Ia. Furthermore, the bale lifter 2 can be tilted inwards towards the agricultural vehicle 1, see Figure Ib.

A bale support 3 is, according to the invention, attached on top of the bale lifter 2, at the front or the back, or both, of the agricultural vehicle 1. The bale support 3 is arranged to support a second bale 7, which is loosely placed on top of the said first bale 6, when the bale lifting arrangement 9 is lifted and tilted in towards the agricultural vehicle 1.

The bale support 3 is designed such that it can provide effective support for the second bale 7, as, for example, a sector of a circle, see Figures 2 and 3.

The bale support 3 is essentially constructed from tube shaped parts 8 that have been manufactured from a durable and strong material, such as, for example, a metallic material.

The bale support 3 is arranged to have a height such that the second bale 7 remains lying on the first bale 6 when the first 6 bale and the second 7 bale are lifted with the bale lifter 2, and when the bales 6, 7 are transported.

According to one preferred embodiment, the upper part of the bale support 3 is in contact with the second bale 7 for half of its height.

The bale support 3 is arranged by the said tube-shaped parts 8, which form a sector of a circle. The tube-shaped parts 8 may be in the form of tubes. According to one preferred embodiment, the bale support is arranged to have two or more essentially parallel tube-shaped parts.

In one embodiment, see Figure 1, the bale lifter 2 is located on lifting arms 4 both at the front and at the back of a tractor. A bale support 3 is, in addition to this, attached to the bale lifter 2 both at the front and at the back of the tractor.

In a further embodiment, according to Figures 4 and 5a-c, the bale lifter 2 is arranged with two parallel tube-shaped parts 10a-b, where the lower tube-shaped part 10b is curved 11 inwards . towards the opposing tube-shaped part 10b. This embodiment provides a more stable grip of the first bale 6 when it is gripped and lifted, particularly when the second bale 7 is placed on top of the first bale 6.

When the tractor is to transport bales, the tractor travels with the bale lifter 2 up to a second bale 7, whereby the bale lifter 2 is located at the same height as the second bale 7, grips the second bale 7 with the bale lifter 2 and

lifts up the second bale 7 and places it onto the first bale 6. The bale lifter 2 subsequently releases the second bale 7 in order to instead grip the first bale 6. The bales 6 and 7 are lifted by the bale lifter 2 which, in addition, is tilted in towards the tractor 2, see Figure 2. Since the bale lifter 2 is tilted in towards the tractor, the bale support 3 will come into contact with the second bale 7, and the bale support 3 provides in this way support for the second bale 7. The tractor is thereafter ready to transport the bales to the desired location.

A number of embodiments have been described above. However, the bale support 3 and its tube-shaped parts 8 and the tilt of the bale lifting arrangement 9 in towards the agricultural vehicle 1 can be designed in any other suitable manner without deviating from the fundamental idea of the invention.

The present invention is thus not limited to the embodiments specified above but can be varied within the scope of the attached claims.