Patent ID: 9010240
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: A01F

Abstract:
1. A square baler comprising a baling chamber, a constantly reciprocating plunger for compacting crop in the baling chamber, a variable volume feeder duct in which crop is pre-compressed by a packer, a pressure sensor for determining the packing density of the crop within the feeder duct, a stuffer for transferring a slice of crop from the feeder duct to the baling chamber at the first opportunity afforded by the position reciprocating plunger after a density threshold has been sensed by the pressure sensor to have been exceeded, and a bale movement sensor for determining the width of each slice after compression by the plunger, a control system configured to determine a capacity parameter indicated by a time from commencement of filling of the feeder duct to a time when the threshold pressure in the feeder duct is exceeded expressed in terms of cycles of the plunger and having a closed loop mode of operation in which at least one of the volume of the feeder duct and the threshold pressure of the pressure sensor is varied automatically to maintain the capacity parameter within one of a plurality of desired capacity ranges, the desired capacity range being selected by the control system in such a manner as to maintain the width of each slice in the finished bale within predetermined limits.