Patent ID: 7275360

Claim:
In a large round baler having a main frame supported on wheels for permitting the baler to be towed over the ground, a crop feeding device mounted to the frame and arranged for picking up crop material from the ground and delivering the crop material through an inlet of a bale-forming chamber carried by the frame and said bale-forming chamber being delimited, in substantial part, by a pair of side walls spaced transversely to a direction of travel of said baler, and an endless bale-forming element arrangement supported, at least in part, by a bale-forming element support roll extending between and having opposite end regions at locations disposed directly above said crop feeding device, the improvement comprising: said support roll extending beyond at least said pair of side walls and, a crop passage formed at each side of the baler by a space existing between a front edge of each of the side walls and the bale-forming element in a fore-and-aft direction, between the side wall and the frame in a lateral direction and between the roll and the feeding device in a vertical direction wherein the passage allows an unobstructed flow of crop from the space to the feeding device and wherein the crop escaping along this path, falls either on the top of an incoming crop mat or onto the crop feeding device.