Patent ID: 6915736

Claim:
An agricultural baler for driving by a towing vehicle, comprising: a baling chamber; a collection chamber for collecting crop material before delivery to said baling chamber; and a device for calculating a value relating to the amount or rate of crop material entering the baler; a charge sensor for sensing when a charge of crop material has filled said collection chamber to a pre-determined degree of filling and for providing an output indicative of the completion of this filling; a first timer which is started when crop material begins entry into said collection chamber and stops when it receives the output from said charge sensor; a plunger in said baling chamber for compressing crop material transferred from said collection chamber; and a timing device providing a timing output relating to a rate of operation of said plunger; a first calculating device for determining a ratio from the outputs of said charger sensor and said timing device, said ratio being indicative of the time to fill said collection chamber compared with the time the plunger requires to complete a cycle.