Patent ID: 6874412

Claim:
A bale shape monitor for a round baler having a bale-forming chamber defined by a series of side-by-side belts, comprising: a movable member located within the bale-forming chamber, wherein the movable member is adapted to move in response to outward movement of the belts caused by growth of the bale within the bale-forming chamber; first and second spaced apart rollers rotatably mounted to the movable member, wherein the movable member is configured such that the rollers are arranged to engage at least a spaced apart pair of underlying belts when the bale is uniform in diameter in the locations of the rollers, such that the first and second rollers rotate at a speed of rotation above a predetermined threshold in response to movement of the underlying belts to rotate the bale within the bale-forming chamber, and wherein the movable member is configured such that the first roller is moved out of engagement with the underlying belt when the bale is not uniform in diameter in the locations of the rollers, wherein movement of the first roller out of engagement with the underlying belt results in the first roller not rotating above the threshold speed of rotation; and a sensor arrangement associated with the rollers, wherein the sensor arrangement is configured to sense rotation of the rollers above the threshold speed of rotation and to output a signal when the first roller is not rotating above the threshold speed of rotation due to movement of the first roller out of engagement with the underlying belt, wherein the signal indicates a reduced diameter of the bale in the vicinity of the first roller.