Baler plunger drive load measurement pin offset from either connecting rod center line or horizontal mid-plane of baling chamber

In a baler for making large parallelepiped bales and including a baling chamber having an end section containing a crop inlet, a plunger mounted for reciprocating within said end section for compacting charges of crop that have passed into said baling chamber through said crop inlet, a plunger drive mechanism coupled to said plunger for effecting said reciprocating movement and including a pair of transversely spaced connecting rods each having a center line extending between coupling pins at opposite ends thereof, which center lines are disposed substantially horizontally when said plunger is fully-extended into said end section of said baling chamber so as to lie approximately within a horizontal plane passing centrally between upper and lower walls of said baling chamber and between a pair of transversely spaced load pin arrangements associated with one of said plunger drive and plunger for sensing the force imposed on said plunger during compacting charges of crop, the improvement comprising:

• said load pin arrangements each including at least one load pin offset vertically relative to one of said center line or plane when said plunger is in its fully-extended position.