Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
GRAIN STORAGE UNLOADING SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a grain storage
unloading system of a type which can be moved from grain bin to
grain bin and includes a sweep section which can rotate
relative to a discharge section to sweep a circular area within
the bin and to carry the material from the bin outwardly from
the bin for collection.
In U.S. Patents 5,099,984 and 5,099,986 of Danny
S. Kuzub is disclosed a machine of the above general type.
This machine has a number of highly advantageous features
relative to the prior art.
Other devices for discharging materials from a
bin are shown in U.S. Patents 4,824,312 tSchiltZ), 4,619,577
(Swanson), 4,029,219 (Rutten), and 4,669,941 twest)- The prior
art documents have a number of disadvantages including the fact
that in most cases they are dedicated to a single bin and hence
constitute a significant capital investment for each of the
bins. In addition the sweep section is in most cases limited
to movement over less than 360 since it cannot sweep past the
discharge section. This tends to leave quantities of grain
which are uncollected so the farmer is again obliged to carry
out the detested shovelling.
The above patents of Kuzub therefore represent a
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significant advance over -the art and have led to a highly
improved machine.
However further development of the machine has
led to yet further improvements which provide improved
mechanical reliability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention,
therefore, to provide an improved machine of the above type in
which a number of mechanical functions are significantly
improved.
It is a further object of the present invention
to provide an improved machine of the above type in which the
machine can accomodate bins of different design having bin
discharge openings at different locations on the wall of the
bin.
It is a further object of the present invention
to provide an improved machine of the above type in which the
drive connection from the discharge section to the sweep
section is mechanically improved for more reliable operation.
It is a further object of the present invention
to provide a machine of the above type ln which the forwarding
drive action of the sweep auger is provided by a mechanical
drive connection which is of improved reliability.
It is a yet further object of the present
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invention to provide an auger arrangement which can be used as
the main discharge section in which the auger flighting is
supported in a manner which reduces abrasion between the auger
flighting and the auger tube within which it rotates and which
reduces grain damage due to crushing between the auger
flighting and the tube. .
The invention therefore provides generally a lift
system for the machine in which the discharge end can be lifted :; . .
on a pair of upwardly extending struts by operation of the
single hydraulic cylinder which actuates the tilting action of
the main auger tubeO
A hanger bearing is provided within the main
discharge auger for supporting the flighting relative to the
tube.
An improved coupling is provided between the
lower or feed end of the main discharge section and the
discharge end of the sweep section including an internal
hydraulic fluid coupling to provide hydraulic fluid to a drive
motor mounted at the inner or discharge end of the sweep
section.
A modified drive system for forwarding the sweep
section is provided which operates on an eccentric wh:ch drives
a lever operating on a one way clutch to intermittently rotate
a toothed drive wheel which thus rotates at a signi.ficantly
reduced speed relative to the angular velocity of the auger
flighting. The Eorwarding speed can be adjusted by reducing
the amount of movement of the lever.
Qne or more embodiments of the invention will now
be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. ~-
BRIEF ~ESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the bin ~ `
sweep auger system of the presen-t invention, showing the
machine in a lowered transport position.
Figure 2 is a side elevational view similar to
that of Figure 1 showing the machine in a raised position for
entry into a bin having a particularly raised entry openlng
with the discharge auger tilted so that the feed end is in
contact with the ground.
Figure 3 is a view taken generally along the
lines 3-3 of Figure 1 but with the au~er system in an
intermediate position between the two extreme positions shown
in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken along
the lines 4-4 of Figure 1 but omitting the sweep auger.
Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the hanger
bearing of Figure 4 and adjacent portions of the helical
flighting.
Figure 6 is a vertical cross sectional view
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through the machine of Figure 1 taken at the couplings between
the main discharge auger and the sweep auger.
Figure 7 is an exploded view of the hydraulic
coupling mechanism for communicating hydraulic fluid from the
feed lines attached to the main discharge auger to the
hydraulic motor of the sweep auger.
Figure 8 is a vertical cross sectional view
through the sweep auger adjacent the outer end thereof omitting
for convenience of illustration the auger flighting, the cross
section being taken along the lines 8-8 of Figure 9.
Figure 9 is rear elevational view o the end
portion of the sweep auger, the elevation being taken along the
lines 9-9 of Figure 8, part of the rear shroud of the sweep
auger being broken away to show the drive mechanism.
Figure 10 is a cross sectional view along the
lines 10-10 of Figure 8.
Figure 11 is a cross sectional view along the
lines 11-11 of Figure 8.
Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view similar to
that of Figure 6 showing an alternative arrangement of drive
coupling between the discharge auger and the sweep auger.
In the drawings like characters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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Reference is firstly made to U.S. Patents
5,099,984 and 5,099,986 of Danny S. Kuzub which disclose an
arrangement of the same general type with which the present
invention is concerned.
Thus as shown in the previous patent, the device
comprises generally a discharge auger including a discharge
tube 10, a core mounted within the tube 10, a flighting carried
on the core 11, the core being arranged for rotational driving
movement by a hydraulic dri~e motor 13. The auger comprises a
conventional cylindrical tube 10 having a feed end or lower end
and a discharge spout 14 at an upper end immediately adjacent
the drive motor 13.
An upper surface of the tube 10 is protected and
stiffened by an elongate strap 15 which has an end 15A welded
to the tube adjacent the motor 13 and an end lSB attached to an
end coupling casting 41 as described hereinafter. The strap is
supported at spaced position from the upper surface of the tube
by a plurality of spacer elements 16 which are welded to the
strap and the tube at spaced positions along the length of the
tube.
On the underside of the tube 10 is mounted a
channel member 17 extending along the full length of the tube
substantially from the discharge mouth 14 to the lower end lOA.
The channel 17 includes a base web welded to the tube at spaced
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positions indicated at 18 in Figure 4. The channel also
includes two side walls extending downwardly from the base web
which define a receiving area for longitudinally extending
hydraulic fluid hoses 19 described hereinafter.
Thus the upper surface of the tube and the lower
surface of the tube are protected against impact damage and are
stiffened by the channel and by the strap so that the tube, if
inserted through a relatively narrow opening in a bin, cannot
be damaged by impact from the top or the bottom. In addition
the strap and the channel provide stiffening to allow for
cantilever support of the lower end of the tube and the sweep
auger described hereinafter.
The channel 17 is further stiffened by a truss
type structure 20 including a bottom tube 21 and a plurality of
transverse stiffening elements 22 extending between the channel
and the tube 21.
The upper end of the tube is attached to a
support structure generally indicated at 24 including a front
plate 23 and two side plates 25 and 26. Each side plate
extends along the upper part of the tube at the sides of the
tube, with the uppermost edge of the plate welded to a
respective side of the tube, to a position just beyond the end
of the tube and defining a protection area for the motor 13.
The front plate 23 inclues an upper semi circular edge engaging
u ~ 7
around the lower surface of the tube and welded thereto. Side
edges of the ~ront plate 23 are welded to the front edges of
the side plates 25 and 26~ The support structure thus defined
is a generally rectangular structure which has sufficient
strength to support the tube in the cantilever arrangement.
The end of the support structure remote from the
tube is attached to a hitch arm 27 by a transverse pivot pin 28
extending through the side plates 25 and 26. The hitch arm 27
extends forwardly from the support structure to a hitch
coupling 29 for attachment to a suitable towing vehicle of the
type including hydraulic fluid supply for actuating the
hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinder as described
hereinafter.
The hitch is thus pivotal on the pin 28 relative
to the support structure and this pivotal movement is actuated
by a hydraulic cylinder 30 carried upon a bracket 31 on the
underside of the arm 27, an end of the piston of the cylinder
30 being connected to a transverse pivot pin 32 at the bottom
of the support structure. Thus retraction of the cylinder 30
tends to pivot the tube 10 downwardly in a transport position
shown in Figure 2 and extension of the cylinder causes the tube
to be raised to a transport position shown in Figure 1 in which
the tube 10 can be towed behind the vehicle and is supported
on the support structure in cantilever arrangement.
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On each of the ~ide ylates 33 and 34 is attached
a vertical square sleeve 33, 34 which is mounted at the lower
edge of the plate and extends upwardly therefrom to a position
partway along the height thereof. Each of the sleeves 33 and
34 receive a respective one of a pair of struts 35 and 36
slidable therein and of a similar rectangular cross section to
act as a sliding fit. The position of the strut in the sleeve
can be adjusted and located by the insertion of a respective
one of a pair of locating pins 37 and 38 into one of a
plurality of holes provlded along the length of the struts 35
and 36. The lower end of each of the struts 35 and 36 is
attached to a transverse horizontal axle 39 which carries at
each end a respective one of a pair of wheels 40.
The height of the support structure 24 relative
to the axle 39 can thus be adjusted by the simple expedient of
actuating the cylinder 30 from the position shown in Figure 1
to lower the outer end of the tube 10 to the ground~ With the
outer end thus supported on the ground, furthar actuation of
the cylinder 30 acts to lift the support structure 24 away from
the axle 39. The locating pins 37 and 38 can then be removed
and replaced at a higher position on the struts 35 and 36 to
hold the support structure at the ralsed position. When the
cylinder is then retracted, the support structure is held at
the raised position and the outer end of the tube is lifted
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2 ~
away from the ground. In this position the device can be moved
into location for operation. The height of the support
structure thus locates the height of the tube to accomodate
different positions of the opening in the peripheral wall of a
bin to be swept.
The upper end of the core 11 is mounted upon
bearings (not shown) at the motor 13 on an end wall of the tube
10. At a lower end lOA of the tube there is provided a first
casting 41 of a pair of castings 48 which provide coupling
between the lower end of the discharge auger and the inner end
of the sweep auger. The upper casting includes an end wall 42
carrying bearings 43 for the lower end of the core 11. As the
auger is operating in most cases in a s~bstantially horizontal
mode, there is significant tendancy for the flight 12 to rest
against the lower part of the inside of the tube 10. The
bearings 43 and the upper bearing are not sufficient to hold
the core straight under its own weight and under the weight of
the material transported thereby and hence there is an
increased tendancy for wear of the outside periphery of the
helical flight 12 and the inside surface of the tube. In order
to counteract this tendancy, a hanger bearing 44 is pro~ided at
a position approximately midway along the length of the core
11. The hanger bearing comprises a sleeve 45 shaped to
surround the core and extending over a short length of the
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... . . . . . . ... .... ...... . .. . .. . .. .. . ...
core. The sleeve 45 carries a plurality, preferably three, of
fingers 46 which are attached to the sleeve and extend
outwardly therefrom in a radial plane of the longitudinal axis
of the core and equiangularly spaced around the axis. On the
interior of the sleeve 45 is provided a bushing 47 which is
cylindrical and e~tends slightly beyond the ends of the sleeve
45 to provide a bearing effect against the core received on the
inside surface of the bushing and against the adjacent portions
of the flighting. The flighting is thus divided into two
sections llA and llB separated at the hanger bearing. Each
portion includes a central sleeve llC and a flighting section
attached thereto within which the core extends with the core
attached to the sleeve by a fastener llE. The ends of the
sleeve llC thus abut the ends of the bushing 47 to allow
rotation relative to the hanger bearing.
As shown in Figure 4, the imaginary circle
containing the outside edges of the fingers 46 has a diameter
slightly less than that of the inside surface of the tube 10.
Thus the fingers can slide longitudinally of the tube but when
the fingers reach the required position~ the fingers rest
against the inside surface of the tube with a slight spacing of
an upper one of the fingers from the inside surface of the
tube. At the same time the imaginary circle containing the
outside periphery of the helical flight 12 has a diameter
slightly less than that of the imaginary circle containing the
fingers so that the flighting is held away from the inside
surface of the tube.
The hanger bearing is thus not in any way
attached to the tube and does not affect the simple
construc~ion of the tube or the integrity of the tube. The
hanger bearing can simply be installed with the two sections of
the flighting as shown in Figure 5 following which the
flighting and the hanger bearing can slide inside the tube
during installation to a position at which the hanger bearing
is located within the tube and acts as the central bearing
without necessity for fastening to the tube.
As shown in the previous patents described above,
at a lower end of the tube 10 is provided a coupling
arrangement generally indicated at 48 which connects from the
lower end of the tube 10 to a sweep auger generally indicated
at 49. The details of the sweep auger are not shown in the
present application since these can be found in the above
mentioned patents, the disclosure which is incorporated herein
by reference. In general terms the sweep auger includes a
shroud 50 within which is mounted a core 51 carrying a
flighting 52. The length of the shroud and the flighting can
be adjusted to accomodate different diameters of sweep action.
The coupling ~8 allows rotation about a substantially vertical
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axis 48A and also pivotal movement of the shroud 50 relative to
the coupling about a transverse axis 48B. In a sweeping action
a forwarding movement is provided by a drive syste~ generally
indicated at 53 and described in more detail hereinafter.
The coupling arrangement 48 which provides drive
force for the core 51 and which allows transmission of the
~aterial from the sweep auger to the discharge auger is shown
in most detail in Figure 6. This comprises the elbow casting
41 which is attached to the lower end of the tube 10 and a
second elbow casting 54 which is attached to the end of the
sweep auger 49. In general terms each of the elbow castings
includes a generally circular end face through which the
respective flighting passes. Thus the casting 41 includes the
end face 41A through which the flighting 12 passes with the end
face being attached to the end lOA of the tube as described
herein before. Similarly the casting 54 includes an end face
54A which is pivotally connected to the end of the shroud 50
for pivot action of the shroud 50 about a transverse pin 48B.
The end face 54A is shaped to receive the flighting S2 passing
therethrough on the core 51.
In addition each of the coupling castings 41 and
54 includes a cooperating circular end face 55 of the casting
41 and an end face 56 of the casting 54. These end faces are
shaped to allow rotation of one relative to the other about the
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2~$~
axis 48A. The end faces 55 and 56 also are shaped to connect
and hold the castings in engagement. The casting 41 thus
includes a flange 55A and a retaining ring 57 which wraps
around a flange 56A on the face 56 to hold the castings in
engagement. Suitable bushing arrangements are provided between
the surfaces to allow free rotation without wear. The diameter
of the circular end faces 55 and 56 is greater than that of the
end face 41A to provide an increased area for communication of
the material between the sweep auger and the discharge auger.
The core 51 includes a universal coupling 58 at a
position adjacent the end face 54A to allow for the pivotal
action of the shroud 50 relative to the coupling 54 while the
core 51 rotates. The core 51 thus includes a short section 51A
between the universal coupling 53 the end face of the casting
54. The core 51 is supported on an end bearing 59 in the end
face of the elbow casting 54, a hanger bearing 59A at the end
face 54A and an end bearing 90 (Figure 8) at the end of the
shroud 50. The hanger bearing 59A is similar to that
previously described. The core 51 is driven by a hydraulic
motor 60 attached to the end face 54B of the casting 54 at the
bearing 59. The hydraulic motor is of a conventional nature
similar to the hydraulic motor 13 driving the discharge auger.
Thus in this arrangement there is no mechanical connection
between the discharge and the sweep auger and instead the
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2 ~ 3 ~ r~
communication is provided by a hydraulic drive arrangement.
The hydraulic fluid lines to the motor 13 are not shown as
these will be provided in conventional manner through the hitch
arm and through suitable control valves. The hydraulic fluid
for the motor 60 however is communicated through the supply
lines 19 passing along the channel 17 on the underside of the
tube 10. As shown in Figure 6 these supply lines 19 terminate
at the coupling 48 and there is a necessity to supply the
hydraulic fluid to the motor 60 through a swivel coupling which
allows the sweep auger to rotate continuously about the axis
48A. The swivel coupling is indicated generally at 61 and is
shown in side elevational view in Figure 6 and in exploded view
in Figure 7. The swivel coupling includes a first arm 62 which
is fixed relative to the casting 41 and a second arm 63 which
is fixed relative to the casting 54. The casting 41 thus
includes an opening 64 formed at the end face 57 directly on
the underside of the tube 10 so that the supply lines 19
emerging from the channel 17 reach irnmediately to an end face
64A of the arm 62 at that location. The arm 62 includes a pair
of bores 65 and 66 formed therethrough longitudinally each
communicating with a respective one of a pair of annular
channels 67,68 at a swivel connection 69 between the two arms.
The outer end of the bore 65 includes a connector 70 for
connection to the supply line 19. The outer end of the bore 66
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is machined with branches to a connector 71, the branches being
closed by pressure plugs 72. Thus the connector 70 and 71 are
spaced sufficiently to receive the supply lines 19 connected
thereto.
At the end of the arm 62 at the swivel connection
69, the arm is formed into a generally cylindrical body 69A
within which the annular channel 67 and 68 are formed. The
annular channels are separated by 0 rings 73.
The arm 63 includes at its outer end a downturned
portion 74 which fastens onto the top of the hydraulic motor 60
for communication directly there~ith of the fluid from channels
and 76 extending longitudinally of the arm 63. The outer
end the channel 75 and 76 are branched and include pressure
piugs 77 and 78 closing the end of the branches with the
channels thus extending downwardly of the end portion 74 for
connection to the hydraulic motor. At the inner end, the arm
63 again forms a cylindrical section 69B for insertion into the
hollow cylindrical channel within the end portion 69A of the
arm 620 The channel 75 breaks out on a side face of the
cylindrical portion at the end of the arm in an outlet 75A for
communication with the annular channel 68 of the arm 62.
Similarly the channel 76 breaks out an outlet 76A for
communication to the upper channel 67 of the arm 62. Pressure
plugs 79 close the branch portions of the channels 75 and 76 at
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the inner ends. The cylindrical section 69B of the arm 63
carrying the outlet 75A and 76A is thus inserted into the
hollow area forming the interior of the end portion 69A at the
arm 62 following whlch an end cap 80 is applied onto the
portion 69B and fastened to the arm 63 by a screw 81. The arm
63 and the portion 69B can thus rotate relative to the arm 62,
the portion 69A and to the end plate 80 and allows
communication of the fluid from the arm 62 to the rotating arm
63 for driving the hydraulic motor. The outside diameter of
the portion 69 is arranged to be as small as possible so that
it does not interfere with the communication of the material
from the auger fllght of the sweep auger to the auger flight of
the discharge auger. The arms 62 and 63 similarly are arranged
~to be of minimum diameter so that material can pass by the arms
over the majority of the area of the circle forming the end
faces of the couplings 48 and 54. As stated before the
diameter of the circle containing the end faces 55 and 56 is
increased relative to the diameter of the flights so as to
provide an area sufflcient to receive the material therethrough
despite the restrictions provided by the arms 62 and 63 and the
central hub area 69. The castings 41 and 54 have a central
area at the interconnecting faces 55 and 56 which raises the
flight of the discharge auger away from the flight of the sweep
auger sufficiently to receive the arms and the central hub area
69 therebetween without interconnection or engagement
-therebetween.
setween the universal joint or coupling 58 and
the bearing 59 is provided a short auger section acting as a
drive element for transmitting the material from the lower
casting 54 into the upper casting 48~ This auger section
includes two helical flight sections 8~ and 83 arranged at 180
angular spacing and each extending over 360 of helical flight.
Thus the flight sections 82 and 83 each extend from a line 84
extendlng diametrically of the core 51 through 360 to a second
line 85 parallel to the line 84 and similarly diametrical to
the core 51. The fl1ghting portions 82 and 83 thus provide a
double helix arrangement of a helix angle effectively half that
of the remainder of the au~er flighting. The line 84 at which
both the portion 82 and 83 terminate is also attached to a pair
of blades 85 and 86 lyin~ in an axial plane of the core with
the blade 85 opposite to the blade 86. These blades therefore
provide an action tending to lift the material so that it
cannot become wedged against the end plate 54B but instead is
flipped upwardly to prevent any possible action jamming of the
material at the end face 54B. The material then tends to feed
upwardly into the casting 48 to be collected by the discharge
auger and carried to the discharge outlet 14.
Turning now to Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 there is
2 (~ .? ~ 2
shown the drive arrangement 53 for forwarding the sweep auger
in its circular path around the axis 48. Attached to the end
of the shroud 50 is an end plate 87 lying at right angles to
the end plate. A flange 88 shaped to follow the periphery of
the shroud 50 is attached to the shroud 50 by bolts 89 thus
attaching the plate 87 at right angles to the shroud 50. The
plate 87 carries a bearing 90 for the end of the core 51, the
bearing being mounted in a housing 91 attached to the end plate
87. I'he core 51 carries an eccentric element 92 which is
attached to the core for rotation therewith to provide a cam
action on a lever 93. On the end of the core 51 is provided an
end thrust member 94.
A toothed drive wheel 95 is mounted on a shaft 96
supported on bearings attached to the plate 87. The shaft 96
is carried in a one way roller clutch arrangement 97. The
lever 93 includes an annular end piece 93A attached to one part
of the roller clutch and a second part of the roller clutch is
attached to the plate 87. Thus a cran]cing action on the lever
93 around the axis of the shaft 96 causes the toothed wheel 95
to be indexed in the direction allowed by the one way clutch
arrangement 97. The one way clutch includes two parts one
connected to the lever 93 and one connected to the plate 87 so
that each operates in opposition to the other to provide the
indexing movement from the cranking action. The cranking
-- 19 -- .. i`,`
2 ~ 2
action is provided by the engagement of the eccentric member 92
with the lever and a return action provided by a spring 98.
Thus each time the eccentric rotates it pushes the lever
downwardly acting to move the toothed wheel in the direction of
rotation of the lever. As the eccentric releases the lever it
is returned by the spring 98 while the roller clutch 97 allows
the lever to return without rotating the toothed wheel in the
opposite direction. The tooth wheel thus provides incremental
movement at a rate proportional to the rotation of the core 51.
In order to adjust the amount of incremental
movement for each rotation of the core, a hand wheel 100 i5
provided which is screw threaded to move inwardly and outwardly
to restrict the amount of return movement allowed of the lever
93 under the action of the spring 98. Thus when the hand wheel
100 is screwed inwardly to its maximum extent, the amount of
return movement of the lever is reduced to effectively zero so
~hat there is little or no movement of the lever since it i5
held away from the eccentricO When the hand wheel is rotated
to its opposite extreme, the lever follows exactly the movement
of the eccentric so that it is moved to a maximum extent
causing a maximum amount of movement of the toothed wheel 95.
The toothed wheel 95 includes a plurality of
spikes so that each spike can eng~ge through the material onto
the ground surface under the material over whlch the device is
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running. The toothed wheel thus grasps the ground and provides
an effective forwarding force without wear since there is
little slippage of the toothed wheel on the ground.
The forwarding movement can therefore be adjusted
from a very 910W forwarding speed for initial operation and
then can be speeded up to a higher speed for a final cleanup.
In all cases, however, the amount of rotation of the tooth
wheel is significantly less than the angular velocity of the
helical flight carried by the core 51. The device is prevented
therefore from rotat1ng very rapidly around the sweeping area,
which could be dangerous to the user.
Turning now to Figure 12 there is shown in
:
vertical cross section the connection between the discharge
auqer and the sweep auger of a modified arrangement. The
connection or coupl1ng is generally indicated at 48X including
an upper casting 41X and a lower casting 54X. The remainder of
the machine is substantially as previously described including
the structure of the discharge auger, the mounting therefore,
the sweep auger~and the drive system for rotating the sweep
auger around the vertical axis defined by the coupling 48X.
The castings 41X and 54X are coupled together for
rotation of the casting 54X at the vertical axis relative to
the upper casting 41X on the cooperating sur~aces 55X and 56X
of the castings.
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In this arrangement, however, the connection for
communicating drive to the sweep auger is provided by a
mechanical coupling rather than by the hydraulic coupling
previously described. The mechanical coupling comprises a
first bevel gear 110 mounted on the end of the core 11 of the
discharge auger. The bevel gear 110 is thus driven by the core
and is mounted in an oil bath 111 formed by an end wall 112
separating the auger flight from the end face 42 of the casting
41~. The core 51 of the sweep auger carries a similar bevel
gear 113 ~hich is connected to the core 51 for rotation
therewith and is separated from the end wall 54B of the casting
54X by a dividing wall 114. Drive is communicated from the
bevel gear 110 to the bevel gear 113 by a ring gear 115 which
has an upper bevel 116 and a lower bevel 117 each communicating
with a respective one of the bevel gears 110, 113. The ring
gear 115 surrounds the circular opening between the upper and
lower castings and is arranged at the periphery thereof at the
junction between the surfaces 55X and 56X. The ring gear is
thus supported by the castings and able to rotate relative to
the castings with a lower casting 54X also free to rotate
relative to the ring gear to rotate around the axis. The
material can be fed through the hollow opening in the middle of
the ring gear. The ring gear is provided in an oil bath
defined at the periphery of the castings. Thus all of the
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three gears are running in an oil bath. In the arrangement
shown both the discharge auger and the sweep auger are arranged
to rotate substantially at the same velocity but the speed of
the sweep auger can be made different from that of the
discharge auger by providing a ring gear having a different
number of teeth on the bottom relative to those on the top.
The discharge auger has a left hand flight while the sweep
auger has a right hand flight in order to accomodate the
different directions of rotation of the cores 11 and 51. The
torque generated by the drive system helps to propel the sweep
auger in its rotation around the vertical axis defined by the
connection between the castings. In the preferred arrangement
as described above, the main drive to cause the rotation of the
sweep auger is provided by a toothed wheel at the outer end of
the sweep auger. However in an alternative arrangement (not
shown) an indexing arrangement can be provided at the gear
wheels which causes a restriction in the movement of the gear
113 to cause the gear to move around the ring gear to actuate
the rotation about the vertical axis~
Since various modifications can be made in my
invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely
different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope
of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it
is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
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: :
specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and no~
in a limitin~ sense.
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