BIN SWEEP ACCESSORY

ACCESSOIRE POUR VIS DE BALAYAGE

English Abstract

An attachment is used on a bin sweep of a type having inner and outer
sections of auger flighting and a backboard along the outer section of
flighting. The
attachment includes a shield that extends along the back of the inner section
of
flighting to control the accumulation of material around the inlet to a
loading auger
with which the bin sweep is used. The shield is attached to the pivot mount
for the bin
sweep with a coupling allowing the movement of the shield with respect to the
inner
flighting section. It is connected to the backboard of the outer flighting
section using a
flexible joint that allows substantially universal movement of the shield on
the
backboard. This allows the flexing of the bin sweep as necessary at the
universal
joint between the inner and outer flighting sections and substantially reduces
the
accumulation of material in a pile between the inner end of the backboard and
the
loading auger.

Claims

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CLAIMS
1. An attachment for a bin sweep of the type having inner and outer
sections of auger flighting coupled by a universal joint, a backboard along
the outer
section and a pivot mount for mounting an inner end of the inner section on a
loading
auger, said attachment comprising a shield extending along the inner section
of auger
flighting, a first shield mount mounting an inner end of the shield on the
pivot mount,
and a second shield mount mounting an outer end of the shield on the backboard
for
substantially universal pivotal movement with respect to the backboard.
2. An attachment according to Claim 1 wherein the first shield mount
comprises two pivot couplings coupling the shield to the pivot mount for free
pivotal
movement about two substantially orthogonal axes transverse to the inner
section of
auger flighting.
3. An attachment according to any one of Claims 1 or 2 wherein the bin
sweep includes an hydraulic motor, a motor mount mounting the motor on the
pivot
mount and a coupling connecting the motor to the first section of auger
flighting to
drive the auger flighting, and wherein the first shield mount comprises a
bracket for
mounting the shield on the motor mount.
4. An attachment according to any one of Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the
second shield mount comprises a flexible coupling connecting the outer end of
the
shield and the backboard.
5. An attachment according to any one of Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the
second shield mount comprises a backboard extension secured to the backboard
and
extending along the outer section of auger flighting from the backboard to the
universal joint, and a flexible coupling connecting the shield to the
backboard
extension.

Description

CA 02312068 2000-06-20
BIN SWEEP ACCESSORY
The present invention relates to bin sweeps and more particularly to an
attachment for a bin sweep.
One form of bin sweep used with loading augers has inner and outer
sections of auger flighting connected by a universal joint. The inner section
has its
inner end mounted pivotally on a loading auger above the inlet to the loading
auger.
The sweep is driven to draw grain across a bin floor to the inlet of the
loading auger.
Bin sweeps of this sort are more effective where a backboard extends along a
back
side of the outer section of flighting. This allows the sweep to draw grain
from one
side of a pile of grain and to advance into the body of grain as feeding
progresses.
The outer section delivers the grain to a pile of grain centered on the inlet
to the
loading auger, while the inner section of the flighting scrapes material off
the top of
the pile to feed it into the loading auger inlet.
After a bin has been completely swept with a sweep of this sort, there is
still a significant pile of grain left in the bin around the loading auger
inlet. This must
be shovelled by hand into the loading auger.
The present invention is concerned with a sweep attachment that
mitigates this problem to reduce the amount of shovelling required.
According to the present invention there is provided an attachment for a
bin sweep of the type having inner and outer sections of auger flighting
coupled by a
universal joint, a backboard along the outer section and a pivot mount for
mounting an
inner end of the inner section on a loading auger, said attachment comprising
a shield
extending along the inner section of auger flighting, a first shield mount
mounting an
inner end of the shield on the pivot mount, and a second shield mount mounting
an
outer end of the shield on the backboard for substantially universal pivotal
movement
with respect to the backboard.

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The shield associated with the inner section of flighting limits the size of
the pile at the loading auger inlet by confining the material being delivered
by the
outer section and delivering it to a position above the top of the loading
auger inlet.
The flexible coupling between the shield and the backboard allows the
sweep to flex at the universal joint and to move up and down as necessary as
the
sweep progresses around the bin. Lateral flexibility at the universal joint
allows the
outer section of flighting to swing past the loading auger to complete a
360° traverse
of the bin floor.
One particularly convenient arrangement for mounting the inner end of
the shield on the pivot mount is a bracket mounted on a motor mount for the
sweep
motor. The mount preferably includes a mechanism allowing the shield to rotate
about two generally orthogonal axes transverse to the auger flighting.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a bin sweep and auger carrying an
attachment according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a mounting bracket viewed along line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a detail view of a coupling between a shield and the
backboard;
Figure 4 is a partial back view of an alternative embodiment of the
present invention employing a backboard extension; and
Figure 5 is a detail view of a flexible coupling included in the
embodiment of Figure 4.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a bin sweep
10 mounted on a loading auger 12. The loading auger has the usual auger tube
14
carrying a protective cage 16 surrounding the exposed flighting 18 at the
inlet 19 of

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the auger.
The bin sweep includes a pivot arm 20 mounted for rotation on the top
of the cage 16 and a motor mount 22 mounted on the pivot arm to pivot about
upright
and horizontal axes. An hydraulic motor 24 is mounted on the motor mount and
is
coupled to an inner flighting section 26 that extends from the motor to a
universal joint
28 which is in tum connected to the end of an outer flighting section 30. A
backboard
32 extends along one side of the outer flighting section 30. The backboard
carries a
set of bearing brackets 34 for supporting the backboard on the center shaft of
the
outer flighting section.
The bin sweep is equipped with an accessory 36 according to the
present invention. This includes a shield 38 that extends along the inner
flighting
section 26 from the motor mount to the backboard 32. As illustrated most
particularly
in Figure 2, the shield 38 has a forwardly concave shape confronting the auger
flighting. It is mounted on the motor mount 22 using a mount 39 that includes
an L-
shaped mounting rod 40 with one end rotatably mounted in a sleeve 42 mounted
on
the back of the shield and held in place using two collars 43. The other arm
of the
mounting rod is coupled to a bracket 44 which includes a base plate 46 that
mounts
on the motor mount and carries a sleeve 48 through which the mounting rod is
engaged. A retainer pin 50 and a sleeve 51 hold the rod in the sleeve. With
this
arrangement, the shield 38 is capable of rotating about two orthogonal axes,
those of
the two arms of the mounting rod 40.
The outer end of the sleeve 38 is connected to the backboard 32 using a
coupling 52 illustrated most particularly in Figure 3. The coupling includes a
pair of
lugs 54 mounted on the back of the shield and projecting across the back of
the
backboard 32 to receive between them a support leg 56 that is part of the
backboard.
Where no support leg of this sort is part of the original backboard, a lug may
be

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welded on to serve the purpose. A spring pin 58 couples two holes in the
plates 54 to
hold the plates loosely on the support leg, allowing free, universal movement
of the
shield on the backboard so as not to restrain relative movements of the inner
and
outer flighting sections at the universal joint.
An alternative embodiment of the accessory is illustrated in Figure 4.
This embodiment is used where the backboard does not extend close enough to
the
universal joint 28 to use a shield of the type illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and
3. The
accessory 60 includes a backboard extension 62 including a plate 68 shaped to
conform with the backboard and a pair of lugs 70 projecting from the plate to
overlie
the back of the backboard. Bolt holes 72 allow the extension to be bolted onto
the
back of the backboard. A coupling 74 joins the extension to the shield 76. The
coupling includes a square socket 78 fixed to the back of the backboard
extension. A
square tube 80 is fixed to the shield projects through the socket 78. The tube
is of
smaller size than the socket to provide a flexible coupling providing
substantially
universal pivotal movement of the shield on the backboard. The tube is held in
place
in the socket using a retainer pin 82.
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in
the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible
within the
scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by
the scope
of the appended claims.

Representative Drawing