Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
LOW PROFILE BIN SWEEP
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The invention is a low-profile bin sweep for mounting on the end of a portable
grain auger and useful for cleaning out flat-bottomed grain bins or piles of
grain.
It can also be used for other granular products. The sweep is a screw conveyor
and is typically attached to a portable grain auger that is a screw conveyor
inside
a tube. In order to maintain a low profile, the attachment apparatus for the
bin
sweep is located below the inlet of the auger. This allows the bin sweep to
stay
attached to the auger while the auger is transported or being moved into
position.
It is also convenient for storing the sweep while the auger is being used in a
situation where the bin sweep is not needed.
LOW PROFILE BIN SWEEP
This invention pertains to a screw conveyor used to transfer grain and other
granular products such as fertilizer into the inlet of a portable grain auger.
It
would most typically be used to load grain from a flat-bottomed storage bin or
free standing grain pile into a truck or trailer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the most common methods for elevating grain on farms is the portable
screw conveyor or grain auger. The augers are simple machines that can
efficiently move high volumes of grain. Typically, in flat-bottomed grain
bins, a bin
sweep such as a described in Canadian Patent 1,196,762 or United States
Patent 4,619,577 is utilized for cleaning out the bin. The bin sweep is
mounted
on top of the lower end of the auger. There are a number of problems with this
system. One issue is that because the bin sweep apparatus is so large, the bin
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sweep must be removed from the end of the portable auger when the auger is
entering or exiting the grain bin. In addition, the bin sweep must also be
removed
from the portable auger when the auger is used in an application where a bin
sweep is not required. This causes significant additional manual labor for the
operator. A second problem is that because the bin sweep is mounted on the top
of the lower end of the portable auger, the sweep fighting requires a
universal
joint in order for the sweep flighting to properly clean the floor area. With
the
universal joint in the bin sweep fighting and the additional direction change
for
the grain, there is a significant amount of extra grain dust that is raised
during the
operation of the bin sweep, lowering the air quality in the bin. Because the
farmer
is typically in the bin during the operation of the bin sweep, this extra dust
is a
health hazard.
PRIOR ART
1. Canada Patent 1,196,762 Grain Auger System
2. United States Patent 4,619,577 Sweep Auger
3. Canada Patent 2,312,068 Bin Sweep Accessory
ADVANCES OF THE INVENTION
The invention addresses some of the short-comings of the current technology.
The low-profile bin sweep is mounted in such a manner that there is no need to
have a universal joint added to the fighting of the bin sweep. In addition,
because of the lower mounting of the drive motor on the low-profile bin sweep,
the overall length of the fighting can be reduced. The combination of
eliminating
a universal joint as well as shortening the fighting results in a significant
decrease in the amount of dust raised by the bin sweep. This increases the air
quality for the operator.
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Another significant advantage of the invention is that it is very compact.
Because
of the small size of the unit, the low-profile bin sweep can typically remain
attached to the portable auger even when the auger is used in an application
where a bin sweep is not needed. This is a tremendous advantage for the
operator and saves a significant amount of labor.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a side view of a portable auger including a preferred
embodiment
of the low profile sweep invention.
Figure 2 shows a top view of a low-profile sweep, attached to the lower end of
a
portable auger, in the fully extended position.
Figure 3 shows a side view of a low-profile sweep, attached to the lower end
of a
portable auger, in the fully extended position.
Figure 4 shows a top view where both the sweep screw conveyor and the link are
in the extreme counter-clockwise position.
Figure 5 shows a top view where both the sweep screw conveyor and the link are
in an intermediate position.
Figure 6 shows a top view where both the sweep screw conveyor and the link are
in the extreme clockwise position.
Figure 7 shows a side view where both the sweep screw conveyor and the link
are in the extreme counter-clockwise position (position as shown in Figure 6).
Figure 8 shows a side view where both the sweep screw conveyor and the link
are in the extreme counter-clockwise position and in addition, the sweep screw
conveyor has been rotated upwards to a position approximately parallel with
the
auger tube of the portable auger.
Figure 9 shows a side view of a transport position, where the sweep screw
conveyor has been rotated upwards to a position approximately parallel with
the
auger tube of the portable auger, and in addition, the bottom end of the
portable
auger has been raised.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figure 1 where a
portable auger unit 1 and a low-profile sweep unit 2 are shown. The portable
auger unit 1 is similar to the conventional augers currently used in the
industry.
Auger unit 1 has an auger tube 3 that is typically supported by auger wheels
4,
auger frame 5 and a raise/lower device 6. The grain moving items of the auger
portion are the auger tube 3 and the auger screw conveyor 7. The auger screw
conveyor 7 is shown at the auger inlet 8 and the auger screw conveyor 7
extends
inside the auger tube 3 from the auger inlet 8 up to the location of the auger
discharge 9. Sweep unit 2 is shown engaged in a grain pile 10. The grain is
moved toward the auger inlet 8 by the sweep unit 2. Grain is then delivered to
the
lower end of the auger screw conveyor 7 and moved upward through the auger
tube 3 by the auger screw conveyor 7. The grain drops out of the auger tube 3
at
the auger discharge 9 and into a waiting truck 11. The grain pile 10 is a
loading
area that might be a flat-bottomed bin or a free-standing grain pile.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show additional details of the sweep unit 2 attached to
the
lower end of the auger tube 3 and more specifically at auger inlet frame 12.
For
clarity, the auger screw conveyor 7 has been removed from Figure 2 and from
Figure 3. Sweep screw conveyor 13 is attached to the shaft of the sweep motor
14 at shaft connection 15. Sweep motor 14 is pivotally connected to link 16 at
link-motor pivot 17. Link-motor pivot 17 allows rotation about a vertical axis
as
well as some limited rotation about a horizontal axis. This additional
rotation
about a horizontal axis is designed to allow up and down movement, to enable
the sweep screw conveyor 13 to follow the plane of the floor 18 and properly
clean the grain from floor 18. Link 16 is pivotally attached below the auger
inlet
frame 12 at auger-link pivot 19. Auger-link pivot 19 is a substantially
vertical axis
but will vary from vertical, depending on the orientation of the auger tube 3.
Auger-link pivot 19 is also designed to allow additional movement to enable
the
sweep screw conveyor 13 to follow the plane of the floor 18. The angular
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relationship between the sweep screw conveyor 13 and the auger tube 3 will
vary, depending on a number of things not the least of which is the angle
setting
of the auger tube 3.
One method of achieving the connection between the auger inlet frame 12 and
the link-motor pivot is to use an angled mount plate 20 in combination with a
straight mount plate 21. The vertical portion of the angled mount plate 20 is
attached to the lower members of the auger inlet frame 12 and also to the
straight mount plate 21. The horizontal portion of the angled mount plate 20,
has
a hole in it that forms part of the auger-link pivot 19. The straight mount
plate 21
is attached to the auger inlet frame 12 and also attached to the angled mount
plate 20. Straight mount plate 21 also has a hole in it that forms part of the
auger-
link pivot 19. By properly constructing the angled mount plate 20 and the
straight
mount plate 21, the vertical portion of the angled mount plate 20 provides a
stop
to limit the rotation of the link 16 as can be seen in Figure 4.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the sweep screw conveyor 13 oriented away from
the auger tube 3. This is the intermediate position for the sweep screw
conveyor
13 relative to the auger tube 3. The link 16 is able to pivot about auger-link
pivot
19 from an approximate extreme position shown in Figure 4 to an approximate
extreme position shown in Figure 6. In Figure 4, link 16 is rotated to the
furthest
extreme counter-clockwise position and has made contact with the vertical
portion of angled plate 20. In Figure 5, link 16 is rotated to an oblique
angle
relative to the auger tube 3, as is typical as the sweep screw conveyor 13
makes
its way around the lower end of the auger tube 3. In Figure 6, link 16 is
rotated to
the furthest extreme clockwise position and has made contact with the vertical
portion of angled plate 20 on the opposite side compared to the orientation in
Figure 4. Of course, in all of the positions of link 16, the sweep motor 14
complete with the sweep screw conveyor 13, is free to rotate about the link-
motor
pivot 17. Figure 4 shows the sweep screw conveyor 13 at a position
approximately ninety degrees relative to link 16. Figure 5 shows the sweep
screw
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conveyor 13 at a position approximately aligned with link 16. Figure 4 shows
the
sweep screw conveyor 13 rotated about link 16 to a position parallel to and
alongside of auger tube 3. This would typically be the starting position for
the
sweep screw conveyor 13 when beginning the process of cleaning out the floor
18 of a flat-bottomed bin.
Figure 7 shows a side view of the sweep screw conveyor 13 in a similar
orientation relative to the auger tube 3 as shown in Figure 4 or in Figure 6.
The
sweep screw conveyor 13 is shown rotated all the way counter-clockwise (when
viewed from above) about the lower end of auger tube 3 in Figure 4, while
keeping the sweep screw conveyor in contact with the bin floor 18. The sweep
screw conveyor 13 is shown rotated all the way clockwise (when viewed from
above) about the lower end of auger tube 3 in Figure 6.
Figure 8 shows the sweep screw conveyor 13 rotated about the horizontal axis
at
link-motor pivot 17 and supported in this position by a transport cradle 22.
This
feature of the invention allows the sweep screw conveyor 13 to be
approximately
aligned with the auger tube 3, securing the sweep screw conveyor 13 to be
stored for long periods in this orientation. It also allows the unit the
capability of
being transported in this manner. In addition, this combination is a very
compact
unit and is able to fit into the doorway of many flat-bottomed grain bins.
This
means that the sweep screw conveyor 13 can be carried into position in a grain
bin by the auger unit 1 and eliminate significant manual labor for the
operator.
The transport position of the auger unit 1 complete with the sweep unit 2 and
the
sweep screw conveyor 13 is shown in Figure 9.
Additional items that add to the performance of the sweep screw conveyor 13
are
shown in Figure 5. The back plate 23 is pivotally attached to the axis of the
sweep screw conveyor 13. The back plate 23 follows the sweep screw conveyor
13 and cleans the floor 18. A sweep driver 24 is rigidly attached to the sweep
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screw conveyor 13 and provides a forward driving force to the screw conveyor
13. As the screw conveyor 13 rotates, the sweep driver 24 contacts the floor
18
with each rotation and the friction between the sweep driver 24 and the floor
propels the screw conveyor 13 forward, into the grain pile 10. Both the back
plate
23 and the sweep driver 24 are common in the bin sweep industry.
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVLEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A sweep auger system for moving granular material, where the sweep
apparatus utilizes a pivot coupling means to attach the sweep auger
system to the intake end of a portable screw conveyor auger, said pivot
coupling means being substantially located below the inlet of the portable
auger.
2. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein said coupling means includes an
arm, a primary pivot located under the centerline of the screw conveyor of
the portable auger, mounted in such a manner to allow said arm rotation
limited to approximately 180 degrees
3. A system as defined in claim 2 wherein there is framework below the
intake end of the portable auger that supports the lower end of the
portable auger in a slightly raised position to allow said arm to rotate and
pass under the outer, lower extremity of the portable auger.
4. A system as defined in claim 3 wherein the secondary pivot of the said
arm is pivotally attached to the sweep auger drive motor, said pivot
allowing rotation about a vertical axis and a horizontal axis.
5. A system as defined in claim 4 wherein the length of the said arm is
slightly more than the sum of the radius of the portable auger tube and the
radius of the sweep auger, sufficient in length to allow the sweep auger to
rotate freely from one side of the portable auger to the other side of the
portable auger.
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ELEMENTS NUMBERED ON FIGURES:
1. Auger unit
2. Sweep unit
3. Auger tube
4. Auger wheels
5. Auger frame
6. Raise/lower device
7. Auger screw conveyor
8. Auger inlet
9. Auger discharge
10. Grain pile
11. Truck
12.Auger inlet frame
13. Sweep screw conveyor
14. Sweep motor
15. Shaft connection
16. Link
17. Link-motor pivot
18. Floor
19. Auger-link pivot
20. Angled mount plate
21. Straight mount plate
22. Transport cradle
23. Grain plate
24. Sweep driver
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