A grain bin sweep apparatus includes a plurality of elongated grain impellers positioned adjacent a floor of a bin and having an inner ends rotatably supported at a central area of the bin and having an outer ends connected to an endless drive chain mounted in a guide track extending about an outer periphery of the bin and a drive motor engaged with the chain and operable to cause the chain to angularly sweep the impellers about the bin floor to thereby move the grain toward a grain exit of the bin.

A device (20) for distribution of solid particles (22) for loading a vessel with solid particles, comprising a solid particles feed hopper (21), a rotating member and a drive member for driving in rotation said rotating member about a rotation axis, and a set of at least one deflector element (25, 25′, 25″) carried by said rotating member and erected, or adapted to be erected, on rotation of the shaft, relative to the rotation axis, in which device the feed hopper defines a set of at least one opening (29) conformed in an asymmetric manner relative to the rotation axis, defining at most one plane of symmetry passing through the rotation axis.

A sweep conveyor assembly is provided for use in a silo or granary (70) having a floor (71), a generally cylindrical wall (72) upstanding from the floor (71) and a discharge apparatus (1) for discharging material (74) from a centre of the floor (71) to an exterior location. The sweep conveyor assembly has a sweep conveyor (S) for transporting material (74) inside the silo (S) or granary towards the centre of the floor (71) where it can be discharged by the discharge apparatus (1), a holder (H), and a link mechanism (8) for connecting the sweep conveyor (S) to the holder (H), and in turn having a connection link (L) with a first end (83) and a second end (84). The first end (83) is connected to the holder (H) at a fixed pivot point and the sweep conveyor (S) is connected to the second end (84) of the connection link (L) at a movable pivot point. The connection link (L) rotates about the fixed pivot point, forming a first angle () between the connection link (L) and the holder (H), and the sweep conveyor (S) rotates about the movable pivot point, forming a second angle () between the sweep conveyor (S) and the connection link (L). The link mechanism (8) controls a ratio between the first angle () and the second angle (), with a magnitude of the first angle () and second angle () controlled by an angular position of the sweep conveyor (S).

The present invention relates to a sweep conveyor assembly for use in a silo or granary (70) having a floor (71) and a generally cylindrical wall (72) upstanding from the floor (71) and a discharge apparatus (1) for discharging material (74) from a centre of the floor (71) to an exterior location, the sweep conveyor (S) assembly comprising: a sweep conveyor (S) for transporting material (74) inside the silo (S) or granary towards the centre of the floor (71) where it can be discharged by the discharge apparatus (1), a holder (H), a link mechanism (8) for connecting the sweep conveyor (S) to the holder (H), said link mechanism (8) comprising a connection link (L) having a first end (83) and a second end (84), said first end (83) being configured to be connected to the holder (H) at a fixed pivot point and the sweep conveyor (S) being configured to be connected to the second end (84) of the connection link (L) at a movable pivot point, wherein the connection link (L) is arranged to rotate about the fixed pivot point, forming a first angle (+) between the connection link (L) and the holder (H) and wherein further the sweep conveyor (S) is arranged to rotate about the movable pivot point, forming a second angle () between the sweep conveyor (S) and the connection link (L), and wherein the link mechanism (8) is arranged to control a relation between the first angle () and the second angle (), and a magnitude of the first angle () and second angle () is controlled by an angular position of the sweep conveyor (S).

A device (20) for distribution of solid particles (22) for loading a vessel with solid particles, comprising a solid particles feed hopper (21), a rotating member and a drive member for driving in rotation said rotating member about a rotation axis, and a set of at least one deflector element (25, 25, 25) carried by said rotating member and erected, or adapted to be erected, on rotation of the shaft, relative to the rotation axis, in which device the feed hopper defines a set of at least one opening (29) conformed in an asymmetric manner relative to the rotation axis, defining at most one plane of symmetry passing through the rotation axis.

A grain bin sweep apparatus includes a plurality of elongated grain impellers positioned adjacent a floor of a bin and having an inner ends rotatably supported at a central area of the bin and having an outer ends connected to an endless drive chain mounted in a guide track extending about an outer periphery of the bin and a drive motor engaged with the chain and operable to cause the chain to angularly sweep the impellers about the bin floor to thereby move the grain toward a grain exit of the bin.

A sweep system having for removal of grain from a grain bin is presented. The sweep system has an elongated body extending a length between an inward end and an outward end and having a leading side and a trailing side. The elongated body is connected to a pivot point at the center of the grain bin and is configured to rotate around the pivot point. An agitator is connected to the outward end of the elongated body and is configured to agitate grain as the elongated body rotates around the pivot point. In one or more arrangements, the agitator is configured to support the sweep system on a floor of the grain bin. In one or more arrangements, the agitator is configured to move the sweep system forward during operation to facilitate rotation of the sweep system.