Patent ID: 7967542

Claim:
A sweep auger assembly for use in a storage bin for particulate material having a bin floor and a generally cylindrical bin wall upstanding from the floor and a discharge apparatus for discharging material from a center of the bin floor to an exterior location, the sweep auger assembly comprising: a sweep auger arranged to be pivotally supported at an inner end of the sweep auger for location adjacent the center of the bin so as to extend therefrom across the floor to an outer end for movement of the outer end of the sweep auger about a periphery of the bin for sweeping movement of the sweep auger over the floor; a mounting member to be mounted at the center of the bin for supporting the inner end of the sweep auger; the sweep auger including an auger shaft, an auger flight mounted on the shaft, a motor for driving rotation of the auger shaft about a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and a shroud for partly surrounding the flight at least at the rear; the shroud including two end plates at right angles to the shaft each including a support for a respective end of the shaft, including an inner end plate and an outer end plate spaced radially outwardly from the mounting member; and a drive assembly for driving the sweep auger in rotation around the mounting member, the drive assembly comprising: a hydraulic motor with a drive shaft thereon; a wheel carried on the drive shaft of the hydraulic motor so as to be driven in rotation by the drive shaft in response to supply of hydraulic fluid to the motor; and a mounting assembly for mounting the hydraulic motor on the sweep auger at the outer end plate, the mounting assembly being arranged to locate the wheel adjacent the outer end plate with the shaft of the motor parallel to the auger shaft and with the wheel in engagement with the bin floor such that rotation of the wheel driven by the drive shaft of the motor causes rotation of the sweep auger around the bin.