Patent ID: 7305777

Claim:
An auger for use in a snow throwing machine configured to move snow toward an associated impeller of said snow throwing machine, said auger comprising: an auger shaft and a plurality of individual flytes detachably mounted on said auger shaft, each flyte comprising a central hub and two generally hemispherically-shaped fins surrounding the central hub, wherein each flyte is mounted on the auger shaft using a shear pin extending through the central hub and auger shaft, and wherein each fin comprises a base portion extending from the hub and an arcuate portion bent at an angle intersecting a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the axis of the auger shaft, wherein a first fin is bent from the longitudinal axis at a first angle and a second fin is bent from the longitudinal axis in the opposite direction such that the fins form generally an X-shape, wherein each fin extends substantially 180 degrees such that a leading edge on the fin of a first flyte is substantially joined to a trailing edge on the fin of an adjacent flyte so that outer peripheral edges of adjacent flytes jointly form a helix around the auger shaft.