Grain Bin Sump Control With Automatic Intermediate Sump Lock-Out Assembly

A grain bin sump control comprising:

• a sump control housing;
• a center sump control shaft extending from the sump control housing and operably coupled to a center sump gate to move the center sump gate of a center sump from a closed center gate position to an open center gate position in response to manual rotation of the center sump control shaft in a center sump opening direction using a driving handle mounted on to the center sump control shaft;
• an intermediate sump control shaft extending from the sump control housing and operably coupled to an intermediate sump gate of an intermediate sump to move the intermediate sump gate from a closed intermediate gate position to an open intermediate gate position in response to manual rotation of the center sump control shaft in an intermediate sump opening direction using the driving handle mounted on the intermediate sump control shaft;
• and
• an automatic intermediate sump lock-out assembly, including:
• a lock-out pinion coupled to the center sump control shaft to rotate therewith;
• a lock-out slide including a rack and a blocking cover that includes a blocking cover leg;
• and
• a lock-out guide coupled to the sump control housing and forming a guide channel, and the lock-out slide being received in the guide channel with the lock-out pinion drivingly coupled to the rack to move the lock-out slide along the guide channel from a lock-out position in which the blocking cover leg extends over a handle mounting end of the intermediate sump control shaft to prevent the driving handle from being mounted on the intermediate sump control shaft, to an unlocked position in which the blocking cover leg is positioned away from the handle mounting end of the intermediate sump control shaft to permit the driving handle to be mounted on the intermediate sump control shaft from the handle mounting end of the intermediate sump control shaft, in response to manual rotation of the center sump control shaft in the center sump opening direction.