Bin unloading apparatus

A bin unloading apparatus comprising:

• a bin having a bin floor and a peripheral bin wall;
• a housing attached to the bin floor, the housing defining an interior cavity and having a lower portion rotatable about a vertical axis of the housing with an intake opening and a stationary upper portion with an output opening;
• a sweep auger secured to the rotatable lower portion of the housing, the sweep auger having a sweep auger flight with a first end extending through the intake opening and a second end, the rotatable portion rotating as the sweep auger rotates about the axis;
• a shroud covering the sweep auger flight, the shroud having an elongate intake aperture facing a direction of travel of the sweep auger, such that as the sweep auger moves radially material passes through the elongate intake aperture and is moved by the sweep auger along a passage defined by the shroud through the intake opening into the interior cavity of the housing;
• a discharge auger having a hollow tubular discharge auger tube connected to the housing and a discharge auger flight, the discharge auger having a first end extending through the output opening and a second end;
• a vertical lift auger flight disposed in the interior cavity of the housing having a lower end and an upper end, the lower end being connected through a first gear box with the first end of the sweep auger flight;
• a closure on the top of the upper portion of the housing movable between a closed position and an open position such that when the closure is in the open position material falls from above onto the first end of the discharge auger flight;
• an activation rod having a first end secured to the closure and a second end disposed outside of the bin whereby the closure is movable between the closed and open positions from outside of the bin;
• drive means disposed exteriorly of the bin for driving the second end of the discharge auger flight and the upper end of the vertical lift auger;
• wherein the intake aperture of the shroud is substantially continuous along the length of the sweep auger flight and wherein there is provided a movable flow regulator member that restricts the size of the elongate intake aperture on the shroud, the member comprising an elongate flap member extending substantially along the full length of the sweep auger flight with the flap member being movable in a direction transverse to the length to increase and decrease a distance of a bottom edge of the flap member from the bin floor.