Under floor unloading system for a crop storage bin

A crop storage bin comprising:

• a substantially horizontal floor pad defining a horizontal pad surface;
• a bin wall arrangement mounted on the horizontal pad surface so as to stand upwardly therefrom and to define with the horizontal pad surface a container for a crop material;
• a pit arranged below the pad surface into which crop material can fall from the horizontal pad surface;
• the pit extending from a center of the floor pad to one side edge of the floor pad leaving a remainder of the horizontal floor pad on each side of the pit;
• the pit having a first opening into the pit adjacent the center of the horizontal floor pad for passage of crop material from the horizontal pad surface to the pit, the first opening having a door operable to be moveable from a closed position preventing discharge of material through the opening into the pit to an open position allowing discharge of the material into the pit by gravity to a bottom collection location of the pit below the opening;
• the pit extending to a position beyond the bin wall at said one side edge of the horizontal floor pad so as to provide an exterior opening outside the bin wall;
• the pit being shaped such that a straight line from the bottom collection location of the pit extending through the exterior opening extends to an exterior location outside the bin wall raised from the ground whereby the pit can cooperate with an auger standing outside the container with an inclined auger tube extending downwardly from a top discharge end of the auger at the exterior location to a bottom feed end of the auger at the bottom collection location of the pit;
• and the pit having a second opening spaced along the pit adjacent the bin wall.

A method for unloading crop material from a storage bin comprising:

• providing a crop storage bin;
• providing for the crop storage bin a substantially horizontal floor pad defining a horizontal pad surface;
• providing for the crop storage bin a bin wall arrangement mounted on the pad so as to stand upwardly therefrom and to define with the horizontal pad surface a container for a crop material;
• providing a pit arranged below the horizontal pad surface into which crop material can fall from the horizontal pad surface;
• forming the pit as an elongate trough extending from a center of the floor pad to one side edge of the floor pad leaving a remainder of the horizontal floor pad on each side of the pit on which the crop material sits;
• providing a horizontal cover over the pit at the horizontal floor pad with at least one opening in the horizontal cover for material to fall from the horizontal floor pad into the pit;
• opening a door from a closed position preventing discharge of material through the opening in the horizontal cover into the pit to an open position allowing discharge of the material into the pit by gravity to a bottom of the pit below the opening in the horizontal cover;
• providing the pit so as to extend to a position beyond the bin wall at said one side edge of the horizontal floor pad so as to provide for the pit an exterior opening outside the bin wall;
• providing an auger on an undercarriage support standing on the ground outside the bin wall with an inclined auger tube extending downwardly from a top discharge end of the auger to a bottom feed end of the auger, the undercarriage support being adjustable so as to adjust an angle of inclination the inclined auger tube relative to the horizontal;
• inserting the bottom feed end portion of the inclined auger tube into the pit through the exterior opening at a selected angle of inclination so as to extend to the bottom of the pit for extracting the material falling into the pit through the opening in the horizontal cover for transport by the auger to the top discharge end at a position spaced from the ground for discharge downwardly into a receptacle;
• and subsequently removing the auger from the pit for use at another storage bin.