Apparatus for aerating stored grain

Claim 2

A grain-moving apparatus for operation within an enclosure, the apparatus comprising: means including a vertically disposed, movable element; conveyor means supporting said element means, said conveyor means rotatable about its own axis in one direction of rotation to move said element means back and forth on said conveyor means; means connected to the enclosure for supporting said conveyor means; and power means for rotating said conveyor means.

Claim 3

A grain-moving apparatus as defined in claim 1, and further wherein said conveyor means includes a horizontally disposed member having a circular cross section substantially its entire length.

Claim 4

A grain-moving apparatus as defined in claim 2, and further wherein said member has a smooth outer surface of a constant diameter substantially its entire length.

Claim 5

A grain-moving apparatus as defined in claim 1, and further wherein said element means includes a frame unit mounted on said conveyor means and upon which said element is movably mounted, and includes further friction means engaged with said conveyor means and responsive to rotation of said conveyor means in one direction of rotation to move said frame unit alternately in opposite directions of rotation.

Claim 6

A grain-moving apparatus as defined in claim 4, and further wherein a pair of plates are secured to said conveyor means on opposite sides of said frame unit, and which plates are alternately engageable by said friction means, said friction means movable upon engagement with one plate to a first position wherein said frame unit is moved in one direction axially of said conveyor means, and said friction means movable upon engagement with the other plate to a second position wherein said frame unit is moved in an opposite direction axially of said conveyor means.

Claim 7

A grain-moving apparatus as defined in claim 5, and further wherein said friction means includes a circular member in frictional engagement with said conveyor means and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said conveyor means, said circular member in said first position of said friction means rotatable in a first plane angularly related to the plane of rotation of said conveyor and in said second position of said friction means rotatable in a second plane angularly related to the plane of rotation of said conveyor, said first and second planes on opposite sides of said conveyor plane.

Claim 8

A grain-moving apparatus as defined in claim 5, and further wherein said friction means includes a trio of articulated rod members the outer two of which are pivotally connected At one end each to an end of the middle rod member such that all three rod members are connected in a line, said middle rod having a roller rotatably mounted thereon which is rotatable about said middle rod as an axis, said frame unit having a pair of loop elements secured thereto in spaced relation and aligned with the axis of said conveyor means, each loop element loosely receiving an outer rod member and whereby each rod member is movable in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of said conveyor means, the outer end of each outer rod member engageable with one of said plates, rotation of a plate with said conveyor means capable of changing the relative positions of said rod members to each other and to said conveyor means, said middle rod member having opposite angular relationships to the longitudinal axis of said conveyor means in said first and second positions of said friction means.