Sioux Steel Obtains New Patent

United States Patent No. 11,104,528

Our firm assisted one of our clients, Sioux Steel Company, of Sioux Falls, SD in obtaining U.S. Patent No. 11,104,528 on a “BIN SWEEP SYSTEM WITH CONTOURED PADDLES.”  This patent protects aspects of a bin sweep system which is utilized to help move particulate material, typically grain, out of the interior of a storage bin by moving the grain towards a central sump in the bin floor through which the grain is conveyed out of the bin.  Sioux Steel has developed many innovations in bin sweeps utilizing paddles to move the grain across the bin floor rather than using more conventional screw augers.  In this particular innovation, the paddles of the bin sweep are contoured or curved in a manner that helps to keep the grain from slipping away from the front face of the paddle as the paddle moves toward the center of the bin floor.  The inventive curved paddles thus improve the efficiency with which the grain is moved across the bin floor, speeding up the process of clearing the grain from the bin interior.

Written By: Jeffrey A. Proehl