CA1082120A - Ring type silo unloader - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention relates to a silo unloader which has a center ring supported through a support framework from a single centrally located cable, and a silo unloader is mounted for rotation relative to the ring. The ring is held from rotation through the use of a torque arm, and the unloader is driven for rotation by the same motor which powers the other standard silo unloader components. A chain encompasses the support ring and the drive sprocket and motor orbits around the ring with the silo unloader, which moves in a circular path for gathering and unloading silage through conventional means.
The assembly can be suspended at the top of silos in which it is used.

Description

The presen~ invention relates to ring type supports and drives for silo unloaders.
Silo unloaders which utilize a support ring mounted in the silo have been known in the prior art. In most of these, some type of a drive wheel that engages the ring is used s~h~as a gear or toothed wheel, or a friction wheel. U.S. Patent No.
3,912,090 illustrates a support ring that is suspended in the silo, and an unloader is supported on rollers relative to the ring. The unloader is driven through the use of a sprocket type drive wheel as shown in Figure 6 of this patent. Problems which can occur with this type of drive are quite obvious, in that the ring will tend to deflect, and the drive sprocket may slip, and also the cost of forming the ring with holes punched through it for the drive wheel is quite high. --Another type of support ring is shown in United States Patent No. 2,678,241 which illustrates a ring that has a silo unloader supported on rollers, but wherein the drive for the ~
silo unloader is through the use of a wheel that engages the ~-surface of the silage being unloaded.
Another type of ring type silo unloader wherein the silo unloader is driven through a chain arrangement with the drive motor staying stationary to rotate the gathering mechanism -~
is shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,580,306 issued to Leach et al. In this device, it can be seen that the drive will be subjected to relatively high loads because the direct drive to the rotating mechanism is from a relatively small diameter drive sprocket. -The chain tension necessary for rotating the unit is therefore also quite high.
The present invention relates to a ring type silo ~ ' z~ :

unloader wherein the support ring forms a track, and the silo unloader device rotates relative to the ring. The ring is suspended in the silo during use. The ring may be held from rotation relative to the silo through the use of a torque arm.
The rotating silo unloader assembly is supported on the ring for rotation, and is driven relative to the ring through the use of a driving sprocket mounted on the silage gathering frame of the unloader (the drive sprocket rotates with the silo unloader) which drives itself around the ring through a chain which is wrapped around the ring and guided in ~ -a suitable member. In other words, the drive sprocket orbits the ring, and while the ring doesn't rotate, the chain on the ring will lift away from the ring to permit the sprocket to orbit or drive around the ring and thereby rotationally drive the silo unloader. Because the drive sprocket is spaced outwardly from the axis of rotation in a substantial distance (it is outside the ring) excessive loads are not encountered -during normal operation of the silo unloader when rotating it 20 about the silo and about the ring. -~
The ring suspension may form a single cable as shown and the torque arm may permit some limited movement of the ~ -ring relative to the silo. Other features of the specific embodiment are described below. ~ ~
The ring is chordally braced with suitable compression ~`
braces, certain ones of which may be moved out of their normal position to permit filling through the ring. The struts or braces that extend above the ring toward the center carry both tension and compression load and are spaced apart to form an open : '~

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framework. There is sufficient space between adjacent braces so that filling of the silo may be accomplished where a center diverter is used and an auxiliary hoisting pulley offset from the central axis of the ring is provided to suspend the ring and silo unloader to one side for wall clearance when raising the unloader for filling.
The main ring is made with upper and lower flanges, and an insert channel is used in the ring. The insert channel has an upper flange that cooperates with the upper flange of the main ring to define a channel for the drive chain. The lower flange of the insert channel rests on the lower flange of the main channel, and rollers which support the silo unloader ride on the lower flange of the insert channel. The insert channel is made so that it can be inverted, so that if the lower flange on which the support rollers ride tends to wear, the in-sert can be placed upside down and the previous upper flange of the insert will be used as the support surface for the support rollers.
The ring and insert channel are made in suitable -sections that can be easily formed and rolled, and then assembled to form the continuous ring. Because an external chain is util-ized, the ring does not have to be made to as close tolerances as it does when a drive sprocket or friction drive wheel is used ~ -in e~gagement with the ring, and some variations in size can be accommodated. The drive is relatively low cost, and does not require excessive forces or torques for driving.
The silo wall guide wheels for the silo unloader are mounted on olding arms so that the wheels can be folded up-wardly when the silo unloader is raised for filling operations .. . . . . :
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to permit the silo unloader assembly to be raised into the dome of the silo, and also to be offset from the center line of the silo for filling.
Additionally, the torque arm assembly which normally keeps the ring structure from rotating during unloading opera-tions is provided with two mounting locations, one of which will permit the rotation of the silo unloader to a position wherein a selected space between the diagonal braces and the other braces for the ring can be directed toward the input chute or spout of a silo filler, to permit the silo to be filled through the ring and across a deflector or distributor that may be mounted on the silo unloader if desired. The torque arm will ~;
hold the silo unloader in a desired position during this filling -~
operation. As stated, the chordal ring braces can be made to -permit moving the certain braces out of the way to provide clearance through the ring for filling.
In the drawings~
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a silo having an un- `
loader assembly made according to the present invention installed -thereon;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the device of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the ring structure of enlarged scale from that shown in Figure l;
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken as on line 4--4 ~ -in Figure l;
Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the details of mounting a pulley member used for cable suspension;
Figure 6 is a side view of a wall wheel and support arm in folded position; and Figures 7 and 8 are detail exterior and interior views respectively of the splice used for the support ring.
Referring primarily to Figures 1 and 2 for a general orientation, the silo unloader assembly illustrated generally at ~-10 is mounted in an upright silo having an annular wall 11 of conventional design, and as shown the silo 11 has openings 12.
The silo chute 13 is provided in the normal manner and extends past the door openings 12. As shown, the silo has silage indicated at 14 therein.
The silo unloader assembly 10 includes a support ring 15 of substantial diameter that forms the main support member for the silage gathering augers, and blower and drive motor.
The ring 15 has evenly spaced uprightly extending members 16 around the periphery thereof (there are six around the periphery).
Each of these members supports an upwardly inclined brace 17 which is attached to its respective upright member 16. Thus there are six braces, and each of them is fastened to a member 16, and extends upwardly and inwardly toward the central axis of the ring 15. This can perhaps best be seen in Figures 1 and 2.
At the upper ends of the braces 17 there is a central mounting plate 18 to which each of the braces 17 is secured. The braces 17 are attached through bolts or other suitable fasteners, to provide an overhead framework that meets at the center. The ~;
plate 18 has a sleeve indicated at 21 fixedly mounted thereon that is coaxial with respect to the ring 15. The sleeve 21 in turn slidably carries a tube 22. The upper end of the tube 22 has a yoke 23 in which a pulley 24 is rotatably mounted. The ~--tube 22 extends through the sleeve 21, and is axially retained : ~ -_5_ ~

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o relative to the sleeve 21 with compression collars 25 at the lower end of the tube which are held in place with suitable pins.
The rotational position of the tube 22 relative to the sleeve 21 is controlled through the use of set screws 26 threaded in wall of sleeve 21 so that the axis of rotation of the pulley 24 can be held in any desired angular position relative to the sleeve 21.
A suspension cable 27 has one end fixed to a normal upper silo tripod which mounts on the upper edges of the silo walls. The cable is reeved over pulley 24 and returns to a winch which is used for controlling upward and downward movement of the silo unloader through cable 27. The tripod is of con-ventional design normally used for silo unloaders, and the winch mechanism can be any desired type of design as well.
During filling the silo, the unloader can be supported through an auxiliary support pulley assembly which is illustrated ~ -at 30. This auxiliary pulley assembly is mounted onto a support brace 31 which is secured to the ring 15 and is also secured to the plate 18. The brace 31 is formed by two spaced apart members as shown, and between these two members there is a sleeve 32 secured in position parallel to the sleeve 21 and of the same size as sleeve 21, but offset from the center of the ring 15 as shown. The sleeve 32 is used for mounting a yoke 33 having a pulley 34 rotatably mounted therein. The yoke 33 is mounted onto a tube 35 which extends through sleeve 32, and is held axially with a collar 36 at the lower end of the tube 35. -Suitable set screws 37 in the wall of sleeve 32 also are used ~ -for securing the tube 35 in its desired rotational position for use. The tube 22 and attached pulley may be used in sleeve 32 ~-rather than having a completely separate assembly.

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Pulley 34 is utilized with a cable for lifting the silo unloader during filling operations where an offset of the unloader from the center line is necessary to move the unloader away from the silo wall for clearance when hoisting the unloader.
The ring 15 is used to support a rotating silo gather-ing and discharging mechanism (the operational silo unloader portion) illustrated generally at 40. The unloader portion that rotates relative to ring 15 comprises a subframe 41 which in-cludes main auger frame members 42 that are of conventional design, and which extend laterally above an auger assembly 43 which is used for gathering the silage in from the outer portions of the silo. The augers move the silage inwardly toward the discharge impeller 44, which is of conventional design. The impeller 44 is also carried directly on the frame members 42.
Suitable counterweight support members 44A extend in an opposite direction from the auger assemblies 43 to support a counter-weight 45 which is adjustable along the length of the counter- -weight support members. The counterweight support members are mounted on and rotate with the subframe.
Cross frame members indicated generally at 46 are also provided, and each of these frame members carries a support ~-roller that rotationally mounts and supports subframe assembly 41 with respect to the ring 15. The cross members 46 as shown have upright posts 47 (see Figure 2) on which part conical sur-face rollers 48 are rotatably mounted. The rollers 48 are cut so that the side surfaces engage the lower flange 50B of a roller track insert channel 51. The frame members 42 carry a support 52 which extends between the members 42 on an opposite side of the ring from the counterweights. The support 52 has an upright . .
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member 53 thereon (Figure 2) and the upright member 53 also supports a roller 48 as shown for rotatable movement along the flange 50B of the roller track insert channel 51.
The ring 15 as shown is a channel shape, having out-wardly extending flanges 15A and 15B at the upper and lower edges thereof. The roller track insert 51 is also a channel shaped member and has the flange 50B at the lower edge, and a flange 50A at its upper edge. The channel shaped member 51 is curved to conform to ring 15, and is fastened to the ring 15 on the outer surface thereof in a suibable manner such as through the use of bolts. The ring 15 is made into individual part annular sections that are fastened together with suitable splicing plates or other means for joining it into the complete ring structure as will be explained in connection with Figures 7 and 8. The track insert channel has sections too, but they span the splices of ring 15 and are bolted in place on the ring.
The frame members 42 extend outwardly beyond the ring 15 and a support member 55 is attached on the opposite side of the ring from support 52. An elongated, part annularly extend-ing rail 56 is mounted to the support 55. The rail extendslaterally from the members 42 and is on the outside of the ring 15. The opposite ends of the rail 56 each have an upright mem-ber 56A supporting a roller 48 which engage the flange 50B of the insert channel 51.
A flanged guide roller indicated generally at 60 is ~
used on the interior of the ring adjacent to the support rollers --48. The guide rollers 6~ are rotatably mounted about a vertical axis, and have a lower flange 62 (see Figure 4) which rides under the lower edge of the ring 15, and the rollers have an inner center column 63 that rides on the inside of the ring 15.
Thus the backing of guide rollers 60 support the ring 15 and insure that the outer rollers 48, which support the silo unloader assembly relative to the ring do not slip out of the lower flange 50B of the track insert channel 51. Adjacent rail 56, one roller 60 is used and is positioned midway between the ends of the rail.
The track insert channel 51 is positioned on the ring 15, so that the upper flange 50A is spaced from and below the upper flange 15A of the ring 15. The flanges 15A and 50A define a track into which a suitable link chain indicated at 66 can be placed. The chain 66 surrounds the ring 15 as shown and is used as a drive connection. -The support 55, which is shown perhaps best in Figure 4 also, mounts a suitable gear box such a~ a worm gear box in-dicated at 70, and the output shaft of the gear box indicated at 71 has a sprocket 72 mounted thereon. Sprocket 72 drivably engages the chain 66 as shown. A suitable chain idler sprocket 73 is ~-mounted onto an upright support 74 that is also attached to the support 55, and because the entire silo unloader assembly includ-ing the frame members 42, and the supports 46 as well as the members carried thereby are mounted as a unit and are free to rotate relative to the ring 15, power rotation can be accom-plished by driving sprocket 72 so that it will drive through the chain 66 and will orbit around the ring 15 as it drives.
The power is provided by an electric motor 75 which is mounted onto a support 76, also carried by the frame members 42 80 that the motor rotates with the augers 43 and frame members 42 and 46. Electric power is transmitted to the motor through a suitable slip ring assembly in the center of the ring 15 which -: . : .. .
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~ ~ 8 ~1~0 operates through a swivel leading from the blower or impeller housing to a discharge gooseneck 77 in a normal manner. The slip ring assemblies are conventionally used in silo unloaders. The motor 75 in turn drives through suitable drive connections to rotate a shaft 78, which in turn drives a chain 79 that drives the input shaft 80 of the gear box 70. The shaft 78 is driven through a universal joint drive shaft 75B from a gear box 75A
located underneath the motor 75. The gear box 75A under the motor 75 also is used for powering the silage gathering augers in a conventional manner. The blower is driven from motor 75 through a suitable drive connection 75C.
Thus, the entire assembly supported from the ring 15 will rotate while supported and guided on the rollers 48 and the unloader will gather silage in the normal manner, bring it into the blower or impeller and it will be discharged from the blower through the gooseneck 77 and out through the openings 12. It -can be noted in Figure 1 that the gooseneck 77 is supported on ~
an upright support 83 which is mounted on a torque arm assembly ~ -that is shown at 84.
The tendency of the ring 15 to distort from a true circle during use is resisted by the use of the extra insert channel 51 forming the roller track, so the ring is strengthened.
The insert track sections 51 can be inverted if the lower flanges of the insert shown at 50B wears.
The ring 15 is kept from rotating by the torque arm -assembly 84 just previously mentioned. This torque arm assembly is directly underneath the gooseneck 77, and includes an exterior frame assembly 85 which comprises two members 85A and 85B that are spaced apart and extend parallel to each other. The members .

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85A and 85B are held together with suitable cross members and the assembly is ~astened to a pair of diverging arms 86 and 87, which in turn are pivotally mounted to pivot pins 88 and 89, respectively, which are fastened to upright supports fixed to the ring 15. The upright supports can be any type desired, and the pivot pins 88 and 89 receive the ends of the arms 86 and 87 and pivotally mount the arms for movement about a generally horizontal axis.
The frame members 85A and 85B in turn are used for 10 supporting a telescoping rod 90 which is mounted and guided by ;~
suitable rollers on the cross members holding the members 85A
and 85B together so that the rod 90 can telescope in and out in -a radial direction relative to the silo. The telescoping rod or arm member 90 has a bracket 91 thereon at the outer end which fits over the edge of the silo wall at the lower end of the silo -;
door opening 12 and can be clamped relative to the silo wall. ~
- Then it can be seen that the framework 85 acting through arms ~j 86 and 87 and the arm 90 will resist rotational movement of the ring 15 on which they are mounted and hold the ring and unloader 20 in proper position for operation during silo unloading. -~
As the silage is removed, the clamp 91 would also be moved down to the next lower door 12 in a normal manner.
The ring 15 is also internally braced against distor-tion through the use of chordal braces that extend between the upright members 16 to which the braces 17 are attached. These chordal braces are indicated generally at 100, and as can be seen, each of the braces extends across a 60 degree chord so that three of the braces 100 form a triangle. For sake of explanation, the three braces 101, 102 and 103 form a triangle and three .. . .
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o braces 104, 105 and 106 also form a different triangle. Where the braces cross, they may be fastened with suitable bolts 107 to obtain a very rigid bracing structure. The braces are at-tached to the upright members 16 with a common bolt which attaches the upwardly extending braces 17 to the member 16 as ~ell.
If desired, the frame members 46 can also be braced to the frame members 42 with suitable braces 110, as shown in Figure 3. Braces 110 rotate with the silo unloader assembly around the ring 15, while the braces that are indicated gener-ally at 100 do not rotate but stay stationary with and brace the ring.
In order to open a space through the braces 100 for filling silage, particularly where a deflector might be mounted on the unloader itself, the braces 101 and 104 are split into sections. For e~ample brace 101 is split into sections lOlA
and lOlB (Figure 3) and brace 104 is split into sections 104A
and 104B as well. These sections, lOlA and lOlB, and 104A and 104B, respectively, are joined together with a suitable bolt or cap screw so that they each act as a rigid brace, but the sections can be disconnected at their junction points indicated at lOlC and 104C, respectively. Then the junction bolt 107 between the sections lOlA and 104A can be removed and the brace portionæ lOlA and 104A moved to their dotted line positions of Figure 3 so that the space in this section of the ring 15 is unobstructed.
In order to properly orient the ring 15, the torque arm can be removed from its pivots 88 and 89 and mounted onto separate pivot pins indicated at 111 and 112 which are :~o~ o rotationally offset from the pins 88 and 89, and thus when the torque arm 84 is fastened adjacent a door 12 and is supported on pins 111 and 112, the quadrant left open by movement of the braces lOlA and 104A is properly aligned with respect to the doors. In this manner, the silo can be filled with the silage passing through the open portions of the ring.
The frame members 46 as shown extend outwardly from the ring 15 and have wall wheel assemblies indicated at 115 attached thereto (see Figure 1). The wall wheel assemblies are mounted onto telescoping arms 116 which are slidably, adjust-ably mounted relative to brackets 117 on an arm member 118.
The arms have a fixed length when in use. The arms 118 each include a biurcated inner end portion indicated at 118A.
The side members of the bifurcation 118A straddle the end of the respective member 46, as shown in Figure 1 and a pivot pin 47A is provided to mount the arm member 118 to the brace 46. The arm members 118 can thus be pivoted upwardly and tilted back over the ring 15 and silo unloader assembly to reduce the width of the wall wheels and permit the silo 20 unloader to be lifted further upwardly into the dome or roof -of a silo underneath the tripod and in this way be lifted com-pletely clear of many filling spouts so that the unloader won't interfere with filling.
The pulley 34 may be utilized for lifting the silo unloader and permits offsetting the central axis of the ring relative to the central axis of the silo for clearance.
The folding action relative to brace 46 is shown in Figure 6, and it can be seen that this will reduce the effec-tive diameter substantially.

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.- . ., 1~ 8 ~0 The supports for the counterweight also can be tele-scoped inwardly a substantial distance so that these weights 45 will be very close to the support 55 and reduce the overall size of the assembly, The channel inserts 51, as stated, can be inverted (switched end for end) so that the rollers 48 will run on flanges 50A rather than 50B. Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a typical splice for the section of the ring 15. The ends of the sections of the insert channel 51 overlaps the splice and aids in providing ri~idity.
The upright members 16 which are used for attached struts 17 and also the chordal braces, are used as a splice back-ing member. The member 16 is a channel having legs 16A and 16B
which extend inwardly from ring 15. A top cross member 16C is welded to legs 16A and 16B and the struts 17 and the chordal braces are bolted to the cross member 16C.
The base wall 16D of channel 16 is placed to overlap splice line 15C and is bolted with bolts 15D, which pass through the insert channel section 51 and through base wall 16D.
To resist tendencies of the splice to separate adjacent -the top flange 15A of the ring section, a pair of clips 15E and l5F are welded to the ring section adjacent the ends of each ring section and the channel 16 fits between the clips. A bolt 15G passed through the clips, through the legs 16A and 16B, and through a spacer 16F positioned between legs 16A and 16B. The bolt is tightened securely and resists any tendency of the splice 15C to separate as the silo unloader rotates. The suspension points are at the splice lines, as shown.
The splices thus are rigid and the channels 16 transfer . . , , , ~

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loads to the struts 17, which support the ring.
The struts 17, it should be noted, carry compression, as well as tension. Thus when the unloader is working and rotates around the ring, the struts 17 will resist in compression any tendency of the ring to distort or move upwardly, thereby in-creasing the ring rigidity greatly as compared to an arrange-ment using a cable suspension for an unloader support ring.
The ring 15 can move relative to the wall of the silo during use and orbits as the auger rotates. The suspension permits this orbit movement and the struts 17 carry both tension and compression during such movement. The chain 66 may be re-placed with a suitable cogged belt or other endless flexible drive member. An orbiting wheel like member such as a pull~y or ~ :
sheave would be used in place of sprocket 72 in such a case.
A pair of studs 66A which have heads as shown in Figure 7 are spaced at suitable positions on the ring 15. The heads of the studs 66A form driving lugs for the chain to pre-vent slippage. The studs 66A are positioned so that at least one stud is engaging the chain at all times even when the chain 20 is lifted away from the ring as sprocket 72 passed by. These - -studs act similarly to cogs on a sprocket for chain drive.
For safety to protect the chain 66 and the other drive components the sprocket 72 is driven through a shear pin that connects two parts of the sprocket hub together.

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Claims (18)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A silo unloader for use in an upright wall silo comprising an annular ring track means mounted within said silo, a silage gathering and discharge device, track engaging means to guide such silage gathering and discharge device for rotation relative to said track means while in engagement with silage in the silo, means to restrain said ring track means from rotation within said silo, and drive means to drive said silage gathering and discharge device rotationally around said track means, com-prising power means mounted on said silage gathering and dis-charge device, an endless flexible member surrounding the outer surface of said ring track means, said power means including a rotationally driven member for engaging said endless flexible member, said rotationally driven member being positioned on the outside of said ring track means and driving said silage gather-ing and discharge device and said driven member around said ring track means.

2. The combination as specified in Claim 1 wherein said rotationally driven member comprises a sprocket, and said endless flexible member comprises a chain, said chain encircling said ring track means and said sprocket.

3. The silo unloader assembly of Claim 1 wherein said track engaging means comprises a plurality of rollers mounted with respect to said silage gathering and discharge device and rotatably engaging portions of said ring track means to support and guide said silage gathering and discharge device.

4. The combination as specified in Claim 1 wherein said silage gathering and discharge device comprises a frame that extends outwardly beyond said ring track means in opposite diametral directions, and includes silage gathering auger means extending outwardly beyond the ring track means in a generally radial direction.

5. The combination as specified in Claim 4 wherein said frame extends in opposite direction from said auger means, said rotationally driven member being positioned on the side of said ring track means opposite from said auger means.

6. A silo unloader assembly for use in a silo com-prising an annular, generally circular support ring track hav-ing a central generally upright axis, a silage gathering and discharge device, track engaging means to mount said silage gathering and discharge device on said support ring track for rotation about said central axis while supported on said support ring track, power means mounted on said silage gather-ing and discharge means to rotate said silage gathering and discharge device relative to said support ring track while it is in engagement with silage in the silo, means to re-strain said support ring track from rotation relative to said silo wall, an endless flexible drive member surrounding and drivably engaging a wheel like member driven by said power means about an axis generally parallel to said central axis and positioned on the exterior of said support ring track and spaced from said support ring track, said endless flexible member encompassing said wheel like member and said support ring track and being in drive engagement with said wheel like member whereby when said wheel like member is rotated it drives itself and the silage gathering and discharge device around the support ring track.

7. The unloader assembly of Claim 6 wherein said endless flexible member is a link chain, and said wheel like member comprises a sprocket.

8. The combination as specified in Claim 6 wherein said support ring track comprises a channel-shaped member hav-ing a base wall generally parallel to the central axis and a lower flange extending generally horizontally from the base wall, and said track engaging means including roller means for supporting said silage gathering and discharge means, said roller means riding against the upper surface of said lower flange.

9. The combination as specified in Claim 6 wherein said support ring track is made up of a plurality of individual part annular segments of a circle, and means joining said in-dividual segments together to form said support ring track into a continuous circle.

10. The combination as specified in Claim 6 wherein said support ring track includes a main channel and an insert channel, said main channel comprising a base wall generally parallel to said central axis and having upper and lower outwardly extending flanges, said insert channel being mounted in said main channel, the insert channel comprising a channel having an insert base wall that extends generally parallel to the base wall of said main channel and having insert flanges extending outwardly from said insert base wall, a lower insert flange being mounted to be contiguous to and above the lower flange of said main channel, said track engaging means in-cluding roller means, said roller means engaging the upper surface of the lower flange of the insert channel.

11. The combination as specified in Claim 10 wherein said insert channel is made into part circular segments, each of said segments including means to attach the insert channel to the main channel, said insert channel segments being switchable end for end whereby the previous upper insert channel flange forms the lower insert flange and then comprises the flange engaged by the roller means when the insert channel has been switched end for end.

12. The combination as specified in Claim 10 where-in the said insert channel is of size to be positioned within the flanges of the main channel, and the upper insert flange of said insert channel and the upper flange of the main channel being spaced and forming guide flanges for said endless flexible member.

13. The combination as specified in Claim 12 wherein the endless flexible member comprises a chain, and wherein said wheel like member comprises a sprocket drivably engage-able with said chain.

14. The combination as specified in Claim 13 wherein said power means further comprises a motor mounted on said silage gathering and discharge device and movable therewith.

15. The combination of Claim 9 wherein said means joining said individual segments comprises a bolt means having an axis generally parallel to the plane of the ring and posi-tioned adjacent the upper portion of the ring, and clip means adjacent the end of each segment, said bolt means holding the clip means on the two adjacent ends where the segments join under tension load.

16. The combination of Claim 15 and means to support said support ring track comprising a framework including a plurality of elongated members attached to said support ring track at each of the junctions between said segments extending away from the plane of the support ring track and inwardly toward said central axis, and means to connect all of said elongated members together adjacent said central axis of the support ring track at position spaced from the plane of said support ring track.

17. The combination of Claim 16 wherein said clip means adjacent the ends of adjacent segments are spaced apart when the adjacent segments, are in position forming a ring, said means to support including a support member positioned between said clip means, said bolt means passing through said clip means also holding a respective support member, said elongated members being attached to the respective support member.

18. The combination as specified in Claim 17 wherein each of said support members is a channel having a base wall and legs, said legs of each support member channel being contiguous with the clip means where two segments join and said base wall of each of said support member channels being bolted to the adjoining segments to hold joining segments, together.