JP2020118332A - Grain dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a grain dryer capable of effectively suppressing uneven drying and uneven moisture in grain.SOLUTION: The grain dryer comprises: a dryer body comprising a storage part 3, a drying part 4, and a circulation mechanism part 5; a moisture meter 54; and controlling means 53 of controlling driving of the drying part 4 and the circulation mechanism part 5. The drying part 4 comprises: a burner 9 serving as a heat source of hot air to be fed into the drying part 4; and a blower 10 that blows the hot air into the drying part 4. The controlling means 53 is configured to repeats: a drying step of drying grain by driving the burner 9 and the blower 10 of the drying part 4 at a specified time interval while continuing circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism 5 until a moisture measured by the moisture meter 54 falls below a setting value; and a stopping step of stopping the driving of the burner 9 and the blower 10 of the drying part 4 for a specified period of time, in the process of drying grain.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a grain dryer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a grain dryer capable of effectively suppressing the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness during the drying of grains.

The grain dryer includes a circulation type or a flat type (general purpose) dryer for drying grains such as paddy and soybeans.

The circulation type grain dryer has a storage unit for storing grains, a drying unit for drying the grains, and a discharge valve (rotary valve) for discharging the grains in order from the top inside the dryer body. Then, a circulation mechanism section (grain collecting section) is provided which is dropped into the lower-flowing grain trough and is circulated by the lower transport mechanism.

Such a grain dryer is provided with a grain flow passage that is partitioned by a ventilation member and connects the storage unit and the circulation mechanism unit in the drying unit, and a hot air passage and an exhaust air passage are provided on each side of the grain passage. While the grain is guided from the upper storage section to the circulation mechanism section via the drying section and then returned to the upper storage section for circulation, the grain is dried by hot air in the flow channel of the drying section.

A conventional grain dryer having a control means for controlling the temperature of hot air, the number of revolutions of a blower, and the amount of payout accompanied by circulation of grain has been proposed depending on the type of grain and the outside air condition (for example, Patent Document 1). reference)

Japanese Patent No. 5034695

However, the conventional grain dryer has a problem that, for example, when drying soba or the like, unevenness in grain drying and unevenness in water are likely to occur. In particular, there is a demand for development of a grain dryer in which unevenness in drying and unevenness in moisture are likely to occur when the moisture content of the grain is high, and unevenness in drying and unevenness in moisture hardly occur.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the conventional art. The present invention provides a grain dryer capable of effectively suppressing the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness during the drying of grains.

According to the present invention, the following grain dryer is provided.

[1] In order from the upper part, a storage part for storing grains, a drying part for drying the grains, and the dried grains are discharged by the rotation of a feeding valve and dropped into a lower-flowing grain gutter, and a lower transfer mechanism lifts the grains. A dryer main body having a circulation mechanism portion that conveys to a machine and lifts to circulate the grain;
A moisture meter for measuring the moisture content of the grain during drying,
In a grain dryer including a control unit that controls driving of the drying unit and the circulation mechanism unit,
The drying unit has a burner that serves as a heat source of the hot air sent to the drying unit and a blower that blows the hot air in the drying unit,
In the drying of the grain, the control unit continues the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism unit until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter falls below a set value, and at a constant time interval, the drying unit. A grain drying machine configured to repeatedly perform a drying step of driving the burner and the blower to dry the grain, and a stopping step of stopping the burner and the blower of the drying unit for a certain period of time. ..

[2] The grain dryer according to [1], wherein the time interval of one cycle in which the drying step and the stopping step are repeated is 2 hours or less.

[3] The grain dryer according to [1] or [2], wherein one stop period of the stopping step is 10 to 40 minutes.

[4] The grain dryer according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the control unit is configured to be capable of selecting paddy, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and soybean.

[5] The grain dryer according to [4], wherein the control unit sets the set value for the moisture value by selecting paddy, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and soybean.

[6] The grain dryer according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the drying unit is one.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The grain dryer of the present invention can effectively suppress the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness when drying grain. That is, the grain dryer of the present invention, while continuing the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism unit until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter falls below a set value, at a constant time interval, a drying step and a stopping step. The control means is configured to repeat the above. The stop step is to stop the burner and the blower for a certain period of time.By such a stop step, the pressure applied to the grain is reduced at a certain time interval when the grain is dried, and the wind pressure generated by the blower blows. Can be eliminated, and the unevenness of drying can be reduced to promote the circulation of grains. Further, by continuing the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism unit even during the stopping process, the grain is constantly circulated and flowed, whereby the occurrence of unevenness in drying and unevenness in water can be extremely effectively suppressed. The control means is configured to repeat this cycle with the drying step and the stopping step as one cycle until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter falls below the set value.

It is a perspective view which shows typically one Embodiment of the grain dryer of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the grain dryer shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. That is, it is understood that, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, those appropriately modified or improved in the following embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention based on ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art. Should be.

One embodiment of the grain dryer of the present invention is a grain dryer 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the grain dryer 100, the dryer main body 2 is composed of a storage section 3, a drying section 4, and a circulation mechanism section 5 in order from the top. The storage part 3 is a part for storing grains. The drying unit 4 is a unit that dries the grain. The circulation mechanism section 5 is a section for discharging the dried grain by the rotation of the feeding valve, dropping the dried grain into the lower-flowing grain gutter, and conveying the dried grain to the fried machine 6 by the lower conveyance mechanism 80 to lift and circulate the grain. .. For example, the grain dryer 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a grain collection chamber 20 that collects dried grains as the circulation mechanism unit 5, and a grain fried machine 6 that extends vertically on the end face of the dryer body 2 on one side in the longitudinal direction. Is provided, and an upper transport mechanism 30 that evenly drops the grains lifted by the grain lifting machine 6 into the storage unit 3 is provided in the upper center of the dryer main body 2, and a circulation mechanism is provided in the lower center of the dryer main body 2. A lower transport mechanism 80 is provided for transporting the grains of part 5 to the grain elevator 6.

The drying unit 4 has a burner 9 that serves as a heat source of the hot air sent to the drying unit 4, and a blower 10 that blows the hot air inside the drying unit 4. In the grain dryer 100 shown in FIG. 1, a hot air blower including a burner 9 for sending hot air into the drying unit 4 is attached to an end face of the dryer main body 2 on one side in the longitudinal direction. A blower 10 that discharges air after drying the grains of the drying unit 4 is attached to the end face on the other side in the direction.

In the grain dryer 100, the grain is lifted to the upper part of the dryer main body 2 by the grain lifting device 6, transported by the upper transport mechanism 30, and dropped uniformly into the storage part 3. The grains in the storage unit 3 are dried by the hot air blown by the hot air blower (burner 9) in the drying unit 4, then collected in the lower part of the grain collecting chamber 20 and conveyed to the grain elevator 6 by the lower conveying mechanism 80. Then, the circulation is repeated such that the grain elevator 6 lifts up to the storage portion 3 again.

The grain dryer 100 further includes a moisture meter 54 for measuring the moisture value of the grain (grain) being dried, and a control means 53 for controlling the driving of the drying unit 4 and the circulation mechanism unit 5.

The grain dryer 100 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a drying control device 51 which controls circulation and drying of grains. The drying control device 51 is provided with a control panel 52 on the end face of the dryer main body 2 on one side in the longitudinal direction, adjacent to the hot air blower (burner 9). The control panel 52 is provided with control means 53. A moisture meter 54 provided in the grain fried machine 6 is connected to the control means 53, and a display unit 55 provided in the control panel 52 is connected thereto. The type of the moisture meter 54 is not particularly limited, but for example, a single-grain moisture meter can be used. The single-grain moisture meter measures the moisture value of grains during drying one by one. The display unit 55 displays a histogram of water content.

The grain dryer 100 of the present embodiment has a particularly main configuration for the drying control of the control means 53. That is, in the drying of the grain, the control unit 53 continues the grain circulation by the circulation mechanism unit 5 until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter 54 falls below the set value, and at a constant time interval, the following is performed. The drying process and the stopping process are repeatedly performed. The drying step is a step of driving the burner 9 and the blower 10 of the drying section 4 to dry the grain. Such a drying step can be performed according to the step of drying grains in a conventionally known grain dryer. The stopping step is a step of stopping the burner 9 and the blower 10 of the drying unit 4 for a certain period. Then, the control means 53 is configured to repeatedly perform the above-described drying step and stopping step as one cycle until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter 54 falls below a set value.

The grain dryer 100 including the control means 53 configured as described above can effectively suppress the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness during the drying of the grain. In particular, the above stopping step is to stop the burner 9 and the blower 10 for a certain period of time, and by this stopping step, the pressure applied to the grain is reduced when the grain is dried, and the wind pressure generated by the blower 10 blows air. It can be removed and, in addition, the unevenness of drying can be reduced to promote grain circulation. Further, by continuing the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism section 5 even during the stopping process, the grain is constantly circulated and flowed, whereby the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness can be extremely effectively suppressed. For example, if the circulation of the grain is stopped during the stopping process, even if the pressure applied to the grain is reduced, drying unevenness and moisture unevenness may occur due to the weight of the grain or the like. In particular, when the water content of the grain is high, unevenness in drying and unevenness in water are likely to occur. During the stopping process, it is necessary to stop not only the burner 9 but also the blower 10. In a conventionally known grain dryer, there may be a case where blast drying, in which the burner is temporarily stopped and only the blast by the blower is continuously performed, during grain drying, but in such blast drying However, since the pressure applied to the grain is maintained, the effect of suppressing the unevenness of drying and the unevenness of water cannot be obtained.

In the control means 53, there is no particular limitation on the length of the time interval of one cycle in which the drying process and the stopping process are repeated, but it is necessary to make the time interval shorter than the time until reaching the finished moisture value at which the drying is stopped. .. That is, it is preferable to have at least one cycle in which the drying step and the stopping step are repeated until the final moisture value is reached. For example, the time interval of one cycle is preferably 2 hours or less, more preferably 10 minutes to 2 hours, and particularly preferably 10 minutes to 1 hour. With such a time interval, periodical release of pressure is favorably performed in the dryer main body 2, and it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness of the grain. For example, if the time interval of one cycle exceeds 2 hours, the circulation of grains in the dryer main body 2 may be deteriorated during one drying process due to various other conditions.

The length of one stopping period of the stopping step is not particularly limited, but is preferably 10 to 40 minutes. The control means 53 may be configured such that one stop period of the stop process can be set at intervals of 5 minutes from 10 to 40 minutes. For example, the stop period may be set to any of 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, 35 minutes, and 40 minutes. Of course, the stop period may be configured to be set more finely than the above-mentioned time interval.

The control means 53 is preferably configured to be able to select the type of grain, for example, it is more preferable to be configured to be able to select rice, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and soybean. Further, it is preferable that the control means 53 sets a set value for the moisture value according to the type of grain. For example, depending on the type of grain, the amount of water in which drying unevenness and moisture unevenness are likely to occur may differ. Therefore, for example, by selecting paddy, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and soybean, the control means 53 sets each “moisture value set value” in which the drying step and the stopping step are repeatedly performed, and the set value thereof is set. It is preferable that the drying step and the stopping step are repeated until the temperature falls below the range. With this configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of drying unevenness and moisture unevenness while preventing an excessive increase in drying time.

There is no particular limitation on the “moisture value set value” in which the drying process and the stopping process are repeatedly performed, but for example, the amount of water is such that the drying of the grain progresses by a certain amount and the circulation flow of the grain is not hindered. It is preferable to have. For example, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20% and the like can be mentioned as the "set value of the water content value". Note that, as described above, the "set value of the water content value" can be appropriately set according to the type of each grain. When the set value of the water content exceeds 20%, the circulation of grains in the dryer main body 2 may be deteriorated when only the drying process is continued after the repeating cycle of the drying process and the stopping process is completed. is there.

The control unit 53 may end the drying process at the time when it falls below the “set value of the water content value” where the drying process and the stopping process are repeatedly performed, or may continue only the drying process. For example, when the drying process is finished, the finished moisture value at which the drying is stopped is the “moisture value set value”. Further, if the drying progresses to some extent, the circulation of the grain is improved to some extent, so that a moisture value slightly higher than the finished moisture value may be used as the “set value of moisture value”.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the dryer main body 2 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The dryer body 2 includes a storage tank 14 that forms a storage chamber 12 for storing grains in the storage unit 3, and a drying frame unit 18 that is connected to a lower portion of the storage tank 14 in the drying unit 4 to form a drying chamber 16. In the circulation mechanism section 5, it is composed of a grain-collecting frame section 22 that is continuously provided below the drying frame section 18 to form the grain-collecting chamber 20, and an upper surface closing plate 24 is provided in the upper part of the storage tank 14 in the longitudinal direction. It is shaped like a long rectangular box. Wheels 28 are attached to the bottom portion 26 of the grain collecting frame portion 22 at each corner portion.

At the central portion of the upper surface closing plate 24, an upper conveyance mechanism 30 that hangs down the grain lifted by the grain lifting machine (see the grain lifting machine 6 in FIG. 1) uniformly into the storage chamber 12 is provided. ing. The upper transport mechanism 30 includes an upper screw 32 attached to the upper surface closing plate 24 and a dispersion plate 34 attached to a lower portion of the upper screw 32.

In the drying unit 4, a plurality of air-permeable ventilation members, such as a perforated plate and a mesh member, are used to provide a hot air passage 44 at the center in the width direction and one side grain passages 46A on the both sides of the hot air passage 44 and the other side. Grain flow path 46B, and further one side exhaust path 48A and the other side exhaust path 48B on both sides thereof are formed. For example, the grain dryer 100 shown in FIG. 2 is a so-called two-layer type dryer having one drying unit.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

(Example 1)
As the grain dryer of Example 1, the dryer main body is sequentially stored from the upper part in a storage portion for storing the grain, a drying portion for drying the grain, and the dried grain is discharged by rotation of a feeding valve to a lower-flow grain trough. The thing which has the circulation mechanism part which dropped and was conveyed by the lower conveyance mechanism to the grain elevator, lifted, and circulated was produced. This grain dryer was provided with a moisture meter for measuring the moisture value of the grain being dried and a control means for controlling the drive of the drying section and the circulation mechanism section. The drying unit was provided with a burner that serves as a heat source for the hot air sent to the drying unit, and a blower that blows the hot air inside the drying unit.

During the drying of the grain, the control means drives the burner and the blower of the drying unit at regular time intervals while continuing the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism unit until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter falls below the set value. The drying step and the stopping step of stopping the burner and the blower in the drying section for a certain period are repeatedly performed.

Using the grain dryer of Example 1 configured in this way, "soba" was dried as grains. The water content of buckwheat before drying was 27%. In this example, it was decided to dry the soba noodles until the water content was 15% or less. More specifically, in the grain dryer control means of Example 1, the type of grain was set to "soba" and the "water content set value" in the control means was set to 18%. The control means is configured to repeat the drying process and the stopping process as one cycle at time intervals of 1 hour. In the above 1 cycle, the drying process was 45 minutes and the stopping process was 15 minutes. Further, while the control unit repeatedly performs the drying process and the stopping process, the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism unit is continued.

The temperature of hot air in the drying step was 45°C. The temperature of the hot air was determined by the drive status of the burner in the drying section and the adjustment of the air volume by the blower. In the stopping step, the drive of the burner and the blower was stopped, and all blowing including hot air was stopped. In the stopping step, the pressure inside the dryer main body is only atmospheric pressure (atmospheric pressure) and the pressure due to the weight of the grain.

When the soybeans were dried by the grain dryer of Example 1 until the moisture value of buckwheat became 15% or less, uneven drying occurred at the time of high moisture drying, but it was eliminated by promoting circulation, It was confirmed that the occurrence of drying unevenness disappeared before the value reached 18%. In addition, when the state of the soba noodles during the drying was confirmed through a stake-in inspection window provided in the dryer body, it was found that there was almost no sticking of the soba noodles inside.

The grain dryer of the present invention can be used for drying grains.

2: Dryer main body 3: Storage section 4: Drying section 5: Circulation mechanism section 6: Grain lifting machine 9: Burner 10: Blower 12: Storage chamber 14: Storage tank 16: Drying chamber 18: Drying frame 20: Grain collecting Chamber 22: Grain collecting frame 24: Upper surface closing plate 26: Bottom part 28: Wheels 30: Upper transport mechanism 32: Upper screw 34: Dispersion plate 44: Hot air passage 46A: One-side grain feeding passage 46B: Other side feeding grain passage 48A : One side exhaust path 48B: Other side exhaust path 51: Drying control device 52: Control panel 53: Control means 54: Moisture meter (single-grain moisture meter)
55: Display unit 80: Lower transport mechanism 100: Grain dryer

Claims (6)

In order from the upper part, a storage part for storing grains, a drying part for drying the grains, and the dried grains are discharged by the rotation of the feeding valve and dropped into the lower grain shed and conveyed to the grain elevator by the lower conveying mechanism. And a dryer main body having a circulation mechanism part for lifting and circulating the grain,
A moisture meter for measuring the moisture content of the grain during drying,
In a grain dryer including a control unit that controls driving of the drying unit and the circulation mechanism unit,
The drying unit has a burner that serves as a heat source of the hot air sent to the drying unit and a blower that blows the hot air in the drying unit,
In the drying of the grain, the control unit continues the circulation of the grain by the circulation mechanism unit until the moisture value measured by the moisture meter falls below a set value, and at a constant time interval, the drying unit. A grain drying machine configured to repeatedly perform a drying step of driving the burner and the blower to dry the grain, and a stopping step of stopping the burner and the blower of the drying unit for a certain period of time. .. The grain dryer according to claim 1, wherein a time interval of one cycle in which the drying step and the stopping step are repeated is 2 hours or less. The grain dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one stop period of the stop step is 10 to 40 minutes. The grain dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit is configured to be capable of selecting paddy, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and soybean. The grain dryer according to claim 4, wherein the control unit sets the set value for the moisture value by selecting paddy, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and soybean. The grain dryer according to claim 1, wherein the number of the drying units is one.

Images