JPH10206017A - Method and apparatus for drying grain - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep radiation efficiency at an optimum predetermined value and hence ensure secure drying irrespective of the amount of combustion of a burner 4. SOLUTION: A grain drying apparatus includes a burner 4, first to third radiation pipes 22, 21a, 21b, and first to third opening/closing dampers 26, 27, 28. Each radiation pipe 22, 21a, 21b is free to radiate far infrared rays with heat of hot air produced by the burner 4. Further, a controller is provided for controlling opening/closing of the first to third opening/closing dampers 26, 27, 28. The controller properly opens and closes the first to third opening/ closing dampers 26, 27, 28 in response to the amount of combustion of the burner 4. Hereby, temperature of the first to third radiation pipes 22, 21a, 21b is controlled. Thus, radiation efficiency is kept unchanged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for drying cereals using far infrared rays.
Provided is a grain drying method and a grain drying apparatus that can perform reliable drying by keeping radiation efficiency constant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to dry grains such as glutinous rice, a grain drying apparatus for drying grains using hot air has been used. Further, in order to dry these cereals reliably and without damaging them, cereal drying apparatuses for drying cereals using far-infrared rays together with the above-mentioned hot air have been considered and widely used. Such a grain drying apparatus using far infrared rays is disclosed in, for example,
These are described in 195265, 62-141486, 62-21680, JP-A-2-302578 and 6-3052. FIG.
Shows a grain drying apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-302578. Hereinafter, a conventionally known grain drying apparatus will be briefly described using the structure shown in FIG. 3 as an example.

In the grain dryer 1, a bucket elevator 3 is erected outside a box-shaped casing 2, and a burner 4, a heat distribution chamber 5, a suction fan 6, an inflow air adjusting section 7, etc., which are hot air sources. Is provided. In the casing 2, in order from the top, a grain storage unit 8, a drying unit 9, and a grain collection unit 10
Is provided. At the upper part of the grain storage unit 8, a grain distribution screw 11 that communicates with the upper end of the bucket elevator 3 to horizontally transport the grain and distribute the grain into the grain storage unit 8.
Are arranged. A grain collecting / conveying screw 12 is provided at the bottom of the grain collecting section 10 and communicates with the lower end of the bucket elevator 3. The bucket elevator 3 is provided with a hopper (not shown) for inserting grains into the bucket elevator 3 so that grains can be inserted into the grain storage unit 8 via the grain distribution screw 11. During the drying operation, the grains to be dried discharged by the grain collecting and conveying screw 12 are sent to the grain distribution screw 11 and circulated. Further, when the drying operation is completed, the bucket elevator 3
It is possible to switch to discharge the dried grain outside the machine from the middle of the process.

The drying section 9 has one end communicating with the heat distribution chamber 5 and the other end communicating with the inflow air adjusting section 7.
A tubular hot air path 13 is provided. This hot air path 1
3 has a far-infrared radiator partially. The far-infrared radiator is formed by, for example, applying fine ceramics to a member constituting the hot air passage 13.

In the case of the conventional structure shown in the figure, the hot air passage 13 has a double tube structure of an inner tube 15 and an outer tube 16. As shown, only the inner pipe 15 communicates with the heat distribution chamber 5, and the end of the outer pipe 16 on the heat distribution chamber 5 side is in contact with the inner surface of the casing 2. The two spaces formed by the inner pipe 15 and the outer pipe 16 are opened to communicate with the grain storage section 8 through a number of vents of the outer pipe 16, and the exhaust path plate 17 extends from the side to the lower side. To form a grain logistics pathway,
A rotary valve 19 is provided at the bottom of the grain distribution lower road. The suction fan 6 communicates with an exhaust passage formed below the exhaust passage plate 17.
The grains discharged from the rotary valve 19 are brought to the grain collecting and conveying screw 12.

In the grain drying apparatus configured as described above, the grain to be dried is put into the grain storage section 8 by the bucket elevator 3 via the grain distribution screw 11, and
By operating the bucket elevator 3, the grain distribution screw 11, the burner 4, the suction fan 6, the rotary valve 19, the grain collection / transport screw 12, and the like,
The cereal to be dried (the cereal to be dried) is circulated through the cereal storage unit 8, the drying unit 9, the cereal collecting unit 10, and the bucket elevator 3 to be dried. The circulation speed is determined mainly by the rotation speed of the rotary valve 19.

[0007] The hot air generated by the combustion of the burner 4 is introduced from the heat distribution chamber 5 to the hot air passage 13, and the heat is used to heat the far-infrared radiator to generate electromagnetic waves containing much far-infrared rays. The grain flowing down the downflow is dried. The hot air that has reached the inflow air adjusting section 7 after heating the far-infrared radiator is mixed with the outside air here and is discharged from the outer tube 16 through the passage between the inner tube 15 and the outer tube 16. ,
Due to the attraction of the suction fan 6, the grain is dried by forcibly passing through the grain flowing down the grain distribution lower passage. Further, the moisture generated by drying and the fine dust generated by the movement of the grains are attracted to the suction fan 6 through the exhaust passage plate 17 and discharged outside the machine. It is to be noted that so-called tempering can be freely performed during the drying operation.

When the drying operation is completed, the combustion of the burner 4 is stopped, the circulation path of the bucket elevator 3 is switched, and the dried grain is discharged outside the machine.

In the grain drying apparatus described in the above-mentioned publication, electromagnetic waves containing a large amount of far-infrared rays can be uniformly and directly applied to grains flowing down around the far-infrared radiator, thereby eliminating heat loss of far-infrared rays and improving efficiency. Good grain drying can be performed. At the same time, drying unevenness can be reduced, and the occurrence of body cracks can be eliminated.

[0010]

The wavelength of far-infrared rays to be radiated is an important factor for efficient and reliable drying. To keep the heat applied to the far-infrared radiator constant, It is necessary to keep the temperature around the far-infrared radiator constant. To this end, it is conceivable to devise the area and arrangement of the radiator according to the amount of grain to be dried. However, it is difficult to change the area and arrangement, and this is not practical. Therefore, in the conventional grain drying apparatus, the optimum burning amount of the burner 4 is set, and the drying operation is performed with the set constant burning amount.

However, in performing the drying operation of the grain, the amount of the grain to be dried varies depending on the drying operation, and in many cases, the drying must be completed within a certain time. In such a case,
The combustion amount of the burner 4 is set to a combustion amount other than the optimum combustion amount. When the drying operation is performed at a combustion amount other than the optimum combustion amount, the ratio of the far-infrared radiation energy to the combustion amount (combustion energy) is calculated. Inconveniences such as a large change in the radiation efficiency occur. That is, in order to perform reliable drying, it is necessary to set the radiation efficiency to a predetermined optimum value.
However, the temperature around the far-infrared radiator, which is a factor of the amount of radiant energy, does not always change in proportion to the change in the amount of combustion of the burner 4 and far-infrared radiation is performed to ensure safety. The temperature around the body must be kept within a certain range. For this reason, if the amount of combustion changes, the radiation efficiency greatly changes, which hinders reliable drying. For example, if the actual burning amount exceeds the optimum burning amount, the radiation efficiency will increase excessively, and the grain to be dried will be damaged.
Further, when the actual combustion amount is much lower than the optimum combustion amount, the radiation efficiency is remarkably reduced and a reliable drying operation cannot be performed. The grain drying method and the grain drying apparatus of the present invention have been made to solve such inconvenience.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a grain drying method and a grain drying apparatus according to the present invention, which are provided with a hot air source and a far infrared radiator. In a grain drying method for drying grains with infrared hot air, a controllable opening and closing direction of at least one opening / closing damper provided in a passage leading to the far-infrared radiator is controlled according to combustion energy emitted from a hot air generating source. Thus, the radiation efficiency, which is the ratio of the radiant energy emitted from the far-infrared radiator to the combustion energy, is kept constant.

As means for keeping the radiation efficiency constant, the combustion energy according to the amount of the grain to be dried is calculated, and the far-infrared radiation corresponding to this combustion energy is calculated. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the temperature of the body is obtained, and the opening / closing state of the at least one opening / closing damper is controlled so that the far-infrared radiator has the obtained temperature.

[0014] In the grain drying method and the grain drying apparatus according to the present invention, the invention relating to the drying apparatus is, as described in claim 3, a hot air generating source capable of generating hot air and a hot air generating source generated by the hot air generating source. A far-infrared radiator capable of radiating far-infrared rays by the heat of hot air, and drying the cereal by introducing the cereal to be dried into a casing in which the far-infrared radiator is disposed, in particular, In the grain drying device of the present invention, at least one opening / closing damper that is provided in at least one passage communicating with the far-infrared radiator to freely close and open the passage, and controls opening and closing of the at least one opening / closing damper. And a controller to perform the control. The controller controls the opening / closing state of the opening / closing damper in accordance with the amount of combustion of the hot air generation source, so that the radiant energy radiated from the far infrared radiator with respect to the combustion energy released from the hot air generation source is controlled. The radiation efficiency, which is the ratio, is kept constant.

The controller is capable of recognizing the amount of cereal to be dried, and is capable of recognizing the amount of cereal to be dried, and the far-infrared radiation corresponding to the combustion energy corresponding to the amount of cereal to be dried. The body temperature can be calculated freely. At the same time, the open / close state of the open / close damper can be controlled according to the obtained temperature.

[0016]

The basic operation of drying a cereal by the cereal drying method and apparatus of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.
It is almost the same as the conventional grain drying apparatus described above. Especially,
In the drying method and the grain drying device according to the present invention, when the burning amount of the hot wind generation source is large, the emission area of the far-infrared radiator is increased by opening and closing the opening / closing damper, and the burning amount of the hot wind generation source is small. In this case, the opening / closing damper tends to be closed, and the radiation area of the far-infrared radiator is reduced. As described above, the temperature of the far-infrared radiator is controlled to be optimal according to the amount of combustion of the hot wind generation source, and the radiation efficiency is kept constant. For this reason, reliable drying can be performed.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The drying method and the drying device according to the present invention are characterized in that the radiation area of the far-infrared radiator is increased or decreased by opening and closing the opening and closing damper to keep the radiation efficiency constant. The same is true. Therefore, the description of the equivalent parts will be omitted or simplified, and the following description will focus on the characteristic parts of the present invention.

The grain drying apparatus according to the present embodiment has a burner 4 capable of generating hot air and first to third radiations capable of radiating far infrared rays by the heat of the hot air generated by the burner 4, similarly to the above-described conventional apparatus. The pipes 22, 21a, 21b and the hot air generated by the burner 4 are supplied to each of the radiation pipes 21a,
First and second communication pipes 24, 25 for feeding into 21b
And first and second heat distribution chambers 5 and 23. The burner 4 is a hot air generating source described in the claims, and the first to third radiation tubes 22, 21a, 21b are far-infrared radiators described in the claims. or,
The first and second communication pipes 24 and 25 and the second heat distribution chamber 23 are passages described in the claims.

In this embodiment, the burner 4 is provided at one end of the first heat distribution chamber 5, and the hot air generated by the burner 4 is first sent into the first heat distribution chamber 5. One end of a first radiation tube 22 is connected to the other end surface of the first heat distribution chamber 5. Also, the first radiation tube 22
Is connected to the second heat distribution chamber 23. In the second heat distribution chamber 23, the second and third radiation tubes 21 are provided.
a and 21b are provided. These second and third radiation tubes 2
Reference numerals 1a and 21b each denote a cylindrical shape having both ends opened, and the hot air generated by the burner 4 passes through the first heat distribution chamber 5, the first radiation pipe 22, and the second heat distribution chamber 23 to form the radiation pipes 21a and 21b.
a and 21b are sent out from the other end opening. In addition, the first to third radiation tubes 21a, 21b
Is formed by applying a paint such as fine ceramics capable of generating far-infrared rays to a metal material such as stainless steel, and is heated by passing the hot air to emit far-infrared rays.
The above-mentioned constituent members 5, 21a, 21b, 22, 23
Is disposed in a state housed in the casing 2.

In particular, in the grain drying apparatus of the present embodiment, a connecting portion between the second radiating tube 21a and the first communicating tube 24, a connecting portion between the third radiating tube 21b and the second communicating tube 25, The radiation tubes 21a, 21b, and 21b are provided at a total of three locations in the intermediate portion of the second heat distribution chamber 23 (the connection portion of the first radiation tube 22).
And first to third opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 capable of opening and closing an intermediate portion of the second heat distribution chamber 23. Each of these opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 is provided with a controller (not shown).
It is controlled by an empty command signal. The opening / closing of these opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 can be easily performed by a conventionally known servo mechanism or the like.

As the controller, a sensor provided in the grain storage unit 8 or the like for detecting the amount of grain to be dried is provided by:
Alternatively, by inputting through an input means such as a keyboard provided separately, the amount of the grain to be dried can be easily recognized. At the same time, the combustion energy corresponding to the amount of the grain to be dried and each radiant tube 2 corresponding to the combustion energy
The optimum temperatures of 2, 21a and 21b can be calculated freely. In order to provide such a function, the controller uses a microcomputer (MPU, CPU) or the like. Further, the controller controls the opening / closing state of each of the opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 according to the amount of combustion of the burner 4, so that the radiating tubes 22, The radiation efficiency, which is the ratio of the radiation energy radiated from 21a and 21b, is kept constant. The term “radiation efficiency constant” as used herein means that the radiation efficiency is not strictly constant but falls within a certain range (for example, about ± 5%).

The basic operation of drying a grain by the grain drying apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above is almost the same as that of the above-described conventional grain drying apparatus. That is, the first to third radiation tubes 22, 21a, 21b are heated by the hot air generated by the burner 4 to emit far infrared rays, and the grains are dried by the far infrared rays and the hot air.

In particular, in the grain drying apparatus of the present embodiment, when the burned amount of the burner 4 is higher than the optimum burned amount because of a large amount of the grain to be dried, the controller is controlled by the controller. At least one of the first to third opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 is opened to open the radiation tubes 22, 21a, 21.
b to increase the radiation area of the far-infrared radiator as a whole. Conversely, if the amount of burned burner 4 is lower than the optimum amount of burned, for example, because the amount of grain to be dried is small, the first to third opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28
At least one of them is closed to reduce the emission area of the far-infrared radiator as a whole. As a result of such control, the temperatures of the first to third radiation tubes 22, 21a, 21b can be optimized according to the combustion amount of the burner 4, and the radiation efficiency can be kept constant. For this reason, reliable drying can be performed.

In the case of this example, five states can be created as shown in FIG. 2 by the open / close states of the first to third open / close dampers 26, 27, 28. Note that the hatched portion in FIG. 2 shows a state in which hot air passes. In FIG. 2, first, the first opening / closing damper 26 is set to the state shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 (closed), the second opening / closing damper 27 is set to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (open), and the third opening / closing damper 27 is opened. When the open / close damper 28 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (closed), as shown in FIG. 2A, the first heat distribution chamber 5, the first communication pipe 24, and the second radiation pipe 21a Hot air passes only through the first half of the. For this reason, far infrared rays are emitted only from the first half of the radiation tube 21a. The state shown in FIG. 2A is an example in the case where the combustion amount of the burner 4 is extremely small.

FIG. 2B shows the first opening / closing damper 26.
1 (open), the second opening / closing damper 27 is set to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (open), and the third opening / closing damper 28 is set to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 ( (Closed). In the case of this example, the hot air generated by the burner 4 is supplied to the first heat distribution chamber 5, the first radiation tube 22,
The upper half of the second heat distribution chamber 23 passes through the first radiation tube 21a. Then, far infrared rays are radiated from the first and second radiating tubes 22, 21a. The state shown in FIG. 2 (B) is an example when the combustion amount of the burner 4 is slightly small.

FIG. 2C shows the first opening / closing damper 26.
In the state shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 (closed), the second opening / closing damper 27 in the state shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 (closed), and the third opening / closing damper 28 in the state shown by the broken line in FIG. The first radiation tube 22 is closed). In the case of this example, the hot air generated by the burner 4 is supplied to the first heat distribution chamber 5, the first half of the first radiation tube 22, the first and second communication tubes 24,
5. Pass through the first half of the second and third radiation tubes 21a and 21b. Then, far infrared rays are radiated from the first half of each of the radiation tubes 22, 21a, 21b. The state shown in FIG. 2 (C) is an example in which the burner 4 burns normally.

FIG. 2D shows a first opening / closing damper 2.
6, the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (open), the second opening / closing damper 27 in the state shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 (closed), and the third opening / closing damper 28 in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. (Closed). In the case of this example, the hot air generated by the burner 4 is supplied to the first heat distribution chamber 5, the first radiation tube 22,
It passes through the second communication pipe 25, the first half of the third radiation pipe 21b, the upper half of the second heat distribution pipe 23, and the second radiation pipe 21a. Then, far infrared rays are radiated from the first and second radiating tubes 22, 21a and the first half of the third radiating tube 21b. The state shown in FIG. 2 (D) is an example when the combustion amount of the burner 4 is slightly large.

FIG. 2E shows the first opening / closing damper 2.
6, the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (open), the second opening / closing damper 27 to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (open), and the third opening / closing damper 28 to the state shown by the chain line in FIG. (Open). In the case of this example, the hot air generated by the burner 4 is supplied to the first heat distribution chamber 5, the first radiation tube 22,
Second heat distribution chamber 23, second and third radiation tubes 21a, 21
b. And these first to third radiation tubes 2
2. Far infrared rays are radiated from 2, 21a and 21b. This figure 2
The state shown in (E) is an example in which the combustion amount of the burner 4 is extremely large.

In the case of the present embodiment, the opening and closing directions of the first to third opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 are controlled in accordance with the combustion energy emitted from the burner 4 which is the hot air generating source as described above. Thus, the radiation efficiency, which is the ratio of the total radiant energy radiated from each of the radiant tubes 22, 21a, 21b to the combustion energy, is kept constant. For this reason, reliable drying can be performed. In addition, the control of the radiation efficiency, which has conventionally been considered difficult due to the complicated control, can be easily performed.

The position of the first and second communication pipes 24 and 25 is determined as appropriate, so that the radiation pipe 22 which is effective depending on the open / close state of each of the first to third open / close dampers 26, 27 and 28. , 21a, 21b are determined. Also, the number of radiation tubes is appropriately determined, and an appropriate number and opening / closing dampers are provided in a passage portion communicating with any of these radiation tubes. These are all design matters. Further, each of the opening / closing dampers 26, 27, 28 can be positioned in a half-open state, so that finer control can be performed.

When the combustion of the burner 4 is stabilized, the temperatures of the first to third radiation tubes 22, 21a and 21b are measured.
Each of the opening / closing dampers 2 is set so that the radiation tubes 22, 21a, and 21b have the optimum temperature set for each of the combustion amounts.
6, 27 and 28 can be opened and closed.
The temperature of each radiation tube 22, 21a, 21b can be easily measured by attaching a temperature sensor. Such a configuration is of course included in the present invention. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent an excessive rise in the temperature of each of the radiation tubes 22, 21a, and 21b, and to prevent the radiation tubes 22, 21a, and 21b from being damaged.
Consequently, damage to the entire device can be prevented. In other words, the temperature sensor also functions as a safety sensor.
In addition, each of the radiation tubes 22, 21a,
As b, other constituent materials such as a fine ceramics plate can be adopted. Furthermore, the present invention
The present invention is not limited to the illustrated example, and can be applied to other types of grain dryers.

[0032]

The grain drying method and the grain drying apparatus according to the present invention are configured and operated as described above, so that the radiation efficiency can be maintained at an optimum constant value and the drying can be reliably performed. In addition, since the control can be performed with an easy configuration, it can be manufactured at a low cost and has a large practical effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part side view showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an effective area of a radiation tube in a state where an opening / closing damper can be taken;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing one example of a conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 casing 4 burner 5 (first) heat distribution chamber 6 suction fan 8 grain storage section 9 drying section 10 grain collection section 21a second radiation pipe 21b third radiation pipe 22 first radiation pipe 23 second heat Distribution chamber 24 First communication pipe 25 Second communication pipe 26 First opening / closing damper 27 Second opening / closing damper 28 Third opening / closing damper

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kotaro Kubota 1-40-2 Nisshin-cho, Omiya-shi, Saitama Prefecture Inside the Research Institute for Biological Sciences (72) Inventor Yasuyuki Hidaka 1--40-2 Nisshin-cho, Omiya-shi, Saitama Within the Research Institute for Specified Biotechnology (72) Inventor Tomohiko Ichikawa 1-40-2 Nisshincho, Omiya-shi, Saitama

Claims (4)

[Claims] In a grain drying method for drying a grain by far-infrared hot air obtained from a hot-air source and a far-infrared radiator, the far-infrared radiator is provided in accordance with combustion energy released from the hot-air source. The radiation efficiency, which is the ratio of the radiant energy radiated from the far-infrared radiator to the combustion energy, is made constant by controlling the opening / closing direction of at least one opening / closing damper provided in the communicating passage. And the grain drying method. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising calculating a combustion energy corresponding to an amount of the cereal to be dried, determining a temperature of the far-infrared radiator corresponding to the combustion energy, and setting the far-infrared radiator to the determined temperature. The grain drying method according to claim 1, wherein the radiation efficiency is kept constant by controlling the open / close state of the at least one open / close damper. 3. A casing provided with a hot-air generating source capable of generating hot air, and a far-infrared radiator capable of radiating far-infrared rays by the heat of the hot air generated by the hot-air generating source. A grain drying device for drying the grain by introducing the grain to be dried into the at least one opening / closing damper, wherein at least one of the passages communicating with the far-infrared radiator is capable of freely closing and opening the passage. And a controller for controlling the opening and closing of the at least one opening / closing damper. The controller controls the opening / closing state of the opening / closing damper in accordance with the amount of combustion of the hot air generating source, whereby the hot air generating source is controlled. A radiant efficiency, which is a ratio of radiant energy radiated from the far-infrared radiator to burn energy released from the radiator, is kept constant. 4. The controller is capable of recognizing the amount of cereal to be dried and calculating the temperature of the far-infrared radiator corresponding to combustion energy according to the amount of cereal to be dried. The grain drying device according to claim 3, wherein the radiation efficiency is kept constant by controlling the open / close state of the open / close damper according to the determined temperature.