JPS6314299B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention is a method for automatically and instantaneously measuring the moisture content of grains such as rice, wheat, and miscellaneous grains or grain flour. It's about sensors.

Conventional technology In the past, the moisture content of grains was indirectly measured by automatically collecting powder such as grains to be measured for moisture content, placing it between two electrode plates, and measuring its capacitance. A moisture sensor is disclosed that measures .

This type of moisture sensor incorporates a box-shaped sensor body and an opening/closing mechanism for the upper and lower openings of the sensor body in a completely sealed housing, and the sensor body has a pair of electrode plates on the sides that can be freely energized. However, the moisture content of a certain amount of powder sampled and held in the sensor body is indirectly measured by measuring the capacitance between the electrode plates. (Refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-91799.) Furthermore, an outer cylinder which is a cylindrical negative electrode plate is provided, a positive electrode plate is placed in the center of the outer cylinder, and a capacitor is electrically connected to these two electrodes. A moisture sensor in which a measurement board is disposed outside an outer cylinder is known as prior art.

However, in this moisture sensor,
A substrate is placed outside the outer cylinder, and the conductor connecting the positive electrode plate at the center of the outer cylinder and the substrate passes through the powder body to be measured for moisture, passes through the negative electrode plate, and comes close to it. The drawback is that accurate capacitance cannot be measured.

In addition, the inner cylinder, which becomes one electrode plate, is concentrically arranged inside the outer cylinder, which becomes the other electrode plate, and a plate that can be opened and closed is provided at the powder outlet at the bottom of the outer cylinder, and the outer cylinder and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 155895/1983 has proposed a grain moisture content measuring device in which a moisture sensor chamber is formed between the inner cylinder and a moisture sensor chamber filled with granular material whose moisture content is to be measured.

However, in this case, the mounting position of the capacitance measurement board that is electrically connected to the bipolar plates is unknown, and there is a risk that moisture may accumulate inside the moisture sensor chamber, resulting in inaccurate measured values. It was hot.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention It is an object of the present invention to address the above-mentioned problems and to
Before measuring capacitance, the moisture inside the moisture sensor chamber between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder filled with the powder whose moisture content is to be measured is removed, and the conductor wires connecting the bipolar plates and the substrate are shortened. In addition, the powder does not pass through the powder or the inside of the electrode plate, and the influence of the conductor on the capacitance is minimized, and the board is shielded by the inner cylinder, allowing the powder to pass through without being subjected to external disturbances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a powder moisture sensor that accurately measures the capacitance of only granules and has extremely high capacitance measurement accuracy.

Means for Solving the Problems The powder moisture sensor of the present invention has an inlet for the powder at the top of an outer cylinder serving as one electrode plate, and an outlet for the powder at the bottom of the outer cylinder. , an inner cylinder serving as the other electrode plate is arranged concentrically inside the outer cylinder, and a discharge gate is provided at the discharge port so as to be openable and closable;
In the powder moisture sensor, a moisture sensor chamber is formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, and the moisture sensor chamber is filled with the powder whose moisture content is to be measured. The structure is characterized in that a substrate for measuring the capacitance between the two electrode plates is provided inside the tube, and the inner tube and the outer tube are electrically connected to the substrate.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

In the figure, 1 is a powder moisture sensor, and the moisture sensor housing 7 of the moisture sensor 1 is
is attached to the side wall that becomes the outer wall of the grain refining silo 2 with a suitable fixture (not shown).

There is a grain supply channel 2 on the side wall of the grain conditioning silo 2.
0 is attached at one end, a grain take-out screw 3 is rotatably provided inside the supply path 20, a sampler motor 4 is provided at the other end of the supply path 20, and the grain take-out screw 3 is connected to the sampler motor. 4, and the lower part of the supply path 20 near the other end is connected to the upper part of the moisture sensor housing 7 of the moisture sensor 1.

Inside the moisture sensor housing 7 of the moisture sensor 1, a moisture sensor body 8 consisting of a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate is supported by a support body 9 made of a non-conductive material such as acrylic.

The moisture sensor main body 8 has a cylindrical outer cylinder 10 which is a negative electrode plate serving as one electrode plate.
0, a cylindrical inner cylinder 12 which is a positive electrode plate serving as the other electrode plate is arranged concentrically with respect to the outer cylinder 10 via a non-good conductor 21, and the outer cylinder 10 and the inner cylinder A moisture sensor chamber 19 is formed between the chamber 12 and the chamber 12, which is filled with a powder whose moisture content is to be measured.

A supply hopper 5, which serves as an inlet for powder and granular material, is fitted to the top of the outer cylinder 10 of the moisture sensor body 8, and the upper and lower ends of the supply hopper 5 are open, respectively. A discharge port is provided,
A discharge gate 14 is provided at the discharge port so as to be openable and closable, and a discharge motor 11 is provided on the outside of the outer cylinder 10. The discharge gate 14 is opened and closed by the discharge motor 11, and when the discharge gate 14 is opened, the moisture sensor main body 8 is opened. The grains, which are granular materials, filled in a moisture sensor chamber 19 formed between the outer cylinder 10 and the interior 12 of the apparatus are discharged after moisture measurement.

The outer cylinder 10 and the inner cylinder 12 of the moisture sensor main body 8 are each coated with a non-conductive paint, and the upper part of the outer cylinder 10 is connected to a blower 6 through a duct.

A substrate 13 for measuring the capacitance between the two polar plates of the outer tube 10 and the inner tube 12 is arranged inside the inner tube 12 of the moisture sensor body 8. (not shown), and the capacitance of the powder existing between the inner tube 12 and the outer tube 10 is measured by the substrate 13.

The moisture sensor main body 8 is composed of an outer cylinder 10, an inner cylinder 12, a supply hopper 5, and a discharge gate 14.

There is a thread 15 at the bottom of the moisture sensor housing 7.
A hopper 16 is arranged, and the hopper 16
The discharge part of the grain refining silo 2 is connected to the collecting cylinder 17, and the collecting cylinder 17 is connected to the grain conditioning silo 2.

18 is a temperature sensor attached to the side wall of the grain conditioning silo 2.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, before measuring the capacitance, first check the moisture sensor body 8.
A blower 6 connected to the upper part of the outer cylinder 10 through a duct is driven to remove moisture in the moisture sensor chamber 19 formed between the outer cylinder 10 and the inner cylinder 12. The discharge gate 14 is actuated by the drive of the discharge motor 11 provided on the outside, and the discharge port at the bottom of the outer cylinder 10 is closed.

Next, the sampler motor 4 is driven to rotate the grain take-out screw 3 provided inside the supply path 20, and the grain is taken out from inside the grain conditioning silo 2 by the grain take-out screw 3. Supply route 20
The water is sequentially fed into the moisture sensor housing 7 through the inside.

Further, the grains are fed into the moisture sensor chamber 19 between the outer cylinder 10 and the inner cylinder 12 through the supply hopper 5, which serves as a grain input port, provided at the top of the moisture sensor main body 8 inside the moisture sensor housing 7. Once the kernels have been removed, only a predetermined amount
When the grains are filled into the moisture sensor housing 7, the grains that are subsequently fed into the moisture sensor housing 7 by the grain extraction screw 3 overflow from the supply hopper 5, flow down toward the bottom of the moisture sensor housing 7, and fill the net 15. The grains are collected again into the grain conditioning silo 2 through the provided hopper 16 and collection cylinder 17.

When a predetermined voltage is applied between the outer cylinder 10 of the negative electrode plate and the inner cylinder 12 of the positive electrode plate with a predetermined amount of grains filled in the moisture sensor chamber 19, the voltage between the two electrodes increases. A substrate 13 provided inside the inner cylinder 12 of the moisture sensor main body 8
The moisture content of the granular material is measured indirectly by the capacitance.

Moisture sensor chamber 1 of moisture sensor body 8
After measuring the moisture content of the grains filled in the moisture sensor body 8, the discharge motor 11 is driven to open the discharge gate 14, and the grains in the moisture sensor body 8 flow down the moisture sensor housing 7 and are provided with a net 15. Hopper 16
The grains are then collected into the grain conditioning silo 2 through the collection cylinder 17.

In the moisture sensor 1, the bipolar plates of the moisture sensor body 8 are placed outside the grain conditioning silo 2,
The moisture sensor 1 is easy to inspect and maintain, and testing using powder and granules containing known moisture is easy.
It is designed not to be affected by refining steam.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the powder moisture sensor of the present invention, the inner cylinder, which becomes the other electrode plate, is arranged concentrically inside the outer cylinder, and the outer cylinder, which becomes the other electrode plate, is arranged concentrically inside the outer cylinder. Since the blower is connected to the top of the cylinder, the moisture formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder by the blower is removed from the moisture sensor chamber filled with the powder to be measured before measuring the capacitance. You can get accurate readings.

In addition, a board for measuring the capacitance between the two polar plates was provided inside the inner cylinder, and the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder were electrically connected to the board, so that the conductive wire connecting the two polar plates and the board was
It is short and does not pass through the powder or granules that are subject to moisture measurement and the electrode plate, making it possible to minimize the influence of this conductor on capacitance, and the board is shielded by the inner tube. state,
The capacitance of only the granular material can be accurately measured without receiving any disturbance, and the precision of capacitance measurement is extremely high.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of a powder moisture sensor according to an example of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Moisture sensor, 2... Grain conditioning silo, 3... Grain removal screw, 4... Sampler motor, 5... Supply hopper, 6... Blower, 7... Moisture sensor housing, 8... ... Moisture sensor body, 9 ... Support, 10 ... Outer cylinder, 1
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Discharge motor, 12... Inner cylinder, 13... Board, 14... Discharge gate, 15... Net, 16...
...Hopper, 17...Collection tube, 18...Temperature sensor, 19...Moisture sensor chamber, 20...
Supply path, 21...poor conductor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A powder inlet is provided at the top of the outer cylinder that will become one of the electrode plates, a powder outlet is provided at the bottom of the outer cylinder, and the other electrode is installed concentrically inside the outer cylinder. An inner cylinder serving as a plate is disposed, a discharge gate is provided at the discharge port so as to be freely openable and closable, and a moisture sensor chamber is formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder to be filled with powder whose moisture content is to be measured. In powder moisture sensor,
A blower is connected to the upper part of the outer cylinder, a board for measuring the capacitance between the two electrode plates is provided inside the inner cylinder, and the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are electrically connected to the board. Features: Powder moisture sensor.