Continuous horizontal grain drying system
AssigneeCemen-Tech, Inc.
InventorRichard Long
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A grain dryer is provided with a housing, and a hot air source connected to the housing so as to dry grain in the housing. A rehydration source is connected to the housing to add moisture, in the form of steam or hot water, to grain which is over-dried. A conveyor moves the grain through the housing during the drying and rehydration processes.
Claims29
A continuous grain drying and moisturizing system, comprising:
- a conveyor having a grain inlet and a grain outlet;
- an air inlet plenum and an air outlet plenum positioned on opposite sides of the conveyor;
- a first blower to move air through the air inlet and outlet plenums and through grain carried by the conveyor to dry the grain;
- and
- a nozzle positioned above the conveyor to apply moisture for rehydrating the grain.
A continuous grain drying method, comprising:
- transporting the grain with a conveyor from an inlet end to an outlet end;
- passing heated air through the moving grain to dry the grain;
- measuring dryness of the grain as the grain is transported;
- and
- rehydrating the grain if the dryness is below a preset value.
The method of claim 13 wherein the conveyor is enclosed in a housing, and the method further comprising maintaining a vacuum within the housing.
A grain dryer, comprising:
- a housing;
- a hot air source operatively connected to the housing to dry grain in the housing;
- and
- a rehydration source operatively connected to the housing to add moisture to over-dried grain.
A grain drying method, comprising:
- moving grain into a housing;
- introducing hot air into the housing to dry grain;
- measuring the moisture content of the dried grain;
- adding moisture to the dried grain if the measured moisture content is less than a predetermined value;
- and
- discharging the grain from the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.