Grain drying systems
OwnerEugene G. Sukupinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a grain drying bin, drying conduit members are attached to the inside wall and extend to and rest on the foundation to supportively reinforce the bin wall and thereby permit use of lighter gauge wall panels, while also serving the air distribution function of such conduits.
Claims9
In a grain bin having a foundation including a bottom floor, a noninsulated wall supported on said foundation, a perforated subfloor spaced above said bottom floor and forming a chamber between said floors, and means for forcing dry air into said chamber;
- means for preventing condensation from forming on the interior surface of said wall and for reinforcing said wall comprising:
- a plurality of upright rigid hollow conduit members positioned about the interior of the bin wall in arcuately spaced relation to one another;
- each of said conduit members resting at its lower end on said foundation;
- means providing fluid communication between the hollow interior of each of said conduit members and said chamber when said conduit members are resting on said foundation;
- each of said conduit members having a closed upper end;
- each of said conduit members having a plurality of spaced air diffusing perforations formed therein, a predetermined number of which direct air flow laterally along said bin wall;
- and
- said conduit members being secured in reinforcing relation to the interior of said bin walls and with said lower ends resting on said foundation whereby said conduit members provide reinforcement and load bearing support for said wall.
A grain drying and bin support system for grain bins having a foundation, a bottom floor, a wall supported on said foundation, and a perforate sub-floor spaced above said bottom floor and delimiting a chamber therebetween, comprising a plurality of hollow conduit members extending vertically along the sidewall interior and secured to said sidewall in abutting relation with said foundation, each of said conduit members having a plurality of spaced air diffusing perforations formed therein and each provided with an access opening within said chamber to assure fluid communication between said chamber and the hollow conduit interior, whereby structural support for the bin wall is provided by the secured floor abutting conduits while effective grain drying is assured by the access opening and plurality of perforations in said conduits.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.