Abstract:
A method and apparatus for drying grain in which a plurality of conveyors are mounted one above the other. The discharge end of one conveyor feeds the input end of the next lower conveyor. The conveyors have a porous top surface and are vibrated to move the grain. Warm air is conveyed beneath the top conveyor and every other conveyor thereafter. Cool air is conveyed beneath the conveyor beneath the top conveyor and every other conveyor thereafter. The warm and cool air passes through the porous top surfaces of the conveyors. Thus the conveyors alternately heat and cool the grain to remove moisture to the desired level. The apparatus can be free standing or mounted as part of a combine or harvester.

Description:
This invention is directed to the field of agricultural implements. It is more directly related to a unique method and apparatus for drying grain. The apparatus can be mounted as part of a combine or harvester or may be a freestanding unit. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Combines and harvesters are typically used to harvest grain and cereal crops. In addition to severing the crop plant from the ground, combines also thrash the severed plants to separate the grains from the stalks, husks, cobs and other residue. After the thrashing is performed on the plants, the products of this process are conveyed to a sifting, shelling and husking process in which the grain is separated from the residue. The residue is usually conveyed to the rear of the combine and is distributed back on the ground by a spreader apparatus located at the rear of the combine. 
     The grain, after being sifted and separated, is conveyed to a storage bin on the combine. Usually a conveyor is used because the storage bin is located above the separating area of the machine. The grain at this point typically contains high moisture content. With almost all grains harvested, some drying is necessary prior to storage, sale and delivery. Without drying, the grain is much more prone to bacteria growth and rotting. It also reduces the probability of later hot spot formations during subsequent storage of the grain, which reduces the possibility of fires. 
     Current techniques require the grain dryer to be placed next to the storage bins or silos as they are sometimes referred to. Grain drying is costly not only in fuel costs, but also for the equipment that is needed to support the drying operation. Additionally labor and transportation costs must be included in the overall cost of drying the grain. There is also the down time spent in waiting for the dryer to catch up with the grain harvested by the combine. At this time, the combine can harvest faster than the grain can remove moisture from the grain. This can be extremely costly if weather problems arise. There is only a limited optimum harvesting time and to maximize efficiency, it is necessary to harvest, dry and store as much of the crop as possible in the short time frame allowed. 
     In a conventional system, the steps taken by the farmer after the grain has been harvested and is ready to be transported to the grain center for drying and storage are as follows. First, the grain is off-loaded into the farm receptacle and is then transported to the grain center. Second, the receptacle is off-loaded into a holding bin via a conveyor from a dumping pit. Third, the grain is tested for moisture content and is then transferred to the dryer. Fourth, the grain is dryer and transferred to a holding bin where it is again tested for moisture to be readied for storage or delivered for immediate sale. Fifth, the dried grain is conveyer into final storage bins, or loaded into vehicles for delivery. 
     These steps are accomplished with the use of conveyors and other grain handling equipment. The costs involved are substantial. The down time lost waiting for the dryer to catch up after the first days harvest can amount to thirty to fifty percent of the daylight hours on a daily basis. 
     The cost to construct a normal drying process as known and practiced today can cost upwards of a quarter of a million dollars depending on the amount of grain to be processed. In additions to being inefficient in the drying process, it is also inefficient in its energy consumption. As the amount of moisture to be removed from the grain increases, the inefficiency of the system results in tremendous waste. 
     For example shelled corn must not have moisture content of more than 15 percent when it is stored, or it faces the possibility of spoilage. When severed from the ground, however, corn kernels have moisture content of between 20 and 24 percent. Under the most favorable circumstances, the kernels must be dried to eliminate at least five percent of their moisture content. Under the worst circumstances, they must be dried to eliminate nine percent. At present energy prices, costs for drying one bushel of shelled corn to a point where it can be stored are at least 6.5 cents per each percentage point of moisture content which must be eliminated. The costs, therefore, for drying one bushel of shelled corn would range between thirty-two and fifty-eight cents. When considering that six to seven billion bushels of corn are harvested annually, one can see that an extremely significant overall cost is involved. Even slight savings per bushel will result in tremendous overall savings. 
     Various types of grain dryers have been invented in the past. For example U.S. Pat. No. 1,554,780 issued to Berrigan et al. for Drier and Process of Drying illustrates a drier used to dry solid material removed from sludge. The material falls through a series of flames for drying. A series of inclined baffle plates direct the flow of the solid material. The flames used in this patent would burn the grain if applied to a grain drying process 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,058,235 issued to Morris et al. for Vibratory Heat Transfer Apparatus. This patent illustrates a box like frame supported on a series of springs. A vibrating force is applied to the frame causing it to vibrate. A plurality of sloping pervious trays is mounted in the box. The material to be dried is introduced through an entrance chute and passes over each tray as it travels back and forth from one tray to the next lower tray. To minimize the escape of the treating gas a flexible curtain is used. The gas flows into manifolds located on the sides of the box and through ports into the spaces directly below the porous trays. The trays are enclosed on the sides and bottoms. The gas, after passing through the trays, is exhausted. Only one temperature of heated air is used to dry the grain. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,448 issued to Wallin et al. for Drier With Gas-Moved Bed of Material discloses a conveyor system in which gas flows through a porous conveyor supporting a bed of material which is to be dried. The patent discloses an improved means for cleaning the air duct 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,947 issued to Cook for Apparatus and Method for Heating Flowable Material is directed to a method of making asphalt paving materials. It uses high temperature gas injected at a high velocity to fluidize the particles as they drop though a drop zone. It is not adaptable to a grain drying application, as it would burn the grain. It also does not use a vibrating conveyor or a series of heating and cooling steps. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,745 issued to Myers for Aggregate Dryer moves aggregate upwardly from the bottom of the housing to the top. A series if conveyors does the upward movement in a conventional manner. Heaters dry the aggregate as it moves upward. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,945 issued to Westelaken for Multiple Stage Dryer with Intermediate Steeping illustrates a grain drying tower in which the grain passes from top to bottom by gravity flow. There are intermediate drying zones, which end in a cooling zone 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,622 issued to Francis for Dryer Using Vibratory Feeding designed for drying small industrial parts. The parts move along a vibrating helical ramp. There is an air plenum, which continuously introduces heated air onto the ramp 
     None of the devices disclosed in the patents discussed above have come close to achieving the desired goals of a low cost dryer that is compact in size, efficient to operate, and can be either a stand alone unit or incorporated with a combine or harvester. Applicant&#39;s invention has achieved all of these goals. Furthermore it has reduced the cost of drying a bushel of corn by at least fifty per cent depending on the amount of moisture reduction. 
     Applicant&#39;s invention utilizes a unique method and apparatus for drying grain or other similar products, which require moisture reduction. The grain is introduced into the top of the dryer usually by means of a conveyor. The moisture and temperature is sensed to determine if additional moisture must be removed. The grain is moved through a series of partially enclosed vibrating conveyors. The magnitude of vibration determines the speed of the grain. The conveyors are arranged in an alternating, overlapping, stair step configuration to promote a compact design with the dried grain exiting near the original combine grain transfer point. The conveyors all have porous bases to allow airflow up through the conveyor. A heat source supplies heated air to alternate conveyors. Ambient or cool air is supplied to the other alternate conveyors such that a cool air conveyor separates each heated air conveyor. The heat and humidity is monitored as the grain moves along each conveyor. A control system controls the temperature of the heated air, the vibration of the conveyors, and the resulting speed of grain movement. The entire apparatus can be mounted in conjunction with a combine or harvester or built as a stand-alone unit. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a new and unique method and apparatus for drying grain and the like which utilizes a vibrating conveyor system to transport grain from the inlet to the outlet. It is a related object to use a vibrating conveyor system that blows warm or cool air through alternate conveyors to alternately heat and cool the grain to remove moisture from the grain. 
     It is another object to provide a vibrating conveyor system in which the speed of grain travel is controlled by the vibration of the conveyor system. 
     It is another object to provide a grain dryer that is compact in design so that it may be connected to or built integral with a combine or harvester. A related object is to provide such a grain dryer that can also be manufactured of the same, compact design that is suitable for stationary mounting. 
     Another object is to provide a method and apparatus for grain drying that has a greater capacity for drying grain in a given amount of volume than previously designed systems. 
     Yet another object is to provide a grain dryer that is more energy efficient than previous grain dryers and reduces the cost of drying grain. 
     These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from reading the Detailed Description of the Drawings and Description of the Preferred Embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view of the inventive drying apparatus with parts removed to illustrate the internal configuration. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a right side view of the apparatus of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic side elevation view of the vibrating conveyor system in the drying apparatus. 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevation view of the flow of heated air and cool air to alternate conveyor enclosures. 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG.  5 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning first to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a grain dryer  10  constructed on structural supporting frame  11  of the present invention. Although the device is primarily intended to dry grains and corn prior to storage, the device has other applications. For example, after grains or corn are extruded at an ethanol processing plant, the byproduct is compressed into pellets. The pellets have a high moisture content which must be reduced prior to shipment and storage. Applicant&#39;s invention is suitable for use with any such process requiring extraction of moisture from products as small as granular size through products having a dimension of approximately an inch in length, width, or depth. With appropriate modifications to the equipment, even larger products can be accommodated. In fact, Applicant&#39;s invention will work on any material that can be conveyed by a vibratory conveyor. Although throughout the specification the term “grain” will be frequently used, the invention is applicable to any sort of grain or corn product or other product which may be conveyed by the conveyor system. 
     The grain is introduced through a grain inlet  12  which is in the form of a funnel shaped hopper. The grain is normally fed to the hopper  12  from a grain transfer point by means of a grain auger or other such similar conveyor system. From the grain inlet  12 , the grain is transported to a first conveyor  14  by means of a grain auger (not illustrated) which is similar to the auger used to transport the grain to the inlet  12 . The grain is sampled by a humidistat or humidity transducer  20  to determine the moisture content of the grain. A temperature transducer or sensor  18  determines the temperature of the grain at the start of the drying process. Based upon the initial input of temperature and humidity or moisture, the operator can determine if the dryer is necessary to further reduce the moisture content of the grain. 
     A vibrating conveyor is used to move the grain along the first conveyor  14 . It is about sixty inches long by twenty-four inches wide and made from perforated stainless steel. The first conveyor  14  is mounted on isolators  20  located at either end of the conveyor. A motor  22  is connected to the conveyor  14  to cause it to vibrate as is commonly known in the art. The motor can either be a hydraulic motor, a pneumatic motor, or an electric motor. The magnitude of vibration generated by the motor  22  will determine the speed of the grain as it moves along the conveyor  14 . The grain moves from a receiving end  24  to a discharge end  26  of the conveyor. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the receiving end  24  is slightly elevated with respect to the discharge end  26 . This assists in the gravity feed of the grain from the receiving end  24  to the discharge end  26 . Furthermore, the angle of the conveyor  14  can be adjusted by a cam or other suitable means to increase or decrease the angle, and, thus, the speed of the grain as it travels. This can be varied in conjunction with the speed of vibration to accurately control the speed of the grain as it moves along the conveyor  14 . 
     Below the first conveyor  14  is a second conveyor  28 . This has a receiving end  30  positioned just below the discharge end of the first conveyor end  14 . Opposite the receiving end  30  is a discharge end  32  which is positioned below the receiving end  24  of the first conveyor. A third conveyor  34  is mounted below the second conveyor  28 . It also has a receiving end  36  positioned below the discharge end  32  of the second conveyor  28 . At its opposite end is a discharge end  38  which is positioned below the receiving end  30  of the second conveyor  28 . As seen in FIG. 1, there are three additional conveyors, a fourth conveyor  40 , a fifth conveyor  42 , and a sixth conveyor  44 , arranged in a stair step configuration such that the grain moves back and forth from one side of the dryer to the other. This promotes a compact design by having the path that the grain follows zigzag up and back across the conveyors which are oriented one on top of the other. There is a grain discharge area  46  near the bottom of the grain dryer  10  such that it is not too far removed from the beginning grain transfer point. 
     Each of the conveyors has its own vibrating motor  22  which, as stated previously, can be either pneumatically, electrically, or hydraulically operated. Furthermore, each if the conveyors are mounted on isolators  20  which isolate the vibration of the conveyor from the frame and from each other. Each conveyor also can have its angle separately adjusted. 
     In order to effectively remove moisture from the grain as it is transported through the dryer, a series of air movement ducts have been provided. As can be more clearly seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. A duplex industrial type blower fan  46  draws ambient air into the fan. The fan is operated either by an electric motor or hydraulic fan motor. It must be capable of generating sufficient positive pressure as required by the system. In Applicant&#39;s design, a 23,300 cu. ft./ min. industrial blower was utilized. It operated at 860 RPM&#39;s and required a 25 horsepower a motor to drive it. The blower must meet Class 1 performance for use in ventilation, exhausting and drying. The blower  46  is of the double width, double inlet design which is specifically a high volume low velocity blower. 
     The duplex fan  46  draws ambient air from the outside and directs a portion of it to a cold air duct or manifold  50 . This runs vertically upward along the side of the grain dryer  10 . There is a series of cold air feeder ducts or chambers  52  oriented below the second, fourth, and sixth conveyors  28 ,  40 , and  44 . The cold air feeder ducts  52  have either a perforated or completely open upper surface to allow the cold ambient air to pass up through the perforated conveyors  28 ,  40 , and  44 . Alternatively, the fan  46  can blow refrigerant or cooled air through the duct  50 . 
     The duplex fan  46  diverts a portion of the ambient air to a warm air feeder duct or manifold  54 . The duct  54  runs horizontally along the side of the dryer  10 . Air flowing through the duct  54  is directed by a diverter gate  55  to a heat exchanger  56  that can be of any suitable design. A heat source that can be heated by gas, electric, propane solar or other fuel provides the necessary heat to heat the heat exchanger  56 . The byproducts of combustion from the heat source are exhausted through an exhaust manifold  58 . Also the air directed around the diverter gate  55  goes into the exhaust manifold  57 . A spark arrester  58  is attached to the exhaust manifold  57  to minimize the possibility of sparks being discharged into the grain environment. By controlling the diverter gate  55 , only the necessary amount of air enters the heat exchanger  56 . 
     The heated air from the heat exchanger  56  enters a heated air duct  60 . There are a series of hot air feeder ducts  62  oriented below the first, third, and fifth conveyors  14 ,  34 , and  42 . The hot air feeder ducts  62  are either perforated or completely open just as the cold air ducts  52 , to allow the hot air to pass up through the perforated conveyors  14 ,  34 , and  42 . 
     The design of the cold air and hot air ducts  52  and  62  are similar. Both are fed from open entrances from their respective air ducts  50  or  60 . Both have solid sheet metal bottoms  64 . Their sides are defined by a sheet metal skin  66  attached to the frame  11 . The tops are either completely open or present a perforated sheet metal surface to the underside of their respective conveyors. Each of the ducts thus forms an enclosed air passageway that feeds air to the bottom of the conveyors. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 5, there are air exhaust louvers  68  at each conveyor level. The warm air passing through the first conveyor  14  contacts the entire surface of the grain, uniformly heats the grain, and picks up moisture from the entire grain surface. The air rises and is exhausted through the top left louver  68  as seen in FIG.  5 . The cool air passing through the second conveyor  28  is exhausted through the next lower louver  68  on the right. Each conveyor has a louver associated with it to remove the air passing through its respective conveyor. 
     A control system monitors the operation of the system. When the grain enters the first conveyor  14 , the humidistat  16  and temperature transducer  18  measures the moisture and temperature. This data is entered into a programmable controller. The temperature and volume of heated air passing through the first conveyor is calculated and adjustments are made to the heat source and air volume controls. The angle and vibration of the conveyor controls the speed of the grain. As the grain moves from first conveyor  14  to the second conveyor  28 , the amount of cooling air required for cooling the grain to a predetermined temperature and humidity is calculated. Adjustments are made to the angle and speed of the second conveyor  28 . The cool air passing through the cooling conveyors contacts the entire grain surface. It uniformly cools the grain, and blows the moisture away through the louvers at the end of each cooling conveyor. The process is repeated as the grain moves through each of the conveyor levels. The grain is alternately heated by the warm air and then cooled by the cooling air. The moisture is removed from the grain at each level by first heated air driving moisture to the surface of the grain and removing it, and then on the cooling conveyor by the cool air blowing moisture away that had been moved to the surface of the grain. The entire process is adaptable to control by a programmable controller. The operator only must enter several pieces of information such as the type of grain and desired final moisture content and the controller will calculate the operating parameters. The system is also equipped with the necessary safety features to shut down in the event of overheating, fire, heat source or blower malfunction. 
     Thus there has been provided a method and apparatus for grain drying that fully satisfies the objects and advantages as set forth herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made to the specific embodiment described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention and such modifications are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims.