Grain drier

Abstract

To provide a grain drier capable of stably obtaining the amount of grain charged into the grain drier with good visibility without being affected by dust of the grain or the like charged into the grain drier.SOLUTION: In a grain drier 1 having at least a grain storage part 11 and a hot air generation part 12, a side wall 111 of the grain storage part 11 includes a plurality of grain detection means 16 arranged at predetermined intervals in a height direction of the side wall 111. The grain detection means 16 includes: a detection sensor part 161 capable of detecting grain stored inside the side wall 111 at a location where the grain detection means 16 is disposed; and a light emitting part 162 for emitting light that is visible from outside the grain drier when the detection sensor part 161 detects the grain stored inside the side wall 111.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a grain dryer that allows the amount of grain loaded to be grasped more stably and with better visibility than conventional methods. [Background technology]

[0002] As prior art, Patent Document 1 discloses a grain dryer that is equipped with a group of level windows (sight windows) that display the grain loading level in the grain dryer storage section, and lamps that project light onto the group of level windows from the top panel inside the grain dryer storage section, and by turning on the lamps by operating a switch, the amount of grain stored inside the grain dryer storage section can be confirmed by visually checking the light leaking from the level windows. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-113255 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the level window of the grain dryer storage section becomes dirty due to dust (including moisture) from the grains piled up in the grain dryer storage section, or due to direct contact with the grains.

[0005] Therefore, the amount of light projected from inside the grain dryer storage section that passes through the level window may be reduced due to the adhering dirt, making it difficult to see.

[0006] In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a grain dryer that allows the amount of grain loaded into the grain dryer to be grasped with good visibility and stability without being affected by grain dust or the like loaded into the grain dryer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a grain dryer having at least a grain storage section and a hot air generating section, wherein the side wall of the grain storage section is provided with a plurality of grain detection means arranged at predetermined intervals in the height direction of the side wall, and the grain detection means has a detection sensor section that can detect grain stored inside the side wall at the location where the grain detection means is arranged, and a light-emitting section that emits light visible from outside the grain dryer when the detection sensor section detects grain stored inside the side wall.

[0008] Furthermore, in the grain dryer, the light emitting section emits light of different colors depending on the height position of the side wall where the grain detection means is disposed.

[0009] Furthermore, in the grain dryer, the grain detection means is disposed in an observation window provided in the side wall of the grain storage section.

[0010] Furthermore, in the grain dryer, the detection sensor unit is made up of a capacitance sensor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to grasp the amount of grain loaded into a grain dryer with good visibility and stability without being affected by dust from the grain loaded into the grain dryer. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a grain dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a side view of a grain dryer showing the arrangement of grain detection means in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a grain detection means in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a grain dryer according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown below.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a grain dryer 1 in this embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the grain dryer 1 showing the arrangement of the grain detection means 16. Furthermore, Fig. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of the grain detection means.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the grain dryer 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a grain storage section 11 that stores the grain to be dried, a hot air generation section 12, a grain lifting section 13, a dryer main body 14, an exhaust fan 15, etc., and is based on a known dryer that has at least the grain storage section 11 and the hot air generation section 12.

[0016] Furthermore, the side wall 111 of the grain storage section 11 is provided with a plurality of grain detection means 16 arranged at predetermined intervals in the height direction of the side wall 111 as shown in the drawing.

[0017] As shown in the schematic block diagram of Figure 3, the grain detection means 16 described above has a detection sensor unit 161 that is stored inside the side wall 111 at the location where the grain detection means 16 is arranged and is capable of detecting grain present, and a light-emitting unit 162 that emits light visible from outside the grain dryer when the detection sensor unit 161 detects grain present inside the side wall 111.

[0018] In this embodiment, a capacitance sensor is used as the detection sensor unit 161. When grains are present in the electric field of the detection electrode, the capacitance of the capacitance sensor increases, making it possible to detect the presence or absence of grains at the installation position of the capacitance sensor.

[0019] Therefore, for example, if the detection sensor unit 161 is positioned inside the side wall 111 at the location where the grain detection means 16 is arranged, and the light-emitting unit 162 is positioned outside the side wall 111, it will be possible to reliably detect the grain stored inside the side wall 111 at the location where the grain detection means 16 is arranged, without being affected by grain dust or the like that gets trapped inside the grain storage unit 11.

[0020] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the grain detection means 16 may be disposed in a sight window (not shown) made of a transparent plate provided on the side wall 111 of the grain storage section 11. That is, because the sight window has a low dielectric constant, the grain detection means 16 (detection sensor section 161 and light-emitting section 162) can be installed outside the sight window, allowing grain detection using a capacitance sensor. Therefore, the grain detection means 16 can be easily attached from outside the grain dryer, and moreover, grain can be detected accurately through the sight window.

[0021] The light emitting unit 162 in this embodiment is configured with a light emitting member such as an LED, and is configured to emit light in different colors depending on the height position of the side wall 111 on which the grain detection means 16 is arranged, as shown in Fig. 2 .

[0022] Specifically, the light is configured to emit blue light when the amount of grain in the grain storage section 11 is in the low amount range, yellow light when it is in the medium amount range, and red light when it is in the full amount range. Naturally, if no grain is detected where the grain detection means 16 is located, the light emitting section 162 is turned off. Of course, this does not mean that the LED could emit a different color when no grain is detected.

[0023] The light emitting manner of the light emitting section 162 as described above allows the worker, driver, etc. to stably grasp the amount of grain loaded with good visibility.

[0024] (Other variations) Although one embodiment of the grain dryer of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and also includes the following.

[0025] In the above-described embodiment, a capacitance sensor is used as the detection sensor unit 161, but the present invention is not limited to such a sensor. For example, it is also possible to install a pressure sensor inside the side wall 111 of the grain storage unit 11, and to provide the light emitting unit 162 on the outside of the side wall 111 so that it can be seen.

[0026] With this configuration, although it takes some effort to install the detection sensor unit 161, it is possible to grasp the amount of grain stored in the grain storage unit 11 with good visibility and stability by emitting light from the light-emitting unit 162 without being affected by grain dust or the like stored in the grain storage unit 11.

[0027] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the light-emitting element 162 is configured to emit blue light in the small amount area of the grain storage section 11, yellow light in the medium amount area, and red light in the full amount area, but the light colors and types are not necessarily limited to these.

[0028] In addition, the storage ratios for each of the above-mentioned "small amount range," "medium amount range," and "full amount range" can be set arbitrarily. For example, the "small amount range" can be set in the range of 10 to 30% of the grain storage section 11, the "medium amount range" in the range of 40 to 70% of the grain storage section 11, and the "full amount range" in the range of 80 to 100% of the grain storage section 11, and the light-emitting section 162 can be made to emit light in different colors for each range.

[0029] The system may also be configured to transmit a signal detected by the detection sensor unit 161 to the control means of the grain dryer 1. This configuration makes it possible to appropriately control the grain circulation speed, hot air temperature, air volume, etc. according to the amount of grain stored in the grain storage unit 11, enabling energy-saving operation of the grain dryer 1. In addition, the control means also makes it possible to set and control the amount of grain stored in the grain storage unit 11.

[0030] Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. Furthermore, the components described in the claims and specification may be combined or omitted to the extent that at least part of the above-described problems can be solved or at least part of the effects can be achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 Grain dryer 11 Grain Storage Section 111 Side wall 12 Hot air generating section 13 Grain lifting section 14 Dryer body 15 Exhaust fan 16 Grain detection means 161 Detection sensor unit 162 Light-emitting part

Claims

1. A grain dryer having at least a grain storage section and a hot air generating section, The side wall of the grain storage section is provided with a plurality of grain detection means arranged at predetermined intervals in the height direction of the side wall, The grain detection means a detection sensor unit capable of detecting grains stored inside the side wall at a location where the grain detection means is disposed; a light-emitting unit that emits light visible from outside the grain dryer when the detection sensor unit detects grain stored inside the side wall. A grain dryer characterized by:

2. The light emitting portion emits light of different colors depending on the height position of the side wall where the grain detection means is disposed.

2. The grain dryer according to claim 1.

3. The grain detection means is disposed in a viewing window provided in the side wall of the grain storage section.

3. The grain dryer according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The detection sensor unit is composed of a capacitance sensor.

3. The grain dryer according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The detection sensor unit is composed of a capacitance sensor.

4. The grain dryer according to claim 3.

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