Thermoprobe for remote temperature measurement of sugar beet roots in ventilated pile

Abstract

FIELD: measurement technology.SUBSTANCE: invention can be used by sugar factories to control the temperature regime of sugar beet root crops during long-term storage in piles. The thermoprobecomprises a rod made of pigmented fiberglass tube with small outer and inner diameters. At the upper end of the rod there is a cylindrical plastic housing, which comprises a power supply, an alarm sensor and a radio module connected by wires to a temperature sensor. The removable plastic cover is made with ribs and a rectangular platform, in the corners of which LED elements are installed. A plastic stop for a removable, collapsible handle is attached to the rod of the thermoprobe. The radio module transmits a wireless radio signal to a receiver at a remote base station, where the temperature is displayed on a graphical interface on the user's computer and compared with a specified threshold value.EFFECT: adapting the thermoprobe for use in a ventilated pile of sugar beet root crops, automating the measurement of their temperature, and reducing material consumption.1 cl, 3 dwg

Description

[0001] The invention relates to the sugar industry and can be used by sugar factories to control the temperature of sugar beet roots during long-term storage in piles.

[0002] A single-zone wireless heating probe, type TShR (e-mail: kompius@mail.ru), is available up to 1.5 m long. Its rod is made of chrome-plated steel and thin-walled tubing, with a temperature sensor located at the lower end. A non-removable Bluetooth LE module with a built-in antenna and a BLE 5.0 wireless interface is installed at the upper end. The probe is equipped with a non-removable polypropylene T-handle. Disadvantages of this probe include the use of a rigid steel rod with a large outer diameter, which requires considerable manual force when inserting it into a pile of sugar beet root crops, making it unsuitable for use in piles of sugar beet root crops. Furthermore, due to the module with the antenna and interface, and the handle, installed on the probe, this probe is material-intensive.

[0003] The well-known WILE Temp temperature probe (e-mail: sales@russkayaferma.ru) provides an insertion depth of up to 1.5 m. It is made of fiberglass with a temperature sensor at the lower end of the rod and a digital display at the upper end, allowing for a wide range of agricultural raw material temperature measurements. The obtained raw material temperature data is also displayed on a digital display. The disadvantages of this well-known temperature probe include the rod's large outer diameter, which prevents its longitudinal deflection, which can damage root crops when the probe is inserted into the pile. The presence of a digital display on the probe increases the labor intensity of obtaining temperature data due to the operator having to read the display daily as it is repeatedly raised to the surface of the pile, and precludes the possibility of transmitting data to an automated temperature measurement system.The design of the handle does not allow a person to apply a large amount of manual pressure with both hands to push the heat rod into the pile.

[0004] The well-known WILE Temp thermal rod is the closest in technical essence to the claimed invention and is accepted as a prototype.

[0005] The purpose of the proposed invention is to adapt a thermal rod for use in a ventilated pile of sugar beet root crops, to automate the measurement of the temperature of root crops and to reduce material consumption.

[0006] The said objective is achieved in that a thermal rod for remotely measuring the temperature of sugar beet root crops in a ventilated pile, made in the form of a hollow rod up to 1.5 m long with a metal conical end and a temperature sensor placed inside the rod, according to the invention, the rod is made of a pigmented fiberglass tube of small outer and inner diameters, ensuring its flexibility, a cylindrical plastic case is fixed at the upper end of the rod, inside which a board is installed in grooves for placing a power element, an alarm sensor and a radio module connected to the temperature sensor by means of wires laid inside the rod, a plastic cover is installed on the case, on the upper outer surface of which ribs and a rectangular platform with a smooth surface are made, LED elements are installed in the corners of the platform,On the outer side surface of the housing and on the lid platform, stickers with the number of the thermal rod are pasted, while on the rod, at a distance from the lower base of the housing equal to its height with the lid, a plastic stop for a removable collapsible handle is attached.

[0007] The essence of the claimed invention is explained by the drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a general view of the thermal rod; Fig. 2 - a plastic housing; Fig. 3 - a plastic cover.

[0008] The thermowell (Fig. 1) comprises a hollow rod 1 made of a pigmented fiberglass tube of small outer (up to 10 mm) and inner (up to 4 mm) diameters, the specified dimensions and material ensure its flexibility. At the upper end of the rod 1 there is a thread, on which a cylindrical plastic housing 2 (Fig. 1, Fig. 2) is hermetically mounted; in the center of its lower base 3 there is an opening 4 with a thread equal to the thread on the rod 1, and on the outer side surface of the housing 2 there is a thread on top. Inside the housing 2, in grooves 5, a board 6 (Fig. 2) is mounted, on which a power supply element (not shown), an alarm sensor 7, a radio module 8 are placed, which is connected to a temperature sensor (not shown) located on the lower end of the rod 1 by means of wires laid inside it. On the removable plastic cover 9 (Fig. 1, Fig.3) an internal thread equal to the external thread on the plastic body 2 is made, on the upper outer surface of the cover there are ribs 10 and a platform 11 of a rectangular shape with a smooth surface, in the corners of which LED elements 12 are installed. Stickers 13 with the same numbering of the thermal rod are glued to the outer side surface of the plastic body 2 and to the platform 11 of the cover 9 for its identification on the graphical interface in the user's computer (not shown). At a distance from the lower base 3 of the body 2 equal to its height with the cover 9, a plastic stop 14 (Fig. 1) is fixed, made in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with square grooves 15 in the middle of the opposite side edges 16 for installing in them a removable prefabricated handle (not shown) for immersing the thermal rod into the pile and removing it from the pile.

[0009] Thermoprobe for remote measurement of the temperature of sugar beet roots in a ventilated pile is used as follows.

[0010] The temperature of root crops is measured using thermo rods with rods of different colors and individual numbers placed according to a given pattern in designated places on the surface of the pile.

[0011] Before inserting a single-colored hollow rod 1, made of pigmented fiberglass tube with small outer and inner diameters, into the designated location of the ventilated pile, the removable prefabricated handle is first installed into the square grooves 15 of the plastic stop 14, located in the middle of the opposite side edges 16 and secured to the rod 1 at a distance from the lower base 3 of the housing 2 equal to its height with the cover 9. The rod is then inserted into the pile by applying manual downward pressure along the entire length of the rod 1 along its longitudinal axis. When inserting the rod into a pile containing root crops of various sizes and inter-root spaces, longitudinal bending is possible due to the material and dimensions of the rod.After the thermo-rod is immersed, the removable collapsible handle is removed from the plastic stop 14 and used to immerse a thermo-rod of a different color into the pile, and the thermo-rod is left in the pile, and the current temperature of the root crops is measured daily until the pile is disassembled using a temperature sensor located inside the rod 1 at the lower end and connected by wires to the radio module 8 located on the board 6, installed in the grooves 5 inside the housing 2. In this case, the radio signal is transmitted wirelessly via a data transmission protocol to the receiver of the remote base station, where the temperature on a specific thermo-rod of a certain color, designated by the corresponding number on stickers 13, is displayed on the graphical interface on the user's computer. The obtained temperature values ​​of the root crops in the designated place of the pile are compared with the specified threshold value, and the result of the comparison is recorded, based on which a decision is made to start the ventilation system of the pile.

[0012] In conditions of limited visibility, during the weekly visual inspection of the thermal rod when walking along the upper surface of the pile, the technical condition of the radio module 8 is determined by the glow of the LED elements 12 installed in the corners of the platform 11 on the upper outer surface of the removable plastic cover 9 with ribs 10. In this case, the absence of glow of the LED elements 12 indicates the normal operation of the radio module 8, their blinking requires its maintenance, and the constant glow of the LED elements 12 requires the replacement of the radio module 8. The alarm sensor 7 informs about the removal of the board 6 located in the grooves 5 from the open housing 2.

[0013] At the end of the designated period of measuring the temperature of the root crops in the pile, the thermal rod is removed by applying manual pressure upward along the longitudinal axis of the rod 1 using a removable assembly handle pre-installed in the plastic stop 14.

[0014] The proposed invention makes it possible to adapt a thermal rod for use in a ventilated pile of sugar beet root crops, to automate the measurement of their temperature, to reduce material consumption due to the use of new materials for the rod, which ensures its flexibility, and for the body, cover, and stop.

Claims

A thermo rod for remote measurement of the temperature of sugar beet roots in a ventilated pile, made in the form of a hollow rod up to 1.5 m long with a metal conical end and a temperature sensor located inside the rod, characterized in that the rod is made of a pigmented fiberglass tube of small outer and inner diameters, which ensures its flexibility, a cylindrical plastic case is fixed to the upper end of the rod, inside which a board is installed in grooves for placing a power element, an alarm sensor and a radio module connected to the temperature sensor by means of wires laid inside the rod, a plastic cover is installed on the case, on the upper outer surface of which ribs and a rectangular platform with a smooth surface are made, LED elements are installed in the corners of the platform, stickers with the number of the thermo rod are pasted on the outer side surface of the case and on the platform of the cover,at the same time, a plastic stop for a removable, assembled handle is attached to the rod at a distance from the lower base of the housing, equal to its height with the lid.

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