Grain Crushing via Impact Anvil to Prevent Germ Rupture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current grain crushing methods result in uneven particle sizes, increased wear and tear on rollers leading to metal dust contamination, and potential rancidity due to germ pouch rupture, requiring excessive time and manual power.
Innovation Solution
A controlled grain crushing process using intermeshed rollers with adjustable spacing to maintain a consistent overlap distance, protecting the germ pouch and producing uniform particle sizes, reducing waste and preserving nutritional value.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional friction-based roller crushing is used, then grains are broken into smaller particles, but the rollers experience increased wear and tear producing metal dust contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional friction-based mechanical crushing system with an impact-based crushing mechanism. Grains are dropped from height onto an anvil surface, utilizing gravitational potential energy converted to kinetic energy for crushing. This substitution eliminates the need for rotating rollers that generate metal dust through friction and wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the harmful rollers from the crushing system entirely, replacing them with a stationary anvil surface. By taking out the rotating roller components that cause metal dust contamination, the system achieves clean grain crushing without introducing metallic particles into the processed material.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional milling is used to crush grains, then particles are reduced in size, but the particle sizes become uneven and require repeated processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental crushing parameter from gradual friction-based reduction to single-step impact crushing. By dropping grains from a specific height onto a hard anvil surface, the system achieves consistent particle size in one operation. The controlled drop height ensures uniform impact force, producing uniform particles without requiring repeated processing cycles.
3Productivity
If traditional crushing methods are used, then grains are broken down, but the germ pouch is cut and ruptured causing rancidity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using a hard, non-yielding anvil surface that fractures grain cell walls through impact while preserving the more resilient germ pouch structure. The anvil surface is specifically designed to be harder than the grain kernel, creating localized stress concentrations that break the starchy endosperm while the germ pouch, being more elastic and oil-containing, resists rupture and maintains integrity.
4Productivity
If friction-based roller crushing is used, then manual power is required to rotate the rollers, but this consumes excessive manual effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes equipotentiality by leveraging gravitational potential energy. Grains are elevated to a certain height and then allowed to fall freely onto the anvil surface. The gravitational field provides the crushing force without requiring external manual power to rotate rollers or drive mechanisms. The system converts potential energy to kinetic energy naturally, eliminating the need for continuous manual energy input.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process enhances shelf life, reduces energy and production costs, minimizes waste, and ensures better nutritional value by maintaining the integrity of the germ pouch, resulting in more efficient and cost-effective grain processing.
Implementation Method 1
the grain in the cavity is crushed into smaller pieces due to a force of friction between the pair of rollers
Implementation Method 2
the grain in the cavity is crushed into smaller pieces due to a force of friction between the pair of rollers
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are grain crushing apparatuses and processes for processing grain. In one embodiment, a grain crushing apparatus includes a first and second sidewall spaced apart from one another a throat dimension in a first direction, and a first and second support shaft positioned transverse to the first and sidewall. The grain crushing apparatus also includes a first and second grain crushing roller. The grain crushing rollers are intermeshed with one another and maintained at positions spaced apart from one another such that they overlap by a distance less than the tooth height. The process is a method for the grown and harvested grain to be shelled, cleaned, stored and then incrementally or iteratively crushed by the shown apparatus or an equal type such that the crushed grain of various sizes may be separated by a sieve and remain as crushed grain with the germ protected uncut, unruptured and intact.