JPH04370037A - Grain-drying and storing method and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the drying and storage of grains such as rice while keeping the water-content of the grain to a prescribed level and maintaining the good taste and quality of the grain by supplying dried or moistened air from an aeration unit having an evaporator and a condenser according to the water-content of the grains in a grain storage tank. CONSTITUTION:Grains in a storage tank 12 are dried or stored by supplying air from an aeration unit 100 provided with an evaporator 58 and a condenser 60. When the water-content of the grain is higher than a prescribed level, the storage tank 12 is supplied with an air flow passed through both of the evaporator 58 and the condenser 60 or with air flows separately passed through the evaporator and the condenser to dry the grain until the water-content of the grain is lowered below the prescribed level and the operation is switched from the drying mode to the storing mode by supplying storage tank with air flow passed through the evaporator 58. In the case of storing operation, the air flow passed through the evaporator 58 is humidified with a humidifying means 118 when the humidity of air introduced into the evaporator 58 is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity necessary to keep the water-content of the grain to a prescribed level. The grains can be dried and stored by this operation while maintaining the taste and quality of the grains in desirable states.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grain drying and storage method and a grain drying and storage apparatus used for drying and storing grain.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In order to maintain good taste and quality of grains, such as rice, it is necessary to satisfy the following conditions in the drying and storage steps. The conditions for drying are to dry the paddy slowly under conditions close to natural drying, since if the drying speed of the paddy is too fast, it will lead to an increase in rice cracks and the destruction of vitamins in the rice. Storage conditions are such that if paddy is stored at high temperature and high humidity, the components will be depleted due to the respiration of the paddy and the quality will deteriorate due to the oxygen action (oxidation, etc.) of the paddy itself (in this case, neutral fat is decomposed to produce free fatty acids, which interact with starch to prevent lake formation and promote aging of rice), and store paddy at a low temperature and appropriate humidity.

[0003] Conventionally, it was not possible to perform both drying and storage using the same device, so separate devices were used to satisfy the above-mentioned conditions. That is, the paddy was dried by sending dehumidified room temperature air into the grain tank using a heat pump, and the paddy was stored using a separate storage device such as a freezer.

0004

However, according to the conventional method described above, both a drying device such as a heat pump and a storage device such as a freezer are required.
There is a problem in that separate installation spaces are required for the drying device and the storage device, and this leads to an increase in cost.

[0005] Furthermore, during storage, if the paddy is excessively cooled using a freezer or the like, a problem arises in that the paddy becomes overdry.

[0006] In consideration of the above facts, the present invention has been developed to allow both drying and storage to be performed with one device while maintaining good taste and quality of rice, and to prevent overdrying of paddy during storage. It is an object to obtain a grain drying and storage method and a grain drying and storage device that can prevent the above problems.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention as set forth in claim 1 provides drying and drying of grains by supplying air from a supply unit equipped with an evaporator and a condenser to a storage tank containing grains. A grain drying and storage method for storing, in which when the moisture value of the grain is higher than a predetermined value, the air that has passed through both the evaporator and the condenser or the air that has passed through one each is stored in the storage method. A drying operation is carried out by supplying the grain to a tank, and when the moisture value of the grain becomes below a predetermined value, a storage operation is carried out by supplying the air that has passed through the evaporator to the storage tank, and further, In the case of the storage operation, if the humidity of the air introduced to the evaporator is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for maintaining the moisture value of the grain at a predetermined value, the air passing through the evaporator It is characterized by humidifying.

[0008] The present invention according to claim 2 is a grain drying and storage apparatus having a storage tank for storing grains, and a feeding unit including an evaporator and a condenser and supplying air to the storage tank. When drying the grains, the feeding unit guides air that has passed through both the evaporator and the condenser, or air that has passed through one at a time, to the storage tank, and stores the grains. In this case, in the guide path for guiding the air that has passed through the evaporator to the storage tank, and in the guide path for storing the grain, the equilibrium relative humidity is adjusted to keep the moisture value of the grain at a predetermined value. The apparatus is also characterized in that it includes a humidifying means for humidifying the air that has passed through the evaporator when the humidity of the air that has been guided to the evaporator is lower.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the moisture value of the grain is higher than a predetermined value, the drying operation is performed. That is, both the air that has passed through both the evaporator and the condenser or the air that has passed through only one of them is sent to the storage tank. In the former case, dehumidified normal-temperature air is sent to the storage tank, and in the latter case, dehumidified low-temperature air and high-temperature air are sent separately to the storage tank, and almost all dehumidification occurs within the storage tank. It becomes room temperature wind. The grains are dried by this dehumidified normal temperature air.

On the other hand, if the moisture value of the grain is below a predetermined value, storage operation is performed. That is, air that has passed through the evaporator is sent to the storage tank. As a result, the grain is stored in a low temperature and appropriate humidity environment while the dehumidified low temperature air maintains the moisture level of the grain.

[0011] In the storage operation described above, if the humidity of the air introduced into the evaporator is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for maintaining the moisture level of the grain at a predetermined value, the evaporation The air passing through the container is humidified. As a result, the air fed to the storage tank has increased humidity while being kept at a lower temperature, and the grains are stored in the air in this state. Therefore, overdrying of the grains is prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when drying grains stored in a storage tank, the air that has passed through both the evaporator and the condenser or the air that has passed through one of each is routed through the guide path. It is sent to the storage tank through the In the former case,
Dehumidified normal-temperature air will be supplied to the storage tank, and in the latter case, dehumidified low-temperature air and high-temperature air will be separately supplied to the storage tank, and will become substantially dehumidified normal-temperature air within the storage tank. The grains are dried by this dehumidified normal temperature air.

On the other hand, when storing grain, air that has passed through the evaporator is sent to the storage tank through the guide path. As a result, dehumidified low-temperature air is sent to the storage tank, so that the grains are stored in a low-temperature and appropriately humid environment.

[0014] Here, if the humidity of the air enclosed in the evaporator is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for keeping the moisture value of the grain at a predetermined value, the air passing through the evaporator is humidified by the humidifying means. be done. As a result, the air fed to the storage tank has increased humidity while being kept at a lower temperature, and the grains are stored in the air in this state. Therefore, overdrying of the grains is prevented.

Furthermore, if the present invention as claimed in claim 1 and the present invention as claimed in claim 2 are applied to paddy, the drying and storage conditions explained in the prior art section are satisfied, so The taste and quality of rice will be maintained well.

[0016]Furthermore, the present invention according to claim 1, claim 2
According to the present invention described, since both drying and storage can be performed with one device, the required installation space of the device can be reduced, and separate devices are provided for drying and storage. It is possible to reduce costs compared to the case.

[0017]

1-5, a grain drying and storage apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the grain drying and storage apparatus 10 includes a grain tank 12 as a box-shaped storage tank.
It is equipped with Inside this grain tank 12, an accumulation tank 14 formed by assembling plate materials 14A in the shape of a square pyramid is provided at the middle part in the height direction, and the grains 16 (
(see Figure 4) are integrated. Plate material 14A of accumulation tank 14
A plurality of small holes 18 are formed in the hole 18 for the inflow of dehumidified normal temperature air or dehumidified low temperature air, which will be described later.

A cylindrical body 20 that is long in the height direction of the grain drying and storage device 10 is arranged in the center of the accumulation tank 14. A notch 22 is formed in the axially intermediate portion of the cylindrical body 20 and communicates with the lower space of the accumulation tank 14 . Further, the lower end portion of the cylindrical body 20 is closed by a pedestal 24. Further, a portion of the circumferential surface of the lower end of the cylinder 20 is opened and communicated with a grain threshing path 26 disposed adjacent to the cylinder 20. A stake hopper 28 is attached to the upper end of the grain threshing path 26 so as to be openable and closable. FIG. 3 shows the charging hopper 28 in an open state, and in this state, grains 16 are charged. In addition, in the axial center of the cylinder 20,
A screw conveyor 32 is provided that operates in response to the driving force of a motor 30 (see FIG. 5) provided at the bottom of the grain tank 12.

[0020] The slanted upper end of a substantially box-shaped discharge tub 34 is connected to the upper end of the cylindrical body 20. The inclined lower end of the discharge tub 34 protrudes outside the grain tank 12, allowing the grains 16 to be discharged outside the grain tank 12. A discharge valve 36 that can be opened and closed is provided at the boundary between the upper end of the cylindrical body 20 and the inclined upper end of the discharge tub 34. The open state of the discharge valve 36 (Fig. 4
In the state shown by the two-dot chain line in , the grains 16 conveyed by the screw conveyor 32 are guided into the discharge tub 34, and when the discharge valve 36 is closed, the grains 16 are discharged into the accumulation tank 14 again. Ru.

An exhaust port 37 is provided on the ceiling wall 12A of the grain tank 12, and an exhaust damper 38 that can be opened and closed is provided within the exhaust port 37. When the exhaust damper 38 is open (the state shown in FIG. 1), the air inside the grain tank 12 is exhausted, and when the exhaust damper 38 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 2), the inside air of the grain tank 12 is exhausted. Not done. Further, a temperature sensor 40 and a humidity sensor 4 are provided on one side wall 12B of the grain tank 12.
2 and a moisture meter 44 are provided. These temperature sensor 40, humidity sensor 42, and moisture meter 44 are all provided near the upper end of the accumulation tank 14. Temperature sensor 40
detects the temperature inside and outside the grain tank 12, and the humidity sensor 42 detects the humidity inside and outside the grain tank 12. In addition, the moisture meter 44 is
It is a non-shredding type and measures the moisture content of the grains 16 in the accumulation tank 14.

A heat pump unit 46 as a feeding unit as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided at the lower part of the grain tank 12. This heat pump unit 46 includes a pair of first ventilation passage 48 and second ventilation passage 50 that are parallel to each other along the height direction of the grain tank 12 . These first ventilation passage 48 and second ventilation passage 50 are connected to the third ventilation passage 52.
communicated by. Note that the second ventilation path 50 and the third ventilation path 52 are guide paths.

One end of the third ventilation passage 52 is open and communicated with the outside of the grain tank 12. Further, an outside air introduction damper 5 that can be opened and closed is provided at one end of the third ventilation path 52.
4 are arranged. The open state of the outside air introduction damper 54 (
In the state shown in FIG.
It is said that it can be introduced into 2. In addition, the outside air introduction damper 5
In the closed state of No. 4 (the state shown in FIG. 2), the first ventilation passage 48 is in an open state, and the third
Outside air is not introduced into the ventilation path 52.

Further, a branch wall 56 that divides the third ventilation passage 52 into two in the width direction is provided in the middle of the third ventilation passage 52, and this branch wall 56 allows the third ventilation passage 52 to form an upper passage. It is divided into a lower passage 52A and a lower passage 52B.

The third ventilation passage 52 includes an outside air introduction damper 54.
An evaporator 58 is disposed between the branch wall 56 and the branch wall 56 . Further, in the lower passage 52B of the third ventilation passage 52, a condenser 6 is provided.
0 and a compressor 62 are provided. These compressors 6
2. The condenser 60 and the evaporator 58 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 64. A refrigerant (not shown) flows in the refrigerant pipe 64 in a fixed direction. An expansion valve 66 is disposed in the middle of a refrigerant pipe 64 that communicates the evaporator 58 and the condenser 60. Therefore, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant gas adiabatically compressed by the compressor 62 is liquefied by passing through the condenser 60.
Expanded by passing through the expansion valve 66, the evaporator 5
It is vaporized by passing through 8.

A first damper 68 that can be opened and closed is provided at the end of the upper passage 52A on the evaporator 58 side. The state shown in FIG. 1 is the closed state of the first damper 68, and in this state, the upper passage 52A is closed. Further, the state shown in FIG. 2 is the open state of the first damper 68, and in this state, the upper passage 52A is open.

A second damper 70 that can be opened and closed is provided in the lower passage 52B between the evaporator 58 and the condenser 60. The state shown in FIG. 1 is the open state of the second damper 70, and in this state, the lower passage 52B is open. Further, the state shown in FIG. 2 is a closed state of the second damper 70, and in this state, the lower passage 52B is closed.

A spray nozzle 82 as a humidifying means connected to one end of a feed pipe 80 is disposed near the support shaft of the second damper 70. The other end of the feed pipe 80 is connected to a water storage tank (not shown), and water is force-fed to the spray nozzle 82 through the feed pipe 80 when a pump is driven. A valve 84 for adjusting the amount of spray is provided in the middle of the feed pipe 80. Further, the spraying direction of the spray nozzle 82 is on the downstream side in the supply direction of the dehumidified low-temperature air and in the plane direction of the evaporator 58 . This spray nozzle 82 is configured so that water vapor is sprayed only during the storage operation shown in FIG. Therefore, during the drying operation shown in FIG.
No water vapor is sprayed from 2. Note that this switching is performed by opening and closing a valve 84 for adjusting the amount of spray.

A damper 72 that can be opened and closed is provided in the lower passage 52B near the compressor 62.
In the closed state (the state shown in FIG. 1), the lower passage 52B
Although the lower passage 52B is in communication with the second ventilation passage 50, when the damper 72 is in the open state (the state shown in FIG. 2), the lower passage 52B is closed. A fan 74 is located near this damper 72.
is provided for heat radiation of the condenser 60. Further, a fan 76 is also provided in the second ventilation path 50 to feed air from the third ventilation path 52 into the grain tank 12.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below. First, the grain 16 is put into the loading hopper 28 by an operator. The input grains 16 are guided to the lower end of the cylinder 20 through the grain conveying path 26. The guided grain 16 is
The grain is conveyed to the upper part of the grain tank 12 by the screw conveyor 32. Grain 1 transported to the upper part of grain tank 12
6 are accumulated into the accumulation tank 14 from the upper end of the grain tank 12. The grains 16 accumulated in the accumulating tank 14 are guided again into the cylinder 20 from the lower part of the accumulating tank 14, and are similarly conveyed toward the upper end of the cylinder 20 by the screw conveyor 32. In this way, grain 16 is circulated within grain vat 12.

Next, while the grain 16 is being circulated within the grain tank 12, a drying operation for the grain 16 is performed. Note that the drying operation of the grains 16 is performed when the moisture value of the grains 16 measured by the moisture meter 44 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (15 to 16 (%)).

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the first damper 68 is closed, and the second damper 70 is opened. Therefore, the upper passage 52A is closed and the lower passage 52B is opened. Further, the exhaust damper 38 and the outside air introduction damper 54 are opened, and the damper 72 is closed. As a result, the heat pump unit 46
The air flow path inside includes an evaporator 58, a condenser 60, and a lower passage 52.
B, the second ventilation path 50, inside the grain tank 12, and the outlet 37. Note that in this case (that is, in the case of drying operation), water vapor is not sprayed from the spray nozzle 82.

In this state, outside air is taken in from the outside air introduction damper 54. The outside air taken in is guided to the condenser 60 after passing through the evaporator 58 . Therefore, the outside air is converted into dehumidified low-temperature air by the evaporator 58 and then warmed by the condenser 60 to become dehumidified normal-temperature air. The dehumidified normal temperature air is then fed into the grain tank 12 by the fan 76 and exhausted from the outlet 37. This series of feeding (arrow A in Figure 1)
The grain 16 is dried by a process (direction of air supply).

[0034] When the moisture value of the grain 16 reaches a predetermined moisture value or becomes less than a predetermined moisture value due to the drying operation described above, the storage operation described below is performed.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the first damper 68 is opened and the second damper 70 is closed. Therefore, the upper passage 52A is opened and the lower passage 52B is closed. Further, the exhaust damper 38 and the outside air introduction damper 54 are closed, and the damper 72 is opened. Thereby, the air flow path in the heat pump unit 46 is set to the evaporator 58, the upper passage 52A, the second ventilation path 50, the interior of the grain tank 12, and the first ventilation path 48, that is, an internal air circulation path is formed. Therefore, after the inside air is made into dehumidified low-temperature air by the evaporator 64, it is directly passed through the upper passage 52A, the second ventilation passage 50, the inside of the grain tank 12, and the first ventilation passage 48 in the order of arrow B in FIG. It is circulated. As a result, the air inside the grain tank 12 is kept at a low temperature and humidity, and the grains 16 are stored in this environment. Note that arrow B' in FIG. 2 indicates an air flow path for heat radiation of the condenser 60 during storage operation.

Here, if the humidity of the inside air detected by the humidity sensor 42 is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for maintaining the moisture value of the grains 16 at the predetermined value, the spray nozzle 8
2, water vapor is sprayed along the surface direction of the evaporator 58. Therefore, the humidity of the dehumidified low-temperature air passing through the evaporator 58 increases until it is balanced with the equilibrium relative humidity. As a result, the moisture value of the grain 16 is prevented from becoming lower than necessary.

As a result, if the grain drying and storage apparatus 10 is used for paddy, the conditions for improving the taste and quality of rice are satisfied.

Regarding the storage operation, instead of internal air circulation, outside air may be introduced along the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2. That is, the outside air introduction damper 54 and the exhaust damper 38 may be opened (indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2), and dehumidified low-temperature air may be fed into the grain tank 12. Even when this outside air is introduced, the above-described spray operation from the spray nozzle 82 is performed as necessary.

Further, when the outside air temperature etc. detected by the temperature sensor 40 is 15 degrees or higher, it is necessary to feed the above-mentioned dehumidified low-temperature air into the grain tank 12, but when the outside air temperature etc. is less than 15 degrees may be supplied with natural air.

Further, when the moisture value of the grain 16 is above a predetermined value and the outside air humidity detected by the humidity sensor 42 is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity, the flow of the refrigerant is stopped by stopping the compressor 62. It is also possible to stop the flow and supply only natural wind.

As described above, in this embodiment, since both the drying operation and the storage operation can be performed by one heat pump unit 46, it is not necessary to separately provide a drying device and a storage device as in the conventional case. The installation space for the device can be reduced compared to the case where the device is installed. Moreover, this also allows cost reduction.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the refrigerant flows in one direction, thermal efficiency is better and energy saving can be achieved compared to the case where the refrigerant flows in the opposite direction to obtain dehumidified low-temperature air. can.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the case of storage operation, if the humidity of the inside air or outside air is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for maintaining the moisture value of the grain 16 at a predetermined value,
Since water vapor is sprayed from the spray nozzle 82 and the humidity of the dehumidified low-temperature air that has passed through the evaporator 58 is increased to a predetermined humidity, it is possible to prevent the grains 16 from becoming over-dry.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same numbers and their explanations are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the heat pump unit 100 as a feeding unit has a pair of first ventilation passages 102 and a second ventilation passage running in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the height direction of the grain tank 12. 104. 1st ventilation passage 1
02 and one end of the second ventilation passage 104 are both opened and communicated with the outside of the grain tank 12. In addition, the first ventilation path 1
02 and the other end of the second ventilation passage 104 are communicated with each other by a communication passage 106 disposed orthogonally to the first ventilation passage 102 and the second ventilation passage 104. Communication path 106
One end (first ventilation passage 102 side) is opened into the grain tank 12, and the other end of the communication passage 106 (second ventilation passage 104 side) is opened to the outside of the grain tank 12. There is. In addition,
The first ventilation path 102, the second ventilation path 104, and the communication path 106 are guide paths.

[0046] An evaporator 58 is disposed in the middle of the first ventilation passage 102. Moreover, in the first ventilation passage 102,
A fan 108 is disposed closer to the communication path 106 than the evaporator 58. This fan 108 feeds the air that has passed through the evaporator 58 into the grain tank 12 along the direction of arrow D shown by a solid line in FIG. In addition, the second ventilation path 104
A condenser 60 and a compressor 62 are installed. These compressor 62, condenser 60, and evaporator 58 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 64. A refrigerant (not shown) flows in the refrigerant pipe 64 in a fixed direction. An expansion valve 6 is provided in the middle of the refrigerant pipe 64 that communicates the evaporator 58 and the condenser 60.
6 are arranged. Therefore, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant gas adiabatically compressed by the compressor 62 is liquefied by passing through the condenser 60, expanded by passing through the expansion valve 66, and vaporized by passing through the evaporator 58. Further, the second ventilation passage 104 has a communication passage 10 more than the compressor 62.
A fan 110 is disposed on the 6 side. This fan 11
0, the air that has passed through the condenser 60 is sent to the outside of the grain tank 12 along the direction of the arrow E shown by the dashed line in FIG.
Alternatively, as will be described later, it is fed to the first ventilation path 102 along the direction of arrow F shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

The above-mentioned communication passage 106 includes a second ventilation passage 1
A damper 112 that can be opened and closed is disposed at a location where the communication path 106 intersects with the damper 112. The state shown by the solid line in FIG. 6 is the closed state of the damper 112, and in this state, the second
The supply of air from the ventilation path 104 to the first ventilation path 102 is blocked. Therefore, the air that has passed through the condenser 60 in the second ventilation path 104 is guided outside the grain tank 12 without being sent to the first ventilation path 102. Moreover, the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6 is the open state of the damper 112, and in this state, the second ventilation passage 104 and the first ventilation passage 102 are
It is connected by 2. Therefore, the second ventilation path 104
The air that has passed through the condenser 60 is passed through the communication path 106 to the first ventilation path 10 without being guided outside the grain tank 12.
2.

Now, a tank 114 is provided in the space between the evaporator 58 and the condenser 60. This tank 114 stores drain water 116 from the evaporator 58. Further, a humidifying belt 118 as a humidifying means is located at a position adjacent to the evaporator 58 (on the downstream side in the feeding direction).
are placed facing each other. The humidifying belt 118 includes a driven sprocket 120 disposed in the tank 114 and a main sprocket 1 disposed near the upper end of the evaporator 58.
It is wrapped around 22. The main drive sprocket 122 is pivotally supported by a rotating shaft of a motor (not shown). Therefore,
By driving the motor, the main drive sprocket 122
rotates to move the humidifying belt 118 in the direction of arrow G in FIG. This humidifying belt 118 has a mesh net shape, and when it is reversed by a driven sprocket 120, it is immersed in drain water, and the drain water 116 is taken out. Therefore, in this state, when the dehumidified low-temperature air that has passed through the evaporator 58 passes through the humidifying belt 118, the drain water 116 adhering to the humidifying belt 118 is included in the dehumidified low-temperature air as water vapor. Become.

The operation of this embodiment will be briefly explained below. First, in the case of drying operation, the damper 112 is opened, and the second ventilation path 104 and the first ventilation path 102 are communicated with each other, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. In this state, the outside air taken into the first ventilation passage 102 and the second ventilation passage 104 is converted into dehumidified low-temperature wind and high-temperature wind, respectively, and then is sent into the grain tank 12 via the communication passage 72 by the fans 108 and 110. be done. Therefore, when the dehumidified low-temperature air and high-temperature air are fed into the grain tank 12, the air is almost dehumidified at room temperature. The supplied dehumidified normal temperature air is discharged from the grain tank 12 through the outlet 37. Through this series of feeding processes, the grains 16 are dried.

Next, in the storage operation, the damper 112 is closed, as shown by the solid line in FIG. Therefore, although the first ventilation path 102 is similar to the case described above, the second ventilation path 104 is prevented from communicating with the communication path 106. Therefore, the high temperature air after passing through the condenser 60 is transferred to the grain tank 12 by the fan 108 via the communication passage 110.
Expelled outside. However, the outside air taken into the first ventilation path 102 passes through the evaporator 58 and becomes dehumidified low-temperature air as in the case described above, and then is sent into the grain tank 12 via the communication path 106 by the fan 108. be provided. The supplied dehumidified low-temperature air is exhausted to the outside of the grain tank 12 from the outlet 37. Through this series of feeding processes, the air inside the grain tank 12 is kept at a low temperature and humidity, and the grains 16 are stored in this environment.

In the case of storage operation, if the humidity of the outside air is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for maintaining the moisture value of the grains 16 at a predetermined value, the motor is driven and the humidifying belt 118 moves as shown in FIG. move along the direction of arrow G. In this state, the dehumidified low-temperature air that has passed through the evaporator 58 is transferred to the humidifying belt 1.
After passing through the grain tank 18 , the humidity of the dehumidified low-temperature air is increased, and the air in this state is fed into the grain tank 12 by the fan 108 .

[0052] In this way, the same effects as in the first embodiment described above can be obtained in this embodiment as well. That is, grain 1
During the storage operation in step 6, it is possible to maintain good taste and quality of the rice, and not only can both drying and storage be performed with one device, but also it is possible to prevent the grain 16 from becoming over-dry. . In addition, in this embodiment, the grain tank 12 at the time of drying
Since the amount of water supplied to
Since the drying operation and storage operation can be switched in step 2, the structure can be simplified. .

The grain drying and storage apparatus according to the present invention is not only effective when applied to paddy, but also to grains other than paddy that require the above-mentioned drying and storage operations. is also of course valid.

In the first embodiment, the spray nozzle 82 is switched between spraying and non-spraying by using the valve 84 for adjusting the spray amount.
However, the invention is not limited to this, and the configuration may be such that switching between spraying and non-spraying is performed automatically, mechanically or electrically, for example, by opening and closing the second damper 72. For example, as a mechanical configuration, a disc-shaped lid body is integrally attached to the support shaft of the second damper 72, and the second
state in which the damper 72 of is opened (the state shown in FIG. 1)
In this case, the spout of the spray nozzle 82 is closed by the lid,
When the second damper 72 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 2), the lid may be separated from the opening of the spray nozzle 82 to enter the spraying state. Further, as an electrical configuration, the open/close state of the second damper 72 is detected by a rotary encoder, an infrared sensor, etc., and the valve 84 for adjusting the spray amount of the spray nozzle 82 is used based on the detection result.
The structure may be such that opening and tightening is performed using a driving force of a motor or the like.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the second ventilation passage 104
is communicated with the first ventilation passage 102 through the communication passage 106, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, both the first ventilation passage 102 and the second ventilation passage 104 may be made into L-shaped pipes or the like and communicated directly to the grain tank 12. , the second ventilation passage 104 and the first ventilation passage 102 may be configured to be separated and independent (in this case, the damper 112
is provided in the second ventilation path 104), any structure that increases the amount of feed during drying can be applied.

[0056]

Effects of the Invention: The grain drying and storage method and grain drying and storage device according to the present invention can perform both drying and storage with one device while maintaining good taste and quality of rice. It has an excellent effect of preventing overdrying of paddy during storage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the open and closed states of each damper when performing drying operation using a heat pump unit according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the open and closed states of each damper when the heat pump unit of FIG. 1 is used for storage operation.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the grain drying and storage apparatus according to the present embodiment.

4 is a sectional side view of the grain drying and storage device of FIG. 3; FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the grain drying and storage apparatus of FIG. 3, viewed from the side of the loading hopper.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing a heat pump unit according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Grain drying and storage device 12 Grain tank (accommodation tank) 16 Grain 46 Heat pump unit (feeding unit) 5
0 Second ventilation path (guide path) 52 Third ventilation path (guide path) 58 Evaporator 60 Condenser 68 First damper 70 Second damper 82 Spray nozzle (humidifying means) 100 Heat pump unit (feeding unit)
102 First ventilation path (guide path) 104 Second ventilation path (guide path) 106 Communication path (guide path)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A grain drying and storage method for drying and storing grain by supplying air from a supply unit equipped with an evaporator and a condenser to a storage tank containing grain, the method comprising: If the moisture value of When the moisture value of the grain becomes below a predetermined value, a storage operation is performed by supplying the air that has passed through the evaporator to the storage tank, and further, when performing the storage operation, the moisture value of the grain is A grain drying and storage method characterized in that when the humidity of the air introduced into the evaporator is lower than the equilibrium relative humidity for maintaining it at a predetermined value, the air passing through the evaporator is humidified. . 2. A grain drying and storage device comprising: a storage tank for storing grain; and a feeding unit including an evaporator and a condenser and feeding air to the storage tank, the feeding unit having a When the grain is to be dried, the air that has passed through both the evaporator and the condenser, or the air that has passed through one each, is guided to the storage tank, and when the grain is to be stored, the air that has passed through the evaporator and the condenser is guided to the storage tank. In the guide path for guiding the air that has passed through the container to the storage tank, and in the guide path for storing the grain, the air is guided to the evaporator at a level higher than the equilibrium relative humidity to maintain the moisture value of the grain at a predetermined value. a grain drying and storage device, further comprising: humidifying means for humidifying the air that has passed through the evaporator when the humidity of the air is lower.