Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – With testing or weighing receiver content
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-30
2001-02-13
Douglas, Steven O. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
With testing or weighing receiver content
C141S313000, C141S114000, C177S059000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186194
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention concerns a process and a device for quickly bagging a certain number of grains, particularly seed grains.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Seed grains are sold in sacks whose contents are determined not by the mass of the sack, but by the number of grains in the sack. For a sack of corn grain, this number is around 80,000.
The problem in bagging seed grains comes from the fact that seed grains naturally have different granulometric characteristics. Consequently, it is not possible to define the contents of a sack of seed grain by a mass of grains that would correspond to the predetermined number of grains required to fill a sack.
Traditionally, grain bagging is done in the following phases: the grain is first calibrated and then it is stored in different silos by caliber. For each caliber of grain, the mass of the number of grains required to fill a sack is known. (A sack of 80,000 high-caliber grains will be heavier than a sack of 80,000 low-caliber grains). The calibrated grains are then bagged by a bagging machine; the bagging operation is controlled by a scale whose index value is set on the basis of the caliber of the grains in the lot to be bagged. For each lot of grain to be bagged of different caliber, a different index value is set on the scale.
This seed grain bagging process usually used has many disadvantages, namely:
the calibrating operation is difficult to carry out with precision,
during calibration, a proportion of grain that may reach 10% is lost,
calibration is a stressful operation for the grain,
calibration is an expensive operation in terms of resources and time,
it is necessary to store and manage stocks of grain of different calibers,
the error in the number of grains per sack may reach 5% more or less.
A bagging device is also known from document DE 38 02 268. This device consists of taking grain samples from a flow of grain intended to be bagged. From these samples, the unit mass of the grain is calculated.
Knowing the number of grains that are to be bagged, the total mass of the number of grains that should comprise one sack is deduced from the unit mass of the grains composing the sample.
The operation counting the number of grains in the sample is not specified in this document. But that operation is essential, since the precision of the index value assigned to the bagging scale depends directly on the precision with which the grain counting is done.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to provide a grain-bagging process and device that makes it possible to put into a sack a predetermined number of grains from lots of grains with heterogeneous granulometry, without a calibration operation and with a precision of more or less 2% for the number of grains.
For this purpose, the invention proposes a bagging process for a predetermined number of grains with heterogeneous granulometry per sack, particularly seed grains, which includes the following phases:
grains are collected from a flow of grain intended to be put into sacks,
the grains collected are subjected to a vibration operation to ensure distribution of the grain and to take them to an acceleration device,
the grains go onto an inclined acceleration chute in order to single them out,
the grains are counted by counting cells located at the bottom of the acceleration channels,
when the grains are counted, the feeding of the channels of the acceleration chute is stopped,
the counted grains are weighed,
the number n of grains and the mass of that number n of grains are sent to a calculator that takes these data and finds the theoretical mass of the predetermined number of grains in a sack,
the flow of grains fills a sack placed on a weighing system whose index value is the theoretical mass found by the calculator,
when the theoretical mass is measured by the weighing system, the weighing system orders the sack filling to stop,
the phases described above are repeated at predetermined intervals until the flow of grain to be bagged is exhausted,
the index value of the weighing system is updated each time the calculator finds the theoretical mass of the predetermined number of grains in a sack.
This process makes it possible to bag grains with heterogeneous granulometry and thus to dispense with the grain calibration operation, intermediate storage of different calibers of grain and subsequent handling operations.
Preferably, the number of grains n counted is around 10,000 to 18,000.
Advantageously, the theoretical mass of the predetermined number of grains in a sack, found by the calculator and sent to the weighing system is established by at least two of the last measurements of the mass of a sample of n grains. This makes it possible to give the weighing system an index value based on a trend, not one isolated measurement that can be marred by error or non-representative of the lot of grain intended to be bagged.
The invention also proposes a device based on the process just described, a bagging device for a predetermined number of grains with heterogeneous granulometry per sack, particularly seed grains, which has a structure for conveying grain by gravity to the grain-bagging means controlled by a weighing system, which includes, according to the invention:
a nozzle for collecting grain arranged on the means of conveying the grain,
a horizontal vibrating plate, equipped with channels on the side receiving the grain, with vibrations that ensure distribution of the grains in each of the channels and a shifting movement of the grain,
a chute that includes channels into which the grain slides; the chute is inclined at an angle so that the grain in it is subject to an almost free fall,
means of counting located perpendicular to each channel of the chute,
a weighing hopper to take the grain after counting,
means of controlling the vibrations of the horizontal plate,
means of weighing the grain counted,
a calculator that takes in data related to the number of grains and data related to the mass of that number of grains; these data make it possible to find the theoretical mass of the predetermined number of grains in a sack,
means of weighing the sack, known by themselves, whose index value is the theoretical mass found by the calculator, when that theoretical mass is measured by the weighing system, the weighing system orders the sack filling to stop.
The counting operation done with the counting device in the invention makes it possible to obtain a remarkably precise count of the number of grains in a sample. This precision is obtained in particular because the grains are singled out when the grain goes into the chute, which allows a single grain to be present in front of the counting cell. The final precision of the bagging depends directly on the precision with which the sample-counting operation is done.
Advantageously, the channels in the inclined chute have a convergent profile, which prevents two grains from being present at the same time in front of the counting means.
Preferably, the counting means are composed of optic cells.
Preferably, the weighing hopper is placed on weighing sensors which measure the mass of the grains counted.
Preferably, the number of channels in the vibrating plate, the number of channels in the chute and the number of counting cells is equal to 16.
Advantageously, the vibrating plate is equipped with two suction hoods located above and below it that suck the dust inevitably present during the handling of the grain and make it possible to keep the counting cells clean.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4874049 (1989-10-01), Kee et al.
patent: 5466894 (1995-11-01), Naef
patent: 3148439 (1984-03-01), None
patent: 3802259 (1989-08-01), None
patent: 3911988 (1990-10-01), None
patent: 29709234 (1997-11-01), None
patent: 2293903 (1996-04-01), None
patent: WO 8500656 (1985-02-01), None
Cantor & Colburn LLP
Douglas Steven O.
France Mais Union
LandOfFree
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