Pivoting probe structure for electrically sensing the moisture content of a moving granular material

Claim 1

STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRICALLY SENSING THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF MOVING GRANULAR MATERIAL COMPRISING A PROBE INCLUDING AN ELONGATED, HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL OUTER ELECTRODE, AN INSULATING MEMBER IN EACH END OF THE CYLINDRICAL ELECTRODE, AN ELONGATED INNER ELECTRODE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE OUTER ELECTRODE CENTRALLY THEREOF AND EXTENDING THROUGH AND SUPPORTED BY THE INSULATING MEMBERS AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE OUTER ELECTRODE IN ELECTRICAL ISOLATION FROM THE OUTER ELECTRODE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE OPPOSITE TERMINALS OF A SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY TO THE INNER AND OUTER ELECTRODES AND MEANS FIXEDLY LOCATED AT A SENSING POSITION FOR PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE PROBE IN DIFFERENT SELECTED AXIAL POSITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOVING GRANULAR MATERIAL AND SO THAT ONE END OF THE PROBE EXTENDS DIFFERENT SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCES INTO THE GRANULAR MATERIAL WITH THE PROBE MAKING DIFFERENT OBTUSE ANGLES WITH THE SURFACE OF THE GRANULAR MATERIAL, SAID PIVOT MOUNTING PROVIDING FOR ARCUATE MOVEMENT OF THE PROBE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE GRANULAR MATERIAL TO MAINTAIN A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT PRESSURE ON THE END OF THE PROBE EXTENDING INTO THE GRANULAR MATERIAL.