Grain drying and storage structure

Claim 1

In a drying structure of the type having an exterior wall with an upper edge, an inclined roof structure with a lower portion extending outwardly beyond and overhanging the upper edge of the exterior wall, a perforated false floor on which a material to be dried is placed and means for driving heated air from under the perforated false floor up into and through the material to be dried, the improvement comprising: (a) means for supporting the roof structure so that its lower portion is spaced equidistant above the upper edge of the wall; (b) a shell structure for surrounding a portion of the wall, said shell structure having an upper edge and a lower edge and extending substantially continuously around the exterior of the wall; and (c) means for holding the shell structure exterior of the wall so that the shell is in a spaced relationship with the wall, the upper edge of the shell being in close proximity to the overhanging lower portion of the roof structure where it extends outwardly beyond the upper edge of the wall, and the lower edge of the shell extending at least fifty percent of the distance between the overhanging lower portion of the roof structure and the perforated floor of the drying structure, whereby the heated air, after passing upwardly through the material to be dried, is directed through the space defined between the upper edge of the wall and the lower portion of the roof structure and thereafter passes downwardly through the space defined between the shell structure and wall so as to protect the wall adjacent the shell from ambient temperature and to also prevent condensation from forming on the interior of the wall.