Automatic grain drying system

Claim 2

An automatic grain drying system comprising: a grain storage container; a blower moving air from outside the storage container through grain located within the storage container; a control system which monitors temperature and moisture of grain within the storage container and temperature and moisture of air outside the storage container and automatically operates the blower or blocks operation of the blower depending upon the relationship of the temperature and moisture of the stored grain to the temperature and moisture of the outside air; and timer means selectively actuatable manually by an operator to operate the blower manually, without influence by the temperature and moisture levels of the grain and air, for a specific period of time, and then operable automatically after said specific time period to return the system to automatic control.

Claim 3

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1 wherein the control system comprises: a humidistat external to the storage container and reading the moisture level of the outside air; a dew point circuit to convert the outside air moisture level to a function which represents its dew point; and a comparator circuit which compares the dew point function to temperatures within and outside the storage container and prevents blower operation if condensation is likely within the storage container.

Claim 4

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1 further including means for automatically reading grain moisture levels at several locations within the storage container; means for comparing these moisture levels to the moisture in the air moving into the storage container; and means for blocking blower operation if the moisture in the air surpasses the moisture level in the grain.

Claim 5

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1, wherein the control system includes a control which can be set to block blower operation when the grain moisture level decreases to a prescribed level.

Claim 6

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1 further including controls for manually entering data representing grain moisture levels at several locations within the grain in the storage container; means for comparing this data to the moisture in the air moving into the storage container; and means for blocking blower operation if the moisture in the air surpasses the moisture level in the grain.

Claim 7

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1 further including means for reading grain temperature at various locations within the storage container which comprises an essentially vertical configuration with multiple temperature sensors along its length.

Claim 8

The automatic grain drying system of claim 6 further including an additional temperature sensor attached to the multiple temperature sensor configuration by means of an umbilical chord so that the additional temperature sensor may read grain temperature at a location within the grain remote from the other temperature sensors.

Claim 9

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1 further including multiple temperature sensors located within the grain in the storage container and a display means which furnishes temperature readings of the multiple sensors, said display means constructed so that the temperature readings are oriented relative to each other to represent the location of the temperature sensors within the grain.

Claim 10

The automatic grain drying system of claim 1 further including a mode selection means which permits either automatic or manual operation of the blower.

Claim 11

An automatic grain drying system comprising: a grain storage container; a blower moving air from outside the storage container through grain located within the storage container; first means for monitoring and taking readings of grain temperatures at several locations within the storage container; second means for monitoring and taking a reading of air temperature outside of the storage container; third means for monitoring and taking readings of grain moisture levels at several locations within the storage container; fourth means for monitoring and taking a reading of air moisture level outside of the storage container; and a control system which receives said temperature and moisture level readings from said first, second, third and fourth means and operates the blower or blocks operation of the blower depending upon the relationship of the temperature and moisture levels of the grain at the several locations within the storage container to the temperature and moisture level of the air outside of the storage container.

Claim 12

An automatic grain drying system comprising: a grain storage container; a blower moving air from outside the storage container through grain located within the storage container; first means for monitoring and taking readings of grain temperatures at several locations within the storage container; second means for monitoring and taking a reading of air temperature outside of the storage container; third means for monitoring and taking readings of grain moisture levels at several locations within the storage container; fourth means for monitoring and taking a reading of air moisture level outside of the storage container; and a control system which receives said temperature and moisture level readings from said first, second, third and fourth means and operates the blower or blocks operation of the blower depending upon the relationship of the temperature and moisture levels of the grain at the several locations within the storage container to the temperature and moisture level of the air outside of the storage container.

Claim 13

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, wherein: said fourth means includes a humidistat located external to the storage container for reading the moisture level of the outside air; and said control system includes a dew point circuit to convert the outside air moisture level to a function which represents its dew point, and a comparator circuit which compares the dew point function to temperatures within and outside the storage container and prevents blower operation if condensation is likely within the storage container.

Claim 14

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, wherein: said third means includes probes for automatically reading grain moisture levels at the several locations within the storage container; and said control system includes means for comparing these moisture levels to the moisture level of the air outside of the storage container, and means for blocking blower operation if the moisture level of the air surpasses the moisture level of the grain.

Claim 15

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, wherein said control system includes a control which can be set to block blower operation when the grain moisture level decreases to a prescribed level.

Claim 16

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, wherein: said third means includes controls for manually entering data representing grain moisture levels at the several locations within the grain in the storage container; and said control system includes means for comparing this data to the moisture level in the air outside of the storage container, and means for blocking blower operation if the moisture level in the air surpasses the moisture levels in the grain.

Claim 17

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, wherein said first means for reading grain temperatures at various locations within the storage container comprises a generally vertical configuration with multiple temperature sensors along its length.

Claim 18

The automatic grain drying system of claim 15, wherein said first means includes an additional temperature sensor attached to the multiple temperature sensor configuration by means of an umbilical chord so that the additional temperature sensor may read grain temperature at a location within the grain remote from the other temperature sensors.

Claim 19

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, wherein: said first means for reading grain temperatures at various locations within the storage container comprises multiple temperature sensors located within the grain in the storage container; and said control system includes a display means which furnishes temperature readings of the multiple sensors, said display means constructed so that the temperature readings are oriented relative to each other to represent the location of the temperature sensors within the grain.

Claim 20

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, further comprising: a mode selection means which permits either automatic or manual operation of the blower.

Claim 21

The automatic grain drying system of claim 10, further comprising: timer means to operate the blower manually, without influence by the moisture levels in the grain and air, for a specific preset period of time, and then to return the system to automatic operation.