The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 03, 1999
Filed:
Apr. 07, 1997
Robert Gordon Winks, Forest Glen via Nambour, AU;
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation, Campbell, AU;
Abstract
Fumigation of grain in a storage facility having a plurality of grain silos or bins is effected from a single source of a gaseous fumigant. The single source of gaseous fumigant is connected to a gas supply duct through which a carrier gas flows. The gas inlet ports of the silos are also connected to the gas supply duct. The connection between each gas inlet port and the duct is provided with a respective valve and a respective orifice plate, the orifice or aperture of which is sized so that the pressure drop across the orifice plate into the silo is substantially greater than the pressure drop across any other component between the gas source and the silo. With this arrangement, the flow rate of gaseous fumigant through the grain-containing silos in the facility suffers only a minor perturbation when a valve between the duct and a silo is opened or closed. This minor perturbation can be readily compensated by maintaining the gas pressure in the duct at a constant value. The exit gases of the silos in the facility may be recycled through the silos, with the addition of gaseous fumigant periodically or as necessary to maintain a predetermined fumigant concentration.