Abstract: The present invention provides grain-drying facilities which can effectively use the heat energy of a biomass combustion hot-air that has been generated in a biomass combustion furnace.

Abstract: There is provided a coating apparatus capable of continuously producing coated rice having powdered coating material adhered to the grains and including a drying process to prevent the grains from being bonded to one another and make the grain surfaces smoother upon drying of the grains. The coating apparatus comprising a binder coating unit for applying liquid binder to the grains being conveyed through a coating and stirring chamber to coat the grain surfaces with the binder; a adhering unit for adding powder material to the grains conveyed through a adhering and stirring chamber to adhere the powdered material to the grain surface by the binder; and a drying unit including a drying and stirring chamber through which the grains are conveyed while being stirred, a blow passage for blowing hot air into the drying chamber to dry the grains, and an exhaust passage for exhausting the hot air from the drying chamber.

Abstract: To provide a method for producing alpharized rice in which a soaking process does not need to be provided and a shape of rice grains is maintained. Means of Solution Such technical measure is taken that pressurized steam-boiling step in which raw material rice grains are steam-boiled with pressurized steam, a cooking step in which the rice grains after the pressurized steam-boiling step is alpharized, a high temperature drying step in which the rice grains after the alpharizing step are dried at high temperature, and a low temperature drying step in which the drying is performed at temperature lower than the high temperature drying step are sequentially provided without providing a soaking step, and an alpharized layer is formed on a surface of the rice grains by pressurized steam-boiling before the cooking step.

Abstract: A grinding type vertical grain milling machine is capable of shortening a dimension of a machine body in the vertical direction and removing bran by evenly suctioning an entire bran removing chamber. The grinding type vertical grain milling machine includes a bran removing metallic mesh cylinder with a main shaft, an integral grinding type grain milling roll body, a bran removing chamber, and a bran discharge pipe that discharges bran to the outside of the machine. A fan-pulley is provided between the bran removing chamber and the bran discharge pipe. The fan-pulley rotationally drives the main shaft to which the grinding type grain milling roll is axially attached and generates a bran removing wind to convey bran produced by the grain milling action of the grinding type grain milling roll from the bran removing chamber toward the bran discharge pipe.

Abstract: There are provided a first belt-clutch mechanism switching power transmission to a first large-diameter pulley, and, at the same time, a second belt clutch mechanism switching power transmission to a second large-diameter pulley, and a first and a second belt clutch mechanism are provided with a first and a second arm members, tension clutch pulleys installed at point portions of these arm members, and actuators which rotate a first and a second arm members in such a way that a position at which a first no-end belt is wound on the first large-diameter pulley is switched to a position at which winding is avoided, and, at the same time, a position at which a second no-end belt is wound on a second large-diameter pulley is switched to a position at which winding is avoided.

Abstract: A piezoelectric valve comprising: a valve main body formed in which are a gas pressure chamber that takes in compressed gas supplied from the outside as well as a gas release channel through which the compressed gas is released from the gas pressure chamber; a valve body placed in the gas pressure chamber to open and close the gas release channel; a piezoelectric element that generates, in the form of displacement, a driving force needed to operate the valve body; at least one displacement amplification mechanism that amplifies a displacement of the piezoelectric element and causes it to act upon the valve body; and a driving means for applying voltage to the piezoelectric element in order to drive the valve body to open the valve and thereby open the gas release channel; wherein such piezoelectric valve is characterized in that the driving means applies voltage to the piezoelectric element in multiple stages so as to suppress fluctuation in the amount of gas ejected from the gas release channel when the valv

Abstract: A purifier is provided that is capable of uniformly sucking powder in a width direction of the sieve layers even when the purifier is configured to be provided with an air distribution chamber formed as being tapered upward and to have a horizontal cyclone provided above the air distribution chamber. The air distribution chamber is configured of paired inclined surfaces formed as being tapered upward, has a suction passage formed as a horizontal cyclone placed above the air distribution chamber. Also, a plurality of barrier walls are provided in the air distribution chamber in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of sieve layers, the air distribution chamber is sectioned by the barrier walls into a plurality of chambers, and rectifying plates are further provided to the air distribution chamber at a narrow position between the paired inclined surfaces to prevent non-uniformity of suction of powder on the sieve layers.

Abstract: A tray used to place granular materials on a reading surface of an image reading device has provided thereto a transparent bottom plate, a background vertically upstanding relative to the bottom plate, and reflective elements arranged at predetermined intervals parallel to the background. In order to enable an imaging means of the image reading device to receive a side view image of the granular materials in the thickness direction thereof with the granular materials placed on the bottom plate of the tray, the tray is provided with a technical means for bending and guiding, by the reflective elements, light from the granular materials in the thickness direction thereof to the direction of the optical axis of the imaging means.

Abstract: A grain images obtained by CCD line sensors are processed by binarization processing to obtain contour images of grains and images of colored portions in the grains. The images are displayed on a monitor screen of an operating panel 30. The contour images and the images of the colored portions are displayed in a superposed state. Box frames generated by a highlight display circuit in control means 12 are simultaneously displayed by being superposed on the contour images having defective portions, thus producing a highlight display of defective grains. The defective grains include a grain having a light colored portion and a grain having a dark colored portion.

Abstract: Grain or legume having an increased content of a functional component (?-aminobutyric acid) is obtained by humidifying grain (such as rice, wheat or corn) or legume (such as soybean and adzuki bean) by forcing the grain into an air having a temperature of 50° C. or more and a relative humidity of 90% or more such that a moisture content thereof rises within the range of 16.0% to 18.5%, and thereafter, drying the grain or legume.

Abstract: Raw material rice (brown rice and partially-milled rice) is subjected to a preliminary pressurized steam-boiling process to form an alpharized layer on the surface of the raw material rice, and then a moisture adding process is performed. Since the surface of the raw material rice is alpharized to become stiff with the preliminary pressurized steam-boiling process, even rapid moisture addition does not cause a crack in the raw material rice. Therefore, water absorption can be quickly achieved to a target moisture content, thereby reducing a moisture adding time. Also, with no crack, quick-cooking rice with an excellent outer appearance of rice as a product and without a drain of nutrients in rice grains at the time of rice cooking.

Abstract: An optical cracked-grain selector that does not mistakenly identify normal grains of rice having no cracks as cracked grains due to the presence of the embryonic portion and/or surface scratches when optically identifying cracked grains of rice mixed in with material rice grains. An identification part in a cracked grain identification unit obtains a first rice grain image (having an embryonic portion and scratches) based on light passed through the rice grain that is received by a first CCD sensor built into a CCD camera of a photoreaction detection unit and a second rice grain image (having cracks, an embryo portion and scratches) based on light passed through the rice grain received by a second CCD sensor built into the CCD camera, acquires an image of the cracks by calculating a difference in the amount of light between the two rice grain images, and identifies a cracked grain.

Abstract: There is provided a coating apparatus capable of continuously producing coated rice having powdered coating material adhered to the grains and including a drying process to prevent the grains from being bonded to one another and make the grain surfaces smoother upon drying of the grains. The coating apparatus comprising a binder coating unit for applying liquid binder to the grains being conveyed through a coating and stirring chamber to coat the grain surfaces with the binder; a adhering unit for adding powder material to the grains conveyed through a adhering and stirring chamber to adhere the powdered material to the grain surface by the binder; and a drying unit including a drying and stirring chamber through which the grains are conveyed while being stirred, a blow passage for blowing hot air into the drying chamber to dry the grains, and an exhaust passage for exhausting the hot air from the drying chamber.

Abstract: A purifier is provided that is capable of uniformly sucking powder in a width direction of the sieve layers even when the purifier is configured to be provided with an air distribution chamber formed as being tapered upward and to have a horizontal cyclone provided above the air distribution chamber. The air distribution chamber is configured of paired inclined surfaces formed as being tapered upward, has a suction passage formed as a horizontal cyclone placed above the air distribution chamber. Also, a plurality of barrier walls are provided in the air distribution chamber in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of sieve layers, the air distribution chamber is sectioned by the barrier walls into a plurality of chambers, and rectifying plates are further provided to the air distribution chamber at a narrow position between the paired inclined surfaces to prevent non-uniformity of suction of powder on the sieve layers.

Abstract: A coating film peeling apparatus for resin material includes: a peeling cylinder, a peeling roll installed therein with a space for a peeling process along an inner wall of the peeling cylinder, a resistance lid disposed to block a discharge port of the peeling cylinder, and a pressure adjustment part for adjusting an outflow rate and internal pressure of the peeling cylinder. The peeling cylinder is constituted by a polygonal-shaped angular columnar body having, as coating film pass-through holes, rows K of small holes and rows L of small holes and projection rings (angular embossments) provided alternately in multiple rows along a direction perpendicular to a rotating direction of the peeling roll.

Abstract: There is provided a coating solution which can efficiently take in dietary fiber at high concentration. A manufacturing method and apparatus of the coating solution are provided. According to this method, the coating solution having high viscosity can be obtained. According to this apparatus, even if the added amount is larger compared to the amount of rice, a large amount of coated rice can be continuously manufactured without causing the clogging in the flow of rice and the coating solution in the apparatus and the binding of rice. The coating solution is added at a ratio of 6.0 to 8.0% by weight to rice. The coating solution is made of a water solution of a mixture of one or more kinds of soluble dietary fiber and one or more kinds of insoluble dietary fiber. The mixture is at a ratio of one part by weight of the soluble dietary fiber and 0.5 to 2 parts by weight of the insoluble dietary fiber.

Abstract: A hulled rice distribution device (30) is disposed between a hulling section (10) and a wind sorting section (60) of a rice huller (1). This distribution device (30) comprises an distribution gutter (35) for receiving hulled rice falling from the hulling section, and a screw (32) for conveying the hulled rice having flowed into the distribution gutter (35) in the lengthwise direction of the distribution gutter. A plurality of holes (41, 42 and 43) for the hulled rice to fall through are formed in the distribution gutter (35), and some of them may be blocked or opened by a falling rice control plate (34).