Agricultural Inventions

Grain Elevator Corn Gorn Elevator

In the grain trade, a grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits it in a silo or other storage facility. In most cases, the term "grain elevator" also covers the entire elevator complex (an example of pars pro toto), including receiving and testing offices,weighbridges, storage facilities etc. It may also mean organizations that operate or control several individual elevators, in different locations. In Australia the term grain elevatorrefers to the lifting mechanism only (see "usage" below). Prior to the advent of the grain elevator, grain was usually handled in bags rather than in bulk (large quantities of loose grain). However, Dart's Elevator was a major innovation. It was invented by a merchant named Joseph Dart and an engineer named Robert Dunbar during 1842–43, in Buffalo, New York. Using the steam-powered flour mills of Oliver Evans as their model, they invented the marine leg, which scooped loose grain out of the hulls of ships and elevated it to the top of a marine tower.[1] Early grain elevators and bins were often constructed of framed or cribbed wood, and were prone to fire. Grain elevator bins, tanks and silos are now usually constructed of steel or reinforced concrete. Bucket elevators are used to lift grain to a distributor or consignor, from where it falls through spouts and/or conveyors and into one of a number of bins, silos or tanks in a facility. When desired, silos, bins and tanks are emptied by gravity flow, sweep augers and conveyors. As grain is emptied from bins, tanks and silos it is conveyed, blended and weighted into trucks, railroad cars or barges, and shipped to grain wholesalers, exporters and/or local end-users, such as flour mills, breweries and

The Costs of Using a Grain Elevator

Combine

The combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from its combining three separate operations comprising harvesting—reaping,threshing, and winnowing— into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn (maize), sorghum, soybeans, flax (linseed) , sunflowers, andcanola. The waste straw left behind on the field is the remaining dried stems and leaves of the crop with limited nutrients which is either chopped and spread on the field or baled for feed and bedding for livestock. Combine harvesters are one of the most economically important labour saving inventions, significantly reducing the fraction of the population that must be engaged in agriculture

Scottish inventor Patrick Bell invented the reaper in 1826 Scottish inventor Patrick Bell invented the reaper in 1826. The combine was invented in the United States by Hiram Moore in 1834. Early versions were pulled by horse, mule or ox teams.[2]In 1835, Moore built a full-scale version and by 1839, over 50 acres of crops were harvested.[3] By 1860, combine harvesters with a cutting width of several meters were used on American farms.[4] In 1882, the Australian Hugh Victor McKay had a similar idea and developed the first commercial combine harvester in 1885, the Sunshine Harvester.[5] Combines, some of them quite large, were drawn by mule or horse teams and used a bullwheel to provide power. Later, steam power was used, and George Stockton Berry integrated the combine with a steam engine using straw to heat the boiler.[6]Tractor-drawn combines (also called pull-type combines) became common after World War II as many farms began to use tractors. An example was the All-Crop Harvester series. These combines used a shaker to separate the grain from the chaff and straw-walkers (grates with small teeth on an eccentric shaft) to eject the straw while retaining the grain. Early tractor-drawn combines were usually powered by a separate gasoline engine, while later models were PTO-powered. These machines either put the harvested crop into bags that were then loaded onto a wagon or truck, or had a small bin that stored the grain until it was transferred to a truck or wagon with an auger. In the U.S., Allis-Chalmers, Massey-Harris, International Harvester, Gleaner Manufacturing Company, John Deere, and Minneapolis Moline are past or present major combine producers.

Conveyors

Conveyor systems are used widespread across a range of industries due to the numerous benefits they provide. Conveyors are able to safely transport materials from one level to another, which when done by human labor would be strenuous and expensive. They can be installed almost anywhere, and are much safer than using a forklift or other machine to move materials. They can move loads of all shapes, sizes and weights. Also, many have advanced safety features that help prevent accidents. There are a variety of options available for running conveying systems, including the hydraulic, mechanical and fully automated systems, which are equipped to fit individual needs. Conveyor systems are commonly used in many industries, including the automotive, agricultural, computer, electronic, food processing, aerospace, pharmaceutical, chemical, bottling and canning, print finishing and packaging. Although a wide variety of materials can be conveyed, some of the most common include food items such as beans and nuts, bottles and cans, automotive components, scrap metal, pills and powders, wood and furniture and grain and animal feed. Many factors are important in the accurate selection of a conveyor system. It is important to know how the conveyor system will be used beforehand. Some individual areas that are helpful to consider are the required conveyor operations, such as transportation, accumulation and sorting, the material sizes, weights and shapes and where the loading and pickup points need to be.