Processing cereal grains and seeds by a semi-dry milling method

Claim 1

A process for dehulling in accordance with claim 1, wherein the particles are propelled against the impact surface in the first zone at a speed in the range from about 1,000 feet per minute to about 5,000 feet per minute and are subjected to abrasive action, during the processing, that removes the hulls.

Claim 3

A method for dehulling a particulate agricultural raw material consisting of discrete kernels of cereal or discrete seeds, that comprises: subjecting the material to a preliminary aqueous treatment to loosen the hulls; then, in a first, generally cylindrical zone that is disposed with an upright axis, supplying a stream of the particles generally axially of the zone to a central area thereof and then accelerating the particles generally horizontally and radially outwardly and permitting them to strike an impact surface and to undergo movement along that impact surface; dropping the impacted particles directly, by gravity, but with helically directed momentum initiated in said first zone, into a second zone that is contiguous with said first zone and disposed immediately therebelow, said second zone being defined by a pair of spaced, rough, confronting, truncated, individually downwardly converging conical surfaces, at least one of which is rotating relative to the other in a direction to continue the helical movement of the particles initiated in said first zone; subjecting the particles in said second zone to impact and to abrasion, with progressively milder abrading action as the particles drop downwardly between said conical surfaces and are impelled by contact with the rotary surface to move through a generally helical path, to effect substantially complete hull removal, said conical surfaces being spaced a predetermined distance apart such that a given particle is contacted by only one of said surfaces at a given time; discharging the processed particles and removed hulls from said second zone through an open annulus between said confronting surfaces; and recovering the discharged material for separation into components.

Claim 5

A method for peeling artificially dried corn that comprises: immersing the corn kernels for a short period of time in a dilute caustic solution, at an elevated temperature, to loosen the hulls; then, in a first, generally cylindrical zone that is disposed with an upright axis, supplying the best treated corn kernels generally axially of the zone to a central area thereof and then accelerating the kernels generally horizontally and radially outwardly and permitting them to strike an impact surface at an impact speed up to about 5,000 feet per minute, in a direction to cause the kernels to move along that surface; dropping the impacted kernels directly, by gravity, but with helically directed momentum initiated in said first zone, into a second zone that is contiguous with said first zone and disposed immediately therebelow, said second zone being defined by a pair of spaced, rough, confronting, truncated, individually downwardly converging conical surfaces, at least one of which is rotating relative to the other in a direction to continue the helical movement of the kernels initiated in said first zone; subjecting the kernels to impact and to abrasion in said second zone as they drop downwardly between said conical surfaces and are impelled by contact with the rotary surface to move through a generally helical path, with the abrading action being progressively milder as the kernels pass through said second zone by reason of the progressively decreasing relative speeds between said confronting surfaces throughout said second zone, to effect substantially complete hull removal, said conical surfaces being spaced a predetermined distance apart such a given kernel is contacted by only one of said surfaces at a given time; discharging the processed kernels and hulls from said second zone through an open annulus between said confronting surfaces, and recovering the processed material for separation into components.

Claim 7

A method for degerminating kernels of dried corn comprising: in a first, generally cylindrical zone that is disposed with an upright axis, supplying a stream of the corn kernels generally axially of the zone to a central area thereof and then accelerating the corn kernels generally horizontally and radially outwardly and permitting them to strike an impact surface at a speed in the range from about 5,000 feet per minute to about 20,000 feet per minute to cause them to fracture and to undergo movement along that impact surface, while releasing a portion of the germ substantIally intact; dropping the impacted kernels directly, by gravity, but with helically directed momentum initiated in said first zone, into a second zone that is contiguous with said first zone and disposed immediately therebelow, said second zone being defined by a pair of spaced, rough, confronting, truncated, individually downwardly converging conical surfaces, at least one of which is rotating relative to the other in a direction to continue the helical movement of the kernels initiated in said first zone; subjecting the kernels to further successive impacts in said second zone as it drops downwardly between said conical surfaces and is impelled by contact with the rotary surface to move through a generally helical path, said conical surfaces being spaced a predetermined distance apart such a given kernel is contacted by only one of said surfaces at a given time; discharging the processed material from said second zone through an open annulus between said confronting surfaces; and recovering the processed material for separation into components.