GB2200901A - Improvements in or relating to dispensers - Google Patents

Abstract

A dispenser for providing a supplement to the drinking water supply for grazing animals comprises a container 2 having a closable inlet for insertion of material 22 to be dispensed, a liquid inlet 6 in communication with an inlet conduit 10, the inlet conduit 10 having outlets 11, 12 at positions within the containers 2 and displaced from the liquid inlet 6. There is a liquid outlet 7 in communication with an outlet conduit 13. A filter means 16 is positioned between the outlet conduit 13 and the interior 22 of the container 2 so that, in use, liquid can pass through the liquid inlet 6, along the inlet conduit 10 to the interior of the container before returning through the filter means 16 to the outlet conduit 13 and the liquid outlet 7. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO DISPENSERS This invention relates to dispensers and has been devised particularly though not solely for use in providing supplements or the like to grazing animals.

It is often convenient to treat grazing animals with prophylactic materials such as mineral supplements or bloat control detergents by administering such materials through their drinking water.

-In general there are three methods used to achieve this.

Firstly a single dose can be applied to the drinking water trough at a selected rate. Whilst this maintains a constant - average dose level per animal if a set dose is used each day, this method is disadvantageous in that the concentration of the additive is high at the start of a drinking day and becomes progressively lower as the trough fills during the day. The concentration therefore declines, for example, exponentially and as a result animals drinking late in the day receive a very little dose while those drinking early in the day receive a larger dose.

A second method is to utilize in-line treatment at a fixed rate per litre. Automatic injectors are available which inject an additive into the supply line at a preset rate per litre of water. This system ensures a constant concentration of additives but also has a disadvantage. The water intake of cattle (and also other grazing animals) varies with the ambient temperature and the amount of dry matter in the feed. This variation can be as much as five times from one day to another over a period of say a month, depending on the weather. If the water is treated with additives at a fixed rate per litre based on the required dose per animal and the average water intake, the animals can be overdosed or unoerdosed for periods of several days by a factor of two to three times depending on the daily water intake.This is particularly undesirable where the additives may be toxic in high dose rate, and could result in failure of the treatment when the daily intake is below the control level and such failure can occur, for example, in the case of bloat control.

A third method is to treat the trough with an individual dispenser and, by providing a dispenser with, for example, holes and tubes, it is possible to provide a fixed dose for each animal for each day and the output of additives can be controlled to approximate the same general shape as the pattern of water intake over the drinking period. Known constructions of this type also however have the disadvantage that soluble solid phase material cannot be readily dispensed from devices of this type as currently available.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser which will obviate or minimize the foregoing disadvantages in a simple yet effective manner or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly the invention consists in a dispenser comprising a container having a closable inlet for insertion of material to be dispensed, a liquid inlet in communication with an inlet conduit, said liquid inlet conduit having an outlet at a position within said container and displaced from said liquid inlet, a liquid outlet in communication with an outlet conduit and a filter means between said outlet conduit and the interior of said container, so that in use liquid can pass through said liquid inlet and along said inlet conduit to the interior of said container, before returning through said filter means to said outlet conduit and said liquid outlet.

To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accopanying drawings in which: Figure 1 comprises a diagrammatic cross sectional view of a dispenser according to the invention in one embodiment; and Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a dispenser according to the invention in an alternative embodiment.

Referring to the drawings, in figure 1 a dispenser 1 is shown in the form of a container which may comprise, for example, a jerry can 2.

Into inlet 3 to the jerry can is positioned a plug 4 which may be attached, for example, to cap 5.

The plug 4 has a liquid inlet 6 and a liquid outlet 7 and the exterior end 8 of the liquid outlet 7 is displaced outwardly with respect to the container 2 of the exterior end 9 of the liquid inlet 6.

The liquid inlet 6 is in communication with an inlet conduit ib which extends a substantial distance from the inlet 6 preferably, for example, substantially the full depth of the container 2.

The inlet conduit 10 has outlets at least adjacent the remote end 11, for example, by being open at the end 11 and also for example by including apertures such as apertures 12 in the wall of the conduit 10.

An outlet conduit 13 is provided and the inlet conduit 10 is desirably physically contained within the outlet conduit 13.

The outlet conduit 13 is in communication with the liquid outlet 7.

The outlet conduit 13 is preferably closed at the remote end 14. The outlet conduit 13 has associated therewith filter means e.g. formed by a plurality of perforations such as apertures 15 and a filter member such as filter gauze 16 positioned within the outlet conduit. The apertures 15 may be, for example, 2mm to 3mm in diameter and spaced at intervals of, for example, lOmm to 15mm on each side of the conduit 13#. The exact configuration and size of these holes will be determined by the type of material to be dispensed and by factors such as the solubility and distribution of grain sizes. This must be determined empirically for each type of matreial.The gauze 16 may comprise, for example, a fine mesh stainless steel or other material which prevents small grains of material from flowing directly to the liquid outlet 7.

For some fine grained materials such as zinc sulphate, it may be necessary to use a fine mesh filter sock, which will fit over the outside of the tube 13. A stainless steel gauze may allow a slurry of fine crystalline material to run out of the outlet and as a result the dispensing rate could be high. With a filter "sock" of fine gauze material placed over tuoe 13 (figure 1) only solution substantially free of particles can pass through to the outlet tube. The type of sock used in milk filters would seem to be quite adequate.

The construction preferably includes a counterweight 17 which may be positioned for example in a second inlet 18 to the container 2 or otherwise and this weight is selected such that when the solid material is inserted in the container and also some water, the container will float substantially in the disposition shown in figure 1 with, for example, 10-15% of the container above water level. The second inlet 18 provides a closable inlet for material to be dispensed.

The outlet 7 may be in communication with an extension tube 19 into which may be positioned a flow controlling plug 20 or one of a selected range of such plugs such that the outlet orifice may be altered in size so as to control flow rate. The outflow characteristics of the device as described can be adjusted by the hole spacing in the tubes 10 and 13, the outlet orifice size, and the location of the outlet 20, to approximate the shape of an average drinking curve.

In use the construction of figure 1 is part filled with a required dose of solid 21 to be dispensed and sufficient water 22 is added to allow the dispenser to float as above described.

Thus solution in which the solid 21 has dissolved into the water 22 lies above the solid material and drains into the outlet tube 13 to move outwardly through the, outlet conduit 7 whilst at the same time water enters the higher inlet tube 6 and passes upwardly through the inlet tube 10 to lie on top of the more concentrated solution which is in contact with the mass of undissolved material 21. This process continues with the concentrate draining from above the solid material and being replaced with water flowing up the smaller inner tube 10, until the additives have been completely dispensed into the trough.

Referring now to figure 2, a container 30 has a filling aperture 31 for material to be dispensed and plug 32 to close the apertures 31. A liquid inlet 6 is provided feeding an inlet conduit 10 and an outlet 7 fed by outlet conduit 13 is provided having a filter 16 substantially as described for figure 1 The inlet and outlet are in communication with a water supply line 33, for example, by a branch conduit 34 which may include therein a control valve 35.

In this case the container 30 is substantially completely filled with water after the solid material 22 has been added, but once in use the container 30 remains full and surface water runs over at the top as a new charge of additive 22 is added, for example, each day. The gate valve 35 can be used to close the unit off when desired, for example, for filling through cap 32.

The device operates substantially as for the construction of figure 1 but has an advantage that the buffer volume" is large as it includes both the trough and the supply line 33. This has a further smoothing effect on concentration changes-arising from sudden changes in drinking rate. The dispenser can be refilled for each drinking period for example each 24 -hours for an.

in-line unit. In this way the average intake per 24 hour period is maintained at the substantially predetermined level irrespective of variations in daily water intake.

The output characteristics of the dispenser can be adjusted to suit individual needs by changing the effective diameter of the outflow orifice or by restricting the water inflow nozzle.

The construction of figure 1 can be adjusted from a 12 hour unit to a 24 hour unit by inserting a more restricted plug 20 in the outlet or by a similar restriction at the inflow.

A 24 hour unit is more suitable for non-milking cattle since overnight water intake is low and a single longer dispensing period is adequate. Milking cows however have a high water intake during both 12 hour periods.

It is believed that the construction of figure 2 is adequate for 24 hour recharging for both milking and dry stock since the low intake of the dry stock on, for example, a farm overnight will make a larger proportion available to a milking herd which requires more supplement.

Thus it can be seen that at least in the preferred forms of the invention dispensers are provided which allow materials such as, for example, epsom salts or common salt to be dispensed in a simple yet effective manner so as to remain a substantially~ correct supply of the additive to, for example, stock. This construction enables advantage to be taken of the use of an individual dispenser which has the advantage that the average daily dose rate per animal is set by the- amount of material placed in the dispenser and also on high drinking days the trough water automatically by virtue of, the construction adjusts to a lower concentration so that animals are not over dosed but so that a higher concentration rises on low drinking days so that the average dose rate remains relatively constant.The trough has a ballast or buffering effect to smooth out concentration changes which might otherwise result from intermitent drinking. Thus a common trough volume would be 750 litres which is approximately the water intake of 100 cows for 24 hours on low drinking days and would be about 20% o the intake of the same cows on a high drinking day. Because the trough volume is relatively large, the concentration changes with changes in water intake are much reduced, and some additive is stored in the trough on low intake days. This avoids the high concentrations when water intake is abnormally low. As water requirements are determined by the total dry matter intake this has the effect that the additive is administered on a body weight basis as body weight, milk production and growth rate in effect control the dry matter intake. Thus water intake is determined by body weight, milk rate or growth rate in the same way. The requirements for mineral or other supplements depends on the same factors so that a reasonable degree the treatment of the drinking water at the required average dose rate automatically apportions the supplement on the basis of need.

Claims (9)

Claims:

1. A dispenser comprising a container having a closable inlet for insertion of material to be dispensed, a liquid inlet in communication with an inlet conduit, said liquid inlet conduit having an outlet at a position within said container and displaced from said liquid inlet, a liquid outlet in communication with an outlet conduit and a filter means between said outlet conduit and the interior of said container, so that in use liquid can pass through said liquid inlet and along said inlet conduit to the interior of said container, before returning through said filter means to said outlet conduit' and said liquid outlet.

2. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inlet conduit is physically contained within said outlet conduit.

3. A dispenser as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said inlet conduit discharges into said outlet#conduit.

4. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said filter means comprise a plurality of apertures in the wall of said outlet conduit and a filter member across said apertures.

5. A dispenser as claimed in claim 4 wherein said filter member comprises a gauze filter.

6. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said container has a weight contained therein positioned such that when said container is placed in a liquid reservoir said liquid inlet and said liquid outlet are positioned at or adjacent the bottom of said container, said weight being such that said container will float in use.

7. A dispenser as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said container has means thereon to enable said container to be connected to a liquid conduit so that said liquid inlet and said liquid outlet are in communication with said liquid conduit.

8. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said liquid outlet is displaced outwardly from said liquid inlet.

9. A dispenser substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.