AU2021104174B4

AU2021104174B4 - Stock feeder assembly

Info

Publication number: AU2021104174B4
Application number: AU2021104174A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jonathan Noel Bowder
Original assignee: N & E Bowder Pty Ltd
Current assignee: N & E Bowder Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-19
Filing date: 2021-07-15
Publication date: 2022-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2029-07-15
Also published as: AU2021104174A4; AU2021205069A1

Abstract

A stock feeder comprising: a feed container including a base and one or more upstanding walls extending from said base to define an internal volume for receiving stock feed, the upstanding walls defining an opening along an upper portion of the upstanding walls for receiving stock feed; and one or more support members projecting radially outwardly from the upstanding walls of the feed container, the support members being configured for receiving and supporting one or more post members thereon, the post members being arranged to support a roof member that is movable between an open and closed position during use.

Description

STOCKFEEDERASSEMBLY TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] The present invention relates to a stock feeder.

BACKGROUND

[002] Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to

be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of

the common general knowledge.

[003] There are many ways to provide food products to feedstock on large cattle

stations. In such scenarios, food must be made available to an animal to enable it to

feed at will. Such situations include instances where animals are encouraged to

increase weight such as when animals are intended for slaughter for later human

consumption. Also, there are situations where an animal must be left unattended for

long periods of time. As a result, there is a need to provide food to the animal on a

demand basis knowing that the presented food supply is of a quantity which the

animal could not possibly consume at a single feeding.

[004] Cattle feeders that include a large container (for holding large volumes of

animal feed) held within a heavy-duty steel or iron pipe frame are well known. It is

also well known to use a durable roof with sufficient overhang to shield the contents

of the large container over long periods of time from direct sunlight and provide

protection from weather. It is also known to provide various different mechanisms

which facilitate opening and closing of the roof. One such mechanism has been described in Australian Innovation Patent No. 2013100403 that shows a mechanism that allows the roof to move in a horizontal direction to allow fresh feed to be deposited into the large container.

[005] One of the problems associated with currently known stock feeders is that the

heavy duty pipe frame is susceptible to corrosion and also adds to the weight of the

stock feeder assembly. The currently known stock feeders are also difficult to

transport and relocate. Therefore, there is at least a need for providing an improved

stock feeder assembly which addresses some of the issues of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[006] In an aspect, the invention provides a stock feeder comprising: a feed

container including a base and one or more upstanding walls extending from said

base to define an internal volume for receiving and holding stock feed, the

upstanding walls defining an opening along an upper portion of the upstanding walls

for receiving stock feed; and one or more support members projecting radially

outwardly from the upstanding walls of the feed container, the support members

being configured for receiving and supporting one or more post members thereon,

the post members being arranged to support a roof member that is movable between

an open and closed position during use.

[007] In an embodiment, the one or more support members extend along a height

of the one or more upstanding walls.

[008] In an embodiment, the support members comprise supporting pillars formed

integrally with the one or more upstanding walls.

[009] In an embodiment, the base comprises base portions extending radially

outwardly from an in-use lower region of the upstanding walls.

[0010] In an embodiment, in-use lower portions of the one or more support members

are integrally formed with the base.

[0011] In an embodiment, the in-use lower portions of the one or more support

member are integrally formed with the radially outwardly extending base portions.

[0012] In an embodiment, the one or more support members further comprise an

opening to allow at least one post member to be received into an internal cavity

defined by walls of each support member.

[0013] In an embodiment, the stock feeder comprises a continuous upstanding wall

defining a cylindrical or a frusto-conical internal volume for the feed container.

[0014] In an embodiment, the stock feeder further comprises a pivoting arrangement

coupled with said roof and one or more post members to allow the roof member to

pivot between an open and closed position.

[0015] In an embodiment, one or more of said support members further comprise an

anchoring arrangement for allowing attachment of the container to a vehicle to

facilitate transportation or relocation of the stock feeder.

[0016] In an embodiment, the anchoring arrangement comprises an outrigger

member extending outwardly from an outer wall of the support member, the outrigger

member being coupled with a lower portion of the post received into the support

member.

[0017] In an embodiment, in a nested configuration, the base of a first of said feed

container is configured to be received and supported on an in-use upper region of

the one or more supporting members of second of said feed container thereby

facilitating a plurality of said feed containers to be stacked on top of each other.

[0018] In an embodiment, the roof comprises one or more profiled hollow portions

adapted for receiving respective upper regions of one or more respective support

members through openings located along an underside of the roof member for

facilitating nesting or stacking of the roof on said one or more support members.

[0019] In an embodiment, the profiled hollow portions of the roof member allows the

profiled portions of a first of said roof member to be received into the openings

located along the underside of a second of said roof member thereby facilitating a

plurality of said roof members to be nested or stacked on top of each other during

transportation.

[0020] In an preferred embodiment, the feed container and/or the roof member may

be made from polymeric material, preferably moulded polymeric material including

but not limited to polyethylene.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be

discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient

information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed

Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of

the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number

of drawings as follows:

Figure 1 is a is a top perspective view of a stock feeder assembly 100 in accordance

with a first embodiment.

Figure 2 is a top view of the stock feeder assembly 100.

Figure 3 is a first side view of the stock feeder assembly 100 shown in a closed

position.

Figure 4 is a second side view of the stock feeder assembly 100 shown in a closed

position.

Figure 5 is a side view of he stock feeder assembly 100 shown in an open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Figures 1 to 5 illustrate a stock feeder assembly 100 in accordance with a

preferred embodiment of the present invention. The feeder assembly 100 comprises

a feed container 110 made from moulded polymeric material. Preferably, the feed

container 110 may be made from injection moulded polyethylene. In alternative

embodiments other polymeric lightweight materials The feed container 110

comprises a base 112 with a frusto-conical upstanding wall 114 extending from the base 112 to define an internal holding volume for holding animal feed in the feed container 110. Upper regions of the upstanding walls 114 define an opening for the feed container 110.

[0023] Four circumferentially arranged support pillars 120 are formed integrally with

the upstanding walls 114. These support pillars 120 extend radially outwardly from

the upstanding walls 114 of the feed container 110. Each support pillar 120 includes

an opening 121 in a top wall 124 of the supporting pillar 120 for receiving post

members 140. Each supporting pillar 120 also includes an outer wall 122 flanked by

two lateral side walls 127 and 129 that extends along the height of the upstanding

walls 114. The walls (122, 124, 127 and 129) of the supporting pillar 120 are formed

integrally with the upstanding walls to form an enclosed hollow cavity that receives

and surrounds the posts 140. The 112 includes a flanged base portion 116 that

extends circumferentially beyond the lower portions of the upstanding walls 114 to

form an underlying base for the pillars 120.

[0024] The configuration of the integrally formed support pillars 120 allows the posts

to be positioned in a substantially upright configuration to support a roof member 130

above the opening of the feed container 110 whilst preventing any direct contact

between the lower portions of the posts 140 and the ground. Such a configuration

reduces the extent of corrosion on the posts 140 (a problem associated with at least

some of the prior art stock feeders). The provision of the supporting pillars 120 also

provides additional stability and the pillars 120 may be weighted (by adding ballast

etc) in at least some embodiments to add further stability to the feeder container 110

during use. The provision of the integrally formed support pillars 120 also reduces costs and improves ease of manufacture whilst also improving stability of the feeder assembly 100.

[0025] The roof member 130 is provided with sufficient overhang to ensure that

animal feed contained in the feed container 110 is covered by the roof member 130

when the roof member 130 is in a closed condition. A pivoting arrangement is also

provided to allow the roof member 130 to pivot relative to two of the posts 140 (best

shown in Figure 5) by way of utilising U-bolts. In the lowered or closed position, all

four posts 140 support the roof member 130 and an optional locking arrangement

may also be provided.

[0026] Each of the supporting pillars 120 also includes an anchoring arrangement for

allowing attachment of the container 110 to a vehicle or any other equipment to

facilitate transportation or relocation of the stock feeder 100. The anchoring

arrangement comprises an outrigger member 125 extending outwardly from the

outer wall 122 of the supporting pillar 120. A portion of the outer wall 122 may be

overmoulded over the metallic outrigger member 125. The outrigger member 125

may be coupled with a lower portion of the post 140 received into the support

member which allows the entire assembled stock feeder 100 to be dragged by using

a tractor or any other vehicle.

[0027] Finally, the novel configuration of the feeder container 110 allows a plurality of

the feeder containers 110 to be nested or stacked on top of each other. In a nested

configuration, the base 110 of a first of said feed container 110 is configured to be

received and supported on an in-use upper region of the one or more supporting

members 120 of a second of said feed container 110 thereby facilitating a plurality of

said feed containers 110 to be stacked on top of each other during transportation.

The roof member 130 comprises profiled hollow portions 132 that extend in a radially

outward direction from a central portion of the roof member 130. The profiled hollow

portions 132 allow a plurality of the roof members 130 to be nested on top of each

other during transportation. Specifically, the hollow profiled portions 132 comprise an

opening along an underside part of each roof member 130 that can receive a profiled

portion 132 of another roof member 130.

[0028] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language

more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term "comprises" and

its variations, such as "comprising" and "comprised of' is used throughout in an

inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features.

[0029] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features

shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of

putting the invention into effect.

[0030] The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within

the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in

the art.

Claims

1. A stock feeder comprising:

a feed container including a base and one or more upstanding walls extending

from said base to define an internal volume for receiving and holding stock feed, the

upstanding walls defining an opening along an upper portion of the upstanding walls for

receiving stock feed;

one or more support members projecting radially outwardly from the upstanding

walls of the feed container, the support members being configured for receiving and

supporting one or more post members thereon, the post members being arranged to

support a roof member that is movable between an open and closed position during

use.

2. A stock feeder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the one or more support

members extend along a height of the one or more upstanding walls.

3. A stock feeder in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the support

members comprise supporting pillars formed integrally with the one or more upstanding

walls.

4. A stock feeder in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the

base comprises base portions extending radially outwardly from an in-use lower region of the upstanding walls and wherein in-use lower portions of the one or more support members are integrally formed with the base and wherein the in-use lower portions of the one or more support member are integrally formed with the radially outwardly extending base portions.

5. A stock feeder in accordance with any one of the preceding claims further

comprising a pivoting arrangement coupled with said roof and one or more post

members to allow the roof member to pivot between an open and closed position.

132

130

140 140 140 124 124 112 122

124 125

129 127 120 110 122 114 115 120 FIGURE 1

132

130

FIGURE 2

100 140

120 110 FIGURE 3

130

100 140

120 110

FIGURE 4

100 140

120

110 FIGURE 5