CH711244A2 - Method and device for loading livestock poultry. - Google Patents

Abstract

The method of automatically loading farmed poultry into traps according to the invention involves isolating a group of farmed poultry, to constitute a batch, transfer to an intermediate storage device, a weighed fraction. poultry of said batch of poultry, the filling of said batch in bins and the evacuation of the bins after filling. The invention also relates to a device (10) comprising an autonomous mobile loader (11) comprising a chassis (12) with wheels (13) and carrying a mobile ramp consisting of at least one segment of conveyor belt (14, 15) arranged to collect a lot of poultry. A holding zone (23) for the intermediate stock comprises a tray (24) covered with an opaque tarpaulin to keep the poultry in the dark so as not to stress them. Separation equipment of the batch of fractional farmed poultry comprises two sections of conveyor belts and a complementary conveyor belt disposed partly above said section of the conveyor belt and mounted in such a way that the axes of the conveyor belts form an angle with the axis of the complementary conveyor belt.

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a method for the automatic loading of farmed poultry in bins or containers on a breeding site, said bins or said containers being brought empty in a filling area and said poultry being brought by lots in this filling area.

It also relates to a device for the automatic loading of farmed poultry in bins or containers on a breeding site, comprising means for taking at least one batch of farmed poultry on a breeding site means for bringing said fowls of said batch into a filling area, means for filling said bins or said containers brought empty into said filling area and means for evacuating said bins or containers after filling, for the implementation of the process.

Prior art

The loading of farmed poultry and especially chickens, is an essential operation to allow the transport of poultry from the breeding site to slaughterhouses possibly equipped with meat preparation sites for packaging. Since poultry farming is comparable to mass production, the organization of loading for transport has evolved from a manual artisan stage to an industrial stage where strong automation is required at the same time. to improve operating conditions, hygiene and safety during all operating stages.

The manual loading still practiced in small farms, requires a large workforce and employees perform hard work requiring hygiene precautions to be respected to avoid contamination that can spread very quickly and can result in very significant operating losses. In addition manual loading can cause injury and in any case cause stress that is not acceptable to the animals and which also has a negative effect on the quality of the meat.

There are automatic loading machines provided for very large breeding sites, including halls with an area greater than 600 m2, but these machines are not suitable for smaller farming areas, namely breeding halls with an area of less than 600 m2. Indeed, the existing machines are designed to be moved to the breeding site whenever a load is expected, that is to say at the end of each breeding cycle. To be effective these machines must be able to enter the breeding halls, which is generally not possible in a small or medium installation because of the dimensions of the openings or the height of the ceilings. In addition for these large installations, loading is carried out in large containers whose handling is fully mechanized by heavy equipment that must be introduced into the halls. In most poultry farms, access does not allow the use of large equipment.

Presentation of the invention

The present invention proposes to provide a solution for the loading of poultry and in particular farmed chickens, raised on sites "human scale" and intended to produce chickens, under hygienic conditions and comfort to put on the market quality products from local farms, respecting animals by the treatment that is inflicted on them and the consumer by the quality that is guaranteed.

This object is achieved by the method according to the invention, defined in the preamble and characterized in that at least one group of poultry is isolated from said farmed poultry, said poultry being taken from said breeding site. for constituting a batch by means of an autonomous mobile loader, in that said batch of poultry is deposited on an intermediate storage device which is stationary, in that it is transferred, by taking them from said intermediate storage device at least one part constituting a weighed fraction of the poultry of said batch of poultry, for filling one of said bins or containers, and in that said bin or container is emptied after being filled with means for transferring handling equipment said bins or containers before and after filling.

According to a particular embodiment of the method, said group of poultry is isolated by introducing the autonomous mobile charger on the breeding site to load said batch of farmed poultry, in that said moving is carried out. autonomous mobile loader for transferring said batch of farmed poultry to an intermediate storage area before filling the said bins or containers and emptying the filled bins or containers.

Advantageously, said batch of farmed poultry is transferred to an intermediate storage area to form an intermediate stock comprising at least said batch of poultry taken during a loading cycle of the autonomous mobile loader. , in that at least one batch fraction is then prepared by taking from the batch of poultry of the intermediate stock a poultry feed having a predetermined weight corresponding at least approximately to a set value defining the ideally contained poultry weight. in a bin after filling and in that it performs the filling of a rack with said batch fraction prepared.

According to a preferred embodiment, the filling of the bins is carried out by emptying them downstream of said intermediate storage area, said bins being stacked in a first column on a supply path, in that one raises said column to disengage the lower rack from the other bins of the column, in that said empty rack is moved on an evacuation path for filling and then evacuation to a second column containing lockers previously filled, said second column being disposed on said evacuation path, and in that it is carried out in column of the filled bin by lifting the other bins already filled and previously placed in column on said evacuation path.

In this context, the height at which the empty bins are raised to allow the release from the bottom of a rack for its filling and the height at which the filled bins are raised to allow the establishment by the The bottom of the last filled bin is substantially equal to the height of a bin.

This object is also achieved by the device according to the invention, defined in the preamble and characterized in that the means for taking said at least one batch of poultry comprise an autonomous mobile loader provided with at least one ramp on which is mounted at least one conveyor belt which moves between two ends, an inlet end disposed flush with the ground of the rearing site on which the poultry are located and a raised outlet end arranged to allow the transit of a group of isolated poultry with respect to said farmed poultry constituting said batch of farmed poultry, an intermediate storage device comprising a platform serving as support for said batch of farmed poultry, means for taking at least part of the poultry the said batch, and weighing to constitute a weighed fraction of the poultry, means for filling with the said weighed fraction of poultry a said bins or containers arranged to contain a predetermined load, farmed poultry corresponding to said weighed fraction of poultry, whose weight is substantially equal to a set value corresponding to said predetermined load, and equipment for handling said bins or containers before and after their filling to bring into a loading zone of said weighed fraction of farmed poultry, located downstream of the intermediate storage device, the empty bins and evacuate the filled bins.

Preferably, said autonomous mobile loader comprises a frame provided with wheels and carries a mobile ramp consisting of at least one conveyor ribbon segment arranged to collect a batch of farmed poultry, taken directly from the d 'breeding. The autonomous mobile loader can for example be self-propelled, so that it can be moved autonomously.

Said autonomous mobile loader comprises an input sector with a mouth which is delimited by side walls, a first conveyor belt inlet segment and a central sector disposed in the extension of said input sector, comprising a second conveyor ribbon segment, side protection side panels disposed in the extension of said first conveyor ribbon segment.

The device advantageously comprises a waiting area materialized by a tray, comprising at least one substantially horizontal conveyor belt, mounted on a support and laterally delimited by side panels, said holding area being arranged to contain at least a portion the batch of poultry taken by said mobile loader.

Said support of the waiting zone for the intermediate stock is advantageously in the form of a mobile table, in particular provided with feet with wheels and in that the tray is covered, at a predetermined height substantially corresponding to the size of the table. a poultry, an opaque tarpaulin covering the entire surface of the tray to keep the poultry in the dark so as not to stress them.

Advantageously, said support of the waiting area for the intermediate stock, is mounted on an autonomous road chassis, provided with a device comprising hydraulic crutches, to form a single transport unit.

The device preferably comprises an equipment for separating the batch of poultry reared in fractions, comprising two sections of conveyor belts arranged in the extension of one another, and a complementary conveyor belt disposed in part above said section of the conveyor belt and mounted in such a way that the axes of the conveyor belts are at an angle to the axis of the complementary conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt section is carried by a weighing device, such that the weighed batch fractions correspond to a predetermined weight.

The complementary conveyor belt comprises two identical parallel elements which are independently controlled and may include load cells to determine the load of the poultry transported.

Said equipment for handling said bins or containers before and after filling advantageously comprises a first conveyor belt to bring a column of empty bins arranged in a column on said first band, and a second conveyor belt to evacuate a column filled bins, arranged in a column on said second strip, means for separating from the column of empty bins, the bin located at the bottom of the column, a pusher device for moving the empty bin separated from the column on the second strip in order to fill it and means for setting up under the filled bin column, the newly filled bin.

The means for separating the column from empty bins, the bin located at the bottom of the column includes cylinders for lifting all the bins of the column disposed above said first rack at the bottom of the column and to rest lockers raised after removal of said first locker.

Means for setting up under the column of filled bins, the bin just filled, include jacks for lifting all the bins filled with the column of a height corresponding substantially to the height of a locker and means to slide the locker just filled under the other lockers.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention and its advantages will appear better in the description below of an embodiment given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: <tb> fig. 1 <SEP> is an overview in perspective illustrating all the essential components required to implement the method of loading farmed poultry according to the invention, <tb> fig. 2 <SEP> is a partial perspective view illustrating a part of the device according to the invention for performing a step of the method of the invention, <tb> fig. 3 <SEP> is also a partial view illustrating the part of the device shown in FIG. 2, but from another angle, <tb> fig. 4A <SEP> is a perspective view which illustrates the final step of loading the device according to the invention, in particular means for supplying empty containers and recovering containers after loading, and, <tb> fig. 4B <SEP> is an elevation view of the system for loading empty containers and their movement during loading and storage of filled containers.

Best way to realize the invention

With reference to the figures, the method consists in carrying out the loading, at least largely automated of farmed poultry, in bins or containers with several compartments, on a breeding site. The multi-stage operation begins to collect poultry directly from a livestock farm for transfer to bins or transport containers that will take them to slaughterhouses that may have meat preparation and packaging equipment.

The first step is to isolate, on the breeding site, a group of poultry among the poultry present or at least in a closed hall near this site. The equipment to achieve this step is called a motorized autonomous loader, which isolates a batch of poultry to bring them to other equipment intended to accomplish following the successive steps of the process.

The second step is to move these birds, constituting a first batch, to a waiting area, so as to release the autonomous loader, so that it can perform a new loading cycle. For this purpose, the loader will be brought back to the breeding site, for example a breeding hall, to load a second batch of poultry. These operations succeed one another until the stock of poultry is exhausted on the breeding site, that is to say until the complete release of the breeding site for a new production cycle. Between each rearing cycle the site is cleaned and disinfected to prevent contamination and site preparation for a new breeding cycle is carried out using extremely strict hygiene rules.

The third step is to prepare fractions of the batch of farmed poultry corresponding to the poultry that were brought during the first step by the loader and placed in intermediate stock during the second stage. Each of the farmed poultry fractions is determined by weighing and corresponds to the capacity of a receptacle in which the poultry are received for transport to the place of destination. Each fraction corresponds to a predetermined load of the intended receptacle, which is either an individual bin or a separate compartment of the same container. The division of a batch into batch fractions is carried out by weighing. It could be done by counting, but this solution would require the establishment of a more complex metering installation, including including sensors and complicated and expensive electronic management equipment. This batch fractionation is carried out by bringing poultry from the intermediate stock on a conveyor-weighing belt, until the predetermined load of said fraction to be constituted is reached.

The fourth step is to bin or container the fraction prepared by weighing poultry. Equipment handling said bins or containers before and after filling is provided to allow to bring empty containers, the entrance of poultry, the closure of containers after filling and evacuation. The moving of the containers, for example empty bins to the filling area and full containers to a transport vehicle is performed by an automated installation, illustrated by Figs. 4A and 4B. It is arranged to bring empty containers in a first direction, put the containers successively in position to be filled and to evacuate the full containers in opposite directions. It could also be done by a turntable that brings the empty containers into a position and evacuates the filled containers in another position, angularly offset from said first position.

The device for implementing the method above is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 is an overall view which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the device 10 which comprises an autonomous mobile loader 11 shown schematically, consisting of a frame 12 provided with wheels 13 and carrying a mobile ramp comprising segments of conveyor belts 14, 15, intended to collect a batch of farmed poultry, taken directly from the rearing area. An inlet sector 17 has a mouth 18 which is delimited by side walls 19, and the conveyor ribbon entry segment 14. It is extended by a central sector 20, and having lateral protection rails 21 and 22. It comprises the conveyor belt 15 which is located in the extension of the conveyor ribbon 14. The first conveyor ribbon 14 is the most inclined relative to the horizontal and is intended to receive the poultry which are in front of the loader and placed on the ground of the breeding site. They are almost immediately supported by the following conveyor belt 15. The loading operation is carried out in the absence of light to avoid the panic of animals and conveyor belts, in the central sector and to the exit , are preferably covered with an opaque tarpaulin (not shown) to channel the flow of poultry on the conveyor belts and in particular also to prevent them from piling up on several levels. A loader content is a batch of farmed poultry and each new content, obtained during a new load, is a new batch. When it is loaded, that is at the end of each loading cycle, the autonomous loader is moved with its batch of poultry and brought to the location where the second step of putting the poultry takes place in a waiting area, constituting an intermediate stock, and release the stand-alone loader that is ready to load a new batch of poultry.

The waiting zone 23, for the intermediate stock, is materialized by a plate 24, consisting of a horizontal conveyor belt 25, mounted on a movable support, which is for example constituted by a transfer table equipped with feet 26, each provided with a wheel 27. The horizontal conveyor 25 is delimited laterally by side panels 28 which channel the poultry and prevent it from falling off the plate 24. It is covered with transverse blades 29 intended to carry an opaque tarpaulin (not shown ) whose function is to keep the poultry in position. During said second step, the poultry are transferred automatically by the conveyor tapes of the loader 11 on the horizontal conveyor belt 25, so that the batch of poultry taken from the breeding site is found on the plateau 24 to constitute the intermediate stock. This is when the third step can be started.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the equipment dedicated to the third stage which consists in preparing fractions of the batch of farmed poultry brought during the first stage by the loader and placed in intermediate stock during the second stage. This equipment consists essentially of two sections of conveyor belts 30 and 31, arranged in the extension of one another and mounted in the axis of the plate 24 and a complementary conveyor belt 32 disposed partly over the previous conveyor belts, and mounted obliquely, with respect to them. The third step is to prepare fractions of the batch of farmed poultry from the intermediate stock. The movement of the horizontal conveyor belt 25 feeds poultry on the conveyor belt 30 according to the arrows A and B. They fall directly on the conveyor belt 30 or on the double belt 32 which subsequently transfers them onto the belt 30. It will be noted that the two conveyor belts 30 and 31 are mounted telescopically so that their surface is adaptable according to the load that is to be obtained at each loading cycle. The poultry disposed on the conveyor belt 30 are weighed by means of a weighing plate 33, supporting the conveyor belt 30. The result of the weighing of the poultry carried by the conveyor belt 30 is analyzed with respect to a set point of predetermined weight. A priori this result is lower than the set point, so that the weight of the poultry must be completed by bringing a series of complementary poultry, so that the effective weight of the birds finally transported by the conveyor belt 30 is also as close as possible to the predetermined setpoint, before being placed in the bins or containers 40. This additional contribution is made by complementary conveyor belt 32, which is actually constructed in two parallel elements 32a and 32b identical which are individually controlled. In fact, both elements 32a and 32b each carry a given load, measured by appropriate load cells. One or the other of the elements 32a or 32b is actuated in order to transfer its load on the conveyor belt 30 according to the fact that the total load of the fraction of batch corresponding to the poultry transported by the conveyor belt 30 which will be taken again completely by the belt The subsequent conveyor 31 is the closest to the value of the deposit. This batch fraction is immediately transferred to a loading station, in the bins 40, predisposed for receiving and transporting poultry. This operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

The fourth step is to bin or container the fraction prepared by weighing poultry. Manipulation equipment 41 of said bins or containers before and after their filling is arranged to bring a suitable container, preferably a bin 40 or possibly a multi-compartment container, to the exit of the conveyor belt 31. This equipment 41 is arranged to prepare the container to allow the entry of the poultry, to close it after its filling and to evacuate it by releasing the place to another empty container.

As shown more precisely in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the handling equipment 41 of the bins comprises a first conveyor belt 42 to bring a column of empty bins 40 arranged in column 43 on said first band 42 and a second conveyor belt 44 to evacuate a column of filled bins, arranged in column 45 on said second band 44. It further comprises means 50 for separating from the column of empty bins, the bin located at the bottom of the column, a pusher device for moving the empty bin 40 separated from the column 43 on the second band 44 for filling and means for setting up under the column 45 filled bins, the rack 40 just filled.

The means for separating from the column of empty bins, the bin located at the bottom of the column comprises a system of jacks 50 to lift all the bins 40 of the column 43, arranged above said first rack 40 at bottom of the column 43 and to rest the bins lifted after removal of said first rack.

The means for setting up under the column 45 of 40 filled bins, the rack just filled, include cylinders 50 for lifting all the lockers 49 filled with the column with a height substantially corresponding to the height of a locker and means to slide the locker just filled under the other lockers.

The empty trays 40 are pushed forward in an inclined position so as to facilitate the entry of the poultry in the bin 40 when the closure valve is open. After filling, this valve is closed by means of mechanical unlocking devices controlled.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described and may be in different aspects within the scope defined by the claims. The transfer of the bins from the first rectilinear section 42 to the second rectilinear section 43 could be envisaged differently, for example by means of a turntable bringing the bins of a supply station and the evacuators into an outlet station.

Claims (17)

A method for the automatic loading of farmed poultry into bins or containers on a rearing site, said bins or containers being brought empty into a filling area and said fowls being fed into this filling area in batches , characterized in that at least one group of poultry is isolated from said farmed poultry, said poultry being taken from said rearing site to constitute a batch by means of an independent mobile loader, in that said batch of poultry is deposited on an intermediate storage device which is stationary, in that at least one portion constituting a weighed fraction of the poultry of said batch of poultry is transferred from said intermediate storage device to fill one of said bins or containers, and in that said bin or container is evacuated after being filled with means for transferring an equ handling of said bins or containers before and after filling. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said group of poultry is isolated by introducing the autonomous mobile charger on the breeding site to load said batch of farmed poultry, in that said moving autonomous mobile loader for transferring said batch of farmed poultry to an intermediate storage area before filling the said bins or containers and emptying the filled bins or containers. 3. Method according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said batch of farmed poultry is transferred to an intermediate storage area to form an intermediate stock comprising at least said batch of poultry taken during a cycle. for loading the autonomous mobile loader, in that at least a fraction of the batch is then prepared by taking from the batch of poultry of the intermediate stock a poultry load having a predetermined weight corresponding at least approximately to a set value. defining the weight of poultry ideally contained in a rack after filling and in that the filling of a rack with said batch fraction prepared. 4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that one performs the filling of the bins by bringing empty downstream of said intermediate storage area, said bins being stacked in a first column on a supply path, in that lifting said column to disengage the lower bin from the other bins of the column, in that said clear bin is moved along an evacuation path for filling and then discharging to a second column grouping pre-filled bins, said second column being disposed on said evacuation path, and in that the bin is filled in column by raising the other bins already filled and previously placed in column on said path evacuation. 5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the height at which the empty bins are raised to allow the release from the bottom of a rack for filling and the height at which the filled bins are raised to allow the setting up by the bottom of the last filled bin is substantially equal to the height of a rack. 6. Device for the automatic loading of farmed poultry into bins or containers on a breeding site, comprising means for taking at least one batch of farmed poultry from a breeding site, means for bringing said fowls of said batch in a filling area, means for filling said bins or said containers brought empty in said filling area and means for evacuating said bins or said containers after their filling, for the implementation of the method according to the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the means for taking said at least one batch of poultry comprise an autonomous mobile loader provided with at least one ramp on which is mounted at least one conveyor belt which moves between two ends, one end of entry located at the ground level of the rearing site on which the poultry are located and an elevated outlet end arranged to allow the transit of an isolated poultry group with respect to said farmed poultry constituting said batch of farmed poultry, an intermediate storage device comprising a platform serving as support for said batch of farmed poultry; removing at least a portion of the poultry from said batch, and weighing to constitute a weighed fraction of the poultry, means for filling with said weighed poultry fraction, one of said compartments or containers arranged to contain a predetermined load, poultry livestock corresponding to said weighed fraction of poultry, whose weight is substantially equal to a set value corresponding to said predetermined load, and handling equipment (41) of said bins or containers before and after filling to bring into a loading area of said weighed fraction of farmed poultry, located downstream interstorage storage device mediate, empty traps and evacuate filled traps. 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said autonomous mobile loader (11) comprises a frame (12) provided with wheels (13) and carries a movable ramp consisting of at least one segment of conveyor belt (14, 15). ) designed to collect a batch of farmed poultry taken directly from the rearing area. 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that said autonomous mobile loader (11) comprises an inlet sector (17) with a mouth (18) which is delimited by side walls (19), a first segment of conveyor ribbon inlet (14) and a central sector (21) disposed in the extension of said entry sector, having a second conveyor ribbon segment (15) disposed in the extension of said first conveyor ribbon segment (14) and side protection panels (22). 9. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a waiting zone (23) materialized by a plate (24), comprising at least one substantially horizontal conveyor belt (25), mounted on a support and laterally delimited by drop sides (28), said waiting area being arranged to contain at least a portion of the batch of poultry taken by said mobile loader. 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that said support of the waiting area (23) for the intermediate stock, is in the form of mobile table, in particular provided with feet (26) with wheels (27) and in that that the tray (24) is covered, at a predetermined height substantially corresponding to the size of a fowl, an opaque tarpaulin covering the entire surface of the tray (24) to keep the poultry in the dark to not stress them. 11. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that said support of the waiting area (23) for the intermediate stock, is mounted on an autonomous road chassis, provided with a device comprising hydraulic legs, to form a only transport unit. 12. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises an equipment for separating the batch of farm poultry fractions, comprising two sections of conveyor belts (30, 31), arranged in the extension of one of the another, and a complementary conveyor belt (32) disposed partly above said section of the conveyor belt (30) and mounted such that the axes of the conveyor belts (30, 31) are at an angle to the axis of the conveyor belt the complementary conveyor belt (32). 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the conveyor belt section (30) is carried by a weighing device (33). 14. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the complementary conveyor belt (32) comprises two identical parallel elements (32a, 32b) which are controlled independently and may comprise load cells to determine the load of the poultry transported. 15. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said equipment for handling said bins or containers before and after filling (41) comprises a first conveyor belt (42) for bringing a column of empty bins arranged in a column on said first band, and a second conveyor belt (44) for evacuating a packed bin column, arranged in a column on said second web, means for separating from the empty bin column, the bin located at the bottom of the column, a pusher device for moving the empty bin separated from the column on the second band for filling and means for setting up under the filled bin column, the bin just filled. 16. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the means for separating from the column of empty bins, the bin located at the bottom of the column comprises cylinders for lifting all the bins of the column disposed above said first rack at the bottom of the column and to rest the rack raised after removal of said first rack. 17. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the means for setting up under the column of filled bins, the newly filled bin, comprise cylinders for lifting all the bins filled with the column of a height corresponding substantially to the height of a locker and means for sliding the locker just filled under the other lockers.