GB1602111A

GB1602111A - Apparatus for use in feeding animals

Info

Publication number: GB1602111A
Application number: GB266577A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Gough O A
Current assignee: Gough O A
Priority date: 1978-04-21
Filing date: 1978-04-21
Publication date: 1981-11-04

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR USE IN FEEDING ANIMALS (71) I, OWEN ALLAN GOUGH, of Travellers Rest, Long Bridge Street, Llan- idloes, Montgomeryshire, a British Subject, do, hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to, be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to apparatus for use in feeding sheep, cattle, or other animals, and is particularly though not exclusively applicable to apparatus designed to hold one or more bales of hay, straw, or other fodder or feeding material.

Feeding apparatus of this general type is well known in many different forms, but existing designs suffer from a number of disadvantages. In particular most feeders tend to be wasteful in that the animals remove excessive quantities of the hay or other feedstuff while feeding and this is distributed over the neighbouring ground and becomes wasted. To be useful and effective the apparatus must also be so designed that it is easy for a man to load the apparatus, preferably alone, and of course it is important that the apparatus should adjust itself automatically to hold the feedstuff firmly despite the progressive diminishing of the feedstuff remaining in the apparatus as the animals feed. In all respects it is also important that the apparatus should be as far as possible proof against adverse weather conditions, one of the most difficult problems being presented by the formation of ice in a freezing humid atmosphere. Ice formation can of course cause moving parts to become completely seized and rigid.

Broadly stated the present invention consists in apparatus for use in feeding sheep, cattle or other animals, comprising adjustable means for holding a bale of hay or other feeding material, including a pair of movable perforated, slotted or open mesh walls or gates which are mounted for movement towards and away from each other to vary the size of a bale holding space between them and which are supported by a hinge or pivotai joint or support at or above their upper edges, and means for interconnecting the gates or walls so that they move towards and apart from one another in unison.

According to a preferred feature of the inven tion at least one of the movable walls or gates is attached to one or more swinging arms which are themselves pivotally supported above the level of the gate and are pivotally or adjustably connected to the gate.

In a particular preferred construction each of the arms is pivotally connected to the wall or gate at a position below its upper edge.

Means may be provided for urging the gates or walls towards one another. For example the gates or walls may be arranged to swing under gravity towards one another.

According to another preferred feature of the invention the apparatus includes a latch or detent for holding the movable walls or gates spaced apart, to facilitate loading a bale into the apparatus.

In any case it is preferred that the walls or gates should be mounted in a casing with an overhead cover or roof, with the pivotal or hinge supports for the walls or gates protected by the roof.

According to yet another preferred feature of the invention the movable gate is arranged to be inclined upwardly and inwardly in their open position.

Each movable gate or wall may be provided with projections along its lower edge which engage in gap or slots provided in a floor of the apparatus.

The invention may be performed in various ways and one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with a number of possible modifications with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a general perspective view of an adjustable straw bale, crate or cratch designed for use in feeding sheep; and Figure 2 is a general perspective view of an alternative embodiment with parts removed.

In this illustrated example the apparatus comprises a base in the form of a trough 10 with shallow raised walls 11 front and back.

This trough may be approximately 3 ft. wide and its length will normally be a multiple of 10 ft. to hold two, four, six or more bales. The ends of the apparatus may be closed in, or may be left open in certain applications, and the static structure of the apparatus includes a framework with vertical upright support bars or columns 12 at the corners and an overhead roof including two sloping pitched roof surfaces 13 which are conveniently supported on rafter frame bars (not shown). Upper sections of the roofing surface are movable to allow access to the interior for loading a bale as will be described below.

Supported within the frame work are a pair of gates 40 and 41. Each gate comprises a rectangular frame 17 on which is located a weld mesh (R.T.M.) panel 18, the perforation size being somewhat smaller than is usual in such an animal feeder for example 3 inches or two inches square. In this construction it is found that this smaller mesh size has the advantage of reducing wastage as animals feed.

The gate 40 is carried by a pair of parallel arms 42 each rigidly attached at its upper end te. swing on a horizontal pivot bar 43. The gate 40 is pivotally attached to the bars 42 at hinge points 44 at the bottom edge of the panel.

Springs 45 connect the upper edge of the gate to anchorage points (not shown) in the upper part of the roof The second moving gate 41 is attached to extension arms 48 which are pivotally mounted at 49 on a horizontal hinge bar 50 mounted rigidly in position in the upper part of the ro,of. Each arm 48 has a short extension piece 51 projecting beyond the pivot point 49, and a pivoted link 52 connects the arm 51 to a point on the respective swinging arm 42 which is displaced from the hinge bar 43. As a result it will be seen that swinging movement of the gate 41 downwards and inwards towards the centre of the feeder causes the links 52 to pull the arms 42 also inwards towards the centre line, thus carrying the second gate 40 inwards in the same direction. The two gates thus move in unison to grip a bale of hay or the like between them.

A movable strut 55 can be located between the upper edges of the two movable grid panels 40 and 41 to hold them apart while a bay of hay is inserted, in this case through the roof of the feeder. When the strut is shifted or removed the grid panels will automatically close towards each other as the hay is eaten.

Preferably each of the sloping pitch roof surfaces 13 comprises a lower fixed section and an upper movable section which can be moved downwards to, provide access at the top of the apparatus for loading a bale into position. The operator can then lift a bale and place it in position between the gates through the opening in the roof of the apparatus. He then removes strut 55 and hence the movable gates are drawn into firm contact with the bale by springs 45.

This movement is assisted by the force of gravity which tends to swing the movable gate inwards towards the centre line owing to the fact that they are carried by overhead pivots.

In a possible modification at the bottom of the apparatus there may be a swinging sling also carried on an overhead pivot, and comprising a simple horizontal rod or frame to support the bale from below. This allows some movement of the bale or other feedstuff as the animals progressively feed from it, and as the movable gates move together.

It will be appreciated that the gates may be formed with slots, holes, perforations, spaced bars, or in general way open structure which will satisfactorily permit animals to feed through openings therein.

The whole structure may be mounted on wheels, if desired.

In the further example illustrated in Figure 2, the framework 55 of the feeder has a flat top to carry a flat roof, primarily with the object of reducing the overall height. To accommodate this reducticn in height the moving mesh gates are carried by cranked swing arms as will be described.

In this example there are two movable mesh gates 56, 57 each of which is supported and guided by a pair of L-shaped arms 58 one at each end. Each arm is pivotally attached to the gate at a point 59 nears its lower edge and is pivotally mounted on a fixed pivot bracket 60 attached to a rigid part of the frame. Each gate is also guided and controlled by a second swinging arm 61, at each end of the gate, these arms being pivotally attached to pivot points 62 at an intermediate height of the gate with their upper ends rigidly connected to a pivot bar 63 running the full length of the feeder.

Each pivot bar 63 is also rigidly connected to a pair of short arms 64 which are in turn pivotally connected via links 67 to the corner point 65 d the L-shaped arms 58. Thus if the lower end 59 of an L-shaped arm 58 is moved outwards the elbow point 65 acts through the links 67 and arms 64 to twist the pivot bar 63, which accordingly swings both arms 61 in unison. Accordingly the gate 56 moves outwards in a generally vertical or slightly inclined attitude.

The mechanism also includes a pair of springs 66 fastened to brackets attached to the underside of each of the pivot rods 63 thus tending to twist the bars inwards towards each other and in this way the two movable gates 56, 57 are urged inwards to close onto any hay or other fodder between them.

The gate 57 is provided with a rigid upright frame bar 68 to which is attached a cranked locking bar 69 which can be engaged by a sliding ring running up a vertical strut 70 forming part of the fixed frame of the feeder In this way the movable gates can be held apart while a bale of hay is fed into position either through an open end or an open roof of the unit. Then by releasing the ring the gates are free to, close inwards onto the fodder.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. Apparatus for use in feeding sheep, cattle or other animals, comprising adjustable means for holding a bale of hay or other feeding material, including a pair of movable perforated, slotted or open mesh walls or gates which are mounted for movement towards and away from each other to vary the size of a bale holding space between them and which are supported by a hinge or pivotal joint or support at or above their upper edges, and means for interconnecting the gates or walls so that they move towards and apart from one another in unison.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which at least one of the movable walls or gates is attached to one or more swinging arms which are themselves pivotally supported above the level of the gate and are pivotally or adjustably connected to the gate.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which each of the arms is pivotally connected to the gate at a position below its upper edge.

4. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which means are provided for urging the gates towards one another.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, in which the walls or gates are arranged to swing under gravity towards one another.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, including a latch or detent for holding the movable walls or gates spaced apart, to facilitate loading a bale into the apparatus.

7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which the walls or gates are mounted in a casing with an overhead cover or roof, with the pivotal or hinge supports for the gates protected by the roof.

8. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which the movable gates are arranged to be inclined upwardly and inwardly in their open positions.

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which the or each movable wall or gate is attached to a pivot bar extending substantially the full length of the wall or gate and connected thereto by swinging links at both ends.

10. Apparatus according to, any of the preceding claims, in which each movable wall or gate is supported by an L-shaped swinging arm with the crank of the L extending outwards away from the opposite wall or gate.

11. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which each movable wall or gate is provided with projections along its lower edge engaging in gaps or slots provided in a floor of the apparatus.

12. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which the mechanism for supporting and guiding each movable gate includes only pivotal connections.

13. Apparatus for use in feeding sheep, cattle or other animals, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. position either through an open end or an open roof of the unit. Then by releasing the ring the gates are free to, close inwards onto the fodder. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. Apparatus for use in feeding sheep, cattle or other animals, comprising adjustable means for holding a bale of hay or other feeding material, including a pair of movable perforated, slotted or open mesh walls or gates which are mounted for movement towards and away from each other to vary the size of a bale holding space between them and which are supported by a hinge or pivotal joint or support at or above their upper edges, and means for interconnecting the gates or walls so that they move towards and apart from one another in unison.