GB2056246A - Apparatus for supplying water to livestock - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for providing a supply of drinking water to livestock, utilises a conventional nipple drinker (12) of the kind, in which there is a downwardly projecting actuating pin (22) which is raised to open a valve forming part of the nipple drinker. A striker (28) is attached to a water container (24) and extends upwardly into a housing (32). The striker is aligned with the pin (22) and acted on by a spring (46). The housing itself is screwed on to the nipple drinker, so that the unit comprising the housing striker and container can be detached from the nipple drinker. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for supplying water to livestock In modern animal rearing, it is necessary to provide a constantly available water supply for drinking, and preferably the supply should be selfregulating, so as to avoid the necessity for constant attention by personnel. Water is often supplied to birds, poultry and small animals through pipes fitted with nipple drinkers, that is to say, outlet valves controlled by projecting actuating pins. Each time a pin is displaced by the animal or bird, the valve is opened to allow a small quantity of water to escape. So long as the water released in this way is caught in the mouth or beak of the animal or bird, the system is very effective, but if water is allowed to fall on to the floor below the nipple drinker, then this creates cleaning problems.

It is, of course, possible to supply drinking water in open-topped troughs, but it is then necessary to provide some kind of control valve, such as a ball float valve, to regulate the quantity of water available in the trough. Such an arrangement has operating disadvantages, and in any event, a trough is generally unsuitable for use with cages as used in battery hen systems, or for use in broiler houses.

It has been proposed to provide drinking water supply apparatus which includes a suspended open-topped water container and a valve controlling the supply of water into the container, the suspension arrangement being such that if the amount of water in the container falls below a predetermined quantity, the valve is opened, and when the predetermined quantity of water is attained in the container, the valve is closed. Such apparatus is described for example in the specification of United Kingdom Patent No. 1,420,341 and the specification of United States Patent 3,804,068. This automatic water supply apparatus is relatively complex and therefore expensive, and furthermore lacks versatility.

According to this invention, apparatus for providing a supply of drinking water for livestock comprises: a nipple drinker of the type which comprises a body with a valve and a depending axially movable actuating pin projecting below the valve body and arranged so that it opens the valve when moved upwardly to allow water to flow through the nipple drinker; a housing releasably attached to the nipple drinker and enclosing the projecting part of the pin and the nipple drinker water outlet and having an upwardly facing shoulder therein and a water outlet passage therefrom; an open-topped water container positioned to catch water flowing out of the housing; a striker secured to the water container and extending upwardly therefrom into the housing, the striker being aligned with the pin of the nipple drinker and a compression spring located between the underside of a shoulder on the striker and the shoulder in the housing, whereby the striker and the water container are suspended from the nipple drinker, the arrangement providing that when the quantity of water in the container falls below a predetermined amount, the striker engages with the actuating pin and causes the latter to open the valve to allow water to flow through the housing into the container, but when the quantity of water in the container attains or exceeds the predetermined amount, the striker disengages from the actuating pin and allows the valve to close.

It will be apparent that the invention makes use of the known simple nipple drinker, and this in itself represents a considerable economy.

Furthermore, the adaptation to provide an automatically controlled water supply to the water container is very simple and comparatively inexpensive. The invention also provides the additional advantage that the housing and water container can be removed as a unit, allowing the nipple drinker to function in its normal manner, or allowing another water container without automatic regulation means to be fitted to the nipple drinker. Sometimes, it is desirable to be able to effect a change from the supply of water to the animals or birds through nipple drinkers, to a supply into open-topped containers. This can be done very readily with the present invention.It will also be appreciated that where an existing water supply system is fitted with the conventional nipple drinkers, it is possible to convert that system to an automatically regulated water supply system, simply by fitting the housing and water container units to each of the nipple drinkers.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the housing provides a bearing for axial motion of the striker, whereby the striker is constrained to a simple vertical motion, and thereby the water container is prevented from tilting. This is a significant advantage over certain prior arrangements, in which an open-topped water container is suspended beneath an outlet valve, by means of a hook arrangement. With such an arrangement, the container can easily be tilted by the animal or bird, allowing considerable splashing of water from the container.

In the preferred construction, there is sufficient clearance between the striker and the bearing to provide the water passage out of the housing.

The construction and method of operation of a drinking water supply apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a vertical cross-section through the apparatus.

This particular arrangement described with reference to the drawing is intended to supply drinking water to a single cage in a battery hen system or the like, and the drinking water supply control apparatus is fitted to a water conduit 10 which passes through a series of cages, and which is filled with water from a mains supply (not shown). A single drinking water supply system of the type illustrated in the drawing is provided in each of the cages, and it will be appreciated, therefore, that the conduit 10 extends along the length of a row of cages and that a series of water supply systems of the type illustrated is connected into the conduit.

A nipple drinker 12 of known construction is secured to the conduit 10, at the position where a water supply is required. Because the nipple drinker 12 is of a known construction, it is not necessary to describe it in detail, but it will suffice to say that essentially it comprises a plastics body 14 having a screw-threaded portion 16 by means of which the nipple drinker is secured in a screwthreaded hole 18 in a bottom wall of the conduit 10. There is an inlet opening at the top of the body 12, but this is normally closed by the head 20 of a metal valve member. The valve member also has a part (not shown) projecting down into the body 14, and it rests in the position where its head 20 closes the inlet opening to the nipple drinker body by gravity.The nipple drinker also has an outlet at its lower end, and there is a downwardly depending actuating pin 22 extending through the outlet, part of the actuating pin projecting below the lower end of the body 14 as illustrated in the drawings. The internal arrangement of the nipple drinker 12 is such that if the actuating pin 22 is raised, it lifts the valve member, so that the head 20 is raised from the inlet opening, and water from the interior of the conduit 10 is then able to flow through the nipple drinker and out through the outlet at the bottom end.

When a nipple drinker of this kind is used by itself, the projecting part of the actuating pin 22 is exposed, and whenever a bird pecks at the projecting part of the actuating pin, that causes the pin to rise, dislodging the valve member from its seat, and allowing a small quantity of water to escape from the nipple drinker through the outlet at its lower end. As has been explained previously, one of the disadvantages of a nipple drinker when used by itself in this way is that there is a tendency for water to be splashed around inside the cage, and some breeders regard it as a disadvantage that there is no visible water supply.

On the other hand, there is a stage in the rearing of birds when it is an advantage to be able to use the nipple drinker by itself.

A plastics cup-like water container 24 is associated with the nipple drinker 1 2, and as shown in the drawing, will normally contain a quantity of water 26 accessible to birds through the open top of the container. A striker 28 in the form of a steel pin has its lower end moulded into a boss 30 of the container 24, so that the striker 28 is rigid with the container 24, and projects upwardly from the centre thereof. In fact, as is apparent in the drawing, the striker 28 projects a considerable distance above the top edge of the container 24. A hollow plastics housing 32 is also provided, and this housing has a bore 34 extending from its top end, and a smaller diameter bore 36 extending from its bottom end, so that an upwardly facing internal shoulder 38 is formed in the housing.The upper end of the bore 34 is internally screw-threaded, so that the housing 32 can be detachably engaged on a screw-threaded portion 40 of the nipple drinker body 14. As an alternative to a screw-threaded engagement on the nipple drinker body, the housing 32 could be made as a friction fit on the nipple drinker body, but the screwed connection is preferred. In any event, it is to be noted that the housing 32 is readily detachable from the nipple drinker 12.

Part of the striker 28 passes upwardly through the small bore 36 in the lower end of the housing 32, and the clearance between the bore 36 and the striker 28 is such that, on the one hand, there is a passage for water through the bore 36 - thus providing an outlet passage from the housing 32 - whilst, on the other hand, the bore 36 acts as a bearing which constrains the striker 28 to a substantially vertical axial motion relatively to the housing 32. This is significant, because since the cup 24 is rigidly connected to the striker 28, the cup cannot be tilted if it is struck by a bird, and this prevents accidental pouring of water out of the cup.

The upper end of the striker 28 extends into the large bore 34 of the housing 32, and a cap 42 is a press fit on the upper end of the striken It will be observed that the top end of the striker is aligned with the bottom of the actuating pin 22, but in any event, the cap 42 provides a relatively large head on the striker, so that whenever there is upward motion of the striker, part of it is certain to engage with the actuating pin 22. The cap 42 also provides a downwardly facing shoulder 44 on the striker, and a light helical compression spring 46 is located in the housing 32, between the upwardly facing shoulder 38, and the shoulder 44 of the striker. Consequently, the striker and the cup 24 (together with any water contained in the cup) are suspended from the housing 32, and the weight of the suspended items will act to compress the spring 46.

The arrangement of the parts is such that if the container 24 is empty, the compression spring 46 will extend to such a length that the head of the striker 28 is brought into engagement with the lower end of the actuating pin 22, so as to lift the latter, and open the nipple drinker. However, as soon as there is an adequate supply of water within the container 24, the weight of that water causes the container 24 to descend against the resilient load provided by the spring 46, thus disengaging the head of the striker 28 from the actuating pin 22, and allowing the nipple drinker valve to assume its normally closed condition. This is the condition illustrated in the drawing.

With an adequate supply of water in the container 24 as illustrated, the birds are able to drink from the container and because the level of the water is well below the top edge of the container, the risk of water being thrown out of the container by the birds is minimised. However, as the level of water in the container falls, the spring 46 is allowed to expand, until a threshold position is arrived at, where the head of the striker lifts the valve actuating pin 22 sufficiently to allow water to flow through the nipple drinker, and then through the housing 32, into the container 24.

Again, when the level of water rises to an adequate extent, this has the effect of lowering the head of the striker away from the actuating pin 22, and so closing the nipple drinker valve. In practice, of course, the arrangement provides a relatively close control over the level of water in the container 24, within the limits of any hysteresis effect of the mechanism.

If it is desired to operate with the nipple drinker by itself, it is only necessary to unscrew the housing 32 from the nipple drinker, and then the housing, with the cup and striker, which together form a detachable unit, is removed, allowing the birds access to the actuating pin 22 of the nipple drinker.

Claims (4)

1. Apparatus for providing a supply of drinking water for livestock comprising: a nipple drinker of the type which comprises a body with a valve and a depending axially movable actuating pin projecting below the valve body and arranged so that it opens the valve when moved upwardly to allow water to flow through the nipple drinker; a housing releasably attached to the nipple drinker and enclosing the projecting part of the pin and the nipple drinker water outlet and having an upwardly facing shoulder and a water outlet passage; an open-topped water container positioned to catch water flowing out of the housing; a striker secured to the water container and extending upwardly therefrom into the housing, the striker being aligned with the pin of the nipple drinker and a compression spring located between the underside of a shoulder on the striker and the shoulder in the housing whereby the striker and the water container are suspended from the nipple drinker, the arrangement providing that when the quantity of water in the container falls below a predetermined amount, the striker engages with the actuating pin and causes the latter to open the valve to allow water to flow through the housing into the container but when the quantity of water in the container attains or exceeds the predetermined amount, the striker disengages from the actuating pin and allows the valve to close.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, in which the housing provides a bearing for axial motion of the striker, whereby the striker is constrained to a simple vertical motion and thereby the water container is prevented from tilting.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, in which there is sufficient clearance between the striker and the bearing to provide the water passage.

4. Apparatus for providing a supply of drinking water for livestock constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.