GB888863A - Improvements in or relating to animal feeding - Google Patents

Abstract

888,863. Animal feeding appliances. EASTWOOD Ltd., W. & J. B. July 14, 1958 [July 13, 1957], No.22269/57. Class 5(2). A feeding appliance, particularly for use in feeding poultry, comprises a plurality of feeding troughs 4 each communicating via a hopper 3 and shoot 2 with a food conveyer 6, which is supplied with food from a hopper 5. The conveyer 6 is U-shaped in cross-section and is provided on each limb with a slide 8, pairs of braces 9, 10 being mounted between the slides, and shovel members 7 being pivotally mounted on the slides between each pair of braces. The slides 8 are reciprocated by cranks from the motor 12, the arrangement of the members 7, 9 and 10 being such that as the slides move in one direction the shovels 7 push the foodstuff along the conveyer 6, and during the return stroke the shovels pivot to ride over the foodstuff in the conveyer. Thus each of the systems 2, 3, 4 is filled in turn via the corresponding slit 24 in the base of the conveyer 6 and when all the systems are full, the foodstuff is fed to a hopper 20 secured to a balance arm 21 carrying an electric switch, so that when the hopper is filled the balance arm moves to actuate the switch and stop the motor 12. As shown in Fig. 1, the foodstuff is fed along one conveyer 6, along a cross conveyer 18 to a second conveyer 19 which is identical with 6, and from thence to the hopper 20. In a modification two parallel conveyers 6 are provided, a bar 27 extending between the conveyers and being connected to each pair of slides 8. Each conveyer is further provided with a crank 30 pivoted at 31 to a bar connected to the slides 8 and having a portion 32 which is engaged by a pivoted lever 33 connected by a line 34 to a balance pan mounted on that end of the conveyer which is remote from the hopper. A bar 29, which is reciprocated by the crank 28 from a motor, serves to reciprocate the slides 8, engaging the bar 27 during the forward stroke and the crank 30 during the return stroke, thereby reciprocating the slides 8. When all the feeding troughs are full, surplus foodstuff is fed to the balance pan, the latter eventually moving to displace the lever 33, thereby disengaging the drive to the slides 8.