JP2009148227A - Regular fixed-quantity automatic feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a regular fixed-quantity automatic feeder capable of automatically feeding a fixed quantity of a feed in all the shapes and forms at a regular time. <P>SOLUTION: The regular fixed-quantity automatic feeder is equipped with a rotating shaft, a rotating and driving apparatus for rotating the rotating shaft, a controller for controlling the rotation of the rotating shaft with the rotating and driving apparatus, a first fixed-quantity vessel fixed to the rotating shaft, and at least one second fixed-quantity vessel mounted freely rotatably on the rotating shaft adjacently to the first fixed-quantity vessel. The regular fixed-quantity automatic feeder is characterized in that an engaging arm for directly or indirectly engaging with the adjacent fixed quantity vessel is fixed to each lateral part of the first fixed-quantity vessel and the second fixed-quantity vessel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a timed and constant automatic feeding apparatus that can automatically give a certain amount of food to a domestic animal at a fixed time.

  The experimental animals need to be appropriately fed so as not to give a load to the experimental animals except for the experimental conditions until they are used for the experiment or during the long-term observation experiment. Conventionally, feeding to such experimental animals has been performed freely unless the feeding itself is an experimental condition to be controlled. For this reason, laboratory animals being reared tend to suffer from obesity and various diseases, and therefore, there is a problem that the life span of experimental animals is shortened. The problem that arises from this type of feeding is that when it is necessary to provide experimental animals for a long period of time, it not only increases the cost for securing the experimental animals, but also makes it difficult to obtain experimental data accurately. It will bring about a serious situation such as becoming.

  In order to solve such problems, it is only necessary to restrict the feeding appropriately. However, measuring and feeding a certain amount every day is very troublesome and time-consuming for the person engaged in the experiment, and it is inefficient. It is.

  Such a problem in feeding is remarkable in laboratory animals, but the subject is not limited to laboratory animals, and the same applies to feeding to pet animals raised at home. For example, even when the family needs to leave the house, feeding the pet animal becomes impossible, so in the home where the pet animal is bred, long-term absence is unavoidable.

  Therefore, development of an automatic feeding apparatus that automatically feeds is desired, and several types of feeding machines have been provided. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic feeding machine having a structure in which powder bait in a rotating drum is discharged from a discharge port by rotation of a motor.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a powder feeder having a structure intended to rotate by the action of a small animal and scrape the powdered feed downward.

Japanese Patent No. 3789809 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-070656

  However, conventional automatic feeding devices can handle powder, granule, spherical and other suitable shapes for feeding operation, but long side: short side ratio such as non-spherical bait, beef jerky, and lobster Highly shaped and long dried fish are difficult to rotate and are not rolled from the inside of a bait container such as a hopper in the apparatus, or are difficult to roll, so that smooth feeding cannot be performed. In addition, in the powder feeder of Patent Document 2, the feed is inevitably excessive, and the problem of unlimited feeding cannot be solved. In addition, in the automatic feeding device disclosed in the related art, it has not been studied to automatically supply liquid food.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said conventional situation, Comprising: The subject is providing the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus which can supply a fixed quantity of feed of all shapes and forms automatically at a fixed time. is there.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a fixed-quantity automatic feeding device according to the present invention includes a rotation shaft, a rotation drive device that rotates the rotation shaft, and a control device that controls the rotation of the rotation shaft by the rotation drive device. A first metering container fixed to the rotating shaft, and at least one second metering container that is adjacent to the first metering container and is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft. And the latching arm which latches directly or indirectly to the adjacent metering container is fixed to each side part of the first metering container and the second metering container.

  The locking arm of each metering container may have a length from one side end of the adjacent metering container to the other side end along the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft.

  Further, the locking arm of each metering container may have a length that contacts the locking arm of an adjacent metering container along the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft.

  It is preferable that an opening is formed in the upper portion of the first metering container and the second metering container. This opening is formed in a shape and size suitable for the shape and form of bait stored inside the container.

  Moreover, the shape of each metering container may be increased in diameter from the bottom toward the opening, or may be reduced depending on the shape and form of the bait stored inside.

  Moreover, a hole may be provided in the bottom surface of each metering container, and a closing valve that opens inside the container may be provided in this hole.

  Moreover, the closing valve which opens outside a container may be provided in the upper opening part of each metering container.

  Moreover, the lid-shaped attachment which controls the discharge | emission amount of the food inside a container may be attached to the upper opening part of each metering container.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the inner surface of each metering container is water-repellent.

  The operation of the timed fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus having the above-described configuration according to the present invention is such that a second quantitative container is provided adjacent to the first quantitative container, and the second quantitative containers are sequentially adjacent to each other as necessary. The fixed amount bait is filled in all the quantitative containers, and the rotating shaft is rotated once every predetermined time. At the start of the operation of the apparatus, the locking arms of each metering container are arranged so as not to be locked to the adjacent metering container in the operation in the rotation direction of the container. As a result, only the first metering container fixed to the rotating shaft in the first rotation is rotated, and the internal feed is discharged from the container to perform metered feeding. At this time, the locking arm of the emptied first metering container is locked to the adjacent second metering container in the rotation direction. Therefore, in the next one rotation, the first metering container and the second metering container rotate together, the bait in the second metering container is discharged, and metered feeding is performed. At this point, the locking arm of the first second metering container that has been emptied is then locked to the other second metering container adjacent to it. Therefore, in the next one rotation, three quantification containers, the first and second quantification containers that have been emptied, and the second second quantification container, rotate together, and the second second quantification container The feed inside the metering container is discharged and the metered feed is made. Starting from the first quantitative container fixed to the rotating shaft in this way, the second quantitative containers as many as the number of installations are sequentially rotated one by one at a fixed time, so Can be fed automatically at regular intervals. When all the quantity containers have been emptied, food is supplied to all quantity containers for the first time by hand, and the rotation axis is switched to the setting to rotate once every fixed time in the same way as the previous time. A fixed amount of feed can be realized by discharging the feed from each fixed amount container at regular intervals.

  In addition, the shape of the metering container can be set freely, and the shape and size of the opening can be set freely, so that not only the conventional baits in the form of powder and granules, but also beef jerky Rotating and boiled, etc., long side: difficult to rotate long side: short side ratio of large shape bait can be easily discharged from the container, and automatic feeding using those baits is also facilitated.

  Furthermore, the size of the opening (discharge port) of the container is set to a size that allows a fixed amount of liquid to flow out, and preferably the hole and the hole are closed so that the opening appears at the bottom of the container when inverted. If a shut-off valve is provided, liquid feed can be supplied in a fixed amount at a fixed time. Furthermore, even when the liquid bait has a high viscosity, it can be easily fed by coating the inner surface of the container with a material having high water repellency.

  Furthermore, the material of the container is not particularly limited, and part or all of the container may be transparent. By making some or all transparent, it is possible to easily confirm the presence or absence of filling of bait and the type of bait in the container.

  According to the fixed-quantity automatic feeding device of the present invention, it is not limited to the shape of the bait, and an arbitrary bait is surely given in an arbitrary amount, in an arbitrary fixed time, and in an arbitrary combination thereof Feed can be supplied according to the feeding content.

  Below, the example of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding device concerning the present invention is described in detail based on a drawing. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a fixed-quantity automatic feeding device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an example of a fixed-quantity automatic feeding device according to the present invention includes a rotating shaft 1, a motor (rotary driving device) 2 that rotates the rotating shaft 1, and the rotation of the rotating shaft 1 by the motor 2. A computer device (control device) 3 for controlling the rotation, a first metering container 4 fixed to the rotating shaft 1, and adjacent to the first metering container 4 so as to be rotatable with respect to the rotating shaft 1. A first second metering container 5 attached, and a second second metering container that is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 1 adjacent to the first second metering container 5. The other end of the rotating shaft 1 is preferably supported by a bearing 7.

  The constituent material of each of the quantitative containers 4, 5, and 6 is not particularly limited, but is preferably a material that is easy to attach to the rotating shaft 1 and is light in weight, and includes materials such as stainless steel, glass, ceramics, and plastics. From the viewpoint of weight reduction, stainless steel and plastic materials that can be reduced in thickness and weight are preferred.

  As shown in the figure, a breeding case 8 for storing breeding animals may be installed in the lower part of the series of metering containers 4, 5, 6 for the above-described scheduled fixed quantity automatic feeding device. You may make it install the whole feeding apparatus in a breeding case (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first metering container 4 is a bottomed cylindrical container having an opening 4a in the upper part. And the upper one side part is being fixed to the said rotating shaft 1 by welding etc., and the fixed position is set so that the centerline which connects the center of the opening part 4a of the container 4 and the center of a bottom part may be orthogonal to the rotating shaft 1. Is set to Further, the other side portion of the first metering container 4 is a length from one side end of the first second metering container 5 adjacent to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 1 to the other side end. The locking arm 4b is fixed. This locking arm 4b is a T-shaped bar member in this example. The position of the other side portion of the metering container 4 to which the locking arm 4b is fixed is the lower part of the side part of the metering container 4 that is shifted from the fixing position of the rotary shaft 1 by 90 degrees. As a result, the locking arm 4 b extends in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 1 substantially in parallel with the rotating shaft 1 and abuts on the side portion of the adjacent second metering container 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first second metering container 5 is a bottomed cylindrical container having the same shape and dimensions as the first metering container 4. The upper side surface of the container 5 is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 1 by a bearing or a bearing-like member 5c. The fixed position is rotated by a center line connecting the center of the opening 5a and the center of the bottom of the container 5. It is set to be orthogonal to the axis 1. Similarly to the first metering container 4, the second second metering container adjacent to the other side portion of the first second metering container 5 along the longitudinal direction of the rotary shaft 1. A locking arm 5b having a length from one side end to the other side end is fixed.

  The second second metering container 6 has the same shape and the same size as the first second metering container 5, and the structure for freely attaching to the rotary shaft 1 is the same. In the case of this Example 1, the case where two second quantitative containers are provided is shown, but a third and fourth second quantitative containers may be further provided, in which case the second quantitative container is provided. As in the case of the first metering container 5, the locking arm is fixed to the container 6 and the third metering container at the same shape and attachment position.

Next, the operation of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to a series of apparatus schematic diagrams in FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 4, a first second metering container 5 is provided adjacent to the first metering container 4, and a second second metering container 5 is disposed adjacent to the first second metering container 5. Two metering containers 6 are provided. And all the fixed quantity containers 4, 5, and 6 are filled with the fixed quantity of food, and a rotating shaft is rotated once every predetermined time progress. At the start of the operation of the apparatus, the locking arms 4a and 5b of the metering containers 4 and 5 are arranged so that they are not locked to the adjacent metering containers 5 and 6 in the operation in the rotation direction of the containers.

  As shown in FIG. 5, only the first metering container 4 fixed to the rotating shaft 1 is rotated in the first rotation, and the internal bait 10 is discharged from the container 4 and metered feeding is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, at the time when the first rotation is completed, the locking arm 4b of the empty first metering container 4 rotates to the side of the adjacent first second metering container 5. Lock with respect to direction.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, in the second rotation after a predetermined time, the first metering container 4 and the first second metering container 5 rotate together, and the first second metering container 5 rotates. The feed 10 in the constant-quantity container 5 is discharged and fixed-quantity feeding is performed.

  Next, as described above, when the first rotation is completed, as in the above-described step, the second second metering container 5 that is emptied has the locking arm 5b adjacent to the next second. The second metering container 6 is locked to the side (not shown). Therefore, in the third rotation after the next fixed time, the emptied first and second metering containers 4 and 5 and the second second metering container 6 rotate together, The bait inside the second metering container 6 is discharged and metered feeding is performed.

  Starting from the first quantitative container 4 fixed to the rotating shaft 1 in this way, as many second quantitative containers 5 and 6 as the number of installations are rotated one by one at regular intervals. On the other hand, a constant amount of food can be automatically fed continuously at regular intervals.

  As described above, when all the quantitative containers 4, 5, 6 are emptied, food is supplied to all the quantitative containers 4, 5, 6 for the first time by hand, and the computer (control device) 3 has a built-in program. Based on this, a command is sent to the motor (rotary drive device) 2 and the rotating shaft 1 is switched to the setting of rotating once every fixed time in reverse to the previous time, so that each of the metering containers 4 and 5 as in the previous time. , 6 can be discharged at regular time intervals to achieve a constant feeding.

  By repeating the above operation cycle, a predetermined amount of food can be automatically and continuously supplied to the domestic animals at desired intervals over any desired period.

  One rotation of the rotating shaft 1 by the computer 3 and the motor 2 can be performed at various speeds such as constant speed of the whole process, constant speed-stop-constant speed, high speed-low speed-high speed, etc. according to the shape and form of the bait stored in the container. It consists of a combination of speed and stop state, and their reverse rotation.

(Example 2)
In FIG. 8, the schematic block diagram of the 2nd Example of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus which concerns on this invention is shown. The feature of this embodiment is that, as shown in the drawing, the locking arms provided in each of the quantitative containers 4, 5, 6 come into contact with each other and are in a locked state, plate-shaped locking arms 40b, 50b-1, The other configurations and shapes are the same as those in the first embodiment. One plate-shaped locking arm 40b is attached to the first metering container 4, and the first second metering container 5 is overlapped with the locking arm 40b of the first metering container 4. A plate-like locking arm 50b-1 that abuts is provided, and a plate-like locking arm 50b-2 is provided on the opposite side surface. The second second metering container 6 is provided with a plate-like locking arm 50b that comes into contact with the locking arm 50b-2 of the first second metering container 5 so as to overlap. In this embodiment, each locking arm is formed in a plate shape suitable for overlapping and contacting each other as each metering container rotates. The shape is not limited and may be a rod shape or other shapes.

  Similar to the case of the first embodiment, the same operation cycle is repeated to change the shape and attachment structure of the locking arm, so that it is desired for the domestic animal over any desired period. A predetermined amount of food can be automatically and continuously fed at regular intervals.

  Examples 3 to 8 shown below are modified examples relating to the shape of the metering container, and only the metering container is illustrated and described, and other structures may be the same as in Example 1 or Example 2, Description of other structural parts is omitted.

(Example 3)
As shown in FIG. 9, in the third embodiment, each metering container 20 has a tapered diameter at the upper part and a small opening 20a. Thus, by setting the diameter of the opening 20a to a small dimension of, for example, about 5 mm to 15 mm, the powdery and granular bait 11 can be discharged without being scattered, and the bait receiving container installed at the lower part of the apparatus It becomes possible to fit precisely.

Example 4
As shown in FIG. 10, in this Example 4, each fixed quantity container 30 is diameter-expanded in a taper shape toward the upper part from the bottom part, and the opening part 30a is a wide mouth. In this way, by setting the diameter of the opening 30a to a large dimension of, for example, 50 mm or more, the bait 12 having a long shape with a long side: short side ratio such as boiled and beef jerky is fixed in a fixed quantity container 30. Can be easily discharged from.

(Example 5)
As shown in FIG. 11, the feature of the fifth embodiment is that it is easy to supply the powdery or granular bait 11 without removing the metering container 30 suitable for the bait 12 having a long shape from the rotating shaft. In this configuration, a lid-like attachment 40 is attached. The attachment 40 can be detachably fitted or screwed into the upper opening 30a of the metering container 30, and gradually decreases in diameter toward the opening 40a. The opening 40a has a diameter of 5 mm to 5 mm, for example. It is set to a small dimension of about 15 mm. By using the attachment 40 having such a shape, it is possible to accurately discharge the powdery and granular bait 11 without replacing the wide-mouthed container 30 attached to the rotating shaft 1 with the metering container 20 of the third embodiment. become.

(Example 6)
As shown in FIG. 12, the feature of the sixth embodiment is that a hole 60 is provided in the bottom surface of the metering container 50, and a closing valve 61 that opens inside the container 50 is provided in the hole 60. By forming the upper opening 50a of the quantitative container 50 having such a configuration with a small diameter that can realize the liquid quantitative discharge, as shown in FIG. 13, the rotational axis is rotated to bring the quantitative container 50 into the overturned position. When the valve is placed in the position, the shut-off valve 61 is opened, air enters the inside of the container 50, and the liquid bait 13 can be discharged without being scattered from the opening 50a located below. It becomes possible to fit in.

(Example 7)
As shown in FIG. 14, the feature of the seventh embodiment is that a closing valve 71 that opens to the outside of the container is provided in the upper opening 70 a of the metering container 70. By providing a shut-off valve 71 that opens to the outside of the container in the upper opening 70a of the metering container 70, the food stored in the container 70 dislikes drying, and it is necessary to avoid the entry of dust and the like. In some cases, the desired purpose can be achieved.

(Example 8)
As shown in FIG. 15, the feature of the eighth embodiment is that the metering container 80 is made of a transparent material. As the transparent material, transparent plastic, transparent glass, and the like can be raised. However, since the structure is rotated by a rotating shaft, it is preferable to use a lighter plastic material. In the eighth embodiment, all of the metering container 80 is made of a transparent material, but a part thereof may be made of a transparent material. Moreover, you may engrave the scale which displays an internal volume in a transparent part.

Example 9
As shown in FIG. 16, the feature of the ninth embodiment is that the inner surface of the metering container 90 is coated with a water-repellent film 91. Even when the liquid bait has a high viscosity, if the inner surface of the container 90 is covered with a water-repellent film, the separation of the highly viscous bait from the container 90 is improved, and the viscous bait is given. Moreover, it can be fed easily.

  As described above, the fixed-quantity automatic feeding device according to the present invention is not limited to the shape of the bait, and can reliably make any bait in any given amount, at any given time, and arbitrarily Feed can be supplied with any combination of feed content. Therefore, by using the timed quantitative automatic feeding device of the present invention, feeding to domestic animals such as laboratory animals and pet animals satisfies the condition of timed quantification suitable for maintaining health, and does not bother human labor for a long time. It can be realized continuously. The fixed-quantity automatic feeding device of the present invention is particularly suitable for a feeding device used for feeding experimental animals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic whole block diagram of the apparatus which shows the 1st Example of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of the 1st fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the 2nd fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a typical perspective view of the apparatus which shows the initial stage arrangement | positioning of each component of an apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a typical perspective view of the apparatus in the first rotation operation | movement of an apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a typical perspective view of the apparatus at the time of completing the first rotation operation | movement of an apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a typical perspective view of the apparatus in the rotation operation of the 2nd time after the drive of an apparatus. It is a typical perspective view of the apparatus which shows the 2nd Example of the time fixed quantity automatic feeding apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a section lineblock diagram of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container for demonstrating the 3rd Example of this invention which shows the modification of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a section lineblock diagram of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container for demonstrating the 4th Example of this invention which shows the other modification of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram of the quantitative container for demonstrating the 5th Example of this invention which shows the other modification of the quantitative container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram of the quantitative container for demonstrating the 6th Example of this invention which shows the other modified example of the quantitative container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram which shows the state by which the fixed quantity container shown in FIG. 12 was overturned. It is a section lineblock diagram of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container for demonstrating the 7th Example of this invention which shows the other modification of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container used for the fixed-quantity fixed amount automatic feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram of a quantitative container for demonstrating the 8th Example of this invention which shows the other modified example of the quantitative container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a section lineblock diagram of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container for demonstrating the 9th Example of this invention which shows the other modification of the fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container used for the fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Rotating shaft 2 Motor (Rotary drive device)
3 Computer device (control device)
4 first metering container 4a opening 4b locking arm 5 first second metering container 5a opening 5b locking arm 5c bearing or bearing-like member 6 second second metering container 7 bearing 8 breeding case 10 Bait 11 Powdery, granular bait 12 Long side: Bait with a long shape with a high short side ratio 13 Liquid bait 40b, 50b-1, 50b-2, 60b Plate-like locking arms 20, 30, 50 , 70, 80, 90 Metering container 20a, 30a Opening 40 Lid attachment 40a, 50a, 70a Opening 60 Hole 61 Closing valve 71 Closing valve 91 Water-repellent coating

Claims (8)

  A rotation shaft, a rotation drive device that rotates the rotation shaft, a control device that controls rotation of the rotation shaft by the rotation drive device, a first quantitative container fixed to the rotation shaft, and the first And at least one second metering container that is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft adjacent to the metering container, and each side of the first metering container and the second metering container A fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus characterized in that a locking arm for directly or indirectly locking a quantitative container adjacent to the part is fixed.   2. The timed quantitative determination according to claim 1, wherein the locking arm of each quantitative container has a length from one side end to the other side end of an adjacent quantitative container along the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft. Automatic feeding device.   2. The timed quantitative determination according to claim 1, wherein the locking arm of each metering container has a length that abuts on the locking arm of an adjacent metering container along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft so as to overlap. Automatic feeding device.   The fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an opening is formed in an upper part of the first and second quantitative containers.   The fixed time according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a hole is provided in the bottom surface of the first and second metering containers, and a shut-off valve that opens inside the container is provided in the hole. A quantitative automatic feeding device.   6. The fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a closing valve that opens to the outside of the container is provided at an upper opening of each of the first and second quantitative containers.   The lid-like attachment which controls the discharge | emission amount of the bait | feed inside a container is attached to the upper opening part of the said 1st and 2nd fixed_quantity | quantitative_assay container, The any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Regular fixed quantity automatic feeding device.   8. The fixed-quantity automatic feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a water-repellent coating is formed on the inner surfaces of the first and second quantitative containers.

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