JP2649169B2 - Automatic water exchanger for small animals - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field and Object of the Invention] The present invention relates to a device used for breeding small animals mainly kept as pets such as dogs, cats and birds.

In addition to feeding, it is essential to provide water for drinking, etc. for raising animals. Normally, it is sufficient to put water in the vessel and place it in the area where animals live, but if left in this state for a long time, the water will gradually become polluted and unusable, so replace the water in the vessel after a suitable time. Must. It is sufficient that the owner is always in a state of care, but if it is necessary to leave it for a long time without taking care of it, it is not possible to supply clean water to the animals, which is inconvenient.

One way to avoid this situation is to constantly flood the container, for example by drawing a pipe from a tap.
There is a way to keep supplying fresh water. At this time, if the amount of flowing water is large and the momentum of the water is strong, dust and dirt in the container are also wiped out and fresh water is always held, but on the other hand, a large amount of water is wasted and the water charge increases. If the amount is small, the replacement of water is not sufficient, and once sedimentable dirt such as feces and food residue has entered the container, it cannot be removed. Another method is to electrically control the water supply by using a solenoid valve, etc., but the equipment is large and costly. Not suitable for breeding.

On the other hand, as a water drinking device for birds such as chickens and pigeons,
An instrument whose cross section is shown in the figure is used. In the container, a space that communicates with the outside air only through the water drinking port 13 is provided,
Water is added here to form a closed water reservoir 11. Although the water level in the closed basin is higher than the water level in the drinking fountain, the water in the closed basin does not move to the drinking fountain side because the water passage 14 is blocked by the presence of water. The bird drinks water from the water drinking port 13, and as a result, when the water level of the water drinking port drops, some air moves from the water flowing port 14 to the closed water reservoir 11, and the corresponding water flows out of the closed water reservoir. Then, the water level of the drinking water port is raised, and the water flow port 14 is closed again to stop the further water transfer. The same is repeated as the bird drinks more water. The air that has flowed into the closed reservoir forms a closed reservoir interior space 10 which gradually expands until the container is emptied. When pouring water into the container, incline the container so that the drinking side is up and pour water into the container. Only the water consumed by the birds is supplied to the drinking water from the closed reservoir 11 each time, but the water in the closed reservoir is kept out of the birds' living area for a long time because it is shut off from the outside air. Even so, the degree of contamination is lower. More water can be placed at once than simply filling the bowl with water. The device whose vertical section is shown in FIG.
And the convenience of handling is enhanced. The inverted container is a normal container having a circular cross section and a narrow mouth. After water is poured into the inverted container, the inverted container is turned upside down and set up on the drinking dish 22 placed below. The inverted container is installed in a slightly raised position in which the inverted container opening 21 is not in contact with the bottom of the drinking dish, but is supported by the inverted container support ring 23 attached to the drinking dish. In this way, the water in the inverted container overflows into the drinking dish to close the inverted container opening 21, and a closed water reservoir 11 similar to the case of FIG. 1 is formed in the inverted container. The subsequent operation is the same as in FIG. The inverted container serves as the roof of a drinking dish, which also prevents bird droppings from falling from above.

However, there is no water exchange in the middle of these containers,
Depending on the type of contamination, the function of these devices may be insufficient. For example, the water in the water drinking port 13 that a bird comes into direct contact with is contaminated by food residue and body fluids from the bird's mouth, and further absorbs odors from bird cages and aviaries. After a long time, they diffuse and reach the water in the closed reservoir 11. Also, if dirt such as bird droppings or body hair enters the drinking water or the drinking water dish 22 at a certain time, it cannot be removed, and the water remaining in the closed basin can be used thereafter. Disappears.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a novel device for watering small animals.

[Configuration of the Invention] FIG. 1 shows a standard configuration of a drinking water supply device using the appliance of the present invention in the form of a sectional view. The apparatus is composed of three parts: a basin 30, a siphon basin 35, and a drinking dish 22. Puddle 30
A fine port 31 is opened at the bottom of the container, from which a small amount of water is continuously dropped as a water drop 32. The water drops reach the siphon sump 35 and gradually raise the siphon sump water level 37. A siphon tube 36 is provided in the siphon reservoir, the siphon inlet 38 is near the bottom of the siphon reservoir, and the highest siphon 33 is the siphon reservoir wall.
It is installed at a position lower than the upper end of 34. Further, the siphon pipe 36 penetrates downward through the siphon water reservoir wall, and the water pipe 39
The tip is a spout 40. A water drinking tray 22 is placed at a position where the water discharged from the spout can be received, and the bred animal drinks drinking water 42 therefrom. Since the drinking dish is placed in the animal's living area, after a long period of time, settling dirt 43 accumulates at the bottom of the drinking dish, and the contaminants dissolve into the drinking water itself and, at the same time, floating dirt 41 on the surface. Floating.

Next, the operation of this device will be described. The water level of the siphon ponds 37 gradually rises due to the water drops 32 dropped from the water basin 30, but the siphon water basin wall 34 is sufficiently high so that the water does not overflow from the siphon basin container, and the water level rises with the passage of time. Leads to. Then, water starts flowing through the siphon tube 36 according to the well-known siphon principle. Once the flow of this water is started, it does not stop even if the siphon sump water level 37 becomes lower than the highest part 33 of the siphon, is sucked in from the siphon pipe inlet 38, flows through the siphon pipe and the water pipe 39, and is drunk from the spout 40. It is poured into the plate 22 vigorously. The water level of the siphon ponds 37 rapidly drops due to the discharge of water from the siphon ponds. However, when the water level drops to the position of the siphon pipe inlet 38, air flows into the siphon pipe instead, and the discharge of water ends. FIG. 4 shows the situation at this time. Drinking dish
In 22 the contaminated old water and filth is pushed out by the water jet at this time, and new water is supplied from the siphon basin instead. The amount of water discharged at this time is the amount corresponding to the difference in water level from the siphon highest part 33 to the siphon pipe inlet 38. Since the siphon sump 35 always has a small amount of water supplied from the sump 30, the siphon sump water level 37
Then, the same operation is repeated when it starts rising again and reaches the position of the siphon highest part 33. A certain amount of water is intermittently poured into the drinking dish 22 at intervals, and this is continued until the water reservoir 30 is empty.

Means and form for supplying a small amount of water flow to the siphon reservoir 35 are not limited. Instead of receiving water droplets, a small amount of continuous water flow via a capillary tube or the like may be used. The shape, material, and size of the siphon tube are not limited as long as they function as a siphon. The shape, material and size of the drinking dish are not limited. The siphon basin provided with the siphon tube 36 as described above is the main body of the present invention. The basin 30, the drinking dish 22 may be commercialized including these, but since a special shape and function that can only be used for the present invention are not necessarily required,
Only the main body may be commercialized.

Although the principle of the siphon used in the present invention is well known, a feature of the present invention is that the intermittent operation is used to supply water for living of small animals. The above-mentioned special circumstances required for the supply of domestic water are not solved by intermittent supply of water by the operation of the siphon. Whether or not an animal is a small animal is an expression in consideration of the general scope of application, and does not particularly limit the requirements of the present invention. Considering the size and shape of the siphon sump 35 and siphon tube 36, it is possible to increase the amount of water that can be discharged at one time during operation, and if the head is increased by increasing the length of the water guide tube 39, the water from the spout 40 can be increased. Momentum can be increased. However, the inner diameter of the siphon tube cannot be increased without limitation due to certain physical restrictions, which will be described later in detail in the embodiments. Therefore, the flow of supplied water has a certain limit in the scale of a normal device, and the capacity of a container for storing water, such as a water drinking dish, which can effectively use the effect is somewhat restricted. For live animals ''
It is assumed that. Living water refers to the water required for animal breeding, but a typical example is drinking water. In addition, this includes water for bathing small birds. Considering the shape and size of the water drinking tray 22 in FIG. 3, it can be used as a water bath container. The animals may be in a bred state, i.e., for pets, zoos, and for test experiments.

Embodiment of the Invention First, the operation in the siphon tube will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the siphon reservoir 35 provided with the siphon tube 36, which is the main body of the present invention, already shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The shape of the siphon tube represents a typical U-shaped tube, but is not limited thereto. A V-shaped tube or a key type may be used. It is sufficient that the siphon tube inlet 38 communicates near the bottom of the siphon sump and is lower than the highest point of the siphon tube, that is, the top of the bend in the U-tube. The siphon tube penetrates the bottom of the siphon reservoir, but may be a side wall. Further, the entire U-shaped pipe as the siphon pipe does not need to be inside the container of the siphon pool, but may be provided outside the container.

The siphon sump water level 37 gradually rises due to the minute water flow received by the siphon sump 35, and with this, the water surface 50 in the siphon pipe also rises, and both keep substantially the same height. However, the water surface in the siphon pipe does not become a simple horizontal plane due to the physical action of the water 52 in the siphon pipe, but forms a plane perpendicular to the inner wall surface of the siphon pipe wall 51 as shown in the figure. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the siphon water level 37 further rises and reaches the uppermost part of the siphon, the flow of the water 52 in the siphon pipe starts toward the conducting pipe 39. Although it is the specific position of the highest part of the siphon, in the normal state where the conduit 39 is almost straight and the ejection port 40 is open to the outside air, the highest point 60 of the siphon inner pipe and the highest point of the siphon inner pipe opposite thereto are provided. The opposite end 61, that is, the distance between these two points corresponds to the inside diameter of the siphon tube, but is located almost in the middle of the two or slightly above. When the siphon tube is made of a different material, the inner diameter and the state of the conducting tube, and when the spout is submerged in water, the siphon tube is located further upward and may be higher than the highest point 60 in the siphon tube. The highest part of the siphon described in this specification may be generally considered to be the top of a U-shaped pipe or the like, which is a siphon pipe, but strictly speaking, when the siphon water reservoir 37 reaches that position, the siphon is located inside the siphon pipe. It shall refer to the height at which the flow of water is initiated by action. In extreme cases, the U-tube may be located above any part of the tube. As shown in FIG. 7, the flow of water in the siphon pipe stops when air flows into the siphon pipe when the siphon water reservoir 37 drops below the position of the siphon pipe inlet 38. Thereafter, until the siphon water reservoir level rises again and the same is repeated, there is no water flow in the siphon pipe, and the apparatus is in a standby state.

The example shown in FIG. 8 is a case where the U-shaped pipe is similarly installed in a container of a siphon basin in order to act as a siphon pipe, but unlike the case of FIG. 5 to FIG. A tube is used. In this case, the water surface 50 in the siphon pipe becomes horizontal and becomes the same water level as the siphon water reservoir 37. The siphon sump water level 37 is the highest point in the siphon inner pipe 61
When the water reaches the siphon pipe inner surface, the position of the water surface in the siphon pipe does not rise any more, and surplus water passes little by little through the upper end 61 of the siphon pipe and ends down the conductive pipe 39 as attached water droplets 80. The same state is maintained even after the time elapses, and there is no change. Therefore, in this case, there is no intermittent water flow forming the flow in the siphon tube as seen in the examples of FIGS.
The effect of the siphon used by the present invention does not occur. That is, the fifth
In FIG. 7 to FIG. 7, water reaches the entire peripheral wall in the siphon tube by capillary action, and furthermore, a water surface perpendicular to the tube wall is formed by surface tension to minimize the surface area. The formation of an intermittent water flow by the action of the siphon requires such water conditions in the siphon tube. In the case of FIG. 8 as well, when the inside of the siphon tube is filled with water by a certain method, the flow of water occurs due to the action of the siphon. However, unlike the case of FIGS. It does not work well, and simply raising the siphon water level 37 does not fill the pipe with water. The intermittent flow of water due to the action of the siphon used by the device according to the present invention, although it depends on the material of the siphon tube, operates stably when the inner diameter of the polyvinyl chloride tube is about 5 mm, for example. If a siphon tube is made of a material that is sufficiently wettable with water, such as glass, 1c
Even if the inner diameter is increased to about m, the effect of the siphon can be obtained. However, if the inner diameter is further increased, the situation shown in FIG. 8 falls under the situation shown in FIG. Conversely, if the inner diameter is too small, the amount of flowing water is small, and the effect aimed at by the present invention is small. Therefore, the siphon tube described in this specification is the fifth
It refers to those that function in the state shown in FIGS.
Although the word "siphon" is used in the description relating to FIG. 8 for convenience, the one shown in FIG. 8 is a U-shaped tube, but is not the siphon tube mentioned in this specification.

Next, an example regarding the configuration of the entire water supply device will be described. In FIG. 9, the supply of a small flow of water to the siphon basin 35 is obtained directly from the tap, and the container of the siphon basin 35 is suspended from the tap faucet 90. The tap of the water tap 90 is squeezed to gradually drop the water droplet 32. The positions of the conduit tube 39 and the spout 40 are fixed by the spout support base 91, and the water drinking tray 22 is placed at a position where the water flow from the spout can be received. In the case of birds, a roof may be provided slightly above the water drinking tray to prevent the dropping of feces. The spout 40, which is the tip of the water pipe, is completely immersed in the water of the drinking dish, and it becomes a resistance at the time of water discharge due to the action of the siphon and hinders stabilizing the operation. If the inside of the water pipe is always in communication with the atmosphere by making it oblique, there is no support even if a part of the water pipe is immersed in water.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, the water supply by hand is not required by utilizing the rainfall caused by rain. Available when it can be installed outdoors. The water that has reached the water reservoir 30 via the filter medium 95 passes through the porous material 93, and the water flow is adjusted, and reaches the siphon water reservoir 35. As the porous substance, a fiber bundle such as urethane sponge and cotton, which is relatively easily available, can be used.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which an animal is placed in a cage or a cage and kept indoors, and water cannot flow down on the ground or on a veranda floor. In the figure, a grid bar 72 shows a cross section of a grid forming a basket or a cage net. A sewage reservoir 77 for receiving used water discharged by the action of the siphon according to the present invention is provided, and the drinking dish 22 having a slightly smaller periphery is positioned on the sewage reservoir 76. A drainage gap 75 is formed around the drinking dish 22, and the used drainage pushed out by the water flow from the spout 40 reaches the sewage reservoir from this gap.
The gap should be so large that the animal cannot penetrate the neck and drink the water in the sewer 77. A net may be provided on the sewage reservoir 76 and the drinking dish 22 may be placed thereon. The supply of water is configured such that a tank of the water reservoir 30 is prepared on a basket or a cage, an adjusting screw 71 is provided at the bottom thereof, and a minute water flow is dripped toward the siphon water reservoir 35 from a gap of the screw hole. I have. The minute water flow can be adjusted by adjusting the adjusting screw 71.

[Effect of the Invention] It contributes to labor saving of animal breeding. The effect of the present invention is great when supplying water to a relatively shallow and flat vessel as a drinking dish, but there is no problem in the case of birds, and in the case of dogs and cats, these can be licked with the tongue. Since it drinks water, it is not necessary to be a deep vessel, and it can be said that it is suitable for application of the device of the present invention. On the other hand, by the water flow by the device according to the present invention,
Although it can discharge feces of small birds, it is difficult when it comes to feces of dogs and cats. However, these mammals have high intelligence and do not defecate in drinking bowls, so there is no need to worry about this. Since the device according to the present invention has no part that uses a mechanical operation, the device is less likely to fail and the operation is stable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional bird watering device.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional bird watering device.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a water drinking device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view showing the operation of the drinking water device shown in FIG. 5 to 7 are longitudinal sectional views for explaining each step of the operation of the siphon used by the present invention. FIG. 5 is a stand-by state where there is no water flow in the siphon pipe, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a stage in which the passage of water starts, and FIG. 7 shows a stage in which the passage of water in the siphon tube ends. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration in a case where the action of the siphon used by the present invention does not occur. 9 to 11 show an embodiment of a water drinking device according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a case where water is supplied from a tap, and FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a case where rainwater is used. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view when storing used wastewater. 10… space inside the closed basin 11… closed basin 12… container wall 13… water drinking port 14… water inlet 20… inverted container 21… inverted container opening 22… water drinking tray 23… Inverted container support ring 30… Puddle 31… Fine mouth 32… Drop 33 …… Siphon highest part 34 …… Siphon water reservoir wall 35 …… Siphon water reservoir 36 …… Siphon tube 37 …… Siphon water level 38 …… Siphon pipe inlet 39 ... water pipe 40 ... spout 41 ... floating waste 42 ... drinking water 43 ... sedimentary waste 50 ... siphon pipe water surface 51 ... siphon pipe wall 52 ... siphon pipe water 60 ... Highest point in siphon pipe 61… Highest point in siphon pipe vs. end point 62… Siphon pipe water back surface 70… Water supply port 71 …… Adjustment screw 72 …… Lattice bar 73 …… Siphon sump support arm 74 …… Water pipe Support arm 75… Drainage space 76… Sewage reservoir 77… Sewage reservoir 78… Drinking dish support leg 79… Pedestal 80… Adhered water drops 90… Water tap 9 1 ... Spout support base 92 ... Suspension cord 93 ... Porous substance 94 ... Rain catch 95 ... Filter media 96 ... Support base 97 ... Support base leg

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A container capable of receiving a continuous supply of a small flow of water and having a siphon tube as a main body, wherein the siphon tube has a top portion lower than the height of a peripheral wall of the container. In this position, one end is opened near the bottom inside the container, and the other end is connected to the lower ejection port, and the pipe diameter of the pipe is increased as the water level in the vessel increases, so that water enters the inside of the pipe. When the water is discharged, the tip of the water reaches the entire peripheral wall in the pipe regardless of the position in the pipe and is within the limit of forming a water surface substantially perpendicular to the pipe wall. With the water drinking tray installed at the receiving position, the water drinking tray is placed in an environment for breeding small animals, and the water of the water drinking tray is exchanged and supplied by the force of water intermittently spouting from the spout. Water exchanger for small animals intended for use.