JP3209510B2 - Automatic feeding device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic feeding apparatus that automatically feeds small breeding experimental animals at regular intervals when no attendant is present on holidays or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automatic feeding device provided in a cage for accommodating a small laboratory animal is provided with a plurality of divided feeding boxes for each cage, and supplies a predetermined amount of food to each of the partitioned feeding boxes. A method is adopted in which the bottom plate of each feeding box is sequentially opened by a motor or a DC solenoid every predetermined time, and the bottom plate is supplied to a feeding box in a cage. In this method, when a large number of cages are arranged in multiple rows and rows by shelves and intensively bred, the power supply wiring to each feeding box is complicated and it is not only unsightly, but also hinders maintenance such as cleaning. Or when taking out small animals for research,
It is difficult to open the door of the cage, and there is a problem that the door is hooked to the power supply wiring. In addition, a bait feeding device that moves up and down and left and right to feed the bait box of each cage has been put into practical use on the front of the shelf where the multi-stage and multi-row cages are arranged. On the front side, a guide rail of the bait feeder is provided, or the power supply wiring of the bait feeder is routed with the movement of the bait feeder, so that the bait feeder is similarly obstructed, not only the efficiency of the feeding work is reduced, It requires extra capital investment and manpower.

[0003]

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, a feeding box is detachably attached to each cage, and the feeding box is provided with control means for feeding independently at predetermined time intervals. It is intended to provide an automatic feeding device.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a drive section is formed detachably on one side of a feed box, and one side of each bottom plate is rotatably supported. The other side is locked by hooks and formed to be openable, and an operation plate is provided slidably in parallel along a plurality of sections,
On the side of the operation plate facing the plurality of hooks, a plurality of cam projections for supporting and sequentially releasing the hooks are formed, and a saw-toothed slit extending in the longitudinal direction is formed at the tip of the operation plate,
A drive piece that intersects at right angles to the operation plate is slidably disposed below the operation plate, a lock pin is erected on the drive piece, and the lock pin is fitted into a sawtooth-shaped slit. The operating plate is urged toward the distal end by the operating spring, and the driving piece is urged toward the driving unit by the driving spring to lock the operating plate. As a result, the driving piece was actuated against the driving spring, the operation plate was sequentially unlocked, the operation plate was moved to release the hook from the cam projection, and the plurality of bottom plates were sequentially opened to feed. In addition, a battery, a timer, a DC motor, a driving rotary cam, and a control circuit for controlling these components are provided in the drive unit, and a warning lamp for indicating that the remaining battery level is low is provided in the control circuit. Further, a rotation shaft is provided to penetrate the feeding box and rotatably support one side of the plurality of bottom plates, a reset handle is formed at one end of the rotation shaft, and an open end is provided on each side of the bottom plate intersecting with the rotation shaft. An oval hole was formed toward the shaft, the rotating shaft was inserted through, a reset plate was fixed to the rotating shaft at a position facing each bottom plate, and leaf springs pressed against the rotating shaft were fixed to a plurality of bottom plates. .

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an automatic feeding device embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a state in which cages equipped with the automatic feeding apparatus of the present invention are arranged in a multi-stage and multi-row arrangement on a breeding shelf, and an automatic feeding apparatus 2 is detachably attached to the front of each cage 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the automatic feeding apparatus as viewed from the opposing surface of the cage. On the upper part of the automatic feeding apparatus 2, a feeding box 5 including a plurality of partitioned sections 3 and respective bottom plates 4 (see FIG. 3) is provided. An inclined surface is formed below the inside of the feed box 5 so as to supply the feed to the feed box (not shown) in the cage 1 without remaining.
Drive unit mounting brackets 6a and 6b are provided on the front surface of the feeding box 5 so as to project outward and symmetrically, and the drive unit 7 is provided from above. Feeding box 5
Insert and hold along the front of the. A long oval hole 8 is provided in the lower part of the front surface of the feeding box 5 so that the driving piece 22 can be seen.
Further, a rotary shaft 9 is provided through the side wall of the feed box 5, and one end thereof is bent to form a reset handle 9a.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the feeding box, and FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional bottom view showing a locked state of the bottom plate. At the bottom of each section 3 of the feeding box 5, bottom plates 4a, 4b,
4c is provided. The bottom plate 4 is bent at both left and right sides to form a side wall, and a long hole 36 (see FIG. 7) is provided at one end of the side wall, and can be freely opened and closed through the long hole 36 by the rotating shaft 9 which penetrates the feeding box 5 in the lateral direction. The other side is supported by a hook 10 and the bottom of the section 3 is closed. The reset plates 13 each having one end fixed to the rotating shaft 9 are positioned substantially at the center of the lower surface of each bottom plate 4. Further, on the back surface of the bottom plate 4, a blade-shaped leaf spring 14 whose both ends are expanded is fixed to the rotating shaft 9 side, and both ends of the leaf spring 14 are pressed against the rotating shaft 9. Furthermore, each section 3
A partition plate 15 is horizontally fixed below the front inclined surface of the base member, and a hook support fitting 11 which is open in a U-shape and is downwardly opposed to each bottom plate 4 is fixed to the end of the partition plate 15.
To allow free rotation.

A support channel 16 is fixed horizontally on the lower surface of the partition plate 15 along the plurality of hooks 10 with the U-shaped opening facing upward. The support channel 16 is formed by combining two L-shaped channels in a U-shape, and has a plurality of slits extending in the longitudinal direction parallel to the left and right sides on the side wall thereof. Is slidably held in the longitudinal direction, and the operation plate 17 is urged by the operation spring 18 in the distal direction (the direction opposite to the reset handle). Operation plate 17
The cam projections 19a, 19b, and 19c are formed on the side surface facing the hook 10 in the direction of the hook 10 sequentially from the tip, and project through the slits in the side wall of the support channel 16. Cam protrusions 19a, 19b, 19c
As shown in the figure, the cam protrusion 19a
9b and the cam projection 19c are formed in such a manner that the width thereof is increased. Further, a saw-toothed slit 20 is formed on the upper surface of the operation plate 17 in the vicinity of the cam protrusion 19a and extends in the longitudinal direction. Further, a reset rod 21 is provided near the cam projection 19b, one end of which is fixed to the operation plate 17 and the other end of which is projected through a slit opposite to the cam projection 19b and extends forward from below the feed box 5. Further, the saw-toothed slit 20
And a driving piece 22 is slidably provided below the supporting channel 16 at right angles. Drive piece 22
A lock pin 23 is erected on the upper surface thereof.
Is inserted into the saw-toothed slit 20, one end of the driving piece 22 is viewed from the driving unit 7, and is urged toward the driving unit 7 by the driving spring 34. FIG. 4 shows a state in which three bottom plates 4a, 4b, 4c are closed by hooks 10, respectively.
Are cam projections 19a, 19b, 1
It is pushed to the bottom plate 4 side by 9c to lock the bottom plate 4. The operating plate 17 is provided with a locking pin 2 fitted in a sawtooth slit 20.
3 keeps the position against the operation spring 18 and keeps the three bottom plates 4a, 4b, 4c in a closed state.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the driving unit, and FIG. 6 is a sectional bottom view of a main part showing the configuration of the driving unit. The drive unit 7 is formed by gathering its operation parts on the front surface, and as a whole a closed structure,
A sealed structure is used to prevent the internal circuits from being damaged by urine and feces from domestic animals. A lower stepped recess is formed at the center of the front of the drive unit 7, and a first push button switch 25, a second push button switch 26 for setting a feeding start time, and a two-digit display tube 27 for displaying the set time are provided. The display tube 27 has a single-digit display section composed of seven segments and points, and displays a number by selecting and lighting a plurality of segments. The step recess is set in a range where the knobs of the first push button switch 25 and the second push button switch 26 do not protrude very much. An emergency stop switch 28 for stopping the driving unit 7 and a warning lamp 30 for detecting and blinking the consumption of the battery 29 are provided on the right side thereof, and a battery unit 31 for storing the battery 29 is provided on the left side. Drive unit 7
An opening 32 is provided on the back surface of the feeding box 5 so as to face the oval hole 8 of the feeding box 5.

The driving unit 7 includes a control circuit (not shown),
Drive rotary cam 33, battery 29, micro switch 3
5. The DC motor 24 is provided, and the drive rotary cam 33 is fixed to the motor shaft of the DC motor 24, and the microswitch 35 is arranged along the outer periphery of the drive rotary cam 33. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the driving rotary cam 33. FIG. In the control circuit, a timer that operates for a set time and a timer that operates at regular intervals are formed by an electronic circuit. Since the drive unit 7 is detachable, the feeding box 5 may be used depending on the laboratory small animal to be bred.
Even if the size changes, the common mounting means can be used in common. Further, in the present embodiment, the DC motor 24 is rotated by the control signal from the timer, and the driving piece 22 is driven by the driving rotary cam 33. However, the DC motor 24 and the driving rotary cam 33 are driven.
Instead of using a DC actuator, the DC actuator is directly operated by a control signal from a timer to
2 may be driven. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing an opening mechanism of the bottom plate, and is a sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. Bottom plate 4
One end of a is supported by the rotating shaft 9, the other end is supported by the hook 10, and the bottom side of the hook 10 is supported by the cam projection 19a of the operation plate 17 to keep the bottom plate 4a closed.

Next, the operation and operation of the automatic feeding apparatus of the present invention will be described. With the above configuration, the reset rod 21 first moves the operation plate 17 against the operation spring 18 until the locking pin 23 of the driving piece 22 returns to the tip of the sawtooth slit 15. The locking pin 23 moves along the saw-toothed slit 20 against the operation spring 18 and locks at the tip of the saw-toothed slit 20. At this time, each hook 1
0 denotes the cam projections 19a, 19b, 19c of the operation plate 17.
Is pushed out to the bottom plate 4 side. In this state, the reset handle 9a is rotated, the bottom plate 4 is pushed up by the reset plate 13, and the tip of the bottom plate 4 is brought into contact with the hook 10. The tip of the bottom plate 4 is pushed up along the inclined portion of the hook 10, and the tip of the bottom plate 4 rides over the tip of the hook 10 and holds the bottom plate 4 in that state. The blade-shaped leaf spring 14 provided on the bottom plate 4 bends when the tip of the bottom plate 4 gets over the tip of the hook 10, and shifts the bottom plate 4 to the side opposite to the hook within the long hole 36 of the bottom plate 4. Can easily get over the tip of

In the above state, feed is put into each section 3 to prepare for automatic feeding. First, the battery 29 is mounted on the drive unit 7. At this time, the center segment of the display tube 27 is lit in a horizontal line. When the second push button switch 26 is pressed in this state, the DC motor 24 rotates. The operation is stopped by pressing the emergency stop switch 28. With this operation, the operation of the drive unit 7 is confirmed. Next, the time at which automatic feeding is started is determined, and the required time t1 up to that time is determined.
Is calculated in units of time and set in the drive unit 6. The required time t1 until the first feeding time is set by the first push button switch 25 and the second push button switch 26 of the drive unit 6. When the required time t1 is one hour, only the first push button switch 25 is used. When the required time t1 is two hours or more, the required time t1 is set by pressing the first push button switch 25 and then the second push button switch 26. This required time t1 is set by displaying the number on the display tube 27 each time the first push button switch 25 and the second push button switch 26 are operated. When the required time t1 is set, the first push button switch 25 is pressed to activate the timer. When the timer operates, the display on the display tube 27 disappears,
The outer segments of the display tube 27 are sequentially turned on in the counterclockwise direction to indicate "timer is operating". The required time t1 has elapsed,
At the first feeding time t1, a control signal is transmitted from the control circuit to drive the DC motor 24 to drive the driving rotary cam 33.
To rotate. When the tip of the driving rotary cam 33 operates the micro switch 35, the power of the DC motor 24 is turned off and stopped. Thereafter, a control signal is transmitted at regular intervals (for example, 24 hours) by the timer of the control circuit, and the DC motor 24 is driven to rotate the drive rotary cam 33 each time.

The driving rotary cam 33 rotates, and the driving piece 22 is pushed out by the tip of the driving rotary cam 33 against the driving spring 34, and the locking pin 23 of the driving piece 22 has the sawtooth slit 2.
Then, the operation plate 17 is released from the engagement portion, and the operation plate 17 is disengaged from the engagement portion. By the movement of the operation plate 17, the cam projection 19a comes off from the hook 10a, the bottom plate 4a opens due to its own weight and the weight of the feed, and the feed falls into the hopper to feed. The protruding portion of the driving rotary cam 33 is disengaged from the driving piece 22, the driving piece 22 is returned by the driving spring 34, the locking pin 23 enters the next locking portion of the sawtooth slit 20, and locks the operation plate 17. I do. Thereafter, the DC motor 24 is driven at regular intervals by a timer of the control circuit, and the bottom plate 4b and the bottom plate 4c are sequentially opened, and the feed falls into the hopper and is fed. With the configuration described above, by attaching the automatic feeding device of the present invention to each cage, it is possible to feed small laboratory animals on a regular basis without going to work for feeding on holidays. Further, automatic feeding can be performed relatively inexpensively without the need for extensive electrical wiring for automatic feeding. Also,
For each cage, a suitable feeding time can be set for the small laboratory animals housed in the cage.

[0013]

According to the present invention, a feed box is detachably attached to each cage, an automatic feeder is independently provided in each feed box, and the feeders are individually driven by a timer and a battery of the automatic feeder. An extra wiring such as a power supply can be omitted from the front, so that monitoring and taking out of small experimental animals can be facilitated. Also, for feeding small animals for experiments, feeding can be performed at regular intervals even when the attendant is absent, such as on holidays, by simply setting the time until feeding for the first time, and thereafter using a timer. Furthermore, even for relatively large experimental animals such as dogs and monkeys, the drive 7 can be removed and used in common simply by changing the size of the feeding box 5, and the necessary minimum drive 7 is provided. Just do not need extra investment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which a cage having an automatic feeding device attached to a rearing rack is arranged.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the automatic feeding device as viewed from a cage facing surface.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the feeding box.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional bottom view showing a locked state of a bottom plate.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a driving unit.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional bottom view of a main part showing a configuration of a driving unit.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing an opening mechanism of a bottom plate.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a driving rotary cam.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cage 2 Automatic feeding apparatus 3 Section 4 Bottom plate 5 Feeding box 6 Driving part mounting bracket 7 Driving part 8 Oval hole 9 Rotating shaft 9a Reset handle 10 Hook 11 Hook support bracket 12 Support pin 13 Reset plate 14 Leaf spring 15 Partition plate 16 Support Channel 17 Operation plate 18 Operation spring 19 Cam protrusion 20 Serrated slit 21 Reset rod 22 Drive piece 23 Lock pin 24 DC motor 25 First push button switch 26 Second push button switch 27 Display tube 28 Emergency stop switch 29 Battery Reference Signs List 30 Warning light 31 Battery part 32 Opening 33 Driving rotary cam 34 Driving spring 35 Micro switch 36 Slot

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic feeding device for opening a bottom plate of a feeding box divided into a plurality of sections at a predetermined position at a predetermined position at a front position of a cage body, wherein a driving unit is provided on one side of the feeding box. In addition to being detachably formed, one side of each bottom plate is rotatably supported, and the other opposite side is locked by a hook so as to be openable and slidable in parallel along the plurality of sections. An operation plate is provided, and a plurality of cam protrusions for supporting and sequentially releasing the hooks are formed on a side surface of the operation plate facing the plurality of hooks, and a serrated slit extending in a longitudinal direction at a tip end of the operation plate. A driving piece that intersects the operation plate at right angles is slidably disposed below the operation plate, and a locking pin is erected on the driving piece, and the locking pin is formed in the sawtooth shape. Fitting into the slit, looking one end of the driving piece into the driving section, The operating plate is urged toward the distal end by an operating spring, and the driving piece is urged toward the driving unit by a driving spring to lock the operating plate. The driving unit opposes the driving spring at predetermined time intervals. An automatic feeding device that operates the driving piece to sequentially release the locking of the operation plate, moves the operation plate to release the hook from the cam projection, and sequentially opens and feeds the plurality of bottom plates. 2. A battery, a timer, a DC motor, a drive rotary cam, and a control circuit for controlling these components are provided in the drive section, and a warning light for indicating a decrease in the remaining battery level is provided in the control circuit. 2. The automatic feeding device according to claim 1, which is provided. 3. A rotary shaft penetrating the feed box and rotatably supporting one side of the plurality of bottom plates, a reset handle is formed at one end of the rotary shaft, and a bottom plate intersecting with the rotary shaft is provided. Oval holes are formed on the sides to extend toward the open ends, and the rotating shafts are inserted through the rotating shafts.Reset plates are fixed to the rotating shafts at positions opposed to the respective bottom plates, and the plurality of bottom plates are opposed to the rotating shafts. 3. The automatic feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a leaf spring to be pressed by pressing is fixed.