JP3246738U - Livestock water supply equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a livestock watering device in which a cleaning water supply means can be installed in a state where it is protected from livestock, and in which the water tank of the livestock watering device and the surrounding floor surface can be cleaned with clean tap water and kept clean. [Solution] A livestock watering device 1 for giving water to livestock, comprising a float valve 4 that keeps the water level in the water tank 2 constant, a protective cover 6 that covers the float valve 4 to protect it from the livestock, and a flow path switching valve 7 that is provided at a position covered by the protective cover 6 and is capable of switching the water flow direction between a first flow path that supplies tap water to the float valve 4 and a second flow path that makes the tap water available for cleaning the water tank 2. [Selected Figure] Figure 3

Description

Application for exception to loss of novelty has been filed

This invention relates to a livestock water supply device for providing water to livestock.

Conventionally, in the livestock industry, where livestock such as cows are raised, livestock watering devices are used to give water to livestock. For example, Utility Model Registration No. 3201191 discloses a livestock watering device equipped with a horizontally long rectangular water tank with an open top (Patent Document 1).

Utility Model Registration No. 3201191

However, because livestock waterers such as those described in Patent Document 1 are installed inside or outside livestock barns, the inside and surrounding areas of the water tanks are easily soiled, and if a separate water supply facility such as a faucet is installed, there is a problem that the livestock will tamper with them and destroy them. For this reason, conventionally, the water tanks and surrounding floors of livestock waterers are either washed using water that has accumulated in the tanks, such as dirty water left over after the livestock drink, or are not washed at all, resulting in a problem of unsanitary conditions.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a livestock water supply device in which the cleaning water supply means can be installed in a state that protects the livestock from the livestock, and in which the water tank of the livestock water supply device and the surrounding floor surface can be cleaned with clean tap water and kept clean.

The livestock water supply device according to the present invention is a livestock water supply device for providing water to livestock, which solves the problem of being able to cleanse the water tank of the livestock water supply device and the surrounding floor surface with clean tap water by installing a cleaning water supply means in the livestock water supply device in a state that protects the livestock from the livestock, and keeping them clean. The livestock water supply device has a float valve that keeps the water level in the tank constant, a protective cover that covers the float valve to protect it from the livestock, and a flow path switching valve that is located in a position covered by the protective cover and can switch the water flow direction between a first flow path that supplies tap water to the float valve and a second flow path different from the first flow path.

In addition, as one aspect of the present invention, a watering nozzle may be connected to the second flow path to solve the problem of making it easier to clean or water with tap water.

Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of easily attaching and detaching the watering nozzle to and from the second flow path, the second outlet port, which is the water outlet end of the second flow path, and the hose of the watering nozzle may be configured to be easily attached and detached by a connecting coupler.

According to this invention, the cleaning water supply means can be installed in the livestock water supply device in a state that protects the livestock from the water, and the water tank of the livestock water supply device and the surrounding floor surface can be washed with clean tap water and kept clean.

1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a livestock water supply device according to the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the livestock water supply apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 1A is a plan view, FIG. 1B is a front view, and FIG. 1C is a right side view showing a facility for supplying water into a water trough in the livestock water supply apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow path switching valve according to the present embodiment. 1A is a diagram showing a state in which water passes through a first flow path, FIG. 1B is a state in which water passes through a second outlet port, and FIG. 1C is a state in which water is stopped, in the flow path switching valve of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the livestock water supply device in the present embodiment with the sprinkler nozzle connected.

Below, one embodiment of the livestock water supply device according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

The livestock water supply device 1 of this embodiment is for providing water for livestock to drink, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, mainly comprises a water tank 2 for storing drinking water for livestock, a pair of rail members 3, 3 that are suspended across the inner wall surface of the water tank 2, a float valve 4 provided between the rail members 3, an opening and closing valve mechanism 5 for opening and closing the plug 52 of the water tank 2, a protective cover 6 that covers the float valve 4 to protect it from the livestock, and a flow path switching valve 7 that switches the flow direction of tap water. Each component will be described below.

In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction of the livestock water supply device 1 is defined as the left-right direction, and the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction is defined as the front-rear direction. In this invention, livestock is a concept that includes all animals, such as cows, horses, pigs, sheep, etc., for which it is preferable to automatically supply drinking water when raising them. Furthermore, in this invention, tap water refers to all water supplied from water supply equipment, and includes not only tap water suitable for human drinking, but also agricultural water such as well water.

The water tank 2 stores drinking water for livestock. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a flexible hose 21 that supplies tap water is piped inside the livestock water supply device 1, and its tip is introduced between the rail members 3. In this embodiment, a drain outlet 22 is provided at the bottom of the water tank 2 at a position separated by a protective cover 6, as shown in FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(c). Furthermore, in this embodiment, a heater 23 is provided in the water tank 2 to prevent the water from freezing in cold regions, etc. Note that in FIG. 3, the rail members 3, the opening/closing valve mechanism 5, and the protective cover 6 are omitted from the illustration.

The rail members 3 reinforce the water tank 2 and are used to place the opening and closing valve mechanism 5 on. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of rail members 3, 3 are suspended in a substantially parallel direction across the inner wall surface of the water tank 2 at a predetermined distance. In addition, the opening and closing valve mechanism 5 is placed on the upper surface of each rail member 3 so that it can slide back and forth.

The float valve 4 maintains a constant water level in the water tank 2. In this embodiment, the float valve 4 is provided between a pair of rail members 3, 3, and has a float 41 that rises and falls depending on the water level, and a valve (not shown) that discharges or stops tap water depending on the height position of the float 41. The float 41 discharges tap water while it is at a position lower than a certain water level, and stops the tap water when it is at a position higher than the certain water level.

The opening/closing valve mechanism 5 is for opening and closing the plug 52 of the water tank 2. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the opening/closing valve mechanism 5 is configured with a parallel link mechanism and has an operating handle 51. When the operating handle 51 is tilted from the front side to the back side, the opening/closing valve mechanism 5 is folded, causing the plug 52 to descend and be fitted into the drain outlet 22. On the other hand, when the operating handle 51 is pulled up from the back side to the front side, the opening/closing valve mechanism 5 is raised, causing the plug 52 to rise and be pulled out of the drain outlet 22.

The protective cover 6 is intended to cover the float valve 4 and other components to protect them from livestock. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the protective cover 6 is provided with a lid portion 61 formed in a generally lid box shape that covers the upper side of the opening and closing valve mechanism 5, and a pair of partition plates 62, 62 that cover the outside of each rail member 3 from both the left and right ends of the lid portion 61 to the bottom of the water tank 2.

In this embodiment, the lid 61 has an opening/closing door 63 that opens when the operating handle 51 is operated and closes when watering livestock. Each partition plate 62 is formed to have a shape that is approximately the same as the cross-sectional shape along the front-to-rear direction of the water tank 2, and has punched holes 64 formed therein to quickly supply tap water discharged from the float valve 4 to the entire water tank 2.

The flow path switching valve 7 switches the flow direction of tap water. In this embodiment, the flow path switching valve 7 is provided in a position covered by the protective cover 6, as shown in Figs. 3(a) and 3(c). As shown in Fig. 4, the flow path switching valve 7 is connected to the tip of the flexible hose 21 and has an inlet port 71 for letting tap water in, a first outlet port 72 connected to the float valve 4, a second outlet port 73 to which a watering nozzle 8 or the like is connected, and a switching lever 74 for switching the water flow direction.

In this embodiment, the flow path switching valve 7 is configured as a ball valve with a T-port having a substantially T-shape. Therefore, by rotating the switching lever 74, the water flow direction can be switched between a first flow path in which tap water flowing in from the inlet port 71 flows through the first outlet port 72 to supply water to the float valve 4 as shown in FIG. 5(a), a second flow path in which tap water flowing in from the inlet port 71 flows through the second outlet port 73 as shown in FIG. 5(b), and the water stop state shown in FIG. 5(c).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a water sprinkler nozzle 8 is connected to the second outlet port 73, which is the water discharge end of the second flow path, as a water supply means for cleaning, making it easier to perform cleaning and water sprinkling with tap water. Note that the flow path switching valve 7 is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and may be any valve body that can switch the water flow direction. Also, the water supply means for cleaning connected to the second flow path is not limited to the water sprinkler nozzle 8, and may be a simple water hose or the like, as long as it can make tap water available for at least cleaning the aquarium.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to easily attach and detach the watering nozzle 8 to and from the second flow path, the second outlet port 73, which is the water discharge end of the second flow path, and the hose 81 of the watering nozzle 8 are configured to be freely attached and detached by a connection coupler 9, as shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, the connection is made by simply inserting a coupler socket 92 provided at the base end of the hose 81 into a coupler plug 91 provided at the second outlet port 73.

Next, we will explain the operation of the livestock water supply device 1 of this embodiment.

When using the livestock water supply device 1 of this embodiment to give water to livestock, the first flow path is opened by the flow path switching valve 7 as shown in FIG. 5(a). This allows tap water to be supplied to the float valve 4, so the water level in the water tank 2 is kept constant. Therefore, the livestock can drink as much water as they want, at any time.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a protective cover 6 covers the float valve 4, flow path switching valve 7, flexible hose 21, on-off valve mechanism 5, and plug 52, etc., to protect them from livestock. This prevents livestock from mischievously pulling or biting off these pieces of equipment, which could result in damage, and also prevents livestock from mischievously removing the plug 52, which could result in the drinking water being drained.

Next, when cleaning the water tank 2 and the surrounding floor surface with tap water, after removing the protective cover 6, as shown in FIG. 6, the hose 81 of the watering nozzle 8 is connected to the second outlet port 73. At this time, in this embodiment, the second outlet port 73 and the hose 81 are easily and quickly connected by the connection coupler 9.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the second flow path is opened by the flow path switching valve 7. This allows tap water to be supplied to the water tank 2 from the second outlet port 73 to the watering nozzle 8, making it possible to use tap water freely without having to install a separate water supply facility. This allows the inside of the water tank 2 to be cleaned by spraying tap water onto it, and allows detergent and dirt to be rinsed off after cleaning. The floor surface around the livestock water supply device 1 can also be cleaned by spraying water on it.

After the cleaning operation is completed, the hose 81 of the watering nozzle 8 is easily and quickly removed from the second outlet port 73 by the connection coupler 9, and the first flow path is made to flow through the flow path switching valve 7. This allows fresh, clean water to be supplied to the aquarium 2 after cleaning.

The livestock water supply device 1 according to the present invention as described above has the following advantages.
1. The washing water supply means can be installed in the livestock water supply apparatus 1 in a state where it is protected from the livestock, and the water tank 2 of the livestock water supply apparatus 1 and the surrounding floor surface can be washed with clean tap water and kept clean.
2. By connecting a watering nozzle 8 to the second flow path, cleaning or watering with tap water can be easily performed.
3. The connection coupler 9 allows the watering nozzle 8 to be easily attached to and detached from the second flow path.

The livestock water supply device 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be modified as appropriate.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Livestock water supply device 2 Water tank 3 Rail member 4 Float valve 5 Opening/closing valve mechanism 6 Protective cover 7 Flow path switching valve 8 Sprinkler nozzle 9 Connection coupler 21 Flexible hose 22 Drain outlet 23 Heater 41 Float 51 Operating handle 52 Plug 61 Lid 62 Partition plate 63 Opening/closing door 64 Punched hole 71 Inlet port 72 First outlet port 73 Second outlet port 74 Switching lever 81 Hose 91 Coupler plug 92 Coupler socket

Claims (3)

A livestock watering device for providing water to livestock, comprising:
A float valve that keeps the water level in the tank constant;
A protective cover that covers the float valve to protect it from livestock;
a flow path switching valve provided at a position covered by the protective cover and capable of switching a water flow direction between a first flow path for supplying tap water to the float valve and a second flow path for allowing the tap water to be used for cleaning the water tank;
A livestock water supply device comprising: The livestock water supply device according to claim 1, wherein a sprinkler nozzle is connected to the second flow path. The livestock water supply device according to claim 2, wherein the second outlet port, which is the water discharge end of the second flow path, and the hose of the spray nozzle are configured to be freely attached and detached by a connection coupler.

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