JP3964343B2 - Feeding device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to a feeding device that feeds cultured fish and the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional feeding apparatus of this type will be described with reference to FIGS. The bottom opening surface 16 of the hopper 4 that stores granular or pellet-shaped bait is provided with a rotary valve 7 and a discharge port 13 as bait discharge means, and is installed so as to rotate in a horizontal direction directly below the discharge port 13. The rotating plate 11 is provided. Then, when the rotary valve 7 rotates, a certain amount of bait falls on the rotating plate 11 from the discharge port 13, and the dropped bait acts and the centrifugal force of the blade 10 attached to the rotating plate 11. Thus, it is scattered in the outer peripheral direction of the rotating plate 11.
[0003]
A rotation detecting means 18 for detecting the rotation of the rotary valve 7 is provided on the side surface of the rotary valve 7, the rotary valve 7 has magnets 17 at two locations, and the rotation detecting means 18 rotates the rotary valve 7. Thus, the magnet 17 is detected when the discharge port 13 is closed.
[0004]
In addition, the user sets the feed start time and the feed discharge time by a timer in advance, and when the feed start time set by the timer is reached, the rotary valve 7 and the rotating plate 11 rotate to operate the feeding device. After that, when the bait discharging time has elapsed, the rotation of the rotary valve 7 and the rotating plate 11 is stopped, and the operation of the feeding device is stopped.
[0005]
When the operation is stopped, it is necessary to stop the rotation so that the rotary valve 7 stops at a position where the bottom opening surface 16 of the hopper 4 is closed so that the food does not spill from the hopper 4 due to vibration or the like. Therefore, the rotation detection means 18 is controlled to stop the rotation when detecting the magnet 17.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-126
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The frequency and amount of feeding vary depending on the number and size of fish and the size of the pond, and the user must change the feeding method according to the breeding situation. And the amount of food is determined by the food discharge time. However, depending on the breeding situation, even if the same amount of food is sowed, there may be a difference in whether the food is left over or whether it is soured over time or in a short time. However, with the conventional feeding device, even though the bait discharge time can be set, such fine control cannot be performed, so that uneaten food is generated and the growth of the fish is delayed due to the deterioration of the water quality, and the food is fed more than necessary. It was uneconomical.
[0010]
This invention is for solving the said subject, and it aims at providing the feeding apparatus which can select fine feeding control according to the breeding condition of a fish.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention described in claim 1 is a hopper for storing bait, bait discharging means provided at the bottom of the hopper, scattering means for scattering bait from the bait discharging means, a plurality of operation start times and bait discharging Timer means for storing time and measuring time, and an intermittent feeding operation mode in which the feeding discharge time stored by the timer means is divided to repeat feeding operation and operation stop, and the operations of the food discharging means and the scattering means are performed. A feeding device comprising a control unit for controlling, a selection switch for selecting the number of divisions in the intermittent feeding operation mode, and arithmetic means for determining a feeding operation time and an operation stop time based on the number of divisions.
[0012]
That is, in the first aspect of the invention, when the intermittent feeding operation mode is set, the user can select the number of divisions of the feeding operation, and the operation means and the operation stop based on the number of divisions designated by the calculation means. Since the intermittent feeding operation is performed by determining the time, it is possible to select the control according to the breeding condition of the fish, such as sprinkling little by little over time even if the same amount of food is sowed, or in a short time.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing of the feeding device, 2 denotes a lid that can be opened and closed to put food into the housing 1, and a solar panel 3 is attached to the top of the lid 2. 4 is a hopper for storing granular or pelleted food to be given to aquaculture fish, etc. 5 is a rotary valve 7 provided at the bottom of the hopper 4 and having a rotary blade 6 and a rotary valve drive motor 8 for driving the rotary valve 7. Is a bait discharging means. Reference numeral 9 denotes a rotating plate 11 having a plurality of blades 10 on the upper surface, which disperses food by rotating, and a scattering means comprising a rotating plate drive motor 12 provided at the upper end of the rotating shaft of the rotating plate 11, and 13 a rotary valve. 7 is a discharge port for dropping bait from 7 on the rotating plate 11.
[0019]
Furthermore, 14 is an operation unit for starting / stopping operation and setting a timer, 15 is a battery for storing electricity from the solar panel 3 to drive the feeding device, and a power supply source to the battery 15 is: In addition to the solar panel 3, an appropriate method such as a commercial power source may be employed. In addition, the solar panel 3 may be provided at a position away from the feeding device as long as it is connected to the battery 15 in addition to the lid 2.
[0020]
Further, the end of the rotary blade 6 of the rotary valve 7 is disposed so as to protrude above the bottom opening surface 16 of the hopper 4 as shown in FIG. In this way, the end of the rotary blade 6 protrudes above the bottom opening surface 16 so that the end of the rotary blade 6 always comes into contact with the food in the hopper 4. That is, when the rotary blade 6 of the rotary valve 7 rotates, the bait in the portion in contact with the rotary blade 6 collapses and falls to the discharge port 13.
[0021]
Further, a magnet 17 is attached to one end of the rotary blade 6 of the rotary valve 7, and a rotation detecting means 18 for detecting the magnet 17 and detecting the rotation of the rotary valve 7 is provided on the side surface of the rotary valve 7. It has been. The rotation detection means 18 detects the magnet 17 when the rotary valve 7 rotates to reach the position for closing the discharge port 13, and sends a signal to the control unit 19 every time the magnet 17 passes by the rotation detection means 18. To send. In this embodiment, the number of the magnets 17 attached to the rotary blade 6 is two. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and may be appropriately selected depending on the number of the rotary blades 6.
[0022]
4 is a diagram showing the operation unit 14, wherein 20 is a driving button operated when performing a manual operation, 21 is a timer operating button operated when performing a timer operation, and 22 is a current time and a feeding reservation. The display unit 23 is a time setting button for setting the feeding start time and the feeding discharge time, and 24 is a selection switch that can change the time required for the feeding operation by selecting the division number of the intermittent feeding operation.
[0023]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control unit 19 that controls the operation of the feeding device. The control unit 19 has a timer means 25 for storing a feeding start time and a feeding discharge time set in advance by the user and counting the time, and a plurality of feeding start times can be set. It is possible to cope with the need to feed multiple times. As shown in the time chart of FIG. 6, the feeding apparatus of the present embodiment has an intermittent feeding operation mode in which the set feeding discharge time is divided and the feeding operation and the operation stop are repeated. The intermittent feeding operation can be selected from the x1, x2, x5, and x10 modes.
[0024]
In addition, the time required for intermittent operation and the number of divisions differ depending on each mode. For example, when the bait discharging time is set to 60 seconds, continuous feeding operation of 60 seconds (no division) in the × 1 mode, 120 seconds in the × 2 mode ( Intermittent feeding operation in 3 divisions over 2 times of 60 seconds), intermittent feeding operation in 6 divisions over 300 seconds (5 times of 60 seconds) in x5 mode, 600 seconds (10 times of 60 seconds) in x10 mode 11 divisional intermittent feeding operation is set.
[0025]
That is, according to the breeding situation, the user can select whether to feed at a stretch in a short time (× 1 mode) or to feed little by little over time (× 10 mode) in the set bait discharging time.
[0026]
Further, the divided one feeding and stop time is determined by the calculation means 26 from the feed discharging time and the number of divisions, and the divided one feeding operation time and operation stop time are:
Feeding operation time = food discharge time / division number operation stop time = {food discharge time × (division number−2)} ÷ (division number−1)
The feed operation time and the operation stop time when the feed discharge time is set to 60 seconds as described above are as shown in the table of FIG. However, when the feeding operation time obtained by the equation becomes a decimal number or cannot be divided, the total feeding operation time is adjusted to 60 seconds. For example, in the × 10 mode, the feeding operation time for one time is 60 ÷ 11 from the formula and is not divisible, so the total feeding operation time is set to 5 seconds from the first to the sixth time and 6 seconds from the seventh to the eleventh time. Is adjusted to be 60 seconds.
[0027]
However, the number of revolutions per hour of the rotary valve drive motor 8 is not always constant and may change due to various factors. Since the amount of discharged bait changes depending on how many times the rotary valve 7 rotates, if the rotational speed changes if the driving of the rotary valve 7 is controlled by time, the amount of discharged bait also changes. Therefore, the feeding operation is controlled not by time but by the number of times the rotation detecting means 18 detects the magnet 17.
[0028]
Here, the control of the feeding operation will be described with the rated rotational speed of the rotary valve drive motor 8 of the present embodiment being 30 rpm. The rated rotational speed of 30 rpm means that the rotary valve 7 makes one rotation in 2 seconds. Since the rotary blade 6 of the rotary valve 7 is provided with the magnets 17 at two locations, the rotation detecting means 18 is 1 second. The magnet 17 is detected once. Therefore, one magnet detection of the rotation detecting means 18 can be replaced with 1 second, and from the table of FIG. 7, assuming that the food discharging time is 60 seconds and the x5 mode is selected, the time for one feeding operation is 10 Since it is seconds, the feeding operation time ends when the rotation detecting means 18 detects the magnet 17 ten times. Therefore, the control unit 19 stores the number of times that the rotation detecting unit 18 detects the magnet 17, and when detecting the number of times less than the number of end times, the controller 19 detects the number of times the magnet 17 is detected next time. Stop rotation and finish feeding operation. By performing control in this way, even when the rotational speed of the rotary valve drive motor 8 changes for some reason, a constant amount of feeding can always be performed without being influenced by the change in the rotational speed.
[0029]
Next, the operation in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the user operates the time setting button 23 of the operation unit 14 to set the feed start time and the feed discharge time. Since a plurality of feeding start times can be set, when it is necessary to feed a plurality of times during the day, the start time and the feeding discharge time are set, and the timer operation button 21 is pressed to start the timer operation. Be started. Further, when intermittent feeding operation is performed, the selector switch 24 is operated, and a mode with a large multiple is selected when it is desired to feed food little by little over time, and a mode with a small multiple is selected when it is desired to spread in a short time. Can be operated intermittently according to the breeding situation.
[0030]
When food is stored in the hopper 4 and the feed operation start time set in advance is reached in this state (step 1), the operation is started (step 2). First, the rotary plate drive motor 12 is driven and the rotary plate 11 is moved. Start rotating. Then, a short time after the rotating plate 11 is started, power is supplied to the rotary valve drive motor 8 and the rotary valve 7 starts rotating. Therefore, the bait in the hopper 4 falls little by little on the rotating plate 11 from the discharge port 13, and the dropped bait is in the outer peripheral direction of the rotating plate 11 due to the striking action and centrifugal force of the blades 10 of the rotating rotating plate 11. To the outside of the housing 1 and vigorously scattered.
[0031]
Further, the rotation detecting means 18 monitors whether the rotary valve 7 is rotating normally during operation. When the rotary valve 7 rotates, the magnet 17 attached to the rotary blade 6 also rotates, so that the magnet 17 passes by the side of the rotation detecting means 18 at a predetermined interval. Therefore, when the rotation detection means 18 detects the passage of the magnet 17, it sends a signal to the control unit 19, and the control unit 19 determines whether or not the interval is within the normal value range. If the rotation of the rotary valve 7 is slowed or stopped, the passage time of the magnet 17 detected by the rotation detecting means 18 falls outside the normal value range, so the control unit 19 determines that the rotation is abnormal and determines the rotary valve. The drive motor 8 is stopped.
[0032]
At the same time, the control unit 19 counts the number of times that the rotation detection unit 18 has detected the magnet 17 and determines whether the number of times of completion is the first time (step 3). The number of times of completion is obtained by replacing the feeding operation time set by the calculation means 26 with the number of times the rotation detection means 18 detects the magnet 17 at the rated rotation speed, and controlling the rotation of the rotary valve 7 not by time but by the number of times. Thus, even when the rotational speed of the rotary valve driving means 8 changes, a constant amount of feeding can always be performed. When the number of end times-1 is detected, the rotary valve drive motor 8 is controlled so that the rotary valve 7 stops when the rotation detection means 18 detects the magnet 17 (step 4). 5).
[0033]
Since the rotation detecting means 18 is provided at a position to detect the magnet 17 attached to the rotary valve 7 when the rotary blade 6 of the rotary valve 7 comes to the position where the bottom opening surface 16 of the hopper 4 is closed, the rotation detecting means 18 is thereafter Even when subjected to vibration or the like, the food in the hopper 4 can be reliably prevented from falling onto the rotating plate 11 from the discharge port 13. For this reason, the wet bait does not stick to the surface of the rotating plate 11 or the blade 10, and no insects or small animals enter from the discharge port 13.
[0034]
And after rotation of the rotary valve 7 stops, in order to disperse the bait on the vicinity of the discharge port 13 and the rotating plate 11 completely, the rotating plate 11 continues to rotate for a while and is driven for a predetermined time. 12 is stopped and feeding operation stops.
[0035]
When the intermittent feeding operation is selected, the number of divisions of the intermittent feeding operation is different depending on the selected operation mode, so that the intermittent feeding operation ends when the number of times of the feeding operation ends (step 6). On the other hand, when the intermittent feeding operation has not ended yet, it is determined whether or not the operation stop time has elapsed (step 7), and when the operation stop time has elapsed, the feeding operation is started again.
[0036]
In this embodiment, the intermittent operation mode is set to four modes of x1, x2, x5, and x10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and formulas for feeding operation time and operation stop time are also implemented. The present invention is not limited to an example, and the point is that the number of intermittent operation divisions may be changed depending on the selected mode.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the intermittent feeding operation is performed, the user can select the division number of the feeding operation, and the division in which the calculation means is designated. Since the feeding operation time and the operation stop time are determined based on the number of times, intermittent feeding operation is performed, so even if the same amount of food is sowed, it is possible to crawl little by little over time or to crawl at once in a short time Fine-tuned feeding operation tailored to this becomes possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a conventional example.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of a feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a conventional example.
FIG. 4 is a diagram of an operation unit in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control unit in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a time chart of intermittent feeding operation in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a table of feeding operation time and operation stop time in each mode when the food discharge time is 60 seconds in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
4 hopper 5 bait discharging means 9 scattering means 19 control unit 24 selection switch 26 calculating means 18 rotation detecting means 7 rotary valve 8 rotary valve drive motor 11 rotary plate 12 rotary plate drive motor 6 rotary blade 10 blade

Claims (1)

A hopper for storing bait, a bait discharging means provided at the bottom of the hopper, a scattering means for scattering bait from the bait discharging means , a timer for storing a plurality of operation start times and bait discharging times and measuring the time And a controller for controlling the operation of the bait discharging means and the scattering means, having an intermittent feeding operation mode in which the bait discharging time stored by the timer means is divided to repeat feeding operation and operation stop, and the intermittent A feeding device comprising: a selection switch for selecting the number of divisions in the feeding operation mode; and arithmetic means for determining a feeding operation time and an operation stop time based on the number of divisions.

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