JPH07114613B2 - Automatic feeding machine - 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 machine for automatically feeding a certain amount of feed to ruminant livestock such as cattle and goats. The present invention relates to an automatic feeding machine suitable for feed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automatic feeding machine of this type automatically runs a hopper along a running rail laid above a feeding tank and stops it at a predetermined position to automatically feed a certain amount of feed from the hopper. To be discharged into the feed tank for feeding,
According to this automatic feeder, it was possible to automatically feed a certain amount of feed to livestock without relying on human labor.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic feeding machine, the feed to be fed is a concentrated feed such as corn or cereals or a compounded feed mainly composed of this concentrated feed (hereinafter, "concentrated feed etc."). However, there was the following problem because the feeding amount was controlled by the discharge time based on the bulk specific gravity.

That is, when the feed to be fed is a concentrated feed or the like, its fluidity is good, so that even if the feed amount is controlled based on the discharge time, it is possible to feed a constant weight, and there are few problems. However, when the feed to be fed is, for example, a compound feed mainly composed of roughage having relatively small bulk specific gravity such as hay or corn stover, ear, etc., the bulk specific gravity has a range, and a partial Since a part with a large bulk specific gravity and a part with a large bulk density are mixed,
There was a problem that the weight of the feed fed was not constant.

Further, a portion having a small bulk specific gravity tends to block the hopper or its discharge port, which causes the hopper to move to the next feeding site after a set time without discharging the feed. was there.

[0006] As described above, since the conventional automatic feeding machine is configured to feed the feed of a constant weight by controlling the discharge time, when the feed is the roughage or the mixed feed containing the roughage, the feed to be fed is used. The weight of the forage will vary, and there will be problems such as the hopper moving to the next feeding site without any discharge of the feed due to the blockage of the discharge port. The mixed feed cannot be fed by an automatic feeder, and thus it has been conventionally necessary to rely on human labor.

The present invention has been made in view of this problem, and provides an automatic feeding machine capable of reliably feeding a rough feed or a mixed feed containing rough feed with a constant weight such as a concentrated feed. With the goal.

[0008]

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a traveling drive unit which moves on a traveling rail provided along the upper part of the feeding tank, and a hopper suspended from the traveling drive unit through a weight sensor. , Controlling the supply unit provided at the bottom of the hopper for discharging the feed contained in the hopper based on the change in the weight of the feed detected by the weight sensor, and the change in the weight is set to a set value. And a control device that controls the traveling drive unit to move the hopper when the hopper reaches the position.

[0009]

According to the above construction, the control device controls the operation of the feed section for discharging the feed and the operation of the traveling drive section for moving the hopper. Since the operation of the feeding unit, that is, the amount of feed fed, is controlled based on the change in the weight of the feed in the hopper, regardless of the bulk specific gravity of the feed, it is possible to feed a feed of a certain weight even if it is rough feed. To be done. Moreover, the movement of the hopper is performed at the time when a certain weight of feed is surely discharged from the hopper, so that the hopper moves to the next feeding place, for example, with insufficient or no feeding amount as in the past. There is no need to do it. In this way, the problem that has been a hindrance in the automatic feeding of roughage or the like is solved, so that the automatic feeding of roughage or the like becomes possible.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The automatic feeding machine 1 of this embodiment has a traveling rail 2 laid above the feeding tank 10, a traveling drive unit (traveling trolley) 3 movable on the traveling rail 2, and the traveling drive unit 3.
A hopper 4 suspended via weight sensors 6 to 6,
The weight sensors 6 to 6 are provided with the supply unit 5 provided at the bottom of the hopper 4, the supply unit 5 and the traveling drive unit 3.
And a control device (not shown) that operates based on a change in the weight of the feed detected by.

The traveling rail 2, the traveling drive unit 3, the hopper 4, and the supply unit 5 themselves do not need to be changed, but will be briefly described below.

First, the traveling rail 2 is a steel material having an I-shaped cross section as shown in the drawing, and has a length that extends over almost the entire length of the basin 10. It is fixed to the building through.

The traveling drive unit 3 is mounted on the lower overhanging edge of the traveling rail 2 so as to be self-propelled. That is, the drive rollers 3a to
3a is placed in a hooked manner, and the drive roller 3a is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), so that the traveling drive unit 3 moves forward or backward on the traveling rail 2. The drive motor is connected to the above-mentioned control device so that its rotation direction or rotation speed can be arbitrarily controlled.

The traveling drive unit 3 includes several hanging metal fittings 7.
The above hopper 4 is suspended via ~ 7. These several hanging metal fittings 7 to 7 are the upper and lower metal fittings 7, respectively.
a and 7b are connected via a load cell 6 as a weight sensor, and each of the load cells 6 to 6 is relay-connected to the control device.

The hopper 4 is in the form of a box that is open upward, and the feed to be fed (in this example, roughage or roughage-containing mixed feed) is confiscated.

A supply unit 5 is attached to the bottom of the hopper 4. This supply unit 5 is of a screw type, and by rotating the screw 5b by the drive motor 5a, it is possible to continuously feed the feed put in the hopper 4 to the discharge chute 5c in a constant amount. Has become. The feed fed to the discharge chute 5c is discharged into the feeding tank 10. The drive motor 5
Also a is relay-connected to the control device, and its start / stop or rotation speed is arbitrarily controlled.

Although not shown, the control device is mainly composed of a programmable controller, and controls the start / stop of the drive motor in the traveling drive unit 3 or its rotation speed in order to move or stop the hopper 4 at a predetermined position. In addition, the start / stop of the drive motor 5a of the supply unit 5 or the rotation speed thereof is controlled based on the change in the weight of the feed in the hopper 4 detected by the load cells 6 to 6.

That is, the hopper 4 is driven by the traveling drive unit 3.
Is moved to a predetermined position, the drive motor 5a, which has been in the stopped state until then, is activated and the discharge chute 5c
The feed is discharged from the discharge weight, that is, the hopper 4
The load cells 6 to 6 detect a decrease in the weight of the feed inside, and when the reduced weight reaches a constant value, the drive motor 5a is stopped and the discharge of the feed is stopped.

This example is constructed as described above,
With this configuration, the following operational effects are achieved.

That is, according to the automatic feeder 1 of the present example, the amount of feed to be fed is controlled based on the change in weight detected by the load cells 6-6. In other words, instead of controlling the feed amount based on the discharge time set by the bulk specific gravity of the feed as in the past, the feed amount is controlled based on the discharge weight of the feed itself. Regardless of the condition, a constant weight of food is always ensured. Therefore, even when a roughage having a low bulk specific gravity or a mixed feed containing roughage is fed, it is possible to feed exactly a predetermined weight, and the variation in feeding weight, which has been a problem in the past, is eliminated.

Even when the feed unit 5 is closed and the feed is not discharged, the trouble that the hopper 4 moves without feeding as in the conventional case is eliminated.

As described above, according to the automatic feeder of this example,
Since it becomes possible to automatically feed the roughage or the mixed feed containing the roughage by a constant weight, the conventional work of manually feeding the concentrated feed in addition to the concentrated feed can be eliminated and the labor can be saved.

Further, from the above, it becomes easy for a dairy farmer or a fattener to breed a large number of animals, and further, it becomes possible to select the number of feedings or to feed a fixed amount for each individual animal or group of animals. It is possible to improve thickening and to effectively feed the feed.

In this example, the case of feeding the roughage or the mixed feed containing roughage has been described, but it is needless to say that the present invention is also applicable to the concentrated feed etc. which has been automatically fed conventionally.

[0026]

According to the present invention, since the feed amount is controlled based on the weight, it is possible to reliably feed a feed having a constant weight regardless of the bulk specific gravity of the feed.
From this, it becomes possible to automatically feed roughage or mixed feed containing roughage with a low bulk specific gravity, eliminating the work that conventionally required manual labor, facilitating the breeding of multiple heads, and the addition of various types of feed. On the other hand, since the feed amount can be controlled, it is possible to improve the milk quality, the amount of milk produced, or the increase in meat.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an automatic feeding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is likewise a side view of the automatic feeding machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Automatic feeding machine 2 ... Traveling rail 3 ... Traveling drive unit 4 ... Hopper 5 ... Feeding unit 6 ... Weight sensor (load cell) 7 ... Hanging metal fitting

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-61-225618 (JP, A) JP-A-3-210134 (JP, A) Actual opening 61-34430 (JP, U) Actual opening 54-135960 (JP , U) Japanese Patent Publication No. 47-20948 (JP, B1) US Patent 4878455 (US, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A traveling rail provided along the upper part of the feeding tank.
A drive unit for moving the vehicle, a hopper suspended by the drive unit via a weight sensor , and a supply provided at the bottom of the hopper for discharging the feed collected in the hopper. Part based on the weight change of the feed detected by the weight sensor, and the weight change reaches a set value.
The traveling drive unit so as to move the hopper when
An automatic feeding machine characterized by comprising a control device for controlling.