MXPA98003511A - Feeder for animals with distinctive mark of distribution and cover for po - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improved animal feeder for use with an automatic feed release system having a food drop tube operating connected thereto, said feeder including a food reservoir defined by a pair of converging walls. downwards, a pair of opposite end walls fixedly attached to said side walls, and a bottom wall fixedly attached to the bottom edges of said side walls and said end walls forming elongate channels along the opposite walls of said feeder and below of said opposite side walls, a pair of vertically adjustable food doors disposed intermediate said lower edges of said walls and said lower wall for controlling the flow of food within said channels, characterized in that the improvement comprises: a means of food delivery adjustable that includes half lever control that has medium of graduation, said control lever means is pivotally mounted on said food reservoir, connecting rod means operatively connected to said control lever means, said connecting rod means being attached to said food ports at an opposite end of the same such that said graduation means can move up or down to precisely adjust the vertical height of said feed doors.

Description

i FEEDER FOR ANIMALS WITH DISTINCTIVE MARK OF DISTRIBUTION AND COVER FOR DUST BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to food distributors to animals and, more particularly, to an improved animal feeder having an adjustable feed delivery mechanism.

All conventional types of gravity feeders use the so-called food doors from a warehouse to the animals. These food doors are usually adjusted by means of some type of threaded adjustment mechanism to control the flow of food. The threaded adjustment mechanisms found in feeders for pigs currently do not offer the means to adequately determine the flow of food that is distributed. If the door opens too much, more food will be distributed than the one that the animals can eat and the excess of food is wasted. Otherwise, if the door does not open enough, the animals will not get the amount of food necessary for optimal growth. To aggravate the matter, REF: 27241 As the animals grow, they need more feed to continue the optimal growth.

By adjusting the conventional feeders correctly to obtain optimal development a certain amount of guesswork is required. Because adjusting the feeders is a difficult and very intensive task, many feeders simply do not adjust properly, resulting in food waste or poor growth rate of the animal as discussed above.

The present invention solves this problem by providing an improved feeder that has an accurate feed delivery mechanism with a standardized index distinguishing mark to eliminate conjectures of feed distributed to livestock.

The advantages provided by the present invention are that animal producers can adequately control the adjustment of feed based on the weight of the animal, type of feed, number of animals, etc. Producers can also establish a standard adjustment for all feeders during any given circumstance thus ruling out potential variables in animal production.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the routine settings for the food delivery mechanism can be simply accompanied and the food doors can be opened quickly and completely during cleaning.

The delivery mechanism of the present invention is favorable to the user, the graduated scale of 1 to 10 is read and * understands easily, a direct action graduated lever correlates with the movement of the food door either up or down, the graduated lever and the connecting bars are replaceable and the single connecting rod is attached to the door food without screws or welding.

A dust cover is included which makes the feeder of the present invention environmentally safe by avoiding large amounts of dust carried by the air when a feeder is filled by an automatic release system.

In addition to the above, the improved feeder of the present invention includes a food drop tube holder similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 to adapt for use with an automatic food release system, DESCRIPTION OF RELATED PREVIOUS ART The U.S. Patent 5,558,039 by Leon S. Zimmerman discloses a cattle feeder for use with an automatic feed release system having a feed drop tube operatively connected thereto to deliver food within a feed store. This feeder resembles a food fall tube holder made of a flexible, resilient material that is installed intermediate to the opposite side walls of the food reservoir compressing the longitudinal support with manual pressure to effectively reduce its overall length and allow the eyelashes formed on the ends of the \ Wk same couple a plurality of opposite slots horizontally formed on the opposite side walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION After much research and study of the problems described above, the present invention has been developed to provide a feeder for livestock that includes a food delivery mechanism which controls the flow of food effectively for the animals during consumption. The improved feeder uses ^ F a pair of adjustable feed gates installed in the lower portion of a gravity feed tank formed by converging down the side walls. The feed doors are mechanically coupled by connecting rods to the feed distributor controls that are accessible in the open top of the tank.

Controls for the food delivery mechanism are provided with a lever that engages a standard setting of positions that adjust the opening of the food doors. Through the use of controls, animal producers could obtain a standardized calibration for the release of food to animals at different stages of the life cycle to obtain optimal growth ratios.

In the preferred embodiment, the delivery mechanism and controls are used with a feeder for pigs of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 which has previously been published here to the Applicant.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved livestock feeder having an accurate delivery mechanism that will appropriately control the release of feed to livestock.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved feeder for livestock that will allow animal producers to obtain standardized calibrations for the release of feed for numerous animals in a particular in the production cycle.

* Another objective of the present invention is to provide an improved feeder for livestock that will reduce variations in the growth rate between animals by ensuring the controlled release of the feed thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved livestock feeder that includes a removable dust cover that is installed through the upper opening of the feeder to reduce the release of dust carried by the air generated by an automatic feed release system. .

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious for a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such an invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cattle feeder of the prior art; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the improved feeder of the present invention showing the mechanism of food distribution thereof; * Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the feed distribution controls; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken through section 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the food door showing the manner in which the connecting bars are attached thereto; Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the connection bar and the food door; Fig. 7 is a top sectional view of the lower portion of a connecting rod. Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing the control lever in a decoupled position with a graduated orifice; Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing the control lever is a coupling position with a graduated orifice; Fig. 10 is a view of the upper plane of the dust cover panels; Fig. 11 is a elevational view of the animal feeder showing the dust cover installed therein; Y Fig. 12 is an enlarged view showing the parts or fixtures of the bracket and the J-shaped fasteners for mounting the panels of the dust cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY As a background and to better understand by comparing the improved livestock feeder of the present invention, reference should be made to the animal feeder illustrated in FIG. 1 and registered in the Previous Art.

The Prior Art Animal Feeder, generally indicated at 40, comprises an open hopper, generally indicated at 45, defined by opposition, to the side walls with descending slope 41 and which substantially oppose the vertical walls of the ends 42.

The opposite end walls 42 are generally rectangular in shape and their upper edges are preferably positioned substantially at the same level as the upper edges of the side walls with downward slope 41. The lower ends of the opposite end walls 42 terminate at a substantial distance down from the lower edges of the opposite side walls 41 and appropriately secured to the opposite ends of the bottom wall 43.

The lower wall 43 connects inclined upwards and outwards of the portions of outer panels 44 forming elongate food channels, generally indicated in FIG. 45, along opposite sides of the animal feeder 40 and below the opposite side walls 41.

The lower portions of the downwardly converging side walls 41 and the bottom wall 43 define between them a food discharge opening 16.

As another element of the Prior Art Feeder 40, the reinforced dividers, shown in the plurality form of spaced-apart, distance from the elongated rods 57 of the feed channels 55 of the side walls 41 to the respective portions of outer channels 44 of the lower wall 43. The bars 57 reinforce the food deposit and divide each food channel 55 into individual feeding areas that serve to help give the animals # gained access to food.

As another item of the Prior Art 40 feeder, a pair of vertically adjusted, vertically adjusted elongate doors 48 includes a door adjustment means 49 mechanically coupled thereto that is on the respective feed discharge openings 46 to vary the size of the door. each opening 46. The doors 48 extend longitudinally between the end walls 42 with the opposite ends of the doors 48 that terminate adjacent the end walls 42. A small space remains necessary between the ends of the doors 48 and the end walls 42 for that the doors 48 can rotate freely in their described adjusted positions.

Another element of the Art / Previous 40 feeder is the feed tube support, generally indicated as 60, as shown in Fig. 1. The tube support B ^ of food 60 in general is a rectangular plate structure having a circular opening 60a in the center thereof.

The support 60 includes a plurality of tabs 60b integrally formed on the opposite ends thereof at predetermined intervals. The tabs 60b are adapted * for coupling a plurality of grooves 61 which are arranged near the upper peripheral edges of the side walls 41 at regular intervals.

One of the main advantages of the food drop tube holder 60 is that it does not require fasteners to install additional accessories. The support 60 is manufactured for an overall length that is slightly larger than the internal dimension between the opposite lateral walls 41 measured in a coincidental plane with grooves 61.

Being made of a flexible, resilient material the fastener 60 could be compressed longitudinally by manual pressure in a curved arc shape to insert the flange 60b into the groove 61.

Once released from this position, the support 60 returns to its original planar configuration such that the slots 60 project outwardly through the slots 61 in the walls 41 that hold the support 60 therebetween.

The central opening 60a in the support 60 is measured for a dimension that is slightly larger than the food drop tube 63 to accommodate the insertion thereof into the central openings 60a at varying angles without joining the # themselves.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the stand 60 could easily be repositioned to various longitudinal positions within the feeder 40 by removing and replacing the stand 60 to a different group of opposed slots 61 as desired.

Since all the characteristics of the feeder described above are well known to those skilled in the art, further detailed discussion thereof is not considered necessary.

One of the main improvements of the animal feeder 10 of the present invention is the feed dispensing mechanism, generally indicated at 20 comprising a pair of control levers 16 with associated graduated holes 23, a scale 25 with numerical distinguishing mark 26, bars • control 15 and power doors 14 as shown in Fig. 2.

The structure and function of these components will be described in more detail. It will be understood that a dispensing mechanism as set forth in Fig. 2 is installed on the inner surface of each terminal wall 11 of the present ^ | feeder 10 for operating the vertically adjustable feed doors 14 thereof.

A pair of adjustable control levers 16 are pivotally mounted on the inner surface of each end wall 11 by the use of appropriate attachment fittings such as a pivot screw 17, lock washer 18, spacer 13 and compression spring 19 as seen in Figs. 3 and 4 An opposite end of the control lever 16 includes an indicator 16a to indicate the calibration of the food doors 14 as described later in further detail.

The indicator 16a is provided with a button 21 that includes a graduated needle 22 projecting outwardly therefrom to engage in a coupling with an array of graduated holes 23 that are radially disposed at regular intervals along a concentric arc with an axis of the pivot screw 17 as seen in Figs. 3 and 4 Intermediate to the pivot screw 17 and the button 21 an upper end of a connecting rod 15 is secured using suitable connecting fittings. In the preferred embodiment a connecting flange 24 having an elongated slot 37 formed at one end thereof is coupled to the upper end of the connecting rod 15. The flange 24 is mounted on a connecting screw 35 that loosely penetrates the slot 37 and secured therein by nut 36.

An opposite end of each connecting rod 15 is configured as illustrated in Figs. 5-7. The lower end of the connecting rod 15 is initially curved at 90 ° for a longitudinal axis thereof as 15 'in Fig. 5 to fall in a plane coincident with the main portion of the bar 15. Subsequently the portion of the tip 15b is also curved 90 ° as in 15"to fall in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the main portion of the bar 15 as shown in Fig. 6.

To install the connection bar 15 on the door of ^^ 9 * feed 14 the portion of the tip 15b is inserted by mounting the opening 38 as seen in Fig. 5 that joins the bar 15 to the feed door 14 without screwing or welding the connection. Installed in this way, it will be appreciated that a non-union link is provided between the bar 15 and the door 14 to facilitate the operation of the delivery mechanism when the feeder is full to capacity.

In normal operation the user of the improved feeder 10 adjusts the delivery mechanism 20 by pressing and pulling the button 21 out of a coupled position as shown in Fig. 8 and pivoting the lever 16 up or down to adjust the door 14 to the desired vertical position. After the desired position or the hole 23 is selected, the button 21 is released again to the position shown in FIG. 9.

It will be appreciated that each respective graduated orifice 23 corresponds to the numerical distinguishing mark 26 on the scale 25 to deliver feed at a predetermined speed to the cattle that eats in the feeder 10. In this way several feeders 10 can be used in a production facility of gained to release a predetermined amount of feed to animals at any stage of the life cycle using the standard calibrations of scale 25. It will also be noted that a feeder 10 can be arranged between adjacent pens in such a production facility and adjusted to release food in different amounts of the opposite sides of the feeder 10. Thus, the improved feeder of the present invention provides significant advantages for animal producers that are unknown in the prior art.

In addition, the physical location of the partition mechanism 20 on the inner end walls 11 of the feeder rather than on the side members of the fixed pieces 47 extending through the channel 45 as shown in Fig. 1 carries by itself another main advantage of the present invention. The improved feeder 10 is provided with a cover for removable powder, indicated generally at 33 as shown in Figs. 10-12.

The dust cover 33 is generally comprised of a pair of rectangular panels 34 which are configured and sized to fit close to the inner peripheral edge of the feeder 10 when installed therein as shown in Fig. 11. It will be understood that the support of the food drop tube 60 of the prior art as shown in Fig. 10 functions as a part of the dust cover 33 as described below in more detail.

The dust cover panels 34 together with the food drop tube holder 60 are made of a resilient plastic material and are easily removed for cleaning and maintenance purposes.

The dust cover panels 34 are generally supported in the position shown in Fig. 11 by a pair of parallel fixed support pieces 27 which extend transversely through the upper opening of the feeder 10 by interconnecting the slope side walls. out 12 The fixed parts 27 are configured to support the inner edges of the panels 34 in the position shown in Fig. 11. In the preferred embodiment the inner edges of the dust cover panels 34 are provided with attachment fittings such as parts. of clamping in the form of J 39 with which they are secured to the inner edges of the 20 panels 34 by means of suitable fasteners. The J shape with which they are secured to the edges of the panels 34 by suitable fasteners. The fastening pieces 39 couple the fixed pieces of the support 27 to secure the panels 24 as ^ is shown more clearly in Fig. 12.

A portion of the opposite end of the panels 34 is provided with notched portions 34a to accommodate the connecting rods 15 arranged along the terminal walls 11 of the feeder. The insertion of the support of the food drop tube 28 is carried out as described hereinabove and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the remaining 10 peripheral edges of the panels 34 are supported by their contact with the side walls converging downwards and inwards 12 of the feeder.

In this construction the dust cover 33 functions to reduce the airborne particles generated by the automatic feed release system used in conjunction with feeders of this type. Thus, the environment of the production facility is made safe and the respiratory dangers are reduced for man and animal.

From the above it can be seen that the feeder for The improved animal of the present invention provides a delivery mechanism adjusted to exactly release the feed to livestock animals. The delivery mechanism includes standardized controls and calibrations to allow an accurate amount of feed to be released to animals during specific periods of their life cycle to ensure optimal growth rates.

The improved feeder of the present invention also provides a dust cover for controlling particulate material carried by the air created by the automatic feed release system used in conjunction with the feeder.

The terms "superior", "inferior", "lateral", etc. they have been used here simply for convenience to describe the present invention and its parts as it is oriented in the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the terms are not limiting to the invention since such an invention could obviously be arranged in different orientations when used.

The present invention could, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those set forth herein without deviating from the spirit and essential characteristics of such invention. The present modalities are, therefore, to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all the changes that R they come within the meaning and range of equivalence of the appended claims are intended to cover them here.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it relates. »Having described the invention as above, the content of the following is claimed as property.

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS • 1. An improved animal feeder for use with an automatic feed release system having a food drop tube operating connected to it, said feeder includes a food reservoir defined by a pair of side walls converging towards below, a pair of opposite end walls fixedly attached to said side walls tf, and a bottom wall fixedly attached to the bottom edges of said side walls and said walls or terminals forming elongate channels along the opposite walls of said feeder and down said opposite side walls, a pair of vertically adjustable food doors disposed intermediate said lower edges of said walls and said lower wall 5 for controlling the flow of food within said channels, characterized in that the improvement comprises: an adjustable feed delivery means including control lever means having graduation means, said control lever means being pivotally mounted on said food container; connecting rod means operatively connected to said control lever means, said connecting rod means is attached to said food doors at one end • opposite thereof so that said graduation means can move up or down to precisely adjust the vertical height of said food doors.
2. 2. The improved animal feeder of claim 1, characterized in that said delivery mechanism includes a graduated scale having markings II distinctive in the same that correspond to the means of graduation to indicate the calibration of said means of distribution of 10 food.
3. 3. The improved animal feeder of claim 2, characterized in that said distinguishing marks correspond to different positions that are in the range of a fully closed to fully open position of 15 said food doors.
4. 4. The improved animal feeder of claim 1, characterized in that the control lever means includes an indicator formed at one end thereof.
5. 5. The improved animal feeder of claim 1, characterized in that a lower end of each of said connecting rod means is curved. • initially at about 90 ° relative to the longitudinal axis thereof to form a first curved portion and simultaneously also curved laterally at about 90 ° to form a second curved portion for coupling an aperture formed in said food door to provide a movable connection without union such that said food door is permanently captured in the * same.
6. 6. The improved animal feeder of claim 1, characterized in that a cover means for powder is installed inside said food container adjacent to the upper opening thereof to reduce the particulate material carried by the air released from said body. feeder.
7. 7. The improved animal feeder of claim 6, characterized in that said cover for powder generally includes at least one rectangular panel which functions in cooperation with a support of the drop tube of 0 food to contain said particulate material carried by the air.
8. 8. The improved animal feeder of claim 7, characterized in that said panel is configured close to an inner periphery of the food container. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An improved livestock animal feeder for use with an automatic feed release system having a feed drop tube operating thereon is disclosed for dispensing feed into a feed bin defined by a pair of converging side walls. The improved feeder is provided with an "adjustable feed delivery mechanism" which includes control levers that are operatively connected to the food gates to control the flow of feed to livestock. The delivery mechanism highlights a plurality of adjustable control levers that engage in an array of graduated holes formed in the feeder to establish the vertical height adjustment of the food doors. The delivery mechanism includes a graduated scale corresponding to each of the graded holes to provide a standard calibration for the feeder that could be used by an animal producer to supply feed flow at a given stage of the animal's life cycle to obtain a desired growth rate. In a production facility where several of the feeders are in use a standard calibration for feed release could be obtained to reduce variations in the growth rate of the animal. The feeder is also provided with a removable dust cover that is installed inside the feed bin to reduce the airborne particles generated by the automatic feed release system. downwards, a pair of opposite end walls fixedly attached to said side walls, and a bottom wall fixedly attached to the bottom edges of said side walls and said end walls forming elongated channels 0 along the opposite walls of said feeder and down said opposite side walls, a pair of vertically adjustable food doors disposed intermediate said lower edges of said walls and said lower wall to control the flow of food inside said channels, characterized in that the improvement comprises: an adjustable feed delivery means including control lever means having a graduation means, said control lever means being pivotally mounted on said food container; connecting rod means operatively connected to said control lever means, said connecting rod means is attached to said food doors at one end # opposite thereof so that said graduation means can move up or down to precisely adjust the vertical height of said food doors. #