WO2013004765A1 - Apparatus for feeding equine animals - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus (1) for feeding equine animals, the apparatus comprising: a housing (3) having an outlet (9) through which equine animal feed is able to be dispensed;a plurality of storage compartments (13) provided within the housing (3), each said compartment (13) being accessible from outside the housing (3)via an openable door (11) in said housing (13) through which feed for an equine animal can be loaded into the compartment; each said compartment (13) including a closure member moveable between a closed position where feed is retained within the compartment (13) and an open position where feed can fall from the compartment (13); a feed diverter (21) arranged in said housing (3) to direct feed falling from each said compartment (13) towards said outlet (9); drive means (19) operable to drive the closure member of each said compartment (13) between said closed and open positions; and a controller for controlling said drive means (19) to open said storage compartments at predetermined times.

Description

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING EQUINE ANIMALS

Field

This invention relates to apparatus for feeding equine animals, particularly but not exclusively horses and ponies.

Background

Whereas human beings have evolved to produce stomach acid when a person is eating, horses and other equine animals such as ponies, donkeys and the like, continuously produce stomach acid.

This has ramifications for the proper care of such animals, as an animal which is fed (for example on hay or haylage) irregularly - for example, only once or twice a day - will continuously be producing stomach acid - often at times when there is no food in the animal's stomach that needs to be processed. One consequence of this is that it is commonplace for horses and other like animals to suffer from stomach ulcers, and besides the cost to the wellbeing of the animal in question, treating such conditions is a significant expense for owners.

To attempt to avoid stomach ulcers, some owners have adopted a policy of providing so much food for the animal in question, that the animal always has something edible at hand. Whilst this does tend to address the stomach ulcer problem, horses and other like animals tend to overeat if there is too much food supplied to them, and this overeating can adversely affect the wellbeing of the animal in question. For example, horses that overeat and as a consequence are overweight can often suffer from a condition known as laminitis (a disease associated with ischaemia of digital dermal tissues) and treating such conditions again places a significant financial burden on owners.

The best way for avoiding such problems is to arrange for an animal to be fed regularly throughout the day, typically as much as four times a day. For owners who cannot attend their animal at regular points throughout the day, this means that the only effective way to ensure the wellbeing of their animal is to house the animal in stables where the staff can feed the animal at appropriate points throughout the day. However, commercial stabling is expensive, and beyond the means of many owners.

It has previously been proposed to address such problems by providing horses and such like with an automated feeder that is configured to release a measure of food (such as hay or haylage) at predetermined points throughout the day. Once such device is known as the "Stable Grazer" and is supplied by Hay Day LLC, 9323 N. Government Way, Unit 402, Hayden, Idaho 83835, USA (see also: www.stablegrazer.com). This device comprises a drop-down door which is provided with a number (typically six) shelves that can move between a position perpendicular to the door and a position parallel to the door. The shelves, when perpendicular to the door, each define a storage area for a measure of food. Once the shelves are loaded the door is returned to an upright position in the housing of the device and the shelves are controlled, at preset intervals and starting from the shelf closest to the ground, to move from the perpendicular position to the parallel position and dispense a measure of food onto the floor of the device for the animal to eat.

Whilst this device has proven to be quite effective at automatically feeding animals, it has several significant disadvantages. In the first instance, as this previously proposed device is designed to be loaded with food from outside a stable (to supply an animal within the stable), an owner retrofitting the device to their stable must cut a hole in the wall of the stable so that the device can be installed. Another problem with such a device is that when the door is fully loaded, it can be difficult for the user to lift the door back into the closed position. A further problem with such a device is each of the aforementioned shelves must be manually reset before they can be loaded with food once more, and the device can also be inconvenient to operate in circumstances where a user wishes to top up the supply of food provided for their animal.

The present invention has been devised with the foregoing problems in mind.

Summary

To that end, one arrangement provides apparatus for feeding equine animals, the apparatus comprising: a housing having an outlet through which equine animal feed is able to be dispensed; a plurality of feed storage compartments provided within the housing, each said compartment being accessible from outside the housing via an openable door in said housing through which feed for an equine animal can be loaded into the compartment; each said compartment including closure member moveable between a closed position where feed is retained within the compartment and an open position where feed can fall from the compartment; a feed diverter arranged in said housing to direct feed falling from each said compartment towards said outlet; drive means operable to drive the closure member of each said compartment between said closed and open positions; and a controller for controlling said drive means to open said storage compartments at predetermined times.

One advantage of this arrangement is that a user is freed from having to lift a door that has been loaded with a plurality of feeds, and hence the apparatus of the present invention can more easily be operated than other alternative devices. The ease with which the present invention can be operated may be further enhanced by providing a drive that can actively drive the storage compartment floor portions, rather than allowing for passive operation under gravity.

In one envisaged implementation the drive means may be configured to drive the floor portion from a closed position, through an open position and back to the closed position. This arrangement is advantageous as it frees the user from having to manually reset each floor component after a measure of feed has been dispensed.

In one implementation the closure members each comprise a floor portion of the feed storage compartment. In this implementation each said floor portion may be hinged to a sidewall of the associated compartment.

The apparatus may comprise a Whitworth quick return mechanism for driving said closure members between said open and closed positions.

In another implementation, the closure members each comprise a door. Each said door may comprise an elongate curved surface configured and arranged to close said compartment when said door is in the closed position. By providing a curved surface to close said compartment, the likelihood of feed being trapped in the mechanism as the door closes is reduced.

In this implementation the door may be rotatable about an axis between said closed and open positions. For example, said door may be rotatable through approximately 90 degrees from said closed position to said open position, and back from said open position to said closed position.

In one implementation, the apparatus may comprise a communications interface for remote communications. In this implementation, the controller may accessible via said communications interface for remote programming of said apparatus. The controller may be configured to be capable of communicating with a remote user. The controller may be capable of communicating status information to said remote user.

The apparatus may further comprise means for broadcasting video data to a remote user.

In preferred implementations the outlet is configured to deposit feed at floor level.

This is advantageous as encouraging the horse to eat from ground level promotes clearance of dust and mucus from nasal passages.

Preferably, the doors to respective compartments are independently openable to allow one or more of said compartments to be filled with feed.

In a particularly preferred arrangement, said housing is configured so that at least part of said housing forms a right angle that can fit within the corner of a stable or stall. In a preferred arrangement, the apparatus may be fitted into a stable or stall without adapting said stable or stall.

The apparatus may comprise a battery for powering the apparatus. This is advantageous as many stables do not have easy access to mains power.

In another envisaged implementation, there is provided apparatus for feeding equine animals, the apparatus comprising: a housing having an outlet through which equine animal feed is able to be dispensed; a plurality of feed storage compartments provided within the housing, each said compartment being accessible from outside the housing via an openable door in said housing through which feed for an equine animal can be loaded into the compartment; each said compartment including a closure member moveable between a closed position where feed is retained within the compartment and an open position where feed can fall from the compartment; a feed diverter arranged in said housing to direct feed falling from each said compartment towards said outlet; and a controller for opening said storage compartments at predetermined times.

Other features and advantages of arrangements embodying the teachings of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Various aspects of the teachings of the present invention, and arrangements embodying those teachings, will hereafter be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a feeding apparatus that embodies the teachings of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus depicted in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a right side elevation of the apparatus depicted in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus along the line A— A in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of internal components of the apparatus. Fig. 6 is a schematic isometric view of a door for use in the apparatus; and Fig. 7 schematically depicts the manner in which the apparatus may communicate with a remote computing resource, such as a mobile telephone.

Detailed Description

Various preferred arrangements that embody the teachings of the invention will now be described by way of illustrative example, and with particular reference to feeding equine animals such as horses. It will be appreciated, however, that the teachings of the present invention have may other applications (for example, the feeding of other types of animals), and hence the following examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3, the feeder apparatus 1 comprises a housing 3 that is configured - in this particular embodiment - for installation in the corner of a stable and to that end rear walls 3i, 3 i i of the housing 3 cooperate to form a right angle 5 that fits into the corner of a stable. The front part of the housing 3 comprises first, second and third front wall portions 3iii, 3iv and 3v, with the first and third front wall portions 3iii, 3v being slightly shorter than the second front wall portion 3iv. The housing further comprises a roof 7 that is joined to the aforementioned walls to define a void within the housing.

The second front wall portion 3iv includes an outlet 9 through which feed (such as hay, haylage, chaff or so-called "concentrated" hard feeds (for example, those provided by Spillers Horse Feeds, 29 Old Wolverton Road, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes MK12 5PZ, United Kingdom)) is periodically dispensed to an animal, and three doors 1 1 that each lead to a respective feed storage compartment 13 (Fig. 4). In a preferred arrangement, each door 1 1 is sized to enable a standard size of feed (for example, an individual section of a standard small hay bale) to be inserted into the associated compartment. Front wall portions 3iii, 3v also each comprise a door 15 (optionally lockable) that leads to a storage area (not shown) within the housing 3, for example for riding equipment.

Referring now to Fig 4, there is depicted a cross-sectional view, along the line A— A of Fig. 2, through the feeder apparatus of Figs. 1 to 3. As shown, within the housing 3 there is defined a plurality (in this instance, three, but in principle any number) of storage compartments 13 that can be loaded with feed via the associated door 1 1. Each storage compartment is associated with a closure member, and in this particular arrangement, the closure member comprises a floor portion 17 of the compartment that is hinged to a sidewall of the compartment at one long side and is coupled to a drive means 19 that is configured, on operation, to move the floor portion from a closed position (illustrated in Fig. 4) to an open position where the floor portion hangs generally vertically downwards and feed within the compartment 13 is dispensed to the animal via the outlet 9. In a particularly preferred arrangement the drive means is configured to drive the floor portion from the closed position to the open position, and back again to the closed position (so that the user does not need to manually reset the floor portions of each compartment).

As shown in Fig. 4, to facilitate delivery of feed to the animal, the apparatus includes a feed diverter 21 that is configured to catch feed dropping from the storage compartments 13, and channel that feed towards the outlet 9.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, in one envisaged arrangement the drive means 19 comprises a motor 23 that is coupled to a Whitworth quick return wheel 25. The wheel has a pin 27 that locates within a slot provided in one end of the compartment floor portion 17, and as the wheel rotates through 360 degrees, the floor portion moves from the aforementioned closed position to the open position and back to the closed position.

In this arrangement, as depicted in Fig. 5, each compartment floor portion 17 is coupled to a Whitworth quick return wheel, and each said wheel is driven by a separate motor. It will be appreciated, however, that a said motor may be configured to drive one or more of said floor portions. Similarly, whilst the aforementioned Whitworth mechanism is preferred, it will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that there are a multitude of alternative drive mechanisms that could instead be employed.

For example, in another envisaged implementation the apparatus may be provided with closure members that comprise - instead of the aforementioned compartment floor portions 17 - a door 29 of the type depicted in Fig. 6.

In this arrangement, each of the aforementioned compartments 13 is associated with a door 29 that comprises an elongate curved surface 31 , and first and second generally quadrant-shaped support walls 33, 35 that extend (generally in parallel with one another) from the aforementioned curved surface 31. The first support wall 33 includes an aperture 37 that enables the support wall to be fitted onto a peg (not shown) in a frame (not shown) that supports the doors 29 beneath the compartments 13, and the second support wall 35 is configured to be coupled to a drive motor (not shown). The drive motor can be activated to rotate the door 29 about axis 39 from the position depicted where the curved surface closes off the compartment 13 with which the door concerned is associated (the aforementioned closed position), by roughly 90 degrees to a position where the door opens the compartment (the aforementioned open position) and feed contained therewithin can fall to the feed diverter 21 . Once the feed contained in the compartment has been dispensed, the controller then controls the motor to rotate the door 29 by roughly 90 degrees in the opposite direction so that the door 29 closes the compartment once more.

In one envisaged implementation of the teachings of the invention, the motor(s) are controlled by a controller that is user programmable, for example via an interface 41 (Fig. 2) mounted in the housing. In one envisaged arrangement, the interface 41 could comprise a touch-sensitive screen (or a display and a series of user operable controls - such as buttons) that enables the user to set the times at which feed is dispensed from the apparatus and otherwise control the apparatus.

In one embodiment, the controller is configured to rotate each Whitworth wheel through 360 degrees (to open and close the compartment floor) at predetermined points in time. In another envisaged implementation each compartment floor is associated with a discrete controller so that a user can readily appreciate when each compartment is configured to dispense feed to an animal. In another embodiment, the controller is configured to control the motor(s) rotate each of the aforementioned doors 29 through 90 degrees at predetermined times. The controller(s) may also be provided with an override facility to enable a user to override a pre-programmed regimen and feed an animal on demand.

The controller may comprise a computing resource and may be located within the apparatus, or be remote therefrom. In one envisaged implementation that is of particular utility in larger stable yards with a plurality of apparatus of the type described herein, a given apparatus may be configured as a master unit and the remaining apparatus of the plurality may be configured as slave units that respond to and are controlled by commands from the master unit. In this manner, all the animals in the stable yard can be fed at the same predetermined times. In an alternative arrangement, each said apparatus of the plurality may be configured as a stand-alone unit that operates independently of the remaining apparatus in the stable yard.

Given that many stables do not have a source of mains power, the apparatus described herein is preferably configured to be powered from a battery or other non- mains power source. It will be appreciated, however, that the apparatus could be configured to be mains powered if a supply is readily available in the stable in which the apparatus is to be installed.

In one envisaged implementation that is depicted schematically in Fig. 7, the controller may be configured to communicate with a telecommunications interface 43 (labelled "comms interface") that is operable to receive and/or transmit signals to or from the apparatus 1 . The interface may include a wired or wireless link 45 to an internet 47 and/or a wireless link 49 to a mobile telecommunications network 51. The controller or the telecommunications interface 43 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and appropriate electronics (the like of which are well known in the art) to permit the apparatus to communicate directly with the mobile telecommunications network 51. Alternatively (or additionally) the communications interface may communicate (again, in a known manner) with a router that provides access to the internet 47.

In this implementation the apparatus may be configured to communicate with a user's mobile telephone 53, and optionally to be controlled by the user remotely from the telephone 53 or other remote computing resource. For example, in an implementation where the apparatus is battery powered, the controller may be configured - in the event that the power stored in the battery is low - to send status information in the form of a message (for example an email or text message) to the aforementioned mobile telephone 53 so that the user is alerted to the fact that the battery needs to be changed or recharged.

In another envisaged implementation the user may be enabled to control the apparatus, for example to set feeding times or to feed on demand, from their mobile telephone or any other computing resource. It is also envisaged for the controller to be coupled to a camera that is capable of broadcasting video via the internet and/or the mobile telecommunications network to the user.

It will be appreciated that whilst various aspects and embodiments of the present invention have heretofore been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular arrangements set out herein and instead extends to encompass all arrangements, and modifications and alterations thereto, which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

For example, it is envisaged that an extension module may be insertable between the aforementioned roof and the remainder of the apparatus, so as to extend the length of each said compartment and thereby increase the feed carrying capacity of the apparatus. It is also envisaged that more or less than three feed compartments may be provided if desired.

It should also be noted that whilst the accompanying claims set out particular combinations of features described herein, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular combinations hereafter claimed, but instead extends to encompass any combination of features herein disclosed.

Claims

1 . Apparatus for feeding equine animals, the apparatus comprising:

a housing having an outlet through which equine animal feed is able to be dispensed;

a plurality of feed storage compartments provided within the housing, each said compartment being accessible from outside the housing via an openable door in said housing through which feed for an equine animal can be loaded into the compartment; each said compartment including a closure member moveable between a closed position where feed is retained within the compartment and an open position where feed can fall from the compartment;

a feed diverter arranged in said housing to direct feed falling from each said compartment towards said outlet;

drive means operable to drive the closure member of each said compartment between said closed and open positions; and

a controller for controlling said drive means to open said storage compartments at predetermined times.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 , wherein said drive means is operable to drive said closure member from said closed position, to said open position, and back to said closed position.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said closure members each comprise a floor portion of the feed storage compartment.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein each said floor portion is hinged to a sidewall of the associated compartment.

5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising a Whitworth quick return mechanism for driving said closure members between said open and closed positions.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said closure members each comprise a door.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said door comprises an elongate curved surface configured and arranged to close said compartment when said door is in the closed position.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein said door is rotatable about an axis between said closed and open positions.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 8, wherein said door is rotatable through approximately 90 degrees from said closed position to said open position, and back from said open position to said closed position.

10. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said apparatus comprises a communications interface for remote communications.

1 1 . Apparatus according to Claim 10, wherein said controller is accessible via said communications interface for remote programming of said apparatus.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 10 or 1 1 , wherein said controller is configured to be capable of communicating with a remote user.

13. Apparatus according to Claim 12, wherein said controller is capable of communicating status information to said remote user.

14. Apparatus according to any of Claims 10 to 12, wherein the apparatus comprises means for broadcasting video data to a remote user.

15. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said outlet is configured to deposit feed at floor level.

16. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the doors to respective compartments are independently openable to allow one or more of said compartments to be filled with feed.

17. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said housing is configured so that at least part of said housing forms a right angle that can fit within the corner of a stable or stall.

18. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said apparatus may be fitted into a stable or stall without adapting said stable or stall.

19. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a battery for powering the apparatus.

20 Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.