WO2017124354A1

WO2017124354A1 - Automated animal feeding system and method for feeding animal

Info

Publication number: WO2017124354A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/071524
Authority: WO
Inventors: 赵玉双; 姜仕鹏
Original assignee: 深圳市慧农科技有限公司
Priority date: 2016-01-20
Filing date: 2016-01-20
Publication date: 2017-07-27

Abstract

Provided are an automated feeding system for an animal (1) and a method for feeding the animal (1). The system comprises a cage (2) defining an enclosure for accommodating one animal (1); an automatic door (200) provided at an access opening (21) of the cage (2), wherein the automatic door closes after the animal (1) enters through the access opening (21) and opens when the animal exits through the access opening (21); a feed trough (3) provided within the cage (2); and an animal feeding device (4) provided near the feed trough (3). When there is no animal (1) within the cage (2), the automatic door (200) will not stop the animal (1) entering the cage (2). When the animal (1) has entered the cage (2), the automatic door (200) will be closed, thereby guaranteeing the prevention of "tailgating" during feeding. The invention ensures that every animal (1), regardless of strength or size, is provided with equal feeding opportunities and prevents issues of feeding conflicts or fights.

Description

Livestock automatic feeding system and livestock feeding method

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of livestock feeding technology, and in particular to an automatic feeding system for livestock and a feeding method for livestock.

Background technique

Livestock in gestation are currently fed an electronic feeding station for automated feeding. This automated feeding method can meet the welfare of the animals, that is, to give the animals proper exercise, to return the growth of the animals to the nature, and to refine the feeding.

However, the animals in the gestation period will be fed in limited quantities. The animals will passively exit after completing the feeding in the electronic feeding station under half-starvation. In particular, the sows will be arched by the next sow, which is likely to cause The bite of the former sow's vulva produces stress, which causes the sow to be affected when it is born, and the wound may also be infected, which is not conducive to the excellent reproduction of the livestock. This phenomenon is generally called "tail-catching phenomenon".

technical problem

The present application aims to solve at least one of the above technical problems to some extent.

Technical solution

According to a first aspect of the present application, the present application provides an automatic animal feeding system comprising:

a frame defining a field for accommodating a single animal;

An automatic door disposed at an entrance and exit of the frame for opening and exiting the inlet and outlet after the livestock enters from the inlet and outlet and opening the inlet and outlet after the livestock exits from the inlet and outlet;

a trough disposed within the frame; and,

a livestock feeding device disposed near the trough,

The livestock feeding device includes:

hopper;

a cutting tube connected to the outlet of the hopper, the feeding tube is docked with the trough;

An agitating member for agitating the blank between the hopper and the lowering tube;

a reader that reads information on electronic tags carried by livestock; and,

And a controller connected to the agitating member and the reader, respectively, for controlling the agitating member to be correspondingly discharged according to current animal information read from the electronic tag.

Further, the automatic door includes:

a rotating shaft disposed at a top of one side of the inlet and outlet of the frame; and,

a gimbal rotatably disposed on the rotating shaft, the gimbal is divided into a blocking portion and a driving portion by an axial direction of the rotating shaft, the blocking portion is located at a position rearward of a livestock entering direction, the driving portion Located at a position forward in the direction in which the livestock enters, and the center of gravity of the entire balance frame is located on the driving portion, the height and size of the balance frame are satisfied: when the livestock is not in the frame, the blocking portion is not Blocking the animal into the frame; when the animal enters the frame, the driving portion rotates under the abutment of the animal to drive the blocking portion to move toward the ground to form a blocking function.

Further, a position of the frame opposite to the free end of the driving portion is provided: a limiting structure for limiting a free end of the driving portion, or the frame is located at the The sub-frame of the exit position is provided with a one-way lock structure for locking or releasing the blocking portion, or the frame is further provided with a manual lock lever for manually locking or unlocking the balance frame.

Further, the controller includes:

a storage for storing correspondence between livestock information and feeding information, the feeding information includes: feeding mode information and feeding amount information, and the feeding mode includes: dry feeding mode and wet feeding Mode; and,

And a control chip connected to the memory for searching corresponding feeding information from the correspondence according to the current livestock information, and controlling the action of the livestock feeding device according to the feeding information.

Further, the livestock feeding device further includes: a water delivery pipe connected to the external water source; and a water supply pipe disposed on the water delivery pipe and connected to the controller for controlling under the controller Electromagnetic water valve for drain control.

Further, the livestock feeding device further includes: a driving device connected to the controller for driving the animal out of the field under the control of the controller, the driving device is spraying water Device, jet or contact device.

Further, the livestock feeding device further includes: a level sensor disposed in the hopper and connected to the controller.

Further, the livestock feeding device further includes: a residual material detector disposed near the food trough for detecting a current feed amount in the trough, the residual material detector and the control The controllers are connected, and the controller controls the agitating member according to the current feed amount or prompts the operator to perform cleaning.

According to a second aspect of the present application, the present application also provides a livestock feeding method, which is based on the above-described automatic animal feeding system, the method comprising:

When the reader reads the electronic tag of the animal entered in the field, identifying whether the animal has a remaining feeding plan amount on the day, and if so, the animal feeding device blanks the animal and / or feed the water until the remaining feeding plan amount is completed.

Further, when the livestock feeding device further includes the driving device, the method further includes:

The controller sends a drive command to the drive device action when it is identified that there is no feed plan amount remaining on the day of the animal, or when the remaining feed plan amount is completed.

Beneficial effect

The beneficial effects of the application are:

By providing an automatic livestock feeding system and a feeding method for livestock, comprising: a frame defining a field for accommodating a single animal; and being disposed at an entrance and exit of the frame for closing the animal after entering the entrance and exit An automatic door for importing and exporting for the import and export of livestock after opening and exiting; a trough arranged in the frame; and a livestock feeding device arranged near the trough. In this way, when there is no livestock in the frame, the automatic door will not block the entry of the animal into the frame; when the animal enters the frame, the automatic door will be closed, thus ensuring that the "tail-catching phenomenon" of feeding will not occur, and each head is guaranteed. Livestock, regardless of their strength or weakness, are able to get fair access to food, without the problem of eating conflicts and fighting for fights.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic structural view of a livestock automatic feeding system according to Embodiment 1 of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a balance frame according to Embodiment 1 of the present application.

Figure 3 is a schematic view of the frame of the first embodiment of the present application when the livestock is not entering.

4 is a schematic flow chart of a method for feeding livestock according to Embodiment 1 of the present application.

Embodiments of the invention

The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and the examples of the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are intended to be illustrative, and are not to be construed as limiting.

In the description of the present application, it is to be understood that the terms 'center', 'longitudinal', 'transverse', 'length ' , ' width ' , ' thickness ' , ' upper ' , ' lower ' , ' front ' , ' after ' , ' left ' , ' right ' , ' vertical ' , 'horizontal', 'top', 'bottom' 'inside', 'outside', 'clockwise', 'counterclockwise' The orientation or positional relationship of the indications is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is merely for the convenience of the description and the simplified description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to has a specific orientation, Azimuth construction and operation are therefore not to be construed as limiting the application.

In addition, the terms 'first', 'second' It is for illustrative purposes only and is not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, 'first' and 'second' are defined The features may include one or more of the features explicitly or implicitly. In the description of the present application, the meaning of 'multiple' is two or more unless specifically and specifically defined.

In this application, the terms 'installed', 'connected', 'connected', ' Fixed ' The terms should be understood broadly. For example, they may be fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they may be mechanical or electrical connections; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. It can be the internal communication of the two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood on a case-by-case basis.

In the present application, the first feature is 'on' or 'under' of the second feature unless otherwise explicitly stated and defined. The first and second features may be included in direct contact, and the first and second features may be included not in direct contact but through additional feature contact therebetween. Moreover, the first feature is above the second feature ', 'above' And 'above' include the first feature directly above and above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature level is higher than the second feature. The first feature is below the second feature ', 'below' and ' The following 'includes the first feature directly below and below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature level is less than the second feature.

The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1:

As shown in FIG. 1, the embodiment provides an automatic feeding system for livestock, comprising:

a frame 2 defining a field for accommodating a single animal 1;

Set at the entrance and exit 21 of the frame 2 for the livestock 1 to close the inlet and outlet after entering the entrance 21 21 And for the livestock 1 to open the import and export 21 after the opening and closing 21 automatic door 200;

a trough 3 disposed in the frame 2; and,

Livestock feeding device set near the trough 3 .

The above livestock feeding device 4 mainly comprises:

Hopper 4 1 ;

The feeding tube 4 2 is connected to the outlet of the hopper 4 1 , and the feeding tube 42 is docked with the trough 3;

An agitating member 4 3 for agitating the blank between the hopper 4 1 and the lowering tube 4 2 ;

a level sensor 4 4 disposed in the hopper 4 1 ;

a reader for reading information on electronic tags carried by livestock 1; and,

Separately with the agitating member 4 3 , the level sensor 44 and the reader 4 5 The associated controller 4 6 for controlling the agitation member 4 to actuate in a corresponding amount based on the current stock information read from the electronic tag, the current level information read from the level sensor 44.

In this embodiment, the livestock feeding device 4 further includes:

a water supply pipe connected to an external water source 47; and,

Electromagnetic water valve 4 disposed on the water delivery pipe 47 and connected to the controller 4 6 for discharging water control under the control of the controller 46 8 .

The livestock feeding device 4 further includes a slamming device 49 coupled to the controller 46 for driving the animal 1 out of the field under the control of the controller 46. The slamming device 49 may be a water spray device, a jet device or a contact device (for example, a belt twisting device) or the like.

The height d of the discharge opening of the hopper 4 1 is 1.2-5 meters, for example: 1.2 meters, 1.5 meters, 1.8 The rice hopper 41 can be installed at the side of the sill or in a hanging manner. When installed by the hanging method, the feed in the hopper 41 can be introduced into the trough 3 through the conveying device.

The agitating member 4 3 is an auger motor.

The controller 4 6 is a PLC controller, an MCU controller, or an FPGA controller.

The above electronic tag is generally an electronic ear tag, and the reader 4 5 communicates with the electronic tag via RFID.

The above automatic door 200 includes:

a shaft 22 disposed at the top of the side of the frame 2 inlet and outlet 21; and,

A gimbal 23 that is rotatably mounted on the shaft 22. As shown in Fig. 2, the balance frame 23 is rotated by the shaft 22 The axial direction is divided into a blocking portion 231 and a driving portion 232, and the blocking portion 231 is located at a position rearward of the entry direction of the livestock 1, the driving portion 232 Located at the front of the animal 1 in the direction of entry, and the center of gravity of the entire balance frame 23 is located on the driving portion 232, the height and size of the balance frame 23 are satisfied: as shown in Fig. 3, when there is no livestock in the frame 2 At this time, the blocking portion 231 does not block the entry of the animal 1 into the frame 2; when the animal 1 enters the frame 2, the driving portion 232 is in the livestock 1 The rotation under contact drives the blocking portion 231 to move toward the ground to form a blocking action, as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the position of the frame 2 opposite to the free end of the driving portion 232 is provided: the pair of driving portions 232 The free end of the limit is subjected to a limit structure 24 . The limiting structure 24 is a mechanical blocking member.

On the frame 2, the sub-frame 211 at the position of the inlet and outlet 21 is provided with a one-way lock structure for locking or releasing the blocking portion 231. 25 .

In addition, the unlocking plate 233 is in contact with the animal to unlock the one-way lock structure 25, and after the animal contacts the unlocking plate 233, the driving portion 232 will rotate under the contact of the animal 1 to drive the blocking portion 231 to move away from the ground to form a blocking effect.

The frame 2 is provided with a livestock anti-lying rod structure 5 .

The frame 2 is also provided with a manual lock 26 for manually locking or unlocking the balance frame 23, so that when the breeder needs to handle the livestock in the field (such as vaccination, pregnancy, marking, etc.), it can be manually locked. Balance the frame 23, or unlock the balance frame 23.

The controller 46 may include:

A storage for storing the correspondence between the livestock information and the feeding information, the feeding information includes: feeding mode information and feeding amount information, and the feeding mode includes: a dry feeding mode and a wet feeding mode; as well as,

And a control chip connected to the memory for searching corresponding feeding information from the correspondence according to the current livestock information, and controlling the action of the entire livestock feeding device 4 according to the feeding information.

Specifically, the feeding mode can be set by the breeder. When set to the dry feeding mode, the electromagnetic water valve is closed during the feeding process; when the wet mixing feeding mode is set, the auger motor is discharged. The electromagnetic water valve is opened to release water, and the amount of water discharged can be preset by the opening time of the electromagnetic water valve. Usually set to dry feed mode, the purpose is to stop drinking water after the animals have finished feeding, to prevent long-term occupation of the field and reduce the efficiency of use.

In addition, the livestock feeding device 4 further includes: a residual material detector 40 disposed near the trough 3 for detecting the current amount of feed in the trough 3, and the residual material detector 40 is connected to the controller 46, and the controller 46 controls the agitation member 43 to operate or prompts the operator to perform cleaning according to the current feed amount. Specifically, the residual material detector 40 can be installed on the trough 3 to detect the amount of feed remaining in the trough, and the height of the material in the trough 3 and the trough 3 can be detected by radar, ultrasonic or liquid level detection techniques. The current feed amount in the trough 3 calculated by the volume of volume is controlled according to the current feed amount to control whether the controller 46 controls the agitating member 43 to operate automatically when the next feeding is taken, and the current feed grain is in the trough 3 The storage time determines the degree of rancidity and deterioration of the feed, and the device 46 prompts the manual to clean up in time.

The working principle of the above animal automatic feeding system, that is, the animal feeding method of the embodiment of the present invention is as shown in Fig. 4:

401 When the livestock field is idle (ie, there is no livestock in the frame), the balance frame maintains the state in which the blocking portion is lifted and the driving portion is drooped by its own weight, that is, the automatic door is in an open state;

402 When there is a livestock entering the livestock field, the livestock will touch (by the animal's own forward movement) to balance the movement of the frame. When the balance frame moves, the blocking part is driven to fall by the rotating shaft, and the driving part is lifted. When the balance frame movement reaches a certain level, the trigger is triggered. The one-way lock structure locks the balance frame, and the automatic door is closed;

403 The livestock is located in the field. When the reader reads the electronic tag of the animal, it identifies whether the animal has the remaining feeding plan amount on the same day (ie, the whole day plan amount minus the consumed food quantity). If yes, execute 404, otherwise execute 405;

404 , the livestock feeding device feeds the livestock (dry feed mode) and / or feeds the water (wet mix feeding mode) until the remaining feeding plan is completed; in addition, it can also increase the clearing time, clearing the tank After completion, execute 405;

405. The controller sends a drive instruction to the drive device to drive the device to spray water, jet or contact to drive the livestock out of the field;

406 When the livestock in the livestock field completes the feeding or is driven out, it needs to be moved backwards, triggering the one-way lock structure to unlock, the driving part is dropped by its own weight, the blocking part is lifted, the automatic door is opened, the livestock is released, and the animal is returned. 401 state, waiting for the next animal to enter.

When the reader recognizes the electronic ear tag of the animal, the controller records the gestational age, the number of days of pregnancy, the body condition, etc. according to the electronic ear tag. Calculate the amount of feed plan for the day, and control the feeding of the auger motor and the electromagnetic water valve to feed the livestock.

Of course, the controller 4 6 It is also possible to set different modes, for example, a water feed mode, a dry feed mode only, or a wet mix mode of a water mix.

Level sensor 4 4 It can be used mainly to sense the amount of feed, thus reminding the staff to feed in the absence of material; it can also sense the real-time change of the feed, thus providing the controller 46 with the basis for the amount of feed.

Embodiment 2:

The difference between the embodiment and the above embodiment is mainly that the automatic door 200 can also be an electric door that is controlled to be closed or opened by a light sensing member or an infrared sensing member.

Embodiment 3:

The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is mainly that the agitating member 4 3 can also be a blanking valve.

Embodiment 4:

The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is mainly that the water delivery pipe 47 and the electromagnetic water valve 48 are optional components.

Embodiment 5:

The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is mainly that the limit structure and the one-way lock structure may be provided with one or none of them.

Example 6:

The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is mainly that the position of the limit structure and the one-way lock structure can be exchanged.

Example 7:

The difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is mainly that the structure of the livestock anti-lying rod is also an optional structure.

Other things to note are:

The height d of the hopper 4 1 is set to 1.2-1.8 The meter is for the convenience of the staff to cut, but can also be set to other values.

In the description of the present specification, reference is made to the terms 'one embodiment', 'some embodiments', 'an embodiment', ' Some embodiments ' , ' example ' , ' concrete example ' , or ' some examples ' A description of the various features, structures, materials or features described in connection with the embodiments or examples are included in at least one embodiment or example of the application. In the present specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily mean the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

The above content is a further detailed description of the present application in conjunction with the specific embodiments, and the specific implementation of the present application is not limited to the description. For the ordinary person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, a number of simple deductions or substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of the present application.

Claims

An automatic livestock feeding system characterized by comprising:

a frame defining a field for accommodating a single animal;

An automatic door disposed at an entrance and exit of the frame for opening and exiting the inlet and outlet after the livestock enters from the inlet and outlet and opening the inlet and outlet after the livestock exits from the inlet and outlet;

a trough disposed within the frame; and,

a livestock feeding device disposed near the trough,

The livestock feeding device includes:

hopper;

a cutting tube connected to the outlet of the hopper, the feeding tube is docked with the trough;

An agitating member for agitating the blank between the hopper and the lowering tube;

a reader that reads information on electronic tags carried by livestock; and,

And a controller connected to the agitating member and the reader, respectively, for controlling the agitating member to be correspondingly discharged according to current animal information read from the electronic tag.
The automatic animal feeding system of claim 1 wherein said automatic door comprises:

a rotating shaft disposed at a top of one side of the inlet and outlet of the frame; and,

a gimbal rotatably disposed on the rotating shaft, the gimbal is divided into a blocking portion and a driving portion by an axial direction of the rotating shaft, the blocking portion is located at a position rearward of a livestock entering direction, the driving portion Located at a position forward in the direction in which the livestock enters, and the center of gravity of the entire balance frame is located on the driving portion, the height and size of the balance frame are satisfied: when the livestock is not in the frame, the blocking portion is not Blocking the animal into the frame; when the animal enters the frame, the driving portion rotates under the abutment of the animal to drive the blocking portion to move toward the ground to form a blocking function.
The automatic animal feeding system according to claim 2, wherein a position of the frame opposite to a free end of the driving portion is provided: limiting a free end of the driving portion Limit structure, or,

a sub-frame on the frame at the entrance and exit position is provided with a one-way lock structure for locking or releasing the blocking portion, or

The frame is further provided with a manual lock for manually locking or unlocking the balance frame.
The automatic animal feeding system according to claim 1, wherein said livestock feeding device further comprises: a water delivery conduit that is connected to an external water source; and is disposed on said water delivery conduit and said An electromagnetic water valve connected to the controller for performing water discharge control under the control of the controller.
The automatic animal feeding system of claim 4 wherein said controller comprises:

a storage for storing correspondence between livestock information and feeding information, the feeding information includes: feeding mode information and feeding amount information, and the feeding mode includes: dry feeding mode and wet feeding Mode; and,

And a control chip connected to the memory for searching corresponding feeding information from the correspondence according to the current livestock information, and controlling the action of the livestock feeding device according to the feeding information.
The automatic animal feeding system of claim 1 wherein said livestock feeding device further comprises: coupled to said controller for driving said animal out of the control under said controller In the field of the drive device, the drive device is a water spray device, a jet device or a contact device.
The automatic animal feeding system of claim 1 wherein said livestock feeding device further comprises: a level sensor disposed in said hopper and coupled to said controller.
The automatic animal feeding system according to claim 1, wherein said livestock feeding device further comprises: a portion disposed near said trough for detecting a current amount of feed in said trough a material detector, the residual material detector is connected to the controller, and the controller controls the agitating member to move or prompt the operator to perform cleaning according to the current feed amount.
A livestock feeding method, characterized in that the method is based on the automatic animal feeding system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method comprising:

When the reader reads the electronic tag of the animal entered in the field, identifying whether the animal has a remaining feeding plan amount on the day, and if so, the animal feeding device blanks the animal and / or feed the water until the remaining feeding plan is finished.
The livestock feeding method according to claim 9, wherein when the animal feeding device further comprises the driving device, the method further comprises:

The controller sends a drive command to the drive device action when it is identified that there is no feed plan amount remaining on the day of the animal, or when the remaining feed plan amount is completed.