Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02556959 2006-08-21
1'757-1PCT
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_1_
JULY 2Qr~6 ~
INTERACTIVE ANIMA FEEL~INf~ DEVICE AND METH~C1 C>EF
DELt~~ A OONTRDLLED QUANTITY OF F~Od
'i The invention relates to a'nlmai feeders, and more particularly to
automatic anima)
feeders which involve interaction with an animal and provide a controlled
quantity
of food to it.
When animals are left alone with a large quantity of Toad, they tend to
indulge
themselves uncontrollably, which is undesirable both for health rrtnd economic
reasons. Feeding devices with incorporated timers which automatically feed an
animal a predetermined amount of food at a predetermined time of day are waif
known in the art, however, such systems dv not provide for interaction with
the
animals.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved
device
and method which involves receiving an activation triggered by an anima! to
't ~ provide it with a controlled quantity of food.
One aspect of the improvements is to provide an intdractive animal feeding
device,
the dews comprising; a nose-2~ctlvated actuator to generate an activation
signs!
when activated by the nose of an animal; a controller device to generate a
command signal upon receiving the activation signal and upon determining that
the animal has received less than a maximum amount of food over a given period
of time; at feast one food container; and a food delivery mechanism responsive
of
the command signal, and controlling passage of food from the foal container to
the animal.
One other aspect of the improvements is to provide a method of determining a
contraNed quantify of food for an animal comprising the steps of: the animal
activating an activator with its nose, the activafior generating an activation
signal
upon receiving said activation; upon said activation signal, determining if
the
animal has received Less than a maximum amount of food over a given period of
time; and upon determining that the animal has received less than the maximum
amount of food over the given period of time., generating a command signal
indicative of a quantity of food to be delivered.
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These and other suspects of the improvements are described in the following
detailed description, taken in combination with the apps»ded drawings; in
which:
17527-1PCT ~'~II~A ~'
CA 02556959 2006-08-21 6 DECEMBER ~
' _2_ _
Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of an example of a feeding device as
improved,
shown installed to an animal feeding station;
Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, side perspective view of the feeding device of Fig.1;
Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of a mobile portion of the feeding device
of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, front perspective view, of a fixed portion of the
feeding
device of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a supply tube adaptor of the feeding device of
Fig.1;
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, rear perspective view of a fixed portion of an
alternative to
the feeding device of Fig. 1, including a fail-safe mechanism;
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, side perspective view of a fixed portion of another
example
of an improved feeding device, which device includes two food containers;
Fig. 8 is a rear perspective view of the feeding device of Fig. 7, used in
combination with a weight scale and marking system.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are
identified
i ~ by like reference numerals.
With reference to Fig. 1, an interactive feeding device 10 is shown installed
to a
feeding station 26. The feeding station includes two side walls, an entrance
door
27 and an exit door 28 which are pivotally mounted within the frame to let the
animal in and out. Part of the device 10 is a mobile food receiving portion 24
secured to the exit door 28 of the feeding station 26 in a manner to be
displaced
with it, whereas another part of the device 10 is a fixed food supplying
portion 22
which is suspended to a supply tube 19 via an elongated food container 18.
The device 10 is provided with an actuator 12 which generates an activation
signal
when it is activated by an animal. The activation signal is received by a
controller
device 13. The controller device 13 determines a feeding profile for the
animal and
operates a motor 14 according to the feeding profile to rotate a disc 50. The
disc
50 has an aperture 56 in it and is part of a food delivery mechanism 16. When
not
operated, the disc 50 is positioned to block food from a food container 18 to
fall
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down into a food chute 20. However, when the aperture 56 of disc 50 passes
between the food container 18 and the food chute 20 during the rotation of the
disc 50, a controlled quantity of food is allowed to pass through the aperture
56
and down the food chute 20 to the animal.
The fixed food supplying portion 22 can alternatively be fixed to a frame
component 29 of the feeding station 26. The mobile food receiving portion 24
is
adapted to be affixed to a pivoting door 28 of the feeding station 26. !t is
often
desirable that feeding stations 26 have both front 27 and rear doors 28, which
requires that the feeding device 10 be installed partly onto one or the other
of the
doors 27, 28, and generally onto the exit door 28 for the animal to be
positioned in
the right direction to exit the feeding station. Thus, the mobile portion 24
of the
device is pivoted with the door when the latter is opened and closed. The
feeding
device 10 may also be provided without the lower portion 24 being mobile,
which
simplifies it as will be discussed further down.
The preferred embodiment of the feeding device 10 is illustrated in more
detail in
Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The actuator 12 is electromechanical, and includes a button
30
which is mounted to a lower vertical rod 32, both of which are vertically
displaceable within a frame member 34. The push button 30 is meant to be
upwardly contacted by the nose of an animal to cause the vertical rod 32 to be
displaced vertically. A horizontal plate member 36 is fixed to the lower
vertical rod
32 and abuts an upper vertical rod 38. The horizontal plate member 36 is held
to
the lower vertical rod 32 by a bracket 37. When the door 28 of the feeding
station
26 (Fig. 1 ) is opened and closed, these components move from their position
and
back and the plate member 36 is out of alignment an realigned with upper
vertical
rod 38. The width of the horizontal plate member 36 provides tolerance to
imperfect aligning of rod 38 following movement of the door 28. When an animal
pushes button 30 upwardly, the horizontal plate member 36 is pushed upwardly
by
the assembly (30, 32, 37), and pushes the lower end of upper vertical rod 38.
The
upper vertical rod is vertically displaceable within the fixed portion 22 and
is thus
displaced by the movement of horizontal plate 36. The upper end of upper
vertical
rod 38 is aligned with a sensor 40 and penetrates it when the rod 38 is pushed
up.
This results in the upper end thereof being detected within the sensor 40 and
activates ffie- activation signal as a result of an animal contacting the
button 30:
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The entire actuator 12 can be provided in a single, non-separable component
instead of in the fixed and mobile components described above. Further,
instead of
being mechanical, the actuator can also be made wireless and transmit the
signal
from a sensor provided as part of the mobile portion to the controller device
13 via
a receiver provided as part of the fixed portion. Further still, the signal
can be
transmitted via a wire disposed near the pivot axis of the door.
The preferred controller device 13 is a computer, and if a plurality of
feeding
devices 10 are used, like in a farm for example, they are preferably commonly
connected to a single central computer via network connections. Computers are
adapted to process data coming from over two hundred feeding devices 10. In
alternative applications, the controller device 13 is provided as simpler
electronics
and individual controllers are used for individual devices. The time and date
of tf~e
request, the quantity of food requested, and values of other parameters
concerning the anima( which will be discussed further on can be stored in the
computer to create a database of information on the animal which can be used
for
studies.
Preferably, the computer will retrieve a profile of the animal from the
database
using the value it receives, and determine how much food is to be fed to the
animal using the profile. For example, if the animal successively requests
food by
activating button 30 twice in a row in a limited period of time, the computer
checks
the feeding history and compares the value of the "number of feeds within the
predetermined period" parameter and consequently selects a smaller quantity of
food, or simply refuses to provide food, when it determines there has not been
enough time elapsed between the two requests. Values for other parameters will
be discussed further down.
The animal food is stored in an elongated food container 18 of generally
cylindrical
shape: Food container 18 has an upper inlet opening and a lower outlet
opening.
The entire upper fixed portion 22 is suspended from a supply tube 19 by means
of
an orientable adaptor 90 (Fig. 1 ). The orientable adaptor 90 is more clearly
depicted in Fig. 5 and will be detailed later. Food is provided to the
container 18
from the supply tube 19 through the orientable adaptor 90.
I4MENDED SHEET
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The controlled quantity of food is dispensed from the food container 18 by
means
of a disc 50 with an aperture 56 therein being rotatable about an axis
allowing the
aperture 56 to be vertically aligned with the outlet of the food container 18.
This
alignment of aperture 56 allows food to escape the container 18 by the action
of
gravity. For increased structural resistance and practicality, the disc 50 is
provided
between two parallel plates 42, 46, (Figs 2 and 4) both of which also have an
opening therein aligned with the outlet of the food container 18. The food
container
18 is preferably vertically oriented. Its lower end has a circular outlet
opening (not
shown) of the same size as the openings defined in the parallel plates 42, 46,
and
is secured to the perpendicularly disposed upper plate 42. A hollow neck
member
62 also defining an opening corresponding to the opening in the plates 42, 46,
is
provided in the shape of a tube with its upper circular opening secured in a
communicating fashion with the opening (not shown) of the perpendicular lower
plate member 46. Thus, the openings of the vertical container 18, the two
plate
members 42, 46, and the neck 62 communicate along an axis which will be
referred to herein as the chute axis 48. And the angular position of the
aperture 56
in the disc 50 controls this communication.
The disc 50 is rotatably mounted between the two plate members 42, 46 about an
axis perpendicular to the plate members 42, 46, and keeps the food from the
vertical container 18, to pass to the neck 62 and to fall down the food chute
20
unless its aperture 56 is aligned with the chute axis 48. The axis about which
the
disc 50 is rotatably mounted is referred to as the disc axis 52. The disc axis
52 is
parallel to and spaced apart from the chute axis 48 by a distance referred to
as the
separation distance 54. The radius of disc 50 is greater than the axis
separation
distance 54, and the disc 50 radially extends to cover the outlet opening of
vertical
container 18 completely. The aperture 56 in disc 50 is preferably obround,
radially
oriented, and is centered on a point of the disc 50 at a radial distance
equivalent to
the separation distance 54, for the aperture 56 to allow passage of food from
the
vertical container 18 to the neck 62 when it is pivoted into alignment with
the chute
axis 48. The disc 50 is pivoted by the action of an electric motor 14.
Though the disc 50 can be provided in thicker plastic, as shown in Figs 1, 2,
4
and7, the disc is preferably provided as a thin sheet of metal, as illustrated
in Fig.
6. It is approximately 0.16 cm thick and is provided between layers 58, 60 of
a
17527-1PCT
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plastic material disposed on either side of the disc 50 to reduce friction
with the
plates 42, 46. Layers 58, 60 can either be secured to the disc, or to the
plates 42,
46, and can be provided in a material having a low friction coefficient with
the
material of the disc 50 or plates 42, 46, respectively.
Henceforth, to provide food to the animal, the controlling device determines a
quantity of food to be dispensed, and activates the disc 50 via the electric
motor
14. Preferably, the controlling device associates the quantity of food to be
dispensed to a number of complete 360° rotations of the disc. At each
rotation, the
aperture 56 passes once across the chute axis 48 for a limited period of time
and
70 causes a quantity of food referred to herein as a "food unit" to drop from
container
18, through aperture 56, and down the neck 62 towards the food chute assembly
20 and the animal. The sum of food units dropped down totalizes the amount of
food determined to be dispensed. The amount of food in each food unit is
predetermined, and depends of rotational speed of the disc 50 and the size of
the
aperture 56. Alternatively to having one aperture, the disc can be provided
with
two apertures as illustrated in Fig. 1, or more.
Greater control of the electric motor by the controller device 13 can also be
provided. For example, the controller device 13 can vary the amount of time
the
aperture 56 stays in place along the chute axis 48, or be adapted to activate
the
disc in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. Further, in
alternative
embodiments, a screw conveyor (not shown) activated by the electric motor 14
and disposed in a manner to bring the food from the food container 18 to the
food
chute 20 can be used instead of the disc-based food delivery mechanism 16.
Other types of conveyor systems provide additional alternatives.
Like the actuator 12, the food chute 20, is also preferably composed of a
fixed
portion (62) and a mobile portion (64, 66, 68) to accommodate the pivotal
movement of the door 28 (Fig. 1 ). The fixed portion includes the neck 62,
whereas
the mobile portion includes a funnel 64, a tube 66, and a directional spout
68. The
funnel 64 is preferably made wider than neck 62 to compensate for. the
potential
imprecision in alignment between the fixed 22 and mobile 24 portions resulting
from imprecise positioning of the door 28, as it was previously discussed with
reference to the actuator 12. As shown, the tube 66 is preferably of
rectangular
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cross-section, and the directional spout 68 can be oriented in any of four
orienfiations as needed by removing and reinstalling it in another direction.
This
desired directional variability of the spout is optional and can alternatively
be
provided by using a tube 66 of circular cross-section with a pivotally mounted
spout. Inclination of the spout is also preferably adaptable by pivoting the
spout
about a transversal axis to the tube, as shown. In applications of the
invention that
allow use of the feeding device 10 without a mobile component, the food chute
20
is preferably provided as an extension 76 of neck 62; without the funnel 64.
Although the fixed portion 22 (Fig. 1 ) can be secured to a frame portion of
the
feeding station, or to another frame component; it is preferably suspended
from
the supply tube 19. A hole is defined within the supply tube towards the
container
'18, and an adaptor 90 ensures the communication of food between the supply
tube 19 and the food container 18. The preferred adaptor is depicted in Fig. 5
and
is orientable to receive a supply-tube in any one of two perpendicular
directions. In
fact, the supply tubes in barns are sometimes aligned with the feeding
station, and
other times perpendicular to them. The orientable adaptor is composed of two
portions, a tube portion 92 and a container portion 94. The tube portion 92
has a
groove defined within its upper face to receive the supply tube. Its lower
face has a
male mating member. The tube portion 92 also has two stubs, one stub extending
from each opposite side in the orientation of the groove. The upper face of
the stub
is~made to correspond to the bottom of the groove, whereas the lower face of
the
stubs are made to correspond to the lower face of the tube portion 92. The
container portion 94 has a female mating member at its upper face, to mate
with
the male mating member of the tube portion 92. The container portion 94 is
adapted to receive the container 18 at its lower face. The container portion
94 has
four stubs extending from its side at 90 degree angles. A hole traverses both
the
container portion 94 and the tube portion 92 which communicates between the
two
when the latter are assembled. To adapt to two perpendicular directions of
supply
tubes, the tube portion stubs are positioned in alignment with two selected
stubs of
the container portion 94. The adaptor 90 is then secured to the supply tube 19
by
U shaped fasteners joining the selected container portion stubs to the supply
tube.
The tube portion stubs act as spacer between the selected container portion
stubs
and the supply tube 19. Food is thus transferred from the supply tube 19 to
the
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container 18 by passing through the communicating holes in the container
portion 94 and tube portion 92.
As shown in Fig. 6, a fail-safe system 70 is used with the device to overcome
a
potential problem which will now be explained. If the device 10 fails, as in
the case
of a power failure or a mechanical problem, with the aperture 56 in line with
the
chute axis 48, the food container 18 will continuously empty itself into the
chute 20
until the failure is corrected, since there is nothing to stop it. In this
particular
situation, the quantity of food is no longer controlled. This is an
exceptional
situation, but is nevertheless problematic, especially in a farm where over
one
hundred devices 10 may be on the same power circuit. To overcome this, the
device is preferably provided with the fail-safe system 70.
The fail-safe system 70 includes a shaft 72 which coincides with the disc axis
52
and is assembled to the disc 50 in a manner to turn with it. At the end of the
shaft
72 there is an extension 76, which is off-centered relative to the axis of the
shaft in
the radial direction of the aperture 56, and to which a stopper plate 74 is
pivotally
mou rated. The stopper plate 74 has a blocking end 80 and a pivot end 78. The
pivot end 78 is pivotally mounted under the extension 76. The blocking end 80
is
fitted between the lower opening of neck 62, and a bracket 84 which is secured
to
the neck 62. The blocking end 80 is thus free to slide transversally between
the
neck 62 and bracket 84, but is held by the bracket 84 in the vertical
direction. The
shaft 72 can alternatively be a C-shaped folded metal sheet.
The extension 76 is oriented in the same radial direction as the aperture 56
with
respect to the disc axis 52. When the disc 50 is rotated until the aperture 56
and
extension 76 are oriented toward chute axis 48, aperture 56 opens the passage
for
food from container 18 to fall down to neck 62, whereas blocking. end 80 is
translated by the .rotating movement of the extension 76 and is positioned so
as to
block the exit at the lower opening of the neck 62. The food falling through
aperture 56 is thus held within the neck 62 and a maximal volume of food
corresponding to the.volume of the neck 62 is allowed therein. When the disc
50 if
pivoted further and the aperture and extension 76 point in a direction
opposite to
the chute axis; the blocking end 80 of the stopper plate 74 is pulled back by
the
rotation of extension 76 and allows food to exit the neck 62. However, the
food can
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no longer enter the neck 62 since the disc 50 blocks the outlet from the
container
18. Hence, food is either blocked at the entrance or at the exit to neck 62
and the
maximal amount of food that can reach the animal is limited to the volume of
neck
62 in the advent of a system failure. Indeed, the rotational movement of the
shaft
72 is transformed to a somewhat translational movement of the stopper plate
74,
in a manner similar to a crankshaft and piston known to car engines. The
blocking
end 80 of stopper plate 74 is provided of a size sufficient to block the exit
of neck
62 completely, and a guiding plate 82 is preferably provided inside neck 62 to
keep
food from accumulating inside neck 62 unnecessarily.
In Fig. 7, an alternative embodiment to the feeding device 10 is depicted
where
two vertically disposed food containers 18A and 18B are used. As it will now
be
discussed, the advantage of providing two food containers 18A and 18B with an -
-
appropriate food delivery mechanism 16 is that different types of feed can
thus be
provided to the animal depending of a value of a parameter concerning the
animal.
For example, if the controller device 13 knows the value of the "weight"
parameter
for the animal, it can determine a different food appropriate for the profile
of that
particular animal. The, profile can also concern the age of the animal, the
value of
which can be accessed in the, database by the computer. In alternative
applications, more than two containers are used.
A fuller variety of food is obtained by varying the ratio of each of both
types of food
in the final mix. For each food container 18A, 18B, the same food mechanism 16
can be used, although its control is different, as discussed further.
Preferably, only
one disc 50 serves for both food containers, and each container has a
corresponding neck 62. Although the electric motor 14 is the same, it is
preferable
to provide a more complete control of the disc 50 by the controller device 13
when
mixing different percentages of the two types of feed. For example, to obtain
a
40% - 60% mixture, the controller device 13, or~a separate controller,
commands
the disc 50 to make two complete rotations, which provides, say, 80% of the
final
mixture. Then, the controller device 13 commands a half a turn in the
direction of
the feed of which 60% is desired, and thus provides the final 20% in the mix.
Alternatives to this command system include varying the angular speed of
rotation
of the disc 50 depending on which container the aperture is letting the food
out of,
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and stopping the rotation of the disc 50 for a determined period of time to
allow
more food to come out of the desired one of the two containers 18A, 18B.
To obtain a precise measure of the quantity of food being dispensed, sensors
88A,
88B are used in the food containers 18A, 18B, in any suitable embodiment. The
sensors 88A, 88B are preferably connected to the controller device 13 and can
provide it with a precise measurement of the "quantity of food delivered"
value
concerning a specific request from the animal. Use of sensors is recommended
in
applications where the precision of the quantity of food measurement is
important.
A fail-safe system 170 adapted for two containers 18A, 18B is illustrated in
Fig. 7.
Two stopper plates 74A and 74B are provided, which are both pivotally
connected
about the same axis under the extension 76. When one blocking end 80 is pulled
away from the corresponding neck 62, the other is pushed to block the
corresponding neck 62. Hence, the blocking end 80 above which the aperture is
letting food pass through to the neck 62 is automatically positioned to block
the
exit to the neck 62.
For channeling the food to the animal after it passes through the aperture 56,
either an individual chute is used for each food container, or a funnel box 86
is
used, as shown in Fig. 8, whereby the food coming out from either food
container
passes into the box 86, and is funneled down a single chute 20. Preferably the
funnel 64 is provided as en extension to a tube, the tube being inserted
within the
chute 66. When the door is opened and subsequently closed, the funnel can thus
be pulled upwardly by an operator to bring it closer to the spout of the
funnel box
86 or to the neck 62. It is then fastened into position, preferably suspended
from
the funnel box 86 or the neck 62 by a chain. The movement of the funnel 64 is
limited to linear movement by the tube of the funnel 64 being guided within
the
chute member 66.
The feeding device of the present invention can be used for a single animal or
for
a group of animals. When using the device with a single animal, there is no
confusion as to which particular animal is requesting food by activating the
actuator. However, when using a single device with a plurality of animals and
it is
desired to offer a somewhat personalized treatment for each animal, it is
advantageous to use a collar on the animal which is coded with a unique
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CA 02556959 2006-08-21
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identification signal. A decoder provided as part of the feeding station can
then
receive a signal from the collar and identify the animal. The controller
device 13,
preferably a computer, can then access a database and determine a feeding
profile corresponding to the animal. For example, animals below a certain age
can
be associated to the junior profile and be served a corresponding quantity of
food
whereas animals passed that age can be associated to a different profile and
be
fed a correspondingly different quantity of food.
When the identity of the animal is know, it is possible to create a database
by
saving specific information about the animal in the computer. For example, the
computer can record a feeding history and the weight evolution of the animal.
Thus, when food is solicited by the animal, the computer receives the
activation
signal and accesses the database and determines how much food the animal
should receive depending on its particular eating habits or on the amount of
food it
has received on that particular day. Preferably, the database can be accessed
9 5 wireiessiy from a remote location by a user via a portable computer
interface.
In some applications, it is not essential to know the exact identity of the
animal. For
example, it may be desired to feed the animal depending on its weight only. In
this
case, a weight scale is provided directly as the floor of the feeding station
and the
animal is automatically weighed when it boards the feeding station. The
information of the weight of the animal is fed to the computer which selects a
corresponding weight profile to the weight recorded. The evolution of the
weight of
the animal can be recorded in the database and the computer can compare the
weight detected to a standard evolution curve to determine how much food is to
be
fed to the animal. Depending on the weight profile selected, the animal is fed
a
different quantity of food.
In one alternative, the scale serves as the sole actuator, and the simple
action of
the animal entering the feeding station and standing on the scale 24 is
sufficient
for the activation signal to be sent to the controller device 13. This
embodiment
avoids the use of the button 30. In another alternative, the scale 24 serves
as part
of the actuator, in combination with the button 30, which are both activated
for the
activation signal to be transmitted.
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A marking device 92 is advantageously used when it is desired to mark the
animals depending on at least one parameter value detected by the detection
system. One example of such an embodiment is provided with the scale acting as
a detection system for detecting a value of a weight category parameter. For
example, animals with a weight over a predetermined value are identified as
being
part of weight category "A", whereas those under that predetermined value are
identified as being part of weight category "B". The value signal from the
detection
system (in this case, the scale) is then sent, optionally via the controller
device 13,
to the marking device 92 that marks the animal accordingly. Marking devices
are
known in the art and any marking device suitable for the application can be
selected. Alternatively, the detection device is the collar and decoder
discussed
above, and the marking is done following the recognition of the animal
identity by a
the decoder to indicate, for example, that the animal is ready to be sent to
the
slaughterhouse.
The method of feeding a controlled quantity of food to an animal in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention comprises the main steps of receiving a
request from an animal, providing a value of a parameter concerning the
animal,
retrieving a profile for the animal using the value, and generating a command
to a
food delivery mechanism using the profile. The request is generated by an
animal
either boarding a scale provided as the floor of the feeding station or
activating an
actuator button. The request is then received by the controller device 13. The
parameter is the weight or the identification of the animal and a profile is
retrieved
using the value provided.
In the case of weight, the weight profile (e.g. young or mature) is recovered
and
the animal is fed accordingly. The animal can also be marked accordingly by an
appropriate marking device. One example of this is to provide a weight value
of the
animal by the scale, to retrieve the animal profile by comparing the animal
weight
to a predetermined growth curve; and to mark the animal for the slaughterhouse
if
it is determined that animal will not grow sufficiently by comparison to the
normal
growth curve.
In the case of identification, the identity of the animal can be retrieved by
decoding
a unin~.~pde_.p,,.C~lt~d~y a medal t~r~ oyid_e~rl on the anima~..be
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retrieved automatically when only one animal uses the device. With the
identity of
the animal known, a feeding history proftle or a desired weight profile can be
retrieved and the animal is fed or marked accordingly.
To generate the command to the food delivery mechanism, a quantity of food to
feed the animal is determined, using the profile, and the command generated
depends on the quantity of food determined. The food is fed through an
aperture in
a disc of the food delivery mechanism, the disc is . pivoted for a number of
revolutions thus letting a quantity of food pass through the aperture for each
revolution, the quantity of revolutions corresponds to the quantity of food
determined.
The method also preferably includes storing a value of quantity of food fed to
the ,
animal provided by the sensors, as well as the time and date of the delivery
of food
into a .food history database. The food history database can thereafter be
accessed by a user to check on the particular animal; or by the computer to
create
a personalized feeding profile concerning the animal.
The device of the invention is preferably used for feeding pigs.
The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary
only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by
the
scope of the appended claims.
AMENDED SHEET
