Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
13127 ~
FEEDER FOR ANIMALS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a feeder for animals
of a type which is desi~3ned to allow ready cleaning of
the feeder. The feeder is particularly but not
exclusively designed for use with pigs.
Feeders for plgs generally comprise a trough
which has a base wall resting upon the ground, a front
wall which generally inclines upwardly and forwardly
toward the pig with an upper edge of the front wall at a
height which allows the pig to reach over to the base for
grasping the feed. A rear wall is provided to confine
the material into the trough. A hopper is positioned
above the trough so the feed can be deposited into the
trough for taking by the animal.
Dry feeders are available in which the hopper
feeds directly onto the base wall and allows the material
to spread out over the base wall for taking by the
animal. The front edge of the hopper is positioned
relative to the base wall so that the feed runs onto the
base wall at a required rate depending upon the flow
characteristics of the material.
Various designs of wet feeder are available in
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which the animal generally grasps or operates a lever or
the mechanism to cause feed to fall into the trough where
it can be mixed with water supplied from a suitable
dispensing nipple.
One particular design of feeder is shown in
U.S. Patent 4,660,508 (Kleinsasser) which includes a
trough and a shelf positioned above the trough with the
feed falling onto the shelf and remaining on the shelf
for accessibility by the animal. The shel~ is positioned
so that the animal can brush the feed on the shelf into
the trough. This type of feeder can be used as a wet and
dry feeder in which the trou~h is supplied with water
nipples so that the feed can be taken in wet condltion
and the feed can also be taken directly from the shelf in
dry condition. Alternatively the feeder can be used as a
strictly dry feeder in which there is no water supplied
to the trough and hence the feed is taken in dry
condition both at the shelf directly and when brushed
into the trough.
In modern hog raising plants it is necessary to
insure that after each batch of pigs is processed, all of
the equlpme~t including the feeders is properly cleaned
to prevent the spread of diseases from one batch to the
next. It is essential therefore that each feeder is
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cleaned on a regular basis at least each time the batch
of plgs ls removed from the feeder to the next processing
position. Feeders are generally cleaned by a high
pressure jet of water or cleaning fluid which is injected
into the feeder to wash the materials from the feeder.
In many feeder designs this is very difficult ~o do
u~less the feeder is bodily moved into a different
orientation, for example in some cases it is necessary to
invert the feeder to access all points for cleaning and
to insure that the feeder is fully emptied of water. It
is not possible for the feeder to be used with any
substantial quantities of water remaining in the feeder
which will prevent the feed from properly flowing when
replaced in the feeder. It is appreciated that the
cleaning of feeders using high pressure jet cleaning
fluid is an unpleasant task particularly in situations
where the cleaning fluid rebounds or is thrown back from
the feeder toward the operator. It would be particularly
preferred if the cleaning jet could be properly directed
from the feeder to the floor since the floor is generally
perforated and designed for collecting liquid waste.
However little attentlon to this aspect has
been given to recent feeder designs and most are diffi-
cult to clean with the difficulty applying most parti-
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cularly to dry feeders.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
... .. _ _ . _ _ _ _
It is one object of the present invention to
provide a feeder design which allows cleaning of the
feeder to take place in a simple and improved manner.
According to a first aspect of invention,
therefore, there is provided a feeder for animals
comprising a trough defined by a base wall on which Eeed
can rest for being eaten by the animal, a front wall
extendlng generally upwardly from the base wall to a
front edge over which the animal can reach to access the
feed on the base wall, and a rear wall extending
generally upwardly from the base wall to an upper edge
thereof, the front wall, rear wall and base wall acting
to confine the feed in the trough, a shelf having a front
edge extendlng along the trough at a position above the
base wall, rearwardly of the front wall, forwardly of the
rear wall and at a height accessable by the animal, and a
hopper above the shelf for depositing the feed onto the
shelf for taking by the animal with any feed moved by the
animal from the shelf falling into the trough, the shelf
being positloned above the rear wall so as to extend from
the front edge thereof which is forwardly of the rear
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cularly to dry feeders.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention to provide
a feeder design which allows cleaning of the feeder to take
place in a simple and improved manner.
According to a first aspect of the invention,
therefore, there is provided a feeder for animals comprising a
trough, means for supporting t:he trough on a floor surface;
the trough being defined by a base wall on which feed can rest
for being eaten by the animal, a front wall extending
generally upwardly from the base wall to a front edge over
which the animal standing on the floor surface can reach to
access the feed on the base wall, and a rear wall extending
generally upwardly from the base wall to an upper edge, the
front wall, rear wall and base wall acting to confine the feed
in the trough; the upper edge of the rear wall being shaped
and arranged so that material falling outwardly therefrom
falls onto the floor surface for disposal; a shelf having a
front edge extending along the trough at a position above the
base wall, rearwardly of the front wall, forwardly of the
upper edge of the rear wall and at a height accessible by the
animal, the shelf having a downwardly extending flange along
the front edge thereof; and a hopper above the shelf for
depositing the feed onto the shelf for taking by the animal
with any feed moved by the animal from the shelf falling into
the trough; the shelf being positioned above the rear wall so
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that a rear portion thereof, extends rearwardly of the upper
edge of the rear wall, and said shelf being movable in a
vertical direction from a first position, in which a lower
edge of the flange at the front edge of the shelf is located
below said upper edge of the rear wall and closely adjacent
the rear wall, to a second position, in which the shelf is
raised to define a first space between the lower edge of the
flange and the rear wall and a second space between the upper
edge of the rear wall and an underside of the shelf to allow a
jet of cleaning fluid to exit from the trough moving up the
rear wall, behind the flange, under the shelf and over the
upper edge of the rear wall.
According to a second aspect of the invention,
therefore, there is provided a feeder for animals comprising a
first and a second trough, means for supporting the troughs on
a floor surface, each of the troughs being defined by a base
wall on which feed can rest for being eaten by an animal, a
front wall extending generally upwardly from the base wall to
a front edge over which an animal standing on the floor
surface can reach to access the feed on the base wall, and a
rear wall extending generally upwardly from the base wall to
an upper edge; the front wall, rear wall and base wall acting
to confine the feed in the trough; the first and second
troughs being arranged back-to back so that the upper edges of
the rear walls of the troughs lie adjacent, but spaced from
one another apart with an opening therebetween so that
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material falling outwardly of the rear wall of each of the
troughs falls from the upper edge of the rear wall of the
trough onto the floor surface for disposal; a shelf mounted
above the troughs floor cooperation with both of the troughs
and defining a first edge extending along the first trough at
a position above the base wall of the first trough, rearwardly
of the front wall of the first trough, forwardly of the upper
edge of the rear wall of the first trough and at a height
accessible by the ani.mal, and having a second edge extending
along the second trough at a position above the base wall of
the second trough, rearwardly of the front wall of a second
trough, forwardly of the upper edge of the rear wall of the
second trough and at a height accessible by the animal, each
of the first and second edges of the shelf having a downwardly
extending flange therealong; and a hopper above the shelf for
depositing the feed onto the shelf for taking by the animal
with any feed moved by the animal from the shelf falling into
a respective one of the troughs; the shelf being positioned
above the rear walls of the first and second troughs so as to
extend from the first edge thereof which is forward of the
upper edge of the rear wall of the first trough to the second
edge thereof which is forward of the upper edge of the rear
wall of the second trough, and the shelf being movable in a
vertical direction from a first position in which the flanges
extend respectively from the first and second edges of the
shelf to a lower edge of the respective flange located below
V 13~?~7~
said upper edge of the rear wall of the respective trough and
closely adjacent the rear wall of the respective trough, to a
second position in which the shelf is raised to define a first
space between the lower edge of the flange and the rear wall
of the respective trough and a second space between the upper
edge of the rear wall of each of the troughs and an underside
of the shelf to allow a jet of cleaning fluid to exit from
each of the troughs moving up the rear wall of the respective
trough, behind the flange of the respective edge of the shelf,
under the shelf and over the rear edge of the respective
trough.
The design of feeder defined above therefore allows
a cleaning jet of cleaning fluid to be directed into the
trough generally in the direction downwardly of the front wall
onto the base so that the jet goes across the base and can
clean all material collecting in the junction between the
front wall and the base wall and also at the end plates. The
cleaning jet can then access the junction between the base and
the rear wall and again remove all deposits. The deposits and
the cleaning fluid then move in an upwardly direction along
the rear wall to a position where they encounter the
undersurface of the shelf so that the materials are then
redirected by the undersurface generally in a downward
direction behind the rear wall of the trough so they fall upon
the flooring for collection by the waste collection system.
The danger of reflection or rebounding of the liquid
in the direction of the operator is thus significantly reduced
and also the trough can be fully
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7 --
With the foregoing ir. view, and other
advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in
the art to which this invention relates as this
speclfication proceeds, the invention is herein described
by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part
hereof, which includes a description of the best mode
known to the application and of the preferred typical
embodiment of the principles of the present invention, in
which:
DESCRIPTION_OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a feeder
according to the invention.
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view along the
lines 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a cross sectional view along the
lines 3-3 of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is the same cross sectional view as
that of Figure 2 showing the feeder in a position for the
cleaning process.
In the drawings llke characters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The feeder as shown in Figure 1 comprises a
pair of end plates ~0 and 11. A hopper section at the
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top of the feeder ~s defined by a pair of longitudinal
walls 12 and 13 which converge inwardly from an open
upper mouth 15 toward a narrow feed section 16 at which
the walls 12 and 13 are bent to form vertical sections 17
and 18.
A pair of troughs is defined at the base of the
end plates generally indicated at 19 and 20. Each of the
troughs comprises a base wall 21 which lies flat on the
floor surface, an inclined front wall 22 which extends
upwardly and forwardly from the base wall, at an inclined
rear wall 23 which extends upwardly and rearwardly from
the base wall. A front edge of the front wall is
indicated at 24 and is positioned at a height which
allows the animal to reach over the front edge to the
base for accessing the feed.
Each of the end plates has a flat bottom sdge
25 which is welded to the ends of the base walls 20 of
the troughs and thus lies flat on the floor surface. The
end plates further include upwardly inclined edges 26 and
27 which are weld~d to the front walls of the troughs and
follow the angle of the front wall. The end plates
include an upper edge 28 lying in the same plane as the
up~er edges of the sides 12 and 13 to define the open
mouth at the top of the hopper. Downwardly and inwardly
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inclined edges 29 and 30 of the end plates follow the
line of the sides 12 and 13 of the hopper and are welded
thereto. Edges 3~ and 33 of the end plates extend from a
position part way down the hopper walls to the front edge
of the upper wall. This provides a stable structure
which can rest firmly on the ground and is resistant to
moving and damage by bodily force supplled by the feeding
animals. Bars may be provided from the front edge of the
upper wall of each of the troughs to the outer surface of
the side wall of the hopper generally parallel to the
side edges 32 and 33 of the end plate if required and
these are of conventional construction.
A shelf construction generally indicated at 40
is provided underneath the mouth of the hopper defined by
the vertical walls 17 and 18. The shelf comprises a
horizontal wall 41 underlying the open mouth of the
hopper and extending outwardly beyond the open mouth to
an outer or front edge 42, 43 of the shelf with each of
the front edges co-operating with a respective one of the
troughs. The front edge is thus positioned above the
base wall, rearwardly of the front wall and forwardly of
the rear wall and particularly the upper edge of the rear
wall.
As explained in the above mentioned U.S. Patent
13~271~
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4,660,508, feed from the open mouth o~ the hopper flows
onto the upper surface of the shelf with the shelf being
shaped and arranged so that the feed material remains on
the shelf so that lt can accessed for eating by the
animal reaching over the front edge of the front wall of
the trough. The animal can then brush the material from
the shelf into the trough as required to access the feed
and to feed as desired.
The shelf further includes downwardly and
rearwardly inclined flanges 44, 45 so that the front edge
of the shelf is defined by a V-shaped portion of metal
which is most suitable to enable the animal to eat off
the shelf without damage to the animal's mouth and
allowing comfort for the feeding action. On an underside
of the shelf is provided a deflection baffle 46 in the
form of a flat plate welded on the underside and
extending directly downwardly on the underside
approximately midway across the underside.
The shelf is supported relative to the hopper
by a pair of straps 50 each arranged at respective end of
the shelf. In the drawings only one of the straps is
visible in Figure 2 and is shown in phantom in Figure 1.
As best shown in Figure 3, the strap 50 extends along the
inner surface of the end plate 10 and is attached to the
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horizontal shelf surface ~1 by a flange 51 which extends
parallel to the shelf and ls welded thereto. A handle 52
is formed on the strap simply by bending a flange portion
at the upper end of the strap 50 extending inwardly lnto
the hopper area so that: it can readily grasped by an
operator reaching downwardly into the hopper.
The height of the shelf can thus be ad~usted
relative to the lower edge of the hopper and relative to
the upper edge of the rear walls of the troughs simply by
manually grasping the handle 52 and by pulling or pushing
the handle to move it vertically along the end plates.
The position of the strap relative to the end plate can
be clamped by a bolt 54 which passes through a hole in
the strap 50 and through a vertical slot 55 in the end
plate 10. A wing nut 56 is provided on the outer side of
the end plate 10 so that it can be manually operated to
clamp the strap 50 at the required height.
The height of the shelf is thus adjustable in
an operating position shown in Figure 2 over relatively
short distances to accommodate different flow
characteristics of the feed material so that the feed
m~terial basically remains on the shelf as previously
- descrlbed and as described in the above mentioned
patent.
~312~
In addition the shelf can be raised to an
inoperative cleaning position shown in Figure 4. In this
posltion the strap ls pulled to its uppermost extent ln
which positlon the shelf surface 41 engages the lower
edges of the walls 17 and 18 of the hopper to close off
the mouth of the hopper. In this position the flanges 44
and 45 are raised upwardly to a position slightly abov~
the upper edge of the walls 23 of the troughs. This
defines a space between the shelf and the rear wall 23 of
the trough. As shown in Figure 4 a liquid jet 60 from a
suitable conventional supply hose 61 can be injected into
the trough so that the jet moves down the front wall 22,
along the base wall 22 and up the rear wall 23 to engage
the underside of the shelf wall 41. The deflector flange
46 then acts to turn the cleaning liquid and any deposits
collected by the cleaning liquid in a downward direction
onto the floor of the animal pen.
The rearward inclination of the rear wall 23 in
co-operation with the flange 44 means that a relatively
small vertical movement of the shelf opens up a larger
space between the shelf and the rear wall to allow the
cleaning fluld to escape.
The height of the shelf relative to the edge 24
is not of particular importance in this invention and as
1 3 ~ 6
shown in Figure 2, the shelf can be lower than the front
edge 24 if required.
While the feeder shown in the drawings is a dry
feeder in which the feed material is taken in dry
condition on the shelf and if brushed into the krough is
taken in dry condition ln the trough, the design of the
present invention can also be applied to a wet feeder in
which a water supply is provided to the trough so that
feed in the trough can be taken ln wet condition. In
such a case the height of shelf may be raised relative to
the front edge 24 to ensure that sufficient spacing
between the li~uid in the trough and th~ shelf to prevent
water contamination of the flowing feed at the shelf.
It may in some cases be only necessary in the
cleaning action to raise the shelf at one end while the
other end remains in the operating position. This
movement is generally sufficient to open up a larg~
enough space to allow the cleaning fluid to e.scape. In
addition the fact that the one end remains in fixed
position allows a rear adjustment of the spacing between
the lower edge of the hopper and the upper surface of the
shel~ to be ad~usted without difficulty.
Since varlous modi~ications can be made in my
invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently
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widely different embodiments of same made within the
spirit and scope of the claims without departing ~rom
such spirlt and scope, it is intended that all matter
contained in the accomE)anying specification shall be
interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting
sense.
