Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
BOWL FOR LIVESTOCK LIQUID SUPPLEMENT
SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bowl for use in a liquid supplement
system for feeding livestock and more particularly to particular configuration
of the
bowl surrounding a liquid dispensing valve in such a system.
BACKGROUND
In the past decade, supplementing piglets with specially formulated
liquid milk has become very popular in the swine industry. Feeding liquid milk
can be
used in addition to the sow, by isolating the feeder in a pen away from the
sow, yet
in reach of the piglets. This is achieved by attaching an animal watering
valve to the
center of the hollowed side of a cup. When the piglets are hungry, they nudge
the
rod on the liquid feeder with their snouts and the liquid milk flows out of
the feeder
housing and fills the cup. Liquid milk feeding has many benefits such as,
reducing
death loss, producing stronger, healthier piglets, and adding extra weight
early in the
piglets life. All these factors produce more pounds of pork per sow.
Most liquid milk cup feeders on the market today use a PVC end cap
that has been machined to a certain height and has a straight flat surface. It
also has
a nipple coming out of the center of it that is approximately 1/2 an inch
higher than
the end cap. There are many inefficiencies with this type of feeder. Piglets
can roll
over and lay on the nipple. Some of them may actually sleep on it. This causes
the
cup to overflow and all the milk that is in the tank to be wasted into the
pit. It can
cause the producer considerable amounts in lost profits every time it happens.
Piglets that are smaller tend to be intimidated by bigger piglets and may not
go to
the cup to drink because of fear of being bullied by bigger piglets. When
piglets
grow older or larger, they become more active and tend to play or fight around
the
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
_ 2 _
cup. Since the piglets can actually drink anywhere around the cup and make
contact
with each other, they can really waste a lot of milk. When piglets spill milk
it tends to
run underneath the cup. Once it is underneath the cup, it can be very
difficult to
clean unless you unscrew the cup which is labour intensive. If it is not
cleaned, it can
create an area for flies or bacteria to migrate and create a bad odour. Since
piglets
have 40 times the smell of humans, this can keep them from drinking the
supplemental milk even if they really need it.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided in a
liquid supplement system for feeding livestock including a source of liquid
supplement and supply tubing for delivering liquid supplement from the source
to a
plurality of feeding stations, each feeding station including a valve in
communication
with an opening in the tubing, an upwardly facing bowl surrounding the valve
and an
upright actuator lever located within the bowl for opening and closing the
valve to fill
the bowl with liquid supplement; the improvement comprising:
at least a portion of a peripheral rim of each bowl extending upwardly
substantially a height of a free end of the lever.
The raised protrusions ensure that even if the piglets lay on top of the
bowl, they will not be able to nudge the actuator lever and therefore no milk
will be
wasted because the tabs are at least as high as the lever.
The bowl can be designed so that there are only three raised
projections and three recesses therebetween about the rim thereof. The piglets
can
only drink in the three recesses and not anywhere around the bowl. This
eliminates
piglets from going to the bowl and fighting for milk and as a result wasting
many
dollars worth of spilled milk. It also allows smaller piglets not to get
intimidated
because they cannot be pushed out by a bigger piglet. In some embodiments, the
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
-3-
bowl further includes a skirt which forms a body around the bowl that is the
same
width as the bowl itself. In this arrangement, if any spillage of milk occurs
from out
of the bowl, it cannot form underneath the bowl, but instead, the milk has to
go into
the pit below the tubing system. Even when milk is spilled, it is easy to
clean
because the lower body of the skirt covers the components underneath the bowl.
At least a portion of the peripheral rim of each bowl preferably extends
upwardly beyond the free end of the lever. Preferably only a portion of the
peripheral rim of each bowl extends upwardly beyond the free end of the lever,
and
a portion of the peripheral rim lies below the free end of the lever.
The peripheral rim may include a plurality of raised protrusions at
spaced positions from one another, each protrusion extending upwardly
substantially
a height of the free end of the lever.
The plurality of raised protrusions are preferably located at evenly
circumferentially spaced positions. Ideally, there is provided three raised
protrusions
at evenly spaced positions.
Each protrusion preferably tapers upwardly towards a smooth rounded
apex, continuous and parallel to an outer cylindrical surface of the bowl.
In one embodiment, a skirt may be provided, projecting downwardly
from respective side walls of the bowl. The skirt may be cylindrical in shape,
having
a diameter which is substantially equal to a diameter of the bowl.
Alternatively, the skirt may taper inwardly from a top end to a bottom
end thereof with an outer surface of the skirt being smooth and continuous in
profile
with the side walls of the bowl.
There may be provided two openings in the skirt diametrically opposed
from one another for receiving the tubing therethrough.
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
-4-
The bowl is particularly useful in a system in which the feeding stations
are supported adjacent a floor of respective livestock containing pens for
providing
liquid feed supplement to piglets.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate exemplary
embodiments of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a liquid supplement system illustrating
first and second embodiments of a bowl according to the present invention used
in
the system.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the bowl.
Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the bowl of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the bowl according to either the first or
second embodiments.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the bowl.
Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the bowl of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of the bowl.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a livestock
feed, liquid supplement system generally indicated by reference numeral 10.
The
system 10 is generally arranged for feeding liquid supplement to livestock,
for
example specially formulated milk for growth of livestock, and in particular
piglets
raised in pens 12.
The system includes a supplement source 14 in the form of a tank for
containing liquid feed supplement and supply tubing 16 for delivering the
liquid
supplement to a plurality of feeding stations 18 at spaced positions along the
tubing
16 within respective pens 12 containing the livestock. Each station 18
generally
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
-5-
includes a T-shaped junction 20 coupled in series at diametrically opposed
ends with
the supply tubing 16 and oriented so as to define an upright opening 22 in the
supply
tubing. An internally threaded collar 24 is provided in the upright opening
for
threadably receiving a valve 26 therein having external threads. The valve 26
includes a vertically oriented actuator lever 28 extending upwardly therefrom
for
opening the valve 26 when the lever is deflected from the vertical position. A
bowl
30 surrounds the valve 26 by receiving the valve and the actuator lever 28
through
an opening 32 centrally located in a bottom side thereof. The bowl 30 is
sealed with
respect to the valve 26 which it surrounds. The bowl 30, the tubing 16 and the
junctions 20 are all formed of PVC material which is permitted to be sealed
with
respect to one another when assembled as illustrated in Figure 1.
While three embodiments of the bowl 30 are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, the common features of both embodiments will first be
described herein. Each bowl 30 includes a cupped floor 34 having a generally
concave inner surface 36. Cylindrical side walls 38 extend upwardly from a
periphery of the floor 34 to a peripheral rim 40 of the bowl. A main portion
42 of the
rim is positioned at a height which is spaced below a height of the free end
44 of the
lever 28.
Extending upwardly from the main portion 42 of the rim are three
raised protrusions 46 which are formed continuous and parallel with the
cylindrical
side walls 38 of the bowl. Each protrusion 46 formed within the peripheral rim
40 of
the bowl extends upwardly in a vertical orientation, tapering towards an apex
48
which is smooth and curved so that the protrusion is generally bell-shaped.
The
apex 48 of each protrusion 46 extends sufficiently upward so as to be spaced
above
the free end 44 of the actuator lever centrally located within the bowl. The
protrusions 46 are furthermore located at an even circumferential spacing
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
-6-
therebetween. By providing three protrusions 46 at spaced positions, suitable
spacing between adjacent protrusions is provided for permitting access by a
piglet
therethrough for drinking from the bowl 30.
In the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 through 4, the outer
surface 50 follows the shape of the inner surface 36 of the bowl for
surrounding the
valve 26 received through the center of the bowl.
In the second embodiment of the bowl 30 illustrated in Figures 5 and 6,
the outer surface 60 of the bowl 30 defines a skirt 62 projecting downwardly
from the
cylindrical side walls 38 of the bowl to extend downwardly beyond the floor 34
of the
bowl, past the valve 26 received in the floor so as to overlap and surround
the
supply tubing 16 and the junction 20 coupled to the valve in the bottom of the
bowl.
The skirt 62 is generally cylindrical in shape, having a diameter which
is equal to the cylindrical side walls of the bowl so as to extend flush and
continuous
with the side walls. The skirt 62 includes a hollow interior 64 for housing
the junction
20 and the valve 26 therein. A pair of diametrically opposed apertures 66 are
provided in the walls of the skirt 62 adjacent a bottom side thereof so as to
be in
alignment with the diametrically opposed openings in the T-shaped junction 20
coupled to the bowl. The apertures have an interior diameter which is
substantially
equal to the external diameter of the supply tubing 16 for forming a close fit
about
the tubing received therethrough. When viewed from above, the second
embodiment appears similar to the first embodiment as illustrated in Figure 4.
The skirt 62, the protrusions 46 and the cupped floor 34 of the bowl are
all molded integrally with one another from plastic material in a single
operation.
In the further embodiment of Figure 7, a skirt 70 is provided which
tapers downwardly and inwardly from the cylindrical side walls 38. The skirt
70 is
equal in diameter to the cylindrical side walls 38 at the intersection of the
outer
CA 02390577 2002-06-13
-7-
surfaces thereof, while tapering inwardly towards a reduced diameter at a
bottom
end of the skirt. An outer surface of the skirt 70 is thus smooth and
continuous in
profile, while being flush with the cylindrical side walls 38 of the bowl 30.
The
tapered 70 skirt provides room for piglets to stand closer to the bowl for
easier
access to contents of the bowl.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been
described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are
possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered
limited
solely by the scope of the appended claims.
