Animal husbandry – Feeding device – Timer-controlled
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-17
2004-08-24
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Feeding device
Timer-controlled
C119S051020, C119S057700, C119S057920
Reexamination Certificate
active
06779486
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a system for automatically feeding individual animals or groups of animals. The invention has application in feeding swine, cattle, chickens, fish and other animals being reared in confinement.
BACKGROUND
Feeding animals is a science. Research has shown that advanced animal feeding methods such as split sex feeding, phase feeding and blended feeding can help to optimize animal growth, reduce wastage of feed, and lower manure output. In such systems animals are provided with a blend of feed ingredients which is tailored to the animals' age, sex and weight. In general, younger smaller animals require higher energy feed while older larger animals require lower energy feed. The animals should receive required amounts of various nutrients without receiving more than their requirements. As the animals mature the ideal blend of ingredients changes. Implementing these feeding systems has proven to be difficult with the current state of the art in animal feeding apparatus. One obstacle to the successful implementation of advanced feeding strategies is that most such strategies require knowledge of the actual feed intake of the animals being fed. Most existing systems are incapable of obtaining this information in a useful manner. Knowing how much an animal eats each day provides the information needed to set optimum levels of feed components such as amino acids and other nutrients.
In modern farming operations feeding animals is a significant chore. Various automatic animal feeding systems exist. In general, it is not readily practical to use such systems to make a custom mix of feed for each animal or to feed each animal individually. It is often not even practical to make customized feed mixtures for many different groups of animals.
Erickson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,188 discloses a computer controlled hog feed management system. Two or more feed rations are blended in a blending hopper and then delivered by an auger system to one of a number of feed drops. Each feed drop has a pneumatic valve to open and close the drop. In the Erickson system, the amount of feed that each feed drop will accept must be known in advance. The feed is first blended and then dispensed. To deliver a different feed mix at each feed drop requires running the auger system at each drop until it is empty of feed. A problem with systems of this nature is that feeders can tend to plug up. This prevents feed from being delivered to its intended drop and can result in feed being delivered to a drop for which it was not intended. Further, it is difficult and in some cases impossible to reasonably accurately measure feed intake with such a system.
Rosseau, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,165 discloses a livestock feeder system having a mobile feeder unit. The feeder unit contains a number of compartments which can each hold a different animal feed ingredient. Auger screws discharge feed from each compartment onto a discharge conveyor. The feeder unit includes a computer control which can cause the feeder unit to move along an overhead guide track to a desired location and to discharge feed at that location. While feed is being dispensed, the discharge conveyor is operated continuously and the augers for various feed ingredients are operated for different lengths of time selected to deliver a desired amount of each ingredient at the location.
Beaudoin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,107 discloses a feed system similar to that of Rosseau. The Beaudoin et al. system includes a scale associated with a discharge conveyor. A desired amount of each of two individual feed ingredients can be weighed one-at-a time onto the conveyor. The feed on the conveyor can then be dispensed by operating the conveyor.
A disadvantage of the Rosseau and Beaudion et al. systems is that the feed delivered by these systems is not fully blended. Rather, the feed is delivered as a pile of partially mixed feed ingredients. Further, these systems do not provide any convenient mechanism for recording and reacting to changes in feed intake.
There remains a need for a system for feeding animals, for example, swine, cattle, horses, chickens, or fish, which is easy to operate and is capable of providing customized feed rations to individual animals or groups of animals. There is a particular need for such systems which can accurately measure the feed dispensed without wasting or misplacing feed. There is also a particular need for such systems which are capable of monitoring the feed intake of the animals being fed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides methods and apparatus for feeding animals. The apparatus permits specified blends of feed ingredients to be automatically dispensed at each of a number of feed drops. The invention may be implemented in a manner which minimizes wastage of feed and permits feed to be accurately measured.
One aspect of the invention provides an animal feeder system which comprises a mobile feeder. The mobile feeder comprises at least first and second feed compartments and may have more feed compartments. Each feed compartment is capable of holding a feed ingredient. The mobile feeder has a discharge chute. First and second dispensing devices respectively associated with the first and second feed compartments are each adapted to deliver a feed ingredient from the associated feed compartment to the discharge chute. A variable speed first motor is connected to drive the first dispensing device. A second motor connected to drive the second dispensing device. The mobile feeder comprises a controller, which preferably comprises a programmed computer equipped with suitable interfaces but may comprise control circuitry. The controller is connected to control the first and second motors. The controller is adapted to cause animal feed comprising a selected blend of feed ingredients from the first and second feed compartments to be discharged from the discharge chute by adjusting relative speeds of the first and second motors. The feed ingredients are mixed together in the discharge chute. Preferably each of the first and second motors is a variable speed motor. The motors preferably comprise stepper motors or servo motors which can be accurately controlled by the controller.
In preferred embodiments of the invention the feeder system comprises a detector which detects when a feed drop is full. The detector may comprise a sensor, such as a switch, which generates a signal in response to feed backing up into the discharge chute.
A further aspect of the invention provides an animal feeder system comprising: a feed compartment; a discharge chute; a dispensing device associated with the feed compartment and adapted to deliver a feed ingredient from the feed compartment to the discharge chute; a motor connected to drive the dispensing device; a full switch located to detect when a feed drop being filled by the animal feeder system is full; and, a controller connected to operate the motor until the full switch indicates that the feed drop is full.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method for delivering a variable blend of animal feed. The method comprises providing a mobile feeder comprising a plurality of feed compartments each containing a different one of a plurality of animal feed ingredients; moving the mobile feeder to a dispensing location; establishing a ratio of two or more specific animal feed ingredients to be dispensed at the location; simultaneously dispensing the two or more specific feed ingredients by operating dispensing devices associated with the plurality of feed containers at controlled rates selected to correspond with the ratio of the two or more specific feed ingredients to be dispensed; and substantially simultaneously stopping the operation of the dispensing devices. The operation of the dispensing devices may be stopped when a desired quantity of feed has been dispensed or when a sensor determines that the feed drop being serviced is full.
Further features and advantages of the invention are described below.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2538413 (1951-01-01), Chard
pat
Feedlogic Systems Inc.
Jordan Charles T.
Nguyen T.
Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala
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