Animal husbandry – Feeding device
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-30
2001-04-10
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Feeding device
C119S060000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213053
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to feeders for transporting and feeding hay to livestock. In particular, the present invention relates to a feeder defining at least one opening through which the hay may be accessed by livestock and at least one movable sidewall which may be raised and lowered for loading hay into the feeder and unloading hay from the feeder. More particularly, the present invention relates to a feeder carried by or built as part of a self-driven vehicles and a pushed or pulled vehicles, such as trucks and wagons, respectively.
Hay, including grass, clover, and alfalfa, is commonly cut and dried for use as forage in feeding livestock such as horses, cattle and sheep. The hay is typically cut and baled in the form of round bales or large stacks. Once baled into either round bales or large stacks, the hay is transported to a storage site or to a feed lot with a wagon. Flat trailer wagons are typically used to transport round bales or large stacks to a storage site. Typical flat trailer wagons include a single bed mounted on a running gear having a tongue for being pulled by a vehicle. Once the flat trailer wagon supporting the bales or stacks has been pulled to the transport site, the bales or stacks are removed for storage. Feeding the bales or stacks typically requires the bales or stacks to be moved and deposited by a lifting device such as a skitter into a stationary bunk wagon.
Although the flat trailer wagons work well for transporting round bales or stacks of hay from the field to a storage site or to a stationary bunk wagon situated for feeding the livestock, flat trailer wagons are not well suited for feeding the round bales or stacks of hay directly to the livestock. Because flat trailer wagons lack sidewalls, livestock feeding from the flat trailer wagon often cause the round bales or stacks of hay to fall off the wagon onto the ground where the hay is often wasted or spoiled. As a result, feeding the hay to the livestock requires a loader or skitter loader for removing the round bales or stacks of hay from the flat trailer wagon and a stationary bunk wagon for containing the round bales or stacks of hay while the hay is being fed to the livestock.
To enable the round bales or stacks of hay to be transported and fed directly from the wagon used to transport the hay, wagons have been developed. Wagons include fixed sidewalls which surround and partially enclose the bed of the wagon. The sidewalls extend vertically from the bed and include multiple openings through which the hay may be accessed by the livestock for feeding. The stationary vertical sidewalls maintain a majority of the hay within the wagon during feeding.
Although wagons including sidewalls enable a single wagon to be used for both transporting hay and feeding the hay, such wagons are extremely difficult and dangerous to load. Because the sidewalls are generally fixed, the hay must be lifted above the sidewalls before being unloaded into the wagon. As a result, the front end loader or skitter loader raising the hay bales is dangerously susceptible to tipping. Moreover, because the hay bale is substantially enclosed and received within the wagon once loaded into the wagon, removing the hay bale from the wagon is difficult, if not impossible. As a result, the hay must be fed out from the wagon before the wagon can be used for transporting additional round bales or stacks of hay.
To enable the hay to be unloaded from the wagons, some wagons include a side wall that pivots about a vertical axis to enable one end of the side wall to be pivoted to an opened position. However, with this wagon, the side walls only enable the hay to be unloaded from the wagon where the feed lot or surrounding area provides sufficient room for completely swinging the side wall to the opened position. In addition, where the wagon is long or where the side wall has great mass, swinging the side wall to the open position may cause the wagon to tip or to become unstable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a feeder adapted to be positioned on a structure having a bed for supporting hay. The feeder includes a plurality of walls adapted to vertically extend above the bed and including at least one opening through which hay upon the bed may be accessed by livestock. At least a portion of one wall is selectively moveable between a first position in which the portion of the wall extends above the bed and a second position in which the portion of the wall extends below the bed.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the portion of the wall pivots about a non-vertical access between the first position and the second position. The feeder also preferably includes an actuator for moving the portion between the first and second positions. The actuator preferably includes a winch fixedly coupled to the feeder relative to the bed and a cable engaged by the winch and connected to the portion. The feeder includes a retainer for retaining the portion in the first position.
In yet another embodiment, the feeder is built as part of a feeder wagon. The wagon includes a running gear, a bed mounted on the running gear for supporting hay and a plurality of walls vertically extending above the bed and including at least one opening through which hay upon the bed may be accessed by livestock. At least a portion of one wall is selectively moveable between a first position in which the wall extends above the bed and a second position in which the portion extends above the bed and a second position in which the portion extends below the bed. Preferably, the portion pivots about a non-vertical axis so as to pivot between the first and second positions.
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Gruett's Pamphlet entitled “Feed-All Wagon” located in Potter, Wisconsin; undated.
H&S Manufacturing Co., Inc. Pamphlet entitled “Feeder Wagons” located in Marshfield, Wisconsin; undated.
H&S Manufacturing Co., Inc. Pamphlet entitled “Steel Sided Bale Throw Racks” located in Marshfield, Wisconsin; undated.
H&S Manufacturing Co., Inc. Pamphlet entitled “7+4 Forage Boxes” located in Marshfield, Wisconsin; undated.
Gehl Pamphlet entitle “Feeder Wagon” located in West Bend, Wisconsin; Form 4578-12/88-20M; dated 1988.
H&S Manufacturing Co., Inc. Pamphlet entitled “7+4 Feeder Box” located in Marshfield, Wisconsin; undated.
Foley & Lardner
Jordan Charles T.
Shaw Elizabeth
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