Device for providing food to animals

Details Device for providing food to animals Device for providing food to animals

2002-01-17

2003-04-01

Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)

Animal husbandry

Feeding device

Dish or bowl type

Reexamination Certificate

active

06539893

ABSTRACT:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Applicants claim priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of German Application No. 299 12 821.0 filed Jul. 22, 1999. Applicants also claim priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 of PCT/DE00/02221 filed Jul. 6, 2000. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was not published in English.
The invention relates to a device for providing food to animals, comprising a feed supply and a bowl-like feeding basin that serves for providing the supplied feed.
Devices of the type specified above are employed especially in poultry fattening operations. The great number of feeding bowls installed in a pen have to be cleaned regularly, which is carried out in a washing operation by means of flushing the bowls with spray water in most cases. In order to assure that the washing water will drain from the feeding bowl, the latter is designed in the form of a pendulum-type flap articulated on the device by means of a hinge or the like. In the position in which the feeding bowl is folded up for receiving the feed, it is maintained in that position with releasable locking means such as snap noses, clips or the like. The locking means are released for cleaning purposes, so that the feeding bowl is freely suspended on the fitting of the device, swinging about its pivot axle. With the feeding bowl in said position, the bowl can be cleaned in the installation site of the device, i.e. in the feeding station of the animals by spraying it off.
It has been found that cleaning by spraying with water poses problems because the freely pivoting feeding bowl is always capable of getting out of the way of the jet of water impinging upon it. Depending on the concentration and direction of the jet of spray water impacting it, the feeding basin will perform uncontrolled pivotal movements about its folding axle that even may lead to mechanical damage under certain circumstances. Such movements are undesirable because they obstruct or delay the cleaning process or are disadvantageous in some other ways. With an inwardly drawn edge of the feeding basin, which is present in most cases, residual water cannot drain off completely. As feeding bowls are disinfected as well, as a rule, there is the risk that a highly concentrated solution of disinfectant is adjusted after the residual water containing the chemicals used has dried, such chemicals being, for example dissolved. When such solutions containing harmful substances remain in a feeding basin, this may have adverse consequences for the health of the animals and thus finally for the consumer of meat and eggs as well.
The invention is based on the problem of designing a device of the type specified above in such a way that it can be cleaned when needed in a simple and optimal manner.
Said problem is solved according to the invention in that the feeding basin comprises a cleaning opening located in about the center of the feeding basin that can be opened or closed by means of a closing element.
As the opening is located in the center of the feeding basin, it is necessarily advantageously arranged in the deepest site of the feeding basin. In this way, when the closing element is released, i.e. when the opening is open, optimal drainage of the liquids used for cleaning the feeding basin mainly from the interior of the feeding basin is assured.
It is particularly advantageous that the closing element is a component of the feeding basin that is inserted in the opening in a flush and fitted manner. According to a further development of the invention, provision is made in this connection that both the closing element and the feeding basin comprise locking means that are located on the periphery of the closing element and on the feeding basin in the area of the edge of the latter. Such locking means can be caused to interact with each other and by means of which the closing element can be fixed on or detached from the feeding basin both in the releasing and closing positions.
With the closing element inserted in the opening of the basin, the feeding basin is complete and thus constitutes a closed component of the device serving the purpose of providing food.
When the locking means is released, the entire closing element, which forms a part of the bottom of the basin, can be removed, so that the opening is exposed. This means that optimal cleaning can be carried out on the site of installation because the closing element can be cleaned separately, if need be, and then inserted again in the feeding basin which has been cleaned as well, in order to form the bottom of the feeding basin after the locking means has been fixed again. For facilitating the cleaning operation as well as for enhancing the cleaning effect, provision is made that the closing element has a cone-shaped upward bulging in the center, with the foot of the cone ending in a surface area descending in the direction of the periphery of the closing element. The surface of the closing element thus has a shape that assures that cleaning water impinging upon the center drains off in the direction of the periphery of the closing element. No sharp corners and edges are present that would obstruct smooth drainage of the cleaning agent, in particular of spray water.
It is especially advantageous that the closing element and the cleaning opening are provided with a circular shape. This permits a simple manufacture and yet a fitted seating of the closing element in the opening.
According to a particularly advantageous further development of the invention, provision is made that the locking means comprise projections arranged on the periphery of the closing element, in such a manner that they project beyond the edge of the cleaning opening, as well as for recesses located on the edge of the cleaning opening, whereby each recess is dimensioned in such a way that the projections can be moved transversely in relation to the bottom of the basin while being guided in their associated recesses as soon as the closing element and the feeding basin. have been moved in relation to each other into positions in which the projections and the recesses correspond with one another. The circular shape described above has a favorable effect in this connection in that it is possible in the present case to use a simple rotational movement between the feeding basin and the closing element in order to fix the locking means against each other in a position of rotation, or to detach said locking means from each other in a second position of rotation, so that in said second position of rotation, the closing element can be lowered from the cleaning opening of the feeding basin or removed from said opening. After the cleaning operation, the closing element can be re-inserted in the opening, for example by lifting it, and rotated again into its closing position, in which the locking elements are re-engaged again with each other in their active locking positions. In the course of the lowering or lifting movement in the position of rotation described above, such movement is guided by the recesses, and the position of rotation cannot be changed as long as the projections are engaging the recesses in a guiding manner.
In order to keep the closing element in its opened position serving for cleaning purposes in continuing connection with the device so as to assure, for example that it cannot be lost, the device is characterized in that provision is made for catching elements for the opened closing element. Such catching elements prevent the detached or disengaged closing elements from dropping from the part of the feeding basin that remains connected with the device. The locking means in association with the catching elements are nonetheless capable of holding and fixing the closing element when it is detached from the basin, in such a way that its yielding to spray water, which is disadvantageous for the cleaning process, will not occur. In the course of the cleaning process, the closing element is kept fixed and supported in an adequately firm manner.
Each catching element may comprise an elevation arranged on the closing e

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Device for providing food to animals does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Device for providing food to animals, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for providing food to animals will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3088286