Animal husbandry – Feeding device – Hopper and trough
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-08
2001-03-13
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Feeding device
Hopper and trough
C119S053500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199511
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to livestock feeders. In particular, the present invention relates to a rotary feeder operated by livestock which dispenses feed at an adjustable flow rate and uses a feed rate gauge to keep the flow rate uniform and accurate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of livestock feeder designs have been developed in the animal husbandry field in an attempt to achieve accurate and reliable metering of feed with minimal waste. One of the most widely used feeder designs in the industry today is a rotary livestock feeder developed by the present applicant, which is described in the Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338.
The rotary livestock feeder disclosed in the Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338, provided a simple, dependable, easily adjustable, and relatively inexpensive construction. This conventional rotary livestock feeder provided significant advantages over earlier feeder designs in that feed waste was minimized by dispensing only such amounts of feed as can be readily consumed by livestock, a constant feed flow rate is maintained regardless of feed level in the hopper, and mixing action of the feed wheel deters livestock from wasteful sorting of the ration. These advantages and others have been recognized throughout the industry and have made the Applicant's rotary livestock feeder one of the most widely used livestock feeders for many years.
However, the conventional rotary livestock feeder is relatively difficult to adjust accurately and uniformly to compensate for different types of feed. For example, in a large swine feeding operation, several rotary livestock feeders are often used to dispense a particular type of feed at any given time. As the feed needs of the animals change, the feeders may be filled with a feed having a different consistency, moisture content, angle of repose, and so forth, which requires an adjustment of the metering mechanism within the feeder to provide an optimum feed rate.
The conventional rotary feeders have an adjustment mechanism for changing the vertical spacing of a deflector cone within the feed hopper above the hopper bottom using a threaded adjustment bolt connected to the deflector cone with a flexible cable. However, the conventional rotary feeders do not have a means for providing a visual indication of the vertical position of the deflector cone, nor a means for allowing a group of feeders containing the same type of feed to be quickly and easily adjusted to a uniform feed rate setting. Thus, it has been difficult and time consuming to adjust a group of feeders to a uniform feed rate setting each time the feed content changes. This has led to a reluctance on the part of users to change the feed rate settings of a group of feeders each time the feed content changes, which often results in use of the feeders with a less than optimum feed rate setting.
Another problem with the conventional rotary livestock feeders has resulted from the use of a flexible cable to suspend the deflector cone within the hopper above the bottom discharge opening of the hopper. The flexible cable tended to wind and buckle during use, thereby causing the vertical positioning of the deflector cone to be unpredictable and allowing the deflector cone to fall off of the shaft that supports and centers it at the bottom of the hopper.
Thus, there has been a need in the industry for an improved rotary livestock feeder that facilitates accurate and uniform adjustment of the feed rate setting, and eliminates the problems associated with the use of a flexible cable to suspend the deflector cone within the hopper of the feeder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved rotary livestock feeder that solves the problems with the conventional livestock feeders described above.
More specifically, the principal objects of the present invention are: to provide a livestock feeder that has all of the advantages of the rotary livestock feeder disclosed in the Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338; to provide a rotary livestock feeder that has a feed rate gauge that allows quick and easy adjustment of the feeder to an accurate and uniform feed rate setting; to provide a rotary livestock feeder that has a rigid connecting structure for suspending a deflector cone from an adjustment mechanism to prevent variations in feed rate settings due to winding and buckling of the connecting structure; and to provide such a feeder that is economical to manufacture, efficient in use, capable of a long operating life, and particularly well adapted for the proposed use.
In order to realize the objects and advantages set forth above, the applicant has developed an improved, rotary livestock feeder that has a feed rate gauge for obtaining an accurate and uniform flow rate through the feeder. The improved rotary livestock feeder is similar to the rotary livestock feeder disclosed in the Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338, except that the adjustment mechanism has been changed to incorporate a feed rate gauge, and a rigid connector structure is provided in place of the flexible cable for connecting an adjustment bolt of the adjustment mechanism to the conical deflector. These changes to the Applicant's rotary livestock feeder provide substantial improvements and advantages over the existing feeder designs.
The feed rate gauge of the present invention is arranged to provide a visual indication of the vertical spacing between the deflector cone and the hopper bottom, thereby allowing the feed rate setting of the feeder to be quickly and easily adjusted to a desired setting. The feed rate gauge allows the feed rates of several rotary feeders to be quickly adjusted to the same feed rate setting to obtain uniform feeding rates among the feeders for a given type of feed. The feed rate gauge can be easily calibrated by moving an L-shaped plate containing visual indicia for the gauge along the length of a threaded adjustment bolt to a desired setting.
The rigid connector structure of the present invention provides a substantial improvement over the flexible cables used in existing rotary livestock feeders because it does not wind or buckle during use and allows a more accurate and uniform adjustment of the feed rate.
According to a broad aspect of the present invention, a feeder for dispensing feed to livestock is provided, comprising: a hopper including a side wall and a bottom having a feed discharge aperture therethrough; a deflector cone mounted in the hopper in vertically spaced relationship over the hopper bottom; an adjustment mechanism operably associated with the deflector cone for adjusting the vertical spacing thereof over the hopper bottom, whereby the rate of flow through the feeder is dependent upon the vertical spacing between the deflector cone and the hopper bottom; and a feed rate gauge operably associated with the adjustment mechanism, the feed rate gauge being arranged to provide a visual indication of the vertical spacing between the deflector cone and the hopper bottom.
The adjustment mechanism comprises a threaded member operably connected to the deflector cone. The feed rate gauge comprises a plate member fixed to the threaded member that contains visual indicia indicative of a feed rate setting. The plate member is movable with the threaded member as the vertical spacing of the deflector cone over the hopper bottom is adjusted. A cross-piece extends across the hopper, and the threaded member extends through an opening in the cross-piece. A portion of the cross-piece is disposed between a portion of the plate member containing the visual indicia such that the cross-piece provides a stationary reference mark for the feed rate gauge.
The adjustment mechanism comprises a handle having a threaded aperture threadably engaged on the threaded member. The handle has a grip portion disposed above the plate member adapted to be rotated by a user to effect vertical adjustment of the deflector cone. The plate m
Abbott Yvonne R.
Jordan Charles T.
Osborne Industries, Inc.
Thompson Jeffrey L.
Thompson & Thompson P.A.
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