Adjustable Feeder With Brood Gate

This invention relates to animal feeding systems, and more particularly relates to feeder pans for poultry and the like.

Automated feeding systems for poultry and like domestic animals have proved highly successful in modern animal husbandry operations. These systems can supply feed mixtures to a large poultry flock with minimum operator effort. Both the amounts of feed delivered and the proportions of feed ingredients can be regulated and this regulation permits the flock to be inexpensively raised from chicks to mature, commercially valuable broiler birds in a relatively short time.

Among the important parts of such automated feeding systems are the feeder units or feeder pans. These units receive feed flow from a feed conveyor, and are disposed on or near the poultry house floor to afford the birds ready access to the feed. Among the patents disclosing such feeders are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,911,868 and 4,080,990, for example.

When raising broiler flocks, poultry husbandman traditionally introduce very young chicks to a poultry house, and provide feed for the chicks on paper, cardboard, or the like which are laid on the poultry house floor. After the chicks grow in size, they can be introduced feed contained in poultry feeders.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a feeder unit which encourages, use from the day the small chicks are introduced into a poultry house through the day the adult birds are removed.

A more specific object is to offer a feeder unit which provides a configuration and mode of operation especially designed for small chicks, in which feed is presented at an exterior part of the feed pan. A corresponding object is to provide such a feeder which has another configuration and mode of operation for older birds, in which feed is presented at an interior part of the feed pan.

A related object is to provide a feeder which will change automatically from one configuration and operating mode to the other as the feeder is raised from and lowered to the poultry house floor.

Another object is to provide a feeder which can be adjusted so as to best accommodate any of various types of feed being delivered to older birds.

Still another object is to provide a feeder which minimizes or discourages feed wastage, spoilage, and befoulment.

A further object is to provide such a feeder which can be used over a long life with minimum repair and maintenance costs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings. Throughout the description, like reference numerals refer to like parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a poultry house in which are installed several novel feeders of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing in greater detail the novel feeder during its use by immature chicks;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view in partial section showing the novel feeder and related apparatus as they appear when immature birds are being fed;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view in partial section similar to FIG. 3 but showing the feeder as it appears when mature birds are being fed;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view in partial section similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 but showing the feeder as it appears when adjusted for another type of feed;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 6--6 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 8--8 in FIG. 2, showing portions of the feeder grill and pan as they appear when closed for use; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 8 but showing the grill and pan as they appear when opened for cleaning.

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Turning first to FIG. 1, there are shown several feeders 10 of the present invention as they appear when being used by poultry P. A feed storage bin 11 is located outside a poultry house 12, and a header conveyor 13 transports feed from the bin 11 to one or more cross or branch conveyors 14. As shown in FIGS. 2-5, these branch conveyors 14 include a conveyor tube 15, and a helical auger member 16 is disposed for rotation within the tube 15 by a motor (not shown). Header drop tubes 17 and intermediate hoppers 18 or other devices insure the correct delivery of feed from the header conveyor 13 to the branch conveyor 14 (FIG. 1).

A general examination of FIGS. 2-5 will show that the novel feeder 10 includes a pan means 21 for retaining and presenting delivered feed. This pan means 21 can be considered to include a central cone 22 and an adjacent inner portion 23, which here is oriented horizontally. A rising outer pan portion 24 leads to a steeper portion 25 and terminates in a pan rim 26.

A drop tube means 31 is adapted to extend from the conveyor 14 down into the pan 21. As can be envisioned from FIGS. 3-5, feed delivered by the conveyor 14 through a tube hole 19 falls down the interior of the drop tube assembly 31 and into the pan 21. Here, this drop tube assembly 31 terminates at a distal end 32. A skirt 33, of generally conical configuration, extends away from the main cylinder 36 of the drop tube means 31 to a skirt distal end 34. To minimize expense, the skirt 33 can be formed integral with the adjacent portions of the drop tube main cylinder 36.

A collar assembly 50 surrounds the drop tube 31, and is held above the pan 21 by grillwork 60. This grill means or grillwork 60 interconnects the collar 50 and pan means 21 so as to affix the collar 50 at a predetermined location above the pan. To this end, the grill means includes a plurality of spokes 62, 64, 66 extending outwardly from the collar, to a grill rim 68. The rim 68 interconnects the spokes at their outer end and continuously engages a mating rim 26 of the pan means 21.

In accordance with the invention, the illustrated feeder can be used to present feed to either immature poultry, or to older, larger, more mature birds. To accomplish this, a brood gate opening 40 is defined in the drop tube cylinder 36 above the drop tube means distal end 32 and above the top of the skirt 33. A relatively uniform quantity of feed can be provided around the entire circumference of the pan by defining two, three, or more feed brood gate openings in the drop tube means.

The drop tube means 31 is of sufficient vertical extent so that, when it is moved downwardly to a first non-pan-carrying position, the drop tube means distal end 32 and/or skirt means distal end 34 substantially engage the pan means 21, thereby inhibiting feed flow into the inner portion of the pan means from the bottom of the drop tube. Rather, feed is permitted to flow from the conveyor 14 through an upper interior portion 37 of the drop tube means 31, then out the exposed or unmasked brood gate opening 40, and then down the outside of the skirt means 33 to an outer pan area. By dispensing a relatively large amount of feed through the brood gate opening 40, the feed can be accumulated and displayed in the position and manner shown in FIG. 3 so that the immature poultry or chicks C can find it and consume it. Conveniently, this feeder configuration is obtained by permitting the pan 21 to rest on the poultry house floor F, and by permitting the drop tube 31 to slide down through the collar 50 so as to rest the distal ends 32 and 34 in the pan 21. As feed builds up in the pan 21, the brood gate opening 40 is covered; in this way, excessive feed delivery and buildup is discouraged, and feed wastage is inhibited.

After the chicks have grown for, say, five to ten days, they are able to reach interior portions of the feeder, and to obtain feed from even a slightly elevated pan. Accordingly, the drop tube 31 can be raised and the feeder automatically reconfigured for use by the more mature poultry. To reconfigure the feeder, the conveyor 14 is raised; here, this raising action is accomplished by drawing up the cables 42 and interconnecting hangars 43.

When the drop tube means 31 is raised into the second, pan-carrying positions shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the brood gate opening 40 is masked by the collar means 50 and the drop tube and skirt distal ends 32 and 34 are pulled away from the pan 21. Under these circumstances, a first gate opening G-1 is defined between the drop tube distal end 32 and the pan means 21, and a second feed flow gate G-2 is defined between the skirt means distal end 34 and the pan means 21. Feed is thus permitted to flow from the conveyor 14 through upper and lower interior portions of the drop tube 31, then past the drop tube distal end 32, past the skirt distal end 34, and into an inner pan means area where it can be reached for consumption by the relatively mature poultry.

To dependingly support the grillwork 60 and pan 21 above the floor F, and to provide the gates G-1 and G-2, the drop tube cylinder 36 is provided with a shoulder 37. When the drop tube assembly 31 is pulled up, this shoulder 37 engages a bottom interior corner 38 of the collar 50. In use, the pan means 21 can be conveniently located at least a small distance above the poultry house floor F, as can be envisioned by comparing FIGS. 4 and 5 with FIG. 3. In this way, relatively small amounts of feed can be dispensed and displayed for consumption by the relatively mature poultry P. These birds have learned to eat from the pan, of course, and the design of the feeder unit inhibits raking, tossing, and wasting the feed.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the poultry feeder and the feed gates G-1 and G-2 can be adjusted so as to best accommodate any of various types of feed being delivered to the older birds. For example, relatively moist feed can be somewhat sticky in its consistency, and can require relatively large feed gate openings to accommodate proper dispensation. On the other hand, relatively dry feed requires relatively small feed gate openings to offer dispensation in a proper manner. To this end, then, the collar assembly 50 surrounding the drop tube includes a first screw cam element 51, which here constitutes an outer grill collar ring. A second screw cam element 52 is adapted to loosely surround the drop tube means central cylinder 36, as especially shown in FIGS. 3-5 and 7. The lower corner 38 of this element 52 directly engages the drop tube shoulder 37 when the drop tube 31 is pulled upwardly. Projections 54, 55 on the second cam element 52 form a helical cam track or female screw thread of extended pitch which engages a mating helical male thread projection 56 formed on the first cam element 51. As can be envisioned by comparing FIGS. 4 and 5, relative motion between the first and second screw cam elements 51, 52 causes the pan 21 to move up or down relative to the drop tube 31 and its shoulder 37 and the distal ends 32, 34. This relative motion causes consequent adjustment in the sizes of the first gate G-1 and second gate G-2. In this way, the poultryman can adjust the amount of feed which is presented in the inner portion of the pan to the consuming, mature poultry. It has been found that a minimum gate space of about 1/2 inch and a maximum gate space of about 13/8 inch at the second gate G-2 provides a suitable variation so as to properly display and present a variety of types and amounts of feed. This gate variation is designed to accommodate variations in feed adhesive characteristics or consistency for a wide variety of feed formulations.

In carrying out the invention, the poultry husbandman can be provided with a clear indication of the gate settings. To do this, several reference numeral indicia can be applied around a collar top annular extension 57 adjacent the drop tube assembly 31 as shown in FIG. 6. An embossed indicator, such as an arrow symbol 58 can be formed on one of the spokes 62. By aligning the indicator 58 with a given indicia number on the collar 57, a feed gate space of known size can be provided.

To secure the screw cam elements in a selected given position, and consequently locate the feed gates G-1 and G-2 in desired positions or sizes, one or more embossments 59 can be formed on one of the screw cam elements 52, and a discrete series of mating recesses 69 can be formed on the other of the screw cam elements 51 to provide a more or less secure locking arrangement. When the embossments 59 and the recesses 69 are formed on confronting surfaces in the interior of the assembled screw cam 51, 52 as shown in FIG. 6, the arrangement minimizes the interference of dirt with the screw cam detent action.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the screw cam elements 51 and 52 are normally locked together, but the locked elements 51 and 52 can rotate freely about the encircled drop tube cylinder 36. Thus, the collar 50, grillwork 60 and pan 21 can rotate relative to the drop tube 31. If the poultry accidentally or intentionally cause this rotation, any feed bridges within the drop tube 31 or at the feed gates G-1 or G-2 can be broken, and temporarily pent-up feed will flow into the pan for consumption. A positive flow of feed is thus encouraged.

When the feeder is in use as shown in FIGS. 1-5, the grill rim 68 continuously engages the pan rim 26. To further discourage feed raking and tossing, an anti-rake grill rim extension 70 overlies the extreme outer portions of the pan 21. It is contemplated that the pan 21 and other feeder parts can be formed of a suitable resinous plastic such as Hercules 7523 polypropylene or Shell Chemical 7522 polypropylene by any of several known molding processes. By forming the anti-rake extension 70 on the grill rim 68, a difficult-to-accommodate undercut formation will be avoided in the pan molding design and process.

It is another feature of the invention that the feeder unit can be easily opened and cleaned after the flock has been removed from the poultry house. To this end, the pan 21 is provided with one or more slots 71 adjacent the pan rim 26, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. At one of these slots, a more or other convenient supplemental attachment 72 attaches the pan 21 to the grill rim 68 at but a single point. This permits the poultryman to raise the feeders from the floor, and pull or pivot the pan 21 away from the grill rim 68, as shown in FIG. 9. When the feeder is opened in this way, the unit can be easily, quickly and thoroughly cleaned.