Hog feeder

An improved animal self-feeder that has a feed reservoir vertically disposed above a trough and that has an intermediate feeding plate disposed between the reservoir and the trough. The self-feeder includes an outlet for discharging feed downwardly from the reservoir onto the intermediate feed plate from which the animal can feed or can knock the feed into the trough below to feed. The self-feeder further includes an agitation assembly for agitating the feed within the reservoir to enhance its flow through the outlet. The agitation assembly is rotationally mounted within the reservoir such that it is rotatable through a complete circle, or 360.degree.. In a preferred embodiment the present invention further includes a jack screw and crank for changing the elevation of the agitation assembly and feed plate.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to apparatus used to feed animals 
and in particular to the self-feeding type of feeders for hogs. 
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
There are many known designs of livestock self-feeders commercially 
available and patented. They typically include a feed reservoir disposed 
over a trough into which the feed is dropped from the reservoir. The feed 
used in these feeders is seldom free flowing and tends to clump in the 
reservoir outlets. To combat this, the feeders include some mechanism by 
which the self-feeding animals can agitate the feed to unclump it or to 
unclog the opening to cause the feed to drop from the reservoir into the 
trough. 
Much effort has been directed at developing a self-feeder for hogs in 
particular. Hogs tend to waste a large amount of feed if given the 
opportunity by knocking it onto the floor or ground as it exits the feed 
reservoir or from the feeder trough after it has fallen therein. The 
agitation devices utilized in these feeders tend to take the form of a rod 
that is swept from side to side by the hog's snout. Some feed naturally 
falls on the hog's snout when these devices are used and may then dropped 
onto the floor by the hog. 
It would be desirable to have a hog feeder that provided for a reduced 
amount of feed waste by the self-feeding hog and that could readily vary 
the amount of feed provided to the trough below to account for different 
sized hogs and differing feed rations. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved 
apparatus that is not subject to the foregoing disadvantages. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved 
self-feeder that allowed for reduced wastage of feed by the self-feeding 
animal. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved 
self-feeder that provides for adjustable dispensing of feed. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved 
animal self-feeder that enables an animal to feed at at least two 
vertically disposed heights. 
The foregoing objects of the present invention are provided by an improved 
animal self-feeder that has a feed reservoir vertically disposed above a 
trough and that has an intermediate feeding plate disposed between the 
reservoir and the trough. The self-feeder reservoir includes an outlet for 
discharging feed downwardly onto the intermediate feed plate from which 
the animal can feed or can knock the feed into the trough below to feed. 
The self-feeder further includes an agitation assembly disposed within the 
feed reservoir and actuatable by the self-feeding animal for agitating the 
feed within the reservoir to enhance its flow through the outlet. The 
agitation assembly includes a rod vertically disposed within the reservoir 
with an end thereof extending through the outlet into an attachment with 
the feed plate. The assembly further has at least one agitator bar that 
extends outwardly and downwardly from the top of the rod through the 
outlet into an attachment with the feed plate. The rod is rotationally 
mounted within the reservoir such that the rod and the attached feed plate 
are rotatable through a complete circle, or 360.degree.. 
In a preferred embodiment the top end of the rod is mounted to a u-shaped 
mounting bracket that is suspended over a pair of shelves projecting 
inwardly from opposing walls of the reservoir. The top end of the rod, 
which is threaded, is inserted through a synthetic bushing attached to the 
mounting bracket and attached thereto by means of a threaded fastener. The 
other, bottom, end is rotatably received by an appropriate aperture in the 
trough. 
The foregoing objects of the invention will become apparent to those 
skilled in the art when the following detailed description of the 
invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and 
claims. Throughout the drawings, like numerals refer to similar or 
identical parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 principally, it will be seen that an 
improved animal self-feeder 10 in accord with the present invention 
includes a pair of opposed end walls 12, 14, a pair of opposed side walls 
16, 18 extending between the end walls 12, 14, and a trough 20 also 
extending between the end walls 12, 14. End walls 12, 14 each have top 
ends 22, 24 and bottom ends 26, 28, respectively. Similarly, side walls 
16, 18, each have top ends 30, 32, and bottom ends 34, 36, respectively. 
Each side wall 16, 18 includes an upper upright or vertically oriented 
portion 38, 40, respectively, extending from the side wall top ends 30, 
32, respectively, downwardly. Each side wall 16, 18 further includes an 
inwardly sloping portion 42, 44 extending downwardly and inwardly from 
upright portion 38, 40, respectively. In other words, sloping or sloped 
portions 42 and 44 of side walls 16, 18 respectively, slope towards the 
center of the feeder 10; that is, towards each other. Each side wall 16, 
18 continues downward from the termination of the sloped portions 42, 44, 
respectively with a lower upright or vertically oriented portion 46, 48, 
respectively. Side walls 16, 18 terminate slightly below the midpoint of 
the height of the end walls 12, 14. The side end walls 12, 14 and the side 
walls 16, 18 cooperate to define a feed reservoir 50 having a rectangular 
configuration when viewed from the top, the reservoir being provided to 
store feed for the self-feeding animal. 
Reservoir 50 includes at least one outlet 52 for the discharge of feed 
placed within the reservoir by the farmer. As best seen in the FIGS. 1, 2, 
and 5, each outlet 52 has a substantially square cross section in a plane 
lying perpendicular to a plane defined by the planar end walls 12, 14. 
That is, rod 72 defines an elongate axis and the outlets 52 each have a 
square cross section in a plane lying perpendicular to the rod elongate 
axis. Thus, each outlet has four planar sides 54. The outlets 52 may 
comprise separately assembled units that are then fastened in any known 
appropriate manner to the sloped portions 42, 44 of side walls 16, 18. The 
feed reservoir 50 further includes at least one inverted V-shaped divider 
56. The dividers 56 provide sloped surfaces for feed flow. Feed within the 
reservoir 50 is thus directed by the sloped portions 42, 44 of side walls 
16, 18 and the sloped surfaces 58 of the dividers 56. The dividers 56 are 
disposed between two adjacent feed outlets 52. If desired, a single sloped 
surface 58 may be provided that extends inwardly from the end walls, such 
as the surface 58 seen in FIG. 1 extending inwardly from end wall 14, to 
direct feed from the outer area of the reservoir into the outermost 
discharge outlets 52. 
Trough 20 as shown in the embodiment of the present invention illustrated 
herein has a pair of ends attached to the end walls 12, 14, and includes a 
pair of elongate basins 60, 62 (FIG. 2) having substantially hemispheric 
cross sections disposed side by side and extending the length of the 
feeder 10 between the end walls 12, 14. Trough 20 is preferably 
manufactured from a single piece of material but may be formed from two 
separate basins that are then joined together in any appropriate known 
manner. The basins define a ridge 64 that extends the length thereof 
between the end walls 12, 14. 
The feeder 10 further includes and agitation assembly 70 to be hereafter 
described. Because certain feeds, such as ground whole ear corn, tend to 
clump easily and because all feeds tend to clump when damp or wet, there 
is a tendency for the feed to clog or otherwise block the outlet. It is 
usually necessary to provide the self-feeding animal with some mechanism 
from agitating or stirring the feed held within the reservoir 50 to 
unclump the feed and to keep it flowing through the outlet. An agitation 
assembly 70 is therefore preferably provided for each outlet 2. Thus, 
assembly 70 includes an elongate rod 72 having a rod top end 74 and a rod 
bottom end 76 (FIG. 2). Rod 72 is mounted for full rotation, that is, a 
complete circle or 360.degree., within reservoir 50 substantially along 
the longitudinal centerline thereof. 
As best seen in FIGS. 1-3, a mounting bracket 78 is suspended within the 
feed reservoir 50. Mounting bracket 78 has the configuration of a u-shaped 
bar and is disposed within the reservoir in an inverted position. A pair 
of shelves 80 are attached to the end walls 12, 14, near the top ends 22, 
24, respectively. The inverted u-shaped mounting bracket is supported by 
shelves 80. That is, the u-shaped mounting bar is suspended over the 
shelves 80 such that the sides of the bar 78 depend downwardly and such 
that the u-shaped bar is supported thereby. As best seen in FIG. 3, each 
shelf 80 may be a u-shaped piece of material attached to the inner surface 
of the end walls 12, 14 in any known appropriate manner. Mounting bracket 
78 includes at least one through hole 82 extending therethrough. The top 
end 74 of the rod 72 is extended therethrough. As shown, the top end is 
preferably threaded to receive a threaded fastener 84 and thus suspend the 
rod 72 from the mounting bracket 78. If desired, a bushing 86 may be 
disposed within the recess 88 formed between the arms of the u-shaped 
mounting bracket 78. If used, bushing 86 would also include a through hole 
90 through which the rod 72 would extend. The bushing 86 may be attached 
to the mounting bracket 78 in any known, appropriate manner, including the 
use of threaded fasteners 92 as shown in FIG. 3. The weight of the 
suspended agitation assemblies 70 on the mounting bracket 78 functions to 
keep the mounting bracket in place relative to shelves 80. 
As noted, each rod 72 extends through its respective outlet 52 and into 
engagement with a feed plate 94. Feed plate 94 may be attached to rod 72 
in any known appropriate manner including welding, brazing or soldering, 
depending upon the type of material out of which both parts are made. Rod 
72 extends through feed plate 94 such that its bottom end 76 is 
rotationally received within a recess or through hole 96 in ridge 64. To 
facilitate the free rotation of the rod 72, a bushing 98 may be disposed 
within the ridge through hole 96 and the bottom end 76 of rod 72 passed 
therethrough in the manner shown in FIG. 1. 
Each feed plate 94 is suspended below its respective outlet 52 and above 
trough 20. The feed plate as shown has a hexagonal configuration and 
includes a central, substantially planar portion 100 through which rod 72 
passes and an upwardly turned perimeter 102. In this manner, feed that 
flows through the outlet 52 drops first onto the feed plate 94, which 
serves as an intermediate feed platform for the animal. Because of the 
upturned perimeter 102 the feed is generally retained on the feed plate 
94. The self-feeding animal can eat off the plate or can knock the feed 
off the feed plate 94 into the trough 20 below from which it can then 
feed. The present invention therefore provides two vertically separated 
sites for the animal to feed, which helps to eliminate waste since the 
animal has a first chance to eat off the upper feed plate 94 and the 
trough 20 catches feed that may be spilled from the feed plate 94. 
Each agitator assembly 70 further preferably includes at least one agitator 
bar 104 having top and bottom ends 106 and 108 respectively. The top end 
106 is affixed to the rod 72 near the top end thereof while the bottom end 
108 is affixed to the feed plate 94. As illustrated the top end may be 
welded to the rod 72 while the bottom end 108 may be removably bolted to 
the feed plate 94, though other known means of attaching two such parts 
together may be used with the present invention. Agitator bar 104 includes 
an outwardly and downwardly extending portion 110 and a downwardly 
extending portion 112. Each agitator bar 104 thus extends through the 
outlet 52 substantially parallel to but spaced from rod 72. As shown in 
the Figures, two opposed agitator bars 104 are attached to each rod 72, 
though more could be used if desired. If additional agitator bars are 
used, they are preferably spaced substantially equidistant from each other 
circumferentially about rod 72. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 in particular, it will be seen that the present 
invention further includes a means for raising and lowering the mounting 
bracket 78, and thus the attached rods 72, feed plates 94, and agitator 
bars 104, to control the amount of feed dispensed from the reservoir 50 
through the outlets 52. That is, by changing the elevation of the feed 
plate 94 so as to raise it closer to the bottom 114 of the outlet 52, the 
vertical opening therebetween in reduced, which constrains the ability of 
the feed to flow freely. Thus, as seen in the Figures, a pair of jack 
screws 116 are provided with the jack screws 116 being located on opposite 
ends of the mounting bracket 78. Jack screw 116 includes a threaded 
fastener or passage 118 that is a part of or otherwise affixed to the top 
surface of the mounting bracket 78. Jack screw 116 further includes a 
crank 120 having a threaded shaft 122 that threadably engages the threaded 
fastener 118. The end 124 of the threaded shaft 122 engages the top 
surface 126 of the shelf 80. By rotating the crank 120, then, the operator 
can turn the threaded shaft into and out of the fastener 118 as desired, 
thereby increasing the distance between the mounting bracket 78 and the 
shelf (raising the feed plate 94) or decreasing the distance (lowering the 
feed plate 94), respectively. 
Further features of the present invention include one or more water nipples 
130 as desired and as known in the art that are connected by a hose 132 to 
an outside source of water 134. Additionally, braces 136 may be provided 
to provide additional support to the side walls 16, 18 as well as to 
divide the trough longitudinally into separate feeding areas to help 
eliminate or reduce fighting among feeding animals. Additionally, and as 
best seen in FIG. 2, the present invention as illustrated contemplates a 
feeder accessible to animals along either of its longitudinally extending 
sides, though the present invention could be constructed so as to be 
accessible from only one side. 
In operation, a feeding animal such as a hog can engage the feed plate 94 
with its snout and rotate the feed plate and the attached agitator bars 
104 through a complete circle. The hexagonal configuration of the feed 
plate 94 facilitates the ability of the animal to rotate the agitation 
assembly because it provides a sufficient number of edges that the animal 
may engage with its snout. Additionally, because the agitation assembly 70 
is not fixed vertically, the animal can lift up on the feed plate 94 to 
provide agitation of the feed in the reservoir in all three dimensions. 
Known agitation assemblies will not function with the present apparatus 
because they provide insufficient agitation for the feed flowing through 
the square outlets. 
The present invention having thus been described, other modifications, 
alterations, or substitutions may now suggest themselves to those skilled 
in the art, all of which are within the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention be limited 
only by the scope of the attached claims below.