FOWL FEEDER

Abstract: A fowl feeder of the type formed by a plate member with a spider members supported on a central tubular body member hanging vertically from the feed conveyor tube, which, unlike the known feeders in which the means for regulating the supply of feed to the plate member are complicated to handle, some requiring the raising or lowering of the conveyor tube and being, in general, easily thrown out of adjustment, the means comprised in the present feeder are constituted by two sleeve members, an upper one (21) from which the spider member (24) and the plate member (18) are suspended and which is capable of rotation on the tubular body member (1) while being supported on an upper step (21′) and opening the passage with lower lateral flared outlets (21″) to lateral openings (20) of the tubular body member (1), and a lower one (12) which is vertically movable on said body member (1), the height thereof over the plate member being regulated by operation of a pawl (15) pivotably attached to the sleeve member (12) and engaging a rack means (11) provided on the tubular body (1).

Description: The invention relates to a fowl feeder providing notable improvements and advantages over the known fowl feeders. One of the main drawbacks of the known feeders, which are generally formed by a plate member removably attached to an upper spider member formed with radial arms which is supported on a central tubular body member hanging vertically from a feed conveyor tube, is to be found in the means for depositing a suitably controlled amount of feed falling through the tubular body member on the plate member. Certain feeders are provided for such control with a sleeve member which may slide on the lower portion of the tubular body member and is adjustable in height to leave a greater or smaller passage between it and the bottom of the plate member such as the one being the object of USA Patent no. 3,811,412. For the same purpose, others are provided with two mutually threaded collars, the outer one of which holds the spider member and the plate member and the inner one moves vertically on the tubular body member depending on whether the latter is raised or not by the elevation or otherwise of the conveyor tube from which it hangs. Such raising or lowering causes the feed to be deposited on the plate member through the open lower end of the tubular body member or through openings in the side wall thereof, with the tubular body member comprising a shoulder on which, in the raised position, the inner collar is locked, closing the lateral openings and separating the plate member from the open lower end of the tubular body member so that the feed may pass therethrough, the gap being controlled by manipulation of the collars. As example of this kind of feeders is the one being the object of European Patent no. 0105571. The first named feeders have the drawback that the slinding sleeve member is attached to the tubular body member with a somehow easily deformable relatively fragile spring ring and those named in the second place have the drawback of it being necessary to raise or lower them by way of the conveyor tube, which drawback is aggravated in the raised position since, with the feeder being suspended and the feed flowing in through the lower portion of the tubular body member, the passage, the adjustment of which is effected by way of a screw thread, may be closed when the plate member is caused to rotate by the blows that the fowl may produce with their beating wings. The above drawbacks and problems and others that may arise therefrom are overcome with the feeder of the invention, since the central tubular body member comprises means for regulating the supply of feed to the plate member which are easy to operate, highly reliable and may not be disadjusted, since it is not necessary to have the whole unit suspended to allow the feed to enter through one passage or the other and, even, both may be open. To this end, the feeder of the invention comprises two sleeve members mounted on the tubular body member, a demountable upper one on which the spider member is integrally supported, said sleeve member being supported in turn on the tubular body member by way of respective steps allowing it to rotate to close or open the lateral openings of the tubular body member by placing lower flared outlets of the sleeve member in register therewith. The other, lower sleeve member is the one which fits snugly to the plate member or is separated therefrom, allowing through the feed falling from the open end of the tubular body member, said passage being regulated by hand operation of a pawl which, pivotably attached to the sleeve, engages a rack member on the tubular body member. A further improvement is the attachment of the spider member to the plate member, allowing the latter to be easily removed for cleaning, to which end the lower ring, the larger of the two with which the radially armed spider member is provided, is inverted U-shaped for engagement on the similarly shaped edge of the plate member, the spider member ring comprising wide lower L-shaped tabs which are inserted in apertures in the plate member edge so that, when the latter is rotated, they move to a narrower portion of said openings which will lock the engagement. A further feature obtained with the new feeder embodiment is that the central tubular body member may be fully closed by abutting the lower sleeve member against the plate member and closing the lateral apertures of said body member with the upper sleeve member, whereby certain ones of the feeder units may be taken out of service, thereby avoiding the loss of food. These and further features will be better understood from the following detailed description, accompanied by two sheets of drawings in which there is illustrated one embodiment of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation view, partly in cross section, of the feeder of the invention; Figure 2 is a detail in plan view along the line II-II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the engagement means of the spider member with the plate member; Figure 4 is an elevation cross section view, on a larger scale, of the same engagement means along the line IV-IV of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is an elevation view of the tubular body member rotated 90° relative to Figure 1, with the engagement means of the upper sleeve member and spider member in section. According to the figures, the fowl feeder shown comprises a vertical tubular body member 1, terminated at the top end thereof with a channel 2 (see Figure 5) adapted to receive the feed conveyor tube 3, from which it hangs when there is mounted thereon a head member 4 having an internal channel-shaped portion disposed on the tube 3, and which comprises at both sides at the bottom end thereof hook-shaped arms 5 which engage the shoulders 6 formed by projections 7 from the inner walls of the upper open end of the body member 1, with the arms 5 comprising reinforcement ribs (not shown) which pass between the projections 7 and guide the arms 5 into engagement thereof with the shoulders 6. The head member 4 is terminated at the upper end thereof with a coupling means 8 for the cable 9 which is electrified to prevent the birds from roosting on the feed conveyor tube 3. The said tubular body member 1 is provided externally thereof on the bottom half of the generatrix thereof with a guide member 10 comprising a rack means 11. A sleeve member 12 having a channel 13 sliding on the said guide member 10 (Figures 1 and 5) is movable on the abovementioned portion of the tubular body member 1, with said channel 13 having an aperture 14 through which the leading end of a pawl 15 is inserted. The pawl 15 is pivotably mounted between two lugs 16 of the sleeve member 12. The lugs 16 are arranged on each side of the aperture 14, above which there is mounted an upwardly sloping transverse lug 17 which, in combination with the operating end of the pawl 15, allows manual operation of the pawl for retaining the sleeve member 12 at the desired height. The pawl 15 comprises a resilient tab 15′ which extends from the pivoting line of the pawl on the lugs 16 and holds the pawl engaged in the rack means 11. For which purpose, the free end thereof bears against the upper outer portion of the channel 13 passing through an aperture in the lug 17. The height adjustment points for the sleeve member 12, which provide a larger or smaller separation thereof from the plate member 18, are marked by corresponding numbers 19 aligned stepwise or vertically on the outer wall of the tubular body member 1, the corresponding number being underlined by the edge of the open upper end of the sleeve member 12. The feed is delivered between the open lower end 12′ of the sleeve member and the upwardly extending conical protuberance 18′ provided in the centre of the plate member 18, the lower end of the sleeve member 12 being provided with a conical skirt member 12″ protecting the feed delivery area from being pecked by the birds. The tubular body member 1 is provided, at the upper end thereof, with two opposite apertures 20 through which the feed may optionally be caused to fall into the plate member 18. The delivery of the feed through said apertures forms a higher level thereof on the plate member 18 and allows the chicks or young birds easily to get out of the plate member where they have to enter to gain access to the feed. A second sleeve member 21 is rotatably mounted on the upper half of the tubular body member 1 and is maintained in this region by a step-like circular narrowing 21′ of the open upper end thereof, which bears on a corresponding step of the tubular body member 1. The sleeve member 21 comprises from the mid-portion to the open lower end thereof two opposite lateral flared outlets 21″ of U section which, when in register with the apertures 20 allow the feed to flow through and guide it towards the plate member 18. The front protection of the apertures 20 prevents the chicks from being able to obtain feed from inside the tubular body member 1 or even get inside the the body member, where they could be injured or asphyxiated when the feeder is raised or when feed is delivered. A tooth 22 (Figure 2), provided on the outside of a portion of the tubular body member 1 which is partly cut away to make it resilient and suitably reinforced on the inside with ribs 22′, is optionally inserted in one or the other of two slits 23, provided in the sleeve member 21, when said sleeve member is rotated, whereby the apertures 20 are opened or closed. To facilitate the operation, the rotation is caused by moving the protective spider member 24 with which the feeder is completed and which supports the plate member 18. The spider member 24 is formed by an upper ring 25 from which there extend a plurality of radial arms 26 allowing the birds' heads through. Said arms 26 are attached to a further lower concentric larger diameter ring 27 which is removably attached to the rim 28 of the plate member 18. The upper ring 25 snugly fits around the upper portion of the sleeve member 21 and comprises an upper double stepped portion which bears on the open upper end and on the step 21′ of said sleeve member. A vertically extending protrusion 29 on the generatrix of the sleeve member 21 which is inserted in key-like fashion in a channel 30 of the ring 25 allows the spider member 24 to be operated to cause the sleeve member 21 to rotate. The latter comprises a shoulder 31 on the edge of the open upper end thereof which indicates whether the apertures 20 are open or not, depending on whether it points to one or the other of two marks 32 provided on the tubular body member 1. The lower ring 27 of the spider member 24 which has an inverted U shape, like the rim 28 of the plate member 18, but of a larger size (Figures 3 and 4), is mounted thereon and covers it, with wide downwardly extending L-shaped tabs 33 equidistantly spaced around the ring 27 penetrating in respective apertures 34 of said rim 28. Thus when the plate member is rotated, said tabs slide sideways towards narrowed portions 34′ of the apertures 34, thereby preventing the removal of the tabs 33 and holding the spider member and plate member in place. Projections 28′ under the rim 28 in the proximity of the narrowed portions 34′ prevent, since a further upper projection 33′ of the horizontal portion of the tabs 33, is located between said projections 28′, the blows received from the birds' beating wings from disconnecting the ring, and assist in the perfect coupling of the plate member and the spider member, which may be easily separated by hand for cleaning.

Claims: 1. A fowl feeder, of the type formed by a plate member (18) removably attached to the larger, lower ring (27) of a spider member (24) formed by radial arms (26) which connect said ring to a smaller, upper ring (25) supported on a tubular body member (1) hanging vertically from a conveyor tube (3) for the feed which falls through said tubular body member (1) and is deposited on the plate member (18) after the supply thereof has been regulated by means carried by the tubular body member (1), the upper portion of the tubular body member (1) comprises lateral apertures (20) allowing feed to fall on the plate member (18) to a higher level and the passage of which is closed by a sleeve member (21), characterised essentially in that one of said means is formed by said sleeve member (21) comprising a circular upper step (21′) with which it is supported on a further step of the upper portion of the tubular body member (1) and, said passage being opened when lower lateral flared outlets (21″) of the sleeve member (21) are placed in register with said apertures (20), said flaring preventing the chicks from having access to the latter, the said tubular body member (1) comprising, on the outside thereof, for retaining the open and closed positions of said apertures (20), a tooth (22) which, with the surroundings partially cut away to provide resilience, is inserted in one or the other of two slits (23) of the sleeve member (21) when the latter is caused to rotate by operation of the spider member (24), the upper ring (25) of which is supported on the tubular body member (1), by way of a double upper circular shoulder bearing on the step (21′) and the upper edge of the sleeve member (21) and forming an integral member therewith by way of a vertical protrusion (29) of said sleeve member which is inserted in a channel (30) of the spider member ring (25). 2. The fowl feeder of claim 1, characterised in that the larger, lower ring (27) of the spider member (24) is provided with an inverted U-shaped section for mounting on the also inverted U-shaped rim (28), with said ring (27) comprising equidistantly spaced apart lower wide L-shaped tabs (33) which are inserted in corresponding apertures (34) of the rim (28) and which extend laterally in further narrower apertures (34′) so that when the plate member (18) is caused to rotate the vertical portions of the tabs (33) pass therethrough, thereby locking the coupling of the plate member to the spider member, with the aid of lower projections (28′) of the portions of rim (28) adjacent the narrow openings (34′) and a further upper projection (33′) provided on the horizontal portions of the tabs (33) of the ring (27), the upper projection being located between the lower ones, this arrangement preventing accidental release of the coupling between the spider member and the plate member because of the blows that the fowl may give them when flapping their wings around the feeder. 3. The fowl feeder of claim 1, characterised in that a second sleeve member (12) vertically movably mounted on the lower half of the tubular body member (1) and forming the other means for regulating the supply of feed to the plate member (18), comprises a vertical channel (13) which slides on a vertically extending guide member (10) of the tubular body member (1), which is provided with a toothed rack-like means (11) resiliently engaged by a pawl (15) for retaining the sleeve member (12) at different heights, said pawl (15) being pivotably mounted between two external lugs (16) of the sleeve member (12) and being inserted therethrough in an aperture (14) of the channel (13), being manually released, with said second sleeve member (12) determining complete closure of the tubular body member when desired on being snugly engaged with the plate member (18) and when the upper sleeve member (21) closes the lateral apertures (20) of said tubular body member (1). 4. The fowl feeder of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the upper ring (25) of the spider member (24) comprises a shoulder (31) on the open upper end thereof which is placed in register, depending on the position of the ring (25), with one or the other of two marks on the upper outer portion of the tubular body member (1), showing whether the lateral feed supply apertures (20) of said tubular body (1) are open or closed. 5. The fowl feeder of claims 1 and 3, characterised in that the tubular body member (1) is provided on the outer wall thereof with markings (19) extending vertically or obliquely which indicate the adjustment of the passage of the feed below said sleeve member (12) when the top edge of said sleeve member (12) underlines one of them. 6. The fowl feeder of claim 1, characterised in that the tubular body member (1) is hung from the feed conveyor tube (3) after the upper channel-like portion (2) and the lower channel-like portion of a head member (4) provided with lower hook-shaped arms (5) which are inserted suitably guided in the open upper end of the tubular body member (1), engaging corresponding inner shoulders (6) thereof, have been engaged around said tube.

Inventors: FRANCO TARAZAGA, JOSE C/O (TIGSA), ROVIRA BADIA, ANTONIO C/O (TIGSA), Franco Tarazaga, José c/o (TIGSA)
Applicants: TECNICA E INNOVACIONES GANADERAS, S.A. (TIGSA)
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A01K39
IPC codes: A01K39