Abstract:
An animal feeder includes a hopper above a shelf onto which feed can fall to be taken by the animal or dropped into a trough below the shelf. The height of the shelf is adjustable in a course movement to move the shelf from a low height for smaller animals to a raised height for the animal after they have grown. The shelf is also adjustable in fine movement to change the width of the opening through which the feed passes to control feed rate. The shelf is carried on straps which extend along the end walls of the hopper and are movable by an adjustment linkage defined by a plate carried on the end wall and a manually adjustable lever mounted for pivotal movement on the plate. The lever has two pivot positions on the plate providing the two course adjustments and two graduated scales for the fine adjustment each cooperating with a respective pivot position.

Description:
This invention relates to an animal feeder with an adjustable feed discharge opening thus adjusting the amount of feed which is allowed to pass through the opening. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various arrangements of animal feeder are provided in which there is a trough into which feed can be deposited from a hopper above the trough. In most cases the feed material to be deposited can vary in particle size and viscosity so that it is often desirable to provide an arrangement which allows an adjustment of the opening through which the material can feed from the hopper into the trough. 
     In many cases the opening is provided by a simple shutter at the gap between the Hopper and the trough where the height of the shutter can be adjusted to vary the gap at the bottom of the shutter. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,508 (Kleinsasser) issued Apr. 28, 1987 is disclosed a feeder which provides a shelf above the trough with the hopper discharging onto the shelf in a manner so that the feed remains on the shelf but can be moved from the shelf to the trough by the animal as required. Feeders of this type have achieved significant commercial success. Adjustment of the height of the shelf is necessary for the purpose of accommodating different types of feed and different feed rates and this is obtained by a hand crank screw which operates with a threaded nut to raise and lower a strap carrying the shelf. The screw is used in adjustment of this device because the deposit of the feed onto the self requires an accurate adjustment of the distance between the shelf and the bottom edge of the hopper so that cruder systems with a less fine adjustment have been rejected. 
     In a number of US patents it is known to provide relatively crude adjustment techniques. For example the following patents provide adjustment devices; U.S. Pat. No. 1,719,245 (Smidley) issued Jul. 2, 1929, U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,360 (Nelson) issued Jan. 5, 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,985 (Freeborn) issued Jan. 6, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,049 (Van Dusseldorp) issued Jul. 14, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,274 (Pannier) issued Sep. 28, 1982, U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338 (Thibault) issued Jul. 31, 1984, U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,787 (Clark) issued Jun. 25, 2002. 
     It is also known to provide arrangements in which adjustment in a relatively crude manner is effected by selecting one of a plurality of holes in which to locate the pin of an adjustment lever so that the adjustment is effected step by step. As the holes must be necessarily a certain distance apart, such an adjustment provides a relatively crude distance of adjustment so that the fine tuning necessary for determining the specific dimensions of an opening to accurately control the rate of flow of feed material is not possible in such a system. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,368 (Bondarenko) issued Oct. 28, 2003. This provides a link which extends along one end wall of a feeder and a lever can be moved to place a pin into a selected one of a number of holes in the end wall. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,285 of Kleinsasser issued Feb. 18, 1997 of the present assignees discloses a further similar device where additional adjustment of the height of the shelf is possible but again fine adjustment is provided by a screw. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,083 also of Kleinsasser issued Oct. 19, 1999 of the present assignees discloses a further similar device where additional adjustment of the height of the shelf is possible by extending the strap using a double flap arrangement which folds up or down as required to extend the length of the strap but again fine adjustment is provided by a screw. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,142 also of Kleinsasser issued Aug. 2, 2005 of the present assignees shows an arrangement which includes a hopper above a shelf onto which feed can fall to be taken by the animal or dropped into a trough below the shelf. The height of the shelf is adjustable to change the width of the opening through which the feed passes to control feed rate. The shelf is carried on straps which extend along the end walls of the hopper and are movable by an adjustment linkage defined by a plate carried on the end wall and a manually adjustable lever mounted for pivotal movement on the plate. The plate has an arcuate outer edge which is serrated to define an arcuate row of saw teeth and the lever is formed by a flat of sheet material which lies in a plane parallel to and slides over the plate and includes a portion thereof which is bent out of a plane of the lever into the plane of the plate which is also serrated with a row of saw teeth shaped to mesh with the saw teeth of the arcuate portion. The portion of the lever is movable in a direction away from the plate a non-meshing position in which the lever is free to move around the pivot axis. 
     However this arrangement is provided for fine adjustment of the shelf relative to the bottom edge of the hopper over a limited extent so as to control the release of the feed and the larger adjustment for setting the basic height of the shelf is carried out using the folding flap arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,083 above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is one object of the invention to provide an improved feeder which allows rapid course adjustment of the height of a shelf between two or more positions and also provides fine adjustment of the opening at each of the course positions to allow a measured amount of feed. 
     According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an animal feeder comprising: 
     a hopper for containing a feed material to be dispensed to an animal for feeding therefrom; 
     a receptacle for receiving the feed from the hopper from which the animal can take the feed; 
     the hopper having components of the hopper which co-operate with the receptacle to define an opening through which the feed passes from the hopper to the receptacle so that the amount of feed discharged from the hopper to the receptacle is controlled by a width of the opening; 
     the receptacle and the components being mounted for course height adjustment movement between a lowered position of the receptacle and the components for animals when they are at a smaller size and at least one raised position of the receptacle and the components for the animals when they have grown to a larger size; 
     one of the receptacle and the components being mounted for fine height adjustment movement to control the width of the opening at both the lowered position and at said least one raised position; 
     and an adjustment linkage for operating course height adjustment movement and fine height adjustment movement of said one of the receptacle and the components, the linkage including: 
     a manually adjustable lever; 
     a link connected to the lever and to an element of the opening such that movement of the lever causes longitudinal movement of the link to effect adjustment of the opening; 
     a support for the lever such that the lever is pivotal relative to the support to cause movement off the lever to effect the movement of the link; 
     the lever being movable relative to the support between a first position defining said lowered position of the receptacle and the components and said at least one second position defining said at least one raised position of the receptacle and the components; 
     in each of the first position and said at least one second position the lever being pivotally adjustable relative to the support to cause said fine adjustment movement. 
     Preferably there are only two graduated scales for two pivot positions of the lever for fine adjustment at two course adjusted positions. However but this can increased simply by adding more pivot positions each associated with a graduated scale on an opposite side of the plate. 
     It is preferred that the adjustment of the link moves the shelf and the hopper height is adjusted by adding an insert piece which enters between the sides of the bottom neck of the hopper. However the link can adjust the hopper edge with eth shelf being adjusted manually. 
     Preferably the lever is movable relative to the support between the first position defining said lowered position of the receptacle and the components and the second position defining the raised position of the receptacle and the components by movement of a pivot point of the lever relative to the support. 
     Preferably the pivot point of the lever is moved by lifting the lever off a first pivot pin and moving the lever to a second pivot pin. 
     Preferably the lever co-operates in the fine adjustment movement with a graduated scale on the support. 
     Preferably there is provided on the support a first graduated scale for co-operation with the lever in the first position and at least one second graduated scale for co-operation with the lever in said at least one second position. 
     Preferably the first graduated scale is provided on one side of the support and said at least one second graduated scale on a second opposed side of the support and the pivot point of the lever is rotated in movement from the first position to the second position from one side of the support to the second side of the support. 
     Preferably the support comprises a plate defining a surface over which the lever moves, the surface defining an arcuate portion lying on an arc of a circle surrounding the pivot axis of the lever with the graduated scale being located on an edge of the arcuate portion. 
     Preferably the arcuate portion of the surface is serrated to define an arcuate row of saw teeth, the lever has a lever edge which is also serrated with a row of saw teeth shaped to mesh with the saw teeth of the arcuate portion and the lever is movable from a meshing position to a non-meshing position in which the lever is free to move around the pivot axis to move the lever and the teeth thereof along the arcuate row of saw teeth to adjust the position of the link. 
     Preferably the plate lies in a radial plane of the pivot axis and the arcuate row of teeth are located on an edge of the plate. 
     Preferably the edge of the plate is an outer edge facing radially outwardly of the axis. 
     Preferably the lever is formed by a flat of sheet material which lies in a plane parallel to and slides over the plate and wherein the lever includes a portion thereof which is bent out of a plane of the lever into the plane of the plate and carries the row of saw teeth of the lever on an edge thereof. 
     Preferably the lever is movable in a direction axial of the pivot axis to move the row of teeth thereof axially away from the plate. 
     Preferably the link is connected to the lever by a pin which is slidable in a slot in the support and the pin carries a spring which biases the lever into engagement with the support into said meshing position and which is compressible to allow movement of the lever to the non-meshing position and to allow movement of the lever between the first and second positions. 
     Preferably the support is mounted on an end wall of the hopper parallel to and spaced from the end wall. 
     Preferably the link comprises a strap located between the plate and the end wall. 
     Preferably there is provided a trough into which the feed can fall and wherein the receptacle comprises a shelf mounted above the trough arranged so that the animal can take feed from the shelf or can move the feed from the shelf to the trough. 
     Preferably the link is connected to the shelf for adjustment of the height thereof relative to a bottom edge of the hopper defining the opening therebetween. 
     According to a second more specific definition of the invention there is provided an animal feeder comprising: 
     a hopper for containing a feed material to be dispensed to an animal for feeding therefrom; 
     a shelf for receiving the feed from the hopper from which the animal can take the feed; 
     the hopper having components of the hopper which co-operate with the shelf to define an opening through which the feed passes from the hopper to the shelf so that the amount of feed discharged from the hopper to the shelf is controlled by a width of the opening; 
     the shelf being mounted for course height adjustment movement between a lowered position of the shelf for animals when they are at a smaller size and a raised position of the shelf for the animals when they have grown to a larger size; 
     the shelf being mounted for fine height adjustment movement to control the width of the opening at both the lowered position and the raised position; 
     and an adjustment linkage for operating course height adjustment movement and fine height adjustment movement of the shelf, the linkage including: 
     a manually adjustable lever; 
     a link connected to the lever and to the shelf such that movement of the lever causes longitudinal movement of the link to effect height adjustment of the shelf; 
     a support for the lever such that the lever is pivotal relative to the support to cause movement off the lever to effect the movement of the link; 
     the lever being movable relative to the support between a first position defining said lowered position of the shelf and said second position defining said raised position of the shelf; 
     in each of the first position and said at least one second position the lever being pivotally adjustable relative to the support to cause said fine adjustment movement. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided an animal feeder comprising: 
     a hopper for containing a feed material to be dispensed to an animal for feeding therefrom; 
     a shelf for receiving the feed from the hopper from which the animal can take the feed; 
     the hopper having components of the hopper which co-operate with the shelf to define an opening through which the feed passes from the hopper to the shelf so that the amount of feed discharged from the hopper to the shelf is controlled by a width of the opening; 
     the shelf being mounted for course height adjustment movement between a lowered position of the shelf for animals when they are at a smaller size and a raised position of the shelf for the animals when they have grown to a larger size; 
     the shelf being mounted for fine height adjustment movement to control the width of the opening at both the lowered position and the raised position; 
     and an adjustment linkage for operating course height adjustment movement and fine height adjustment movement of the shelf; 
     wherein the hopper includes a lower pivotal flap member extending along the hopper and arranged to move from a raised position to a lowered position in which it provides said components of the hopper which co-operate with the shelf in the lowered position of the shelf. 
     Preferably the hopper in the raised position of the flap member has a bottom edge which co-operates with the shelf in the raised position of the shelf and wherein the pivotal flap member moves from the raised position exposing the bottom edge to the lowered position in which the flap member extends downwardly from the bottom edge to define said components. 
     Preferably the pivotal flap member is mounted at each end on a pair of pivot levers pivotally connected to an end wall of the feeder. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view through a feeder according to the present invention showing the shelf in the raised position for larger animals. 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevational view on an enlarged scale of the adjustment mechanism of  FIG. 1  showing the shelf in the lowered position for smaller animals. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view on an enlarged scale of the adjustment mechanism of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a vertical cross sectional view on an enlarged scale of the adjustment mechanism of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a vertical cross sectional view showing on an enlarged scale an adjustment flap member for defining a bottom edge of the hopper in the lowered position of the shelf in the feeder of  FIG. 1 , the flap member being shown in the raised position. 
         FIG. 6  is a vertical cross sectional view similar to that of  FIG. 5  showing the flap member in the raised position. 
     
    
    
     In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The feeder shown herein is similar in construction to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,142 of the present inventor, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     The feeder shown herein also uses an insert piece similar in construction to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,083 of the present inventor, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     A feeder is generally indicated at  10  and includes a hopper  11  and a trough  12 . The trough is connect to the hopper by end walls  13  so as to form an integral structure with generally open top  14  through which feed can be inserted for containing in the hopper and for discharge into the trough  12  for feeding by one or more animals. In the embodiment shown there is provided a shelf  15  with a generally horizontal surface  16 , an upturned edge  17  and a downwardly turned lip  18  all of which are substantially as described in the above patents of Kleinsasser. Further details of the structure therefore can be obtained by reference to the above patents so that no further detailed description is necessary herein. A water supply  19  into the trough can be provided under controlled operation or operation by the animal as is known in the above patents. 
     The shape and arrangement of the hopper and trough can be varied and can provide either a two sided structure as shown or a single sided structure. 
     The height of the shelf relative to the end wall of the hopper is adjusted by raising straps  20  where each strap is arranged at a respective end of the shelf and lies along the end wall  13  parallel to the end wall. The strap is raised and lowered by a lever  21  which can be connected to a support plate  22  by on either a first pivot pin  23  or a second pivot pin  23 A. The support plate  22  includes an upper mounting flange  24  which is attached to the end wall  13 . A bend portion  25  is arranged at right angles to the flange portion  24  and therefore supports the plate  22  at a spaced position from the wall  13  leaving a space behind the plate  22  and inside the end wall  13 . The plate  22  is formed from sheet metal which is bent and cut to form the required shape as defined above so that the plate is suspended along the end wall with a bottom edge  27  and at two side edges  28  and  29 . 
     The first pivot pin  23  is arranged adjacent the side edge  29  of the plate and the second pivot pin  23 A is arranged adjacent the side edge  28  of the plate. The lever  21  is also formed of sheet metal which is stamped and punched to form a generally elongate member with an end  30  at the pivot pin  23  and a second end  31  extended beyond the edge  29  of the plate. The lever is formed of flat sheet metal similar to that of the plate so that it lies in contact with the front face of the plate. The lever  21  is attached to the strap  20  by a pin  32  which passes through a hole in the lever and a hole in the strap. A slot  35  is provided in the plate  22  which guides movement of the pin  32  so that the pin is constrained to move vertically and thus move the strap  20  vertically. The length of the slot  35  between an upper end  36  and a lower end  37  provides a length of adjustment equal the allowable movement of the lever  21 . A slot  38  in the lever allows the pin to move in the vertical direction while accommodating the arcuate movement of the lever. 
     The plate defines a first graduated scale  39 A on the edge  29  cooperating with the lever when the lever  21  is pivotally mounted on the pin  23  and a second graduated scale  39 B on the edge  28  cooperating with the lever  21  when the lever is pivotally mounted on the pin  23 A. 
     The graduated scale  39 A on the edge  29  of the plate  22  faces away from the pivot axis of the pivot pin  23  and is cut to form a series of saw teeth  39  along the edge  29  from an upper edge  40  to a lower edge  41 . Thus the edge  29  of the plate  22  forms an arcuate edge around the axis of the pin  23 A with the saw teeth punched in the edge of the plate and facing away from the plate as a serrated edge. 
     In a symmetrical manner, the graduated scale  39 B on the edge  28  of the plate  22  faces away from the pivot axis of the pivot pin  23 A and is cut to form a series of saw teeth  39  along the edge  29  from an upper edge  40  to a lower edge  41 . Thus the edge  28  of the plate  22  forms an arcuate edge around the axis of the pin  23 A with the saw teeth punched in the edge of the plate and facing away from the plate as a serrated edge. 
     The lever  21  is held flat against the surface of the plate  22  by a spring  43  on the pin  32 . The spring is held in place by a nut  44  on the pin  32  so that the spring is compressed between the nut and the outer face  45  of the lever  21 . The pin  32  has a head  46  behind the strap  20 . The pivot pin  23  provides enough flexibility to allow the lever  21  to be moved away from the plate  22  compressing the spring  43  against the bias of the spring  43 . The lever  21  has a hole  48  formed in the lever. The lever further has a recessed portion  49  which is bent downwardly from the plane of the lever into the plane of the plate  22 . Thus the recessed portion  49  is bent downwardly and is then bent to lie in the common plane with the plate  22 . The portion  49  carries exposed teeth  55  at the inwardly facing edge of the recess portion  49 . Thus the lever is in its normal position flat against the surface of the plate  22  thus causing the saw teeth  55  of the edge of the lever to be in meshing engagement with the saw teeth  39  of the arcuate edge of the plate. The width of the saw teeth is equal on both surfaces so that the teeth are directly meshing. The number of teeth on the edge of the lever is very much less than the number of teeth on the arcuate edge of the plate since the lever is intended to move around the arcuate edge of the plate in an adjustment movement. However the amount of adjustment is equal the pitch of the saw teeth. 
     The lever  21  includes an end piece  58  which is bent in a direction away from the plate  22  so as to provide a handle or tab which can be readily grasped since it is sufficiently spaced from the end wall of the feeder to be readily accessible by the hand of the user. 
     Markings  59  are provided on the plate counting the number of saw teeth and numbered from zero at one end through to the total number at the other end of the arcuate edge of the plate. The hole  48  allows viewing of the markings through the hole onto the front surface of the plate so that the user can line up a centre line of the hole with a selected one of the markings. 
     In operation the meshing saw teeth arrangement of the lever and the plate allow a fine adjustment, bearing in mind that the saw teeth have a relatively fine pitch and bearing in mind that the distance of the pin  32  from the axis of the pivot pin  23  or  23 A is significantly less than the distance of the saw teeth from the pivot axis. Thus movement of one pitch of one saw tooth can be arranged to provide a movement of the shelf of a distance of the order of 1/32 to 1/16 inch. 
     The lever can be moved from a pivotal movement on the pin  23  to a pivotal movement on the pin  23 A by lifting the rear end  60  of the lever away from the plate against the action of the spring  43  and by dropping the rear end onto the selected one of the two pins. It will be appreciated that the changing of the pivot location acts to move the lever and the strap carried thereby downwardly by a distance equal to the vertical distance between the two pins thus providing a course adjustment movement of the shelf between the lowered position for younger or //weanling pigs and a raised position for the pigs after they have grown to a larger size. In each position the lever co-operates with the associated one of the graduated scales for fine adjustment. 
     In one arrangement (not shown), the bottom edge of the hopper is adjusted by an insert piece similar in construction to that shown in FIG. 7 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,083 of the present inventor with only difference that this is divided into separate pieces at longitudinally spaced positions so that the pieces can be inserted into place in the hopper despite the presence of the straps and the levers and the support plates at each end wall of the hopper. The number of pieces can be two or can be more in longer feeders. 
     In another arrangement shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the hopper includes a lower pivotal flap member  60  extending along the hopper between the end walls  13 . The flap member is in the form of a flat plate with a top edge  61  and a bottom edge  62 . The flap member is mounted at each end on the respective end wall  13 . The flap member is mounted on a pair of pivot levers  63  and  64  each pivotally connected at one end to a rear flange  65  of the flap member and at the other end to the end wall  13  of the feeder at a respective pivot pin  66 ,  67 . Thus the flap member is arranged to move from a raised position shown in  FIG. 5  to a lowered position shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     In the raised position of the flap member the hopper itself has a bottom edge  70  which co-operates with the shelf in the raised position of the shelf. In this position, the pivotal flap member moves into its raised position exposing the bottom edge  70  where the flap member is out of the way along the outside of the hopper. In the lowered position, the flap member extends vertically downwardly from the bottom edge  70  so that the bottom edge  62  of the flap member in effect operates as the bottom edge of the hopper and the flap member acts as an extension of the bottom of the hopper. Although only one flap member is shown for convenience, there are two parallel cooperating flap members one on each side of the bottom edges  70  and defining in effect an extension of the parallel lower neck of the hopper. The flap member is arranged to co-operate with the hopper so as to provide a seal between the bottom edge  70  and the top edge of the flap member to prevent the escape of the feed material. At the ends the flap member is sufficiently close to the end walls  13  to prevent the escape of material. A suitable locking arrangement (not shown) is provided to hold the flap member in its raised and lowered position to prevent the pigs from activating movement of the flap member to cause damage or inadvertent release of feed material. 
     Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.