Abstract:
A poultry agitator is operable for use in conjunction with long rectangular confined poultry houses equipped with a flow-through ventilation system. The agitator imitates the action of a human moving through a congregation of birds to encourage the birds to exercise, feed and intake water. The agitator is formed as a continuous cable that is supported in a circumferential route around the poultry house. The cable is entrained around a drive wheel that is operable to circulate the flexible cable and the agitator members attached thereto. A stop mechanism halts the movement of the agitator members near the end of the building and effects a reversal of the direction of operation of the drive wheel to cause the agitator to be returned to the initial home position. The cable is supported from spaced hangers without the need for massive support beam structure to carry the agitator along its path of travel along the side walls of the poultry house. The agitator is clamped on the cable to move therewith. The agitator is formed as an elongated frame having a target supported near the floor of the poultry house. A programmable control is operable to time the movement of the agitator without operator intervention.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to device for encouraging housed poultry to be active and, more particularly, to an agitator driven by a continuous cable drive mechanism to move poultry within a housing structure to enhance feed consumption and promote healthier birds. 
     Poultry raised in confined areas have a restricted amount of room in which to move around. As the birds grow and become larger, the amount of room becomes even more restricted. It has been found that walking through the confined housing encourages the birds to move around. A number of devices have been devised to simulate a human&#39;s movement through the confined area, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,194 and 4,313,397. Other prior art devices have utilized targets to encourage the birds to move from one area to another, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,167,153 and 5,076,212. Movement of confined poultry results in increased food consumption and, therefore, weight for the birds. Furthermore, movement also gives the birds needed exercise to strengthen muscles and promote healthy growth. 
     Some modern poultry houses are constructed with a ventilation system that directs the flow of fresh air from one end of the long rectangular building to the other, creating a tunnel effect. This flow-through ventilation system tends to urge the birds to migrate to the side walls of the building where less air is being moved. The congregation of large numbers of the birds creates a significant build-up of heat energy and results in suffocation of the birds. Since the watering and feeding systems for the birds are positioned through the building, the congregation of the birds at the side walls prevents the majority of the birds from reaching either food or water, thus hampering growth and promoting sickness in the flock. The known prior art devices attempt to keep the birds more homogeneously distributed throughout the building. 
     The drive mechanisms for the agitator devices identified above generally utilize tracks or channels on which the devices are mounted for movement through the building. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,153, the drive mechanism is an electric motor mounted directly on the agitator and supported in a channel-shaped rail having a drive mechanism housed therein to cause the baffle to be moved around the poultry house. This channel-shaped rail needs to be of substantive mass to support the weight of the motor and associated baffle structure. Placing such a massive structure in a modem poultry house which can be hundreds of feet long is cost prohibitive. 
     Similarly, the drive mechanism in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,212 includes a substantial pipe supported fore-and-aft through the length of the poultry house. The carrier is connected to a flexible cable that is wound on a spool that drives the carrier back and forth along the length of the poultry house. As with the drive mechanism of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,153, the expense of hanging the support tubing and providing a drive spool for each of the lines on which the carriers are mounted would be substantial. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,194 and 4,313,397 are very similar in nature to the massive supports taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,153 and would be cost prohibitive for large modem poultry houses. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a poultry agitator that would be operable to move poultry from away from the side walls of a poultry house having flow-through ventilation systems, and to provide a drive mechanism for the agitator mechanism that can be inexpensively installed and operated to provide a cost effective device for enhancing the growth and health of confined poultry. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a poultry agitator that is operable to move poultry away from the side walls of a poultry house having a flow-through ventilation system. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide a poultry agitator structure that can be installed and operated in a cost effective manner to promote the health and growth of confined poultry. 
     It is still another object of this invention to provide a drive mechanism for a poultry agitator that is permits the agitator to be utilized in modem poultry houses. 
     It is an advantage of this invention that the drive mechanism permits the installation of a cost effective poultry agitator. 
     It is a feature of this invention that the poultry agitator does not require a substantial support beam for carrying the agitator members through the poultry house. 
     It is another advantage of this invention that the agitator carrier does not have to support the drive mechanism. 
     It is another feature of this invention that the drive mechanism is positionable in a conveniently accessible corner of the poultry house while being operable to cause movement of the agitator carrier along the length of the poultry house side walls. 
     It is still another advantage of this invention that the single drive mechanism is operable to effect simultaneous movement of two agitator carriers along opposing side walls of the poultry house from a single location. 
     It is still another object of this invention to provide a cost effective poultry agitator that will enable poultry growers to install and operate the agitator to maximize profits. 
     It is yet another feature of this invention that the agitator structure utilizes hangers spaced along the length of travel of the agitator members to support a flexible cable entrained around a drive wheel to cause the cable to circulate around the circumference of the poultry house. 
     It is yet another advantage of this invention that the agitator encourages the poultry to exercise, feed and intake water, thus promoting the health of the birds being confined in the poultry house. 
     It is still another feature of this invention that the agitator mechanism is operated by a programmable control apparatus that is easy to program and utilize. 
     It is a further feature of this invention that the agitator structure includes a mechanism that operates to reverse the direction of operation of the drive wheel to return the agitator members to a home position. 
     It is yet another object of this invention to provide a poultry agitator that is durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, carefree in maintenance, easy to assemble, and simple and effective in use. 
     These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a poultry agitator that is operable for use in conjunction with long rectangular confined poultry houses equipped with a flow-through ventilation system. The agitator mechanism imitates the action of a human moving through a congregation of birds to encourage the birds to exercise, feed and intake water. The agitator mechanism is formed as a continuous cable that is supported in a circumferential route around the poultry house. The cable is entrained around a drive wheel that is operable to circulate the flexible cable and the agitator members attached thereto. A stop mechanism halts the movement of the agitator near the end of the building and effects a reversal of the direction of operation of the drive wheel to cause the agitator to be returned to the initial home position. The cable is supported from spaced hangers without the need for massive support beam structure to carry the agitator along its path of travel along the side walls of the poultry house. The agitator member is clamped on the cable to move therewith. The agitator is formed as an elongated frame having a target supported near the floor of the poultry house. A programmable control is operable to time the movement of the agitator without operator intervention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a confined poultry house having a poultry agitator incorporating the principles of the instant invention operable therein; 
     FIG. 2 is lower perspective view of a first embodiment of the drive mechanism effecting movement of the flexible cable along its circumferential route; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational perspective view of a second embodiment of the drive mechanism incorporating the principles of the instant invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a lower perspective view of a hanger supporting the flexible cable along the circumferential route thereof; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic elevational view of the control box for programing the operative control of the agitator operation; 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevational perspective view of a corner hanger for the flexible cable to enable the flexible cable to extend to the opposing side of the poultry house and form its circumferential route; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevational perspective view of the stop mechanism position near the end of each fore-and-aft run of the agitator to stop the movement of the agitator and to cause the drive mechanism to reverse direction of operation and allow the agitator to return to a home position; 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the agitator member mounted on a cable suspended from the ceiling of the poultry house, a portion of the support member for said banner being broken away for purposes of clarity; and 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged side elevational view of the frame and clamping mechanism for the agitator member shown in FIG. 8, the movement of the clamping device being shown in phantom. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-9, the details of a poultry agitator operable in a poultry house equipped with an end-toend flow through ventilation can best be seen. The poultry building  10  where the birds are confined is typically formed in a long rectangular shape. Such buildings  10  can be about 500 feet long and only about 40 to 45 feet wide. In this long rectangular building  10  as many as 30,000 birds can be housed. The end walls  12  of such buildings  10  are often equipped with ventilation openings  13  through which fans (not shown) draw or push air from one end of this long building  10  to the other. This air flow moves through the central part of the building  10  often causing the birds confined therein to move toward the side walls  15  away from the moving air. The building  10  is also provided with watering mechanisms  16  and feeding apparatus  17  extending longitudinally thorough the building  10 , but transversely spaced along the width. The building  10  can also include an office area  11  that is restricted from access by the birds. 
     With the birds congregating adjacent the side walls  15 , the birds do not take advantage of their access to the feed or water. Other problems are associated with the congregation of the birds along the side walls. The birds cannot be active because there are too many birds in a small area for them to be able to move around. Inactive birds become sick, complicated by an inadequate consumption of food and water. In addition, the congregation of the birds along the side walls  15  causes a high concentration of heat where these birds are collected. If an exceedingly large number of birds congregate in one location, the birds will also suffocate from a lack of oxygen, complicated by excessive ambient temperatures. 
     Accordingly, one skilled in the art will recognize the importance of keeping the confined birds active without allowing the birds to migrate toward the side walls  15  of the building  10 . It is known that poultry that is raised in confined buildings  10  have tendencies to become stagnant due to the crowded conditions within the building  10 . As a result, the birds tend to localize in one location, sitting in the same spot for hours at a time until hunger or thirst motivates them to move toward the feeders  17  or the watering mechanism  16 . This lack of exercise leads to deteriorating health, thus reducing the profit from the poultry operation. It will also be recognized by one skilled in the art that a human walking thorough the building  10  will cause the birds to become more active. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a mechanical device that is capable of simulating the movement of a human through the building  10  to keep the birds moving and active. Any birds passing by the watering mechanism  16  or the feeding apparatus  17  will often stop to partake. This promotes greater weight gains in the birds. 
     An agitator mechanism  20  for simulating the movement of a human through the building  10  is schematically depicted in FIG. 1 with the components being depicted in greater detail in FIGS. 2-9. The agitator mechanism  20  includes an agitator member  22  that is movable along the side walls  15  of the building  10  from one end to the other to encourage the birds to move away from the side walls  15  toward the watering mechanism  16  and feeding apparatus  17 . The agitator member  22  is best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 and includes a frame  23  that carries a banner or flag  25  that will cause the birds to move out of the way of the agitator member  22 , but not be injured by it. The banner  25  is preferably made of cloth and is preferably colored white which is a color that keeps the birds calm. It is known that certain colors, such as black, will cause poultry to become excited and unsettled. 
     The agitator members  22  are connected to an endless cable  29  and suspended therefrom. Preferably, the frame  23  includes a clamping device  26  that fixes the frame  23  to the cable  29 , but in a manner that the agitator member  22  can be selectively detached from the cable for service and or repair. Preferably, the frame  23  is mounted on the cable  29  in such a manner that a twisting of the cable  29  will not cause the agitator member  22  to hang crookedly. The banner  25  can be attached to a support member  27  depending downwardly from the frame  23 . The support member  27  can be a threaded rod that is adjustable in length hanging downwardly from the frame  23 , or a flexible member, such as a rope. The cable  29  is suspended from a ceiling support  19  of the building  10  by a series of holders  30  that are spaced an appropriate distance apart, such as approximately forty feet apart. As best seen in FIG. 4, each holder  30  is constructed with a frame  31  that is detachably connected to the elevated support  19 . The holder frame  31  rotatably supports three pulleys  32 - 34  that are arranged in a linear manner to engage the cable  29 . The two bottom pulleys  32 ,  34  serve to support the cable  29  in its elevated position, while the upper and middle pulley  33  creates some tension in the cable  29  by deflecting the cable  29  downwardly between the two bottom pulleys  32 ,  34 . Preferably, the upper, middle pulley  33  is mounted for positional adjustment to vary the tension created in the cable  29 . 
     As can be seen best in FIG. 1, the cable  29  is preferably positioned in a circumferential manner extending along the exterior walls  12 ,  15  of the building  10 . Along the length of the cable  29  extending along any particular wall  12 ,  15 , the cable  29  is supported by the hangers  30 . At the corners of the building  10 , the cable  29  must make a turn to be able to follow the line of the walls. Accordingly, a corner holder  35  is provided at the three corners of the building  10 , excluding the fourth corner where the drive mechanism  40  is positioned. The corner holders  35  are shown in greater detail in FIG.  6  and include a support frame  36  detachably connected to the ceiling support  19 . The support frame  36  rotatably supports a pair of orthogonally oriented guide pulleys  37 ,  38  and a horizontally oriented turn pulley  39  around which the cable  29  passes to change direction 90 degrees. The guide pulleys  37 ,  38  serve to guide the cable  29  into the turn pulley  39  from either side thereof. 
     A drive mechanism  40  for the agitator mechanism  20  is located at the fourth corner of the building  10 , i.e. the corner of the building  10  where a corner holder  35  is not located. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive mechanism  40  includes a horizontally oriented drive wheel  42 , preferably having a friction surface  43 , such as rubber, affixed or bonded thereto. The drive wheel  42  is operably driven in rotation by a motor  45 , preferably electric, positioned beneath the drive wheel  42  and connected thereto. The motor  45  is supported by a mounting bracket  46  connected to the ceiling support  19 . The cable  29  is entrained around the drive wheel  42  in a looped or crossing fashion to provide a maximum engagement between the cable  29  and the friction surface  43  on the drive wheel  42  for powering the movement of the cable  29 . The drive mechanism  40  is provided with guide pulleys  47 ,  48  mounted on a support bracket  49  at each opposing lead of the cable  29  into the drive wheel  42 . The guide pulleys  47 ,  48  are arranged in orthogonally oriented pairs to support the cable  29 , to direct properly the cable  29  into the drive wheel  42 , and to provide a little tension into the cable  29 . Tension is inserted by directing the cable  29  over top of one guide pulley  47  of each pair and then beneath the other guide pulley  48 . The guide pulleys being oriented to place a bend in the cable  29  as it passes through the pulleys  47 ,  48 . 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 provide alternative embodiments for the mounting of the guide pulleys  47 ,  48 . In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the guide pulleys  47 ,  48  are mounted on a bar  49   a  that is adjustably connected to a hanger bracket  19 . The rotation of the bar  49   a  relative to the hanger bracket  49   b  effecting an alignment of the guide pulleys  47 ,  48  to place tension into the cable  29 . In the second embodiment of FIG. 3, the guide pulleys  47 ,  48  are mounted in slots  49   c  formed in the support bracket  49  so as to be individually positionably adjusted relative to one another in order to place tension into the cable  29 . Furthermore, the support bracket  49  can be positionally mounted on the mounting bracket  46  for the drive wheel  42  so as to provide some positional flexibility for orienting the guide pulleys  47 ,  48  to best direct the cable  29  onto the drive wheel  42 . 
     Another component of the agitator mechanism  20  is the stop apparatus  50 . One stop apparatus  50  is located along each of the side walls  15  in engagement with the cable  29  to halt the movement of the cable  29  before the agitator member  22  comes into engagement with the corner holder  35 . Since the drive mechanism  40  is reversible with respect to the direction of operation, one such stop apparatus  50  is positioned for engagement by the agitator member  22  when moving in either opposing direction. The stop apparatus  50  is best seen in FIG. 7. A pair of guide pulleys  52 ,  53  are mounted on a mounting bracket  54  to guide the cable through the stop apparatus  50 . A pair of vertically opposed guide plates  56 ,  57  extend between the two guide pulleys  52 ,  53  to capture the frame  23  of the agitator member  22  and direct the frame  23  into engagement with a stop switch  55 , which serves to stop the operation of the drive wheel  42  and reverse the direction of operation thereof. 
     The control mechanism  60 is preferably located in the office area II and includes a control panel  61  housing a pair of relays  62 ,  63  that trip the drive motor  45  off when the agitator frame  23  engages the stop switch  55 . The relays  62 ,  63  then trip a flip-flop switch  64  that reverses the AC power to set the drive motor  45  to run in the opposite direction than just prior to the engagement of the frame  23  with the stop switch  55 , when the next signal is received from the timer  65 . The control mechanism further includes a capacitor  66  for starting the drive motor  45 . The timer  65  can be set to trigger the operation of the agitator mechanism  20  at any desired time interval. 
     In the specific embodiment depicted in the drawings, the motor  45  is a ⅙ HP reversible electric motor operating on AC current with a shaft output of 31 RPM. The drive wheel  42  has a ⅝ inch hub that fits on the output shaft of the motor  45 . The cable  29  is a {fraction (3/32)} inch diameter wire cable that wraps around the drive wheel  42  wrapped with a rubber sleeve to provide better friction for driving the movement of the cable  29 . The cable is positioned about four feet from the side walls  15  of the building  10  and is spaced about 15 feet from the end walls  12 . The height of the cable  29  is positioned to move the agitator banner  25  just above the floor of the building to encourage movement of the birds within the building  10 . In FIGS. 8 and 9, the frame  23  of the agitator mechanism  20  is shown as being clamped onto the cable  29 ; however, other means for attaching the frame  23  to the cable  29  are available, including the use of a crimp that is fixed by epoxy to the frame  23 , but left loose on the cable  29 . 
     In operation, the operator sets the timer  65  for actuation of the agitator mechanism  20  at the desired time intervals or at a desired time. At the selected time for actuation, the electric motor  45  is energized and starts rotating the drive wheel  42 . Assuming that the agitator member  22   a  on the same side of the building  10  as the drive mechanism  40  starts out next to the drive mechanism  40 , the opposing agitator member  22   b  will be starting out at the diagonally opposite corner of the building  10 , as shown in FIG.  1 . The drive wheel  42  is then rotated in a direction to move the adjacent agitator member  22   a  toward the far end wall  12  of the building  10 , relative to the drive mechanism  40 . Since the cable  29  is an endless loop around the circumference of the building  10 , the opposing agitator member  22   b  is moved toward the end wall  12  nearest the drive mechanism  40 . 
     The electric motor  45  keeps driving the movement of the cable  29  until the opposing agitator member  22   b  engages the stop apparatus  50 . Engagement of the stop switch  55 , stops the flow of current to the motor  45  and resets the flip-flop switch  64  to reverse the direction of operation of the motor  45 . At this point, the timer  65  again controls the operation of the motor  45 . When subsequently actuated, the motor  45  will then bring the adjacent agitator member  22   a  back toward the drive mechanism  40  and move the opposing agitator member  22   b  back toward the far end wall  12 . This movement of the agitator member  22   a,    22   b  will continue until the adjacent agitator member  22   a  engages the corresponding stop apparatus  50 , whereupon the drive mechanism  40  will halt the flip-flop switch  55  is reset to again reverse the direction of operation of the motor  45 . 
     It will be understood that other changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.