Improvements in or relating to Feed Boxes.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 6th June, 1899-Accepted, 8th July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Feed Boxes.
We, EDWARD MILLS PUMPHREY, of 330, North Pine Street, Indianapolis, in
the County of Marion, State of Indiana, United States of America, and THEODORE
FRELINGHUYSON SMITHER, of 301, West Maryland Street, Indianapolis, Marion
County aforesaid, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be, particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement;-
This invention relates to improvements in feed-boxes and the object of the
invention is to hold back the supply of oats, shelled-corn, or the like, and deliver
it in small but regular quantities automatically to the feeding animal, for the
double purpose of preventing waste of feed by the latter and to compel the
animal to eat slowly and to more thoroughly masticate his food than he habitu-
ally does when allowed unrestricted access to it.
The object also is to improve and simplify the mechanism of our feed-box
in a manner which will be fully described.
We accomplish the objects of the invention by the mechanism illustrated
in the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a feed-box furnished with our
invention and showing a horse in the act of eating out of said box;
Figure 2 a vertical section on the dotted line 2, 2 of Figure 1 looking in
the direction of the arrows;
Figure 3 a rear-side view of the metal partition and its attached hopper;
Figure 4 a vertical section on the dotted line 4, 4, of Figure 3 looking in
the direction of the arrows, and
Figure 5 a plan view of a feed-box with our improvement, the view showing
the lid broken away in part to show the underlying parts.
Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views
of the drawings.
A represents a four-sided feed-box of usual construction having a closed
bottom but no top.
B is a partition, preferably of sheet-metal such as galvanized iron or tin, with
bottom and side edges b, turned at right angles to the body of the plate, through
which small nails or tacks will be driven in order to fasten the partition to
the bottom and sides of the box in the manner as clearly shown in the draw-
ing. C is a hopper also preferably of sheet-metal which is rivetted to the
partition plate B. It tapers at the ends from top to bottom, and the sides also
taper from top to bottom toward the plate B. The outlet from the hopper is
through the partition-plate B, about one-half inch above the bottom of the
feed-box, through the slot D, which is approximately a half-inch wide and two
inches long and extends transversely of the plate immediately above the junc-
tion therewith of the bottom of the hopper. The hopper reaches from the
partition to the nearest end of the feed-box and from side to side of the latter,
and provides a tapering bottom to the compartment thus divided off from the
body of the feed-box by the partition. This compartment is large enough
to contain the quantity of oats or other grain or feed to be fed at one time,
071

page_text: and the weight of the mass of shifting particles will cause them to run out
through the slot 1), until the discharged quantity is sufficient outside to arrest
the flow. The animal will eat the feed as it is discharged and by so doing will
remove the outside quantity and thereby permit additional supplies to be dis-
charged. This action will be automatic and continuous until the entire con-
tents of the hopper has been drawn out. The quantity of discharge will be
regulated by the size of the opening I).
In feeding, the oats or other feed soon becomes wet from the saliva from the
animal's mouth causing the particles to adhere to each other and form into a
mass which chokes the outlet so as to interfere with the discharge, and for that
reason we elevate the discharge opening a distance above the bottom of the
feed-box sufficient to provide room below the outlet for the wet particles.
The receptacle for the feed is closed by a lid E, which is hinged to the upper
edge of the partition-plate B.
Sometimes the feed will stick to the walls of the hopper instead of discharging
freely, and to overcome this difficulty we fasten a curved strip or bar I', at its
middle, to the plate B, just above the discharge slot. The ends of the strip F
rest loosely upon the ends c, c of the hopper and will be moved laterally by the
vibration of the plate B caused by the pressure of the animal's nose against it
in its efforts to reach the feed through the discharge opening.
The elasticity of the plate will cause it to spring back into its normal plane
when pushed out of it by the animal's nose, and this vibration of the plate B
gives a movement back and forth to the ends of the strips F against the hopper.
This movement stirs up the feed and causes it to crowd down to the outlet.
Inasmuch as the feed-box used by us is the same in construction, size, and
material as the boxes in general use, we will prefer to make the sheet-metal
part herein described and sell it as an attachment to be applied to the boxes
already in use but we do not desire to restrict ourselves to such practice of
selling the invention as an attachment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is;-
WLAID-
1. A feed-box having a compartment separated from the body of the box by
..a resilient partition, the compartment thus formed having a hoppered bottom,
a resilient partition having a slotted opening opposite the bottom of the hopper
..but said hopper-bottom and opening being, both of them, above the bottom of
the feed-box to provide a drain for the saliva away from the opening, substantially
as shown.
2. A feed-box having a compartment separated from the body of the box by
a resilient partition, the compartment thus formed having a hoppered bottom,
a resilient partition having a slotted opening opposite the bottom of the hopper
but said hopper-bottom and opening both being above the bottom of the feed-
box to provide a drain for the saliva from the opening, and an agitator con-
sisting of a bent plate or bar fastened between its ends to the resilient partition,
substantially as shown.
3. A feed-box having a compartment separated from the body of the box by
. a resilient partition, a compartment thus formed having a hoppered bottom, all
resilient partition having a slotted opening opposite the bottom of the hopper
and an agitator consisting of a curved plate or bar fastened between its ends
to the resilient partition, substantially as shown.
Dated this 6th day of June 1899.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.