Feeding Apparatus for Horses and Cattle.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Apr., 1899-Accepted, 1st July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Feeding Apparatus for Horses and Cattle.
We, CARI. EGEN, of Besenbruchstrasse No. 17, Barmen, Germany, Manufacturer,
and ERNST BOCKMÜHL, of Olgastrasse No. 22, of Barmen, Germany, Manufacturer, 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 state-
ment:-
Our invention relates to an improved feeding apparatus, the object of which is to
distribute the fodder for the animals, say oats, chaff and other feeding material, given
in small size, in the manger in such quantities only and in such periods of time that
the animal does not come in danger to eat too quickly and too much at a time so
that all will be well masticated and properly prepared for swallowing and digestion.
We attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying
drawing, in which :
Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal side view partly with the front cover taken off;
Fig. 2 shows a vertical cross section along line I-I of Figure 1;
Fig. 3 is a view seen from the top side.
The feeding apparatus consists of an angular frame A closed at the ends with a
longitudinal slot B in the top or horizontal wing; a hopper C, shown in part only in
the figures, is fixed to the wing A¹ with its open bottom communicating with the
slot B; a slide D is so arranged between the flange C¹ of the hopper and the wing A¹
that it can be pulled forwards and backwards and close the passage from C to B. In
both end sides A2 A3 of the frame is suitably journalled the shaft J of a distributor E
composed of a number of sectorlike partitions F formed by radial partition plates G
fixed in the central hub and all of equal radial length; the ends of the distributor are
closed by circular plates H. The distributor is so mounted in the frame that its
partition plates and the end plates nearly touch the bottom side of the wing A¹, so
that fodder fed into the hopper C will conveniently drop into the partitions F.
At the right hand side (in the drawing) the shaft J passes through the end
plate A3 and is there coupled with the shaft K.
Froin the description given so far and from the device shown it will now he under-
stood, that the oats in the hopper C will fall out through the opening B into the cells
of the distributor E and will cause this to rotate so that the cells will be emptied in
This would be how-
proportion to the speed in which the distributor turns round.
ever much to fast, the fodder acting like the water in a water wheel, by its own
weight upon the receiver and therefore the latter must be connected to a controlling
apparatus of some kind, by which the number of revolutions inade by the distributor
can be fixed and determined at a desired maximum. For this purpose the shaft J is
connected by a coupling M to a shaft K forming the first shaft of a sort of a clock-
work L acting like a brake upon the driving force of the falling fodder and the dis-
tributor; at the same time the clockwork also may be used for driving the dis-
tributor, in case for instance, when very light fodder is used, such as chaff only or
chaff nixed with oats. The clockwork does not present anything particular in itself
In the
and as such it inay be replaced by any other and suitable regulating device.
example shown it consists of a winding up spindle of the spring casing b; a spur

page_text: wheel c being fixed at the front side of the casing b on shaft a and gearing into a
pinion d upon shaft K. Upon this shaft is also keyed a wheel e and this is in gear
with a pinion ƒ on spindle g; outside of the pinion f is keyed upon shaft y a wheel h
gearing into a pinion i on spindle k; a worm wheel upon this spindle gears into an
endless screw m of the flyer or regulator n, which as in an ordinary clock prevents
overrunning of the work and checks the speed.
This clockwork acts in a double way: when the shaft K, by its being coupled to
the shaft J of the distributor E, acts as a driving shaft, the fodder (barley) falling
into the cells by its own weight giving the driving power, would drive it at too great
a speed and then the clockwork with its flyer checks the speed so that the distributor
will not revolve too quick.
In the other case, when the fodder is light, such as barley and chaff mixed, it
would not drive the distributor, or at a very slow speed only; in this case the clock-
work can serve as a driving medium; the flyer wheel again regulating and checking
the speed.
The working of the new feeding apparatus is as follows: The fodder is fed into the
hopper C and the slide D is then pulled forwards so as to open the communication
between the hopper and the receiver by the falling chaff the receiver is caused to
rotate and the controlling device L regulates its speed so that the receiver will be
turned round very slowly or at any rate at a prescribed speed in the direction of the
arrow. It will thus be seen, that the partitions F will so be filled gradually and the
contents discharged by them in the ratio of the rotation. The fodder will also be
distributed equally in the manger lengthways for the whole length of the receiver, so
that the animal will find no accumulation of fodder at one place and even if it does
eat greedily it will never find so much at a time as to do it harm.
The apparatus is also a controlling instrument for the servant.
It is clear that a separate feeding apparatus may be arranged for each piece of
horned cattle or for each horse, or the hopper and receiver may be made long enough
to serve for several animals standing in a row; suitable partitions will then be ad-
visable in the hopper and the receiver for each animal.
The apparatus may be bolted or screwed to a board 1', by means of which it will be
fixed over the manger.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1/ The combination in a feeding apparatus for horses and cattle of an angular
frame A having a slot B in its top side and closed end sides A2, A3 with a hopper C
having an opening corresponding with said slot B at its bottom, a slide D for closing
the slot B and said opening in the hopper, a rotary receiver E on a shaft J journalled
in the end sides A2, A3 of the frame A, said receiver having sector-like partitions F,
one end of the shaft J projecting out of the end plate A³ of the frame A, the whole
as set forth and illustrated and for the purpose set forth.
2/ In a feeding apparatus for horses and cattle the combination of a frame A, a
hopper C, a slide D a receiver E having a shaft J projecting out of the end plate A³
of said frame with a clockwork L the whole as described and illustrated and for the
purpose set forth.
Barmen, the 21st day of April 1899.