FR2810847A1 - FEED DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR ANIMALS, PARTICULARLY FOR POULTRY - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a feeding system for animals, in particular fowls, said system comprising a linear conveyor (10) supplied at its upstream end with food to be dispensed and at least a feeding trough (20) arranged underneath the whole length of said conveyor (10) so as to dispense said food to said animals. The invention is characterised in that it further comprises storage means (30) capable of taking up a first position wherein they store the food transported by said conveyor (10) and a second position, called retracted position, wherein they pour out the entire contents into said or each feeding trough (20); and a control unit (50) provided for controlling said storage means (30) so that, during a first phase, they are in said first position and thus store the food transported by said conveyor (10), and, during a second phase, they are retracted and pour out their entire contents into said or each feeding trough (20).

Description

The present invention relates to a food distribution system for

animals, especially for poultry.

  Such systems are already known and reference may in particular be made to documents US-A-5,474,027 and EP-A-437,357. These systems essentially comprise a linear conveyor which, by means of a hopper, is supplied at its

  upstream end in food to be distributed.

  In particular, in document US-A-5,474,027, along the linear conveyor are installed, regularly spaced from each other, individual food distribution stations. Thus, according to this document, the conveyor pours the food which it carries into each of the individual distribution stations where the animals

can then feed.

  In document EP-A-437 357, the linear conveyor is open to it on a long trough disposed under it over its entire length. The food it carries can be poured into the trough and thus be distributed to the animals that are

along the trough.

  It will be noted that the conveyors which are described in the documents cited above consist of tubes in which Archimedes screws rotate. But, the systems described, just like this is the case here

  invention, may also include pallet conveyors or any other means.

  The disadvantage of the systems described above resides in the fact that, when the conveyor is started, the feeds are first distributed in the individual stations close to the end of the conveyor where the feed hopper is located or in the part of the trough which is near this end. In fact, these systems are rather intended for a continuous distribution of food, which then poses the problem of the doses which are given to the animals and which cannot be

sufficiently controlled.

  In discontinuous use, each time the conveyor starts, the animals congregate in the area which is first distributed and fight to gain access. This results in particularly harmful animal fights. In addition, it is generally the strongest animals which then succeed in feeding at the expense of the weakest animals, aggravating, with each distribution,

  imbalance in their weighting.

  The object of the invention is to provide a system for distributing animal feed of the type described above, but which does not have the advantages thereof.

  disadvantages previously given.

  To this end, an animal feed distribution system according to the present invention comprises: storage means which can take a first position where they store the food transported by said conveyor and a second position, called the retracted position, where they pour all of their content in said or each trough, and a control unit provided for controlling said storage means so that, during a first phase, they are in said first position and thus store the food transported by said conveyor and that, during a second phase, they are retracted and thus pour all of their content into

said or each trough.

  Advantageously, said control unit comprises a food detection device placed at the end of said conveyor opposite to the feed end of said conveyor, said control unit, after detection by said device, passing

  from said first phase to said second phase.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, said storage means consist of shutter means provided for closing lights provided in the lower part of said conveyor, the food then being stored in

said conveyor.

  According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, said storage means consist of reserve means provided under lights provided in the lower part of said conveyor so as to be able to collect food

  dumped by said conveyor and store them.

  According to another alternative embodiment of the present invention, said storage means consist of shutter and reserve means provided under lights provided in the lower part of said conveyor so as either to be able to close said lights, or to be able to collect food spilled by said

  conveyor and store them, either to be retracted.

  According to another characteristic of the present invention, said storage means consist of at least one flap mounted so as to be able to slide longitudinally on said conveyor. Said storage means can also consist of at least one flap mounted so as to be able to slide axially

on said conveyor.

  According to another alternative characteristic of the previous one, said storage means consist of at least one flap designed to pivot around a pivot axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said conveyor, said axis being on one of the sides of said flap. Advantageously, said or each flap has a V-shaped section whose tip is truncated, said flap being provided to include said conveyor. Said or each flap is for example connected to a control cylinder by means

  a cable whose length can be adjusted.

  According to another characteristic of the present invention, said conveyor is

  fed at its upstream end via a metering flap.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, said conveyor is housed in a tube comprising a lower part and an upper part, said upper part being removable so as to be able to access the drive element of said conveyor. Finally, the present invention relates to a distribution installation which

  comprises a plurality of distribution systems according to one of the claims

  preceding. The features of the invention mentioned above, as well as others,

  will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an example of

  realization, said description being made in relation to the attached drawings, among

  which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an animal feed distribution installation according to the present invention, FIGS. 2a to 2c are respectively sectional views along the plane II-II of FIG. 1 of a food distribution installation according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of part of the tube housing a conveyor

  of a food distribution installation according to the present invention.

  The animal feed distribution installation shown in FIG. 1 comprises a linear conveyor 10 which is fed at its upstream end at

  food to be distributed, for example stored in a hopper 11.

  The linear conveyor 10 is for example made up of a tube housing an Archimedes screw which is rotated by means of an advantageously electric motor 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor tube 10 has in its lower part lights 16 (for example rectangular) allowing the food which it carries to pour out, as will be explained in the following

description.

  According to an advantageous embodiment, the conveyor tube 10 advantageously consists of a lower shell 14 and an upper shell 15, which allows, after removing the upper shell 15, to have access to the drive element of the conveyor 10. This drive element is for example an Archimedes screw which it is then possible to clean and disinfect by means of a blower or a

high pressure wash.

  Arranged under the entire length of the linear conveyor 10, a trough 20 is provided in which the animals can peck at the food it contains. The gauge 20 is made integral with the linear conveyor by means of support blocks 21 to which it is fixed by means of lugs 24a and 24b (see details in Figs. 2a to 2c) and which are

  regularly spaced along the conveyor 10.

  Note that it will not depart from the scope of the invention, if instead of a trough

  20, are placed under the conveyor 10, several contiguous troughs.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the upstream and downstream support blocks 21 are connected to the ceiling of the room in which the distribution system is installed by means of cables 22 which thus allow the suspension of the entire food distribution system of the invention. A winch (not shown) can be provided to adjust the length of the ropes 22 and thus modify the height of the entire distribution system, depending on the age of the animals. With such a winch, it is

  also possible to adjust the horizontality of the distribution system.

  The distribution system shown in FIG. I further comprises storage means 30 described later in a particular embodiment in relation to Figs. 2a to 2c. These storage means 30 are provided to be able to take a first position where they store the food transported by the conveyor 10 and

  a second position where they pour all of their contents into the trough 20.

  Thus, the food distributed appears in any part of the trough 20 at the same time and in the same quantity. Consequently, animals are no longer forced to congregate in a particular area to be able to feed and no longer fight

to do this.

  To be able to pass from a first position to a second position, the storage means 30 are controlled by means of a jack 40 and a control cable 41 whose length can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device 42. A connecting cable 43 connects the control cable 41 to the storage means 30 in

  passing through rings 17 integral with the linear conveyor 10.

  A control unit 50 is provided for controlling the motor 12 and the actuator 40, in the manner now explained. In a first phase, the motor 12 is started, so that the conveyor 10 extracts food from the hopper 11 and transports it to its downstream end. The jack 40 is controlled so that the storage means 30 take their first position where they store the food which is transported by the conveyor 10. In a second phase, the motor 12 is stopped and no more food is transported by the conveyor 10. As for the jack 40, it is controlled so that the storage means are found in their second position o they pour into the trough 20 all the food they have stored. It will be noted that the hopper 11 may be provided with a low level sensor 13 electrically connected to the control unit 50 so that the motor 12 of the conveyor 10 cannot be started when a minimum of feed n is not present in the

hopper 11.

  In addition, the hopper 11 is provided with a metering flap 14 which, by sliding, makes it possible to adjust the passage section of the food from the hopper 11 to the conveyor 10. This metering flap makes it possible to adjust the flow of food which feeds the

conveyor 10.

  The food distribution system shown in FIG. 1 still has a

  food detection device 60 which is placed at the downstream end of the conveyor 10.

  This detection device 60 comprises a reservoir 61 receiving the food spilled by the conveyor 10 at its downstream end, and a detector 62 electrically connected to the control unit 50. When a predetermined quantity of food is contained in the reservoir 61, the detector 62 transmits a signal to the control unit 50. On receipt of this signal, the control unit 50 goes from its first phase to its second phase. Thus, when the food is poured into the tank 61, the storage means store enough food which can then be poured into

trough 20.

  The tank 61 has a bottom 63 which can be retracted at the same time as the storage means 30, that is to say during the second phase of the control unit 50. To do this, the flap 63 is controlled by the jack 40 by means of a cable

appropriate 44.

  We will now describe in relation to Figs. 2a to 2c a particular mode

  of the present invention.

  In Fig. 2a, we will recognize the linear conveyor 10 represented only by the tube which houses its drive element (for example, an Archimedean screw), a support block 21 of generally parallelepiped shape, the trough 20 and the storage means 30 The control cable 41 is also seen, as well as the connection cable 43 connecting the control cable 41 to the storage means 30. To guide the connection cable 43 between the control cable 41 and the storage means 30, has planned a

  ring 17 which is connected by means of a tab 17a to the tube of the conveyor 10.

  The support block 21 has a housing 21a for housing the lower part of the conveyor tube 10. The conveyor tube 10 has wings 10a and 10b which

  rest on shoulders 21 b of the support block 21.

  Just above the upper part of the conveyor tube 10 is provided a rod 23 whose ends are fixed to wings 21c of the support block 21, and this, by means of bolts 23a. The conveyor 10 is thus maintained and made integral with each block

support 21.

  Lugs 24a and 24b are fixed in the upper part of the support block 21, for example by means of bolts 24c, and have a curved end 24d and 24e intended to receive the edges 20a and 20b of the trough 20 which comprise three folds of so as to present an inverted U profile. This particular assembly makes it possible to obtain a fixing of the trough 20 on the lugs 24a and 24b without requiring accessories such as screws, rivets, etc. On each side 21d of each support block 21 are fixed, for example by means of bolts 25a, deflectors 25 made up of plates (for example of sheet metal) connecting two by two the support blocks 21. These deflectors 25 have a fold 25b

  inclined towards the median axis of the distribution system.

  The role of these deflectors is twofold: firstly, because they connect the support blocks 21, they give rigidity to the entire distribution system. On the other hand, as will be understood later, they protect animals from movement

  storage means 30 by preventing them from approaching.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2a, the storage means 30 consist, between two support blocks 21, of a flap 31 having a V-shaped section whose tip is truncated. This flap 31 is pivotally mounted on an axis 32 parallel to the longitudinal direction of the linear conveyor 10. The axis 32 is integral with the flap 31 by one of its lateral wings. The cable 43 which connects the control cable 41 to the flap 31 is connected to the end of the wing opposite to that which receives the axis 32. The V shape of the flap allows it to be included in the position shown in FIG. 2a the conveyor 10 thus closing the openings 16 provided in the lower part

conveyor 10.

  It will be seen that in order to keep the flap 31 in the position where it closes the conveyor 10, as shown in FIG. 2a, it is necessary to maintain a tension on the cables 41 and 43. To do this, the jack 40 (see Fig. 1) must be ordered. In this position, the food which is transported by the conveyor 10

  are stored in the lower part of it. This is the first phase mentioned above

  above. When the jack 40 (see Fig. 1) is released, the same applies to the control cable 41 and the connection cable 43. By its own weight, the flap 31 pivots around the axis 32 and is found in a retracted position o the food which was contained in the lower part of the conveyor 10 is poured into the trough 20 and is thus distributed to the animals which can peck at it. This is the second phase of

  operation of the control unit 50. This situation is shown in FIG. 2c.

  It will be noted that the storage means 30 play the role here of simple

  means for closing the lights on the conveyor 10.

  There is shown in FIG. 2b an intermediate position of the storage means o these now play the role of reserve means. In this position, by an appropriate adjustment of means 42 used for adjusting the length of the control cable 41, the control cable 41 as well as the connection cable 43 are slightly relaxed compared to what they were in FIG. 2a, so that the flap 31 no longer closes the lights 16 of the conveyor 10. However, since the flap 31 has two wings 3 la and 3 lb, the food transported by the conveyor 10 does not pour directly into the trough 20, but is instead stored in the part of the flap 31 which is located below the slots 16 of the conveyor 10. As before, when the jack 40 (see Fig. 1) is released, the same is true of the cables 41 and 43, so that the storage means 30 is found in the position shown in FIG. 2c

  o the food it contains flows into the trough 20.

  This operating mode makes it possible to store a larger quantity of food. Furthermore, by adjusting the length of the control cable 41 by an appropriate operation of the adjusting means 42, it is possible to adjust the pivoting angle of the storage means 30 and consequently the distance separating the conveyor 10 from the shutter. 31, and thus to vary the storage volume inside the

V formed by the flap 31.

  It will be understood that the embodiment shown in Figs. 2a to 2c can operate indifferently in one operating mode or the other. However, without departing from the scope of the present invention, particular embodiments

  may only work in one operating mode or the other.

  Grids 26 may be provided on each side of the trough 20 and are for example mounted between the edges 20a and 20b of the trough 20 and folds 25c formed in the lower part of the deflectors 25. These grids 26 are held in place by an elasticity effect of the deflectors 25 which forces them to be housed between the edges 20a and

  b of the trough 20. The fifth span of FIG. I includes such a grid 26.

  These grids 26 allow, depending on the distance between two of their adjacent son but also depending on the size of the animal's head, access or not to

trough 20.

  Furthermore, the food distribution system of the invention can be

  topped with a hat 27 placed by its lateral edges on each support block 21.

Claims (10)

  1) Animal feed distribution system, in particular for poultry, said system comprising a linear conveyor (10) which is fed at its upstream end with feed to be distributed and at least one trough (20) disposed under the entire length of said conveyor (10) so as to be able to distribute said food to said animals, characterized in that it further comprises: storage means (30) which can take a first position where they store the food transported by said conveyor (10) and a second position, called the retracted position, where they pour all of their contents simultaneously into said or each trough (20), and a control unit (50) provided for controlling said storage means (30) so that, during a first phase, they are in said first position and thus store the food transported by said conveyor (10) and that, during a second phase, they are retracted and cant ent all of their   contained simultaneously in said or each trough (20).   2) Distribution system according to claim 1, characterized in that said control unit (50) comprises a food detection device (60) placed at the downstream end of said conveyor (10), said control unit (50 ), after detection by   said device (60), passing from said first phase to said second phase.   3) Distribution system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said storage means (30) consist of shutter means (31) provided for closing lights (16) provided in the lower part of said conveyor (10 )   the food then being stored in said conveyor (10).   4) Distribution system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said storage means (30) consist of reserve means (31) provided under lights (16) provided in the lower part of said conveyor (10) of way to   be able to collect food spilled by said conveyor (10) and store it.   ) Distribution system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said storage means (30) consist of shutter and reserve means (31) provided under lights (16) provided in the lower part of said conveyor ( 10) so as either to be able to seal said lights (16), or to be able to collect   the food spilled by said conveyor (10) and store it, or to be retracted.   6) Distribution system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said storage means (30) consist of at least one flap mounted   so as to be able to slide longitudinally on said conveyor.   7) Distribution system according to one of claims I to 5, characterized in that   that said storage means (30) consist of at least one flap mounted   so as to be able to slide axially on said conveyor.   8) Distribution system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that   that said storage means (30) consist of at least one flap (31) designed to pivot around a pivot axis parallel (32) to the longitudinal axis of said   conveyor (10), said axis (32) being on one side of said flap (31).   9) A distribution system according to claim 8, characterized in that said or each flap (31) has a V-shaped section whose tip is truncated,   said flap (31) being provided to include said conveyor (10).   ) Distribution system according to one of Claims 6 to 9, characterized in that   that said or each flap (31) is connected to a control cylinder (40) by means of a   control cable (41), the length of which can be adjusted.   11) Distribution system according to one of the preceding claims,   characterized in that said conveyor (10) is fed at its upstream end by   through a metering flap (14).   12) Distribution system according to one of the preceding claims,   characterized in that said conveyor (10) is housed in a tube comprising a lower part (14) and an upper part (16), said upper part (16) being removable so as to be able to access the drive element of said conveyor (10). 13) Distribution installation which comprises a plurality of distribution systems   distribution according to one of the preceding claims.