Feed supply trough structure and feed supply aid

Abstract

In a feed feeding auxiliary part (1) having a hook part (10) and a wing part (20), the hook part (10) is constructed to include: a flat bottom part (11); a flat top part (12) spaced apart from the bottom part (11) in the vertical direction in parallel; a side part (13) connecting the bottom part (11) and the top part (12) on the same side; and a claw part (15) extending downward from the end of the top part (12) on the side opposite to the side part (13), and the wing part (20) is constructed to extend from the side part (13) in a V-shape in the left and right directions, and has elasticity to return to its original shape when the angle of being compressed into the V-shape becomes smaller.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a feed trough structure for feed supply and an auxiliary member for the structure, in a case where feed is carried in a feed trough arranged along a cage row by a chain feeder in a chicken raising facility. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a facility for raising a plurality of chickens with a plurality of cages, a plurality of cage rows in which a plurality of cages are arranged side by side in a horizontal direction are stacked in multiple layers. Along each cage row, a long feed trough is arranged in the horizontal direction, and feed for chickens is supplied to the inside thereof. Generally, feed introduced from the outside at some portions of the long feed trough is carried in the feed trough by a feeder. As such a feeder, there is a chain feeder having a chain arranged at the bottom of the feed trough and a driving device that moves the chain along the feed trough. With the movement of the chain, the feed is carried in the feed trough while being stirred, whereby the chickens raised in each cage can take the feed.

[0003] However, in the case of feed supply using a chain feeder, feed that does not come into contact with the chain sometimes remains in the feed trough. When the chickens take the feed that has decreased in freshness due to the remaining, it can have an adverse effect on the health of the chickens. In addition, when the remaining feed is wetted by the saliva of the chickens and adheres to the feed trough, the feed trough can be corroded at that portion.

[0004] Therefore, a technique is needed that can suppress the remaining of feed and the adhesion of feed to a feed trough in a case where feed is carried in the feed trough using a chain feeder. SUMMARY

[0005] Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above-described actual circumstances, an object of the present application is to provide a feed trough structure for feed supply and an auxiliary member for the structure, which can suppress the remaining of feed and the adhesion of feed to a feed trough in a case where feed is carried in the feed trough using a chain feeder.

[0007] Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] To solve the above-described problem, the feed trough structure for feed supply of the present application is as follows:

[0009] "inside of a feed trough arranged along a cage row, a chain of a chain feeder is arranged, and an auxiliary member for feed supply is attached to a portion of the chain, the cage row being formed by a plurality of cages for raising chickens arranged side by side in a horizontal direction, characterized in that,

[0010] The auxiliary member for feed supply has:

[0011] a hook portion that hooks a link portion of a link constituting the chain; and

[0012] a wing portion that extends from the hook portion in at least one of leftward and rightward directions orthogonal to a direction in which the links are continuous,

[0013] the wing portion is press-fitted to the trough with an end portion thereof by an elastic force of the wing portion in a state in which an angle of the V-shape or an opening of the U-shape is reduced.

[0014] The present structure is a trough structure in which a feed supply aid is attached to a chain disposed inside the trough in a feed supply device using a chain. In the case of using the chain feed device, the feed supplied into the trough is carried by moving the chain in the length direction of the trough, and the feed can be supplied to the chickens raised in the cages constituting the cage row.

[0015] The hook portion of the feed supply aid hooks the link portion of the link constituting the chain, and the wing portion extends from the hook portion in at least one of the leftward and rightward directions in a V-shape or a U-shape. Therefore, even if the feed is pushed in the leftward and rightward directions as the chain moves, the feed is difficult to be retained in contact with the subsequent chain, and the feed can be pushed forward and carried by the wing portion of the feed supply aid that moves together with the chain.

[0016] In addition, the wing portion is press-fitted to the trough with an end portion thereof by an elastic force of the wing portion in a state in which an angle of the V-shape or an opening of the U-shape is reduced. That is, the wing portion functions as a spring. By this function, even if the feed wetted by the saliva of the chickens adheres to the trough, the end portion of the wing portion that is press-fitted to the trough and moves functions as a "scraper", and the feed is scraped, so that the feed adhering to the trough can be effectively suppressed.

[0017] The feed supply trough structure of the present application can be formed in the above structure,

[0018] the hook portion has:

[0019] a bottom surface portion in a flat plate shape;

[0020] a top surface portion in a flat plate shape that is spaced apart from the bottom surface portion in the up-down direction in parallel thereto;

[0021] a side surface portion that links the bottom surface portion and the top surface portion on the same side; and

[0022] a claw portion that extends downward from an end portion of the top surface portion on the side opposite to the side surface portion.

[0023] With the hook portion being structured in this way, the hook portion can be hooked to the link portion of the chain with an easy work without any tool.

[0024] Next, the feed supply aid of the present application is as follows:

[0025] "A feed supply aid having a hook portion and at least one wing portion, characterized in that,

[0026] The hook portion has a flat bottom surface portion, a flat top surface portion spaced apart from the bottom surface portion in the up-down direction, a side surface portion connecting the bottom surface portion and the top surface portion on the same side, and a claw portion extending downward from an end portion of the top surface portion opposite the side surface portion,

[0027] The wing portion extends in a V-shape or a U-shape from at least one of the two end portions in the left-right direction orthogonal to the up-down direction at the side surface portion, and has elasticity to return to the original state when the angle of the V-shape or the opening of the U-shape is reduced."

[0028] This is a structure of a feed supply aid used in the above-described feed supply trough structure, in the case where the structure of the hook portion is specified.

[0029] The feed supply aid of the present application can be formed, in addition to the above-described structure,

[0030] "the end portion of the wing portion is formed to be longer in the up-down direction than the remaining portion."

[0031] In this structure, in the wing portion, the end portion is formed to be longer in the up-down direction, so that when the end portion is crimped to the trough like a scraper, the feed can be scraped with a larger area. In addition, since the wing portion can be formed to be thinner except for the end portion, the effect of the spring can be adjusted by the thickness.

[0032] Effects of the Invention

[0033] As described above, according to the present application, a feed supply trough structure and a feed supply aid used in the structure can be provided, which can suppress the stagnation of feed and the adhesion of feed to the trough when feed is conveyed in the trough using a chain feeder. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a feed supply aid of the present embodiment.

[0035] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a part of a feed supply trough structure in which the feed supply aid of Figure 1 is installed on a chain.

[0036] Figure 3 (a) and Figure 3(b) is a diagram for explaining the attachment of the feed supply auxiliary member to the chain.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the chain to which the feed supply auxiliary parts are attached, viewed from directly above. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Hereinafter, a feed feeding trough structure according to a specific embodiment of the present invention and a feed feeding auxiliary tool 1 used in the structure will be described using the drawings.

[0039] The feed trough 50 for feeding feed is located along a horizontally arranged row of cages for raising chickens. The trough 50 has an elongated rectangular bottom 51 and side walls 52 extending upward from a pair of long sides of the bottom 51. The pair of side walls 52 are inclined so that they become increasingly separated from each other as they move upward.

[0040] The chain 30 of a chain feeder (chain feeder) is located at the bottom 51 of the conveyor trough 50. In a typical chain, adjacent rings of a chain extend through the spaces enclosed by the other rings, causing the spaces enclosed by the adjacent rings to intersect. In contrast, the chain 30 of the chain feeder connects the rings 31 to each other via connectors 32, ensuring that the spaces enclosed by adjacent rings 31 are aligned on the same plane.

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown, the ends of two troughs 50 on the same side are connected by a connecting path 60, so that the endless chain 30 can circulate and move continuously between the bottom 51 of the trough 50 arranged along a certain cage row 90a and the bottom 51 of the trough 50 arranged along the cage row 90b opposite to the cage row 90a. The connecting path 60 has an elongated rectangular bottom 61 and side walls 62 extending upward from a pair of long sides of the bottom 61.

[0042] Each trough 50 is provided with a corner portion 70 at both ends. The rotation of the pulley at these corner portions 70 changes the direction of movement of the chain 30 at a right angle. The chain 30, which is traveling along the bottom 51 of the trough 50 in the cage row 90a, changes direction at the corner portion 70 and travels along the connecting path 60. It then changes direction at the corner portion 70 and travels along the bottom 51 of the trough 50 in the cage row 90b. It then changes direction at the corner portion 70 and travels along the connecting path 60, finally returning to the original trough 50 by changing direction at the corner portion 70. In this manner, the chain 30 circulates along the endless chain travel path 80 that surrounds the cage row.

[0043] A drive mechanism that drives the chain 30 is provided midway through the chain travel path 80. The drive mechanism has a motor 71 and a transmission 72 that transmits the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 71 to the chain 30. In the case where the cage is stacked in multiple layers, such a chain travel path 80 and drive mechanism are provided in each layer.

[0044] More than one feed supply aid 1 is installed for one endless chain 30. The feed supply aid 1 of the present embodiment has a hook portion 10 and two wing portions 20. The hook portion 10 has a flat bottom surface portion 11, a flat top surface portion 12 that is parallel to the bottom surface portion 11 and is spaced apart in the up-down direction, a side surface portion 13 that links the bottom surface portion 11 and the top surface portion 12 on the same side, and a claw portion 15 that extends downward from the end portion 20e on the side opposite the side surface portion 13 of the top surface portion 12. The claw portion 15 is provided in two, and the two claw portions 15 are spaced apart at a distance that is slightly greater than the width of the link 32 of the chain 30.

[0045] The wing portions 20 extend in a V-shape from both ends of the side surface portion 13 of the hook portion 10 in the left-right direction that is orthogonal to the up-down direction. The length of the wing portions 20 in the up-down direction is made large only at the end portions 20e. In other words, the wing portions 20 are elongated except for the end portions 20e.

[0046] The feed supply aid 1 having the hook portion 10 and wing portions 20 described above can be manufactured by cutting a flat metal plate and bending it into shape. Since the wing portions 20 are formed by bending the portion of the flat metal plate that is cut to be elongated in a V-shape, the wing portions 20 can be compressed in such a way that the angle of the V-shape becomes smaller, and have elasticity to return to the original state from the compressed state. That is, the wing portions 20 function as springs. The thickness of the wing portions 20 and the length of the wing portions 20 in the up-down direction except for the end portions 20e can be used to adjust the magnitude of the action of the springs.

[0047] When the feed supply aid 1 is installed on the chain 30, the feed supply aid 1 is placed below the chain 30 that is disposed on the bottom 51 of the trough 50, and the hook portion 10 is hooked to the link portion of the chain 30. In the hook portion 10, since the two claw portions 15 are spaced apart at a distance that is slightly greater than the width of the link 32 of the chain 30, the hook portion 10 is hooked to the link portion of the chain 30 in such a way that the link 32 is sandwiched from both sides by the claw portions 15. In this way, the feed supply aid 1 can be easily installed on the chain 30 without the use of tools. In addition, the feed supply aid 1 is installed on the chain 30 in such a way that the side surface portion 13 of the hook portion 10 faces the direction of travel of the chain 30, and the top of the V-shape of the wing portions 20 faces the direction of travel of the chain 30.

[0048] Thus, in a state where the feed supply aid 1 is attached to the chain 30, the length of the wing portion 20 is set by the distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 of the trough 50 in a state where the wing portion 20 is slightly compressed and the end portion 20e of the wing portion 20 is pressed against the side wall portion 52 of the trough 50.

[0049] When the feed is supplied to the chickens raised in the cages, the feed is supplied into the trough 50 near the end portion of the trough 50 via a hopper (not shown) and the chain 30 is moved by the driving mechanism. Thus, as the chain 30 moves, the feed is carried toward the moving direction of the chain 30 while being stirred by the chain 30, and therefore, the chickens in all the cages constituting the cage row can be supplied with the feed.

[0050] At this time, the feed pushed away by the moving chain 30 to the left and right directions is difficult to come into contact with the subsequent chain 30 and is likely to be retained near the intersection 53 of the bottom portion 51 and the side wall portion 52 of the trough 50. In addition, if the retained feed is wetted by the saliva of the chickens, it sometimes adheres to the trough 50.

[0051] In contrast, in the present embodiment, the feed supply aid 1 is attached to the chain 30 at the middle thereof, and in the feed supply aid 1, the wing portion 20 extends to the left and right directions from the hook portion 10. Therefore, the feed retained at a position where it is difficult to come into contact with the chain 30 is carried by being pushed by the wing portion 20 as the chain 30 moves.

[0052] In addition, the wing portion 20 is compressed in a manner that the angle of the V shape becomes smaller, and the end portion 20e is pressed against the trough 50 by the elasticity to return to the original state. The position where the end portion 20e of the wing portion 20 is pressed is the side wall portion 52 near the intersection 53 of the bottom portion 51 in the trough 50. Therefore, even if the feed adheres thereto, since the end portion 20e of the wing portion 20 moving while being pressed against the side wall portion 52 functions like a "scraper" to scrape the feed, the feed can be effectively inhibited from adhering to the trough 50.

[0053] In addition, only the end portion 20e of the wing portion 20 is long in the up and down directions, and the rest is formed to be elongated. Therefore, by being compressed in a manner that the angle of the V shape becomes smaller, the function of a spring is easily exerted, and on the other hand, the end portion 20e long in the up and down directions can scrape the side wall portion 52 of the trough 50 with a large area.

[0054] The trough 50 is formed by joining a plurality of portions in order to be formed very long in accordance with the length of the cage row. The distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 is sometimes made smaller by abutting a plate for connection at the joint of the trough 50. In addition, the width dimension is sometimes smaller than the distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 of the trough 50 by providing a member for reinforcing the strength of the bent portion at the corner portion 70.

[0055] On the other hand, since the wing portion 20 of the feed supply aid 1 is compressed to a smaller angle of the V shape, and has an elasticity to restore the original state in the compressed state, the feed supply aid 1 can pass through a portion of the trough 50 where the distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 is smaller than other portions, and a portion where the width dimension is small at the corner portion 70 without any problem. Further, after passing through the narrow portion, the wing portion 20 expands again in the left-right direction, and is pressed against the pair of side wall portions 52 of the trough 50 or the pair of side wall portions 62 of the connecting path 60.

[0056] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by merely installing the feed supply aid 1 having a very simple structure on the chain 30, it is possible to effectively reduce the possibility of the feed remaining in the trough 50 and the possibility of the feed adhering to the trough 50.

[0057] Further, since the feed supply aid 1 is driven by the driving mechanism possessed by the chicken raising facility to which the chain feeder is originally introduced, it has an advantage that a new power source does not need to be provided in order to prevent the feed from remaining in the trough 50 and adhering to the trough 50.

[0058] The present application has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and design changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present application.

[0059] For example, in the above-described embodiments, the feed supply aid 1 in which the wing portion 20 extends in both left and right directions from the hook portion 10 is exemplified, but the feed supply aid can also be formed to have only one wing portion 20. It is known from experience that the chickens raised in cages have a tendency to eat the feed in the portion of the feed in the trough 50 near the side wall portion 52 on the side away from the cage, and the adhesion of the feed also easily occurs near the junction 53 of the side wall portion 52 on the side away from the cage and the bottom portion 51. Therefore, in the feed supply aid having only one wing portion 20, it is preferable that the wing portion 20 extends toward the side wall portion 52 on the side away from the cage.

[0060] Further, in the case of the feed supply aid having only one wing portion 20, a member for balancing the wing portion 20 can extend to the side without the wing portion 20.

[0061] Further, in the above-described embodiments, the case where the wing portion 20 is in a V shape is exemplified, but it can also be in a U shape. Even in the case of the wing portion in a U shape, since it is compressed in a manner that the opening of the U shape is small and functions as a spring to restore the original state, the same effect that the end portion of the wing portion is always pressed against the trough is exerted.

Claims

1. A feed trough structure for feeding feed, wherein a chain of a chain feeding device is arranged inside a feed trough arranged along a cage array, and a feed feeding auxiliary member is installed on a part of the chain, wherein the cage array is formed by arranging a plurality of cages for raising chickens side by side in a horizontal direction, characterized in that: The feed supply auxiliary device has: a hook portion hooked on a connecting portion of a link constituting the chain; and The V-shaped or U-shaped wing extends from the hook in at least one of the left and right directions, which is perpendicular to the continuous direction of the loop. When the wing portion is compressed into a V-shaped angle or a U-shaped opening with a smaller angle, the end portion is pressed against the material trough by utilizing elasticity to restore the original shape.

2. The feed trough structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hook portion comprises: Flat bottom surface; a flat top portion parallel to the bottom portion and spaced apart in the vertical direction; a side surface portion connecting the bottom surface portion and the top surface portion on the same side; and The claw portion extends downward from an end portion of the top surface portion on the opposite side to the side surface portion.

3. A feed feeding auxiliary component used in the feed feeding trough structure according to claim 1, comprising a hook portion and at least one wing portion, characterized in that: The hook portion includes a flat bottom portion, a flat top portion spaced apart in the vertical direction parallel to the bottom portion, a side portion connecting the bottom and top portions on the same side, and a claw portion extending downward from an end portion of the top portion on a side opposite to the side portion. The wing portion extends in a V-shape or U-shape from at least one of the two end portions in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction on the side portion, and has elasticity to return to its original shape when the angle of the V-shape or the opening of the U-shape becomes smaller.

4. The feed supply auxiliary device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The end portion of the wing portion is formed to have a vertical length greater than that of the remaining portion.

Images