Chicken coop

Abstract

To prevent dust that has settled at the bottom of the exhaust buffer chamber from being stirred up again. [Solution] The chicken coop of the present invention comprises a chicken coop body 1 consisting of a building for housing chickens, an exhaust fan 2 for exhausting air from inside the chicken coop body, and an exhaust buffer chamber 3 surrounded by vertical walls 31 into which air from inside the chicken coop body 1 carried by the exhaust fan 2 enters, and the air hits the vertical walls 31 and is exhausted from an opening provided above, wherein the exhaust buffer chamber 3 is equipped with a capture groove 34 on its floor for retaining feathers that are discharged along with the air.

Description

Technical Field

[0006]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for capturing feathers discharged from an exhaust fan in a chicken coop, and particularly to a technique for facilitating the collection of the captured feathers.

Background Art

[0002] There is a chicken coop called an open chicken coop that is not blocked from the outside. The open chicken coop is characterized by taking in outside air through a wire mesh window. The open chicken coop is easy to realize as a small-scale chicken coop, but there is a risk of being contaminated by avian influenza or the like due to the intrusion of wild birds.

[0003] To avoid such contamination, so-called windowless chicken coops are increasing (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1). The windowless chicken coop has the merit of being able to reduce the risk of infectious diseases by blocking it from the outside.

[0004] Since this windowless chicken coop is blocked from the outside, it is necessary to forcibly ventilate the inside of the chicken coop. Generally, chicken cages for raising chickens are arranged along the longitudinal direction of a chicken coop having gable ends at both ends in the longitudinal direction, an intake port is provided on one gable end, and an exhaust fan is provided on the other gable end, and air taken in from the intake port is flowed along the direction in which the cages are arranged and then exhausted from the exhaust fan. However, in this windowless chicken coop, there is a problem that feathers generated inside the chicken coop are released outside the chicken coop together with the exhausted air.

[0005] Therefore, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing feathers from scattering outside the chicken coop from the exhaust port by a net provided so as to cover the exhaust fan of the windowless chicken coop from the outside. However, in the chicken coop of Non-Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it takes time to wash the feathers and dust captured by the net.

[0006] On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses an exhaust dust prevention device that includes a buffer chamber surrounded by a surrounding wall on the site adjacent to the chicken coop. In the device of Patent Document 1, when the air exhausted from the exhaust fan collides with the surrounding wall and turns upward, dust and other particles contained in the air fall and accumulate at the bottom (paragraph 0013). In the device of Patent Document 1, a net is provided at the upper opening of the exhaust buffer chamber to capture dust that tries to escape by being blown up from the exhaust buffer chamber. Not only dust but also feathers discharged from the exhaust fan will naturally adhere to this net. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Japan Poultry Association, "Manual for Preventing the Diffusion of Feathers, Dust, etc. in Windowless Poultry Houses and for Cleaning Poultry Houses and Equipment," [online], [Accessed July 23, 2024], Internet https: / / www.jpa.or.jp / news / gyosei / 08 / 06 / 01.html [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-117624 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] However, the chicken coops described in Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1 had the problem of being time-consuming to clean the nets that were covered with feathers. This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a chicken coop equipped with a means for capturing feathers that does not require much effort to clean them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The invention made to solve the above problems is a chicken coop comprising a chicken coop body consisting of a building for housing chickens, an exhaust fan for exhausting air from inside the chicken coop body, and an exhaust buffer chamber surrounded by vertical walls into which air from inside the chicken coop body carried by the exhaust fan enters, and the air hits the vertical walls and is exhausted from an opening provided above, characterized in that the exhaust buffer chamber is provided with a capture groove for capturing feathers discharged along with the air. Here, "feathers" includes feathers that have been crushed into a dust-like consistency.

[0011] In the chicken coop according to the present invention, when air from the exhaust fan passes over the capture groove, the air becomes stagnant above the capture groove, and feathers that can no longer be supported by the buoyancy of the air fall into the capture groove. In this invention, since feathers are captured by the capture groove provided on the floor surface, the feathers can be easily cleaned by simply sweeping along the groove with a broom.

[0012] In the chicken coop according to the present invention, it is preferable that a protruding ridge is provided along the capture groove on the exhaust fan side of the capture groove. By doing so, the airflow from the exhaust fan can be suppressed by the protruding ridge, which further suppresses the blowing of feathers and dust that have fallen into the capture groove.

[0013] Preferably, the feather capture groove is provided along the vertical wall of the exhaust buffer chamber. This allows feathers that collide with the vertical wall and fall to be efficiently dropped into the capture groove, and also makes it easier to clean the feathers in the capture groove by moving a broom or the like along the inner surface of the vertical wall.

[0014] Preferably, at least a portion of the bottom surface of the capture groove is lower than the floor. This way, compared to capture grooves where the bottom surface is the same as or higher than the floor, the airflow from the exhaust fan is less likely to hit the captured feathers, thus preventing the captured feathers from scattering.

[0015] The chicken coop of the present invention preferably includes a top plate that extends from the vertical wall to cover the upper part of the capture groove. By doing so, among the air that exits from the exhaust fan to the upper opening of the exhaust buffer chamber, the air that rises along the vertical wall can be blocked by the top plate, so that the feathers blown to the vertical wall by the exhaust fan can be efficiently dropped into the capture groove.

[0016] The chicken coop of the present invention preferably includes a standing plate-shaped capture plate that stands along the capture groove on the exhaust fan side of the capture groove, and the capture plate preferably includes capture holes formed by through holes for allowing feathers from the exhaust fan to pass through. By doing so, the air discharged from the exhaust fan collides with the capture plate and then rises along the capture plate. The feathers blown to the capture plate together with this air pass through the capture holes penetrating the capture plate due to inertia and fall into the capture groove between the capture plate and the vertical wall, so that the feathers can be efficiently captured.

[0017] The capture groove is preferably provided in a plurality of stages along the vertical wall. By doing so, stagnation of air can be created by the capture groove even at a position far from the floor of the vertical wall, so that feathers can be captured even at a position far from the floor of the vertical wall.

Effect of the Invention

[0018] As described above, according to the chicken coop according to the present invention, the labor for cleaning the feathers discharged from the exhaust fan of the chicken coop can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] [Figure 1] (a) A longitudinal sectional view and (b) a horizontal sectional view of a chicken coop according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] (a) A modified example without ridges and (b) a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified example in which the bottom surface is at the same height as the floor of a chicken coop according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] A longitudinal sectional view of a chicken coop according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] A cross-sectional view of a chicken coop according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] It is a longitudinal sectional view of a chicken coop according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, where the upper surface of the rib and the bottom surface of the capture groove are curved surfaces. [Figure 6] It is a (a) longitudinal sectional view and (b) horizontal sectional view of a chicken coop according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] It is a longitudinal sectional view of a chicken coop according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and appropriate changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0021] (First Embodiment) The chicken coop 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The chicken coop 10 mainly includes a chicken coop main body 1 that is a building for housing chickens, a plurality of exhaust fans 2 for exhausting the air inside the chicken coop main body 1, an exhaust buffer chamber 3 for buffering the momentum of the air discharged by the exhaust fans 2 and then discharging it, and a capture groove 34 for capturing the feathers discharged from the exhaust fans 2. In addition, a rib 35 extending along the capture groove 34 is provided on the exhaust fan 2 side of the capture groove 34.

[0022] The chicken coop main body 1 is a so-called windowless chicken coop, and the air cleanliness inside the room is ensured by forced ventilation by the exhaust fans 2. An air intake (not shown) for allowing air to flow into the room is provided on the opposite side of the chicken coop main body 1 facing the exhaust wall 12 where the exhaust fans 2 are provided, and the air is sent in the direction from the air intake to the exhaust fans. Chicken cages (not shown) are arranged in vertical columns and in multiple stages along the flow of this air.

[0023] A plurality of exhaust fans 2 (in the example of FIG. 1, a total of 12 in 3 upper and lower stages and 4 columns in the horizontal direction) are provided so as to penetrate the exhaust wall 12 of the chicken coop main body 1, and are configured to exhaust air from most of the area of the exhaust wall 12.

[0024] As shown in Figure 1(b), the exhaust buffer chamber 3 is a rectangular outdoor space in plan view adjacent to the exhaust wall 12 of the chicken house body 1 within the site of the chicken house 10, and is surrounded on three sides by vertical walls 31, except for the side facing the chicken house body 1. The vertical walls 31 consist of a pair of lateral vertical walls 31a, 31c on the left and right (top and bottom in Figure 1(b)) and a front vertical wall 31b facing the exhaust fan 2. Above the exhaust buffer chamber 3, there is an opening 33 that opens up the entire space surrounded by the vertical walls 31. In this way, the air discharged from the exhaust fan 2 collides with the front vertical wall 31b, its momentum is buffered, and then it rises and is discharged to the outside through the opening 33 above. Feathers F are discharged from the exhaust fan 2 along with the air, and most of the feathers F do not rise due to the buoyancy of the air that has lost momentum due to the front vertical wall 31b, but fall along the front vertical wall 31b. However, the area above the exhaust buffer chamber 3 may be partially or entirely blocked by a net or filter.

[0025] The capture groove 34 is provided in the floor 32. In the example in Figure 1, the capture groove 34 has a flat bottom surface 34a and a rectangular cross-section. The capture groove 34 may be provided by excavating the floor 32 so that the bottom surface 34a is lower than the floor 32, as shown in Figures 1(a) and 2(a), or by providing a protrusion 35 on the exhaust fan 2 side of the capture groove 34 so that the floor 32 and the bottom surface 34a are at the same height, as shown in Figure 2(b). By providing the capture groove 34 in the floor 32 in this way, it is possible to suppress the airflow from the exhaust fan from hitting the feathers F that have fallen into the capture groove 34, thereby suppressing the feathers F from being blown around. In particular, in this embodiment, the capture groove 34 is provided along the front vertical wall 31b, so that feathers F falling along the front vertical wall 31b can be efficiently captured. In addition, since a broom or the like can be moved along the inner surface of the front vertical wall 31b, it is easy to clean the feathers F in the capture groove 34.

[0026] In the example shown in Figure 1, the capture grooves 34 are formed continuously along the entire width of the front vertical wall 31b, but multiple grooves may be formed intermittently, or they may be shorter than the total length of the front vertical wall 31b. Also, the bottom surface 34a of the capture grooves 34 and the upper surface 35a of the protrusions may be curved surfaces rather than flat surfaces.

[0027] The protrusion 35 is provided on the exhaust fan 2 side of the capture groove 34 so as to protrude upward from the floor 32. In the example in Figure 1, the top surface 35a of the protrusion 35 is flat and the cross-section is rectangular. By providing the protrusion 35, the airflow from the exhaust fan can be suppressed by the protrusion 35 compared to when the protrusion 35 is not provided, so that feathers F that have fallen into the capture groove 34 are not blown away. The protrusion 35 may be provided as multiple intermittent protrusions rather than as a single continuous protrusion. In the example in Figure 1, the protrusion 35 is connected to the lateral vertical wall 31a or lateral vertical wall 31c, but it may end before the lateral vertical wall 31a or lateral vertical wall 31c. Also, the top surface 35a of the protrusion 35 may be a curved surface.

[0028] (Second Embodiment) The raised ribs 35 do not have to stand upright in a nearly vertical direction, but may be tilted toward the front vertical wall 31b relative to the floor 32, as shown in the chicken coop 20 in Figure 3. This allows the raised ribs 35 to hold down the feathers F that would otherwise fly up, making it less likely for the feathers F trapped in the capture groove 34 to fly away.

[0029] (Third embodiment) The exhaust buffer chamber 3 is not limited to a rectangle in the plan view; it may also be trapezoidal (see Figure 4(a)) or elliptical (see Figure 4(b)), as shown in the chicken coop 30 in Figure 4, or triangular, although this is not shown in the illustration. In any case of the shape of the exhaust buffer chamber 3, it goes without saying that it is preferable that the capture groove 34 is installed along the vertical wall 31 to which the air containing feathers F from inside the chicken coop body 1, which has been brought in by the exhaust fan 2, hits.

[0030] (Fourth Embodiment) The chicken coop 40 in Figure 5 is an example in which the cross-section of the bottom surface 34a of the capture groove 34 is a curved surface that is recessed in a mountain shape, and the cross-section of the top surface 35a of the convex rib 35 is a curved surface that protrudes upward in a mountain shape. This makes it easier for feathers F that have slid down the floor 32 from the exhaust fan 2 side to go over the convex rib 35. In addition, since there are no corners in the bottom surface 34a of the capture groove 34 into which feathers F can get stuck, cleaning of feathers F is easier.

[0031] (Fifth embodiment) Figure 6 shows a chicken coop 50 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The chicken coop 50 includes a top plate 36 extending from the upper end of the front vertical wall 31b toward the exhaust buffer chamber 3, and a vertical plate-shaped capture plate 37 erected along the front vertical wall 31b within the exhaust buffer chamber 3. In this embodiment, the capture groove 34 is formed by the front vertical wall 31b, the floor 32, and the capture plate 37.

[0032] The trapping plate 37 is provided with numerous trapping holes 37a, ... that penetrate in the thickness direction. In the example shown in Figure 6, the trapping holes 37a consist of horizontally elongated slit-shaped holes partitioned by elongated louvers 37b, ... whose longitudinal direction is horizontal. However, the trapping plate 37 is not particularly limited as long as it has through holes that can be formed into trapping holes 37a, and may be made of perforated metal or mesh board. The louvers 37b may be horizontal in the width direction, or they may be inclined so that the side facing the front vertical wall 31b is lower.

[0033] As shown in Figure 6(a), the air discharged from the exhaust fan 2 collides with the capture plate 37, rises along the capture plate 37, and is released to the outside through the upper opening 33. Meanwhile, the feathers F contained in the air discharged from the exhaust fan 2 enter the space 38 between the capture plate 37 and the front vertical wall 31b through the capture hole 37a due to inertia and the wind (air) passing through the capture hole 37a, and fall into the capture groove 34 formed by the lower part of the front vertical wall 31b, the lower part of the capture plate 37, and the floor 32, where they are captured.

[0034] As shown in Figure 6(b), gaps 37d, 37d are provided between the widthwise (vertical direction in Figure 5(b)) ends of the capture plate 37 and the side vertical walls 31a, 31c, allowing a person to enter the space 38 between the capture plate 37 and the front vertical wall 31b to clean the capture groove 34. However, the ends of the capture plate 37 may be brought into contact with the side vertical walls 31a, 31c without providing gaps 37d, or gaps 37d may be provided only on one end of the capture plate 37.

[0035] (Sixth Embodiment) Figure 7 shows a chicken coop 60 according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the chicken coop 60, multiple capture grooves 34A to 34D are provided in upper and lower stages along the inner surface of the front vertical wall 31b. In the example in Figure 7, the capture grooves 34A to 34D are formed by attaching trough-shaped members 4, 4, ... to the inner surface of the front vertical wall 31b with their openings facing upwards and horizontally. In the example in Figure 7, the lowest capture groove 34D is also formed by the trough-shaped member 4, but the lowest capture groove 34D may also be formed by excavating the floor 32.

[0036] In the chicken coop 60 according to this embodiment, the air discharged by the exhaust fan 2 hits the trough-shaped member 4 and rises, and is released to the outside through the opening 33 at the top. Meanwhile, the feathers F contained in the air discharged from the exhaust fan 2 fall from the capture groove 34A into the capture groove 34D due to the air stagnation formed by the trough-shaped member 4 and are collected.

[0037] As described above, the chicken coop of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the capture groove 34 may be formed at a certain distance from the front vertical wall 31b. The bottom surface 34a of the capture groove 34 may be sloped along its longitudinal direction. This has the effect of making it easier to clean the feathers F accumulated at the bottom of the capture groove 34 by cleaning in the direction of the lower slope. In addition, water can be flowed into the capture groove 34 to collect the feathers F in a specific place.

[0038] The exhaust buffer chamber 3 does not have to be adjacent to the chicken house body 1 with the exhaust wall 12 in between; for example, it may be connected via a wind tunnel. The goal is simply to be able to flow the air containing feathers F from inside the chicken house body, which has been brought in by the exhaust fan 2, into the exhaust buffer chamber 3.

[0039] The trapping groove 34 may be formed along the lateral vertical walls 31a, 31c.

[0040] Both ends along the vertical wall 31 may be closed by the lateral vertical wall 31a or lateral vertical wall 31c, or they may be left open to allow feathers F to be swept out at both ends.

[0041] A cover may be provided in part of the capture groove 34. This allows the feathers F to be temporarily swept under the cover. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 chicken coops 1. Chicken coop 2 Exhaust fans 3. Exhaust buffer chamber 31 Vertical wall 31a,31c Side standing wall (standing wall) 31b Front standing wall (standing wall) 32 beds 33 Aperture 34,34A,34B,34C,34D Capture groove 35 raised stripes 36 Top plate 37 Capture board 37a Capture hole

Claims

1. A chicken coop comprising a chicken coop main body consisting of a building for housing chickens, an exhaust fan for exhausting air from inside the chicken coop main body, and an exhaust buffer chamber surrounded by vertical walls into which air from inside the chicken coop main body brought in by the exhaust fan enters, and the air hits the vertical walls and is exhausted from an opening provided above, A chicken coop characterized in that the exhaust buffer chamber is provided with a capture groove for capturing feathers discharged along with the air.

2. The chicken coop according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding ridge provided along the capture groove on the exhaust fan side of the capture groove.

3. The chicken coop according to claim 1, wherein the capture groove is provided along the vertical wall of the exhaust buffer chamber.

4. The chicken coop according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the bottom surface of the capture trench is lower than the floor surface of the floor.

5. The chicken coop according to claim 3, further comprising a top plate extending from the vertical wall to cover the upper part of the capture groove.

6. The capture groove is provided with a vertical plate-shaped capture plate that is erected along the capture groove on the exhaust fan side of the capture groove, The chicken coop according to claim 5, wherein the capture plate consists of through holes and is equipped with capture holes for allowing feathers from the exhaust fan to pass through.

7. The chicken coop according to claim 1, wherein the capture trenches are provided in multiple stages along the vertical wall.

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