Chicken Catching and Caging Machine

Abstract

To provide a machine for capturing and filling a domestic fowl in a cage, capable of performing without requiring man power as possible, capturing of domestic fowls, filling of the domestic fowls in the cage, and transport of the cages in delivery of the domestic fowls in a chicken farm.SOLUTION: A domestic fowl capture device 9 for rotating a pair of rotating rolls 11, 11 and causing elastic rod-shaped bodies 10 radially implanted on outer peripheries of the rotating rolls to draw the domestic fowls and send the domestic fowls rearward is provided on a front part of a base 3 of a travel bogie 2. On a rear side of the domestic fowl capture device of the travel bogie, a domestic fowl transport device 15 is provided which comprises: a domestic fowl transport drum 19 formed in a cylindrical shape whose front and rear parts are opened, pivotally supported so as to be orthogonal to an axial direction of the travel bogie, having domestic fowl storage spaces 17 opened on a center part side along a circumferential direction formed at equal intervals by a partition plate 16, and rotating at a low speed; a surrounding plate 20 provided on a lower side rear side of the domestic fowl transport drum; and surrounding plates 21 provided on front and rear side part on a rotary direction side of the domestic fowl transport drum. A roller conveyor 25 which extends along an axial direction of the travel bogie, and penetrates in the center of the domestic fowl transport drum is provided on an upper part of the base.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a chicken catching and crating machine that travels within a chicken farm's chicken house to catch chickens for meat, such as broilers, and crates the caught chickens in transport cages. [Background technology]

[0002] In chicken farms, a large number of meat-producing chickens, such as broilers, are kept in free-range chicken houses, and at the time of shipping, a predetermined number of chickens are packed into transport cages.

[0003] Specifically, this work consists of capturing the chickens, packing the captured chickens into transport cages, and transporting the transport cages filled with the specified number of chickens.

[0004] However, each of these tasks must be performed manually, which places a considerable physical burden on the worker and requires a considerable amount of time.

[0005] That is, first, the task of capturing the chickens is carried out by workers catching each chicken by hand.

[0006] However, capturing each chicken by hand required the worker to bend over, which was physically demanding, and the chickens would try to escape, making it difficult to catch. As a result, capturing a large number of chickens in a chicken coop required a lot of time and effort.

[0007] Next, to pack the captured chickens into the transport cages, the chickens must be picked up by hand and carried to a cage located at a distance. However, large broilers can weigh more than 3kg, and carrying these heavy chickens to a cage located at a distance is a considerable physical burden and takes a considerable amount of time. Furthermore, since one transport cage is limited to seven chickens, seven round trips are required to pack the required number of chickens into one transport cage.

[0008] Furthermore, the transport cages filled with the required number of chickens must be transported, but as mentioned above, one transport cage contains seven chickens, so the total weight is about 20 kg. These heavy transport cages must then be carried by hand to another location, which requires a great deal of time and effort. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and aims to provide a chicken catching and cage-packing machine that can perform tasks necessary at a chicken farm when shipping chickens, such as catching chickens, packing the caught chickens into cages, and transporting the cages filled with chickens, with as little manpower as possible, thereby significantly reducing the great amount of labor required by workers for each task and also significantly shortening the time required, and also reducing the number of workers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The gist of the present invention is a chicken catching device comprising a traveling cart having motor-driven wheels attached to the left and right sides of the front of a base and casters attached to the rear, which can be moved by remote control using wireless communication; a pair of rotating rolls attached to the front center of the base of the traveling cart, which are made of a material having elasticity on the outer periphery and have a number of rod-shaped bodies with uneven surfaces radially planted therein, the pair of rotating rolls being supported vertically in a parallel state and rotated around an axis by a motor in opposite directions, with the tips of the rod-shaped bodies offset from each other at the opposing portions; and a chicken catching device attached to the rear of the base of the traveling cart, the chicken transport device is a chicken transport drum which is cylindrical and open at the front and rear, is supported so as to be perpendicular to the axial direction of the traveling cart, has partition plates on the inside to form chicken housing spaces at equal intervals along the circumferential direction with the center side open, and rotates at a constant low speed by a motor; and the chicken transport device is composed of a shroud provided on the lower rear side of the chicken transport drum on the base of the traveling cart and shroud plates provided on the front and rear sides of the base of the traveling cart in the direction of rotation of the chicken transport drum; and a roller conveyor which is provided on the upper part of the base of the traveling cart, extends along the axial direction of the traveling cart and passes through the center of the chicken transport drum, for carrying and moving transport cages.

[0011] In the above configuration, a chicken receiving frame having a chicken drop hole drilled in the center of the bottom plate may be provided above and parallel to the roller conveyor of the base of the traveling cart.

[0012] In the above configuration, the rotating roll may be configured such that one or two extrusion rods made of a hard material are implanted in the center in the height direction of the rotating roll between a number of rod-shaped bodies radially implanted on the outer periphery.

[0013] In the above configuration, a ride-on guide plate may be provided at a lower front end of the base of the traveling carriage, the ride-on guide plate extending below the pair of rotating rolls and having a tip side inclined toward the ground.

[0014] In the above configuration, a freely rotating roll may be rotatably supported at the front end of the base of the traveling cart behind the rotating roll so as to be parallel to the rotating roll, and a plurality of chicken jump-out prevention belts having an uneven outer surface may be looped between the freely rotating roll and the rotating roll along their height direction. Effect of the Invention

[0015] Because the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to perform the tasks required at a chicken farm when shipping chickens, such as catching chickens, packing the caught chickens into cages, and transporting the cages with the chickens packed inside, with as little manpower as possible. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the labor required by workers for each task, as well as to significantly shorten the time required, and also to reduce the number of workers.

[0016] Furthermore, if a chicken receiving frame with a chicken drop opening drilled in the center of the bottom plate is provided above and parallel to the roller conveyor on the base of the traveling cart, when a chicken slides down from the chicken housing space in the chicken transport drum and enters the transport cage through the opening of the cage, for example, if a chicken that had entered first becomes in the way and cannot enter again, the chicken can be temporarily received and then pushed into the transport cage through the drop opening.

[0017] Furthermore, if the chicken drop opening drilled in the center of the bottom plate of the chicken receiving frame is made a long hole in the direction along the roller conveyor, then by lining up multiple transport cages along the bottom of the chicken receiving frame, it will be possible to pack the chickens received in the chicken receiving frame into multiple transport cages.

[0018] Furthermore, if the rotating roll is configured such that one or two extrusion rods made of a hard material are planted in the center of the height of the rotating roll between a large number of rod-shaped bodies planted radially around the outer periphery, it becomes possible to smoothly pull in and send out all chickens regardless of their body size or weight.

[0019] That is, if the chicken is of average size and not very heavy, it will be sandwiched between the rods of a pair of rotating rolls, pulled in, and sent out backwards, but if the chicken is large and weighs more than 3 kg, it will become stuck between the rods of a pair of rotating rolls and will not be able to move, forcing the work to be stopped.

[0020] In such a case, if one or two push rods made of a hard material are fixed to the rotating roll, the push rods will rotate around the axis of the rotating roll as the rotating roll rotates, and the chickens that are stuck between the rods of the pair of rotating rolls can be pushed backwards, making it unnecessary to interrupt the work.

[0021] Furthermore, if a climbing guide plate is provided on the lower front end of the base of the traveling cart, extending below the pair of rotating rolls and with its tip inclined toward the ground, the chickens to be captured can be smoothly sent into the pair of rotating rolls.

[0022] In other words, without the climbing guide plate, a large gap would be created between the pair of rotating rolls and the ground, creating a step, and in this case, the rod-shaped body of the rotating roll would rub only against the upper part of the chicken's body, not the center, and when the chicken crouches, it becomes even more difficult to pinch it.

[0023] In such a case, if a climbing guide plate is provided on the lower front end of the base of the traveling carriage, as described above, which extends below the pair of rotating rolls and has a tip that is inclined toward the ground, the climbing guide plate will scoop up the chicken's feet and place the whole chicken on the climbing guide plate, and the base will move forward to push the chicken upward on the climbing guide plate, so that the center of the chicken's body will be smoothly sandwiched between the rod-shaped bodies of the pair of rotating rolls.

[0024] In addition, if a freely rotating roll is supported for free rotation parallel to the rotating roll at the front end of the base of the traveling cart behind the rotating roll, and a plurality of chicken jump-out prevention belts with uneven outer surfaces are hung between the freely rotating roll and the rotating roll along their height direction, when a chicken has its wings entangled in the rod-shaped body of the rotating roll, the chicken can be prevented from jumping out to the outside. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chicken catching and cage packing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower part of a rotating roll with a rod-shaped body partially cut away. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the chicken transport drum. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the chicken catching and cage stuffing machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 5 is a front view of a chicken catching and crating machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] This is a plan view of the chicken drop hole when it is a long hole. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when the chicken drop inlet is a long hole. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a case in which a belt for preventing chickens from jumping out is used. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0027] First, a first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 will be described. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a chicken catching and cage-packing machine. The chicken catching and cage-packing machine 1 is made up of a traveling carriage, a chicken catching device, a chicken transport device, and a roller conveyor, which will be described later.

[0028] Reference numeral 2 denotes a traveling cart in the chicken catching and cage packing machine 1. The traveling cart 2 has wheels 5, 5 driven by motors 4 attached to the left and right sides of the front of a base 3, and casters 6, 6 attached to the rear, so that it can travel by remote control using wireless communication. The left and right wheels 5, 5 move forward and backward by forward and reverse control of the left and right motors 4, and change direction by changing the rotation speed of the left and right motors 4. Reference numeral 7 denotes a battery mounted on the base 3 as a power source for the motors 4, and 8 denotes a wireless communication device mounted on the base 3.

[0029] Reference numeral 9 denotes a chicken catching device provided at the front center of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2. The chicken catching device 9 is made of a material having elasticity on its outer periphery, and is composed of a pair of rotating rolls 11 on which a large number of rod-shaped bodies 10, 10, 10... with uneven surfaces are radially planted, as shown in Fig. 6. The pair of rotating rolls 11, 11 are supported vertically in a parallel state, and are rotated in opposite directions around their axes by a motor 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and the tips of the rod-shaped bodies 10 at the opposing portions are offset from each other, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

[0030] In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6 and others, the rotating rolls 11, 11 have one or two push-out rods 13 made of a hard material implanted in the center in the height direction of the rotating rolls 11, 11 between the numerous rod-shaped bodies 10, 10, 10... implanted radially on the outer periphery.

[0031] In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5 and other figures, a climbing guide plate 14 is provided at the lower front end of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2, which extends below the pair of rotating rolls 11, 11 and has a tip end inclined toward the ground.

[0032] Reference numeral 15 denotes a chicken transporting device provided on the base 3 of the traveling cart 2 behind the chicken catching device 9. The chicken transporting device 15 is cylindrical with open front and rear ends, supported perpendicular to the axial direction of the traveling cart 2, and has chicken housing spaces 17, 17, 17... formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction with partition plates 16, 16, 16... on the inside, with the central side open, and is made up of a chicken transporting drum 19 rotated at a low uniform speed by a motor 18, a mesh-like shroud 20 provided on the lower rear side of the chicken transporting drum 19 on the base 3 of the traveling cart 2, and mesh-like shrouds 21, 21 provided on the front and rear sides of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2 in the rotation direction of the chicken transporting drum 19.

[0033] In this embodiment, the chicken transporting drum 19 is supported by a support frame 3A that stands on the upper part of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2, and is rotated by rails 22, 22 provided on the front and rear edges of the outer periphery of the chicken transporting drum 19 and friction wheels 23, 23, 24, 24 that come into contact with the rails 22, 22 on the outside and roll by frictional force. The friction wheels 23, 23 are rotatably supported on the upper side of the support frame 3A, and the friction wheels 24, 24 are supported on the lower side of the support frame 3A and rotated by the motor 18 supported on the base 3 of the traveling cart 2.

[0034] In addition, it is desirable that the rotation speed of chicken transport drum 19 is set to a speed at which one chicken falls per second from each of chicken housing spaces 17, 17, 17....

[0035] In addition, the mesh-like shroud 20 is intended to receive the chickens sent rearward by the pair of rotating rolls 11, 11 in the chicken catching device 9 and position them within the chicken accommodating space 17 of the chicken transport drum 19.

[0036] In addition, the mesh-like shrouds 21, 21 are intended to prevent chickens from jumping out of the chicken housing space 17 when the chicken transporting drum 19 rotates. In this embodiment, since the chicken transporting drum 19 rotates clockwise, the mesh-like shrouds 21, 21 are provided at the front and rear of the left side of the chicken transporting drum 19.

[0037] Reference numeral 25 denotes a roller conveyor that is provided on the upper part of base 3 of traveling cart 2, extends along the axial direction of traveling cart 2, and passes through the center of chicken transport drum 19, for carrying and moving transport cages. In addition, in the figure, reference numeral 26 denotes a transport cage, 27 denotes chickens, and 28a, 28b, 28c, and 28d denote workers. Note that worker 28a is a person who drives traveling cart 2, 28b is a person who loads empty transport cages 26 onto roller conveyor 25, 28c is a person who packs chickens into transport cages 26, and 28d is a person who transfers transport cages 26 filled with chickens to a transport cage transfer cart (not shown) or the like.

[0038] Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. The operator moves the traveling cart 2 closer to the flock of chickens in the chicken coop by remote control using a radio. Then, as the traveling cart 2 moves closer to the chicken, the climbing guide plate 14 provided at the lower front end of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2 approaches the target chicken, the chicken's feet are scooped up by the climbing guide plate 14 and placed on the climbing guide plate 14. When the traveling cart 2 moves forward further, the chicken is pushed up between the pair of rotating rolls 11, 11 of the chicken catching device 9 on the climbing guide plate 14 and is sandwiched between the many rod-shaped bodies 10, 10, 10... planted on the pair of rotating rolls 11, 11. The chickens thus sent out enter the chicken housing space 17 located at the lower side of the chicken transport drum 19, which rotates at a constant low speed, one after another. As chicken transport drum 19 rotates, the chickens are transported upward as shown in Figure 8, and slide down toward the center of chicken transport drum 19 when partition plate 17 is tilted nearly vertically. The chickens that slide down then enter transport cage 26 directly through its opening, which is placed at the chicken drop position on roller conveyor 25. When a predetermined number of chickens have entered transport cage 26, the lid is closed and the stuffing is completed. The fully stuffed transport cage 26 is then sent out by roller conveyor 25.

[0039] Since this embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to perform the tasks required at a chicken farm when shipping chickens, such as catching chickens, packing the caught chickens into cages, and transporting the cages with the chickens packed inside, with as little manpower as possible. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the labor required by workers for each task, as well as the time required, and also to reduce the number of workers.

[0040] In addition, the rotating roll 11 is made of one or two push-out rods 13 made of a hard material planted in the center of the height of the rotating roll between the numerous rod-shaped bodies 10, 10, 10... planted radially around the outer periphery, so that all chickens can be smoothly pulled in and sent out regardless of their size or weight.

[0041] In addition, a climbing guide plate 14 is provided at the lower front end of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2, which extends below the pair of rotating rolls 11, 11 and has a tip side inclined toward the ground, so that the chickens to be caught can be smoothly sent into the pair of rotating rolls.

[0042] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 9 to 13 will be described.

[0043] The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that in this embodiment, a chicken receiving frame 30 having a chicken drop opening 29 drilled in the center of the bottom plate is provided above the roller conveyor 25 of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2 and parallel to the roller conveyor 25. Since other configurations and functions are similar to those of the first embodiment, the same members are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations are omitted.

[0044] Thus, in this embodiment, as described above, when a chicken slides down from the chicken housing space 17 of the chicken transport drum 19 and enters the transport cage 26 through the opening of the transport cage 26, if a chicken that entered first gets in the way and cannot enter again, the chicken can be temporarily received and then pushed into the transport cage 26 through the drop opening 29, as shown in FIG. 11.

[0045] Furthermore, if the chicken drop opening 29 drilled in the center of the bottom plate of chicken receiving frame 30 is made a long hole in the direction along the roller conveyor 25, as shown in FIG. 12, then by lining up multiple transport cages 26 along the lower part of chicken receiving frame 30, as shown in FIG. 13, it will be possible to pack the chickens received in chicken receiving frame 30 into multiple transport cages.

[0046] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 14, if a freely rotating roll 31 is rotatably supported at the front end of the base 3 of the traveling cart 2 behind the rotating roll 11 so as to be parallel to the rotating roll 11, and a plurality of chicken jumping-out prevention belts 32, 32 with an uneven outer surface are hung between the freely rotating roll 31 and the rotating roll 11 along their height direction, when a chicken has its wings entangled in the rod-shaped body 10 of the rotating roll 11, the chicken can be prevented from jumping out to the outside. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Chicken catching and crating machine 2 Travelling cart 3. Foundation 3A Support frame 4 Motors 5, 5 wheels 6, 6 Caster 9 Poultry catching device 10, 10 Rod-shaped 11, 11 rotation roll 12 Motor 13 Push Rod 14. Riding guide plate 15 Chicken conveying device 16, 16 Partition plate 17, 17 Chicken housing space 18 Motor 19 Chicken transport drum 20. Shroud 21, 21 Enclosure 22, 22 rail 23, 23 Friction wheel 24, 24 Friction wheel 25 Roller Conveyor 30 Chicken Receiving Frame 31 Free-rotating roll 32, 32 Chicken jump prevention belt

Claims

1. The present invention relates to a chicken catching device comprising: a traveling dolly having motor-driven wheels attached to the left and right sides of the front of a base and casters attached to the rear, and adapted to travel by remote control using radio; a pair of rotating rolls attached to the front center of the base of the traveling dolly, in which a number of rod-shaped bodies made of a material having an elastic outer periphery and having an uneven surface are radially planted, the pair of rotating rolls being supported vertically in a parallel state and rotated around an axis by a motor in opposite directions, with the tips of the rod-shaped bodies offset from each other at the opposing portions; and a chicken catching device attached to the rear of the base of the traveling dolly, which is open at the front and rear. a chicken transporting device comprising: a chicken transporting drum which is cylindrical and supported so as to be perpendicular to the axial direction of the traveling cart, with chicken accommodating spaces on the inside thereof being equally spaced apart along the circumferential direction with partition plates being open at the center side, and which rotates at a constant low speed by a motor; and a chicken transporting device comprising: a shroud provided on the lower rear side of the chicken transporting drum on a base of the traveling cart and shrouds provided on the front and rear sides of the base of the traveling cart in the direction of rotation of the chicken transporting drum; and a roller conveyor which is provided on an upper part of the base of the traveling cart, extends along the axial direction of the traveling cart and passes through the center of the chicken transporting drum, for carrying and moving transport cages.

2. 2. The chicken catching and crating machine according to claim 1, further comprising a chicken receiving frame having a chicken drop hole drilled in the center of a bottom plate, the chicken receiving frame being disposed above the roller conveyor on the base of the traveling carriage and parallel to the roller conveyor.

3. 3. A chicken catching and cage stuffing machine as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotating roll is a rotating roll in which one or two extrusion rods made of a hard material are planted in the center in the height direction of the rotating roll between a number of rod-shaped bodies planted radially around the outer periphery.

4. 3. The chicken catching and cage stuffing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a climbing guide plate is provided on the lower front end of the base of the traveling carriage, extending below the pair of rotating rolls and having a tip side inclined toward the ground.

5. 3. The chicken catching machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a freely rotating roll supported for free rotation at the front end of the base of the traveling carriage rearward of the rotating roll so as to be parallel to the rotating roll, and a plurality of chicken jump-out prevention belts having an uneven outer surface are wound between the freely rotating roll and the rotating roll along their height direction.

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