Feeding trough structure and feeding aid

Abstract

Provided is a feeding aid (1) comprising a hook part (10) and wing parts (20), wherein: the hook part (10) comprises a plate-like bottom surface part (11), a plate-like top surface part (12) which is parallel to and vertically separated from the bottom surface part (11), a side surface part (13) which connects the bottom surface part (11) and the top surface part (12) on the same side, and a claw part (15) which extends downward from the end of the top surface part (12) on the opposite side from the side surface part (13); and the wing parts (20) extend in the left and right directions from the side surface part (13) in a V shape and have elasticity so as to tend to return to the original state thereof upon being compressed such that the angle of the V shape is decreased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding trough structure when feeding using a chain feed device in a trough arranged along a cage row in a poultry facility, and a feeding auxiliary tool used for this structure.

Background Art

[0002] In a facility for raising a large number of chickens in a large number of cages, a cage row in which a plurality of cages are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction is stacked in a plurality of stages. Along each cage row, a long trough is arranged horizontally, and chicken feed is supplied therein. Generally, feed introduced from the outside at a certain part of the long trough is conveyed in the trough by a feed device. As such a feed device, there is a chain feed device (chain feeder) having a chain arranged at the bottom of the trough and a drive device for moving this chain along the trough. As the chain moves, the feed is conveyed in the trough while being agitated, so that the chickens raised in each cage can ingest the feed.

[0003] However, in the case of feeding using a chain feed device, feed that does not come into contact with the chain may stay in the trough. If the chickens ingest feed whose freshness has deteriorated due to the stay, it may have an adverse effect on the health of the chickens. In addition, if the staying feed gets wet with the saliva of the chickens and adheres to the trough, the trough may corrode at that part.

[0004] Therefore, when feeding using a chain feed device to convey feed in a trough, a technique capable of suppressing the stay of feed and the adhesion of feed to the trough has been demanded.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a feeding trough structure capable of suppressing the retention of feed and the sticking of feed to the trough when transporting feed in the trough using a chain feeding device, and a feeding auxiliary tool used for the structure.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the feeding trough structure according to the present invention is "Inside the trough provided along a cage row in which a plurality of cages for poultry breeding are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, the chain of the chain feeding device is arranged, and a feeding auxiliary tool is attached to a part of the chain. The feeding auxiliary tool is A hook portion hooked on a connecting portion of the rings constituting the chain, and In at least one direction in the left-right direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the rings are continuous, a V-shaped or U-shaped wing portion extending from the hook portion, and is provided with. The wing portion is in a compressed state so that the angle of the V-shape or the opening degree of the U-shape is reduced, and the end portion is pressed against the trough by an elastic force that tries to return to its original state."

[0007] This configuration is for a trough of the type that feeds with a chain feeding device, and a feeding auxiliary tool is attached to the chain arranged inside the trough. When using a chain feeding device, by moving the chain in the longitudinal direction of the trough, the feed supplied into the trough is transported, and the feed can be given to the poultry bred in the cages constituting the cage row.

[0008] The feeding aid has its hook portion hooked on the connecting portion of the rings forming the chain, and from the hook portion, wing portions extend in a V-shape or a U-shape in at least one direction in the left-right direction. Therefore, as the chain moves, the bait is pushed in the left-right direction and is less likely to come into contact with the subsequent chain and stay. Even if it does stay, the bait is pushed forward and conveyed by the wing portions of the feeding aid that move together with the chain.

[0009] Also, the wing portions are in a compressed state where the angle of the V-shape or the opening degree of the U-shape is reduced, and the ends are pressed against the trough by the elasticity that tries to return to the original state. That is, the wing portions act as springs. Due to this action, even if the bait moistened with the saliva of the bird is starting to stick to the trough, the ends of the wing portions that move while being pressed against the trough act like a "scraper" and scrape off the bait, so the sticking of the bait to the trough is effectively suppressed.

[0010] The feeding trough structure according to the present invention, in the above configuration, "The hook portion has a flat bottom surface portion, a flat top surface portion spaced apart in the vertical direction parallel to the bottom surface portion, side surface portions connecting the bottom surface portion and the top surface portion on the same side, and claw portions extending downward from the end portion of the top surface portion on the side opposite to the side surface portion", can be configured like this.

[0011] Since the hook portion has such a configuration, the hook portion can be hooked on the connecting portion of the chain with an easy operation without requiring any tools.

[0012] Next, the feeding aid according to the present invention "is a feeding aid comprising a hook portion and at least one wing portion, The hook portion includes a flat bottom surface portion, a flat top surface portion spaced apart in the vertical direction parallel to the bottom surface portion, side surface portions 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 on the side opposite to the side surface portion. The wing portion extends in a V-shape or a U-shape from at least one of both end portions in the left-right direction orthogonal to the vertical direction on the side surface portion, and has an elasticity to return to its original state when compressed so that the angle of the V-shape or the opening degree of the U-shape becomes smaller.

[0013] This is the configuration of the feeding aid when the configuration of the hook portion is specified among the feeding aids used for the above feeding trough structure.

[0014] In addition to the above configuration, the feeding aid according to the present invention "The end portion of the wing portion can be formed such that the length in the vertical direction is larger than the remaining portion."

[0015] In this configuration, in the wing portion, since the end portion is formed long in the vertical direction, when pressing the end portion against the trough like a scraper, the feed can be scraped off over a wide area. Further, since the wing portion can be formed thin except for the end portion, the action of the spring can be adjusted by setting the thinness.

Effect of the Invention

[0016] As described above, according to the present invention, when feeding the feed in the trough using the chain feed device, it is possible to provide a feeding trough structure that can suppress the retention of the feed and the adhesion of the feed to the trough, and a feeding aid used for the structure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, a feeding trough structure which is a specific embodiment of the present invention, and a feeding aid 1 used in this structure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] The feeding trough 50 for feeding is provided along a row of cages in which a plurality of cages for raising pigeons are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The trough 50 includes an elongated rectangular bottom 51 and side wall portions 52 extending upward from a pair of long sides of the bottom 51, respectively. The pair of side wall portions 52 are inclined so as to be separated from each other as they extend upward.

[0020] A chain 30 of a chain feeding device (chain feeder) is arranged on the bottom 51 of the trough 50. In a general chain, in a large number of rings that make up the chain, the space surrounded by one of the adjacent rings penetrates through the space surrounded by the other ring, so that the spaces surrounded by the adjacent rings intersect. In contrast, in the chain 30 of the chain feeding device, the rings 31 are connected by a connecting tool 32 so that the spaces surrounded by the adjacent rings 31 can be on the same plane.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 2, 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 back to back with the cage row 90a are connected by a connecting path 60 at the same-side ends of the two troughs 50 so that the endless chain 30 can circulate and move continuously. The connecting path 60 includes an elongated rectangular bottom 61 and side wall portions 62 extending upward from a pair of long sides of the bottom 61 respectively.

[0022] In addition, at both ends of each trough 50, a corner portion 70 for changing the running direction of the chain 30 at a right angle by the rotation of a pulley is provided. The chain 30 that has moved on the bottom 51 of the trough 50 along the cage row 90a changes its direction at the corner portion 70, moves through the connecting path 60, then changes its direction at the corner portion 70, moves on the bottom 51 of the trough 50 along the cage row 90b, further changes its direction at the corner portion 70, moves through the connecting path 60, and returns to the original trough 50 by changing its direction at the corner portion 70. In this way, the chain 30 circulates along an annular chain running path 80 that circulates around the cage row.

[0023] A driving mechanism for driving the chain 30 is provided in the middle of the chain running path 80. This driving mechanism includes a motor 71 and a transmission device 72 for transmitting the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 71 to the chain 30. Such a chain running path 80 and driving mechanism are provided for each stage when the cages are stacked in multiple stages.

[0024] One or more feeding aids 1 are attached to each endless chain 30. The feeding aid 1 of this embodiment includes a hook portion 10 and two wing portions 20. The hook portion 10 includes a flat bottom surface portion 11, a flat top surface portion 12 spaced apart in the vertical direction parallel to the bottom surface portion 11, a side surface portion 13 connecting the bottom surface portion 11 and the top surface portion 12 on the same side, and a claw portion 15 extending downward from an end portion 20e on the side opposite to the side surface portion 13 on the top surface portion 12. There are two claw portions 15, and a distance slightly larger than the width of the connector 32 of the chain 30 is provided between the two claw portions 15.

[0025] The wing part 20 extends in a V-shape from both ends in the left-right direction orthogonal to the vertical direction on the side surface part 13 of the hook part 10. Only the end part 20e of the wing part 20 is formed with a large length in the vertical direction. In other words, the wing part 20 is slender except for the end part 20e.

[0026] The feeding auxiliary tool 1 provided with the hook part 10 and the wing part 20 as described above can be manufactured by cutting and bending a flat metal plate. Since the wing part 20 is formed by bending a slenderly cut part of a flat metal plate into a V-shape, it can be compressed so that the angle of the V-shape becomes small, and it has elasticity to return to its original state from the compressed state. That is, the wing part 20 acts as a spring. The magnitude of the action of this spring can be adjusted by the thickness of the wing part 20 and the length of the wing part 20 in the vertical direction excluding the end part 20e.

[0027] When attaching the feeding auxiliary tool 1 to the chain 30, place the feeding auxiliary tool 1 under the chain 30 arranged at the bottom 51 of the trough 50, and hook the hook part 10 on the connecting part of the chain 30. In the hook part 10, since the two claw parts 15 are slightly wider apart than the width of the connector 32 of the chain 30, the hook part 10 is hooked on the connecting part of the chain 30 so that the connector 32 is sandwiched from both sides by the claw parts 15. In this way, the feeding auxiliary tool 1 can be easily attached to the chain 30 without requiring tools. Note that the feeding auxiliary tool 1 is attached to the chain 30 such that the side surface part 13 in the hook part 10 faces the advancing direction of the chain 30 and the top of the V-shape in the wing part 20 faces the advancing direction of the chain 30.

[0028] In the state where the feeding auxiliary tool 1 is attached to the chain 30 in this way, the extending length of the wing part 20 is set in relation to the distance between the pair of side wall parts 52 in the trough 50 so that the wing part 20 is slightly compressed and the end part 20e of the wing part 20 is in pressure contact with the side wall part 52 of the trough 50.

[0029] When feeding the birds kept in the cages, feed is supplied into the trough 50 through a hopper (not shown) near the end of the trough 50, and the chain 30 is moved by a drive mechanism. As a result, as the chain 30 moves, the feed is agitated by the chain 30 and conveyed in the moving direction of the chain 30, so that the birds in all the cages constituting the cage row can be fed.

[0030] At this time, the feed pushed in the left - right direction by the moving chain 30 is less likely to contact the subsequent chain 30 and tends to stay near the boundary 53 between the bottom 51 and the side wall portion 52 of the trough 50. Also, when the staying feed gets wet with the saliva of the birds, it may adhere to the trough 50.

[0031] In contrast, in this embodiment, the feeding aid 1 is attached to the middle of the chain 30, and in the feeding aid 1, the wing portions 20 extend in the left - right direction from the hook portion 10. Therefore, the feed staying at a position where it is less likely to contact the chain 30 is pushed by the wing portions 20 and conveyed as the chain 30 moves.

[0032] Also, the wing portion 20 is in a compressed state so that the V - shaped angle becomes smaller, and the end portion 20e is pressed against the trough 50 by the elasticity trying to return to its original state. The position where the end portion 20e of the wing portion 20 is pressed is the side wall portion 52 near the boundary 53 with the bottom 51 in the trough 50. Therefore, even if the feed is starting to adhere in this vicinity, the end portion 20e of the wing portion 20 moving while being pressed against the side wall portion 52 acts like a "scraper" to scrape off the feed, so that the adhesion to the trough 50 is effectively suppressed.

[0033] Also, the wing portion 20 is formed such that only the end portion 20e is long in the vertical direction and the remaining portion is slender. Therefore, while it is easy to exert the action of the spring by being compressed so that the V - shaped angle becomes smaller, the long end portion 20e in the vertical direction can scrape the side wall portion 52 of the trough 50 over a wide area.

[0034] The trough 50 is formed by joining a plurality of parts in order to be very long according to the length of the cage row. At the joint of the trough 50, the distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 may be reduced due to the application of a connecting plate. Further, at the corner portion 70, the width length may be smaller than the distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 in the trough 50 because a member for reinforcing the strength of the curved portion is arranged.

[0035] On the other hand, since the feeding aid 1 has the wing portion 20 compressed so that the V-shaped angle becomes smaller and has an elasticity to return to its original state in the compressed state, the distance between the pair of side wall portions 52 in the trough 50 is smaller than that of other portions, or the width length is smaller at the corner portion 70, the feeding aid 1 can pass through these portions without problems. In addition, after passing through the narrow portion, the wing portion 20 spreads 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.

[0036] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by simply attaching the feeding aid 1 having a very simple structure to the chain 30, the possibility of feed staying in the trough 50 and the possibility of feed sticking to the trough 50 can be effectively reduced.

[0037] In addition, since the feeding aid 1 is originally driven by a drive mechanism provided in a poultry farm facility that has introduced a chain feed device, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to provide a new power source to prevent feed from staying in the trough 50 and feed from sticking to the trough 50.

[0038] As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and design changes are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0039] For example, in the above embodiment, the feeding aid 1 in which the wing part 20 extends in the left and right bidirectional directions from the hook part 10 is illustrated. However, it can be a feeding aid having only one wing part 20. It has been empirically found that birds raised in a cage tend to eat the feed in the trough 50 that is close to the side wall part 52 on the side away from the cage, and feed adhesion also easily occurs near the boundary 53 between the side wall part 52 on the side away from the cage and the bottom part 51. Therefore, in the feeding aid having only one wing part 20, it is desirable to extend the wing part 20 toward the side wall part 52 on the side away from the cage.

[0040] Further, in the case of a feeding aid having only one wing part 20, a member for balancing with the wing part 20 can be extended to the side without the wing part 20.

[0041] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the wing part 20 has a V shape is illustrated. However, it can be a U shape. Even if it is a U-shaped wing part, by being compressed so that the opening degree of the U shape becomes small, it acts as a spring that tries to return to its original state, and thus exhibits the same action that the end part of the wing part is always pressed against the trough.

Claims

1. A chain of a chain feeding device is arranged inside a trough provided along a row of cages in which a plurality of cages for raising birds are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, and a feeding aid is attached to a part of the chain. The feeding aid is a hook portion hooked on a connecting portion of rings constituting the chain, and a V-shaped or U-shaped wing portion extending from the hook portion in at least one direction in the left-right direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the rings are continuous. The wing portion is in a compressed state in which the angle of the V-shape or the opening degree of the U-shape is reduced, and the end portion is pressed against the trough by an elastic force that tries to return to its original state. A feeding trough structure characterized by the above.

2. The hook portion is a flat bottom surface portion, a flat top surface portion spaced apart in the vertical direction parallel to the bottom surface portion, 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 on the side opposite to the side surface portion. The feeding trough structure according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. A feeding aid comprising a hook portion and at least one wing portion, The hook portion includes a flat bottom surface portion, a flat top surface portion spaced apart in the vertical direction parallel to the bottom surface portion, 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 on the side opposite to the side surface portion. The wing portion extends in a V-shape or U-shape from at least one of both ends in the left-right direction orthogonal to the vertical direction on the side surface portion, and has an elastic force that tries to return to its original state when compressed so that the angle of the V-shape or the opening degree of the U-shape is reduced. A feeding aid characterized by the above.

4. The end portion of the wing portion is formed such that the length in the vertical direction is larger than the remaining portion. The feeding aid according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

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