Liquid feeder management system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid feeder management system in which a water supply pipe is installed in a feeder installed in a pigsty of a pig farm so that water is supplied together when supplying feed, wherein a control unit of a controller of the feeder determines whether the amount of water supply deviates from a configured value configured for each pig and transmits the determination to a pig farm manager's smartphone when pigs eat less feed than a configured value. Therefore, the present invention has a remarkable effect by allowing smooth supply of feed and water to a plurality of pigs within a pigsty of a pig farm and determination of whether pigs properly consume feed and water to identify an abnormal state in advance so as to quickly and accurately manage the health of the pigs.

Description

Liquid feed management system

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid feeder management system, which smoothly supplies feed and water to pigs in a pigsty, determines whether pigs are eating feed and water appropriately, and detects abnormal conditions in advance, thereby enabling rapid and accurate management of the health of pigs.

[0002]

[0003] The present invention relates to a feeding method for allowing pigs to consume a large amount of feed in a short period of time from a feeder. Conventional feeders are configured with separate water and feed. The separate feed configuration refers to a dry feed state, and has been disclosed as a conventional feeder.

[0004] Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0083500 discloses a pig feeder comprising a water supply device (200) in which a water supply pipe (220) is installed at the bottom of a valve (210) through which water is supplied, a feed supply container (100) coupled to the side of the water supply device (200), and a feed plate (300) installed at the bottom of the water supply device (200) and the feed supply container (100), wherein the feed plate (300) has a feed supply section (302) and a water supply section (304) formed concentrically, and a water supply pipe fixing device of the pig feeder, wherein the water supply pipe fixing device of the pig feeder comprises a horizontal bracket (110) attached to the outer wall surface of the feed supply container (100), and a vertically welded horizontal bracket (110) and a central hole (121) of the water supply device (200). A water supply pipe fixing device for a pig feeder is disclosed, characterized by comprising a vertical bracket (120) through which a water supply pipe (220) passes, and a handle (130) that is screw-connected to the vertical bracket (120) and moves forward and backward horizontally.

[0005] In addition, Patent Publication No. 10-1324864 discloses a feeder hopper structure comprising an upper hopper (100) and a feed plate (200) installed below the hopper (100) so that pigs can consume feed, wherein a motor (10) is installed above the hopper (100), and a feed aggregation prevention tube (20) is installed on a motor shaft (11) below the motor (10), and the feed aggregation prevention tube (20) is composed of a support cylinder (21) installed at a distance from the motor shaft (11) and a tube (22) installed at a distance outside the support cylinder (21), and a support (23) for supporting the support cylinder (21) is installed on the motor shaft (11) below the support cylinder (21), and a plurality of tube support pieces (24) are connected between the support cylinder (21) and the tube (22). A hopper structure of a feeder is disclosed, characterized in that a tube (22) is coupled to the support cylinder (21).

[0006] However, the above conventional technologies had the disadvantage of not being able to supply feed and water properly, resulting in waste of feed and water, and were economically disadvantageous.

[0007]

[0008] Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and to provide a liquid feeder management system that smoothly supplies feed and water to pigs in a pigsty, determines whether the pigs are eating feed and water appropriately, and detects abnormal conditions in advance to quickly and accurately manage the health of the pigs.

[0009]

[0010] The present invention relates to a liquid feeder management system, and in the liquid feeder management system, a water supply pipe is installed in a feeder installed in a pigsty of a pigsty so that water is supplied together with feed supply, the control unit of the controller of the feeder is characterized in that it determines whether the amount of water supplied is outside a set value set for each pig, and transmits a message to the smartphone of the pigsty manager if the pigs eat less feed than the set value.

[0011]

[0012] Therefore, the present invention has a remarkable effect of smoothly supplying feed and water to pigs in a pigsty, determining whether the pigs are consuming an appropriate amount of feed and water, and detecting abnormal conditions in advance, thereby enabling quick and accurate management of the health of the pigs.

[0013]

[0014] Figure 1 is a conventional feed drawing.

[0015] Figure 2 is a front view of the liquid feed management system of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 3 is a photo of the liquid feed management system of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4 is a photograph of the lower part of the support bar of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 5 is a photograph of the liquid grade management system of the present invention turned over.

[0019] Figure 6 is a detailed photograph of the feed discharge unit of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 7 is a drawing of the upper cover of the support bar of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 8 is a drawing of the upper sensor installation inside the cover of the upper support bar of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 9 is a drawing of another embodiment of the lower feed stagnation prevention means of the liquid feeder of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 10 is a perspective view of a liquid feeder in which the lower feed stagnation prevention means of the present invention is installed.

[0024] Figure 11 is a photo of a liquid feeder with a lower feed stagnation prevention device installed.

[0025]

[0026] The present invention relates to a liquid feeder management system, and in the liquid feeder management system, a water supply pipe is installed in a feeder installed in a pigsty of a pigsty so that water is supplied together with feed supply, the control unit of the controller of the feeder is characterized in that it determines whether the amount of water supplied is outside a set value set for each pig, and transmits a message to the smartphone of the pigsty manager if the pigs eat less feed than the set value.

[0027] In addition, the number of pigs is characterized in that the manager directly inputs the number of pigs through the input means of the controller.

[0028] In addition, the automatic water supply amount according to the feed supply amount is calculated differently depending on the season by the control unit.

[0029] In addition, the amount of feed supplied to each feeder can be calculated and produced by the controller's calculation unit based on the amount of water supplied.

[0030] In addition, the amount of feed supplied to each feeder is detected by a feed amount detection sensor installed in the feeder and transmitted to the control unit of the controller.

[0031] In addition, the supply amount detection sensor is characterized by measuring the rotation speed of a screw or disk conveyor that supplies feed to each feeder.

[0032] In addition, the control unit is characterized by calculating the rotational speed as the rotational amount through the calculation unit.

[0033] In addition, the controller storage unit is characterized by having an appropriate feed supply amount set for the number of animals.

[0034] In addition, the controller storage unit is characterized by calculating the optimal feed supply amount by multiplying the appropriate feed supply amount by a weight according to the season.

[0035] In addition, the AI ​​module uses a dataset that reflects the appropriate feed supply amount for a certain period of time by the LSTM module to predict the appropriate feed supply amount, and for this purpose, it is characterized by using an AI module that has undergone machine learning by the LSTM module.

[0036] In addition, it is characterized by calculating the amount of automatic water supply according to the above feed supply amount differently depending on the season.

[0037] In addition, it is characterized in that the optimal feed supply amount is calculated by multiplying the age-calculated value by the appropriate feed supply amount as a weight by varying the appropriate feed supply amount according to the weight or number of months of the pig.

[0038] Additionally, the number of pigs is automatically entered by AI by calculating the number of pigs from the CCTV footage.

[0039] Additionally, AI is characterized by calculating the number of pigs in each pen using machine-learned pig images.

[0040] The image is characterized by being processed by the OPENCV module.

[0041] Machine learning is performed by the YOLO module or PyTorch module, and the image-processed image is input to the control unit after passing through the YOLO module or PyTorch module.

[0042] In addition, the main controller is installed inside the pigsty or in the management room and communicates with each feeder controller by wire or wirelessly, and is characterized by monitoring the status of each feeder.

[0043] Additionally, the main control unit transmits data on each feeder to the management company's remote server, and the server control unit monitors each feeder and transmits data to the pigsty manager's smartphone if the pigs eat less feed than the set range.

[0044] The present invention is described in detail with reference to the attached drawings as follows.

[0045] The present invention relates to a liquid feeder management system, which is installed in a pigsty of a pig farm and has a water supply pipe installed in the feeder, thereby supplying water together with feed. The control unit of the feeder controller determines whether the water supply amount exceeds the set value set for each pig, and if the pigs consume less feed than the set value, an alarm is generated or an alert is sent to the smartphone of the pig farm manager.

[0046] The amount of water automatically supplied based on the above feed supply amount can be calculated differently depending on the season by the control unit. This is calculated by multiplying the weight.

[0047] The amount of feed supplied to each feeder can be calculated by the controller's calculation unit based on the water supply. The water supply can be measured by checking the open time of the solenoid valve.

[0048] Another method is to detect the feed supply amount detection sensor and transmit it to the control unit of the controller, and the feed supply amount detection sensor measures the rotation speed of the screw or disk conveyor that supplies feed to each feeder.

[0049] The control unit calculates the rotational speed as the rotational amount through the calculation unit.

[0050] The controller storage unit sets the appropriate feed supply amount for each pig. The controller storage unit then multiplies the appropriate feed supply amount by a seasonal weight to calculate the optimal feed supply amount. Alternatively, the appropriate feed supply amount can be determined based on the total weight of the pigs. Since pigs of similar ages are typically housed in a pen, the total weight of the pigs is calculated by multiplying the standard weight by the number of pigs housed.

[0051] The above number of pigs is either directly entered by the manager through the controller's input device or automatically counted and stored in the storage unit. Automatic counting utilizes CCTV cameras and an AI module. The AI ​​module uses a dataset reflecting the appropriate feed supply amount over a given period of time to predict the appropriate feed supply amount. To achieve this, an AI module that has undergone machine learning through the LSTM module is used.

[0052] The amount of water automatically supplied based on the above feed supply amount is also calculated differently depending on the season.

[0053] The optimal feed supply amount is calculated by multiplying the age-based weight by the appropriate feed supply amount by the appropriate feed supply amount according to the number of months of the pig.

[0054] The number of pigs is automatically entered by AI by calculating the number of pigs from the CCTV footage.

[0055] AI calculates the number of pigs in each pen using machine-learned pig images, and the images are processed by the OPENCV module and then input into the AI ​​module.

[0056] Machine learning is performed by the YOLO module or PyTorch module, and the processed image is input to the control unit after passing through the YOLO module or PyTorch module.

[0057] The main controller is installed inside the pigsty or in the management room and communicates with each feeder controller by wire or wirelessly, and monitors the status of each feeder.

[0058] The main control unit transmits data on each feeder to the management company's remote server, and the server control unit monitors each feeder and transmits data to the pig farm manager's smartphone if the pigs are eating less feed than the set range.

[0059] The present invention varies the setting value according to the season, and supplies more water in the summer. As the temperature increases, the amount of water supplied increases, but it is limited so as not to exceed the setting value.

[0060] Each pen of the pigsty houses about 50 pigs and has one feeder installed. Each feeder is equipped with a water supply pipe, and is a liquid feeder that supplies water along with the feeding.

[0061] The feeder structure of the present invention is described as follows.

[0062] The present invention is a method for consuming a large amount of feed in a short period of time, as pigs eat feed mixed with water very quickly.

[0063] In order for a pig to consume feed from a feeder, the pig must touch the feed outlet. Only then will the feed come out. At this time, a sensor detects the movement of the outlet and converts this into an electrical signal to open and close a solenoid valve.

[0064] It is very important to supply an appropriate amount of water in proportion to the amount of feed that is dispensed. This is controlled by the control unit. When the dispenser is touched once, water comes out once, and even if the dispenser is touched several times, water comes out again after a certain amount of time. By appropriately balancing the mixing ratio of feed and water, such as how much water comes out once and how little water comes out each time the dispenser is touched, pigs can easily consume feed, allowing them to consume a lot of feed in a short period of time.

[0065] The above sensor can be installed at the top or at the bottom. When installed at the top, a conventional motion detection sensor is used, and when installed at the bottom, a conventional contact sensor is used.

[0066] First, when explaining the case of installation at the bottom, the present invention has a water supply pipe installed together with the feed supply part of the feeder plate. A sensor is installed at the installation part where the feed discharge part is installed at the bottom of the hopper through which the feed of the feeder is supplied from the top, and when a pig pushes the feed discharge part, the feed discharge part touches the side of the sensor, and when the sensor sends a signal to the control unit, the control unit opens the electric valve of the water supply pipe to supply water.

[0067] The lower part of the above hopper is divided into two parts, an inner hopper and an outer hopper, and a feed discharge unit is installed on the outer surface of the inner hopper or the inner surface of the outer hopper, and the upper part of the feed discharge unit is inserted between the outer surface of the inner hopper and the inner surface of the outer hopper, and the upper part of the feed discharge unit is installed so that there is a gap between the outer surface of the inner hopper and the inner surface of the outer hopper, so that when a pig touches or turns the feed discharge unit, the upper part of the feed discharge unit is detected by a sensor installed on the outer surface of the inner hopper and the inner surface of the outer hopper.

[0068] The inner hopper is formed with an incline so that the lower diameter is smaller than the upper diameter, and the outer hopper is manufactured in a vertical shape.

[0069] A support is attached to the lower part of the feed discharge unit, and a support rod is attached to the support rod vertically upward, and the upper end of the support rod is attached to the frame on the upper part of the hopper by a nut, so that the length of the support rod is adjusted by pulling it up and down and the nut is tightened to fix it, thereby controlling the amount of feed supplied. In addition, since the inner hopper is formed with a slope so that the lower diameter is smaller than the upper diameter and the outer hopper is manufactured in a vertical shape, the length of the support rod is adjusted by pulling it up and down and fixing it, thereby controlling the contact distance between the sensor and the upper part of the feed discharge unit to control the amount of feed.

[0070] The above hopper and feed discharge part are made of metal, particularly stainless steel.

[0071] When a sensor is installed at the bottom of the present invention, the sensor used may be a conventional contact sensor, and may be an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor.

[0072] The above support is in the shape of a circular bar and is connected to a ring, and the ring penetrates the inner wall of the feed discharge unit to support it, and the support bar penetrates the center of the support upper and lower and is connected by upper and lower nuts.

[0073] In particular, the water supply pipe is installed on the side wall of the feeder so as not to interfere with feeding. Alternatively, the water supply pipe is installed attached to the feeder's partition fence so as not to interfere with feeding.

[0074] And the above feed plate is composed of a central convex portion located at the bottom of the hopper where feed is supplied, and a feed supply portion containing feed around the convex portion.

[0075] The above convex portion is composed of a flat portion at the top, a first inclined portion that is connected to the flat portion and has a gentle slope downward, and a second inclined portion that has a steep slope continuing from the first inclined portion.

[0076] When explaining the feeding process of the hopper, when the pigs consume feed, the feed discharge part moves by touching it, and the feed stored in the hopper flows down without getting clumped together due to its own weight and the impact.

[0077] At the bottom of the support bar, a circular support bar is horizontally connected to rotate around the support bar, and an arc-shaped ring is fixed to each end of the support bar, and the ends of the ring are installed to penetrate the wall of the feed discharge unit, so that when a pig touches the ring of the feed discharge unit, the feed discharge unit rotates around the fixed support bar. Meanwhile, the support bar and the support bar can be integrated so that when the knitting iron rotates, the support bar rotates accordingly.

[0078] Meanwhile, in the present invention, when the sensor is installed at the top, a conventional motion detection sensor is used as the sensor, and the motion detection sensor is installed at the top of the support bar, and when the support bar rotates, the motion detection sensor installed around it detects it and sends a signal to the control unit, and the control unit opens the electric valve of the water supply pipe to supply water, so that the water and feed mixture is supplied to the feeder plate (100) so that the pigs can eat the water and feed mixed together.

[0079] Therefore, the present invention has a remarkable effect of allowing pigs to consume a large amount of feed in a short period of time by allowing them to eat feed mixed with water very quickly, and leaving no residue in the feeder, thus ensuring cleanliness.

[0080] Specifically, the upper sensor of the present invention uses a motion detection sensor and is installed at an angle at the top of the feeder.

[0081] If the sensor is installed at the outlet side of the feeder, it requires a lot of labor for assembly and there is a great inconvenience of having to disassemble and reassemble the entire feeder when it breaks down.

[0082] However, when the length between the bottom and top of the outlet is long and the feed is filled inside the hopper, the feed is buried (trapped) in the feed, and power is not properly transmitted to the top due to the resistance, making it difficult for the sensor that detects movement in the top to detect movement.

[0083] This is because it is not only easy to assemble when installed on top, but also easy to repair if it breaks down.

[0084] However, there is a part where the movement detection is reduced in distance as much as the exit movement from the bottom, so to make this accurate, the central axis is connected from the bottom to the top at an angle that crosses the center axis from left to right on the top of the feed hopper, and the central axis is fixed with a bolt so that it cannot be deviated only up and down, and the hole through which the central axis passes through the angle is made slightly larger so that the power of the feed exit movement from below can be sufficiently detected from the top as well. Then, the support bar, which is the central axis, can move freely, albeit slightly.

[0085] The upper part of the support bar, which is the central axis, uses an elastic spring. Even if the central axis moves slightly, the spring moves significantly. Therefore, if a slightly heavy object is placed on top of the spring, the object causes the spring to shake even more. At this time, the sensor easily detects the movement of the feed outlet from above because the spring and the object placed on top shake violently.

[0086] Meanwhile, the present invention can install a protective pipe concentrically and radially with a gap around the outer periphery of the support bar.

[0087] And as another example, the upper end of the support bar is connected to one end of a lever, and a motion detection sensor detects movement at the other end of the lever. The hinge point of the lever, that is, the center of rotation, is located close to the support bar, so that the movement of the upper end of the support bar is amplified at the other end of the lever, allowing the motion detection sensor to detect the movement more easily.

[0088] As another embodiment of the feeder structure of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a drawing of a lower feed stagnation prevention means of another embodiment of a liquid feeder of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a liquid feeder in which a lower feed stagnation prevention means of the present invention is installed, and FIG. 11 is a photograph of a liquid feeder in which a lower feed stagnation prevention means is installed.

[0089] The lower part of the above hopper is divided into two parts, an inner hopper and an outer hopper, and a feed discharge part is installed on the outer surface of the inner hopper or the inner surface of the outer hopper, and the upper part of the feed discharge part is inserted between the outer surface of the inner hopper and the inner surface of the outer hopper, and the upper part of the feed discharge part is installed so that there is a gap between the outer surface of the inner hopper and the inner surface of the outer hopper, so that when a pig touches or turns the feed discharge part, the upper part of the feed discharge part comes into contact with the outer surface of the inner hopper or the inner surface of the outer hopper.

[0090] The inner hopper is formed with an incline so that the lower diameter is smaller than the upper diameter, and the outer hopper is manufactured in a vertical shape.

[0091] The above hopper and feed discharge part are made of metal, particularly stainless steel.

[0092] And the above feed plate is composed of a central convex portion located at the bottom of the hopper where feed is supplied, and a feed supply portion containing feed around the convex portion.

[0093] The above convex portion is composed of a flat portion at the top, a first inclined portion that is connected to the flat portion and has a gentle slope downward, and a second inclined portion that has a steep slope continuing from the first inclined portion.

[0094] In particular, the water supply pipe is installed on the side wall of the feeder so as not to interfere with feeding.

[0095] When explaining the feeding process of the hopper, when the pigs consume feed, the feed discharge part moves by touching it, and the feed stored in the hopper flows down without getting clumped together due to its own weight and the impact.

[0096] A feed control cylinder (900) is installed inside the feed discharge unit (20) of the present invention, and the upper outer periphery of the feed control cylinder (900) is fixed to the inner wall surface of the feed discharge unit (20), and both ends of the support rod are fixed to the inner wall surface of the feed control cylinder (900), so that as the support rod moves up and down, the support rod (40), the feed control cylinder (900), and the feed discharge unit (20) move together.

[0097] When the support bar (40) faces downward, the lower surface of the feed adjusting cylinder (900) is in close contact with the upper rotary plate (810) of the rotating means (800), so that the feed from the feed discharge portion is not discharged to the external feed plate through the feed adjusting cylinder (90), and when the support bar (40) faces upward, the lower surface of the feed adjusting cylinder (900) is separated from the upper rotary plate of the rotating means, so that a gap is formed, and the feed from the feed discharge portion passes through the gap through the feed adjusting cylinder (900) and is discharged to the external feed plate.

[0098] The above-described rotating means (800) is composed of an upper rotating plate (810) and circular rings (820) formed radially at regular intervals around the periphery of the rotating plate (810). A support rod is coupled to a hole formed in the center of the rotating plate, and the rotating plate is coupled to freely rotate around the support rod. The lower surface of the rotating plate (810) is in contact with the upper surface of a convex portion (110) formed convexly at the center of the feed plate (100). Therefore, when a pig touches the ring (820) of the rotating means (80), the rotating plate (810) rotates around the support rod (40), thereby discharging stagnant feed between the lower surface of the feed control cylinder (90) and the rotating plate (810) to the feed plate (100). The rotating plate has a disc shape.

[0099] The upper end of the support bar (40) is connected to the center of a horizontal bar, and one end of the horizontal bar is hinge-fixed, so that when a user holds and presses the other end, the support bar moves downward, and when the other end is held and raised, the support bar moves upward. Alternatively, as shown in the photo, the user turns the handle (301) left and right to move the support bar up and down.

[0100] And the purpose of the present invention is to provide a liquid feeder (mixture of water and feed) for pigs with a purpose of finely and precisely controlling the amount and allowing pigs to smoothly operate the feed dispensing part with little force to easily dispense feed and increase feed intake. In the case of pigs in the past, if the ring protruding outside is set at an angle of about 45 degrees by utilizing the habit of digging and turning over the ground, when the connected disc is lifted upwards with the snout, the feed is dispensed.

[0101] In the past, the feed was fully filled in the tube through which the feed was discharged and the feed was in direct contact with the bottom of the feeding plate, so the outlet was touched due to the total weight of the feed contained in the feeder and the frictional force between the bottom and the wall of the tube. In particular, young pigs sometimes had difficulty discharging properly due to lack of strength.

[0102] Although it is difficult for the pig to reach the outlet when the tube is full of feed, the load is significantly reduced when the feed is discharged onto the plate.

[0103] As the ring rotates, it scrapes away food, dust, etc. in the cone-shaped upper part, which is a blind spot, so it is hygienically managed without the need for deliberate cleaning.

[0104] The reason for narrowing the last exit is that the amount of water can be finely adjusted by reducing the exit.

[0105] Since the outer ring is tilted at an angle of about 45 degrees, if you use a piggy bank to push the rod from below with the snout, the disc connected to the ring will rotate due to the angle.

[0106] Young pigs are good at pushing themselves up with their burrows, but they don't recognize that turning the burrow will release feed. Therefore, by tilting the arc-shaped ring of the present invention at approximately a 45-degree angle, it becomes easier to turn the burrow while pushing it up, ensuring a smooth and sufficient supply of feed to the young pigs.

[0107] Even large pigs can increase their intake by increasing the amount of food they eat if their excretion area moves easily and smoothly.

[0108] During the scorching summer heat, pigs would stir up a small amount of water on the floor (due to the heat), causing water to splash out of the feed outlet, wetting the feed and blocking the discharge. This invention was developed to address this issue by making the outlet smoother and less demanding, and also resolving the issue of feed not being discharged due to waterlogging.

[0109] And the present invention controls the supply by controlling the opening time of the solenoid valve by controlling the amount of water supplied in a storage unit of a controller in which feed is supplied as the pigs turn the ring and water is supplied by a sensor, and an appropriate amount of water is supplied according to the number of pigs.

[0110] Therefore, the present invention has a remarkable effect of being able to quickly and accurately manage the health of pigs by determining whether they are consuming an appropriate amount of feed and water according to the breeding conditions such as the number of pigs in the pigsty and pen, thereby detecting abnormal conditions in advance.

Claims

1. A liquid feeder management system in which a water supply pipe is installed in a feeder installed in a pigsty of a pigsty, wherein the control unit of the controller of the feeder determines whether the water supply amount is out of the set value set for each pig, and determines when the pigs eat less feed than the set value.

2. In paragraph 1, A liquid feeding management system characterized in that water is supplied simultaneously with the above feed supply.

3. In paragraph 2, A liquid feeder management system characterized in that the controller storage unit has an appropriate water supply amount set for the number of fish.

Images