Poultry Feed Chute Airflow for Uneven Pan Filling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Poultry house feed networks experience uneven feed consumption across feed pans due to uneven chicken distribution, leading to some pans being empty while others remain full, which disrupts feed distribution and limits availability for chickens.
Innovation Solution
A feed level control system with a feed chute, chute switch, fan, and fan switch that adjusts airflow to manage feed levels by moving excess feed from full pans to empty ones, ensuring consistent distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a control feed pan is used to determine when additional feed should be provided, then feed distribution can be automated, but feed level accuracy deteriorates due to uneven chicken distribution and consumption patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (airflow system with fan and chute switch) between the feed source and feed pans to mediate feed distribution. This intermediary allows centralized control while actively compensating for local variations in consumption patterns, resolving the contradiction between automation and measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The chute switch provides feedback about feed levels in the chute, enabling the system to detect when feed needs redistribution. This feedback mechanism triggers automated responses (fan activation) to maintain accurate feed levels across all pans despite varying consumption rates.
2Productivity
If feed is distributed based on control pan levels, then feed management becomes systematic, but feed availability worsens due to delays in detecting actual feed needs at other pans
Solution Approach 1:
The system takes preliminary action by proactively redistributing feed from the chute to various pans before they become empty. The chute switch detects feed level trends and triggers redistribution in advance, preventing feed shortages and eliminating delays associated with reactive refilling.
Solution Approach 2:
The fan-driven airflow system enables continuous feed redistribution operations, ensuring that feed flows continuously from the chute to multiple pans simultaneously. This continuous action eliminates interruptions and delays in feed availability, maintaining constant supply to all chickens.
3Adaptability or versatility
If chickens are unevenly distributed across feed pans, then some pans consume more feed than others, but this causes harmful effects by leaving some pans empty while others remain full
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts feed distribution by using the fan to actively move feed from the chute to different pans based on real-time needs. This dynamic redistribution compensates for uneven chicken distribution, ensuring that pans serving areas with more chickens are replenished faster, thereby eliminating the harmful imbalance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of feed delivery rate by controlling fan operation intensity and duration. By varying the airflow parameters, the system can deliver more feed to pans with higher consumption rates, adapting to the uneven distribution of chickens and preventing both overfilling and emptying of pans.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system ensures even feed distribution by automatically adjusting airflow to redistribute feed from full pans to empty ones, preventing feed shortages and maintaining consistent feed availability throughout the network.
Implementation Method 1
a fan positioned adjacent to the feed pan and operable to provide an airflow to an interior of the feed pan via the airflow inlet, where the airflow moves feed within the feed pan so that additional feed enters the feed pan from the feed chute
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling a feed level in a poultry feed network includes a feed chute coupled to receive feed from a feed source via a feedline, a feed pan coupled to receive feed from the feed chute and defining an airflow inlet, a fan positioned adjacent to the feed pan and operable to provide airflow to an interior of the feed pan via the airflow inlet, and a user-operable fan switch switchable between at least two positions and coupled to, and operable to control, the fan. The fan begins operation to provide the airflow when the fan switch is toggled to a first position and stops operation to provide the airflow when the fan switch is toggled to a second position. The airflow moves feed within the feed pan so that additional feed enters the feed pan from the feed chute, lowering a feed level within the feed chute.