AUTOMATIC DRINKING TROUGH FOR BREEDING BIRDS

Abstract

An automatic drinking trough (10) for breeding birds, comprising valve means (30) arranged along a water supply channel (12) and at least one bowl (20) for collecting the water delivered through the valve means, is described. The drinking trough further comprises a drive assembly (40) having a lever member (41) and a tubular actuator (50) integral with the lever member, suspended at the center of the bowl (20). A movable piston (51) is placed between the valve means (30) and the lever member (41) in the drive assembly (40) for intercepting or delivering the flow of water depending on the inclination taken by the lever member (41).

Claims

1. An automatic drinking trough for breeding birds, comprising valve means arranged along a water supply channel and at least one bowl for collecting the water delivered through said valve means, wherein said valve means have at least one stem sliding axially in a vertical direction to control the axial vertical movement of a plug for intercepting the flow of water, a drive assembly comprising a main body, a lever member housed in said main body and swinging with respect to said main body and a tubular actuator suspended at the center of said bowl and connected integrally with said lever member, wherein said drive assembly further comprises at least one movable piston placed between said stem and said lever member to move said plug between a position for intercepting and a position for delivering the flow of water depending on the inclination taken by said lever member.

2. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 1, wherein said movable piston has a cylindrical body and a convex-shaped base portion, and wherein said lever member has a head portion placed at one of its ends, with a concave-shaped seat on which the convex-shaped base portion of said movable piston rests.

3. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 1, wherein the convex base portion of said movable piston and the concave seat of the head portion placed at the end of the lever member are truncated-cone shaped.

4. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 1, wherein said drive assembly further comprises a cylindrical jacket in which said movable piston slides axially, wherein said cylindrical jacket comprises a free lower edge.

5. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 4, wherein said cylindrical jacket is made of transparent plastic material.

6. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 4, wherein said lever member and said tubular actuator are supported suspended, with the possibility of swinging, by a sleeve coupled by screwing with the main body of said drive assembly, wherein the head portion of said lever member is resting against an inner portion of an end edge of said sleeve, and wherein at the other end said sleeve comprises at least one ring nut protruding from the main body of said drive assembly, so that to facilitate the manual rotating of said sleeve with respect to said main body.

7. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 1, wherein the main body of said drive assembly comprises one or more windows for the visual inspection of the contact space between said movable piston and said stem.

8. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 6, wherein an inner portion of the end edge of said sleeve, in completely screwed conditions, abuts against the free lower end of said cylindrical jacket.

9. The automatic drinking trough according to claim 1, wherein said bowl is mounted integral with said water supply channel and comprises a central depression delimiting a swing range of a free end of said tubular actuator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description, made with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of example and not limiting purpose, in which:

[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a possible embodiment of a drinking trough according to the present invention;

[0036] FIG. 2 is an elevation view of some components of a drive assembly for the drinking trough of FIG. 1, with the lever member in the rest position, i.e. in the position wherein the valve means prevent the flow of water towards the bowl;

[0037] FIG. 3 is an elevation view similar to FIG. 2, but with the drive assembly rotated by 90° and with the lever member in the operative position, i.e. in the position wherein the valve means enable the flow of water towards the bowl; and

[0038] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section view according to the plane IV-IV of the drive assembly of FIG. 2;

[0039] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section view of the drive assembly of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] An automatic drinking trough 10 according to an embodiment of the invention, mainly intended, but not exclusively, for installation in a turkey farm, is depicted in FIG. 1.

[0041] The drinking trough 10 is mounted suspended from a channel 12 for supplying water and generally comprises a bowl 20 inside which the water delivered is collected. The bowl 20 is mounted on the channel 12 by means of two arms 22 provided with respective releasable hooking means 23, in a position so that to be suspended with respect to the underlying ground at a height which allows the animals to access the water.

[0042] The bowl 20 comprises a central depression 25 above which a drive assembly 40 of valve means 30 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5) is mounted. The drive assembly 40 is also mounted on the channel 12 with a releasable hooking means 15 in a central position, so that the tubular actuator 50 of the drive assembly 40 is axially aligned with the axis of the bowl 20 passing through the center of the central depression 25. The swinging of the tubular actuator 50 is delimited by the walls of the central depression 25 against which the free end of the tubular actuator 50 stops.

[0043] FIGS. 2 and 3 are elevation views of some components of a drive assembly 40 for the drinking trough 10 of FIG. 1. The tubular actuator 50 in both FIGS. 2 and 3 is only outlined with dotted lines to show the remaining components of the drive assembly 40 more clearly, in particular the lever member 41 on which the tubular actuator 50 is mounted integrally, so that both can swing together.

[0044] A main body 42, integral with the releasable hooking means 15, and a sleeve 45 coupled by screwing to the main body 42, are shown as a whole in the views of FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drive assembly 40. The sleeve 45 preferably includes a ring nut 46 protruding with respect to the main body 42 so that to facilitate the manual rotating of the sleeve 45 with respect to the main body 42. The rotating of the sleeve 45 allows to adjust the distance between the lower edge of the tubular actuator 50 and the bowl 20.

[0045] The lever member 42 in the view of FIG. 2 is in rest position, i.e. in the position wherein the valve means 30 prevent the flow of water towards the bowl 20. The sleeve 45 is herein depicted in a completely screwed condition.

[0046] The view of FIG. 3 depicts the drive assembly 40 rotated by 90° with respect to the view of FIG. 2 and with the lever member 41 in operative position, i.e. in the position wherein the valve means 30 enable the flow of water towards the bowl 20. Windows 49, obtained in the main body 42 for allowing the visual inspection of the components present inside the main body 42, are moreover visible in the view of FIG. 3.

[0047] As depicted in the section view of FIG. 4, the valve means 30 comprise a stem 31 against which the cylindrical plug 32 is resting, both being slidable along an axial direction. There is a limited clearance between the stem 31 and the plug 32 in this rest condition; thus, the stem 31 does not exert thrusts on the plug 32 and the flow of water towards the bowl 20 is thus prevented.

[0048] A movable piston 51 is placed between the stem 31 of the valve means 30 and the lever member 41. The movable piston has a cylindrical body 52 and a convex-shaped base portion 53, whereas the lever member 41 has a head portion 44 with a concave-shaped seat 43 on which the convex-shaped base portion 53 of the movable piston rests. The convex base portion 53 of the movable piston 51 and the concave seat 43 of the head portion 44 placed at the end of the lever member 41 can be truncated-cone shaped, for example.

[0049] The movable piston 51 is housed in a cylindrical jacket 55 and is slidable axially therein. The cylindrical jacket 55 is preferably made of transparent plastic material to allow the visual inspection of the positions of the piston 51 and stem 31.

[0050] The lever member 41 and the tubular actuator 50 integral therewith are supported suspended, with the possibility of swinging, by the sleeve 45 coupled by screwing to the main body 42 of the drive assembly. The head portion 44 of the lever member 41 is resting against an inner portion of an end edge of the sleeve 45. The sleeve 45 is depicted in a completely screwed condition in the view of FIG. 4, i.e. in the condition wherein an inner portion of the end edge of the sleeve 45 abuts against the free lower edge of the cylindrical jacket 55.

[0051] The height of the transparent cylindrical jacket 55 depends on the type of valve means 30 of the drinking trough and it is mounted with tight tolerances when mounted during production for a particular type of drinking trough. Vice-versa, whenever the valve means 30 are mounted separately in the drinking trough, any positioning excess outside the allowed tolerances is absorbed by the flexibility of the position of the sleeve 45 which is mounted in abutment against the free lower edge of the cylindrical jacket 55.

[0052] The drive assembly of FIG. 3 is depicted in the view of FIG. 5 according to a longitudinal section view in order to highlight the positions taken by the various components when the tubular actuator 50 is pushed by an animal to make the water run down in the bowl 20. The sleeve 45 is moreover featured in the view of FIG. 5 in a lowered position of adjustment with respect to that of FIG. 4.

[0053] The lever member 41 to which the tubular actuator 50 is constrained is displaced with respect to the position of FIG. 4. The interaction between the concave seat 43 of the head portion 44 and the convex base portion 53 of the movable piston 51 raises the piston 51 with an arm lever B which is much greater with respect to the drive systems of the known drinking troughs. The movable piston 51 thus pushes the stem 31 with a higher range and consequently opens the plug 32 more with respect to the know systems, so that to increase the flow rate of water towards the bowl 20.

[0054] Various modifications can be made to the embodiments depicted herein without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined by following claims.

[0055] For example, the intercepting plug of the valve means can be truncated-cone shaped with the short base resting against the stem, so that the raising of the plug further increases the passage port of the water with respect to a plug of cylindrical shape. This allows to reduce the pressure drop which occurs in the flow-narrowing area placed between the plug and stem and to increase the flow rate of water.