DEVICE FOR DISPLACING LIVESTOCK FEED

• US 20150104273A1
• Filed: 03/25/2013
• Published: 04/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lely Patent N.V. (Lely)
• Original Assignee: Lely Patent N.V. (Lely)
• Inventors: Van Kuilenburg, Jan Martinus, Van Den Berg, Karel, Buijs, Martinus
• Granted Patent: US 9,522,811 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/21
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/0266 with stable trolleys, e.g. suspended
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 67/04 Loading land vehicles loading or unloading boats to or from land vehicles B60P3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/18 Control systems or devices exclusively for rope, cable, or chain winding mechanisms B66D1/40
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 17/06 specially adapted for particular purposes, e.g. in foundries, forges; combined with auxiliary apparatus serving particular purposes B66C17/04 takes precedence

Abstract

The invention provides a livestock feed-displacing device and system, with a grab bucket which can be positioned above a feed kitchen with feed positions by a control unit, wherein the control unit is designed to compose an amount of animal feed from feed material provided in the feed kitchen by positioning the grab bucket at a grabbing position, grabbing livestock feed underneath said grabbing position, positioning the grab bucket at a desired feed-unloading point, such as in a feed wagon, and unloading the grabbed livestock feed at the feed-unloading point, wherein the control unit is designed to earmark, if at least one predetermined clearing-up criterion has been met, livestock feed in the feed kitchen as waste to be removed and to make the device carry out a clearing-up operation, wherein the clearing-up operation comprises the removal of the livestock feed at said feed position by displacing it to another position in the feed kitchen.

Claims

1. Device for displacing livestock feed, comprising

a feed gripping device, and

a control unit for the feed gripping device,

wherein the feed gripping device comprises a grab bucket which can be operated by the control unit and can be positioned with a vertical and at least one horizontal degree of freedom above a feed kitchen, wherein the feed kitchen comprises at least one, and preferably more than one, feed position on which at least one type of livestock feed is provided,

wherein the control unit is designed to receive a feed order, comprising information for composing an amount of animal feed from one or more types of feed material provided in the feed kitchen, and for carrying out the following one or more times on the basis of the feed order:

positioning the grab bucket at a desired grabbing position with respect to the feed kitchen,

operating the grab bucket to make it grab at least a part of the livestock feed situated underneath said grabbing position,

positioning the grab bucket at a desired feed-unloading point for composing the amount of animal feed to be composed which is to be fed to animals, and

operating the grab bucket to make it unload the livestock feed which it has grabbed at the feed-unloading point,

wherein the control unit is furthermore designed to earmark, if at least one predetermined clearing-up criterion has been met, the livestock feed for a clearing-up operation at least at part of at least one feed position in the feed kitchen which does not form part of a feed order, and to make the device carry out a clearing-up operation,

wherein the clearing-up operation comprises the removal of at least part of the livestock feed on the part of said feed position by displacing it to another position in the feed kitchen.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the clearing-up operation comprises a combining operation, comprising grabbing at least a part of the livestock feed on the part of said feed position and displacing the grabbed livestock feed either to another part of said feed position or to another feed position on which livestock feed of the same type as the grabbed livestock feed is provided.

3. Device according to claim 1, wherein the clearing-up operation is a cleaning operation and removing the livestock feed comprises grabbing it, displacing it and unloading it at a feed-waste collecting position.

4. Device according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning operation comprises the removal of a predetermined upper part of the livestock feed at a feed position, in particular if no part of said livestock feed has yet been grabbed in order to fulfil a feed order.

5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the other position in the feed kitchen is a feed-waste collecting position which is different from the feed-unloading point, in particular is the same as a waste-dumping position, such as a sewer and the like, more particularly a part of the feed kitchen intended for that purpose.

6. Device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one clearing-up criterion includes that the device is not busy carrying out a feed order.

7. Device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one clearing-up criterion includes that the control unit does not contain any unfinished feed order, and/or that the control unit only contains one or more feed orders which do not have to be started within a predetermined time.

8. Device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one clearing-up criterion includes that the control unit has not received a feed order for at least a predetermined time period.

9. Device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one clearing-up criterion includes that the control unit contains a clearing-up instruction which is still to be carried out.

10. Device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one clearing-up criterion includes a removal condition, and wherein the device is designed or comprises a measuring device which is designed to detect, at least for one feed position, whether said feed position meets the removal condition, in particular, the at least one clearing-up criterion includes that at said feed position there is livestock feed which meets a removal condition.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein the removal condition includes that a value of a predetermined parameter of the livestock feed at said at least one feed position, or a part thereof, meets a predetermined removal criterion.

12. Device according to claim 11, wherein the parameter comprises an average height or maximum height of the livestock feed at the feed position, or a part thereof, and wherein the removal condition includes that the parameter value is smaller than a first threshold height, in particular based on the type of livestock feed, more particularly furthermore that the parameter value is greater than a second threshold height, still more particularly based on the type of livestock feed.

13. Device according to claim 11, wherein the parameter comprises a residual amount of livestock feed at the feed position, or a part thereof, and wherein the removal condition includes that the parameter value is smaller than a first threshold amount, in particular based on the type of livestock feed, more particularly furthermore that the parameter value is greater than a second residual amount, still more particularly based on the type of livestock feed.

14. Device according to claim 11, comprising a measuring device designed to measure the parameter value for one or more feed positions.

15. Device according to claim 14, wherein the measuring device is provided on the feed gripping device, in particular on the grab bucket.

16. Device according to claim 14, wherein the measuring device comprises a height-measuring and/or distance-measuring device.

17. Device according to claim 16, wherein the measuring device comprises a laser distance-measuring device, an ultrasound distance-measuring apparatus and/or a 3D-camera.

18. Device according to claim 14, wherein the measuring device is designed to scan a feed position, preferably during displacement of the feed gripping device, such as to a grabbing or feed position.

19. Assembly of a feed kitchen and a device according to claim 1, wherein the feed kitchen comprises at least one, and preferably more than one, feed position for grabbing material provided in the feed kitchen, in particular animal feed.

20. Assembly according to claim 19, furthermore comprising an autonomous clearing device, which is designed to remove at least part of the material in the feed kitchen under the control of the control unit.

21. System for a device according to claim 1, as well as a, in particular autonomous and/or self-propelled, vehicle which is designed to receive the material which has been grabbed by the grab bucket and is to be unloaded at an unloading position in said vehicle, and for subsequently dispensing it again at another position.

22. System according to claim 21, wherein the vehicle comprises a vehicle control unit which is operatively connected to the control unit and is designed to deliver an instruction or information to the control unit.

23. System according to claim 22, wherein the instruction or information comprises a feed order.

24. System according to claim 22, wherein the vehicle comprises a weighing device for weighing unloaded material which has been received in the vehicle, and wherein the instruction or information comprises information with respect to the weighed amount of material.

25. System according to claim 22, wherein the vehicle control unit is designed to emit a ready instruction to the control unit, and wherein the control unit is designed to carry out the clearing-up operation on the basis of the ready instruction.