Animal feed additive application utilizing foam
First Claim
1. A dosifying system for making a batch of foamed products including a liquid carrier and an additive, said system comprising:
- a chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
a liquid supply line for delivering the liquid carrier to the inlet of the chamber in a stream;
an incremental delivery device for delivering a measured quantity of the additive to the inlet of said chamber in a metered flow for combining said additive and said liquid carrier within said chamber to form a suspension;
apparatus operable to foam said suspension to form the foamed product;
a pump coupled with the outlet of said chamber for drawing the product out of the chamber as the suspension is foamed within the chamber; and
a delivery conduit coupled with said pump in downstream relation to the chamber for receiving the product from the pump and directing the product to a point of delivery.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses are provided for applying accurately metered, minute quantities of concentrated additives from bulk sources of supply to successive masses of material presented for treatment. The methods of the invention comprise mixing an additive with a small amount of a liquid carrier to form a suspension, causing the suspension to foam, and applying the resulting foamed suspension to a material such as animal feed. The apparatuses of the invention provide for a pass-through chamber within which separate streams of a liquid carrier, an additive substance, and preferably a foaming agent are merged together. Each of the streams are directed into the chamber in a metered flow to incrementally combine the streams. A suction pump at the downstream end of the chamber draws the prepared product out of the chamber and advances it toward an ultimate delivery site. By utilizing foam, the methods and apparatuses of the invention require very little carrier liquid and result in a product which can be evenly and thoroughly distributed over the animal feed.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A dosifying system for making a batch of foamed products including a liquid carrier and an additive, said system comprising:
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a chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
a liquid supply line for delivering the liquid carrier to the inlet of the chamber in a stream;
an incremental delivery device for delivering a measured quantity of the additive to the inlet of said chamber in a metered flow for combining said additive and said liquid carrier within said chamber to form a suspension;
apparatus operable to foam said suspension to form the foamed product;
a pump coupled with the outlet of said chamber for drawing the product out of the chamber as the suspension is foamed within the chamber; and
a delivery conduit coupled with said pump in downstream relation to the chamber for receiving the product from the pump and directing the product to a point of delivery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A dosifying system for supplying successive batches of foamed products including a liquid carrier and predetermined amounts of an additive to a point of delivery comprising:
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a chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
a bulk source of supply of said liquid carrier;
a liquid supply line operable to deliver a volume of the liquid carrier from the source of supply to the inlet of the chamber for each batch of product;
a bulk source of supply of said additive;
an incremental delivery device for delivering a measured quantity of the additive from the bulk source of supply of the additive to the inlet of the chamber for each batch of product, said device being operable to deliver each quantity of the additive to the chamber in a metered flow for combining said additive and said liquid carrier within said chamber to form a suspension;
apparatus operable to foam each batch of said suspension to form the foamed product;
a pump coupled with the outlet of said chamber for drawing the product out of the chamber as the suspension is foamed within the chamber; and
a delivery conduit coupled with said pump in downstream relation to the chamber for receiving the product from the pump and directing the product to a point of delivery until the entire batch has been delivered. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of applying additives to animal feed comprising:
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creating a suspension comprising an additive and a liquid carrier, said suspension having a first volume;
causing said suspension to foam, said foamed suspension having a second volume which is at least about 1½
times greater than said first volume; and
applying said foamed suspension to said animal feed. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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- 37. In a process for dosifying a bulk material by delivering a measured quantity of a liquid carrier and a measured quantity of an additive to the inlet of a chamber to form a suspension, delivering said suspension to a point of delivery, and applying said suspension to said bulk material, the improvement comprising making a foam from at least a portion of said suspension prior to said application.
Specification