Lely Patent N.v.

Lely Enterprises Ag

Maasland N.v.

Howard Sie

Karel Van Den Berg

Jan Lambertus Pastoor

Arie Huyzer

Jan Martinus Van Kuilenburg

Lucien Eliza Niels Voogd

Eliza Niels Voogd

The invention provides a feed-mixing wagon () for animal feed, comprising a frame with a drive, a container () with a continuous wall () with a feed-unload opening, a feed auger which is arranged in the container for mixing and cutting animal feed and comprising an auger shaft () and an auger body () which is arranged around it in a spiral which has several blades, wherein the blades comprise at least one blade () of a first, long type and at least one blade () of a second, short type, and wherein at least one blade of the short type is situated closer to the bottom () than at least one blade of the long type. As a result of the various blades in the described configuration, the cutting and mixing behaviour can be adjusted in an optimum way.

Feed-mixing wagon

A livestock feed wagon includes a moving frame, a feed container which is fitted on the frame for accommodating animal feed, in particular provided with feed mixer, and a movable arm construction having an operable gripper fitted thereto for grabbing an amount of animal feed. The arm construction is configured in such a way that the arm construction can pivot the gripper only in one plane from a first position for grabbing animal feed next to the livestock feed wagon to a second position for releasing the animal feed above the feed container. This makes it possible to provide a very simple and compact construction.

Feed wagon

A livestock feed wagon includes a frame, a feed container which is fitted on the frame, in particular provided with a feed mixer, a gripper construction having a movable arm construction and a gripper fitted thereon for grabbing an amount of animal feed from a pile of animal feed, and a weighing device. The weighing device is arranged and configured to weigh a grabbed amount of animal feed by determining a change in the weight of at least the feed container and the gripper construction with the grabbed amount of animal feed. As a result thereof, it is possible to determine both the total loaded weight in the feed container and the weight of a grabbed chunk of animal feed using the same weighing device, so that the chunk, if it is either too heavy or too light, can be returned prior being unloaded, if desired.

Livestock feed wagon

An apparatus for mixing and cutting animal feed including a container with a sidewall, a rotary mixing and cutting device positioned inside the container and arranged to be driven by a driving unit. At least one counter element is provided at the sidewall. The apparatus includes a positioning device for moving the counter element between a retracted position and an inserted position, and a control unit to control the positioning device of the counter element and arranged to determine an indication of the amount of instantaneous power consumed by the driving units for driving the rotary mixing and cutting device and to control positioning device based on the determined indication of the amount of instantaneous power.

Apparatus for mixing and cutting animal feed and method of operating such an apparatus

A vehicle system with a charging station and an autonomously movable, electrically powered vehicle dockable therewith, the vehicle system being mutually engageable at an inlet-side on the vehicle and an outlet-side on the charging station arranged to transport energy between the charging station and vehicle when engaged and further being provided with an inlet-side guiding member, an outlet-side guiding member, respectively, arranged to guide the inlet-side and outlet-side engagements from a non-charging position into a charging position upon engaging of the inlet- and outlet-sides when docking the vehicle to the charging station.

Vehicle system

Feed-mixing device comprising a container with a side wall having a dispensing opening which can be closed off with a slide in front of which a removing device is placed which, for example, comprises a roller with teeth. When the roller rotates, the teeth extend inside the side wall. On a first peripheral section of the roller, the teeth are placed in such a manner that they do not extend inside the side wall. Thus, the slide can be positioned in such a manner that it runs in a fluent and continuous manner with respect to the side wall, while the assembly still forms a compact arrangement.

Feed device

Feed-mixing device comprising a container with a side wall having a dispensing opening which can be closed off with a slide, in front of which a removing device is placed which, for example, comprises a roller with teeth. When the roller rotates, the teeth extend inside the side wall. On a first peripheral section of the roller, the teeth are placed in such a manner that they do not extend inside the side wall. Thus, the slide can be positioned in such a manner that it runs in a fluent and continuous manner with respect to the side wall, while the assembly still forms a compact arrangement.

A method of feeding an animal in a feeding box including in no particular order, at least the actions of: a) registering the presence of the animal in the feeding box, b) closing the feeding box and locking the feeding box in such a way that access to the feeding box is impeded for an animal outside the feeding box, c) supplying feed to the animal in the feeding box in a chosen eating period of time. For an animal that does not leave the feeding box after an initially chosen eating period of time has elapsed, the initially chosen eating period of time beginning immediately after the performance of step b), within a first waiting time span chosen contiguously to said period of time, in which the animal is given the possibility of leaving the feeding box, step c) is repeated at least once.

Method of and an installation for feeding an animal in a feeding box

An apparatus which comprises a plurality of containers for animal feed which includes silage, hay, fodder, or a liquid including water or any mixture thereof. The plurality of containers are for different feeds and a plurality of troughs are provided to which feeds from the containers are selectively transferred by robot arms which are computer-controlled based on the identification by an identification sensor of the animal that will next feed at the trough involved. The robot arm may include a gripping element or a bucket or shovel which include closing members. The containers may be disposed above the troughs and a chute may be provided which receives feed from the robot arm which flows through the chute to the trough. The robot arm automatically detaches a portion of the feed from feed stored in one or more of the containers and displaces same either via the chute or directly into the trough. Also the robot arm may move feed from selected containers at one side of the troughs onto a transport vehicle which is movable along a rail to transport feed to a selected trough or troughs.

Implement for automatically detaching and displacing an amount of feed, such as, for example, silage or hay

The invention relates to a device for automatically supplying feed and/or drink to an animal, comprising at any rate at least one trough, a flap, a control unit for controlling the flap, so that the flap is capable of being put in an open position and in a closed position for giving the animal access to the trough, respectively preventing the animal from having access to the trough, and an identification device for identifying the animal and for emitting an identification signal that is indicative of the identified animal. The control unit is provided with a memory, which memory is suitable for storing a first set of identification data in relation to animals that are allowed to have access to the trough and a second set of identification data in relation to animals that are not allowed to have access to the trough, with a comparing device for comparing the identification signal with the first and the second set of identification data in the memory, the control unit always keeping the flap in the open position or releasing the flap from the closed position if the identification signal belongs to the first set, and the control unit keeping the flap in the closed position or releasing the flap from the open position for enabling it to assume the closed position if the identification signal belongs to the second set.

Device for and a method of automatically supplying feed and/or drink to an animal

A feed metering apparatus for supplying a consumable substance to a feeding trough for consumption by an animal, such as a dairy cow, while at least one further animal that has voluntary access to the same trough to consume a consumable substance therefrom is waiting for the animal at the feeding trough to depart. The feeding trough has an entrance opening which can be closed by a closing member. The apparatus intermittently supplies a quantity of a consumable substance to the feeding trough. The feeding trough has a weighing mechanism for continuously weighing the amount of the consumable substance in the feeding trough. A control mechanism is provided for closing the feeding trough's opening and there is a timing component. The control mechanism closes the opening of the feeding trough based on the combination of a lower threshold value of the amount of consumable substance remaining in the feeding trough as determined by the weighing mechanism and an upper threshold value of the duration of time since an animal at the feeding trough either stopped consuming a consumable substance therefrom or slowed its pace of doing so to a predetermined amount.

Feed metering device

A device for supplying fodder to animals such as cows which has a plurality of hoppers containing fodder wherein each hopper may have a different type of fodder. A plurality of feeding troughs are provided which are accessible to animals to feed therefrom. Each hopper has a conveyor for conveying fodder from that hopper to a control component that has a receptacle which receives fodder from selected hoppers. Under control of the control component selected conveyors in the hoppers convey predetermined amounts of fodder therefrom to the receptacle. The receptacle has a bottom which can be opened and from which fodder falls through a pipe or chute to a selected trough. The device is provided with a container which may be one of the hoppers edible separating material which may be supplied to the receptacle to form a layer on top of which fodder is received and is wrapped, at least in part, by the edible separating material as it falls through the bottom of the receptacle into the underlying pipe or chute. The control component includes a memory that contains data as to the adhesiveness of the fodder contained in each of the hoppers and causes fodder to be conveyed to the receptacle and therefrom in the order of increasing adhesiveness thereof. The edible separating material is a material that at least substantially does not adhere to components of the device with which it comes into contact.

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Rotterdam, Netherlands

Howard Sie