Dispenser
AssigneeFarmweld Inc.
InventorsRyan Jansen, Jonathan Wakefield, Francis Brummer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dispenser for animal feed or other granular material in which the material is dispensed as a mound, includes a dispenser body with a container having an outlet for discharging material by gravity feed onto a surface, a shelf or other moveable member beneath the outlet that travels vertically relative to the container to vary the gap between the container outlet and the surface, and an actuator to permit adjustment of the moveable member. The actuator uses frictional force to retain the moveable member in a selected position, which can be adjusted by overcoming the frictional force.
Claims36
A dispenser for pourable granular material comprising:
- a dispenser body;
- a container for said material mounted to the dispenser body having an outlet for discharging said material by gravity feed onto a surface, said outlet being positioned above the surface wherein a gap is defined between the outlet and the surface to permit the material to accumulate beneath said outlet as a mound;
- at least one adjustable member coupled to the container or the dispenser body which is moveable relative to the container along a path for varying said gap to control a volume of material that is dispensed from the container;
- and
- an actuator comprising an actuator body coupled to said adjustable member and configured to adjust the position of the adjustable member when said actuator body is moved and a friction member configured to apply a frictional force to the actuator body to restrict movement of the actuator body whereby overcoming said frictional force permits adjustment of the position of the adjustable member to selectively vary said gap.
An assembly for mounting to a dispenser to control the outflow of pourable granular material from said dispenser, said dispenser comprising a dispenser body, a container for said material having an outlet for discharging material by gravity feed onto a surface wherein a gap is defined between said outlet and said surface to permit the material to accumulate beneath said outlet as a mound, and at least one adjustable member coupled to the container or the dispenser body which is moveable relative to the container along a path for varying said gap to control a volume of material that is dispensed from the container;
- said assembly comprising an actuator comprising an actuator body for coupling to said adjustable member and configured to adjust the position of the adjustable member when said actuator body is moved and a friction member configured to apply a frictional force to the actuator body to restrict movement of the actuator body whereby overcoming said frictional force permits adjustment of the position of the adjustable member to selectively vary said gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.