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AssigneeLely Enterprises AG
InventorsLucien Eliza Niels Voogd, KArel van den Berg
Estimating the term…
An apparatus for automatically supplying predetermined amounts of feed to animals over a predetermined period which may be a period of time such as 24 hours or based on other occurrences such as the number of animals that are being fed. Each animal feeds at a trough in a feeding area wherein the animal is identified and which may be provided in a preferably circular feeding column or available to an animal in a milking compartment. A plurality of feed types are provided for each animal wherein the amounts and types are computer controlled and take into consideration a number of factors such as the nutrition needs of the particular animal, its preferences in feed types, whether the animal involved is in a lactation period, the milk yield of the animal, the season of the year, the weather, and the physical profile of the animal being fed. Data is retained in the memory of the computer as to when each animal eats, what it eats, how much if any feed is left in the feeding trough and whether or not an animal has consumed the predetermined types of food that it should consume during the predetermined period. If not, the difference is calculated and an amount of feed is provided in portions for each relevant animal which amount is smaller or equal to the difference as a feed balance to the animal.
An apparatus for automatically supplying a predetermined amount of feed to an animal during a predetermined period, which apparatus comprises an area for receiving and feeding the animal in which the animal is at least in part confined, animal identification means for identifying an animal present in said area, a computer for automatically controlling the supply of feed to be consumed by an animal in said area, measuring means for determining the amount of feed consumed by an animal in said area after receiving a supply of feed therein and transmitting information as to the amount of said feed so consumed to a memory of said computer, a calculating device in said computer for determining the total amount of feed consumed by such animal during said predetermined period and also the amount of food consumed by such animal immediately after said animal is identified as being in said area by said animal identification means, said calculating device determining the difference between said predetermined amount of feed and, the total amount of feed actually consumed by the animal in said predetermined period, said computer controlling the supply of feed to be consumed by said animal during said predetermined period of time by adding a feed balance to said feed actually consumed by the animal an amount of further feed not greater than the difference between said predetermined amount of feed and the actual amount of feed consumed by said animal during said predetermined period.
An apparatus for supplying a plurality of different feeds to animals during a predetermined period based on the nutrition needs and food preferences of each individual animal that uses the apparatus, the apparatus comprising a plurality of containers, each of said containers containing a different type of feed, a computer, a feed trough, delivery means controlled by said computer for selectively delivering said types of feed to said feed trough, identification means for identifying each animal that consumes said feed types at said trough, said computer including a memory which contains for each animal identified by said identification means data relating to the types of feed and the amounts thereof such animal should consume during each said predetermined period and a preferred order for each type of feed to be delivered to said trough while such animal is at said trough, measuring means at said trough for measuring the amount of said types of feed said animal actually consumes while at said trough during said predetermined period, said computer receiving information from said measuring means as to the actual consumption of each said animal from a said trough during said predetermined period and when an animal consumes less of any type of feed than data in a memory of said computer indicates such animal needs to meet its nutritional needs, said computer controls said delivery means to supply additional selected types of feed to said trough to be consumed by said animal which is substantially equal to or less than the amounts of types of food according to data in said memory which will meet the optimum nutritional needs of such animal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.