Traveling feed hopper

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING ANIMALS AUTOMATICALLY IN MEASURED AMOUNTS AT PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVALS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED FEED TROUGH WHICH MAY BE ARRANGED IN THE OPEN AND MAY TRAVERSE A PLURALITY OF ADJOINING PENS EACH HAVING ONE OR MORE ANIMALS THEREIN, A TRAVELING FEED HOPPER HAVING TRACK MEANS WHEREBY IT IS SUPPORTED ABOVE THE FEED TROUGH AND HAVING MEANS WHEREBY IT IS PROPELLED LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF AT PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVALS, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING FEED MATERIAL TO SAID HOPPER IN ONE OF ITS OPERATIVE POSITIONS, MEANS ON SAID FEED TROUGH IN SELECTED PREDETERMINED POSITIONS SPACED LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF ENGAGEABLE WITH THE FEED MATERIAL OF SAID HOPPER AS SAID HOPPER IS ADVANCED LONGITUDINALLY RELATIVE TO SAID FEED TROUGH TO DISPLACE FEED MATERIAL THEREFROM, SAID HOPPER HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE RESTRICTED BOTTOM OPENING SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH ITS LENGTH AND HAVING AN OPEN ENDED, HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING DELIVERY CHUTE IMMEDIATELY BELOW SAID OPENING POSITIONED ABOVE SAID FEED TROUGH AND ALIGNED LONGITUDINALLY THEREWITH, AND SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS CONSISTING OF A PLURALITY OF FIXED BLADES EACH HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT WHEREBY IT IS ADJUSTABLE VERTICALLY ABOVE SAID FEED TROUGH AND EXTENDING LATERALLY AND DOWNWARDLY FROM ITS SUPPORT AND ADAPTED TO TRAVERSE SAID DELIVERY CHUTE AS THE HOPPER IS ADVANCED LONGITUDINALLY RELATIVE TO SAID FEED TROUGH, TO THEREBY DISPLACE FEED MATERIAL FROM SAID DELIVERY CHUTE.