Animal feeder

Claim 2

An animal feeder comprising: means including an agitator blade rotating at a predetermined velocity for generating a fluidized, circumferentially traveling body of animal feed in an agitation zone comprising a substantially flat, generally horizontally disposed floor and a generally upwardly extending annular wall encircling the floor; said agitator blade being mounted in the bottom of said agitation zone adjacent said floor; a discharge opening formed in the annular wall for receiving feed from the traveling body thereof and thereby directing animal feed out of the agitation zone at a predetermined rate; and means for admitting additional animal feed to the agitation zone at the same predetermined rate.

Claim 3

An animal feeder comprising: means defining a supply of particulate animal feed; an agitator chamber comprising a substantially flat, horizontally disposed floor and an upwardly and outwardly tapered conical wall extending around the floor and having a discharge opening formed in it; means for directing animal feed from the supply means to the agitator chamber; an agitator mounted in the bottom of the agitator chamber; means for rotating the agitator in the agitator chamber at a predetermined rate and thereby forming a fluidized zone of animal feed on the conical wall of the chamber which moves circumferentially along the wall and out through the discharge opening during the portion of each rotation of the agitator in which the fluidized zone is aligned with the opening.

Claim 4

An animal feeder comprising: means defining a supply of particulate animal feed; an agitator chamber comprising a substantially flat, horizontally disposed floor and an upwardly and outwardly tapered conical wall extending around the floor and having a discharge opening formed in it; means for directing animal feed from the supply means to the agitator chamber; an agitator mounted in the bottom of the agitator chamber; means for rotating the agitator in the agitator chamber at a predetermined rate and thereby forming a fluidized zone of animal feed on the conical wall of the chamber which moves circumferentially along the wall and out through the discharge opening during the portion of each rotation of the agitator in which the fluidized zone is aligned with the opening.

Claim 5

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 2 wherein said directing means includes a feed guide plate mounted beneath said supply means, said plate having inwardly and donwardly directed surfaces to define an orifice for restricting the passage of feed therethrough.

Claim 6

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 3 wherein said supply means includes an elongate vertically extending hopper and wherein said feed guide plate forms the bottom of said hopper.

Claim 7

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 4 wherein said rotating means includes electric motor means having an output vertically extending shaft from the bottom of the agitator chamber, and wherein said agitator includes a blade fixed to the output shaft for rotation about its central axis.

Claim 8

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 3 wherein said directing means also includes a feeder shaft mounted to said agitator and extending up into the orifice of said feed guide plate for movement within said orifice upon rotation of said agitator to produce feed flow from said supply means into said agitator chamber.

Claim 9

An animal feeder comprising: a substantially flat, generally horizontally disposed floor and an upwardly and outwardly tapered conical wall encircling The floor for cooperation therewith to define an agitation chamber; outlet means formed through the conical wall and extending to an animal feeding receptacle; an agitator blade supported in the bottom of the agitation chamber for rotation about the axis of the conical wall and comprising surfaces extending angularly relative to the axis of the conical wall; said agitator blade having a top surface located beneath the bottom of the outlet means; means for rotating the agitation blade in the agitation chamber at a predetermined rate and thereby forming a fluidized layer of animal feed on the wall which extends above the top surface of the blade and above the bottom of the outlet means and which travels circumferentially around the wall for discharge through the outlet means into the animal feeding receptacle during the portion of each rotation of the blade in which the fluidized layer is aligned with the outlet means; a hopper mounted above the agitation chamber for receiving a supply of animal feed; and means mounted between the hopper and the agitation zone for directing animal feed from the hopper into the agitation zone at the same rate that animal feed is discharged from the agitation zone through the outlet means.

Claim 10

An animal feeder comprising: a substantially flat, generally horizontally disposed floor and an upwardly and outwardly tapered conical wall encircling The floor for cooperation therewith to define an agitation chamber; outlet means formed through the conical wall and extending to an animal feeding receptacle; an agitator blade supported in the bottom of the agitation chamber for rotation about the axis of the conical wall and comprising surfaces extending angularly relative to the axis of the conical wall; said agitator blade having a top surface located beneath the bottom of the outlet means; means for rotating the agitation blade in the agitation chamber at a predetermined rate and thereby forming a fluidized layer of animal feed on the wall which extends above the top surface of the blade and above the bottom of the outlet means and which travels circumferentially around the wall for discharge through the outlet means into the animal feeding receptacle during the portion of each rotation of the blade in which the fluidized layer is aligned with the outlet means; a hopper mounted above the agitation chamber for receiving a supply of animal feed; and means mounted between the hopper and the agitation zone for directing animal feed from the hopper into the agitation zone at the same rate that animal feed is discharged from the agitation zone through the outlet means.

Claim 11

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 7 wherein said directing means includes: a feed guide plate having a reduced orifice therein for restricting the flow of feed from said hopper to said agitation chamber; and means extending from said chamber into said orifice and adapted for movement within said orifice upon rotation of said blade for preventing the formation of feed bridges within said orifice and producing a flow 22 feed into said chamber.

Claim 12

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 8 wherein said means extending into said orifice includes an upstanding feeder shaft mounted to said blade, said shaft being parallel to but spaced from the axis of rotation of said blade.

Claim 13

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 7 wherein said rotating means includes an electric motor having an output shaft connected to said agitator blade.

Claim 14

An animal feeder as set forth in claim 7 which also includes: means for energizing said rotating means at selected intervals for preselected time periods to dispense a preselected quantity of feed into the animal feeding receptacle.