CA1325561C

CA1325561C - Cattle water drinking entice

Info

Publication number: CA1325561C
Application number: CA 585343
Authority: CA
Inventors: Larry Sushelnitski
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-12-08
Filing date: 1988-12-08
Publication date: 1993-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2010-12-28

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION

A water trough having a container with a bottom and a peripheral side wall. A pump circulates water within the container, the pump having an inlet which is disposed below the water line the container, and an outlet which is disposed above the water line of the container. Water from the container is drawn in through the inlet and sent cascading through the outlet onto the surface of water in the container, thereby enticing large range grazing animals, such as cattle, to drink.

Description

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The present inverl-tiorl relates to a device for en-ticing cattle to drink from water troughs.

BACKGROUND OF TH~ INVENTION

In order to reduce production costs most farms which rai~e beef cattle let them graze on large tracts of range land, which nave a natural source of water.
During fall and winter, cattle are brought in off the 10 range land and are trucked to auction marts or feed lots. By the time the cattle are delivered, it is commonly 24 to 36 hours since the cattle had access to water. There is often a concern regarding the adver~e effec-ts dehydration i5 having upon the health of the 15 cattle, this concern being most acute with the calves.
Although the corrals have water troughs, the cattle don't know where -to look for water, and have to be enticed. This is accomplished at the present time by scattering hay in the vicinity of the water trough to 20 bring the cattle near, and having an employee of the auction mart or feed lot splash water to make the cattle aware of the location of the water. The cattle will not drink, however, while the employee is at the water trough. The employee must, therefore, repeatedly return 25 to the water trough and repeat the splashing procedure, until he is satisfied that all cattle have been watered.
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;~ The problem is further exacerbated in severe winter weather conditions. Great care must be taken in 30 ~pla~hing water near the water trough, in order to prevent the creation of hazardous ice conditions in the trough area. The troughs must also be checked ,periodically to ensure that they have not become frozen, ! thereby denying the cattle access to water.
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:132~5~1 SU~MARY OF THE INVENTION
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What is required i~ a water trough for use in wateriny range animal~ which will ~irc-ulate the wa-ter within the trough to prevent freezing and make a noise like running water to entice animals to drin~.
; ' According to the present invention there is provided, a water trough which i5 comprised of a 10 container having a bottom and a peripheral side wall. A
pump circulates wa-ter within the container, the pump having an inlet which is disposed below the water line the container, and an outlet which is disposed above the water line of the container. Water from the container 15 is drawn in through the inlet and sent cascading through the outlet onto the surface of water in the container.

Although beneficial resui-ts may be obtained from the use of the water trough described, even more 20 beneficial results may be obtained if the water consumed by animals drinking from the trough is automatically repleni~hed. This is accomplished by the preferred feature of having a flow passage through the container.
The flow pas~age has an exterior end communicating with 25 the exterior of the container thereby permitting ~connection to a remote water source, and an interior end jcommunicating with the interior of the container. Means 3is provided to control the flow of water connected with the interior end of the flow passage, such that the 30 level of water in the container may be maintained at a selected level.

Although beneficial results may be obtained by using the water trough described, even more beneficial 5 result~ may be obtained by taking ~tep~ to exagyerate ~'1 3 132~
the sound that the water makes coming out of the outlet.
This is accomplished throuyh the preferred features of attaching a spray no~zle on -the ou-tle-t; and having a plurality of reducers disposed in the conn~cting pipirly be-tween the outle-t and the spray nozzle to increase the pressure of fluids exitin~ the spray nozzles.

Although beneficial results may be obtained by using the water trough as described, even more 10 beneficial results may be obtained by takin~ measures to ensure the pump inlet does not become clogged by debris.
This is accomplished by the preferred feature of having fluids flowing through the interior end of the flow passage directed at the inle-t of the pump such that the - 15 inlet is washed clear of debris.

Although beneficial results may be obtained by using the water trough as described, even more beneficial results mav be obtained by taking measures to 20 ensure the working apparatus is not damaged by the animals. This is accomplished by having dividers extending between the side wall thereby dividing the container into 8ections. The dividers are spaced above the botto~ of the container such that a flow space is 25 provided for communication of fluids between the ' sections. One of the sections, in which the workiny apparatus i~ housed, is enclosed at the top by a lid.
The other of the sections are open at the top such that animals have access to the fluids contained therein.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other feat-ures of the invention will beccme more apparent from the following descriptiorl in which reference is made to the appended drawings, wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a cut-away side elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIGVR~ 2 is a ~ut-away end elevation view of a 10 preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of a portion of a preferr~d embodiment of the invention.
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D~TAILED DESCRIPTIO~ OF TH~ I~VENTION
;The preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrat~d in FIGUR~S 1 through 3 is a water trough, jhereinafter generally referred to by reference numeral 1 0 .
Water trough 10 has as its primary component a ~container 12 to contain the water from which the animals 1will drink. Container 12 ha~ an open top portion 14, a bottom 16, peripheral side walls 20 and peripheral end 25 walls 22. Two divider~ 24 extend transversely between 3~ide walls 20, dividing container 12 into three sections 26, 28, and 30. Dividers 24 are spaced above bottom 16 of container 12 leaving a flow space 32 for jcommunication of fluids between sections 26, 28 and 30.
-~30 Section~ 26 is enclo~ed at top 14 of contaîner 12 by a jlid 34. Sections 28 and 30 are open at top 14 to permit janimals have acce~s to the fluids contained therein.
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132~56~ 5 Container 12 has ~ flow pipe 36 through bottom 16.
Flow pipe 36 has an exterior end 38 and an interior end 40. E~terior end 38 protrudes from the exterior surface 42 of container 12 and is adapted -to be connected to a remote water source (not shown~. Interior end 40 extends into enclosed section 26 of container 12, and is connected to flow control valve 46.

Flow control valve 46 is comprised of an arm 48 10 having a mountin~ end 50 and a fioat end 52. Mou~ting end 50 is pivotally mounted in enclosed section 26 of container 12 on interior end 40 of flow pipe 36. Float end 52 is attached to a float 54 such that arm 48 mo~es in response to chanyes in tne water level in enclosed 15 section 26 of container 12. Mounting end 50 of arm ~8 has a seal 56 which engages an opening 58 at interior end 40 of fiow pipe 36 and restricts the flow of fluids therethrough when float 54 raises arm 48 to a preset position.
A pump 60 is adapted to circulate water within container 12. Pump 60 has an inlet 62 and an outlet 64.
Inlet 62 i8 disposed below the water ~ine 66 in enclosed section 26 of container 12. Inlet 62 draws fluid from 25 9ection 26 of con-tainer 12, and has a mesh guard 63 to prevent debriY from being drawn into pump 60. Outlet 64 is connected by piping 68 to two spray nozzles 70. One of spray nozzles 70 i8 disposed above water line 66 of each of open ~ections 28 and 30 of container 12.
30 Piping 68 between outlet 64 of pump 60 and spray ; nozzles 70 has a plurality of reducers 72, 74, 76, and :j 78 disposed therein to increase the pressure of fluids exiting spray nozzles 70, the operation of which will be hereinafter more fully described. Each of reducers :l 35 :

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~2, 74, 76, and 78 have a wide end 86 and a narrow end ~8.

The ~peration of wa-ter trough 10 wi~l now be 5 described with reference to FIGUR~S 1 th~ough 3. Water trough 10 is intended to be installed between two coral enclosures with each one of open sections 28 or 30 servicing one coral enclosure. During installation e~terior end 38 of flow pipe 36 is conne~ted via -.10 underground water pipes to a remote water source (not shown). Once water is supplied from the water source to Elow pipe 36, water flows through ope~ing 58 at interior end 40 of closed section 26 of container 12.
Water in closed section 26 flows through flow space 32 15 under dividers 24 to bring water line 66 in open sectior~s 28 and 30 to the same level as water line 66 in section 26. As water line 66 rises float 54 rises, and consequently arm 48 is raised altering the relationship between seal 56 at mounting end 50 of arm 48 and opening 20 58 at interior end 40 of flow pipe 36. When arm 48 is at a preset position, seal 56 will engaye opening 58 and restrict the flow of fluids therethrough. Thereafter water line 66 will be maintained at a constant level, as i,a loweriny of water line 66 results in float 54 falling ',25 and consequently seal 56 becoming spaced from opening 58 'permitting fluids to enter section 26 until the preset ~position of arm 48 is again reached, When water line 66 is sufficient to permit 30 operation, pump 60 .is activated. Pump 60 draws water from section 26 through inlet 62 and through piping 68 to spray nozzle~ 70. Water i8 sent cascadiny throuyh jspray nozzlos 70 onto the ~urface of water in open Isections 28 and 30 of container 12. In order to get a :,35 stronger ~pray from pump 60, reducer~ ~2, 74, 76, and 78 i . ~ .
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~32~61 are inserted into piping 68. Following th~ pa-th ~f water from ou-tlet 64, water enter~ wide end 86 of reducer 72 and meets wi-th resistance exiting at narr~w end 88. Similarly, water meets with resistance entering narrow end 88 of reducer 74. As water exits wide end 86 of reducer ~4 however the artificial resiistance is removed causing water to shoot up to nozzle 70. Some water enters wide end 86 of reducer ~6 and meets with resistance in exiting narrow end 88 of reducer 76.
10 Similarly, water meets with resistance in entering narrow end 88 of reducer ~8. However, as water exits wide end 86 of reducer 78, the artificial resistance is removed causing water to shoot up to the other of nozzles 70.

A delicate balance must be reached in adjusting the level of spray of spray nozzles 70. The spray mu~t be noisy enough to attract the attention of the cattle so they know the water is there. However, the spray must 20 not be so high as to be blown by the wind on the ground surrounding water trough 10 forming ice and creating a hazard for the cattle. Similarly, the noise level must not be such that it will frighten the cattle.
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25As the cattle drink from open sec-tions 28 and 30, dividers 24 and lid 34 protect arm 48, float 54, and ' piping 68 from being damaged by the animals. Without .'~ the protection afforded by dividers 24 and lid 34, the ~, maintenance requirements for the system would b0 30 prohibitive. As the cattle drink from open sections 28 and 30, an accumulation of debris unavoidably gets into , the water. This debris could potentially clog inlet 62.
` To prevent this from happening inlet 62 is equipped with ,' a me~h guard 63. Mesh guard 63 can itself become `, 35 clogged. To reduce the likelihood of this happening '"

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132~61 fluids flo~ing through operling 58 at in-terior end 40 of flow pipe 36 are direc-ted at mesh 63, such that mesh 63 is cons-tantly washed ~lear of debris.

5It is often desirable to administer medicine to the herd through the water supply. The sy~tem can readily be adapted to accommodate a medicator. One advantage of the present invention when used with medicators is that ; the medicine is constantly circulated throughout 10 container 12 by the action of pump 60.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the advantages the present invention provides over methods pres~ntly employed for watering cattle. It will further 15 be apparent that the circulation of water in containe~
12, as described, will prevent ice from forming on the ~urface of the water in all but the severest of weather conditions. For convenience in servicing, it may be desirable to have pump 60 disposed external to container 20 12, rather than submersible as is depicted in the FIGURES 1 through 3.

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A water trough, comprising:
a) A container having a bottom and a peripheral side wall, the container having at least one section with an open top thereby permitting cattle access to the water in the container.
b) A pump which is adapted to circulate water within said container, said pump having an inlet which is disposed below the water line of said container, and an outlet which is disposed above the water line of the open section of said container, such that water from said container is drawn in through said inlet and sprayed by said outlet into the air whereby the water is visible to the cattle, and onto the surface of water in said container whereby a sound is produced, the sight and sound of flowing water attracting the attention of the cattle thereby enticing the cattle to drink.