GB2173685A

GB2173685A - Door for a fowl house

Info

Publication number: GB2173685A
Application number: GB08507241A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Leonard Peter Dodge; Philip Leonard Dodge
Original assignee: Petdoors Ltd
Current assignee: Petdoors Ltd
Priority date: 1985-03-20
Filing date: 1985-03-20
Publication date: 1986-10-22
Also published as: GB8507241D0

Abstract

A fowl house door 13 is opened automatically e.g. by a reversible motor 20, at a preset time of day. The motor may be controlled by a 24 hour timer 24 or by a light-sensitive cell. In modifications, motor 20 is replaced by a pneumatic drive (30, Figure 2 not shown) or a solenoid-actuated arrangement (40, Figure 3 not shown). The door 13 may be arranged to be closed automatically or manually. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Door for a fowl house The present invention relates to a door for a fowl house.

Existing fowl house doors need to be opened and closed manually each day. This is inconvenient for the farmer, particularly at week ends and other holiday periods or where the fowl house is remotely situated.

The present invention seeks to overcome or reduce the above disadvantage.

According to the present invention there is provided a fowl house door, means for automatically opening the door and means for controlling the operation of said door opening means in dependence upon the time of day.

The door opening/closing means may be an electric motor, a pneumatic cylinder or a solenoidactuated device. The control means may comprise an electrically-operated 24-hour timer or a lightsensitive cell. The control means may activate servos and motor via transistorised relays and limit switches.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a fowl house door in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a fowl house door in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 3 shows a fowl house door in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a fowl house door arrangement 10 comprising a main mounting plate 11 made from steel, aluminium, plastics or timber in which is cut an aperture 12 of the required size. The aperture is arranged to be opened or closed by a panel 13 which slides vertically in guides 14. The panel is moved by a reversible motor 20 having a shaft passing through a thrust block 21 and coupled to a threaded rod 22. The threaded rod engages with a nut 16 fixed to the door panel 13, and as the rod rotates clockwise or anticlockwise, the panel moves to the open or closed position.

Operation of the motor is controlled by a 24 hour timer and transistorised motor control unit 24. Motor 20 and unit 24 are supplied with electricity by batteries within a box 26 mounted on plate 11.

Movement of the panel 13 is limited by a lower limit switch 28 and an upper limit switch (not shown) mounted on the bottom of box 26. The timer unit 24 operates to automatically open the door at a first predetermined time in the morning, in order to allow the occupants to free range, and to automatically close the door at a second predetermined time in the evening after the occupants have returned and to prevent the entry of predators. The closing of the door in this manner is of particular advantage where the farmer is unable to attend to this task within the relevant time band, i.e. between the time the fowls return and the time when a risk arises from predators.

The above-described arrangement is selfcontained and may be installed as a unit in an existing fowl-house. Fitting the door unit allows rearing of free-range fowls without twice daily attendance. The farmer's time and effort in travelling to and from the fowl house is saved, and the manual effort of moving the panel is also avoided.

Various modifications may be made to the abovedescribed arrangement. For example the batteries in box 26 may be replaced by a mains input with a transformer and/or rectifier. Also, if desired, there may be more than one opening and closing cycle per day. The 24 hour timer may be replaced by a photo-cell which controls actuation of the door in dependence on the amount of daylight. Moreover the panel may be arranged to open horizontally instead of vertically.

A second embodiment is shown in Figure 2 in which panel 13 is actuated by a two-way acting air servo cylinder 30 attached to the main plate 11. The piston rod 31 of the servo is attached to an actuating arm 32 which is pivotally attached to the mounting plate at one end 33. The other end 34 of the arm is attached to the panel 13 via a pin and slot mechanism. Upper and lower stops 35, 36 are provided for limiting movement of the panel. Compressed air is admitted at one or the other end of the servo cylinder 30 via a two-way solenoid valve in order to open or close the door. An additional advantage of this arrangement is that it permits a plurality of fowl house doors to be operated via respective branches of a single pneumatic supply, which can be operated by a single timer or other control unit.

Athird embodiment is shown in Figure 3 which is semi-automatic in that the arrangement is selfopening but needs to be closed manually. This is not considered to be a particular disadvantage where it is the farmer's habit to check the birds at the end of each day. In this embodiment, the panel 13 is held in the closed position by a trigger arm 41 operated by a spring-loaded solenoid 40, end 42 of arm 41 engaging with a catch 43 on actuating arm 32. When the trigger arm 41 is actuated at the beginning of the day, it releases arm 32 which is lifted by a tension spring 46 to open aperture 12. Box 50 contains a battery supply, a 24 hour timer and transistorised or relay solenoid control means. In the evening, manual closure of the panel 13 against the force of spring 46 resets the trigger, arm 32 causing end 42 to re-engage and hold catch 43. An upper stop 47 is provided to limit upward movement of the panel.

An advantage of the above arrangement is that the small amount of power consumed may be readily supplied by a local battery supply, although a mains input with a transformer/rectifier may be provided if desired.

In a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the actuating arm 32 is centrally pivoted and tension spring 46 is replaced by a counterbalance weight at the free end 33. When solenoid 40 releases the trigger 41, the counter-balance weight swings arm 32 to open the panel.

The modifications mentioned in connection with the embodiment of Figure 1 may also be applied, as appropriate, to the embodiments of Figures 2 and 3.

Claims

1. An arrangement comprising a fowl house door, means for automatically opening the door, and means for controlling the operation of said door opening means in dependence upon the time of day.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1 ,wherein the door opening means is a reversible electric motor which is also arranged to close the door in dependence upon the time of day.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the door opening means is a pneumatic cylinder which is also arranged to close the door in dependence on the time of day.

4. An arrangement according to claim 3, wherein a common pneumatic supply is used to operate a plurality of fowl house doors.

5. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the door opening means is a solenoid-actuated device.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the door opening means comprise a trigger arm operated by a solenoid to release a spring-loaded actuating arm to open the fowl house door.

7. An arrangement according to claim 6, wherein manual closure of the door against the spring loading is arranged to reset the trigger arm.

8. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the door opening means comprises a trigger arm operated by a solenoid to release a centrally-pivoted actuating arm to open the fowl house door, the actuating arm having a counter-balance weight at its free end.

9. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the controlling means comprises an electrically driven 24 hour timer.

10. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the controlling means comprises a light-sensitive cell.

11. An arrangement for opening a fowl house door substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1, Figure 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.