Patent Application
20160023867
This disclosure relates to transporting and mixing feed for animals, and in particular, to a system and method for efficiently loading, transporting and mixing feed.
Feed for livestock typically includes a mixture of several different commodities, such as, hay, straw and other types of grain, that when mixed together produce a feed product that is customized to the diet of a group of livestock. The various commodities for a specific feed product are retrieved from bulk commodity locations and then mixed in large, stationary mixers. In practice, commodity transportation vehicles retrieve the required commodities from one or more bulk commodity locations and transport the commodities to the location of the stationary feed mixers. The commodity transportation vehicles, or other commodity loading vehicles such as fork lifts or shovel loaders, then load the commodities into the stationary mixers. When the stationary mixers have fully mixed the commodities, feed transportation vehicles remove the resulting feed from the mixers and transport the feed to long distance feed transportation vehicles, such as feed trailers.
The feed production and transportation process described above requires several manually-operated vehicles, fuel to power the vehicles, and trained workers to operate the vehicles. As such, the process is time consuming and expensive for feed producers. In addition, commodities and/or feed are often lost during loading, transportation and unloading of the commodities and/or feed. The loss of a portion of the commodities and/or feed causes significant losses in profitability for feed producers and is often referred to as “shrinkage.” In addition, because livestock producers rely on a steady supply of feed from the feed production process, maintenance of the components of the above-described process, such as the stationary mixers, must be performed quickly to minimize downtime. Oftentimes, maintenance of the stationary mixers must be performed at the location of the stationary mixer, regardless of the weather conditions or time of day. On-site maintenance and repair of the mixers or other feed production equipment can be dangerous for technicians, especially when other feed production processes are in operation while the technicians perform maintenance.
In a first aspect, there is provided a system for loading, mixing and transporting feed. The system includes a commodity bay, a crane movable with respect to the commodity bay, and a mixer coupled to the crane. The mixer includes a commodity loader to load commodities into the mixer from the commodity bay. The crane is movable in a first direction to position at least part of the mixer within the commodity bay to load commodities from the commodity bay. The crane is movable in a second direction to transport the mixer away from the commodity bay.
According to one embodiment, the mixer includes a first set of drive wheels to move the mixer in a first direction toward the commodity bay.
In some embodiments, the mixer includes a second set of drive wheels to move the mixer in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.
In still other embodiments, the first set of drive wheels are perpendicularly oriented to the second set of drive wheels.
In yet another embodiment, the mixer is movable in a vertical direction by the crane.
In other embodiments, the mixer further includes drive wheel, wherein the drive wheel moves the mixer toward the commodity bay when the drive wheel contacts a ground surface.
In still other embodiments, the system includes an electrical connection between the crane and the mixer to supply electricity from the crane to the mixer.
In yet other embodiments, the commodity bay includes a first opening to receive a commodity from a commodity loading vehicle and a second opening to receive the mixer, wherein the first opening is positioned opposite from the second opening.
In still other embodiments, the mixer includes a proximity sensor to sense the proximity of a commodity in the commodity bay to the mixer.
According to a second aspect, there is provided a system for mixing and transporting feed, the system including a commodity bay, a crane movable with respect to the commodity bay, and a mixer coupled to the crane, wherein the mixer receives electrical power from the crane.
According to certain embodiments, the mixer includes a mixing mechanism, forward drive wheels and lateral drive wheels, wherein the mixing mechanism, the forward drive wheels and the lateral drive wheels receive electrical power from the crane.
In other embodiments, the mixer is self-loading.
In still other embodiments, the mixer includes a bucket to load a commodity into the mixer.
In yet other embodiments, the mixer is suspended above a ground surface by the crane.
According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of mixing and transporting feed. The method includes determining a location of a component of a crane, wherein the crane is coupled to a commodity mixer, determining a location of the commodity mixer based on the position of the component of the crane and moving the commodity mixer until the commodity mixer is located at least partially within a commodity bay. The method further includes loading a commodity into the mixer from the commodity bay, mixing the commodity, moving the commodity mixer to an unloading station; and unloading the mixer at the unloading station.
In still other embodiments, the method further includes measuring an amount of the commodity to load into the mixer from the commodity bay.
In other embodiments, the method includes the mixer measuring an amount of a second commodity to load into the mixer from a second commodity bay and loading the measured amount of the second commodity into the mixer.
In yet other embodiments, the method includes loading a plurality of commodities from a plurality of commodity bays into the mixer.
In still other embodiments, moving the commodity mixer until the commodity mixer is located at least partially within a first commodity bay includes elevating the mixer above a floor surface.
In other embodiments, loading a commodity into the mixer from the commodity bay includes lowering the mixer until a drive wheel of the mixer contacts a ground surface.
According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a system for processing livestock feed that includes a building including a plurality of commodity bays and a crane that is movable with respect to the commodity bays. The commodity bays each include a first opening to an exterior of the building for loading commodities into the commodity bay and a second opening positioned opposite from the first opening for unloading commodities from the commodity bay in response to movement of the crane.
In some embodiments, the system includes a mixer coupled to the crane. The mixer is movable with the crane to collect commodities from the second openings of the commodity bays.
Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are part of this disclosure and which illustrate, by way of example, principles of the inventions disclosed.
The accompanying drawings facilitate an understanding of the various embodiments.
Referring now to
Referring specifically to the embodiment illustrated in
The building 104 also includes a crane system 108 that is positioned at least partially within the building 104. The crane system 108 includes a first rail 138 and a second rail 140 that are parallel to each other and that extend from the third wall 122 of the building 104 to the fourth wall 124 of the building 104. In other embodiments, the first and second rails 138 and 140 extend less than the full length of the building 104 or extend beyond the full length of the building 104. The first and second rails 138 and 140 are supported in an elevated position above a floor 196 of the building 104.
The crane system 108 also includes a bridge member 142 that extends perpendicularly to the first and second rails 138 and 140 and is movably coupled to the first and second rails 138 and 140. In practice, the bridge member 142 moves in an x-direction 144 on the first and second rails 138 and 140 to allow the mixer 110 to move in the x-direction 144, as described in more detail below. In some embodiments, one or more of the first and second rails 138 and 140 includes a rack (not shown) that mates with a rotatable pinion (not shown) on the bridge member 142. The rotatable pinion includes an encoder or other position tracking device to track the position of the bridge member with respect to the first and second rails 138 and 140. In other embodiments, the bridge member 142 and/or the rails 138 and 140 include other position sensors, such as one or more optical position sensors, to track the position of the bridge member 142 with respect to the first and second rails 138 and 140.
The bridge member 142 of the crane system 108 includes a trolley 150 that is movably coupled to the bridge member 142 such that the trolley 150 is movable in a y-direction 146 on the bridge member 142. The trolley 150 is positionable in the commodity bays 106 and the loading areas 112 and 114 by adjusting the position of the bridge member 142 in the x-direction and the position of the trolley 150 in the y-direction. In some embodiments, the bridge member 142 includes a rack (not shown) that mates to a rotatable pinion (not shown) on the trolley 150. The pinion includes an encoder or other position sensor to track the position of the trolley 150 with respect to the bridge member 142. In other embodiments, the bridge member 142 and/or the trolley 150 include other position sensing mechanisms that are used to track the position of the bridge member 142 and the trolley 150, such as one or more optical sensors. In some embodiments, the position tracking devices of the first and second rails 138 and 140, the bridge member 142 and the trolley 150 send location signals to the computer 152. In some embodiments, the computer 152 tracks the position of the bridge member 142, the trolley 150 and the mixer 110 based on the location signals. In some embodiments, the computer 152 directs movement of the mixer 110 within the building 104 based on the location signals received from the position tracking devices, as will be described in more detail below.
The system 100 also includes a self-loading mixer 110. The self-loading mixer 110 is coupled to the trolley 150 so that the mixer 110 is movable in the y-direction 146 with the trolley 150 and in the x-direction with the bridge member 142 to position the self-loading mixer 110 at least partially within the commodity bays 106 and the loading areas 112 and 114. In some embodiments, the crane system 108 can also move the mixer 110 in a vertical direction, or z-direction 148 (
In some embodiments, the position of the mixer 110 within the building 104 is determined at least in part by a computer 152, or multiple computers 152, that monitors the position of the bridge member 142 and the trolley 150, as described above. In some embodiments, the computer 152 also controls the movement of the mixer 110. As such, in some embodiments the computer 152 receives a desired feed composition and controls the movement of the mixer 110 to load the desired amount of the various commodities 102 from the commodity bays 106. For example, in some embodiments a user enters the commodity bays 106 from which commodities 102 are to be loaded and a weight amount for each commodity bay 106. Each commodity bay 106 has a unique name to allow the computer 152 to distinguish the commodity bays 106 from each other. The computer 152 then instructs the mixer 152 and/or the crane system 108 to move the mixer 110 to collect the various commodities 102. In other embodiments, the computer 152 receives manual movement instructions from a user at a remote user interface 408 to move the mixer 110, as will be described in more detail below. In yet other embodiments, a user rides on the mixer 110 and drives the mixer 110 to control the movement of the mixer 110, as will be described below.
Referring specifically to
In the embodiment of
The bucket 186 of the self-loading mixer 110 is pivotally mounted to the loading end 180 of the mixer 110 and is configured to load commodities 102 into the mixing opening 170 of the mixer 110. The bucket 186 is pivotally coupled to the mixer 110 by arms 188 so that the bucket 186 can be raised and lowered with respect to the body 168 of the mixer 110. While a bucket 186 is shown in the embodiments of
In some embodiments, the mixer 110 is powered by a combustible fuel, such as gasoline, while in other embodiments the mixer 110 is electrically powered. In some embodiments, the electrical power is supplied to the mixer 110 by way of the crane system 108. For example, in some embodiments, the first and/or second rails 138 and 140 are coupled to an electricity source 139 and the first and/or second rails 138 and 140 transfer electricity from the electricity source 139 to the bridge member 142 by way of an electrical connection (not shown), such as a sliding electrical contact. Similarly, in some embodiments, the bridge member 142 transfers electricity to the trolley 150 at an electrical connection (not shown), such as a sliding electrical contact. In some embodiments, the trolley 150 is electrically coupled to the mixer 110 to supply electrical power to the drive wheels 172 and 174, the arm 188, the mixing mechanism (not shown) or other elements of the mixer 110. In other embodiments, electricity is supplied to the mixer 110 via the crane system 108 in other manners, such as, for example, by a power cable (not shown) mounted to the first or second rail 138 or 140, the bridge member 142 and the trolley 150 in a festoon-style mounting. In some embodiments, the mixer 110 is powered by both fuel and electrical power.
As discussed above, in some embodiments a computer 152 controls the movement of the mixer 110. In some embodiments, a user enters a feed composition, including an amount and/or weight of one or more commodities 102, into the computer 152. The computer 152 determines the location of the mixer 110 based at least in part on the location of the trolley 150 and then instructs the crane system 108 to move the mixer 110 to a position adjacent to a commodity bay 106 containing a first commodity 103 to be loaded into the mixer 110. In some embodiments, the crane system 108 elevates the mixer 110 above the floor 196 and then moves the mixer 110 to the position adjacent to the desired commodity bay 106 by moving the bridge member 142 and the trolley 150.
Referring now to
The mixer 110 then moves away from the commodity bay 106 containing the first commodity 103. In some embodiments, the drive wheels 172 and 174 move in a reverse direction (i.e., away from the commodity bay 106 in the y-direction 146) to move the mixer 110 away from the commodity bay 106. In other embodiments, the crane system 108 elevates the mixer 110 above the floor 196 and moves the mixer 110 away from the commodity bay 106. The crane system 108 then moves the mixer 110 to another commodity bay 106 containing another commodity 102 to be included in the resulting feed. As described above, the crane system 108 then lowers the mixer 110 until the drive wheels 172 and 174 contact the ground and the crane system 108 and the drive wheels 172 and 174 move the mixer 110 towards the second commodity 102. The bucket 186 then loads a predetermined amount of another commodity 102 into the mixer 110. The mixing mechanism (not shown) of the mixer 110 engages to mix the first commodity 102 with the other commodity 102.
The crane system 108 then moves the mixer 110 to subsequent commodity bays 106 to load subsequent commodities 102 into the mixer 110. In some embodiments, the crane system 108 also loads liquid commodities 107 into the mixer 110 at a liquid commodity loading station 103 by positioning the mixer 110 below a liquid commodity nozzle 105 at the liquid commodity loading station 103. The mixer 110 mixes the commodities 102 and 107 as the crane system 108 moves the mixer 110 with respect to the commodity bays 106. Because the commodity bays 106 and the mixer 110 are located within the building 104, shrinkage is minimized while the mixer loads and mixes the commodities 102.
The crane system 108 then moves the mixer 110 to either the first or the second loading area 112 or 114 (
In the embodiment illustrated in
Referring now specifically to
In other embodiments the self-propelled mixer 110 is controlled remotely via a remote user interface 408 that is coupled to the self-propelled mixer 110 wirelessly or through a wired connection (not shown). For example, in some embodiments, the remote user interface 408 is coupled to the mixer 110 via a wired connection that forms part of the crane system 108 and the rigid bar 406. In use, a user interacts with the remote user interface 408 to control the movement of the self-propelled mixer 110. In some embodiments, for example, the user manually controls the position of the mixer 110 via the remote user interface 408. In other embodiments, the user enters information regarding the amounts of each commodity 102 from the various commodity bays 106 that are to be included in the mixer 110 at the user interface 408. In some embodiments, the user interface 408 automatically controls the movement of the mixer 110 based on the user input received at the user interface 408. As described above, the self-propelled mixer 110 loads commodities 102 from the commodity bays 106 into the mixer 110 and mixes the commodities 102 as the mixer 110 moves within the building 104. As the self-propelled mixer 110 moves within the building 104, the trolley 150 and the bridge member 142 of the passive crane system 108 follow the mixer 110 due to the connection between the rigid bar 406 and the wheel 404. Thus, the position of the mixer 110 is tracked by the trolley 150 and the bridge member 142 as the mixer 110 moves within the building 104. In some embodiment, position sensing equipment (not shown) on the trolley 150 and/or the bridge member 142 transmit position signals to a computer 152 coupled to the user interface 408, as described above.
The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the invention(s), and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive. For example, in other embodiments, other types of cranes systems 108 are used to determine the location of the mixer 110, to move the mixer 110 and/or to supply electrical power to the mixer 110. In addition, while certain embodiments of the mixer 110 have been described herein, other embodiments are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, existing self-loading mixers can be modified as needed to include a loading mechanism, lateral drive wheels 204, components capable of computer-controlled movement, or other features. It is also anticipated that self-loading mixers will be developed in the future that can be incorporated in the systems described herein. In addition, while a single crane system 108 and a single mixer 110 are describe above, in some embodiments the systems 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 include more than one mixer 110 or more than one crane system 108. For example, in some embodiments a single crane system 108 includes more than one mixer 110. In some embodiments, for example, the crane system 108 includes two trollies 150 and each trolley 150 is coupled to a separate mixer 110. In other embodiments, the systems 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 include a first crane system 108 with a first mixer 110 and a second crane system 108 with a second mixer 110. In some embodiments, the first crane system 108 is independent of the second crane system 108 so that the first mixer 110 moves independently of the second mixer 110. In other embodiments, any number of crane systems 108 and mixers 110 can be included in a single system 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500.
In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as “left” and right”, “front” and “rear”, “above” and “below” and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
In this specification, the word “comprising” is to be understood in its “open” sense, that is, in the sense of “including”, and thus not limited to its “closed” sense, that is the sense of “consisting only of”. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words “comprise”, “comprised” and “comprises” where they appear.
Furthermore, invention(s) have been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments and it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention(s). Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.
