FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an animal care and/or cleaning device, having at least one brush, which is attached to a shaft of the brush. The brush can be driven by an electromotive drive to produce a rotary motion of the brush and is rotatably mounted in a bearing device provided on a support device. An actuating device can be used to actuate the drive as a function of contact of the brush with an animal body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Devices of this type, which are used in particular for cleaning cattle, are state of the art. Document EP 2 359 684 A2, for instance, discloses a device of this type, in which the bearing device of the brush body is movably guided in a cantilever arm constituting a component of the support device and can be displaced against a spring force by an animal body pressing against the brush body in the cantilever arm. A position detector is provided as the actuating device for the drive, which position detector detects a displacement motion of the bearing device in the cantilever arm and triggers drive control. Document DE 100 02 688 C2 discloses a device of the same type, in which the drive and the bearing device for the shaft of the brush of two brushes are supported on a parallelogram-shaped frame structure, which forms part of the support device and which can be moved against spring force relative to a supporting structure by contact with an animal body. The actuating device for the drive has a contact element, electric contact with which can be applied by this relative motion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on this state of the art, the invention addresses the problem of providing a device of the type mentioned at the outset, which is characterized by a very effective cleaning action and a simple and robust design.

According to the invention, this task is basically solved by an animal care and/or cleaning device having, as an essential special feature of the invention, a bearing device having at least one shaft bearing holding the axis of rotation of the brush in a fixed positional relationship to the support device. Also, the drive is entrained by a torque acting on the shaft of the brush in one or the other direction of rotation, caused by an impact motion of the animal body on the brush, at most up to a predeterminable dead stop on the support device. The drive triggers the actuating device for the purpose of actuating the drive during this motion. The drive can be switched on almost instantaneously as soon as it is entrained by the shaft friction caused by the impact motion of the brush.

The fact that, according to the invention, the axis of rotation of the at least one brush is held in a fixed positional relationship to the support device by the bearing device and that the relevant brush then does not perform any yielding deflection motion or evasion motion when loaded by an animal body means that an efficient cleaning action can be achieved, for instance in comparison to supporting the relevant shaft of the brush using spring force, as is the case with the above-mentioned solutions of the prior art. At the same time, the absence of articulated joints for the movable suspension of the bearing device, which exist in those known solutions, makes for a particularly simple and cost-effective design in a robust construction, which is particularly reliable for use in the area of stabling for livestock. Whereas in the prior art the yielding deflection motions or evasion motions caused by contact with an animal body can be detected by proximity switches, inclination sensors or the like forming the actuating device, the drive according to the invention can be rotated and entrained to a relevant dead stop in the event of a torque caused by contact with an animal body at the shaft of the brush, so that a detectable relative rotation is available for triggering the actuating device.

The arrangement can be made with particular advantage such that the torque on the shaft of the brush caused by the impact motion of the animal body against the brush is at least partially passed on to the transmission or the output shaft of the drive by friction or blocking. The torque then entrains the housing of the drive at most up to its dead stop position at the predeterminable dead stop of the support device. For safe torque transmission based on blocking or friction, the drive can advantageously have a self-locking worm gear or a conventional geared motor having inherent friction.

With regard to the design of the actuating device, the arrangement can advantageously be such that the actuating device has a switch, preferably in the form of a proximity switch, particularly preferably in the form of a vibration switch, or a sensor.

The actuating device may advantageously be arranged on the drive and/or on the support device.

In advantageous exemplary embodiments, the support device has an anchoring part, which can be attached to a supporting structure, such as a building wall, and has struts extending downwards therefrom at an angle of preferably 45°, to the ends of which the bearing support of the shaft bearing is attached.

Advantageously the bearing support can have a U section beam support, whose tie bar extending between its U legs and penetrated by the shaft of the brush, forms a plane. The plane is inclined to the vertical in such a way that the shaft of the brush penetrating the tie bar at right angles has the same inclination to the vertical as the struts.

In this case, the shaft bearing can be arranged on the tie bar of the U section beam in such a way that the shaft of the brush runs or extends between the struts and in parallel thereto. The end of the shaft of the brush is supported as the output shaft of an electric geared motor in the transmission of the motor.

In particularly preferred exemplary embodiments, the brush as the bristle support has a circular disk, which is connected to the assigned end of the shaft of the brush.

It may be advantageous to arrange the brush in such a way that the length of the U section beam is greater than the diameter of the circular disk and such that at its ends the U section beam forms attachment points for an annular body protruding beyond these disks. The annular body extends along the circumference of the circular disk at a distance therefrom. In this arrangement, the ring body forms a kind of cover, which protects the bristle-free area of the brush body formed by the rotating circular disk against contact. If the device according to the invention is intended for use in calf pens, the large overall length of the U section beam, which protrudes beyond the circular disk, and an annular body surrounding the circular disk as impact protection can be omitted.

In the case of particularly advantageous exemplary embodiments, which are characterized by a particularly good cleaning effect, the brush with its bristles forms a bristle body in the form of a truncated cone. The cone, starting from the circular disk, widens conically at an angle of 25° and ends in a plane parallel to the circular disk.

Advantageously, the height of the cone is equal to or preferably smaller than half the diameter of the circular disk.

Advantageously, the cone has an interior coaxial with the shaft of the brush and free of bristles, and a second bristle body is arranged in the interior. The bristles of the second bristle body project out of the plane formed by the free ends of the bristles of the cone forming the first bristle body. In this configuration, the wiping area of the brush adapts in a favorable manner to any irregular contours of animal bodies concerned.

With advantage, the second bristle body may be of essentially circular cylinder shape, wherein bristles of a type different from the first bristle body may be provided for the second bristle body.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the present invention.

