Be it known that I, George Carlson, a national of Finland, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Poultry-Disinfector, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention is a novel poultry disinfector, that is to say, an apparatus adapted to dust an insecticide powder, or to spray any other disinfectant upon live poultry. The principal object of the present invention is to afford such an apparatus which will be wholly self-acting and requiring very little attention from the poultry keeper, and which as well will be simple in structure, durable, effective in action and convenient of use. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear in the hereinafter following description or will be understood to those skilled in the art.

To the attainment of such objects and advantages, the present invention consists in the novel poultry disinfector and the described and illustrated features of combination, arrangement, mechanism and detail. The illustrated embodiment of the present invention discloses a compact and portable apparatus which can be placed where desired, for example, in the entrance to the hen house or a runway, and as will be seen it is adapted to operate in both directions, that is, on poultry coming and going so that they are sprayed at both front and rear. The apparatus preferably contains a box-like structure from the front of which projects a balanced low platform across or upon which a hen may walk or hop in entering or leaving the hen-house. Within the casing are the pneumatic sprayers directed outwardly at the front, and the mechanism for operating and controlling the same.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my disinfecting apparatus placed at the entrance of a hen house. Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale and with the nearest of the side walls omitted to better disclose the interior mechanism and operation. particularly in cross-section. Fig. 3 is a top view on large scale, of the double nozzle and its cleaning device. Fig. 4 is a left end view of the apparatus, partly sectioned and partly broken away.

The box or casing of my invention comprises side walls 4, 4, a top wall 5 over which the poultry may walk, and preferably a bottom wall or base 6. A rear wall 7 is also shown and an inclined plank 8 leads up from the ground at the rear to the top of the box. A front wall 9 may be added to protect the operative parts, and this is shown as having a small flange or hood 10 over the opening through which the nozzle projects. The top wall 5 may be hinged at 11 to permit lifting and inspection.

The operating member of this invention is the balanced low platform or board 12 projecting forwardly, as indicated, and pivoted to the side walls of the frame at 13. The weight of a hen on the platform 12 depresses it and causes its inward extension 14 to lift slightly against the resistance of a spring 15 adjusted to hold the platform 12 balanced in upward position. Fig. 2 indicates a hen having jumped down from the box top 5 to the platform 12. A sprayer or dusting device 16 is shown located so as to spray the disinfecting powder toward the rear of the hen. This sprayer may be of different types, but I prefer a multiple nozzle and have shown two spray exits 16, 16, side by side and slightly diverging. In order to keep the spray nozzles clean, I have provided a bent wire 17 which extends bodily through both nozzles and at its outer end is hooked at 18, 18 for connection to eyes 19, 19 of an operating wire 20 extending rearwardly and secured to a movable part of the board or extension 14. By this arrangement the wires are moved in the nozzles every time the apparatus is worked.

It will thus be seen that I have described a novel poultry disinfector embodying the principles and attaining the advantages of the present invention. Since many matters of design, arrangement, combination and detail may be variously modified without departing from the underlying principles, no limitation thereto is intended except insofar as specified in the appended claims.

1. A poultry disinfector comprising a casing, a balanced low platform across which a hen may walk, extending both inside and outside of the casing, an ascending walk at the side of the casing opposite the outside part of said platform by which the hen may walk to the top of the casing and jump down upon the platform, a pneumatic sprayer mounted inside the casing and directed outwardly at the body of a hen on the outside part of the platform, and connections from the inside part of the platform by which the hen's weight may cause the actuation of the sprayer.