Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ANIMAL CONTAINMENT PEN
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Reference is made to United States Patent No:
5,111,773 and Canadian application, Serial No: 2,032,296
filed simultaneously with this application, which makes claim
to and describe features shown herein.
This invention relates to an animal containment pen
including a front panel for use with side and rear panels.
Various designs of animal containment pen are known
and in many cases, particularly but not exclusively in
relation to cattle, the pen includes a head gate arrangement
so the head of the animal is grasped and confined so that the
animal cannot move forwardly or rearwardly. This has a
calming action on the animal and in many cases is associated
with squeezing the body so the animal does not cause damage
to itself by struggling to become free.
One proposal has already been made for a pen of
this general type which is for confinement of an animal
particularly during the birthing and the immediately
subsequent time so that the animal is confined and available
for observation and for any rapid assistance should
difficulties arise during the birth. In addition, the pen is
designed so that the cow is maintained in a confined manner
while the calf is free to roam inside the open and to suckle
from the cow.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention to
provide an improved animal confinement pen particularly for
use with cows during the birth process and the initial
subsequent period.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there
is provided an animal containment pen comprising a front
panel, two side panels, and a rear panel, the front panel
comprising a substantially planar panel body defined by a
plurality of upright frame posts and a plurality of
transverse frame rails lying in a common vertical plane
including a first end post adjacent a first end of the panel
body, a second end post at a second end of the panel opposed
to the first end, a top rail and a bottom rail
interconnecting said end posts and an intermediate post
connected to said top rail and said bottom rail, a head gate
section mounted on said first end post and on said
intermediate post and defining a head gate opening in the
panel body adjacent said first end of the panel body, a
hinged squeeze panel mounted on the panel body for pivotal
movement about a vertical axis defined by the panel body at
one side of the head gate section remote from said first end
post so as to squeeze one side of an animal confined with its
head in the head gate opening, the head gate section
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comprising a- first vertical neck engaging member mounted on
said first end post, a second neck engaging member mounted on
said intermediate post, the neck engaging members being
movable from a closed position in which the neck of the
animal is confined to an open position in which the distance
between the first and second neck engaging members is
increased to allow entry and exit of the head of the animal
from the head gate section, a first of said side panels
adjacent said first end post being arranged to contact an
opposed side of the animal when squeezed by said squeeze
panel, said first side panel including a planar substantially
imperforate panel surface extending from a bottom rail at
the ground to a top rail spaced from the ground and from a
rear end vertical post to a front end vertical post for
contacting the adjacent side of the animal arranged for
preventing passage therethrough of a leg of the animal, one
rectangular portion of the panel surface being openable to
allow access to a portion of the animal through said panel
surface while preventing the escape of the animal, the
rectangular portion extending from said rear end post of said
first side panel to an upright intermediate the rear end post
and the front end post of said first side panel and extending
from the bottom rail of said first side panel at the ground
to an intermediate rail below said top rail and a portion of
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said squeeze panel aligned with said rectangular portion
being open to allow access to a portion of the animal through
said squeeze panel while preventing the escape of the animal.
According to a second aspect of the invention,
there is provided an animal containment pen comprising a
front panel, two side panels, and a rear panel, the front
panel comprising a substantially planar panel body defined by
a plurality of upright frame posts and a plurality of
transverse frame rails lying in a common vertical plane
including a first end post adjacent one end of the panel, a
second end post adjacent a second end of the panel opposed to
the first end, a top rail and a bottom rail interconnecitng
said end posts and an intermediate post connected to said top
rail and said bottom rail, a head gate section mounted on
said first end post and said intermediate post and defining a
head gate opening in the panel body adjacent said first end
of the panel body a hinged squeeze panel mounted on the panel
body for pivotal movement about a vertical axis defined by
the panel body at one side of the head gate section remote
from said first end post so as to squeeze one side of an
animal confined with its head in the head gate opening, the
head gate section comprising a first vertical neck engaging
member mounted on said first end post, a second neck engaging
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member-.mounted on said intermediate-post, the neck-engaging
members being movable from a closed position in which the
neck of the animal is confined to an open position in which
the distance between the first and second neck engaging
member is increased to allow entry and exit of the head of
the animal from the head gate section , a first one of said
side panels adjacent said first end post being arranged to
contact an opposed side of the animal when squeezed by said
squeeze panel, and latch means for latching said squeeze
panel at a required position of squeezing, said latch means
being responsive to movement of the squeeze panel to the
required location to latch said squeeze panel at the required
location, said latch means comprising an elongate pole
mounted on said squeeze panel and arranged to extend between
said squeeze panel and said first side panel, said elongate
pole having first latch means, and said latch means further
comprising receiving means mounted on said first side panel
for receiving said pole and having second latch means thereon
for engaging said first latch means in a -latching action,
said receiving means having a width greater than that of the
pole to receive the pole when misaligned, the pole including
release means at the end thereof adjacent the squeeze panel
for manual actuation of said first latch means to release
said latching means to allow the elongate pole to be removed
from the receiving means.
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According to a third aspect of.the invention, there
is provided an animal containment pen comprising a front
panel, two side panels, and a rear panel, the front panel
comprising a substantially planar panel body defined by a
plurality of upright frame posts and a plurality of
transverse frame rails lying in a common vertical plane
including a first end post adjacent one end of the panel, a
second end post adjacent a second end of the panel opposed to
the first end, a top rail and a bottom rail interconnecting
said end posts and an intermediate post connected to said top
rail and said bottom rail, a head gate section mounted on
said first end post and said intermediate post and defining a
head gate opening in the panel body adjacent said first end
of the panel body, a hinged squeeze panel mounted on said
intermediate post of the panel body for pivotal movement
about a vertical axis defined by said intermediate post at
one side of the head gate section remote from said first end
post so as to squeeze one side of an animal confined with its
head in the head gate opening, the head gate section
comprising a first neck engaging gate member mounted on said
first end post for pivotal movement about a vertical axis of
said first end post, a second neck engaging gate member
mounted on said intermediate post for pivotal movement about
a vertical axis of said intermediate post, the neck engaging
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gate members being pivotably movable from a neck engaging
position in which the neck of the animal is confined to a
receiving position in which the distance between the first
and second neck engaging gate members is increased to allow
entry of the head of the animal into the head gate section,
means connecting the first and second neck engaging gate
members for movement commonly from said receiving position to
said neck engaging position, said squeeze panel being
separate from said neck engaging gate member such that the
neck engaging gate members can remain in the neck engaging
position while the squeeze panel is moved away from a
squeezing position of squeezing said animal toward an open
position and said squeeze panel including a portion thereof
arranged for abutting said second neck engaging gate member
such that movement thereof from said open position toward
said squeezing position causes movement of the second neck
engaging gate member from the receiving position to the neck
engaging position thereof.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention,
there is provided an animal containment pen comprising a
front panel, two side panels, and a rear panel, the front
panel comprising a substantially planar panel body defined by
a plurality of upright frame posts and a plurality of
transverse frame rails lying in a common vertical plane
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including a first vertical end post adjacent one end of the
panel; a second vertical end post adjacent a second end of
the panel opposed to the first end; an intermediate vertical
post between said first and second end posts and coplanar
therewith; a top horizontal rail connected directly to top
ends of the first, second and intermediate vertical posts,
and a bottom horizontal rail connected directly to the bottom
of the first, second and intermediate vertical posts; a head
gate section mounted on said first end post and said
intermediate post and defining a head gate opening in the
panel body adjacent said first end of the panel body; an
opening in the panel body between two of said posts separate
from said head gate section through which an operator can
pass; a gate mounted on the panel body and movable from an
open position allowing passage of the operator through said
separate opening to a closed position closing said separate
opening; and a hinged squeeze panel mounted on the panel body
from pivotal movement about a vertical axis defined by the
panel body at one side of the head gate section remote from
said one end so as to squeeze one side of an animal confined
with its head in the head gate opening; the head gate section
comprising said first end post; a first neck engaging gate
member; first collar means mounted on said first end post for
rotation about a vertical axis of the post and connected to
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said first gate member, such that, in a closed position of
the head gate section, the first gate member lies in the
vertical plane of the panel body and can rotate about said
axis to an open position out of said vertical plane; said one
intermediate post: a second vertical neck engaging gate
member: second collar means mounted on the intermediate post
for rotation about a vertical axis of the intermediate post
and connected to said second gate member for mounting the
second gate member on said intermediate post, such that, in a
closed position of the head gate, the second gate member lies
in the vertical plane of the panel body and can rotate about
said axis to an open position out of said vertical plane.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as
will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which
this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the
invention is herein described by reference to the
accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a
description of the best mode known to the applicant and of
the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the
present invention, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a confinement pen
for animals according to the invention.
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the pen of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an isometric elevational view of the
front panel only of the pen of Figure 1.
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Figure 4 is an isometric view of the side panel
only of the pen of Figure 1.
In the drawings like characters of refecence
indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The pen as best shown in Figure 1 includes a front
panel 10, two side panels 11 and 12 and a rear panel 13.
The side panel is substantially of conventional
construction including a pair of vertical uprights 14 and a
plurality of horizontal rails. The rear panel 13 includes a pair
of vertical posts 15 and 16 which are connected across the top at
a height above the normal height of the animal by a rail 17. A
swinging gate 18 is mounted for hinging action about the post 15
so that it can be moved from the closed position shown in Figure
1 to an open position opened outwardly away from the pen to allow
the entry into the pen of the animal or of the operator.
The side panel 12 (Figure 4) includes uprights 14A
and a plurality of horizontal rails and is modified by addition
of a flat sheet 14B which is laid over the inner surface of the
panel to define a flat surface against which the animal can be
pressed. Each of the side panels 11 and 12 includes an upright
at a position spaced from the front end of the panel by
distance of the order of two to three feet. Each of the uprights
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20 is arranged for connection to a respective end of the front
panel 10 so the front panel is held in a vertical plane spaced
from the front end of the side panels thus defining an area 22
behind the front panel 10 and in front of a wall shown at 23 in
Figure 2 against which the pen can be located. This area can be
used for storage of equipment remote from access by the animal
and also gives sufficient distance to receive the animal's head
when passed through the panel as described later.
The front panel includes four main uprights 25,
26, 27 and 28 which are arranged in spaced vertical position
approximately equidistantly spaced across the width of the panel.
The uprights 25 and 28 define end uprights for connection to the
uprights 20 of the side panels.
A top rail 29 is welded to the inside faces of the
end uprights 25 and 28 and across the top ends of the
intermediate uprights 26 and 27. A bottom rail 30 is similarly
arranged so that the rails 29 and 30 define the top and bottom
respectively of the panel thus forming the uprights and rails
into a rectangular structure lying in a common plane.
Between the uprights 26 and 27 is provided an
opening 32 which is free from horizontal rails to allow direct
access through the opening of a person or opecatoc dicect access
thcough the opening of a person or operator from the area inside
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the confinement pen into the storage area 22. The opening 32
can be opened to allow access or can be closed by a door 33
defined by two uprights 34 and 35 together with a plurality
of horizontal rails 36 spaced similarly to the rails 31. The
simple frame structure forming the door 33 is suspended in a
sliding action upon a support rail 36A mounted on the side of
the top rail 29 of the panel adjacent the wall 23. The rail
36A extends from the end upright 25 to a position at the
upright 27 to allow the door to slide from the closed
position to the open position along side the rails 31.
The upright 27 carries an elongate sleeve 37 which
is mounted for rotation around the axis of the tubular
upright 27 and carries one part of the head gate described
hereinafter. The sleeve 37 carries a pair of collars 38 at
spaced positions vertically of the sleeve with each collar
rotatable about the axis of the sleeve. Each collar 38
carries a support bracket 39 projecting outwardly therefrom
and carrying an inner upright 40 of a squeeze panel 41. The
squeeze panel includes the upright 40, a central upright 42
and an end upright 43 together with a pluraltiy of horizontal
rails 44. A top one of the rails 44 is indicated at 45 and a
bottom one of the rails is indicated at 46 but the bottom
rail extends only from the upright 40 to the central upright
42. A bottom rail 47 from the center upright 42 to the end
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upright 43 is arranged at a height above the bottom rail 46
thus defining an open area adjacent the rear of the panel.
The panel is thus shaped so that it can engage against the
side of the animal to squeeze the animal between the panel
and the sheet 14B to hold the animal in position. At the
same time the raised portion at the rear of the squeeze gate
allows access to the rear of the animal. This allows a calf
free to move inside the pen to access the milk and allows the
operator to access the animal for assisting in the birth.
The hinged panel is of a length so that it can lie along side
the front panel 10 with the upright 43 coming close to the
upright 25 of the front panel. The offset defined by the
projecting support 39 allows the hinge panel to lie in a
plane just in front of the plane of the front panel. In this
retracted position, the animal can lie down if desired for
the birthing process.
A head gate section 50 is defined between the
uprights 27 and 28. The head gate section comprises the
sleeve 37 mounted upon the upright 27 for rotation about the
vertical axis of the upright 27 and a similar sleeve 51
mounted on the upright 28 for rotation about the vertical
axis of the upright 28. At top end of each of the sleeves 37
and 51 is provided a pulley 52 with the pulleys being coupled
by a taut cable 53 so that the pulleys are obliged to rotate
in synchronism thus ensuring that
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the sleeves also remain in synchronism that is at the same
angular orientation relative to the post 28. Each of the
sleeves 37 and 51 carries a headgate door 54 including an inner
neck engaging member 55 and a vertical post 56. The neck
engaging member 55 defines an upper section spaced from the
sleeve by a greater distance than a lower section with a
cranked portion therebetween which is at a height above the
normal height of the head of the animal. The lower portion of
the neck engaging member is a substantially smooth vertical
tubular body so that the animal while its head is trapped
between the neck engaging members 55 is free to slide upwardly
and downwardly without danger of compression of the neck of the
animal.
The top and bottom ends of the neck engaging
member and the top and bottom ends of the bar 56 are connected
to horizontal supports 57 and 58 carried by the respective
sleeve so that the whole of the gate can pivot with the sleeve
about the vertical axis of the upright.
The details of the mounting of a neck engaging
member and the bar are shown in the above identified
application and hence will not be included here.
As shown in Figure 2, the headgate doors 54 can
move from an initial position projecting out of the panel
toward the rear panel 13 so that the neck engaging members are
B spaced
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further apart to allow the animals head to enter. From the
initial receiving position, the doors 54 can move to the closed
position in which the doors lie directly in the plane of the
panel and extending between the uprights 27 and 28. In this
position the doors are latched by a latch mechanism 58 shown only
schematically as latch devices of this type are well known. From
the latched position, the doors can be moved either back to the
first position for release of the animal or can be moved
forwardly into a position indicated in dotted line at 54A to
allow release of the animal. Movement is obtained by release of
the latch 58 by a manually operable lever 58A and by pivotal
action of the doors by a manually movable lever 60.
As shown in Figure 2, it is not possible physically
for the squeeze panel 41 to be moved to the squeezing position
while the doors 54 remain in the initial receiving position in
view of the engagement of the upright 40 of the squeeze panel
with the side of the door closest to the squeeze panel. The
doors can therefore only be moved to the initial receiving
position while the squeeze panel is pivoted away from the
squeezing position either directly parallel to the front or to a
shallow angle of the order of 45. As the squeeze panel is moved
from the initial 45 position towards the squeezing position,
therefore, it will act to press against the adjacent door causing
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that door to move to the closed position. As the doors are
synchronously linked, both doors will therefore close simply by
the action of pulling the squeeze gate 41 toward the squeezing
position.
In opecation therefoce, with the reac gate 18 in
the open position, the animal to be confined can be herded into
the rear opening of the pen and directed towacd the head gate by
the usec holding the squeeze panel at a 45 angle projecting
therefore toward the upright 16. When the animal reaches the
headgate, it can be pushed sideways by the panel 41 being moved
toward the animal so that the animal is gradually moved to the
confining position. In the final action of pushing the squeeze
panel to the squeezing position, therefore, the doors of the
headgate are closed so that the animal is fully confined. This
prevents the situation where the animal can pass directly through
the headgate if the headgate remains open beyond the front panel
into the storage area or to be released if the pen is not used
against a front wall 23.
The squeeze gate can be latched into position by a
latch mechanism generally indicated at 61. The latch mechanism
comprises a pole 62 mounted upon the upper rail 45 adjacent the
end upright 43 on a plate 63. The pole 62 has a handle 64 which
allows it to be rotated about its longitudinal axis on a support
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portion 64A coupled to the plate 63. On the outer end of the
post 62 is mounted a plurality of latching teeth 65 which
project out from one side of the pole 62. The latching teeth
65 cooperate with a receiving member 66 attached to the side
panel 11 just above the top rail thereof. The receiving
member comprises a pair of spaced vertical posts 66A, 66B and
an elongate vertical plate 66C extending across the area
between the posts and which is suspended for pivotal action
about a horizontal axis. The plate is mounted on the side of
the posts remote from the squeeze panel so that it can pivot
forwardly but not rearwardly. This plate therefore acts on
the latching teeth of the pole 65 and the pole can be engaged
by the plate at any location between the posts which is wider
than the pole itself to accommodate misalignment. The
squeeze gate can therefore be moved to a required squeezing
position simply by the user pushing the squeeze gate in
toward the animal so that the pole 62 engages against the
receiving member 66 with the latching teeth 65 operating on
the plate 66C in a ratchet type manner so that the pole
slides into the requried location and then is held against
retraction until the pole is rotated through 90 by actuation
of the handle 64 to turn the latching teeth 65 away from the
latch plate 66C. The confinement of the animal is therefore
a single person operation in that the squeeze gate can be
pushed gradually into location against the animal and is held
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in position by the latch mechanism while at the same time the
movement of the gate closes the head gate to confine the
animal. Even a disturbed or fractious animal therefore can
be confined without difficulty and held confined until it
becomes calm.
The panel 22 is best shown in Figure 4 and
comprises the uprigths 14A at each end of the panel and a
plurality of horizontal rails as previously described.
Between the end upright 14A and the intermediate upright 20,
therefore, the panel is open and is defined simply by the
horizontal rails indicated at 70. Between the second
horizontal rail 71 and the bottom horizontal rail 72 and
between the intermediate upright 20 and the rear end upright
14A, the panel is closed partly by the covering sheet 14B
previously described and partly by a pair of drop boards 73.
The design of the drop boards is explained in more detail in
the above mentioned copending application. In the present
application is suffice to say that the drop boards comprise a
pair of panels 74 and 75 coupled by hinges 74A which allow
the top panel 74 to be folded down on the top of the lower
panel 75. The ends of the boards are supported in a channel
from which the ends can be removed to allow the folding
action or to allow the boards to be fully removed. Normally
the boards are in the closed position shown in Figure 4. In
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an open position, the panel is then rendered open between an
upright 76 and the end upright 14 and between a horizontal
rail 77 and the ground or bottom rail. This open area is
confined to the rear and udder area of the animal and is
provided to allow the calf to access milk from that side of
the animal to ensure that all tits are used by the calf
during the initial period following birth.
Thus in the open position, the opening is defined
between the ground and approximately a mid height of the
panel, and from the rear end to approximately to a mid
portion. This opening is sized to allow simply the access of
the calf to the udder from that side when it is lead to that
point by the operator.
Since various modifications can be made in my
invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently
widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit
and Acope of the claims without departing from such spirit
and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the
accompanying specification shall be interpreted as
illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
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