Animal husbandry – Animal controlling or handling – Stanchion
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-02
2001-08-14
Swiatek, Robert P. (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Animal controlling or handling
Stanchion
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273028
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cattle stanchions, and more particularly to cattle stanchions that close automatically to captively retain cattle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the cattle industry, occasions arise wherein it is necessary and desirable to provide spaced positions, stalls or stations to be occupied by cattle wherein the cattle are retained in those positions in a captive manner. The most prominently occasioned instance, wherein cattle are retained in spaced stations, is wherein cattle are fed on an intermittent basis and it is desired to feed each individual animal a metered or allocated amount. To ensure that each individual animal obtains its fair share and no more or no less than other of the animals, some of which may exhibit aggressive tendencies in feeding, it becomes necessary to provide stanchions in order to captively retain each individual animal in a selected position during feeding or other process which is to be individually accomplished on each of the animals.
The most common means of ensuring appropriate feeding of cattle is by the utilization of stanchion devices wherein the stanchions provide individual places or positions which are occupied by an individual animal and wherein the individual animal is locked in that position or retained in a captive relationship with regard to the stanchion. The stanchions ordinarily employ upper and lower horizontal members having spaced swing bars affixed therebetween with adequate support posts to support the stanchions and wherein the swing bars when in the open position, define spaced openings or positions into which an individual animal may enter for feeding and/or other purposes. Once the swing bar is moved to the closed position, the individual animal's head is retained captively within the stanchion structure and cannot remove its head prior to the stanchions or more specifically, the individual swing bars, being opened. Some animals are skittish or fearful of being approached by human beings and thus, once they have entered and occupied a spaced position, the swing bar may not be able to be closed without frightening the animal which would withdraw from the occupied position and not be captively retained therein. In other instances, in order to conserve on the amount of human labor, it is desirable to be able to open a plurality of swing bars at one time by a single actuator member to accomplish this purpose from a point removed from and central to the plurality of stanchions involved.
Various self-locking stanchions have been proposed utilizing single actuator members whereby the swing bars may be opened in unison but for the most part, such stanchion structures have been either complicated, expensive to build and install, or have been deficient in the respect that individual cattle retained in the individual stanchions were able to open the individual locking mechanisms, thereby defeating the intent and purpose of such stanchion structures. With the herein disclosed invention, a locking stanchion is provided which is incapable, for all intents and purposes, of being opened by cattle, whether intentionally or inadvertently, and wherein an existing stanchion structure may be easily modified to provide a stanchion construction having the attributes of the herein disclosed invention. Additionally, the stanchion structure of this invention provides simple, straightforward means of assuring selective, captive retention of cattle in a stanchion structure for feeding or other purposes and wherein the individual swing bars making up the stanchion structure may be individually operated or operated in unison to be moved into the open or the closed position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a multiple stanchion construction having vertically spaced upper and lower horizontal support members, intermediate vertical support posts and spaced swing pipes defining spaced positions for accommodating cattle in spaced, captive relationship. A turn bar extending the length of and cooperatively supported relative to said upper horizontal support member and from each of the said spaced swing pipes, is provided. A plurality of spaced locking tabs is provided on said turn bar adjacent each of said swing pipes and a locking, or trapping, member is pivotally supported from the upper termini of each of said swing pipes. The swing pipes and cooperating locking members are selectively positionable in a locked and unlocked position with each of said terminii of said swing pipes having a structural configuration to at least partially overlie each of said locking members. Actuator means is provided for circular movement of said turn bar to simultaneously release each of said swing bars having its associated locking member in the engaged position with said adjacently positioned tab of said turn bar for movement into the unlocked position.
In the present invention, a stanchion locking system is described that allows automatic but individual locking of stanchions that are actuated by individual cattle. Ensemble release of captively-retained cattle is effected by rotating an actuating turn bar. Swing bars, biased by gravity, automatically open when released by the turn bar.
The swing bars terminate in a flipper-based locking mechanism, member, or system that cooperatively engages the downwardly-depending tabs of the rotatable turn bar. The flipper-based locking mechanism engages a corresponding depending tab when a cow lowers its head through one of the stanchions.
The cow is freed by disengaging the depending tab from the locking mechanism. The depending tab disengages the locking mechanism by rotating the turn bar or by manual engagement of a flipper as by a cowhand. Rotating the turn bar releases all swing bars simultaneously, thereby releasing all captively-retained cattle at the same time. Manual engagement of the locking mechanism allows selective release of individual cows. Such selective release is particularly advantageous for isolating a specific cow for medical treatment, transport, and/or other separation from the herd.
The stanchion of the present invention allows fallen cattle to stand up more easily. By selectively allowing further opening of the cattle-receiving station, a fallen cow is given additional room by which it can regain its footing. This can only happen with the turn bar in the release position.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a multiple stanchion construction for selectively and captively retaining cattle at feeding stations and the like.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple stanchion construction for automatically capturing and selectively freeing cattle at feeding stations and the like.
It is another object of the present invention to allow automatic capture and ensemble release of cattle at feeding stations and the like.
It is another object of the invention to provide a stanchion construction wherein the swing bar is movable into the closed and locked position and which is not easily opened by cattle.
It is another important object of the invention to provide a stanchion construction which is easily modified to utilize locking members to captively and is selectively retain cattle which is not easily, inadvertently or unintentionally releasable to permit egress by cattle.
It is still another more important object of the invention to provide a multiple stanchion construction employing a plurality of swing bars for captively retaining cattle in spaced relationship wherein the swing bars are locked in position and may be actuated to open in unison or may be individually actuatable to release cattle at one or more of the spaced positions.
It is still another even more specific and important object of the invention to provide a stanchion construction utilizing a swing bar wherein a locking system is retained on the terminus of the swing bar in a manner so that the locking member is at least partially shielded so as to inhibit and prohibit ope
Cislo & Thomas LLP
Swiatek Robert P.
LandOfFree
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