Horse shoe

Details Horse shoe Horse shoe

1999-06-03

2001-01-16

Swiatek, Robert P. (Department: 3643)

Farriery

Shoes

C168SDIG001

Reexamination Certificate

active

06173789

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a horse shoe which comprises a core of metal which is substantially entirely enclosed in a substantially elastically deformable material such as a rubber or rubber-like material, the thickness of the deformable material being considerably greater on the underside of the core than on its upper side, and holes for nails extending through the horse shoe.
BACKGROUND ART
WO94/22296 discloses a horse shoe of the type mentioned by way of introduction. A horse shoe of this type enjoys major advantages in that it effectively damps impact and jolts against the hoof, in particular if the horse is running on hard ground.
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
3
show the prior art horse shoe. It will be particularly apparent from
FIG. 2
that the outer side of the prior art horse shoe is substantially smooth and approximately at right angles to the plane of the horse shoe when the horse shoe is not under loading.
FIG. 3
shows the same cross section in which, however, the section has been greatly deformed in that the rubber material has been compressed such that the outer side of the shoe inclines, in a downward direction, manifestly outwards from the centre point for the shoe.
In particular in cold weather, typically temperatures lower than −5° C., cracks occur in the prior art horse shoe, in particular in the region of the nail holes and out towards the outside of the shoe. If unevenness in the ground comes into contact with the deformed shoe, particularly the edge region at the outside of the shoe where the rubber material is under great stress, cracks readily occur in the material. Such loadings may even be so great that whole pieces of the rubber material are broken off.
At higher temperatures, this problem is less severe, since the movements in the rubber material will be more uniformly distributed throughout its entire volume.
Because the rubber is visco-elastic, a horse shoe of the type under consideration here shows a tendency to undergo plastic alterations after a period of use. Such plastic alterations deform the cross section of the horse shoe from the appearance illustrated in
FIG. 2
in direction towards (or even beyond) the appearance illustrated in
FIG. 3
, such that, after a period of use and under loading, the horse shoe may become considerably wider at its lower edge than is the case at its upper side. If a deformed horse shoe in accordance with the foregoing is subjected to loading against an uneven substrate, the deformation will naturally be even greater locally, whereby very large local stress peaks occur such that the problem is aggravated.
Those areas of the prior art horse shoe which are particularly vulnerable are the areas surrounding the nail holes.
PROBLEM STRUCTURE
The present invention has for its object to design the horse shoe intimated by way of introduction such that it obviates the problems inherent in the prior art. In particular, the present invention has for its object to design the horse shoe such that it may be employed also in cold weather without risk of damage. The present invention further has for its object to design the horse shoe such that it will have considerably extended service life and such that the plastic deformation in the horse shoe does not impair the mechanical strength of the horse shoe after a lengthy period of use.
SOLUTION
The objects forming the basis of the present invention will be attained if the horse shoe intimated by way of introduction is characterized in that the width of the surface of the horse shoe intended for contact with the ground is narrower than its upper surface intended for contact with the hoof, throughout the entire service life of the horse shoe.
Further advantages will be attained if the horse shoe is also given one or more of the characterizing features as set forth in appended subclaims
2
to
14
.


REFERENCES:
patent: 168369 (1875-10-01), Brown
patent: 777684 (1904-12-01), Messinger
patent: 2024265 (1935-12-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 5918678 (1999-07-01), Pederson
patent: 1626 (1902-05-01), None
patent: 5249 (1905-08-01), None
patent: WO 94/22296 (1994-10-01), None
patent: WO 98/24312 (1998-06-01), None

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