AU2002100256A4 - Gate hinge for stock carrier - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Applicant: BABETO PTY LTD A.C.N. 002 487 649 Title: GATE HINGE FOR STOCK CARRIER Invention The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 GATE HINGE FOR STOCK CARRIER Field of the Invention This invention relates to a gate hinge for a stock carrier and has been devised particularly although not solely for use in carriers having fold-up intermediate level floors.

Background Art In many types of stock carrier which are used to transport stock such as sheep or cattle from one location a farm) to another an abattoir) by road or by rail, the overall crate which is typically constructed from metal bars is divided internally into a number of pens.

The size of pen will vary depending on the nature of the stock carried and it is desirable that the crate can be adapted for different uses at different times. For example it is often desirable to carry sheep by truck in one direction, and then to reconfigure the crate of the stock carrier for transport of cattle in the opposite direction.

Sheep being shorter than cattle can be carried on a larger number of levels within a different crate configuration, and typically a stock transport crate will have a fixed mid-level floor dividing the crate into upper and lower pens for the transport of cattle. To reconfigure the crate for the transport of sheep, additional floors are provided at the mid-height of the "cattle" pens so that four levels of sheep can be transported in the same height as two levels of cattle.

The additional floors for the support of sheep, commonly referred to as "sheep decks" are typically pivotally mounted by way of horizontal hinges to the side walls of the crate so that they may be simply folded up against the side walls for the transport of cattle, and folded down again for the transport of sheep.

In addition it is desirable to provide a number of transverse gates within each pen so as to divide the crate lengthwise into a number of discrete pens. For example when transporting certain types of cattle it is desirable 3 to divide the crate longitudinally into two pens but in other situations it is desired to divide the crate longitudinally into four pens. The crate is therefore provided with transversely extending gates which may be opened by hinging them (typically) rearwardly against the side walls of the crate.

It will be appreciated that with vertically hinged sheep decks and horizontally hinged gates, a significant width of the interior of the crate is taken up by the various hinging mechanisms. Furthermore in known types of stock carriers, the hinges for the gates protrude inwardly from the side walls of the crate and can lead to bruising of cattle when they come into contact with the hinge mechanism or the edges of the folded back gates.

Summary of the Invention In a first aspect the present invention provides a hinge for a gate for use in a stock carrier crate including at least a pair of opposing side wall panels, the gate being adapted for dividing the crate into two or more pens, the hinge comprising a first hinge pin adapted for mounting to one of the side wall panels, an arm at one end being pivotally mounted to the first hinge pin and being rotatable between an extended position where it projects inwardly of the crate and a retracted position parallel to said one side wall, a second hinge pin mounted on an opposite end of the arm, the gate adapted to be pivotally mounted to the second hinge pin and with the arm in the extended position, and rotatable about the second hinge pin between an open and a closed position.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a hinge for a gate for use in a stock carrier crate including at least a pair of opposing side wall panels together with one or more floor and/or ceiling panels, the gate being adapted for dividing the crate into two or more pens, the hinge comprising a first hinge pin adapted for mounting to one of the side wall panels, an arm at one end being pivotally mounted to the first hinge pin and being 4 rotatable between an extended position where it projects inwardly of the crate and a retracted position parallel to said one side wall, a second hinge pin mounted on an opposite end of the arm, the gate adapted to be pivotally mounted to the second hinge pin and with the arm in the extended position, and being rotatable about the second hinge pin between an open and a closed position, the arm being positionable in the retracted position via one of said floor or ceiling panels when collapsed against said one side wall panel.

Preferably the arm is of sufficient length and configuration that it permits rotation of the gate between the open and closed positions when in the extended position, and is rotated into the retracted position so as to lie between the collapsed floor or ceiling panel and the adjacent side wall panel.

Preferably the second hinge pin has an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the first hinge pin.

Preferably the arm is a crank arm.

Preferably the crank arm comprises two substantially parallel portions mounted on the first hinge pin and the second hinge pin respectively, and a transverse "dog leg" portion arranged to offset the first and second portions to allow for the positioning of support posts in the side wall panels of the crate.

Brief Description of the Drawings Notwithstanding any other forms that may fall within its scope, one preferred form of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a gate hinge for a stock carrier according to the invention with the attached gate deployed and shown in both the open and closed positions; Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the hinge retracted and gate folded to lie behind an adjacent folded sheep deck; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the hinge construction 5 shown in Fig. 1 with the gate in the closed position; Fig. 4 is a front view of a stock transportation crate with the hinged gates according to the invention shown in the open position; Fig. 5 is a front sectional view of the hinge construction shown in Fig. 1 with the gate in the closed position; and Fig. 6 is a further front sectional view of the hinge construction shown in Fig. 1 with the gate in the closed position.

Modes for Carrying out the Invention In the preferred form of the invention a gate hinge is provided for a sheep crate adapted to be mounted on a truck or railway wagon to form a carrier for the transportation of stock. The crate typically has a side wall 1 and post members 2 and 3 typically formed from RHS steel to support the structure of the crate.

As previously described in the preamble to this specification, the stock carrier may be provided with a number of sheep decks 4 which are pivotally mounted to the crate, e.g. by horizontal pivot pins 5 so that the sheep decks may be moved between a retracted vertical position as shown in Fig. 1 (where the sheep deck is shown edge on) to a horizontal position as shown in Figure 4 where they act as a floor or deck for an intermediate pen level in the crate.

The crate is further provided with a desired number of pairs of gates hinged to the side walls of the crate by way of vertical hinge pins so that the gates are rotatable between a closed position as shown at 6 in Fig. 1 and an open position shown at 7 in Fig. 1 along a path shown by arrow A-A.

In the preferred form of the invention the gate 6, 7 is hinged to the side wall 1 or adjacent post 2 of the crate by way of a hinge comprising a first hinge pin 8 mounted to the post 1 by way of a suitable bracket (not shown).

6 The gate hinge further comprises a crank arm 9 pivotally mounted on the first pin 8 at end 10 and having a distal end 11 on which is mounted a second hinge pin 12 having an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the first hinge pin 8. Hinge pin 8 is adjustably positionable by means of sliding locator pin 20. Thus the upper gate in the two-gate configuration shown in Fig. 4 can be slid down to rest on top of the bottom gate by removing the sliding locator pin 20, and the two single gates can become one for carrying stock with no space between the top of the bottom gate and the bottom of the top gate, as shown in part of the embodiment in Fig. 4 and in the embodiment shown in Fig. 6. In such a case, the first hinge pin 8 now consists of a long rod to allows the top gate to slide up and down without alteration to the pivoting action. As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the locator pin 20 can be disengaged (Fig. 6) so that the gate hinge and gate can slidably move relative to the wall 1 (compare the position of the gate in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6).

The gate 6, 7 is in turn rotatably mounted on the second hinge pin 12 by way of collars or tubes 13 engaged over the hinge pin in the conventional manner as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Where it is desired to position the second hinge pin 12 in a "deployed" position adjacent to the inner face of post 3, the crank arm 9 may be provided with a dog leg offset 14 separating two parallel portions 15 and 16, so that the crank arm can "wrap around" the corner 17 of the post 3.

Hinge collar 13 can further be provided with a protruding block 18 extending on the opposite side of the hinge pin from the gate so that when the gate is rotated to the closed position as shown at 6, the block 18 abuts crank arm member 15, preventing over rotation of the gate and obviating the need for separate bolts or pins to locate the gate in the closed position 6.

In use, when it is desired to divide the crate into a 7 number of longitudinal pens, the gate hinge is deployed into the position shown in Fig. 1 with the crank arm 9 extending transversely across the crate to locate the second hinge pin 12 in the position shown in Fig. 1. The gate may then be moved between the closed position 6 and the open position 7 in the conventional manner.

When it is desired to configure the crate so as to have a reduced number of transverse gates or no transverse gates at all, the hinge may be retracted by folding the crank arm 9 about the hinge pin 8 to move the crank arm 9 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2. The gate 6 is then opened parallel to the side wall 1 of the crate as shown. The sheep deck 4 may then be folded up to the retracted or vertical position on the inside face of the gate 6, significantly increasing the width of the pen available within the crate, and more importantly completely retracting the hinge mechanism from the interior of the crate so that there are no protruding hinges or edges to damage the stock carried with the crate.

In the present apparatus, the gate 6 can be retracted so as to lie between the retracted sheep deck 4 and the adjacent side wall 1, as shown in Fig. 2.

By way of contrast, a conventional gate in a prior art stock carrier simply opens the gate in to the position shown at 7 in Fig. 1 leaving the hinge mechanism exposed with potential damage to cattle carried within the crate.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments it should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in many other forms.

Claims (5)

1. A hinge for a gate for use in a stock carrier crate including at least a pair of opposing side wall panels, the gate being adapted for dividing the crate into two or more pens, the hinge comprising a first hinge pin adapted for mounting to one of the side wall panels, an arm at one end being pivotally mounted to the first hinge pin and being rotatable between an extended position where it projects inwardly of the crate and a retracted position parallel to said one side wall, a second hinge pin mounted on an opposite end of the arm, the gate adapted to be pivotally mounted to the second hinge pin and with the arm in the extended position, and rotatable about the second hinge pin between an open and a closed position.

2. A hinge for a gate for use in a stock carrier crate including at least a pair of opposing side wall panels together with one or more floor and/or ceiling panels, the gate being adapted for dividing the crate into two or more pens, the hinge comprising a first hinge pin adapted for mounting to one of the side wall panels, an arm at one end being pivotally mounted to the first hinge pin and being rotatable between an extended position where it projects inwardly of the crate and a retracted position parallel to said one side wall, a second hinge pin mounted on an opposite end of the arm, the gate adapted to be pivotally mounted to the second hinge pin and with the arm in the extended position, and being rotatable about the second hinge pin between an open and a closed position, the arm being positionable in the retracted position via one of said floor or ceiling panels when collapsed against said one side wall panel.

3. A hinge for a gate as claimed in claim 2 wherein the arm is of sufficient length and configuration that it permits rotation of the gate between the open and closed 9 positions when in the extended position, and is rotated into the retracted position so as to lie between the collapsed floor or ceiling panel and the adjacent side wall panel.

4. A hinge for a gate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the second hinge pin has an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the first hinge pin.

5. A hinge for a gate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the arm is a crank arm. DATED this 20 th day of March 2002 BABETO PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK