AU2003200054B2

AU2003200054B2 - Fleece retention net

Info

Publication number: AU2003200054B2
Application number: AU2003200054A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Gary Gale; David William Kost
Original assignee: Gale Pacific Ltd
Current assignee: Gale Pacific Ltd
Priority date: 2002-01-10
Filing date: 2003-01-09
Publication date: 2009-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 2023-01-09
Also published as: NZ523574A; AUPR991702A0

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: FLEECE RETENTION NET Applicant: GALE PACIFIC LIMITED The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 1 FLEECE RETENTION NET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a net for use in the harvesting of a fleece of 5 an animal and, more particularly, a net for retaining and protecting the fleece during biological harvesting. The invention is applicable to biological wool harvesting of sheep, and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to that exemplary application. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited thereto. 10 Description of the Prior Art A reference herein to a patent document or other matter which is given as prior art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was, in Australia, known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims. 15 Various coats have been proposed to be fitted to sheep, following administration of a biological depilatory de-fleecing agent, so as to prevent uncontrolled removal and loss of the fleece. Australian patent application 65570/99 discloses one form of coat. That coat has a body of mesh fabric for enclosing at least a substantial portion of the fleece of the animal when fitted to the animal body. Holes 20 are provided in the coat body for reception of animal legs therethrough, and leggings of mesh fabric can be provided around those holes to fit about and retain fleece on the animal legs. Although this prior coat satisfactorily retains fleece against loss during the de fleecing process, it has been found difficult and expensive to fit onto sheep. It has 25 been necessary to immobilise the sheep with complex and costly equipment, and to use skilled labour, during coat fitting. Coat fitting involves placing each of the sheep legs through the coat holes and leggings, and then wrapping the coat body around. the animal body, drawing opposite side edge regions of the coat body together along the back of the animal. With the coat drawn firmly around the animal body, the side 30 edge regions are secured together, such as with a slide fastener, before releasing the sheep. The prior coats have been found to be relatively expensive to produce, and therefore reuse of the coats has been investigated in an effort to amortise that cost. However, reuse involves reversal of the above coat fitting procedure in order to U:ECP\Patem SpeofcatM\2003200045-retyped pages doc 2 remove the coat without damage. That removal procedure can be difficult which, in turn, compounds the cost of fleece harvesting to fleece producers. Moreover, sometimes a significant percentage of the coats are found to be unusable because of damage caused during the period when fitted to the sheep. 5 The mesh fabric used for the above prior coat has limited extensibility so that one coat will fit animals with some small variance in size. Nevertheless, a range of coat sizes are necessary to avoid ill fitting of coats to sheep which can vary significantly in size from lambs to adult and between sheep breeds. That necessitates large coat inventories being maintained by producers, which can further 10 add to the cost of fleece harvesting. It would therefore be desirable to provide a less expensive net for use in fleece harvesting. Preferably, this fleece retention net would be more easily and cost effectively fitted to and removed from sheep when compared with prior coats, and would be 15 more accommodating to different sized animals, so that reduced numbers of net sizes are required for fitting to typical animal herds. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a fleece retention net for fitting to a fleece 20 bearing animal during biological fleece harvesting, the net including a net body of open mesh fabric for enclosing at least a substantial portion of the fleece of the animal when fitting to the body of the animal, the open mesh fabric allowing the fleece to grow through the net, the net body having: holes for the reception of the legs of the animal therethrough; 25 a tubular shape that can be opened into a sheet shape for fitting the net to an animal and/or removing the net from the animal; opposed longitudinal extending edge regions which, upon folding from the sheet shape come together or pass over one another to form the closed tubular shape of the body; and 30 fastening means operable to secure the body of the animal into the tubular shape and also allow opening of the body into the sheet shape, the fastening means including one fastening component extending along one edge region and another fastening component extending along the other edge region, the fastening components interact to releasably secure the edge regions together, 35 wherein the fastening member is selected from one of: U:\ECPPatent Specificatons\203200054-retyped pages 3.8.09 doc 3 a slide fastener, the fastening components including respective rows of fastening teeth extending along the edge regions for selectively inter-engaging to secure the net body in the tubular shape; or a hook and loop fastener, the fastening components including respective strips of 5 fastening hooks and loops extending along the edge regions that selectively inter engaging to secure the net body in the tubular shape. Preferably, the net body is of tubular shape with open opposite ends for respectively receiving the animal neck and tail regions there through. Preferably, wherein the net body is of generally round tubular shape. In one 10 form, net body is elliptical in transverse cross-sectional shape in a mid-region thereof. In one form, the net body is circular in transverse cross-sectional shape at or adjacent the ends thereof. Preferably, the net body is of a relatively smaller cross-sectional dimension at or adjacent the ends thereof than in a mid-region thereof. In one preferred 15 embodiment, the net body is of generally ellipsoid shape truncated at the ends thereof to form the open ends. The net body may be of prolate spheroid shape, truncated at the ends thereof to form the open ends. The tubular shape net body can be opened into a sheet shape for fitting the net to an animal and/or removing the net from an animal. In this arrangement, the net 20 body preferably has opposed longitudinally extending edge regions which, upon folding from the sheet shape, come together or pass over one another to form the closed tubular shape of the body. With this arrangement, fastening means are provided and operable to secure the body in the tubular shape and also allow opening of the body into the sheet 25 shape. The fastening members include one or more further fastening components spaced from the other edge region for interacting with the one fastening component. With this arrangement, the edge regions may overlap when the one fastening component interacts with the or one of the further fastening components and thereby 30 decreases the cross-sectional dimension of the tubular shape net body. Preferably, the mesh fabric forming the net body is resiliently extendable to facilitate proper fitting to an animal. The mesh fabric is preferably resiliently extendable in the peripheral direction of the tubular shape net body. In this way, the U:\ECP\Patent Spedfications232000544etyped pages(243.09).doc 3a net body transversely expands for application to the animal and contracts upon application for firm fitting to the animal. Preferably, the mesh fabric is a knitted open mesh fabric including a plurality of threads knitted into a predetermined knit pattern having threads U IECP\atem Specfcaons20320O045-reyped pages.doc 4 extending along and about the net body. At least some of the threads extending about the net body are preferably longitudinally extendable to provide the fabric with its stretch. In one form, the mesh fabric is of a generally consistent knit pattern 5 throughout the net body. However, in an alternative form the mesh fabric is of a knit pattern providing the net body with one or more regions of a relatively smaller aperture mesh pattern so as to reinforce the region(s) against wear and tear and/or excessive distortion. Preferably, the net body has a hole for surrounding a pizzle of an animal 10 to which the net is fitted. Preferably, the holes are provided by slits in the mesh fabric. These slits may be cut in the mesh fabric and edges of the slits heat sealed to form selvage edges. In one preferred embodiment, the net includes leggings for surrounding 15 the leg holes and extending externally therefrom. Those leggings are formed from mesh fabric and configured to fit about and enclose fleece on respective animal legs. In one form, the leggings are each of generally tubular shape with open opposite ends for extending along the animal legs. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20 The following description refers to preferred embodiments of the fleece retention net of the present invention. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made in the description to the accompanying drawings where the net is illustrated in those preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that the net is not limited to the preferred embodiments as 25 hereinafter described and as illustrated in the drawings. In the drawings, where the same reference numerals designate the same or similar components: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fleece retention net according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 30 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fleece retention net according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sheep (lamb) wearing the fleece retention net of Fig. 1; and, C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\PR991 7.Gale-Fleece.Jan03.do 5 Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another sheep (adult) wearing a fleece retention net according to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring initially to Figs 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is generally 5 shown two similar fleece retention nets 1 for fitting to a sheep S as shown in Fig. 3 during biological harvesting or shearing of the sheep fleece F. The net 1 includes a net body 2 for enclosing at least a substantial portion of the fleece F of the sheep S. The net body 2 is of tubular shape with open opposite ends 3 for respectively receiving the sheep neck and tail regions 10 therethrough as shown in Figs 3 and 4. The tubular shape transverse to a longitudinal axis X of the net body 2 can be consistent along the body 2 from end to end 3, although it is envisaged that that transverse cross sectional shape may vary in order to improve the fit of the net 1 on some sheep sizes or breeds. Thus, the net body 2 may be more 15 elliptical in cross sectional shape in the mid region 4 of the net body 2, and more round toward the ends 3 thereof. The cross sectional size of the net body 2 may be consistent between the ends 3, so that the net body 2 is of generally cylindrical shape. However, as shown in these embodiments, the cross sectional size reduces or narrows 20 toward one or both ends 3. Thus, the open ends 3 are of a smaller cross sectional dimension than toward the mid region 4. That shaping better approximates the body shape of the sheep S. In particular, the smaller open ends 3 cause the net body 2 to fit firmly about the neck and tail regions of the sheep so as to minimise loss of fleece through the open ends 3 during 25 harvesting. As shown, the net body 2 is of generally ellipsoid shape, truncated at the ends thereof to form the open ends 3. Specifically the net body 2 is of prolate spheroid shape, again truncated to form the open ends 3. In the preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the net body 2 is 30 permanently of tubular shape, i.e. the body 2 remains peripherally closed, including during fitting of the net 1 to a sheep S. However, in the other embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the net body 2 can be opened into a sheet shape. That sheet shape may be particularly useful for fitting the net 1 to a sheep S and/or removing the net 1 from a sheep S. In this CAWINDOWS\TEMPPR99l7.G~S.Fo-..J.n03.doo 6 embodiment, the net body 2 has opposed longitudinally extending side edge regions 5 which, upon folding the sheet shape, come together or pass one over the other to form the closed tubular shape of the body 2. The net body 2 is securable in the closed tubular shape to retain that shape. 5 In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the net 1 includes fastening means 6 for securing the body 2 in its tubular shape. The fastening means 6 is operable to secure the body 2 in its closed tubular shape, and also to release the body 2 for opening into the sheet shape. Thus, as will be explained in more detail hereinafter, the net body 2 can be initially open for fitting to a sheep S and 10 closed about the sheep S during fitting, and subsequently reopened for removal from the sheep S. The fastening means 6 includes at least one fastening member 7 extending along or parallel to the longitudinal side edge regions 5 for securing the net body 2 closed. The fastening member 7 is manually operable and 15 includes a fastening component 8 extending along one edge region 5, and another fastening component 9 extending along the other edge region 5, the fastening components 8, 9 interacting to secure the edge regions 5 together. The fastening member 7 may also include one or more further fastening components (not shown) spaced inwardly from a respective edge region 5 for 20 interacting with one or other of the fastening components 8, 9. In this way, one or other of the fastening components 8, 9 can interact with the further fastening components to securely close the net body 2 in decreasing cross sectional dimensions. Thus, the net body 2 is adjustable in that dimension in order to neatly fit sheep S of different sizes. 25 In one form, the fastening member 7 includes a slide fastener (not shown), the fastening components 8, 9 including respective rows of fastening teeth for selectively interengaging to secure the net body. In an alternative form, the fastening member 7 includes a hook and loop fastener (not shown), the fastening components 8, 9 including respective strips of fastening hooks or 30 loops for selectively interengaging to secure the net body 2. It will be appreciated that other fastening members 7 may be equally suitable. The net body 2 is composed of mesh fabric 10 resiliently extendible in at least one direction. Thus, the net body 2 can resiliently stretch in that direction. As a result, the net body 2 can be stretched for applying to a sheep S, and will CA WINDOWSkTEM RPR99 I7.G&1o.F~eeceJan03.doc 7 also stretch to neatly fit sheep S of varying sizes and breeds. The range of sheep S that any one net body 2 will fit may be further extended by inclusion of the adjustable fastening member 7. In the embodiments shown, the mesh fabric 10 is extendible in the 5 peripheral direction of the net body 2. Thus, the net body 2 can be transversely or laterally expanded for fitting to a sheep S. The mesh fabric 10 is a knitted open mesh fabric. That fabric 10 includes a plurality of threads knitted into a predetermined knit pattern having threads extending along and about the net body 2. At least some of the threads 10 extending about the net body 2 are longitudinally extendible to provide the fabric 10, and thus the net body 2, with its stretch. In one form, the net body 2 is composed of the mesh fabric disclosed in Australian patent application 2002301316, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. It should be appreciated, however, that the 15 net 1 may be composed of other mesh fabric that will provide the net with its necessary and desirable qualities. The mesh fabric 10 is composed of threads of plastic material, such as polyethylene, forming a mesh framework with threads of natural or synthetic rubber covered with nylon yarn laid in the framework to provide the fabric 10 20 with its stretch. The mesh fabric 10 is of a generally consistent knit pattern throughout the net body 2, with the possible exception of fabric selvage. However, in an alternative embodiment (not shown), the knit pattern may vary between regions of the net body 2 and, in particular, one or more regions may be of a smaller 25 aperture mesh pattern so as to reinforce the region(s) against wear and tear or excessive distortion. Thus, in the alternative embodiments the mesh fabric 10 of the net body 2 has a closer knit pattern in a longitudinally extending region of the net body 2 that will fit along the underside of the sheep S body. The net body 2 has end edges 11 defining the open ends 3 which are 30 finished to prevent fraying or unknitting of the fabric. That finish may be provided by a selvage edge. Alternatively, the edges 11 may be finished by sealing, such as heat sealing, the fabric threads together, i.e. the edge threads are thermo melted together. That finish will lock the threads against fraying, as well as prevent any loose thread loops created at the edges 11 during C:\WINDOWS\TEMPiPR9917.Gal.-Flece .Jan03.do 8 manufacture of the net body 2being shed from the net 1 and contaminating the fleece during net use. The net body 2 has holes 12 for the reception of the legs of the sheep S. Those holes 12are provided by slits in the mesh fabric 10. The flexibility and 5 resilience of the fabric 10 will cause those slits to open to receive the sheep S legs therethrough, but close firmly about the legs to inhibit loss of fleece through the holes 12 during fleece harvest. The slits may be incorporated during knitting of the fabric 10, or during manufacture of the net body. During net body manufacture, those holes 12 are 10 cut in the fabric 10. Where that occurs, the fabric edges defining the holes 12 may be finished by sealing in the same manner as the net body edges 11. The net body 2 also includes a hole 13 for a sheep pizzle. That hole 13 may be provided in the same manner as the leg holes 12. Referring now to Figs 3 and 4, the nets 1 have the same body 2 but in 15 Fig 4 the net 1 has leggings 14 for surrounding the leg holes 12and extending externally therefrom. The leggings 14 are also formed from mesh fabric 10, and are configured to fit about and retain fleece on respective sheep legs. Provision of the leggings 14 will depend on the type of sheep S being fitted with the net 1. Thus, in the case of lambs it may be unnecessary to provide those leggings 14. 20 However, the leggings 14 will generally be included in nets 1 to be fitted to adult sheep S. The leggings 14 are of generally tubular shape. In that regard, each legging 14 has a tubular shank region 15 for extending along at least the upper part of a sheep leg, an upper edge region 16 at which the legging 14 can be 25 connected to the net body 2, and a lower edge region 17 for fitting about the calf or other lower part of the sheep leg. The shank region 15 can taper in a direction from the upper edge region 16 to the lower edge region 17 consistent with the sheep leg shape. However, where the leggings are comprised of the same mesh fabric 10 as the net body 2, that shaping may be unnecessary since 30 the mesh fabric 10 will stretch to accommodate the animal leg shape. Each legging 14 is formed from a single piece of mesh fabric 10. The leggings 14 may be of different shapes and sizes, at least to accommodate differently shaped and sized front and rear legs of a sheep. Those leggings 14 can be manufactured separately and then attached to the net body 2 such as by CAWINDOWS\TEMPRPR9917 G~lIo-..~oJ.nO3 doo 9 sewing, although it should be appreciated that the net body 2 and leggings 14 could be manufactured integral with one another. One procedure for fitting the net 1 to a sheep S during biological harvesting of a sheep fleece, involves pulling the closed tubular shaped net 5 body 2 over the sheep S in a direction from its head to its tail. Thus, the tail open end 5 of the net body 2 is aligned with the sheep head, and the holes 12, 13 for the legs and pizzle are generally aligned with those parts of the sheep. The net 1 is moved toward the sheep S so that its head enters the tail open end. The net 1 is progressively drawn along the sheep neck and body until the 10 tail open end 5 reaches the sheep tail, by which stage the net body 2 will extend along the sheep body and the neck will project through the neck open end of the net body 2. Using resiliently extendible mesh fabric 10 for the net 1 allows the net body 2 to stretch over the fleece and sheep body to facilitate fitting. The net 1 is manipulated as necessary to a position where the leg and 15 pizzle holes 12, 13 are adjacent those respective parts of the sheep S. The sheep legs can then be pulled through their holes 12, and any leggings 14 where provided. The net 1 can be finally shifted as necessary to remove any excessive distortion in the fabric 10, and to ensure proper fit of the net 1 about the sheep 20 S. One procedure for removing the net 11 involves pulling the net body from the neck, over the body, and off the tail of the sheep S. The net body edge 11 defining the open end 3 at the neck is pulled over the net body 2 so that the net body 2 is "turned inside out" during removal. Again, the resilient extendibility of 25 the mesh fabric 10 allows the net body 2 to stretch over the fleece and sheep body to facilitate removal. As a result of this procedure, the fleece harvested from the sheep S is on the outside of the net 1. The net 1 is then stripped from inside the fleece and may be suitable for reuse. The net 1 is expected to be relatively inexpensive to manufacture. 30 Accordingly, the net 1 may not be intended for reuse. In that case, an alternative removal procedure involves cutting the net body 2 along the back of the sheep S so that it falls away from the sheep S with the harvested fleece. The net 1 can then be stripped from the fleece and discarded. C:\WINDOWS\TEMPVPR9917.Gale-Fleece.JanO3,doc 10 Where the net 1 includes a fastening member 7 for opening the net body 2 into a sheet shape, then the above fitting procedure may still be adopted. However, for some sheep S, particularly adult sheep, another fitting procedure involves opening the net body 2 into the sheep shape for wrapping about the 5 sheep S. With this procedure, the sheep legs are initially pulled through the holes 12 in the open net body 2, and any leggings 14 where provided. The net body 2 is drawn about the sheep body so that the longitudinal side edge regions 5 come together or pass one another along the back of the sheep S. The fastening member 7 is then operated to close the net body 2 in its tubular shape 10 and firmly secure it about the sheep S. Reversing the above procedure will remove the net 1 from the sheep S, as an alternative to pulling the net 1 from the sheep S while the net body 2 remains in its tubular shape. Once the net 1 is stripped from the harvested fleece it can be reused if undamaged. 15 The net 1 can be easily fitted using non-skilled labour, and without the use of complex and expensive sheep immobilising equipment. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, the wide variety of sheep sizes and breeds should be accommodated by a reduced inventory of net sizes compared with prior coat inventory requirements. As such, the net is expected to make biological fleece 20 harvesting a more viable alternative to traditional shearing. Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be made to the net without departing from the ambit of the present invention as defined in the claims appended hereto. C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\PR9917.Gale-Fieece.JanO3.doc

Claims

1. A fleece retention net for fitting to a fleece bearing animal during biological fleece harvesting, the net including a net body of open mesh fabric for enclosing at 5 least a substantial portion of the fleece of the animal when fitting to the body of the animal, the open mesh fabric allowing the fleece to grow through the net, the net body having: holes for the reception of the legs of the animal therethrough; a tubular shape that can be opened into a sheet shape for fitting the net to an 10 animal and/or removing the net from the animal; opposed longitudinal extending edge regions which, upon folding from the sheet shape come together or pass over one another to form the closed tubular shape of the body; and fastening means operable to secure the body of the animal into the tubular 15 shape and also allow opening of the body into the sheet shape, the fastening means including one fastening component extending along one edge region and another fastening component extending along the other edge region, the fastening components interact to releasably secure the edge regions together, wherein the fastening member is selected from one of: 20 a slide fastener, the fastening components including respective rows of fastening teeth extending along the edge regions for selectively inter-engaging to secure the net body in the tubular shape; or a hook and loop fastener, the fastening components including respective strips of fastening hooks and loops extending along the edge regions that selectively inter 25 engaging to secure the net body in the tubular shape.

2. A net as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tubular shape of the net has open opposite ends for respectively receiving the animal neck and tail regions there through.

3. A net as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the net body is of generally round 30 tubular shape.

4. A net as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the net body is elliptical in transverse cross-sectional shape in a mid-region thereof.

5. A net as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the net body is circular in transverse cross-sectional shape at or adjacent the ends thereof. U:ECP\Patem Siafication\2OO3200054-retyped pages 3.8.09.doc 12

6. A net as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the net body is of a relatively smaller cross-sectional dimension at or adjacent the ends thereof than in a mid-region thereof.

7. A net as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the net body is of 5 generally ellipsoid shape truncated at the ends thereof to form the open ends.

8. A net as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the net body is of prolate spheroid shape, truncated at the ends thereof to form the open ends.

9. A net as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the fastening member includes one or more further fastening components spaced from the other edge 10 region for interacting with the one fastening component, the edge regions overlapping when the one fastening component interacts with the or one of the further fastening components and thereby decreasing the cross-sectional dimension of the tubular shape net body.

10. A net as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mesh fabric forming the 15 net body is resiliently extendable to facilitate proper fitting to an animal.

11. A net as claimed in claim 10, wherein the mesh fabric is resiliently extendable in the peripheral direction of the tubular shape net body, the net body transversely expanding for application to the animal and contracting upon application for firm fitting to the animal. ?0

12. A net as claimed in claim 11, wherein the mesh fabric is a knitted open mesh fabric including a plurality of threads knitted into a predetermined knit pattern having threads extending along and about the net body, at least some of the threads extending about the net body being longitudinally extendable to provide the fabric with its stretch. 25

13. A net as claimed in claim 12, wherein the mesh fabric is of a generally consistent knit pattern throughout the net body.

14. A net as claimed in claim 12, wherein the mesh fabric is of a knit pattern providing the net body with one or more regions of a relatively smaller aperture mesh pattern so as to reinforce the region(s) against wear and tear and/or excessive 30 distortion.

15. A net as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the net body has a hole for surrounding a pizzle of an animal to which the net is fitted. U:\ECP\Patent Specifications\2003200054-retyped pages(24.3.09).doc 13

16. A net as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the holes are provided by slits in the mesh fabric, the slits being cut in the mesh fabric and edges of the slits heat sealed to form selvage edges.

17. A net as claimed in any preceding claim and including leggings for surrounding 5 the leg holes and extending externally therefrom, the leggings being formed from mesh fabric and configured to fit about and enclose fleece on respective animal legs, each legging having a generally tubular shape with open opposite ends for extending along the animal legs.

18. A fleece retaining net for fitting to a fleece bearing animal during biological 10 fleece harvesting, substantially as herein before described with reference to what is shown in the accompanying drawings. U:\ECP\Patent Specifications\200320OOS4-retyped pages(24.3.09).doc