CH650641A5 - Bedding-down enclosure in loose housing, in particular for cattle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a playpen cubicle with a neck bar.

So far, it has been common to firmly anchor a neck tie in box playhouses. Such a neck tie serves the purpose that the animals are pushed back so far in the upright position that the animals heal and piss off on the area provided behind the cubicle. This measure aims to keep the lying surface clean and dry, so that the animals can lie warm and clean in the cubicle and thus be protected from contamination. While the animals remain relatively far back in their upright position due to such a neck tie, there is sufficient space in the lower area of the cubicle to the front, which is needed by the animals for a relaxed posture when lying down.

However, the known neck bars are associated with considerable disadvantages. If the neck bar is to serve its purpose, it must be adjusted in height in the box playpen to the size of the smallest animals. However, such an arrangement repeatedly leads to injuries, swelling and bruising in the neck area in the larger animals within a herd. It can often be observed that animals injured in this way are very reluctant or no longer accept the cubicle. Instead, they start to lie down on the dirty slatted floor or in the aisles, although the lying area there is dirty with feces and other contaminants, and is also cold and hard.

In general, the neck strap which has been customary up to now has the sensitive disadvantage that when standing up, the animals are always exposed to the risk of hitting the neck strap hard while standing up. This danger also exists in the case of the relatively small animals in a herd if the neck bar is properly attached for these animals. It can be observed time and again that the animals are bumped into the neck bar when they get up, so that more or less serious injuries occur.

The invention has for its object to provide a Nak-kenriegel of the type mentioned, which pushes an upright animal sufficiently far back in the desired manner, but eliminates any risk of injury when accidentally bumping the neck bar when the animals get up.

To achieve this object, the invention provides that the neck bar is attached to a swivel arm on both sides of the cubicle, that the swivel arms are mounted in a swivel bearing so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, and that the hook bar, which can be swung out, rests on a support.

Advantageous further developments and preferred embodiments of the subject matter of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

According to the invention, the considerable advantage can be achieved that it can be adapted to the smallest animal within a herd by a correspondingly low arrangement, without there being a risk of injury in the case of animals of this small size or in the case of larger animals when they get up. The consequence of this is that the animals are freed from the fear, which is clearly recognizable in conventional neck ties, of suffering pain and injury when standing up by bumping on the neck tie.

Even if an animal jumps up in alarm, as is occasionally unavoidable, an injury cannot occur with the neck strap according to the invention. The neck bar according to the invention simply dodges upwards, without the animal being unpleasantly impaired in its freedom of movement. According to the invention, provision could preferably also be made for the neck bar to be movable in such a way that, although it can be thrown up unhindered, the subsequent downward movement can only take place relatively slowly by means of a corresponding damping device. In this way it can be prevented that a neck strap which is thrown upwards with a swinging force bounces back from a possibly hard stop and thereby hits the neck of an animal relatively hard. By means of a relatively simple damping device, for example by means of appropriate pneumatics, the downward movement of the neck bar can be retarded to such an extent that the neck bar never strikes an animal hard or in an unpleasant manner.

The neck tie can advantageously be arranged so low that sufficient attention is paid to the smallest animal in a herd. This ensures security with a particularly high level of reliability2

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ensures that the boxes and consequently also the animals are kept particularly clean.

In addition, the animals can move freely without fear of pain and injuries, which eliminates the stress caused by conventional neck bars, which adversely affects the behavior of the animals. These advantages apply in particular to dairy cows, which are very sensitive to the stress caused by conventional neck bars.

The invention is described below, for example with reference to the drawing; in this show:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a playpen cubicle with a neck bar, which is attached to a separating element, which is used for the lateral separation of adjacent boxes, and

Fig. 2 is a partial side view of an alternative embodiment of the subject matter of the invention, in which both the pivot bearing and the support of a neck bar are designed to be adjustable in height.

According to the illustration in FIG. 1, a separating element 15 designed as a bracket is attached to a standpipe 28. On top of the separator 15, i.e. a pipe clamp 16 is slidably arranged on a pipe leg. A bearing block 10 is fastened on this pipe clamp 16, the pivot bearing 14 of which has a horizontal pivot axis. In the pivot bearing 14, the pivot arm 12 is mounted, at the free end of which the neck bar 13 is attached in the form of a tube. Instead of a tube, a rod or a similar component could also be attached to the swivel arm 12. In the embodiment of the subject matter shown in FIG. 1, the neck bar 13 rests on the upper leg of the separating element 15 designed as a bracket. The pivoting movement of the swivel arm 12 with the neck bar 13 attached to it is limited by the stop 17 to a predeterminable angle.

A purely schematic illustration in FIG. 2 shows that the bearing block 21 is designed such that the pivot axis of the pivot bearing 14 can optionally be set to different heights. The illustration in Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment in which the pivot bearing 14 in the top

650 641

Position of five possible heights is arranged. Another type of height adjustment can of course also be provided without departing from the scope of the invention. It can also be seen from FIG. 2 that the height of the support 11 is adjustable. The double arrow P illustrates that the support 11 for the hook bolt 13 can optionally be set higher or lower.

Since the bearing block 21 is arranged displaceably on the separating element 15 by means of the pipe clamp 16, it has proven expedient to mount it on the support 11 by means of a corresponding fastening device (not shown) on a displaceable pipe clamp 19.

In order not to overload the drawing, constructive details of the individual components were not shown in detail in the interest of the clearest possible representation.

Provision can preferably also be made for the hook bolt 13 with the swivel arm 12 to be biased into its rest position or starting position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 by a return spring (not shown). By suitably dimensioning the return spring, the force with which the neck bar rests on its support can be specified in this way. By using a return spring, the desired resistance to lifting can be set independently of the weight of the neck bar.

Furthermore, it can preferably be provided that the downward movement of the neck bar is decelerated by a damping device to such an extent that the neck bar can only be lowered slowly. If a return spring and a damping device are used, the two devices must of course be coordinated with one another in such a way that the desired speed is maintained when the neck bar is lowered.

The desired resistance, which the animals feel when lifting the neck bar according to the invention, can also be influenced in that the angle of inclination of the swivel arm 12 in the rest position is adjusted to a value recognized as appropriate by appropriate adjustment of the height of the swivel bearing 14 and / or the support 11 becomes.

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1 sheet of drawings

Claims (11)

650 641 PATENT CLAIMS 1. playpen cubicle with a neck bar, characterized in that the neck bar (13) is attached to a swivel arm (12) on both sides of the cubicle, that the swivel arms (12) are pivotably mounted in a pivot bearing (14) about a horizontal axis and that the neck bar (13), which can be swung out, rests on a support (11). 2. playpen cubicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the support (11) is arranged adjustable in height. 3. playpen cubicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pivot bearing (14) on the head region of the cubicle facing side of the neck bar (13) is arranged. 4. playpen cubicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pivot bearing (14) is arranged in each case in a bearing block (10) which is held on a separating element (15) attached between adjacent cubicles. 5. playpen cubicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the bearing block (10) of the pivot bearing (14) is arranged displaceably in the longitudinal direction of the cubicle. 6. playpen cubicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pivot bearing (14) is arranged adjustable in height. 7. playpen cubicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a the pivoting range of the neck bar (13) upward to a predetermined angle limiting stop (17) is provided. 8. playpen-cubicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the neck bar (13) is designed as a straight rod. 9. playpen-cubicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the neck bar (13) is biased by a spring in its rest position. 10. Playpen with a playpen-cubicle according to one of the preceding claims. 11. Playpen according to claim 10, characterized in that the neck bar overlaps several cubicles.