EP3346827A1

EP3346827A1 - Animal transporting device

Info

Publication number: EP3346827A1
Application number: EP15770459.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dale Smith
Original assignee: Labodia AG
Current assignee: Labodia AG
Priority date: 2015-09-07
Filing date: 2015-09-07
Publication date: 2018-07-18
Also published as: WO2017041826A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for transporting animals (1), comprising a container box (2) defining a cavity for housing one or more animals, wherein the upper rim (25) of the container box (2) comprises flanges (26) protruding over the two side walls (24), further comprising a detachable top cover (3) for closing the opening of the container box (2) having a substantial rectangular shape equal or similar to the upper rim (25) of the container box (2), wherein the protruding flanges (26) at the side walls (24) of the container box (2) are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids (31) at the corresponding two sides of the top cover (3). The invention is further characterized in that the protruding flanges (26) at the side walls (24) comprise a plurality of corrugation elements (27) at its underside, wherein the plurality of corrugation elements (27) at each of the sides have a gradual increasing thickness in the direction from the front side to the rear side of the container box (2) in sliding direction of the top cover (3) and/or that a water or food holder is comprised at the top of the container box (2) which is suitable for holding one or more containers with sources of water or food, wherein the food or water source containers are locked in position when the top cover (3) is closed and/or one or more holes (41) for inserting cable ties are provided at corresponding parts of the container box (2) and the top cover (3) in one or more comers of the top cover (3) and the upper rim (25) of the container box (2).

Description

ANIMAL TRANSPORTING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a device for transporting animals comprising a container box and a detachable top cover for closing the opening of the container box. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for transporting animals, especially smaller animals such as rodents.

Usually, animals are transported in container boxes which can easily be closed and sealed. These container boxes are adjusted for the transport of one or more animals by trucks, ships or planes. Therefore, these container boxes are suitable for long shipping times and are also known under the synonym shipping container or shipping boxes. Such a shipping container is described, for example, in US patent number US 6,543,387 Bl . The shipping container for rodents includes a box like base having an interior space divided into compartments by longitudinal and lateral partitions. A lid of the container includes an outer edge channel that snaps over a top edge flange of the base walls to form an airtight fit. As the lid closes the container with an airtight fit, the shipping containers must have openings in the walls, usually provided with filter units to act as a barrier against contaminants.

Similar shipping containers are described in US patent number US 5,572,953. The containers have a unitary injection molded design wherein the interior is provided with dividers to provide separate compartments for containing animals therein. The sides and the lid of the containers have arrays of minute holes that provide air flow into the container, and filter material is provided to cover the air holes so that contaminated air is prevented from reaching the animals in the container therein.

All of these container boxes are suitable for being vertically stacked and closely packed next to each other on pallets. Therefore, the closed container boxes have means to maintain a set distance apart, to ensure that air can be circulated through the openings in the sides and the lid.

All of these container boxes have a lid which is put onto the upper rim of a base part of the box and is secured by inwardly projecting closing means that snap into the outer rim of the container boxes.

Based on this general design and function of container boxes, it was the object of the present application to find an improved closing mechanism allowing an easy and airtight closing of container boxes. This objective problem has been solved by the device for transporting animals according to the independent claims. Further objectives and advantages have been defined in the dependent claims as attached.

According to a first aspect, the present invention solves the above problem by providing a device for transporting animals comprising a container box and a detachable top cover for closing the opening of the container box. The container box is the base of the shipping container box and defines a cavity for housing one or more animals. The cavity is defined by a bottom, a front wall, a rear wall, and two side walls. All walls are connected to or integrally formed with the bottom and, thus, defining the cavity between the walls and having an opening at the top of the container box. The opening is substantially opposite to the bottom. "Connected to" means in this context that the sides of the walls to the neighboring walls or to the bottom are all connecting to the adjacent side in a substantially close contact. Preferably, the sides of the walls and the sides of the bottom are connected with each other in an airtight manner. "Substantially close" means at least that the animals cannot escape and, preferably, that there is an airtight contact between the adjacent walls and the walls and the bottom.

The front wall, the rear wall, and the two side walls form an upper rim having a substantial rectangular and planar shape and defining an opening at the top of the container box. The upper rim of the container box comprises flanges protruding over the two side walls. Of course, the flanges of the front or rear wall at the upper rim of the container box or the flanges at the front and the rear wall protrude over the front and rear wall as well, thus, providing an upper rim having protruding flanges at all sides.

The detachable top cover for closing the opening of the container box has a substantial rectangular shape equal or similar to the upper rim of the container box in order to allow an airtight fit of the top cover to the container box. "Detachable" means in the context of the invention that the top cover can be fully detached from the container box or can at least be partly detached in such a manner that an opening for inserting and taking away the animals from the container box is possible. In addition, it is preferred to fully detach the top cover in order to improve the cleaning of the container box before or after each transport of animals.

In order to improve the closing mechanism and to allow an easy fitting of the top cover, the protruding flanges at opposite side walls of the upper rim of the container box are arranged for a sliding mechanism of the top cover. Therefore, according to this aspect of the invention, the protruding flanges at the side walls of the container box are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids at the corresponding two sides of the top cover. The top cover can, thus, easily slide onto the container box from one side when closing the top cover.

In addition to this specific construction of the protruding flanges allowing a sliding engagement of the lids of the top cover, the protruding flanges at the side walls comprise a plurality of corrugation elements at its underside. The plurality of corrugation elements at each of the sides have a gradual increasing thickness in the direction from the front side to the rear side of the container box in sliding direction of the top cover, thereby allowing an easy and accurate fitting of the top cover into its closing position. "Corrugation elements" in this context means a consistent line of corrugations designed to gradually increase the pressure between the lid channel and the protruding flanges of the base, as the lid is slid into position, without creating undue friction and difficulty in sliding to the final assembled position whilst providing a partial position lock and not allowing loose sliding. The corrugation elements increase in thickness in the direction of an arrow indicator which optionally is on the top side of the protruding flange to indicate the sliding direction. The corrugation elements are increased in their thickness with a gradient of about 1 to 5 degree, preferably about 1 to 3 degree, particularly about 2 degrees as molding accuracy may provide, to avoid becoming too thick and creating undue friction and difficulty in sliding to the final assembled position.

The above described sliding mechanism advantageously provides an easy closing mechanism because the sliding lid gets tighter and tighter as it is slid on, providing a very tight fitting between the upper rim of the container box and the lid at the top cover. The increasing thickness of the corrugation elements, thus, provides a compression seal between the container box top flange surface and the top cover. Accordingly, the slide-on closing mechanism with compression seal allows an airtight closure of the container box. In addition, the safety of the animals or the content of the container box is ensured all the time because the top cover is fitted to the container box by the lid all the time even if the top cover has not yet been fully closed. It cannot fall off without being physically slid off the protruding flanges. Therefore, the security is enhanced over the afore-mentioned shipping containers of the prior art. According to a second aspect, the same problem is solved by a device for transporting animals comprising a container box and a detachable top cover for closing the opening of the container box as they have been defined in the first aspect of the invention. The upper rim of the container box also comprises protruding flanges at the side walls of the container box which are adjusted for sliding engagement of sliding lids at the corresponding two sides of the top cover. According to this aspect, the corrugation elements at each of the sides having a gradual increasing thickness are optional only. If they are provided, they are identically embodied as the corrugation elements defined in the first aspect.

The container box according to this second aspect comprises a water or food holder at the top of the container box which is suitable for holding one or more containers with sources for water or food, wherein the food or water source containers are locked in position when the top cover is closed. Such containers can be plastic containers or sachets for food or water carrying and having an opening for drinking or feeding the animals. These containers are known to the skilled person. Thus, the animals can be fed during the transport without the containers with sources for food or water being displaced during transport preventing undue mess in the living space and discomfort to the animals.

In a third aspect, a device for transporting animals is provided, which comprises a container box as defined in the first aspect and a detachable top cover for closing the opening of the container box as defined in the first aspect before. According to this aspect, the protruding flanges at the side walls of the container box are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids at the corresponding two sides of the top cover as defined in the first and second aspect. According to the third aspect, one or more (i.e. two, three or four) holes for inserting cable ties are provided at corresponding parts of the container box and the top cover in one or more corners of the top cover and the upper rim of the container box. The holes or through holes for inserting cable ties or alternative closing strips or securing devices such as locks or seals made from metal or plastic are placed in such areas of the upper rim of the container box and the corresponding corner parts of the top cover which are freely available if the top cover is closed and, preferably, even if the shipping devices are stacked over each other and put on a pallet. The corners are generally freely exposed so that it is easy to seal the container boxes with one or more cable ties for each container box or by means of one cable tie for two or more boxes stacked on together. Securing the lid to the base by means of inserting cable ties through the holes is a very fast and secure method for securing the closing of the container box by compression seal because if once the cable tie has been inserted, the sliding of the top cover is substantially prohibited. That means, as soon as the cable tie has been inserted into the holes, the top cover is substantially prevented from sliding off the container box. As it is clear from the above description, the devices for transporting animals according to the first, second and third aspects of the present invention are all alternative solutions for finding an improved closing mechanism allowing an easy and airtight closing of container boxes for transporting animals. As has been described before, the application also encompasses a combination of all the features of the first to third aspects of the invention in any combination. That means, for example, that the device according of the first aspect can be further embodied as described in the second aspect, namely with the provision of a food or water holder. Thus, it is also encompassed, even if not explicitly described in detail, that the holes in the corner of the container boxes and top covers can be present in the devices for transporting animals according to the first or second aspect. Any combination of these three aspects is also encompassed as single embodiment which can be claimed as being one separate aspect of the present invention, without having to be repeated with any of the above-identified aspects separately.

Further embodiments and advantages of the devices for transporting animals according to the first to third aspect of the invention as described before, have been defined in the dependent claims and will be explained in greater detail in the following.

According to a preferred embodiment, the device for transporting animals according to any of the first to third aspects comprises a container box, which is composed of an injection molded plastic container box and comprises air holes in one or more of the side walls and stacking lugs at two opposite sides. It is also possible to provide stacking lugs at the front wall or rear wall or both of these walls as well. The container boxes preferably have a smaller bottom area than the opening at the top of the container box. That means that in this particular embodiment, the side walls, the front and rear walls are inclined in such a manner that the bottom of a container box can be put into the cavity of another container box if the top cover is not in closing position. This enables to pack the container boxes closely during storage or when animals are not transported therein. The stacking lugs are useful for facilitating the unstacking of the container boxes because they are freely laying on the stacking lugs. In this position, air holes are not closed because the walls of the two stacked container boxes are sufficiently spaced apart. Thereby, an air circulation is still possible even if two or more of the container boxes are stacked together. This also facilitates the cleaning and sterilization of the container boxes by using cleansing agents or gaseous steam or vapor sterilization mediums or radiation. Therefore, it is preferred that the container boxes as the base of the transporting devices are made from injection molded plastics. The technical construction of the closing mechanism enables the skilled person to manufacture the container box part in one unit by injection molding. The air holes in the side, front, and rear walls as well as the stacking lugs preferably are also integrally manufactured during the injection molding process.

Injection molding can be performed at optimum temperatures depending on the material used whether it is a formulation of polypropylene, polycarbonate, polysulfone or a regrind or blend material. The preferred material of polypropylene is able to be quickly and consistently controlled during the molding process by regulation of temperature and pressure of injection creating perfect uniformity and consistency in the two molded parts, the base and lid. The injection molding method of production was selected as the quickest method and having the lowest number of variables with which to alter final product consistency and allows for inserts, creation of clear areas for instance in viewing windows and for modification and further development of any specific additional features such as reduced or increased corrugations and so forth.

As described before, viewing windows which can, for example, be positioned in the top sliding lid of the shipping device are optionally created by thin highly polished sections of material which become optically clear during production and allow for unobstructed viewing and health monitoring of the animals in each area of the shipping container irrespective of how many dividers a container may have, or how many devices are stacked together as described above. The easy provision of viewing windows made of the same material is a further advantage of injection molding technique for the molding of the animal transporting devices of the present invention.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the above-mentioned first to third aspects of the present invention, the animal transporting device further comprises a stopper at the rear end of the upper rim of the container box wherein the top cover engages in its closing position. Rear end means the end of the upper rim which is at the top of the rear wall so that the top cover slides from the front wall end to the rear wall end during the closing process of the top cover. A rim can be a short edge at one or more positions (for example 2, 3, or a plurality of positions) at the rear end or can be an edge substantially extending over the whole or substantially the whole upper rim of the rear wall of the container box. The rim functions as a stopper for the top cover in its closing position and allows a complete closing of the opening of the container box. Additionally or alternatively to this stopper at the rear wall of the container box, the top cover can be stopped by a stopper device provided at the underside of the top cover engaging at the upper rim of the front wall during the sliding closing process. Preferably two stoppers, namely at the rear end wall and at the top cover, are provided at the same time so that the top cover is positioned in a defined and predetermined end position in its closed condition. If you have stoppers, either at the rear wall or at the top cover or both, there is only one way to install the top cover on the container box and you have only one direction for sliding the top cover on the container box. This ensures all the time the same accuracy and a secure closing of the transporting devices. In order to facilitate the handling of the container box, this closing direction can be identified by an arrow, for example at the upper rim of the side walls.

In a further preferred embodiment or in combination with the afore-mentioned embodiments, the device for transporting further comprises a top cover locking device which is provided at the top cover and is adapted to be fixed at the container box at the closing postion. The top cover locking device comprises a folding latch at the side of the top cover corresponding to the rear side, wherein the latch can be folded around the upper rim and clipped into a holding element at the closing position of the top cover. The holding element is preferably located at the underside of the upper rim at the rear wall of the container box. It can also be part of the upper rim itself into which the folding latch is clipped into. The top cover is then secured by clipping the folding latch into the holding element at the rear wall and at the three other sides by the lid sections which are engaging into the upper rim for sliding engagement at the two sides. Preferably, the top cover has a U-turned stopping element at the side and end corresponding to the front wall which is engaged into the protruding flanges of the upper rim at the front wall during the closing of the top cover by sliding mechanism. Then, the top cover is secured by all four sides and can be fixed in the closed position by one locking device which is the folding latch clipping into the holding element at the rear wall side of the container box. Therefore the accuracy and safety of the closing of the container boxes can be guaranteed very simply and in one step.

All the afore-mentioned embodiments of transporting devices according to the first to third aspect of the invention are further provided with special inserts in the cavity. Preferably, the transporting device comprises divider channels in the container box for dividing the cavity into separate housings for animals. More preferably, especially, if a clear separation of the animals is intended or demanded, the divider channels are provided in substantially full height of two opposite sides from the bottom to the upper rim, so that a full separation can be guaranteed by inserting respective full height partition walls. If necessary, the partition walls can be arranged in such a manner that the partitions inside the cavity can be sealed substantially airtight. The divider channels and the partition walls are made of a similar or the same material so that the partition walls can easily be slipped into the divider channels or can easily be pulled out. As the top cover slides over the partition walls, a special fixing means for holding them into the divider channels is not necessary. If the top cover is closed, the partition walls will automatically be fixed in the divider channels.

The divider which is in place in the shipper base has a further positional securing channel in the underside of the lid which increases from a flat surface to a U-channel shape of between 2 and 4 mm deep and then decreases again to a flat surface over the length of about 15 cm. This gradual increase and decrease allows for the lid to slide onto the base without the usual hindrance of a protruding channel element. These exemplified parameters can vary depending on the size of the box and are exemplified for a regular rodent box with common outer dimensions. The devices for transporting animals are suitable for shipping animals, preferably small animals, rodents, laboratory animals, and so forth. Mostly, not only one transporting device has to be shipped, but a plurality or high number of the same transporting devices has to be shipped at the same time. Therefore, the transporting devices are adapted to be packed on a pallet next to each other in a high number. If one layer of transporting devices is placed on a pallet, a next layer can be placed on the first layer. This can be repeated several times. It is preferred that one transporting box is placed on another transporting box in the same direction. In order to be easily stackable, the top cover of a transporting box has receiving members at two or more corners (preferably at all four corners) of the top cover into which the upper transporting box bottom can be placed and secured. Preferably, the receiving members are configured such that the bottom of the upper transporting box is spaced apart from the top cover of the first transporting box. Thereby, it can be guaranteed that air can circulate between the layers of transporting boxes during the shipping. In this case, it is possible to have air holes in the top cover either in addition to the air holes at the side or instead of the air holes at the side of the container boxes. As the layers of transporting boxes need to be secured and fixed during the shipping, it is preferred to use one or two of the optional four cable tie holes in the corners of the container boxes for connecting stacked transporting boxes together. Depending on the length of the cable used for this purpose two or more transporting boxes can be fixed and secured with one cable tie. The other two cable tie holes can be used to close each top cover on the corresponding container box for closing them. It is also preferred that the cable tie locking mechanisms can be used to seal the transporting boxes with anti-tamper seals.

Special cable ties or anti-tamper seals for the use in the system can be as simple as a plastic or polymer material or metal material which secures the top to the base through a hole provided. Cable ties as a generally understood term are generally made of nylon or polypropylene and are described as providing the simplest and fastest method of providing this seal.

In the following, the invention will be described on the basis of drawings which are intended for exemplifying the above described general concept of the present invention by referring to a specific example of transporting devices falling within first to third aspects of the present invention. In the drawings the same reference numbers are used for the same parts of the transporting devices.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the transporting device according to the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a top view of the top cover of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the top cover of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view through the side wall of the transporting device according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows a detailed top view of the upper rim part, especially, of the one side of the transporting box of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 shows a detailed side view of the upper rim part, especially, of the one side of the transporting box of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 shows a detailed top view of one of the corners of the top cover of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 8 shows a sectional view of the upper rim part of one of the corners of the transporting box of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

An example of a transporting device according to the present invention is shown in Fig 1 , which shows a perspective view of the transporting device 1. The transporting device 1 is adjusted for the transport of at least one object, preferably of an animal. The animals can be any kind of small animals which do not need more space than provided by this box. Of course, more than one animal can be transported in this transporting device, if needed. Preferably those boxes are used for shipping laboratory animals or rodents.

The transporting device 1 constitutes of a container box 2 and a slidable top cover 3. The container box comprises a bottom 21, a front wall 22, a rear wall 23, and two side walls 24. All walls 22, 23, 24 are integrally molded together with the bottom 21 and, thus, defining a cavity and an opening at the top of the container box 2. The opening is substantially opposite to the bottom 21.

The front wall 22, the rear wall 23, and the two side walls 24 form an upper rim 25 having a substantial rectangular and planar shape and defining an opening at the top of the container box 2. The upper rim 25 of the container box 2 comprises flanges 26 protruding over the two side walls 24. Additionally, similar flanges are provided at the upper rim 25 at the front wall 22 and rear wall 23. Hence, the container box 2 according to this embodiment has an upper rim 25 having protruding flanges at all sides. The specific form of the underside of the flanges at the side walls which are not clearly shown here are described in Fig. 6 below. In order to improve the closing mechanism and to allow an easy fitting of the top cover 3, the protruding flanges 26 at opposite side walls 24 of the upper rim 25 of the container box 2 are arranged for a sliding mechanism of the top cover 3. The sliding mechanism is more particularly described in Fig. 4 below. Therefore, the Figure 1 covers an embodiment according to the first, second and third aspect of the invention, because it shows an embodiment in which the protruding flanges 26 at the side walls 24 of the container box 2 are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids at the corresponding two sides of the top cover 3. The top cover 3 can, thus, easily slide onto the container box 2 from one side when closing the top cover 3. The embodiments of the first, second, and third aspect differ in some additional aspects, which are not clearly visible in the Figure 1. The transport box comprises air holes 51 at the two side walls 24 and in the top cover 3. The air holes 51 are suitable for aerating the cavity of the transporting device 1 during the transport. The air holes are designed in such a size that the animals transported cannot escape from the transporting device when closed. Preferably, the air holes 51 are provided in arrays of minute holes that are big enough to provide air flow into the container. In addition, they can be closed with a filter material (not shown) to clean the air from contaminants and to prevent that contaminated air reaches the animals in the container box 2.

The transport box 2 comprises stacking lugs 53 in the upper part of each side wall 24. The stacking lugs maintain a distance between two container boxes when being stacked together for the transport or for cleaning and disinfection. The stacking lugs are also suitable to maintain a set distance apart to ensure that air can be circulated through the openings 51 in the side walls 24 when the transporting boxes are packed next to each other on pallets. Additionally, receiving members 54 are provided at each corner of the top cover to maintain a set distance apart when two or more transporting devices 1 are vertically stacked. The receiving members 54 also ensure that air can circulate through the stacked transporting devices 1 when being transported. Additionally, the receiving members 54 at the four corners of the top cover 3 have a shape adapted to the bottom part of the transporting box 2 so that the second transporting device (not shown) put on the top cover 3 of the first transporting device 1 can be fixed in its horizontally position.

The animal transporting device 1 further comprises a stopper 55 at the rear end of the upper rim 25 of the container box 2 wherein the top cover 3 engages in its closing position. Rear end means the end of the upper rim 25 which is at the top of the rear wall 23 so that the top cover 3 slides from the front wall end to the rear wall end during the closing process of the top cover 3. The stopper 55 is an edge substantially extending over the upper rim 25 of the rear wall 23 of the container box 2 near the two corners of the flange extending over the rear wall 23.

The transporting device 1 further comprises divider channels 57 in the container box 2 for dividing the cavity into separate housings for animals, wherein the divider channels are provided in substantially full height of two opposite sides from the bottom 21 to the upper rim 25, so that a full separation can be guaranteed by inserting respective full height partition walls. In this embodiment, one divider channel is shown in the middle of the side wall 24. However, alternatively, two, three, or even more divider channels for receiving several partition walls (not shown) can be provided in one transporting device. The device for transporting animals 1 further comprises a top cover locking device 61 which is provided at the top cover 3 at the rear wall side and is adapted to be fixed at the upper rim of the rear wall 23 of the container box 2. The top cover locking device is more particularly described in Fig. 3 below.

Cable tie holes 41 are provided at the corners of the transport box 2 and at the corresponding part of the top cover 3. Thus, layers of transporting boxes can be secured and fixed during the shipping by connecting stacked transporting boxes together. Depending on the length of the cable used for this purpose two or more transporting boxes can be fixed and secured with one cable tie. Generally, two cable tie holes are enough for this purpose. The other two cable tie holes can be used to close each top cover on the corresponding container box for closing them. The cable tie holes 41 from the top view and in a sectional view are shown in Fig. 7 and 8. Figure 2 describes a top view of the top cover 3 of a transport device as shown in Fig.l . In this top view, the cable tie holes 41 and the receiving members 54 in all four corners are visible. In addition, the top cover 3 comprises the air holes 51 in the middle part and viewing windows 58 at four positions around the air holes 51. The viewing windows are made from highly polished polypropylene material and are optically clear to enable the visible inspection of the transported animals from the top of each transporting device 1. Optionally, additional viewing windows can be provided at the side and front or rear walls of the transport box 2.

In order to comply with the regulations, the top cover 3 has a section with an indicating label 59 for the content of the box This indicating label 59 is provided at a position good visible from the outside of the transporting box and contains any necessary information to comply with the respective transport regulations, such as the IATA regulations for being used in airplanes. This indicating label 59 can be either an adhesive label or an integrally provided label.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the top cover 3 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The top cover 3 comprises the receiving members 54 integrally provided at each corner of the top cover 3. Additionally, the holding element 61 is provided at the rear end side of the top cover 3. The holding element 61 comprises a folding latch wherein the latch can be folded around the upper rim and clipped into a holding element at the closing position of the top cover. For this purpose the holding element comprises a nose 63 to being clipped into the upper rim.

In this embodiment, the top cover 3 has an U-turned stopping element 65 at the side end corresponding to the front wall which is engaged into the protruding flanges of the upper rim at the front wall during the closing of the top cover by sliding mechanism. Then, the top cover is secured by all four sides and can be fixed in the closed position by one locking device which is the folding latch clipping into the holding element at the rear wall side of the container box. Fig. 4 shows a sectional view through the side wall 24 of the transporting device according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The top cover 3 is placed in its closing state on the transporting box with its side wall 24. In order to allow an easy fitting of the top cover 3, the protruding flange 26 at the side wall 24 of the upper rim of the container box is arranged for a sliding mechanism of the top cover. Therefore, the sliding lid 31 at the corresponding side of the top cover 3 has in an U-turned shape substantially fitting to the protruding flange 26. Thus, the U-turned shape allows a sliding engagement of the lids 31 of the top cover 3 at the protruding flanges 26.

Fig. 5 shows a detailed top view of the upper rim part 25, especially, of the one side of the transporting box of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. One part of the upper rim builds up the protruding flanges 26. From the top it is recognizable that the upper rim has through holes and ribs in order to make the upper rim more stable and to use the holes as holders for, e.g. food and water containers (not shown) as described with aspect 2 of the present invention. More particularly, the upper rim 25 has ribs in a zig zag shape (up and down every 10 mm). The ribs run for most of the length of the part of the upper rim 25 which is shown in Fig 5. The normal structure along the top of the protruding flanges 26 is in this embodiment only a Crosshatch (not shown) and then there is an approximately 120 mm long section of the zig zag ribs in four positions of the upper rim 25 of the container box 2. Of course, the zig zag rips could be optionally all around the upper rim 25 of the container box or can be provided in one, two, three, or even more other parts of the upper rim 25 of the container box 2.

Fig. 6 shows a detailed side view of the upper rim part 25, especially, of the one side of the transporting box 2 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The protruding flange 26 at the upper rim 25 of the side wall 24 comprises a plurality of corrugation elements 27 at its underside. The plurality of corrugation elements 27 at each of the sides have a gradual increasing thickness in the direction from the front side to the rear side of the container box in sliding direction of the top cover. In order to clearly show this, the rectangle 99 has been laid over the drawing. At the right side of the rectangle 99, the thickness of the corrugation element 27' is small, that means the distance to the lower line of the rectangle 99 is large. At the left side, the distance is small, that means the corrugation element 27" has a higher thickness than the corrugation element 27'. The increasing thickness of the corrugation elements 27 as shown in this side view provides a compression seal between the container box top flange surface and the top cover (not shown). Fig. 7 shows a detailed top view of one of the corners of the top cover 3 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. Cable tie holes 41 and receiving members 54 are placed in each corner of the top cover 3. Their functions have been explained before. Additionally, the closing direction is identified by an arrow 71 at the top cover as shown here or at the upper rim of the transport box (not shown here). The arrows facilitate the handling of the container box during the closing procedure.

Fig. 8 shows a sectional view of the upper rim part 25 of one of the corners of the transporting box 2 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, in which a cable tie hole 41 is placed. The cable tie hole is provided with a locking means which usually is used to fix the cable ties at a specific length and position.

As has been described in detail before and exemplified in the drawings, the sliding mechanism as used in the transporting boxes according to the first aspects of the present invention advantageously provides an easy closing mechanism because the sliding lid gets tighter and tighter as it is slid on, providing a very tight fitting between the upper rim of the container box and the lid at the top cover. The increasing thickness of the corrugation elements, thus, provides a compression seal between the container box top flange surface and the top cover. Accordingly, the slide-on closing mechanism with compression seal allows an airtight closure of the container box. In addition, this sliding mechanism can be used together with the other safety means described and claimed in the second and third aspect of the present invention. According to the present invention, as has been shown before, the safety of the animals or the content of the container box is ensured all the time because the top cover is fitted to the container box by the lid all the time. Therefore, the security is enhanced over the afore-mentioned shipping containers of the prior art. Summarizing the above, the invention relates to a device for transporting animals, comprising a container box defining a cavity for housing one or more animals, wherein the upper rim of the container box comprises flanges protruding over the two side walls, further comprising a detachable top cover for closing the opening of the container box having a substantial rectangular shape equal or similar to the upper rim of the container box, wherein the protruding flanges at the side walls of the container box are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids at the corresponding two sides of the top cover. The invention is further characterized in that the protruding flanges at the side walls comprise a plurality of corrugation elements at its underside, wherein the plurality of corrugation elements at each of the sides have a gradual increasing thickness in the direction from the front side to the rear side of the container box in sliding direction of the top cover and/or that a water or food holder is comprised at the top of the container box which is suitable for holding one or more containers with sources of water or food, wherein the food or water source containers are locked in position when the top cover is closed, and/or one or more holes for inserting cable ties are provided at corresponding parts of the container box and the top cover in one or more comers of the top cover and the upper rim of the container box.

Claims

1. A device for transporting animals (1), comprising a container box (2) defining a cavity for housing one or more animals, wherein the cavity is defined by a bottom (21), a front wall (22), a rear wall (23), and two side walls (24), all walls are connected to or integrally formed with the bottom (21), wherein the front wall (22), the rear wall (23), and the two side walls (24) form an upper rim (25) having a substantial rectangular and planar shape and defining an opening at the top of the container box (2), wherein the upper rim (25) of the container box (2) comprises flanges (26) protruding over the two side walls (24), a detachable top cover (3) for closing the opening of the container box (2) having a substantial rectangular shape equal or similar to the upper rim (25) of the container box (2), characterized in that the protruding flanges (26) at the side walls (24) of the container box (2) are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids (31) at the corresponding two sides of the top cover (3), wherein the protruding flanges (26) at the side walls (24) comprise a plurality of corrugation elements (27) at its underside, wherein the plurality of corrugation elements (27) at each of the sides have a gradual increasing thickness in the direction from the front side to the rear side of the container box (2) in sliding direction of the top cover (3).

2. A device for transporting animals (1), comprising a container box (2) defining a cavity for housing one or more animals, wherein the cavity is defined by a bottom (21), a front wall (22), a rear wall (23), and two side walls (24), all walls are connected to or integrally formed with the bottom (21), wherein the front wall (22), the rear wall (23), and the two side walls (24) form an upper rim (25) having a substantial rectangular and planar shape and defining an opening at the top of the container box (2), wherein the upper rim (25) of the container box (2) comprises flanges (26) protruding over the two side walls (24), a detachable top cover (3) for closing the opening of the container box (2) having a substantial rectangular shape equal or similar to the upper rim (25) of the container box (2), characterized in that the protruding flanges (26) at the side walls (24) of the container box (2) are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids (31) at the corresponding two sides of the top cover (3), and that a water or food holder is comprised at the top of the container box (2) which is suitable for holding one or more containers with sources of water or food, wherein the food or water source containers are locked in position when the top cover (3) is closed.

3. A device for transporting animals (1), comprising

a container box (2) defining a cavity for housing one or more animals, wherein the cavity is defined by a bottom (21), a front wall (22), a rear wall (23), and two side walls (24), all walls are connected to or integrally formed with the bottom (21), wherein the front wall (22), the rear wall (23), and the two side walls (24) form an upper rim (25) having a substantial rectangular and planar shape and defining an opening at the top of the container box (2), wherein the upper rim (25) of the container box (2) comprises flanges (26) protruding over the two side walls (24), a detachable top cover (3) for closing the opening of the container box (2) having a substantial rectangular shape equal or similar to the upper rim (25) of the container box (2), characterized in that the protruding flanges (26) at the side walls (24) of the container box (2) are suitable for sliding engagement of sliding lids (31) at the corresponding two sides of the top cover (3), and one or more holes (41) for inserting cable ties are provided at corresponding parts of the container box (2) and the top cover (3) in one or more corners of the top cover (3) and the upper rim (25) of the container box (2).

4. The device for transporting animals according to any of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the container box is composed of an injection molded plastic container box, and comprises air holes (51) in one or more of the side walls (24) and stacking lugs (53) at two opposite sides of the container box (2).

5. The device for transporting animals according to any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a stopper (55) at the rear end of the upper rim (25) of the container box (2) wherein the top cover (3) engages in its closing position.

6. The device for transporting animals according to any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a top cover locking device comprising a folding latch (61) at the side of the top cover (3) corresponding to the rear side, wherein the latch (61) can be folded around the upper rim (25) and clipped into a holding element at the closing position of the top cover (3).

7. The device for transporting animals according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising divider channels (57) in the container box (2) for dividing the cavity into separate housings for animals, wherein the divider channels (57) are provided in substantially full height of two opposite sides from the bottom (21) to the upper rim (25).

8. The device for transporting animals according to claim 1, further comprising any features of the device of claim 2, claim 3, or claims 2 and 3.

9. The device for transporting animals according to claim 2, further comprising any features of the device of claim 1, claim 3, or claims 1 and 3.

10. The device for transporting animals according to claim 3, further comprising any features of the device of claim 1, claim 2, or claims 1 and 2.