FR3072368A1 - CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORTING ANIMALS AND STACK OF CONTAINERS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container for the transport of animals which is characterized in that it comprises a frame (28) formed of rigid son, four side panels (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4) covering the side faces of the container and a bottom panel (32) covering the underside of the container, each side or bottom panel (30.1 to 30.4, 32) being secured to the frame. ssis (28) and having a rigid grid (33, 35) formed of rigid son. As the container is only made of round section elements, it can be cleaned more efficiently.

Description

CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORTING ANIMALS AND STACK OF CONTAINER CONTAINERS

The present application relates to a container for transporting animals and to a stack of stacked containers.

According to a known embodiment visible in FIG. 1, a poultry transport cage 10 has a parallelepiped shape and comprises six panels, namely four side panels 12.1 to 12.4, a bottom panel 14 and a top panel 16.

This cage 10 is made of plastic to reduce its mass and each panel is perforated and ribbed to guarantee a certain rigidity. Thus, these cages 10 can be stacked on top of each other so as to form a stack. The bottom and top panels 14, 16 have complementary shapes for immobilizing the cages in a horizontal plane when they are stacked.

To allow the cages to be filled, one of the side panels 12.1 comprises a first rectangular opening closed by a first pivoting door 18. The top panel 16 also includes a second rectangular opening closed by a second pivoting door 20.

Even if they are practical to handle, these cages 10 are not fully satisfactory because they are difficult to clean due to the presence of numerous recesses at the level of which dirt remains. However, it is desirable that these poultry transport cages are perfectly cleaned to avoid the proliferation of pathogenic germs between the different production sites.

The present invention aims to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a container for transporting animals, said container having the shape of a parallelepiped and having four lateral faces, a lower face and an upper face, said container comprising a frame, four lateral panels covering the side faces of the container and a bottom panel covering the underside of the container, each side or bottom panel being secured to the chassis and comprising a rigid grid formed of rigid wires, the chassis comprising an upper frame positioned at the level of the upper face container and formed from a rigid wire, a lower frame positioned at the bottom face of the container, the lower and upper frames being dimensioned so that the lower frame is wedged inside the upper frame when two containers are stacked, characterized in that the chassis comprises at least one upper reinforcement, connecting two opposite sides of the upper frame, in the form of a rigid wire placed under the upper frame.

According to the invention, the container is made from elements of circular section and does not include any corner which is difficult to clean. This design provides more efficient cleaning

This solution makes it possible to immobilize the containers relative to one another when they are stacked.

Other characteristics and advantages will emerge from the description of the invention which follows, description given by way of example only, with reference to the appended drawings among which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a poultry transport cage according to an embodiment of the prior art,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stack of containers according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carriage of a stack of containers which illustrates an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 4 is a top view of the carriage visible in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a container which illustrates an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 6 is a side view of the container visible in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a front view of the container visible in FIG. 5,

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of an area VIII of FIG. 5,

FIG. 9 is a detailed view of an area IX of FIG. 5,

FIG. 10 is a detailed view of an area X of FIG. 5,

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of an area XI of FIG. 5,

FIG. 12 is a detail view which illustrates a first part of a locking system according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 13 is a detail view which illustrates a second part of the locking system visible in FIG. 12,

FIG. 14 is a detailed view which illustrates a system for guiding the second part of the locking system visible in FIG. 13,

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a chassis of a container which illustrates an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 16 is a top view of an angle of the chassis visible in FIG. 15,

FIG. 17 is a side view of the angle of the chassis visible in FIG. 16,

FIG. 18 is a top view of a top panel which illustrates an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of part of a container fitted with a locking system which illustrates a second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 20 is a perspective view illustrating in detail an area of the part of the container visible in FIG. 19,

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the locking system visible in FIG. 19 from the outside of the container,

FIG. 22 is a cross section of the lower part of a container which illustrates another embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 23 is a side view of an upper part of a container which illustrates another embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 24 is a cross section of the lower part of a container which illustrates another embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 25 is a side view of the lower part of the container visible in FIG. 24.

In Figures 2 and 5, there is shown a container 22 more particularly suitable for transporting ducks. However, the invention is not limited to palmipeds and can be used to transport all types of animals.

In FIG. 2, seven containers 22.1 to 22.7 are stacked on a carriage 24 so as to form a stack 26.

Each container 22 is parallelepiped and has four lateral faces, an upper face and a lower face. By way of example only, the cages 22 have a height of the order of 200 to 250 mm, a width of the order of 600 mm and a length of the order of

800 mm.

For the remainder of the description, a longitudinal direction is horizontal and parallel to the longest side of the parallelepiped, a transverse and horizontal direction and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

The term “wire” is understood to mean an elongate element of round section or several elongate elements of round section placed end to end, of great length relative to their section.

According to an embodiment visible in FIG. 5, each container 22 comprises a frame 28 (visible in FIG. 15) formed of rigid wires, positioned at the edges of a parallelepiped, and five panels, namely four side panels, front 30.1, rear 30.2, right 30.3 and left 30.4 covering the side faces of the container and a bottom panel 32 covering the bottom face of the container, each panel 30.1 to 30.4 and 32 being secured to the frame 28 and comprising a rigid grid 33, 35 formed of rigid wires.

Thus, according to a feature of the invention, the container 22 does not include any panel at its upper face which is open.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a first container 22.1 is closed only if a second container 22.2 is superimposed on the first container 22.1, the bottom panel 32 of the second container 22.2 closing the first container 22.1 so as to form a cage.

To close the container 22.7 from the top of the stack 26 (the highest), a top panel 34 is secured to the chassis 28 of the container 22.7. This top panel 34 comprises a rigid grid 36 formed of rigid wires and a frame 38 formed of at least one rigid wire.

According to an essential advantage provided by the invention, all the elements forming the container have round sections, which makes it possible to avoid the presence of corners. Thus, the container of the invention can be effectively cleaned, which limits the presence of soiling after cleaning and ultimately the proliferation of pathogenic germs from one site to another.

According to one embodiment, the frame 28 and the various panels 30.1 to 30.4, 32 and 34 are metallic, for example made of stainless steel.

The top panel 34 can be permanently connected to the frame 28, like the other panels 30.1 to 30.4 and 32, or can be temporarily connected to the rest of the container 22, for example using plastic cable ties. This last mode of connection makes it possible to produce only one type of container without a top panel.

Thus, certain containers 22 can be converted into a container 22.7 from above (intended to be positioned in the last position on a stack) by securing a top panel 34.

According to an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15, the chassis 28 comprises an upper frame 40 positioned at the level of the upper face of the container, a lower frame 42 positioned at the level of the underside of the container and at least four uprights 44 positioned at level of the vertical edges of the container and connecting the upper and lower frames 40 and 42.

The upper frame 40 is formed from a rigid wire, folded so as to form a rectangle with rounded angles, the ends of the wire being welded so as to close the rectangle. According to one embodiment, the rigid wire has a diameter of the order of 8 mm.

According to a first embodiment, the lower frame 42 is formed from a rigid wire, folded so as to form a rectangle with rounded angles, the ends of the wire being welded so as to close the rectangle. According to this first embodiment, the rigid wire has a diameter of the order of 7 mm.

According to a feature of the invention visible in Figure 16, the lower and upper frames 40 and 42 are dimensioned so that the lower frame 42 is wedged inside the upper frame 40 when two containers are stacked. To this end, the lower frame 42 comprises an external generator 42Ext substantially equal to an internal generator 40lnt of the upper frame 40. Thus, when two containers are superimposed, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the lower frame 42 is disposed between a first plane PI, approximately horizontal, passing through the upper generator of the upper frame 40 and a second plane P2, approximately horizontal, passing through the lower generator of the upper frame 40. This configuration makes it possible to obtain immobilization in a horizontal plane of the superimposed containers.

According to another particular feature, the wire of the lower frame 42 has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the upper frame 40. This configuration contributes to improving the setting of two superimposed containers.

According to a second embodiment visible in FIG. 22, the lower frame 42 is obtained from a long element with a rectangular cross section which has a height H substantially equal to twice its width la, this long element is folded and welded so as to form a rectangular lower frame 42.

According to a third embodiment visible in Figures 24 and 25, the lower frame 42 comprises two son 42.1, 42.2 superimposed. Each of the two wires 42.1, 42.2 has a section approximately identical to that of the wire of the lower frame 42 of the first embodiment. The two wires 42.1 and 42.2 each describe a rectangular frame when viewed from above. The first wire 42.1 is connected to the uprights 44 and supports the bottom panel 32. The second wire 42.2 alternately comprises first sections Tl spaced from the first wire 42.1 and second sections T2 connected to the first wire 42.1, for example by welding , the first and second sections T1 and T2 being connected by third curved sections T3.

According to the second and third embodiments, the lower frame 42 has a height H greater than or equal to 1.5 times the diameter of the wire of the upper frame 40, preferably greater than or equal to 2 times the diameter of the wire of the upper frame 40 .

The second and third embodiments make it possible to improve the timing of two stacked containers and reinforce the stability of a stack of containers.

According to a configuration visible in detail in FIG. 17, each upright 44 is in the form of a rigid wire which has a rectilinear central section 44.0, a first rectilinear end section 44.1, in the extension of the central section 44.0, connected (by welding for example) to the upper frame 40 and a second end section 44.2, bent at 90 °, connected (by welding for example) to the lower frame 42.

The uprights 44 are arranged at each vertical edge of the container 22. The central section 44.0 and the first end section 44.1 are arranged under the upper frame 40, the first end section 44.1 being abutted against the lower generatrix of the frame upper 40. The second end section 44.2 is oriented towards the center of the container and rests on the lower frame 42.

When two containers are superimposed on each other, the upper frame 40 of the lower container bears against the second end sections 44.2 of the uprights 44 of the upper container.

According to one embodiment, the rigid wire forming each upright 44 has a diameter of the order of 7 mm.

To stiffen the container 22, the chassis 28 comprises at least one lower reinforcement 46 connecting two opposite sides of the lower frame 42. Each lower reinforcement 46 is in the form of a rigid wire arranged in the same plane as the lower frame 42, each end of the lower reinforcement 46 being abutted to the lower frame 42. According to one configuration, each lower reinforcement 46 is oriented in the longitudinal direction and connects two short sides of the lower frame 42. In the presence of several lower reinforcements 46, the latter are parallel between them and regularly distributed between the long sides of the lower frame 42.

By way of example, the chassis 28 visible in FIG. 15 comprises two lower reinforcements 46. The rigid wire forming each lower reinforcement 46 has a diameter of the order of 7 mm.

In addition, to prevent the upper frame 40 from deforming and not centering a lower frame 42 of another container, the frame 28 comprises at least one upper reinforcement 48 connecting two opposite sides of the upper frame 40 Each upper reinforcement 48 is in the form of a rigid wire, placed under the upper frame 40, as illustrated in FIG. 10, in order to allow a lower frame 42 of another container to be centered at the inside the upper frame 40. According to one configuration, each upper reinforcement 48 is oriented in the transverse direction and connects two long sides of the upper frame 40. In the presence of several upper reinforcements 48, the latter are parallel to each other and regularly distributed among the small sides of upper frame 40.

In the case of the second and third embodiments, each upper reinforcement 48 comprises ends 48.1 bent upwards and connected to the upper frame 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 22 to 24. Thus, the central part of the upper reinforcement 48 is offset down relative to the upper frame 40 to allow the lower frame 42 to be housed in a container positioned above. According to one embodiment, the end

48.1 comprises a vertical portion which has a terminal face connected to the upper frame 40, as illustrated in FIG. 22. According to another embodiment, the end 48.1 comprises a first vertical portion PI and a second portion P2 parallel to the upper frame and connected to the latter by a weld for example.

By way of example, the chassis 28 visible in FIG. 15 comprises two upper reinforcements 48. The rigid wire forming each upper reinforcement 48 has a diameter of the order of 7 mm.

The upper reinforcements 48 must be sufficiently spaced to allow a duck to be extracted from the container 22 by passing it between two upper reinforcements 48 or between an upper reinforcement 48 and the upper frame 40.

The container 22 comprises at least one side panel 30.1 movable between a closed position in which it is positioned in the same plane as two uprights 44, 44 'of a face of the container and an open position in which it is spaced at least one of the uprights 44 '. Thus, the movable side panel 30.1 forms a door.

According to one configuration, the side panel 30.1 is connected to one of the uprights 44 by a hinge type hinge 50, so as to allow the movable side panel 30.1 to pivot relative to the upright 44.

According to one embodiment, the movable side panel 30.1 comprises a frame 52 which extends around the entire periphery of the panel and a grid 54 which covers substantially the entire movable side panel 30.1. The frame 52 has an approximately rectangular shape and comprises first and second uprights 56, 56 'and at least two upper and lower crosspieces 58, 58'.

The first upright 56 of the frame 52 is attached to the upright 44 of the chassis 28 and connected to the latter by the joint 50. The latter has at least two jumpers 60, 60 ′ in the shape of a U with a round section. Each jumper is arranged in an approximately horizontal plane, the branches of the U being connected to the upright 44 of the frame 28 and its base being spaced from said upright 44 of the frame 28 so as to accommodate the first upright 56 of the frame 52 of the movable side panel 30.1. By way of example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the pivoting link 50 includes three jumpers 60, 60 'and 60 ”. Of course, the invention is not limited to this embodiment for obtaining the articulation 50 between the movable side panel 30.1 and the chassis 28. Other solutions could be envisaged for the articulation 50.

The container 22 includes a locking system 62 to hold the side panel

30.1 movable in the closed position.

This locking system 62 comprises a first part 62.1 secured to the movable side panel 30.1, more particularly to its second upright 56 ′, and a second part 62.2 secured to a fixed side panel 30.2 or to the chassis 28, which cooperates with the first part 62.1.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the first part 62.1 comprises a U-shaped hook 64 positioned in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the movable side panel 30.1 and oriented towards the interior of the container when the movable side panel 30.1 is in the closed position. According to one embodiment, the grip 64 is obtained from a rigid wire, bent in a U, which has a base 64.1 and two ends 64.2 butted and welded to the second upright 56 'of the movable side panel 30.1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 21, the second part 62.2 comprises a hook 66 obtained from a rigid wire which has a first straight section 68, approximately horizontal, pressed and connected against the side panel 30.2 and a second folded section 70 zigzagging along three segments 70.1 to 70.3 positioned in a substantially horizontal plane, the free end of which is oriented towards the movable side panel 30.1.

According to a first embodiment visible in Figure 12, the first section 68 is pressed against the inner face of the side panel 30.2 and connected to the latter by welding points.

According to a second embodiment visible in FIG. 21, the first section 68 is pressed against the outer face of the side panel 30.2 and connected to the latter by welding points 88, the second section 70 passing through the side panel 30.2 to be positioned inside the container and to cooperate with the grip 64. This second embodiment contributes to limiting the risks of untimely openings of the movable panel 30.1 by animals by increasing the stiffness of the hook 66.

To strengthen the connection between the first section 68 and the side panel 30.2, the first section 68 comprises an end 90, opposite the second section 70, folded in C and pressed and welded against the side panel 30.2.

The second section 70 has a first point 72.1, formed by the junction of the first and second segments 70.1 and 70.2 (closest to the first section 68) and oriented towards the interior of the container, as well as a second point 72.2 formed by the junction of the second and third segments 70.2 and 70.3 and oriented towards the outside of the container and positioned at the level of the side panel 30.2. The second tip 72.2 is configured to cooperate with the grip 64. The free end of the third segment 70.3 is offset towards the interior of the container relative to the side panel 30.2.

The hook 66 is obtained from a rigid wire, of diameter 4 mm, bent so as to obtain the first and second sections 68, 70. The mechanical and geometric characteristics of the hook 66 are configured so as to limit the risks of inadvertent opening of the mobile panel 30.1 by animals and not allowing the mobile panel to open

30.1 only through human action.

In operation, when the movable side panel 30.1 passes from the open position to the closed position, when approaching the closed position, the base 64.1 of the hook 64 comes into contact with the third segment 70.3 of the hook 66. Given of the orientation of this third segment 70.3, the base 64.1 of the grip 64 resiliently deforms the second section 70 by spreading the second tip 72.2 from the side panel 30.2. When the base 64.1 of the grip 64 has passed the second tip 72.2, the hook 66 returns to the initial non-deformed position. In this position, the second point 72.2 of the hook 66 retains the base 64.1 of the hook 64 and keeps the side panel 30.1 movable in the closed position.

The hook 66 is configured to hold the base 64.1 of the hook 64 as long as an opening force, exerted on the movable side panel 30.1 and / or on the segment 70.3, does not exceed a certain threshold. Thus to open the side panel 30.1, an operator must grasp the movable panel 30.1 near the second upright 56 'and the third segment 70.3, then push on the latter so as to move it away from the second upright 56' in order to take out the second tip 72.2 of the grip 64 and finally pull on the side panel 30.1 so as to rotate it and open it.

Advantageously, the container 22 comprises a guide system 74 for guiding the grip 64. According to an embodiment visible in FIG. 14, this guide system 74 comprises a rigid wire, folded in the shape of a U, which has a vertical base 74.1 and two horizontal branches 74.2 connected to the upright 44 'of the frame 28. The branches 74.2 are spaced by a distance substantially equal to the height H of the hook and the base 74.1 is spaced from the upright 44' of the frame 28 by distance allowing the insertion of the hook 64 between the base 74.1 and the upright 44 '.

The branches 74.2 are fixed against the generator of the upright 44 'oriented towards the side panel 30.2 and they are curved so that the upright 44', the branches 74.2 and the base 74.1 form a housing for the upright 56 'of the frame 52 side panel 30.1 movable.

The movable side panel 30.1 may include an intermediate horizontal cross member 76 to reinforce it.

According to a characteristic of the invention, the container 22 comprises, at two opposite side panels, openings 78 which are dimensioned to allow the passage of grippers of an automatic container unstacking machine.

According to one configuration, openings 78 are provided at the movable side panel 30.1 and at the opposite fixed side panel 30.3. They are centered relative to the upper edge of each of said panels 30.1 and 30.3.

According to one embodiment, the upper crosspiece 58 of the frame 52 of the movable side panel 30.1 comprises a U-shaped recess and the periphery of the grid 54 follows the profile of the frame 52.

The grid 33 of the fixed side panel 30.3 includes a cutout so that the grid 33 and the upper frame 40 delimit the opening 78. To give an order of magnitude, each cutout 78 is rectangular, has a length of about 170 mm and a height of the order of 50 mm.

According to another characteristic, the container 22 comprises at least one marking plate 80. According to one configuration, the container 22 comprises two marking plates 80, a first positioned on the movable side panel 30.1 and a second on the opposite fixed side panel 30.3 . To give an order of magnitude, each locating plate 80 has a width of the order of 20 mm and a length of the order of 200 mm and is oriented vertically.

According to one embodiment, each grid 33, 35 (with the exception of the grid of the movable side panel 30.1) comprises a first series of wires oriented in a first direction and a second series of wires oriented in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. For side panels 30.2 to 30.4, the wires are oriented vertically and horizontally. For the bottom panel 32, the wires are oriented longitudinally and transversely.

According to one embodiment, the wires of the grids 33, 35, 54 have a diameter of the order of 3.5 mm.

The grids 33 of the fixed side panels 30.2 to 30.4 have the same meshes.

The grid 54 of the movable side panel 30.1 comprises only vertical wires.

The grid 35 of the bottom panel 32 is placed on the lower frame 42, the wires of the grid 35 being arranged in the extension of the wires of the grids 33 of the side panels 30.2 to 30.4.

According to one embodiment, the carriage 24 comprises a frame 82 which is dimensioned so as to immobilize in a horizontal plane the first container of the stack 24.

This frame 82 includes four corner reinforcements 84 on which the containers 22.1 to 22.7 are superposed. According to one embodiment, each corner reinforcement 84 is in the form of a horizontal plate.

The carriage 24 includes four idler wheels 86 each pivoted about a vertical pivot axis A86. The pivot axes A86 are closest to the corners of the frame 82 to reinforce the stability of the stack of containers 22.1 to 22.7.

Claims (10)

1. Container for transporting animals, said container having the shape of a parallelepiped and having four side faces, a bottom face and an upper face, said container comprising a frame (28), four side panels (30.1, 30.2, 30.3 30.4 ) covering the side faces of the container and a bottom panel (32) covering the underside of the container, each side or bottom panel (30.1 to 30.4, 32) being secured to the frame (28) and comprising a grid (33, 35 ) rigid formed of rigid wires, the chassis (28) comprising an upper frame (40) positioned at the upper face of the container and formed from a rigid wire, a lower frame (42) positioned at the face bottom of the container, the lower and upper frames (40, 42) being dimensioned so that the lower frame (42) is wedged inside the upper frame (40) when two containers are stacked, characterized in that the frame (28) comprises at least one upper reinforcement (48), connecting two opposite sides of the upper frame (40), in the form of a rigid wire arranged under the upper frame (40). 2. Container for transporting animals according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower frame (42) has a height H greater than or equal to 1.5 times the diameter of the wire of the upper frame (40), preferably greater or equal to 2 times the diameter of the upper frame wire (40). 3. Container for the transport of animals according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lower frame (42) comprises two son (42.1, 42.2) superimposed. 4. Container for transporting animals according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lower frame (42) comprises a first wire (42.1) and a second wire (42.2) which alternately comprises, first sections (Tl) spaced from the first wire (42.1) and from the second sections (T2) connected to the first wire (42.1), the first and second sections (Tl, T2) being connected by third curved sections (T3). 5. Container for the transport of animals according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each upper reinforcement (48) comprises ends (48.1) curved upwards and connected to the upper frame (40) so that the central part upper reinforcement (48) is offset downward relative to the upper frame (40) to allow housing the lower frame (42) of a container positioned above. 6. Container for transporting animals according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame (28) comprises at least four uprights (44) connecting the lower and upper frames (40, 42), each upright (44 ) being a rigid wire which has a straight central section (44.0), a first straight end section (44.1), in the extension of the central section (44.0), connected to the upper frame (40) and a second end section (44.2) bent at 90 ° connected to the lower frame (42), the central section (44.0) and the first end section (44.1) being arranged under the upper frame (40), the first end section (44.1) being abutted against the lower generatrix of the upper frame (40), the second end section (44.2) being oriented towards the center of the container and resting on the lower frame (42). 7. Container for transporting animals according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one side panel (30.1) connected to one of the uprights (44) of the chassis (28) by a hinge (50) hinge type so as to allow the movable side panel (30.1) to pivot relative to the upright (44) between a closed position in which it is positioned in the same plane as two uprights (44, 44 ') of the chassis (28) and an open position in which it is separated by at least one of the uprights (44 ') and in that it comprises a locking system (62) for holding the movable side panel (30.1) in the closed position. 8. Container for transporting animals according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the locking system (62) comprises: an attachment (64) positioned in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the movable side panel (30.1) and oriented towards the interior of the container when the movable side panel (30.1) is in the closed position, said attachment (64) being obtained from a rigid wire, bent in a U, which has a base (64.1) and two ends (64.2) abutted and welded to the second upright (56 ') of the movable side panel (30.1), and a hook (66) obtained from a rigid wire which has a first straight section (68), connected against the outside face of a side panel (30.2), and a second section (70) bent in a zigzag according to three segments (70.1 to 70.3), having a first point (72.1) formed by the junction of the first and second segments (70.1, 70.2) and oriented towards the interior of the container as well as a second point (72.2) formed by the junction of the second and third segments (70.2, 70.3), oriented towards the outside of the container ant and positioned at the side panel (30.2) and configured to cooperate with the hook (64) so as to keep the side panel (30.1) movable in the closed position. 9. Container for the transport of animals according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises a guide system (74) for guiding the grip (64). 10. Stack comprising several containers according to one of the preceding claims stacked on each other, the top container comprising a top panel (34).