GB1596707A

GB1596707A - Apparatus for assisting in the birth of domestic animals

Info

Publication number: GB1596707A
Application number: GB16699/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-05-02
Filing date: 1978-04-25
Publication date: 1981-08-26
Also published as: FR2389367B1; IE39772L; FR2389367A1; DE2819169A1; IE39772B1; ZA782322B; NZ187120A; AU523612B2; AU3559378A

Description

(54) APPARATUS FOR ASSISTING IN THE BIRTH OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS (71) I, VINCENT JAMES KILMAK TIN, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, of "Sol Vista", Kinnegad, County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a Patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to an obstetric device for use in assisting in the birth of animals, in particular for assisting in the birth of calves.

It is frequently necessary to assist an animal in giving birth to its young by pulling on the forelegs of the nascent offspring. This is particularly so in the case of cattle where either the mother is debilitated or the calf is exceptionally large. A number of birth assisting devices are mown. For example, Britsh patent Specifications Nos. 916,239 and 1,434,994 describe an obstetric device for livestock comprising a support member which is placed against the body of the mother, and having a tube connected thereto. Leg slings are attached to the forelegs of the calf being delivered and the ends of the slings are attached to hooks which are mechanically displaced along the tubes by a tension lever to alternately tension the slings.One disadvantage of using a ratchet rnechanism, such as described in the aforesaid specifications, for pulling the slings is that the tension in the slings cannot be readily varied at will and the operator is unable to sense the tension being exerted on the calf, and as a result injury may be caused to the cow or calf. Obstetric apparatus in which there is a minimum interference with the operator's tactile sense is described in British Patent Specification No. 902,698. This appliance comprises a framework having an abutment at one end of the frame portion which seats against the rear of the cow and which is shaped to permit passage of the calf therethrough, and a single crank and axle at the other end of the frame to apply tension to a delivery sling.The disadvantage of this appliance is that it is not possible to apply separate tension through the slings to each of the forelegs of the calf, which is usually necessary in the early stages of calving in order to ease one foreleg in front of the other.

Furthermore, the particular construction of the framework described in British Patent Specification No. 902,698 would tend to obstruct the delivery of the calf.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforesaid disadvantages and to provide a simple obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals in which tension can be applied independently to each of the forelegs of the offspring being delivered.

According to the invention an obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals comprises: a) an end frame to which is attached a longitudinal frame member extending rearwardly and perpendicularly away from the end frame, and in which the frame has a top portion, a bottom portion and two side portions which define an aperture through which the nascent offspring may be delivered, a pair of limbs each of which is rigidly connected to an opposite side portion, said pair of limbs lying in a plane which is normal to the plane of the end frame and said limbs converging rearwardly of said end frame in the general direction of the longitudinal frame member and being rigidly connected thereto, the arrangement being such that when the device is in use the end frame is adapted to abut the pelvis of the dam with the top frame portion positioned above the tail of the dam, b) a pair of winding drums rotatably mounted on an axle or axles located at the end of the longitudinal frame remote from the end frame and which extend transversely of said longitudinal frame in a plane parallel to the plane of the end frame, each winding drum being rotatable independently of the other, c) a delivery rope attached by one end to, and adapted for winding up on each of said winding drums the other end of each delivery rope being provided with means for attaching the rope to the forelegs of the nascent offspring, and d) a handle located to each outer side of, and spaced from, the longitudinal frame mem ber and connected to each winding drum, by means of which each drum can be manually rotated idependently of the other to apply separate tension to each delivery rope.

The end-frame may be of rectangular, circular or oval shape. Advantageously the winding drums may each be provided with a brake, or a suitable non-return mechanism, which may be engaged, if desired, to prevent loss of tension in one or both of the delivery ropes.

Some embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of obstetric device according to the invention; Figure 2 is an elevation in the direction of the arrows A of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detailed view of the winding drums and the device of Figure 1; Figure 5 shows an alternative form of nonreturn mechanism for use with the winding drum of Figure 1; and Figure 6 is a plan view of a second embodiment of an obstetric device according to the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, an obstetric device for use in assisting in the birth of animals comprises an end frame 1 which defines a delivery aperture 2. The endframe 1 is connected by a longitudinal frame member 3 to traction means 4. lhe end-frame 1 is of substantially square shape having curved corners and is comprised of two side portions 5, 6, a top portion 7 and a bottom portion 8.

The longitudinal frame member 3 is sub stan- tially Y-shaped, and the shorter limbs 9, 10 of the member are rigidly attached to the side portions 5, 6 respectively of the end-frame 1, at positions on the side portions 5, 6 below their mid-points. Thus, when the device is held horizontally, the greater part of the delivery aperture 2 is positioned above the longitudinal frame member 3. This ensures minimum obstruction of the delivery aperture.

The traction means 4 is shown in greater detail in Figure 4. The longitudinal frame member 3, at the end remote from the endframe 1 is T-shaped and tubular drums, 11, 12 are rotatably mounted on the short arms 13, 14 respectively of the T which act as axles. For the sake of clarity only one of the drums is shown in position in Figure 4, the other being removed to show the axle 14. Each of the drums 11, 12 is provided with annular flanges 15, 16 at each end thereof. Each flange 15 is welded or otherwise secured to a handle 17 by means of which each drum 11, 12 may be manually rotated on its respective axle. The ends of each handle 17 is preferably provided with a rubber grip 18.

The outer ends 19 of the axles 13, 14 are screw-threaded to each receive a locking nut 20 which is provided with a suitable handle 21. Rotation of the locking nut forces the face of the flange 16 against an annular bearing face 22 on a collar 23 welded to the end of the longitudinal frame member 3, thus retard ing or preventing rotation of the drum 11, 12.

In using the device, the end frame 1 is placed against the pelvis of the cow, with the top frame portion 7 positioned above the cow's tail. The cow may be standing or sitting during delivery of the calf and the device may be used in either position. In a normal delivery the calf emerges through the pelvic opening in a dorsal position, that is with the two forelegs stretched out in front with the head and neck extended on top of them. A delivery rope 24 (see Figure 3) is looped on to each of the forelegs of the calf and the ropes are brought back through the delivery opening 2 of the end-frame 1 and the end of each rope is secured to a hook or spigot (not shown) on a respective winding drum 12, 13.

The ropes are wound up on their respective winding drums, by turning the handle 17, to apply tension on the calf's legs. The tension in the ropes causes the end-frame 1 to abut firmly against the cow's pelvic girdle. As delivery commences each leg is pulled alternately as the cow strains, by rotating the respective winding drum, so that one of the forelegs of the calf emerges in front of the other.

Normally, the head will move with the forelegs but in some cases the head may lag behind, and one or other of the delivery ropes 24 may have to be slackened so that the calf's head is brought into the correct position. In other cases one or both of the forelegs may be bent backwards and these will be required to be straightened and then eased gently over the pelvic brim of the cow. In cases such as these the device of the invention offers an important advantage over known obstetric appliances because the operator can feel any obstructions and because of the provision of independently rotatable winding drums he is able to apply different tensions to each of the forelegs of the calf to ensure that it emerges in a correct position. In the later stages of delivery, after the calf's eyes appear at the cow's vagina, the calf should be pulled more quickly and evenly, and at this stage and two winding drums may be rotated in unison. In a modification of the traction means 4 a coupling device (not shown) may be provided for coupling the drums 11, 12 when it is desired to rotate them in unison. In cases where no difficulties or obstructions arise it may be possible to deliver the calf using one winding drum only and this is particularly the case where the cow is lying on her side during calving. In this situation the device can be rested on its side on the ground and the uppermost winding drum only is rotated.In the later stages of calving when the calf is being delivered more quickly the two delivery ropes may be wound up on the single upper- most winding drum and, if necessary, extra leverage is obtained by increasing the length of the handle 17.

In the modification of the invention shown to an enlarged scale in Figure 5, the lock nuts 20 are replaced by a pawl and ratchet arrangement which can be used throughout the calving procedure but which is particularly suitable for use at the later stage of delivery when the calf is being pulled rather quickly. The pawl and ratchet arrangement prevents returnmovement of the drum. In this arrangement each arm 17, for revolving the drums 11, 12, is formed with a cylindrical housing 25, which receives an end 26 of one of the axles 13, 14. The interior of the annular wall of the housing 25 is formed with ratchet teeth 27.

The end 26 of the axle contains a springloaded pawl 28 which can be tumbled by a lever (not shown) into a position in which teeth 29 on the pawl engage with the ratchet teeth 27 to permit rotation of the winding drum in one direction only. In the other position of the pawl the teeth 29 are recessed below the bearing surface 26a of the axle and are not of engagement with the ratchet teeth 27 thus permitting the winding drum to rotate freely in either direction.

Thus, in the early stages of calving the pawl 28 is disengaged from the ratchet teeth 27 to permit free movement of the winding drums in both directions and to enable the operator to sense and quickly react to any difficulties occuring in the delivering of the calf. How ever, in the later stages of calving when the calf must be pulled more quickly the pawl 2X can be tumbled into the engaged position to prevent return movement of the winding drums. It will be appreciated that the pawl and ratchet arrangement described is similar to that commonly used in ratchet wrenches.

The end-frame 1, longitudinal frame mem ber 3, winding drums 11, 12 and handles 17 may be made for tubular steel and the parts welded together. Alternatively, in order to keep the device as light as possible the components may be made from aluminium or other light weight material. It will be appreciated that the frame member 3 does not have to take the exact shape shown in Figures 1 and 3, and alterations in the shape and construction of the frame may be made within the scope of the invention.

As shown at 30 in Figure 1, the Y-shaped longitudinal member 3 may be made from two interfitting parts to enable the device to be dismantled for carriage purposes. Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the longitudinal frame member 3 is telescopic and is adjustable in length. Furthermore, the winding drums 11, 12 are provided with brakes in the form of screws 31 threaded in bosses in the drums, and the ends of the screws may be adjusted to frictionally engage with the axles 13, 14. Apart from these modifications, the embodiment of Figure 6 is similar to that of Figure 1 and like parts are identified by like reference numbers.

Although the device of the invention has been described in relation to cattle, it is not restricted for use therewith and is suitable for use with other animals, for example horses.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. An obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals comprising: a) an end frame to which is attached a longitudinal frame member extending rearwardly and perpendicularly away from the end frame, and in which the frame has a top portion, a bottom portion and two side portions which define an aperture through which the nascent offspring may be delivered, a pair of limbs each of which is rigidly connected to an opposite side portion, said pair of limbs lying in a plane which is normal to the plane of the end frame and said limbs converging rearwardly of said end frame in the general direction of the longitudinal frame member and being rigidly connected thereto, the arrangement being such that when the device is in use the end frame is adapted to abut the pelvis of the dam with the top frame portion positioned above the tail of the dam, b) a pair of winding drums rotatably mounted on an axle or axles located at the end of the longitudinal frame remote from the end frame and which extend transversely of said longitudinal frame in a plane parallel to the plane of the end frame, each winding drum being rotatable independently of the other, c) a delivery rope attached by one end to, and adapted for winding up on each of said winding drums the other end of each delivery rope being provided with means for attaching the rope to the forelegs of the nascent offspring, and d) a handle located to each outer side of, and spaced from, the longitudinal frame member and connected to each winding drum, by means of which each drum can be manually rotated independently of the other to apply separate tension to each delivery rope.

2. An obstetric device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the rearwardly converging limbs form a substantially U-shaped or V-shaped member connected to the longitudinal frame member.

3. An obstetric device as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the longitudinal frame member is substantially Y-shaped with the shorter limbs of the Y-shaped portion forming said rearwardly converging limbs.

4. An obstetric device as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the rearwardly converging limbs are each rigdly connected to a respective side portion of the end frame

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. being delivered more quickly the two delivery ropes may be wound up on the single upper- most winding drum and, if necessary, extra leverage is obtained by increasing the length of the handle 17. In the modification of the invention shown to an enlarged scale in Figure 5, the lock nuts 20 are replaced by a pawl and ratchet arrangement which can be used throughout the calving procedure but which is particularly suitable for use at the later stage of delivery when the calf is being pulled rather quickly. The pawl and ratchet arrangement prevents returnmovement of the drum. In this arrangement each arm 17, for revolving the drums 11, 12, is formed with a cylindrical housing 25, which receives an end 26 of one of the axles 13, 14. The interior of the annular wall of the housing 25 is formed with ratchet teeth 27. The end 26 of the axle contains a springloaded pawl 28 which can be tumbled by a lever (not shown) into a position in which teeth 29 on the pawl engage with the ratchet teeth 27 to permit rotation of the winding drum in one direction only. In the other position of the pawl the teeth 29 are recessed below the bearing surface 26a of the axle and are not of engagement with the ratchet teeth 27 thus permitting the winding drum to rotate freely in either direction. Thus, in the early stages of calving the pawl 28 is disengaged from the ratchet teeth 27 to permit free movement of the winding drums in both directions and to enable the operator to sense and quickly react to any difficulties occuring in the delivering of the calf. How ever, in the later stages of calving when the calf must be pulled more quickly the pawl 2X can be tumbled into the engaged position to prevent return movement of the winding drums. It will be appreciated that the pawl and ratchet arrangement described is similar to that commonly used in ratchet wrenches. The end-frame 1, longitudinal frame mem ber 3, winding drums 11, 12 and handles 17 may be made for tubular steel and the parts welded together. Alternatively, in order to keep the device as light as possible the components may be made from aluminium or other light weight material. It will be appreciated that the frame member 3 does not have to take the exact shape shown in Figures 1 and 3, and alterations in the shape and construction of the frame may be made within the scope of the invention. As shown at 30 in Figure 1, the Y-shaped longitudinal member 3 may be made from two interfitting parts to enable the device to be dismantled for carriage purposes. Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the longitudinal frame member 3 is telescopic and is adjustable in length. Furthermore, the winding drums 11, 12 are provided with brakes in the form of screws 31 threaded in bosses in the drums, and the ends of the screws may be adjusted to frictionally engage with the axles 13, 14. Apart from these modifications, the embodiment of Figure 6 is similar to that of Figure 1 and like parts are identified by like reference numbers. Although the device of the invention has been described in relation to cattle, it is not restricted for use therewith and is suitable for use with other animals, for example horses. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. An obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals comprising: a) an end frame to which is attached a longitudinal frame member extending rearwardly and perpendicularly away from the end frame, and in which the frame has a top portion, a bottom portion and two side portions which define an aperture through which the nascent offspring may be delivered, a pair of limbs each of which is rigidly connected to an opposite side portion, said pair of limbs lying in a plane which is normal to the plane of the end frame and said limbs converging rearwardly of said end frame in the general direction of the longitudinal frame member and being rigidly connected thereto, the arrangement being such that when the device is in use the end frame is adapted to abut the pelvis of the dam with the top frame portion positioned above the tail of the dam, b) a pair of winding drums rotatably mounted on an axle or axles located at the end of the longitudinal frame remote from the end frame and which extend transversely of said longitudinal frame in a plane parallel to the plane of the end frame, each winding drum being rotatable independently of the other, c) a delivery rope attached by one end to, and adapted for winding up on each of said winding drums the other end of each delivery rope being provided with means for attaching the rope to the forelegs of the nascent offspring, and d) a handle located to each outer side of, and spaced from, the longitudinal frame member and connected to each winding drum, by means of which each drum can be manually rotated independently of the other to apply separate tension to each delivery rope.

at positions on the side portions below their mid points such that the greater part but not all of the delivery aperture is positioned above said limbs.

5. An obstetric device according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the winding drums are each provided with a brake, or a suitable non-return mechanism which may be engaged when desired to prevent loss of tension in one or both of the delivery ropes.

6. An obstetric device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the outer ends of the axles are screw-threaded to each receive a locking nut by means of which rotation of the winding drum may be retarded or prevented.

7. An obstetric device according to Claim 1, characterised in that an inner bearing surface of each winding drum is provided with ratchet teeth which are adapted to engage with complementary teeth on a pawl which is located on the axle, the pawl being movable from a position in which the pawl teeth are disengaged from the ratchet teeth enabling the winding drums to rotate freely in both directions, to a position in which the pawl teeth are engaged with the ratchet teeth to permit rotation of the winding drums in one direction only.

8. An obstetric device according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the longitudinal frame member may be dismantled into at least two parts.

9. An obstetric device according to Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the longitudinal frame member is telescopic.

10. An obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

11. An obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.

12. An obstetric device for assisting in the birth of animals substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.