GB2113519A - Bucket holder - Google Patents

Abstract

A bucket holder for removably mounting a bucket on a gate, sheep hurdle or similar barred support structure having a U-shaped bucket holding portion, two parallel legs extending at right angles to the arms of the U-shaped portion and two feet joined to and extending at an acute angle from the legs on the opposite side thereof to the U-shaped portion, the arms and feet being configured to hook onto the horizontal, vertically spaced bars of the support structure so that the bucket holding portion projects outwardly from the structure to receive a bucket therein. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bucket holder The present invention relates to a bucket holder for removably mounting a bucket or similar contain er on a sheep hurdle, farm gate or other similar barred structure.

There are many situations in which it is necessary to feed sheep and cattle from buckets, for example in poor weather conditions or in the case of newly born animals. However, if the bucket is placed on the ground, the animal will invariably knock it over, spilling and losing most of the contents. There is therefore a need for a device which can be employed to stabilise an ordinary bucket while an animal is feeding from it.

Various devices have been proposed in the past for fastening a bucket to a gate our a hurdle but hitherto these have tended to be costiy to produce and difficult to use in that they require an inconvenient securing step, for example clamping, screwing or tying the holder itself to the support. In other instances, the holder has been designed for use with a specially adapted bucket or container.

The present invention aims to overcome or at least mitigate these problems by providing a bucket holder for removably mounting a bucket or similar container on a barred structure, which is economical and simple to manufacture and easy to use.

According to the present invention we therefore provide a bucket holder for removably mounting a bucket or similar container on a barred structure comprising a bucket holder for removably mounting a bucket or similar container on a barred structure comprising a bucket holding portion adapted to at least partially encircle the bucket, two legs joined to and extending generally at right-angles from the bucket holding portion and two feet joined to and extending at an acute angle from the legs on the opposite side thereof to the bucket holding portion, the legs and feet being adapted to hook onto the horizontal, vertically spaced bars of a gate or similar support structure so that the bucket holding portion projects outwardly from the structure to receive a bucket therein.

Preferably the bucket holder of the present invention is formed by bending a single steel tube to the shape required so that the folder is substantially rigid.

Alternatively however, the bucket holder of the present invention may be so constructed that the joint between the bucket holding portion and each leg is flexible to enable the legs to be folded back against the bucket holding portion for storage and transport.

In use, the legs and feet of the holder are passed through the gate on which the bucket holder is to be mounted so that the bucket holding portion rests on one of the bars of the gate, the holder is then tilted so that the legs and feet are passed back forwardly of the bar of the gate immediately below the bar on which the bucket holding portion is resting and the holder is then rotated back in the opposite direction so that the feet hook below and behind the lower bar. A bucket can then be inserted into the bucket holding portion of the holder to lock the bucket holder and hold the bucket in position on the gate.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with references to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa perspective view of a sheep hurdle with two bucket holders according to the present invention mounted on the hurdle, one of the holders containing a bucket and being locked in position by the bucket and Figure 2 is a perspective view of a further embodi ment of the bucket holder of the present invention, In Figure 1, two similar bucket holders are indicated generally at 10 and 10a mounted on a conventional sheep hurdle 11. The bucket holder 10a is shown with a bucket 12 located in the holder and locking the holder 10a in position on the hurdle 11.

As the holders 10 and 1 0a are similar, only the holder 10 will be described in detail.

The holder 10 is formed from a single length of steel tubing by bending in a conventional tube bending machine to the required shape. in its finished form, the bucket holder 10 comprises a generally U-shaped bucket holding portion 13 which comprises an arcuate web 14 and two generally parallel side arms 15 and 16. The side arms 15 and 16 are spaced apart by a distance slightly iess than the maximum diameter of the bucket to be mounted in the bucket holder 10 and the maximum distance form the midpoint of the web 14to the midpoint of an imaginary line joining the ends of the arms, 15 and 16 is approximately the same.

The arms 15 and 16 are joined to two generally parallel legs 17 and 18 which extend at approximately right-angles to the plane of the bucket holding portion 13. The legs 17 and 18 are themselves joined to feet 19 and 20 respectively which are inclined at an acute angle to the legs 17 and 18 and extend from legs on the side of the legs opposite to the bucket holding portion 13. The ends of the tube which form the ends of the two feet 19 and 20 are closed by conventional plastics end caps 21 and 22 respectively.

In order to mount the bucket holder 10 on the hurdle 11, the legs and feet of the holder are passed through the hurdle immediately above one of the horizontal bars 23. The holder is then rotated so that the legs and feet are passed back through the sheep hurdle between the bar 23 and the bar 24 which is immediately below it. The holder is then lowered so thatthe arms 15 and 16 rest on the bar 23. The bucket holding portion 13 is then rotated upwardly and at the same time moved downwardly until the feet 19 and 20 can be hooked under and slide behind the lower bar 24. The holder 10 is then rotated in the opposite sense into the position shown in Figure 1 in which it is mounted on the hurdle.

The bucket 12 can now be dropped down into the bucket holding portion 13 so that it is trapped between the bar 23, the side arms 15 and 16 and the web 14 of the holder. Once in this position, the holder is locked by the bucket on the hurdle and cannot be removed without first removing the bucket from the bucket holder. Once this has been done, the holder can be easily removed by lifting the bucket holding portion 13 so as to rotate the holder about the bar 23, moving the feet 19 and 20 forwardly until t hey pass beneath the bar 24. The feet and legs can then be moved rearwardly between the bar 24 and the bar 23 and then forwardly over the bar 23 to free the bucket holder from the hurdle.

It will be seen from the above that the bucket holder 10 is cheap and easy to manufacture comprising no more than a length of steel tubing, bent in a conventional tube bending machine and provided with conventional end stops. It is quick and easy to mount the bucket holder on a gate, sheep hurdle or similar supporting structure and is absolutely secure once a bucket has been mounted in the holder.

When the bucket has been removed, it requires only a simple and quick movement to remove the holder from the gate.

The bucket holder can be made to accommodate any given bucket diameter by varying the distance between the arms 15 and 16 and their length. The holder can also be designed for use in or on different supporting structures by varying the length of the legs 17, 18 and feet 19,20 to suit the particular spacing of the horizontal bars of the support.

In Figure 2 a modification of the bucket holder 10 is indicated generally at 30 which has been designed to make it more easily and readily stored and transported. The holder 30 comprises a bucket holding portion 31 which is similar to the bucket holding portion 13 of the holder 10 and two legs 32 and 33 which are joined to the bucket holding portion 31 by flexible hinged straps 34 and 35 respectively. The legs 32and 33 are joined to feet 36 and 37 respectively which are similar to the feet of the bucket holder 10 and function in a similar way.

When the bucket holder 30 is not in use, the legs and feet can be folded back against the bucket holding portion 31 so as to take up less space thereby facilitating storage and packing for transport.

In use, the bucket holder 30 is fitted to a gate or similar supporting structure in the same manner as the bucket holder 10 but, because of the flexible hinges 34 and 35, the bucket holding portion 31 will normally hang down against the gate so that it is out of the way and cannot damage animals, persons or vehicles passing the gate. When it is desired to mount a bucket on the gate, all that is necessary is to lift the bucket holding portion 31 and insert a bucket in the ucket holding portion. Thereafter the bucket locks the bucket holding portion 31 in the horizontal position and the whole assembly of bucket and bucket holder is securely locked in position on the gate.

The flexible hinges 34 and 35 may be made of any suitable material such as plastics or leather and may be attached to the ends of the bucket holder 31 and the legs 32 and 33 respectively in any suitable manner, for instance for clamping, staking, gluing or welding.

Claims (9)

1. A bucket holder for removably mounting a bucket or similar container on a barred structure comprising a bucket holding portion adapted to at least partially encircle the bucket, two legs joined to and extending generally at right-angles from the bucket holding portion and two feet joined to and extending at an acute angle from the legs on the opposite side thereof to the bucket holding portion, the legs and feet being adapted to hook onto the horizontal, vertically spaced bars of a gate or similar support structure so that the bucket holding portion projects outwardly from the structure to receive a bucket therein.

2. A bucket holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the legs are joined rigidly to the bucket holding portion.

3. A bucket holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the legs are hinged to the bucket holding portion so that the bucket holding portion can be folded back against the legs.

4. A bucket holder as claimed in claim 3, wherein the legs are hinged to the bucket holding portion by flexible strap elements.

5. A bucket holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bucket holding portion is U-shaped and comprises two substantially parallel arms contiguous with a web adapted to partially encircle the bucket.

6. A bucket holder as claimed in claim 5, wherein the arms of the bucket holding portion are spaced apart by a distance approximately equal to the distance from the midpoint of the web of the bucket holding portion to the midpoint of an imaginary line joining the ends of the arms.

7. A bucket holder as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the web of the bucket holding portion is arcuate.

8. A bucket holder as claimed in any preceding claim made substantially from a length of steel tubing.

9. A bucket holder substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.