GB2222358A

GB2222358A - Cages and dividers

Info

Publication number: GB2222358A
Application number: GB8919738A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stanley Raymond Sharpe
Original assignee: ATHAG Ltd
Current assignee: ATHAG Ltd
Priority date: 1988-09-01
Filing date: 1989-08-31
Publication date: 1990-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 2009-08-31
Also published as: GB8820636D0; GB8919738D0; GB2222358B

Abstract

A cage in one embodiment comprises a number of panels including a front panel 14 to be positioned behind a backrest 6 of a seat of a vehicle and a rear panel 15 which lies adjacent a rear opening door 5 of the vehicle. The first panel 14 includes fold down doors 17, 18 which act as alternative exits for animals in the cage in the event that doors 24 in the rear panel 15 cannot be opened. A divider 80 having spaced apart doors 16, 17 is also provided to give access to compartments in the rear of a vehicle. <IMAGE>

Description

CAGES AND DIVIDERS The invention relates to cages and dividers for use in vehicles.

It has been proposed hitherto to mount cages in the rear of vehicles for transportation of animals or valuables. Where the vehicle is an estate car, it is commonplace for the cage to slide in through the rear door of the vehicle so as to lie between the wheel arches and, in some cases, the cage may actually be designed to fit around the wheel arches thereby giving more space within the cage.

In cages previously proposed by us, one or more doors giving access to the cage are formed in a rear wall of the cage so that when the cage is installed in, say, an estate car, the access doors lie adjacent the rear opening door of the vehicle.

In the case of rear end impact either by a vehicle running into the rear of the car or the car being driven backwards into some obstruction or in the case where it is simply impossible to open the rear door of the car for some other reason it may be difficult to open the door of the cage.

Therefore, we propose to provide an improved cage which will help to overcome such a problem.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a cage for use in a vehicle, the cage having a first panel including or defining at least one door to give access to the interior of the cage, and a second panel including or defining at least one further door to provide an alternative exit from the cage for the animal.

By providing the further panel so as to include or define a further door not only does the cage provide security for an animal being carried but the cage is extremely safe in that the animal can be removed through the further door if the first door cannot be opened following, eg, a rear end impact.

The cage preferably has a rear panel which, in use, will lie adjacent a rear opening door of a vehicle such as an estate car, a hatchback or van, the rear panel being removable or including the said one door.

In such a case, the further door may be provided in a front panel which extends transversely of the vehicle e.g., behind a seat of the vehicle. Should the vehicle suffer rear end impact making it impossible to open the cage door in the rear panel, the further door can be opened or the second panel removed to allow access to the cage. Where there is a seat adjacent the further door, the seat will first be moved clear of the door to enable the further door to be opened or the front panel to be removed.

In another embodiment, the further door may be provided in a side panel. If desired, doors could be provided in both front and side panels of the cage.

In certain cages, a divider may be used to divide the cage into first and second compartments. In such a case, we prefer to provide doors leading into the respective compartments and first and second further doors or panel sections to provide alternative exits from the compartments.

We prefer to make the second panel or each further door in two or more sections. The sections may be hinged together or may be of a sliding or lift off type. The sections may be arranged so that one section can be folded downwardly onto a remaining section. When the sections are hinged together the said remaining section is preferably hinged near a lower edge so that the folded sections can be hinged downwardly to enable the animals to leave the cage.

Where the door or panel sections are of the lift-off type retention means may be provided which are releasable to enable the door or panel sections to be released.

The second panel may comprise two portions one of which is inclined relative to the other. One portion may be, eg, vertical, and the other may be inclined, eg, rearwardly to following the inclination of a backrest of a vehicle seat. In that way optimum use is made of available space in the vehicle. Where the aforesaid hinged sections are provided they may comprise said panel portions and may be hinged along a line of intersection of said portions. Where the door comprises said sections the sections may be hinged on said line of intersection.

In an alternative embodiment, the door or second panel may be hinged so that it can be pivoted about a vertical axis. Again, the door or panel can be made in two sections each of which sections may be pivotally mounted for movement about a substantially vertical axis. The door or panel may be moved about a hinge towards the centre of the vehicle or to one side of the vehicle.

In our British Patent No.1580454 there is described an assembly of panels constructed so as to define a compartment at the rear of the vehicle which is divided by a central divider extending from a transverse panel and where there may be a rear panel having a pair of doors adjacent the rear door of the vehicle.

A similar problem can arise with an arrangement of this kind and, according to another aspect of the invention there is provided an assembly of panels in a vehicle comprising a panel arranged to extend transversely of the vehicle and a divider panel arranged to extend longitudinally of the vehicle from the first panel to form two compartments in the vehicle, the transverse panel having therein a door for providing access through the panel to at least one of the compartments.

Preferablyr the panel includes a second door whereby the first and second doors provide access to the respective compartments.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a divider for use in a vehicle comprising a panel arranged to extend transversely of the vehicle to divide a load carrying area of the vehicle from the passenger compartment, the transverse panel being formed with spaced apart doors to give access to the load carrying compartment from the passenger compartment.

Where it is desired to make full use of the luggage space at the rear of the vehicle it is necessary for a cage to follow the contour of the rear door.

However, it is difficult to make the rear panel of such a cage of such a shape that it can consist of or include a single openable door of sufficient size to provide full access to the cage interior.

Therefore, according to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a cage which includes a rear panel defining or including an openable door extending, in use, transversely of the vehicle and which includes or comprises a lower first section and an upper second section inclined to the lower first section.

Preferably the lower first section extends substantially vertically and the upper second section slopes forwardly to follow substantially the contour of the rear door of the vehicle.

If desired both sections can be opened independently or the entire rear panel can be removed to give access to the interior of the cage. The sections may be of a hinged, sliding or lift-off type.

Another problem which arises is that on opening the rear door of the cage a boisterous animal may jump out of the cage before the handler can attach a lead.

Another object of the invention is to reduce this problem.

According to a still further aspect of the invention there is provided a cage for use in a vehicle and having a panel which, in use, lies adjacent a door of the vehicle, the panel being arranged to extend transversely of the vehicle and which comprises or includes a door having a lower first section and an upper second section, the upper section being openable relative to the lower section while the lower section is closed so that the animal can be controlled by a handler before the lower section is opened.

The upper section may be inclined, e.g., forwardly relative to the lower section.

Preferably, one of the sections includes a part which overlies the other to inhibit opening of the other before the overlying part is moved clear. In such a case the overlying part may be a marginal strip of the upper section.

If desired, the upper section may be arranged to fold on to the lower section so that on opening the lower section, the upper section is carried with it.

Alternatively one or each of the sections can be of a lift off type.

In a preferred embodiment, the upper section is hinged about a generally upright axis and the lower section is hinged about a horizontal axis. In such a case the lower section may be of a drop down type which preferably enables the lower section to cover any gap between a bumper of the vehicle and an adjacent part of the vehicle. The latter arrangement is particularly advantageous as it can otherwise be dangerous if an animal places its leg in the gap when being led from the cage.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a cage which includes a panel arranged to extend transversely of a vehicle adjacent a door of the vehicle and which includes at least one door at least a section of which is movable into a position in which it covers any gap between a bumper of the vehicle and an adjacent part of the vehicle. Preferably, the lower door section may be made at least partly of a wooden material or plastics providing a continuous surface for paws of the animal. The surface of the lower door section may be of a high friction type to prevent the animals from slipping thereon.

In any of the cages according to foregoing aspects of the invention, an upper panel section of the cage can be used as a shelf which may be bounded by wall portions to prevent articles on the upper panel from sliding forwards or sideways off the cage.

Conveniently, the wall portions may be formed by extensions of side and front panels of the cage.

Stowage may be provided under the floor of the cage by providing support means whereby the floor of the cage is lifted clear of a further floor so as to define an article receiving compartment. That compartment preferably has an opening to the rear of the vehicle which may be closed by one or more hinging doors. Preferably, the door or doors open upwardly about a horizontal axis.

The or each side panel of the cage may have an upper end of serpentine form to support articles such as guns. Preferably, the guns will lie across an upper panel of the cage.

Where a rear transverse panel is provided with access doors as described in our British Patent Application No.1580454 the doors may be arranged to hinge across any gap between the vehicle bodywork and an adjacent bumper as set out as above.

In hatchback vehicles, there is usually an upstanding wall at the rear of the luggage compartment which has an upper edge against which the rear door of the vehicle closes. When loading a cage into such a vehicle, the cage normally has to be of a length substantially less than the total distance between the upstanding wall and the rear seat of the vehicle otherwise it becomes extremely difficult to place the cage in the vehicle. Therefore, once the cage is installed, a substantial amount of space is wasted and it is another object of the present invention to provide an arrangement of cages which will enable this problem to be reduced.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided in a motor vehicle first and second cages arranged one behind the other, one of said cages being arranged immediately behind a forward obstruction in the vehicle and the second cage being arranged behind the first cage immediately adjacent an access door, at least one of said cages having a wall which is movable during assembly of the cages into the vehicle from a position which enables one of the cages to be inserted partly into the other and then when assembly has been completed and the inserted cage is moved into its final position out of the other cage, the movable wall is arranged to be movable into its normal position.

Such an arrangement is particularly useful in that where full use needs to made of the space between the rear door and the seats of the vehicle, the two cages can be put in position and placed closely together thereby avoiding any significant wasted space therebetween.

With such an arrangement, the front cage may be provided with the movable wall.

The movable wall may be suitably hinged to another wall section of its cage so as to be pivotable about its hinge by an amount sufficient to enable one of the cages to be introduced partially into the other.

The movable wall may comprise first and second movable sections one being pivotable in one sense about a pivotal mounting and the other being pivotal in an opposite sense about a pivotal mounting.

Preferably, the movable wall or each section of the wall is pivotable about a horizontal axis.

Preferably, the rear cage is contoured so as to have its rear end panel or panels substantially parallel with the adjacent surfaces of the access door.

The rear cage may have one or more openable doors thereon. The rear cage may have one or more dividers to define one or more compartments in the cage.

Where a plurality of compartments is provided a plurality of respective doors will be provided for those compartments.

The front cage may have doors in a panel defining a front end thereof to enable animals to be released from the cage through those front doors.

Alternatively, or additionally, the front cage may have one or more doors in side panels thereof. Also, the front cage may be provided with one or more dividers to define separate compartments.

The front and rear cages may have roof sections and/or floor sections, and the floor sections and roof sections may be of a type similar to those described with respect to the cages above to enable objects to be carried thereon or guns to be mounted thereon and, if necessary, the main floor may be spaced from the lower floor to define the stowage compartment having one or more access doors thereon.

As mentioned above, in hatchback cars there is frequently an upstanding wall at the rear end against which the rear door opens and closes. The wall tends to create a form of well in the rear of the vehicle and the cages cannot be located within the vehicle without first tipping them and then sliding them into place and then allowing them to sit on the floor of the well. That particular arrangement is disadvantageous in that it tends to leave wasted space between the ceiling of the vehicle and the top of the cage. Also, it is difficult to open the rear doors of the cage as they lie adjacent the internal surface of the upstanding wall.

A similar problem arises where the roof of, say, an estate car curves downwardly towards the rear to form a hinged support for the rear door of the vehicle.

Once a cage has been slid into position into the rear of the estate car, space will be left between the roof panel of the cage and the roof of the vehicle.

A further object of the present invention is to reduce these particular disadvantages.

According to a still further aspect of the invention there is provided a cage for use in a vehicle, the cage comprising a first portion which is initially placed into the vehicle and a second portion which is locatable on the first portion so as to occupy substantially the remaining space between the upper rim and a roof of the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the first section is a floor section of the cage which can be located with ease into the well in a hatchback car, the floor section having upstanding walls which are substantially the height of the upstanding wall. Once the floor section is located, the second portion of the cage can be slid substantially directly into the vehicle so as to locate directly on the upper peripheral edge or rim of the floor section.

In order to use the space between the top of a cage and the roof of an estate car, the first portion of the cage may comprise the major part of the cage having an open top defined by the upper edge of the walls of the cage. Once installed in the vehicle the second portion, which is preferably of complementary shape to the upper edge of the first portion, is then placed in position from the passenger compartment of the vehicle so as to locate on the upper rim of the first cage portion and occupy substantially the whole space between the rim of the first portion and the interior of the vehicle roof. The second portion preferably has side walls the height of which will be dependent upon the available space between the upper rim of the first cage portion and the interior of the vehicle roof.

Cages in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a cage in accordance with the invention having main rear doors and fold down front doors, Fig.2 is a plan view of the cage showing Fig.1, Fig.3 is an elevation of the cage shown in Fig.l with one of the rear doors open and one of the front doors partially open, Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig.3 with both front doors in an open position, Fig.5 is a perspective view of a cage of the kind shown in Figs.l-4 with the front and rear doors in various positions, Fig.6 is an elevation of a different form of cage having a built in stowage compartment, Figs.7 is a perspective view of a cage shown in Fig.6 with doors of the cage in various positions, Fig.8 is a diagrammatic elevation of the rear end of an estate vehicle holding front and rear cages, Fig.9 illustrates the way in which the wall sections of the front cage can be hinged to allow the rear cage to be installed, Fig.10 illustrates the way in which the cage may be made in two portions to maximise the available space in a hatchback vehicle, Fig.ll shows the way in which a cage can be made in two parts to maximise the use of head space in the rear of an estate vehicle, Fig.12 shows the way in which a cage may be provided with a rear door having first and second parts, the first of which may be hinged downwardly to cover the space between the vehicle bumper and an adjacent part of the vehicle bodywork, Fig.13 shows a vehicle transverse divider with access doors.

In Figs.1-5 the cage comprises a base panel 10, spaced side panels 11, 12, a roof panel 13, a front panel 14 which normally faces towards the front of the vehicle and a rear panel 15. Each panel comprises wire mesh having an outline frame, frames being suitably interconnected to form the cage.

The front panel 14 has two doors 16, 17 therein each door comprises an upper first part 18 connected by hinges 19 to a lower second part 20 which is connected by means of hinges 22 to a lower edge of the front panel 14. Suitable catches 21 are provided for holding the doors 16, 17 in their closed positions. To open either of the doors 16, 17 the catch 21 is released and the first part 18 of the selected door is first opened to enable it to be folded downwardly relative to the second part 20 as shown in Fig.3. The door is fully opened by hinging the first and second parts together downwardly as shown in Fig.4.

The rear panel 15 of the cage has doors 24 which are hinged about substantially vertical axes. The doors can be held closed by suitable catches (not shown).

In use, the cage is located in the rear of a vehicle with the doors 23, 24 adjacent a rear opening door 5 of the vehicle and the doors 16, 17 immediately behind a backrest 6 of a seat of the vehicle. In the event of the vehicle suffering a rear impact which prevents the rear door 5 of the vehicle being opened, access to the cage can be gained by releasing the seat in the vehicle adjacent the cage or folding down the backrest 6 as in Fig.4 and opening the doors 16, 17 as described above.

Instead of, or in addition to, having doors 16, 17 in the front panel 14, one or more doors 25 may be provided in the side panels 11, 12 as shown in broken lines in Figs.1 and 2. Such doors will provide access to the cage through a side opening door of the vehicle.

In Fig.5 the door 17 in the front panel 14 is shown in its closed position and the first part 18 of door 16 is shown folded downwardly in full lines over the second part 20. The door 16 is shown in its fully opened position in broken lines in Fig.5. In Fig.5, the cage has a central divider 26 which divides the cage into two compartments 27, 28.

Instead of providing doors 16, 17 in the front panel 14 and doors 23 in the rear panel 15, the panel 14 and/or panel 15 may themselves constitute doors which are detachable from (eg in a lift off manner) or openable relative to the remainder of the cage (eg by hinging) to provide access to the cage interior.

Likewise a side panel 11 may constitute a door and may be removable or openable relative to the remainder of the cage.

The panel 14 includes a vertical upper portion 14a and a rearwardly inclined lower portion 14b with a line of bend or intersection 14c therebetween. The inclined portion 14b enables the cage to extend right up to the backrest 6 and thereby make the most of available space behind the seat. The angle of inclination can be selected to suit any particular vehicle. The cage sides can also be contoured to suit any vehicle eg to accommodate wheel arches. The hinges 19 lie on or adjacent the line of intersection 14c so that the doors 14a, 14b follow the lines of the panel portions 14a, 14b.

If desired the doors 16, 17 or the panel 14 could be made up from three or more sections which could be hinged together.

Instead of providing two doors 16, 17 one door could be provided centrally in the front of the cage giving access to the interior of the cage or back compartments 26, 27.

In Fig.7, the cage has a lower section 30 to which timber or plastics side walls 32 are attached.

A raised floor panel 33 is mounted between the side walls provided above a normal floor panel 34. A narrow hingeable door 36 is provided at the lower rear of the cage. The side walls 32, front wall 35 and door 36 define a stowage compartment at the bottom of the cage to which access can be gained through the door 36. The door 36 is hinged along its upper edge to the lower edge of the rear panel 15 of the cage in which there are two doors 24 as in the cages described above. Although no central divider is shown in the cage of Fig.7 a divider may be installed. If desired, the front panel 14 of the cage can be provided with doors 16, 17 as above.

Also, the compartment defined at the bottom of the cage could be divided and the door 36 split to give independent access to the compartments defined.

It will be noted that the front panel 14 is extended to form an upstanding mesh wall 37 at the front of the cage. Two serpentine supports 38 extend rearwardly from the mesh walls along the upper edge of the side panels 11, 12 and can be used to support guns or other articles above the roof panel 13. The rear end of the serpentine supports are suitably attached to the upper rear end of each of the side panels 11, 12. Fig.7 illustrates the doors 23, 24 in open positions. The open position of door 36 is shown in broken lines. Instead of using serpentine supports 38, the side panels 11, 12 could be extended upwardly in a similar manner to front panel 14. The doors 23, 24 have handles H which are connected to axially slidable rods mounted on the doors. The rods have pins P thereon which can be located in or disengaged from catches C by sliding the rods R up and down.

In Figs. 8 and 9 the rear of a vehicle has a luggage compartment 40 having a load carrying surface 41 and a rear upstand or upstanding wall 42. The upper edge 41 of the upstand 42 constitutes an edge against which a rear door 43 closes. To make maximum use of the luggage compartment 40, a cage should extend substantially completely between the upstand 42 and a seat 44. However, it is normally impossible to manoeuvre a cage of that size into the vehicle. In order to make maximum use of the luggage compartment, it is proposed to provide two cages 45, 46. The front cage 45 is formed with a rear panel 47 comprising upper and lower sections 48, 49. The upper section 48 also forms part of a roof panel 50 which is hinged part way along the roof at 52. The lower hinged section 49 is connected by hinges 51 to the rear edge of the base panel 10.In use, the front cage 45 is placed in position in the vehicle by sliding it through the open rear door. Once it is in position, the upper hinged section 48 is pivoted into the Fig.9 position towards the rear or front seat backrest 6 and the lower hinged section is folded forwardly onto the base panel 10. The cage 46 which is smaller in width than the cage 45, is then manoeuvred into position by partly inserting its forward end into the cage 45 until the rear end of the cage can clear the upstand 42. Once installed in the luggage compartment it can then be moved backwards out of the cage 45 and the hinged sections 48, 49 can then be moved back into the Fig.16 position. A suitable fastening device 50a is means are provided to hold the sections 48, 49 in the Fig.8 position.If desired, the front and/or side panels of the cage 45 can be provided with doors of the kind shown in Figs.1-7 or may be removable from or openable relative to the remainder of the cage to provide access to the cage interior.

In Fig.10, a cage 54 comprises a tray section 55 and a cover section 56. The two sections can be held together by suitable releasable fastening means 55a.

The tray section has a height which corresponds to the height of the upstand 42 at the rear of the vehicle and is placed in position first. The cover section 56 is then moved horizontally into the luggage compartment onto the upper rim of the tray section 55 and the two sections are secured together by suitable fasteners. In that way, maximum use is made of the height of the luggage compartment.

Without such an arrangement, it would be impossible to fit a one-piece cage of a size defined by the tray and cover sections into the luggage compartment. The tray section may be made of mesh or may, for example, be formed as a moulding. The cover section 56 has a rear panel 15 having one or more doors therein (not shown) eg similar to those in Figs 1 to 7 and the cage may be provided with a central divider. The cover section also has a front panel which may be provided with one or more doors of the kind shown in Figs.1-7 or which may be detachable from or openable relative to the remainder of the cage.

Fig.11 shows the rear of an estate vehicle where the rear door 58 is connected by hinges 61 to a downward extension 59 of the roof 60. To maximise the use of the head space available in the luggage compartment, the cage comprises a lower section 62 having a base panel 10, two side panels (one only 11 of which is shown) and front and rear panels 14, 15. There is no roof panel. A cover section 63 of a depth slightly less than the distance between the upper edge of the lower section 62 and the interior of roof 60 is then moved from the front of the vehicle onto the lower section to form a lid to close the lower section.

The cover section 63 has front and rear panels 64, 65, side panels 66 and a roof panel 67. The rear panel 65 forms substantially a continuation of the rear panel 15 of the lower section. The rear panel of the lower section may contain one or more doors eg of the kind shown in Figs.1-7 and the lower section 62 may have a central divider. The front panel 14 of the lower section may be provided with doors of the sort shown in Figs.1-7 or may be detachable from or openable relative to the remainder of the cage.

In Fig.12, a cage 70 has base, side, roof and front and rear panels as before. However, the rear panel 15 in this embodiment is provided with two side-byside upper main door sections 72 to give access into the cage which may have a central divider so as to define two compartments. The rear panel also includes two secondary door sections 73 beneath the respective main doors and which are preferably formed from or which include timber or plastics sheeting 74 within a frame 75. The frames 75 are mounted on horizontal hinges 71 so that when they are moved into the open position (the left-hand door section 73 being shown open in Fig.12) they extend across any gap 76 between a rear bumper 77 of the vehicle and an adjacent body part 78 of the vehicle.Such an arrangement is also useful in that with the secondary door sections closed, the main door sections can be opened to enable a lead to be attached to an animal in the rear of the vehicle before it emerges from the cage, the secondary door sections preventing the animal from leaving the cage while the lead is being attached. The way in which the secondary door section covers the gap 75 is highly advantageous as it prevents a paw of the animal from becoming trapped in the gap as the animal emerges from the cage. The upper surface of the door sections 73 can have formations which inhibit slipping of the animal or can be provided with a covering of high-friction material. Where plastics sheeting 74 is used, the plastics may be a kind which provides a high friction surface.The front panel and/or the side panels may be provided with door sections of the kind shown in Figs.1-9 or may themselves be detachable from or openable relative to the remainder of the cage.

Similarly the rear panel of the cage may not include door sections 72, 73 but may in itself constitute a single door or two or more sections which can be completely detachable from or openable relative to the remainder of the cage. The secondary door sections may be held closed by catches 73a.

The upper door section 72 may include a marginal flange 79 which overlies the associated lower door section 73 when both door sections are closed. In that way, a single door section retaining device 71 can be provided for each pair of door sections, the marginal flange 79 holding the lower door section closed.

The upper door sections 72, 73 slope forwardly to follow the line of a rear door of the vehicle thereby enabling the cage to maximise the use of available space in the luggage compartment. However, if desired, the upper and lower door or panel section arrangement could be used where the rear panel does not have an upper section inclined relative to a lower section.

In Fig.13, a transverse divider 80 is formed from a mesh panel within an outline frame and has two upper sets and two lower sets of friction locating panels 82, 83 respectively. The divider 80 locates in an estate or hatchback vehicle behind a rear seat 84 or in a van. The mesh panel is formed with two apertures 85, 86 which contain two opening doors 16, 17 substantially the same as doors 16, 17 in Figs.1 to 7. The doors 16, 17 can be opened forwardly by horizontal hinging after moving the backrest 6 of a seat forwardly to provide access from the front to the space behind the divider 80. The provision of two doors 16, 17 enables separate access to be gained to compartments which may be formed to the rear of the divider by a central divider panel 87 shown in broken lines. Where no central divider is provided, only one opening door may be provided in the divider 80. This again enables animals to be led from the rear compartment even when the rear door of the vehicle cannot be opened and is, therefore, a useful safety feature.

Instead of using hinged doors, doors may be of a sliding type.

Whilst the cages described are particularly useful when transporting animals in a vehicle, doors could be provided with high security locks to enable the cages to be used for the safe transport of valuables.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A cage for use in a vehicle, the cage having a first panel including or defining at least one door to give access to the interior of the cage, and a second panel including or defining at least one further door to provide an alternative exit from the cage for the animal.

2. A cage according to claim 1 in which the first panel in use lies adjacent a rear opening door of the vehicle to form a rear panel of the cage and the second panel extends transversely of the vehicle to form a front panel of the cage.

3. A cage according to claim 1 or 2 in which the first panel, in use, lies adjacent a rear opening door of the vehicle and the further panel may comprise a side panel which is removable or includes the further door.

4. A cage according to claim 3 in which side and transverse panels are removable or includes respective further doors.

5. A cage according to any preceding claim in which a divider is used to divide the cage into first and second compartments.

6. A cage according to claim 5 in which at least one second panel is provided so as to provide one or respective alternative exits from the compartments.

7. A cage according to any preceding claim in which the second panel or a door therein is formed in two or more sections one of which is movable relative to another.

8. A cage according to claim 7 in which the two sections are hinged together or may be of a sliding or lift off type.

9. A cage according to claim 7 or 8 in which the sections are arranged so that sone section can be folded downwardly onto a remaining section.

10. A cage according to claim 9 in which the or one of the remaining sections is hinged near a lower edge so that the folded sections can be hinged downwardly to enable the animals to leave the cage.

11. A cage according to any of claims 1 to 7 in which the door or second panel is hinged so that it can be pivoted about a vertical axis.

12. A cage according to claim 11 and where the second panel or door is formed in two or more sections each of which is pivotally mounted for movement about a substantially vertical axis.

13. A cage according to claim 12 in which the door or second panel is movable about a hinge towards the centre of the vehicle or to one side of the vehicle.

14. A cage according to any preceding claim in which the second panel comprises two portions one of which is inclined relative to the other.

15. A cage according to claim 14 in which one said portion is vertical.

16. A cage according to claim 14 or 15 in which one said portion is inclined rearwardly.

17. A cage according to claim 14, 15 or 16 and where the second or each further door therein is made in two or more sections, said sections are defined by said portions or at least one of those sections is hinged to the other substantially on a line of intersection of said two portions.

18. A cage according to any preceding claim in which retention means is provided on the cage which is releasable to enable the door or panel sections to be released.

19. A cage according to any preceding claim and where said rear panel is provided which, in use, lies adjacent a rear opening door of the vehicle, in which the rear panel extends transversely of the vehicle and which comprises or includes a door having a lower first section an upper second section, the upper section being openable relative to the lower section while the lower section is closed so that the animal can be controlled by a handler before the lower section is opened.

20. A cage for use in a vehicle, the cage having a panel which, in use lies adjacent a door of the vehicle, the panel being arranged to extend transversely of the vehicle and which comprises or includes a door having a lower first section an upper second section, the upper section being openable relative to the lower section while the lower section is closed so that the animal can be controlled by a handler before the lower section is opened.

21. A cage according to claim 19 or 20 in which the upper section is inclined relative to the lower sect ion.

22. A cage according to claim 19, 20 or 21 in which one of the sections includes a part which overlies the other to inhibit opening of the other before the overlying part is moved clear.

23. A cage according to claim 22 in which the overlying part may be a marginal strip of the upper section.

24. A cage according to claim 19, 20 or 21 in which the upper section is arranged to fold on to the lower section so that on opening the lower section, the upper section is carried with it.

25. A cage according to any of claim 19 to 23 in which the upper section is hinged about a generally upright axis and the lower section is hinged about a horizontal axis.

26. A cage according to claim 25 in which the lower section is of a drop down type.

27. A cage according to claim 26 in which, in use, the lower section, when dropped down, is arranged to cover any gap between a bumper of the vehicle and an adjacent part of the vehicle.

28. A cage for use in a vehicle, the cage including a rear panel arranged to extend transversely of the vehicle adjacent a door of the vehicle and which includes at least one door at least a section of which is movable into a position in which it covers any gap between a bumper of the vehicle and an adjacent part of the vehicle.

29. A cage according to claim 27 or 28 in which the section of the door arranged to cover the said gap has a substantially continuous surface for paws of an animal.

30. A cage according to claim 29 in which the surface is made of wood, plastics or metal.

31. A cage according to claim 30 in which the surface is of a high friction type.

32. A cage according to any preceding claim in which the cage has an upper or roof panel bounded by wall portions to prevent articles on the upper panel from sliding forwards or sideways off the cage.

33. A cage according to claim 32 in which the wall portions are formed by extensions of the said and front panel of the cage.

34. A cage according to any preceding claim in which the cage has a floor and an article receiving compartment is provided beneath said floor.

35. A cage according to claim 33 in which the floor is mounted so as to be clear of a further floor to define the compartment.

36. A cage according to claim 34 or 35 in which the compartment has an opening to the rear of the vehicle.

37. A cage according to claim 36 in which the compartment is closable by one or more doors.

38. A cage according to claim 27 in which the door or doors open upwardly about a horizontal axis.

39. A cage according to any preceding claim in which one side panel or opposed side panels of the cage have an upper end of serpentine form to support articles such as guns.

40. A cage according to any preceding claim in which the cage comprises a first portion which is initially placed into the vehicle and a second portion which is locatable on the first portion so as to occupy substantially the remaining space between the upper rim and a roof of the vehicle.

41. A cage for use in a vehicle, the cage comprising a first portion which is initially paced into the vehicle and second portion which is locatable on the first portion so as to occupy substantially the remaining space between the upper rim and a roof of the vehicle.

42. A cage according to claim 40 or 41 in which the first portion defines an upper rim and the second portion locates on the upper rim.

43. A cage according to claim 40, 41 or 42 when located in a vehicle having a rear upstanding wall against which a rear door closes, in which the height of the first portion is substantially the same as that of the rear upstanding wall.

44. A cage according to claim 40, 41 or 42 in which the first portion comprises the major part of the cage and, in use, terminates at an upper end short of the interior of the roof of the vehicle, the second portion being located between the upper end of the first portion and the interior of the vehicle roof.

45. A cage according to any preceding claim in which a rear panel of the cage which, in use, lies adjacent a rear opening door of the vehicle defines or includes an openable door extending transversely of the vehicles and which includes or comprises a lower first section and an upper second section inclined to the lower first section.

46. A cage according to claim 45 in which the lower first section extends substantially vertically and the upper second section slopes forwardly to follow substantially the contour of the rear door of the vehicle.

47. A cage according to claim 45 or 46 in which both sections can be opened independently or the entire rear panel can be removed to give access to the interior of the cage.

48. An assembly of cages in a vehicle the assembly comprising first and second cages arranged one behind the other, one of said cages being arranged immediately behind a forward obstruction in the vehicle and the second cage being arranged behind the first cage immediately adjacent an access door, at least one of said cages having a wall which is movable during assembly of the cages into the vehicle from a position which enables one of the cages to be inserted partly into the other and then when assembly has been completed and the inserted cage is moved into its final position out of the other cage, the movable wall is arranged to be movable into its normal position.

49. An assembly according to claim 48 in which the front cage is provided with the movable wall.

50. An assembly according to claim 48 or 49 in which the wall is suitably hinged to another wall section of its cage so as to be pivotable about its hinge by an amount sufficient to enable one of the cages to be introduced partially into the other.

51. An assembly according to claim 48, 49 or 50 in which the movable wall comprises first and second movable sections one being pivotable in one sense about a pivotal mounting and the other being pivotal in a opposite sense about a pivotal mounting.

52. An assembly according to claim 51 in which the movable wall or each section of the wall is pivotable about a horizontal axis.

53. An assembly according to any of claims 48 to 52 in which the rear cage is contoured so as to have its rear end panel or panels substantially parallel with the adjacent surfaces of the access door.

54. An assembly according to any of claims 48 to 53 in which the rear cage has one or more openable doors thereon.

55. An assembly according to any of claims 48 to 54 in which the front cage has one or more openable doors.

56. An assembly according to any of claims 48 to 55 in which the front cage has one or more doors in one or respective side panels thereof.

57. An assembly according to any of claims 48 to 56 in which the front and/or rear cages include divider means to define separate cage compartments.

58. A cage constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to Figs 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

59. A cage constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with references to Figs 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.

60. A cage assembly constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to Figs 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.

61. A cage substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 10, 11 or 12 of the accompanying drawings.

62. A divider for a vehicle comprising a panel arranged to extend transversely of the vehicle to divide a load carrying area of the vehicle from the passenger compartment, the transverse panel being formed with spaced apart doors to give access to the load carrying compartment from the passenger compartment

63. A divider for a vehicle constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to Fig 13 of the accompanying drawings.