NZ197053A - Animal handling device with clamping cradle for turning animal head over tail - Google Patents

Description

197053 N.Z. NO. .^OSS XI May 1981 NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION AN ANIMAL HANDLING DEVICE I, JOHN ALEXANDER HECTOR, a New Zealand citizen of Otahuti 4 R.D., Invercargill, New Zealand, 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:- 197053 This invention relates to an animal handling device which is primarily, but not exclusively designed for handling small animals such as sheep.

To facilitate the carrying out of veterinary and other treatment of animals such as sheep, cradles or clamping devices have been devised whereby the animal can be held in a position which is suitable for the work to be carried out. For example, with sheep, the animal commonly needs to be retained in some form of clamping means to facilitate tup crutching and dagging as well as for treating foot rot. Many of the devices which have been developed over the years require the animal to be clamped and then rolled into a position which inverts the animal from the standing position onto its back. In such a position the animal is firmly retained and presented in such a manner that the veterinary or other operations can be carried out. With some of these operations, however, it is not necessary for the animal to be inverted onto its back and therefore a considerable amount of time can be expended in placing the animal in a position which is not strictly necessary.

The object of the present invention is to provide an animal handling device which can be readily operated to retain the animal in a standing position whilst at the same time be usable for moving the animal to a position in which it is no longer standing. 197053 The object of the invention is achieved by providing an animal handling device comprising a pair of oppositely opposed clamping members which are mounted for relative movement toward one another such that an animal can be clamped therebetween, each said clamping member being mounted by a frame means, both of said frame means being mounted for pivotal movement about a common pivot axis transverse to the direction of relative movement of said clamping members a lever coupled to said frame, the construction and arrangement being such that with an animal clamped between the clamping members the frame means can be pivoted as one about said common pivot axis to move said animal head over tail from a standing position to one in which the underside of the animal is presented such as to be in a position for veterinary or other work to be carried out.

To more fully describe the invention reference will be made to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective side view of the animal handling device according to a preferred form of the invention, and Figure 2 is a similar view but showing the device when the animal is held in a substantially reclined sitting position.

The animal handling device which is herein described is primarily designed for the handling of small animals such as sheep, however, the device could, with suitable adaptations, be used for the handling of other animals. The handling device is particularly suited for sheep in that a sheep can be clamped in a standing position for such work as tup crutching and dagging to be carried out, but can equally be clamped and readily moved into a substantially reclined sitting position for operations such, as foot rotting to be carried out 3 The device incorporates a platform 10 which is preferably mounted on a pair of supports 11 with feet or the like. One end of the platform 10 can be located abutting a ramp 13, however, in the preferred form ramp 13 is formed as a part of the device. Also incorporated as a preferred part of the device is a gate G which can be folded back into a position (see Figure 2) where it is located across the end of ramp 13 and thus prevent an animal from proceeding along ramp 13 and onto platform 10. The other end of platform 10 is likewise provided with a gate 12 which prevents an animal upon entering onto the platform from moving therefrom. Gate 12 can preferably be coupled by a lever 32 to a foot pedal 33 adjacent the entry end of platform 10 so it can be remotely opened and closed. Gate 12 is adjustably mounted on arms 12a of pedestal 12b so that its position relative to the end of platform 10 can be adjusted.

Toward the entry end of platform 10 a pair of arms 15 are pivotally mounted by a lower end. These arms 15 can be pivotally mounted in any suitable method and according to the illustrated form the arms 15 are mounted on each end of a shaft 16 which is journalled in suitable bearings such as pillar blocks. The far side arm (not readily apparent in the drawing) has a downwardly projecting extension to which is attached one end of a spring 17. The spring 17 extends from the extension to be attached to the lower end of pedestal 12b at the exit end of platform 10. 197053 The upper or free ends of arms 15 are fixedly attached to frame supports -18, each of which extends in the same general direction and is located substantially parallel to platform 10. The frame supports are thus situated either side of platform 10 and extend toward the end of the platform on which gate 12 is located. The upper end of a support member 20 is slidingly engaged with each frame support 18 and this is achieved by the upper end of the support member 20 being provided with a freely rotatable wheel, roller or the like which is mounted for movement within a guide 22 which extends along frame support 18. The lower end of support member 20 is pivotally mounted by a pivot frame 23 which extends downwardly from the underside of platform 10.

The support member 20 is coupled to a lever 24. In the preferred form: lever 24 is coupled to support member 20 not only at its lower pivot point, but also intermediate in its length by a strut 25.

By moving lever 24 in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 1 the frame supports 18 are moved as a single unit about the pivot axis of shaft 16. This common movement of the frame supports 18 is achieved by arms 15 being coupled to shaft 16 and support members 20 being coupled by a shaft 21 which is rotatably mounted by the pivot frame 23. During such movement the wheel, roller or the like on the upper end of each support ^ .from 4L-ne£ /? "n member 20 moves along guide 22/of the associated frame support 18. 19705c Frame supports 18 respectively mount clamping frames 26 and 26' each of which, in the illustrated form, is constructed in a conventional manner from piping. Each clamping frame 26 and 26' is of such dimensions and shape that it can engage against the side of a sheep. Clamping frame 26' is mounted in such a manner that it can move toward and away from the other fixed mounting frame 26 and to facilitate this movement a control bar 27 is provided. This control bar 27 is supported by uprights 28 which can conveniently be formed as part of clamping frame 26*.

In use of the device, the gate at the entry end of ramp 13 is placed in the open position and a sheep proceeding up ramp 13 enters onto platform 10 to be prevented from moving thereoff by gate 12. With the animal standing on platform 10 it is positioned between clamping frames 26 and 26' whereupon it can be clamped in the standing position by the frame 26' being moved toward the other frame 26 and thus engaging on opposite side of the animal.

Extending from the top of frame 26 is a curved arm 29 the free end of which passes through an aperture in wedging plate 30 projecting upwardly from the top of frame 26'. The aperture in plate 30 is larger than the diameter of am 29, however, the disposition of the aperture in plate 30 and the curvature of arm 29 results in the arm becoming wedged in plate 30 to prevent the clamping frames 26 and 26' from moving apart from the cljamping position. To release arm 29 the plate 30 is 197053 pivotted toward frame 26 so as to bring the plate into a position normal to arm 29 and thus allow the arm to freely slide therethrough for release of the frames 26 and 26' from the clamping position. The rear of the animal is thus readily accessible to an operator standing alongside platform 10 and work such as tup crutching and dagging can be carried out with the animal firmly clamped in the standing position.

To move the animal from a standing position (Figure 1) to a substantially reclined sitting position (Figure 2) the operator merely grasps the end of operating lever 24 and moves it in the direction of the arrow. This results in the animal being moved to an upright position where its rump engages on ramp 13 so that it ends up in a substantially reclined sitting ^ , position but with its legs extending forward in view of it having been clamped in the standing position by clamping v members 26 and 26'. A limit chain 31 extends between platform 10 and support member 20 to limit movement. The length of chain 31 can be adjusted so as to make adjustment of the movement possible. Operations to the underside of the animal can thus be readily carried out and, for example, foot rotting is an operation which can be effected wth the animal in such a position. : when the veterinary or other work is completed the operating lever is pushed forward so that the animal is returned to the standing position. To assist in this forward movement the aforementioned spring comes into action. As the spring is attached to the downward 'extension of the arm 15 near 197053 its pivot axis, the spring provides just sufficient pull to bring the clamping frames 26 and 26' forward till the weight of the animal comes to bear on the forward movement of the clamping structure.

The invention thus provides an animal handling device wherein an animal can be quickly and readily clamped in a standing position so that veterinary or other operations can be carried out. If access to say the feet of the animal is necessary the animal can be quickly and readily moved into an upright position with its rear end situated on the ramp so that it is in a substantially reclined sitting position. This movement to the upright position can be easily carried out by a single operator in view of the balanced nature of the support frame and the support members which are slidingly engaged with the support frame. As the device is of a simple but robust construction it can be economically manufactured and will stand up to the riggers of hard use in field work.

Claims (8)

187(753 WHAT I CLAIM IS:-

1. An animal handling device comprising a pair of oppositely opposed clamping members which are mounted for relative movement toward one another such that an animal can be clamped therebetween, each said clamping member being mounted by a frame means, both of said frame means being mounted for pivotal movement about a common pivot axis transverse to the direction of relative movement of said clamping members by a lever coupled to rneons a said frame', the construction and arrangement being such that with an animal clamped between the clamping members the frame means can be pivoted as one about said common pivot axis to move said animal head over tail from a standing position to one in which the underside of the animal is presented such as to be in a position for veterinary or other work to be carried out.

2. The device according to claim 1 further including a base or platform, said frame means being located longitudinally of said base or platform in a spaced apart parallel disposition, each said frame means having support means fixedly mounted thereto with each support means being pivotally coupled to said base or platform.

3. The device according to claim 2 further including second support means coupled between said frame means and said base or platform, said second support means being pivotally mounted to said base or platform at a distance from the pivotal mount of the first support means and being slidingly coupled to said frame means.

4. The device according to claim 3 wherein the lever is coupled to one of said second support means. - 9 - 197053

5. The device according to claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein one icf clamping member is fixedly attached to a-/frame means and the other clamping member is pivotally attached to the other frame means to be movable toward and away from the fixed clamping member.

6. The device according to claim 5 wherein each clamping member is in the form of a frame which projects upwardly in relation to the base or platform, there being means coupling the upper extremes of said clamping members to enable the frames to be adjustably retained in a clamping position.

7. The device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 further including spring means to assist movement of/support means away from the position they take when the underside of the animal is presented for veterinary or other work to be carried out.

8. An animal handling device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. JOHN ALEXANDER HECTOR By His Attorneys HENRY HUGHES LIMITED - 10 -