# US 11,076,583 B2 · Catcher basket assembly > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,076,583 B2 - Document ID: US11076583B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/304,613 - Filed: 2017-05-31 - Published: 2020-06-11 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2016-05-31 - Applicants: Mark Stephen Short - Inventors: Mark Stephen Short - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11076583B2 ## CPC - A01K 63/02: Receptacles specially adapted for transporting live fish - A01K 1/0245: {Boxes or cages} - A01K 61/90: Sorting, grading, counting or marking live aquatic animals, e.g. sex determination - B60P 3/04: for transporting animals {(railway wagons adapted for carrying animals B61D3/163)} - F25D 2303/082: disposed in a cold storage element not forming part of a container for products to be cooled, e.g. ice pack or gel accumulator - F25D 2331/804: Boxes - A01K: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS - B60P: VEHICLES ADAPTED FOR LOAD TRANSPORTATION OR TO TRANSPORT, TO CARRY, OR TO COMPRISE SPECIAL LOADS OR OBJECTS (vehicles with special provisions for transporting patients or disabled persons, or their personal conveyances A61G3/00) - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) ## Abstract The invention relates to a catcher basket assembly including a main body, at least one confining container for containing an animal, and at least one directing part in the main body, for assisting to direct the animal from the main body to the confining container. In use, the directing part directs an animal towards one or more confining container and the confining container enables the animal to be visually inspected and sorted without the need to make direct contact with the animal. The invention also relates to a catcher basket assembly for confining and sorting a crab. The invention also relates to a method of use of a catcher basket assembly. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A catcher basket assembly, for confining animals, the catcher basket assembly comprising: a main body; at least one confining container for containing the animal; and at least one directing part in the main body, for assisting to direct the animal from the main body to the at least one confining container, the directing part including at least one divider, wherein, the directing part and divider directs an animal towards the at least one confining container and the at least one confining container enables the animal to be visually inspected and sorted without the need to make direct contact with the animal, and wherein the at least one confining container includes a door movable between a substantially open state which permits the animal to pass into the confining container and a substantially closed state whereby the door substantially prevents the animal from leaving the confining container. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein holes, slots or gaps are incorporated into the catcher basket assembly to enable free air flow and water flow to keep the animals comfortable during confinement and to enable visual inspection without the handler needing to handle the animal directly. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The catcher basket assembly of claim 2, wherein the visual inspection is chosen from the following group: to determine if the animal meets the local authority requirements to keep the animal; to determine the sex of the animal; to determine the size of the animal; or to determine any suitable features or characteristics of the animal to be considered. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the confinement is of a plurality of animals such that each individual animal is confined in a single confinement container. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the main body is of a stackable shape and wherein a plurality of stackable main bodies are supplied and the plurality of stackable main bodies are stacked to transport a plurality of animals. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one confining container includes a pair or pairs of opposed sides about a base and with a top, ends being formed in one pair of opposed sides and at least one end of the confining container includes a door. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1 wherein the door is a trapdoor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the door slides in a slot between a substantially open position wherein the animal is substantially confined. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein a plurality of confining containers are included and each confining container is stacked within the main body once the confining container contains a captured animal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one divider is a substantially rectangular divider. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one divider runs across the body to divide the body into two or more sections. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The catcher basket assembly of claim 11, wherein an animal moving from one section of the main body to another must enter one of the at least one confining containers. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the divider divides the main body and a confining container is placed so as to be substantially open and in this way the animal is prevented from entering another part of the body, other than the confining container. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein the animal is directed by the divider to enter the desired confining container through a substantially open door. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein two dividers are included, one to divide the main body in one direction and one to divide the main body in another direction. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The catcher basket assembly of claim 1, wherein one divider is included to divide a top section of the main body in two, but is open at a lower section enabling the animal to travel to the lower part of the main body. ### Claim 17 A catcher basket assembly for confining crabs, the catcher basket assembly comprising: a main body; a plurality of confining containers for containing individual crabs each confining container having a door moveable between a closed and open state; a first divider across the main body leaving an opening between the base and the lower part of the divider, for assisting to direct the animal from the main body to the confining container; and a second divider running substantially perpendicular to the first, across the main body from an end to the first divider, between the base and the lower part of the divider for assisting to direct the crab from the main body to the confining container, wherein, the dividers direct a crab towards one or more substantially open confining containers, whereby in the closed state the door confines the crab therein, and the confining container enables the crab to be visually inspected and sorted without the need to make direct contact with the crab. ### Claim 18 A method of use of a catcher basket assembly for confining an animal, the method comprising the steps: a) Providing a catcher basket assembly comprising: i. a main body; ii. at least one confining container for containing the animal; and iii. at least one directing part in the main body, for assisting to direct the animal from the main body to the at least one confining container, the directing part including at least one divider, wherein, the directing part and divider directs an animal towards the at least one confining container and the at least one confining container enables the animal to be visually inspected and sorted without the need to make direct contact with the animal, and wherein the at least one confining container includes a door movable between a substantially open state which permits the animal to pass into the confining container and a substantially closed state whereby the door substantially prevents the animal from leaving the confining container; b) Putting an animal in the main body; and c) Closing the door of the confining container once the animal is within the confining container. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18 further comprising at least one step selected from the group: visually inspecting the animal, once contained; sorting the animals by size, sex or other characteristics, once contained; or stacking a plurality of confining containers in the main body for transportation or short term storage.