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US 11,903,364 B2Granted
Penning system
AssigneeIcm Australia Pty Ltd
InventorMichael Bannon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A penning system including partitions and barriers movable from a deployed configuration, in which the partitions partition an area over a floor into spaces and in which the barriers enclose the spaces to define pens for penning animals, to a collapsed configuration, wherein the partitions and barriers are collapsed for cleaning the floor.
Claims19
A penning system for an area along an elongate barrier and over a floor, the system comprising:
- movable-barriers;
- partitions which carry the movable-barriers;
- and
- partition-mountings which mount the partitions to swing about the partition-mountings;
- wherein the partitions and the movable-barriers are movable:
- from a deployed configuration,
- in which the partitions are spaced along the elongate barrier, extend transversely to the elongate barrier, and extend outwardly from the partition-mountings and the elongate-barrier to partition the area into spaces comprising a respective space between each adjacent two of the partitions, and
- the movable-barriers enclose the spaces to define pens for penning animals, each of the pens being defined by the elongate-barrier, two of the partitions and one of the movable-barriers;
- to a collapsed configuration wherein the partitions and movable-barriers are collapsed for cleaning the floor;
- and
- the partition-mountings cantilever the partitions to hold the partitions and the movable-barriers clear of bedding material and debris on the floor such that the partitions and movable-barriers are supported only by the partition-mountings.
8 more elements
An animal-containment facility comprising:
- a floor;
- and
- one or more penning systems, wherein each of the one or more penning systems is for an area along an elongate barrier and over the floor and comprises:
- movable-barriers;
- partitions which carry the movable-barriers;
- and
- partition-mountings which mount the partitions to the elongate barrier such that the partitions swing about the partition-mountings;
- wherein the partitions, and the movable-barriers, of each of the one or more penning systems are movable:
- from a deployed configuration,
- in which the partitions are spaced along the elongate barrier, extend transversely to the elongate barrier, and extend outwardly from the partition-mountings and the elongate-barrier to partition the area into spaces comprising a respective space between each adjacent two of the partitions, and
- the movable-barriers enclose the spaces to define pens for penning animals, each of the pens being defined by the elongate-barrier, first and second ones of the partitions and at least one of the movable-barriers;
- to a collapsed configuration wherein the partitions and movable-barriers are collapsed for cleaning the floor;
- and
- the partition-mountings of each of the one or more penning systems are configured to cantilever the partitions to hold the partitions and the movable-barriers clear of bedding material and debris on the floor such that the partitions and movable-barriers are supported only by the partition-mountings.
11 more elements
A method comprising:
- maintaining an animal-containment facility, the facility comprising a floor and one or more penning systems, wherein each of the one or more penning systems is for an area along an elongate barrier and over the floor and comprises:
- movable-barriers;
- partitions which carry the movable-barriers;
- and
- partition-mountings attached to the elongate barrier, which mount the partitions to swing about the partition-mountings, and
- wherein the partitions, and the movable-barriers, of each of the one or more penning systems are movable:
- from a deployed configuration,
- in which the partitions are spaced along the elongate barrier, extend transversely to the elongate barrier, and extend outwardly from the partition-mountings and the elongate-barrier to partition the area into spaces comprising a respective space between each adjacent two of the partitions, and
- the movable-barriers enclose the spaces to define pens for penning animals, each of the pens being defined by the elongate-barrier, two of the partitions and one of the movable-barriers;
- to a collapsed configuration wherein the partitions and movable-barriers are collapsed for cleaning the floor;
- and
- wherein the partition-mountings of each of the one or more penning systems cantilever the partitions to hold the partitions and the movable-barriers clear of bedding material and debris on the floor, such that the partitions and movable-barriers are supported only by the partition-mountings;
- the method comprising in connection with a penning system of the one or more penning systems:
- removing animals from the pens;
- collapsing the partitions and the movable-barriers to the collapsed configuration;
- and
- cleaning the floor.
14 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.