# US 2014/0196667 A1 · Animal enclosure > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0196667 A1 - Document ID: US20140196667A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/238,513 - Filed: 2012-08-13 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Earliest claimed: 2011-08-12 - Assignees: Hebe Studio Limited - Inventors: Simon Nicholls; James Tuthill; Johannes Paul; William Windham - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140196667A1 ## CPC - A01K 1/03: Housing for domestic or laboratory animals - A01K: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS ## Abstract An enclosure (1) for small animals, the enclosure comprising: an internal wall (17) that divides a space within the enclosure (1) into first (5) and second (7) regions, and a passageway (13) mounted in said internal wall (17) to extend between said regions (5, 7) so that an animal within the enclosure can pass between the first and second regions of the space; wherein the passageway (13) is movable relative to said internal wall (17) between a first operating mode in which an animal within the enclosure is able to pass between said regions and a second operating mode in which the animal is obstructed from passing between said regions. ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 1-28. (canceled) ### Claim 29 An enclosure for small animals, the enclosure comprising: an internal wall that divides a space within said enclosure into first and second regions, and a passageway mounted in said internal wall to extend between said regions so that an animal within the enclosure can pass between the first and second regions of said space; wherein said passageway is movable relative to said internal wall between a first operating mode in which an animal within the enclosure is able to pass between said regions and a second operating mode in which the animal is obstructed from passing between said regions. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein an animal within the enclosure may traverse the passageway to pass between said first and second regions when the passageway is in said first operating mode. ### Claim 31 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein said passageway comprises an axial bore through which an animal may pass when the passageway is in said first operating mode. ### Claim 32 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the passageway is suspended from the wall that divides said space into said first and second regions. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The enclosure according to claim 32, wherein the passageway is able to slide through said internal wall as it moves between said first and second operating modes. ### Claim 34 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the first region is above said second region when the enclosure is in an upright orientation. ### Claim 35 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the passageway extends substantially vertically between the first and second regions. ### Claim 36 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein: i) in the first operating mode the passageway extends further into the second region than into the first region; and ii) in the second operating mode the passageway extends further into the first region than into the second region. ### Claim 37 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein said internal wall defines a lower part of the first region and an upper part of the second region. ### Claim 38 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the passageway extends through an opening defined in said internal wall. ### Claim 39 (depends on 38) The enclosure according to claim 38, wherein the internal wall is provided with a first part of a two part engagement mechanism and said passageway is provided with a second part of said two part engagement mechanism. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The enclosure according to claim 39, wherein: i) in a first configuration of the two part engagement mechanism the passageway is able to be rotated relative to said internal wall, and ii) ii) in a second configuration of the two part engagement mechanism the passageway is restricted from being rotated relative to said internal wall. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The enclosure according to claim 40, wherein the first part of the two part engagement mechanism comprises part of a collar secured in the opening in said internal wall. ### Claim 42 (depends on 39) The enclosure according to claim 39, wherein the second part of the two part engagement mechanism comprises a groove defined in an outer wall of said passageway. ### Claim 43 (depends on 42) The enclosure according to claim 42, wherein said groove is substantially L- shaped. ### Claim 44 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the passageway is substantially tubular in shape. ### Claim 45 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the passageway comprises a plurality of separable parts. ### Claim 46 (depends on 45) The enclosure to claim 45, wherein the separable parts of the passageway are held together by one or more rings. ### Claim 47 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein an interior surface of the passageway is provided with one or more ribs. ### Claim 48 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein the first region is at least partly defined by a frame that defines the space in which said internal wall is located. ### Claim 49 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein said enclosure comprises a removable compartment located in said second region and into which said passageway extends when the passageway is in said first operating mode. ### Claim 50 (depends on 49) The enclosure according to claim 49, wherein said removable compartment cannot be removed from the enclosure until the passageway has been moved to its second operating mode. ### Claim 51 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein said internal wall is at least partly formed from a grill or mesh. ### Claim 52 (depends on 32) The enclosure according to claim 32 wherein said passageway is able to pivot relative to said internal wall as it moves between said first and second operating modes. ### Claim 53 (depends on 29) The enclosure according to claim 29, wherein said passageway comprises a planar panel that is pivotally coupled at one end to said internal wall, said panel being moveable to open or close an aperture in said wall.