Neck frame for cattle

A neck frame for cattle adapted to be suspended in a cattle stand comprising an essentially U-shaped frame including two generally vertically extending shanks and a connecting crosspiece said frame defining an upper head opening adapted to receive the head of an animal and a lower neck opening for the neck of the animal, a closing lever having upper and lower free ends and being pivotally mounted near its midpoint on one of said shanks about an axis extending perpendicular to the plane of said frame, said one shank approaching the other one of said shanks in the region of said neck opening, said lever having an upper closing arm and a lower actuation arm, said lever being pivotable from an open position wherein said closing arm is spaced from said other one of said shanks to permit the animal to pass its head through said head opening to a closed position wherein said closing arm approaches said other one of said shanks to prevent the animal from pulling its head out of the frame, means for automatically locking said closing lever in said closed position, said crosspiece comprising a generally horizontal portion extending over said head opening, said free end of said closing arm being connected to guide means movable along said horizontal portion of said frame, said locking means being interconnected between said guide means and said horizontal portion of said frame, said shanks being of unequal lengths, the shorter one of said shanks having a free end upon which said closing lever is pivotally mounted, and a flexible line connected at one end to the longer shank at the lower end thereof and which is adapted to be connected to the floor of the stable, said flexible line further defining the lower portion of said neck opening.

A neck frame for cattle adapted to be suspended in a cattle stand comprising an essentially U-shaped frame including two generally vertically extending shanks and a connecting crosspiece, said frame defining an upper head opening adapted to receive the head of an animal and a lower neck opening for the neck of the animal, a closing lever having upper and lower free ends and being pivotally mounted near its midpoint on one of said shanks about an axis extending perpendicular to the plane of said frame, said one shank approaching the other one of said shanks in the region of said neck opening, said lever having an upper closing arm and a lower actuation arm, said lever being pivotable from an open position wherein said closing arm is spaced from said other one of said shanks to permit the animal to pass its head through said head opening to a closed position wherein said closing arm approaches said other one of said shanks to prevent the animal from pulling its head out of the frame, means for automatically locking said closing lever in said closed position, said crosspiece comprising a generally horizontal portion extending over said head opening, said free end of said closing arm being connected to guide means movable along said horizontal portion of said frame, said locking means being interconnected between said guide means and said horizontal portion of said frame, said shanks being of substantially the same vertical extent, and means flexibly connected to the lower ends of said shanks and adapted to be connected to the floor of the stable for defining the lower portion of said neck opening.