Facility for livestock, fowl and other animals

A farrowing crate for confining a sow so that when lying down the sow can only go down on her front feet, her udder and her rear legs, for preventing the sow from rolling to her side and over her young, comprising:

• a plurality of upstanding walls forming an enclosure having predetermined width and length dimensions for confining the sow,
• a permeated flooring panel for permitting waste to pass therethrough for collection externally of the farrowing crate, said flooring panel including:
• a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of corresponding located slots;
• a plurality of longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means for locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• wherein said locking means comprises a protrusion from a wall of one of an engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and a corresponding notch in a wall of the other of the engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members,
• said locking means further comprising a second protrusion and a second notch, wherein said second protrusion projects from an opposite wall of said other of said engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and said second notch is formed in an opposite wall of said one of said engaging pair,
• said locking means thereby operable for locking said longitudinal members in said slots within said cross members.

In a farrowing crate, the improvement comprising:

• a flooring panel including:
• a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of correspondingly located slots;
• a plurality of extruded longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means or locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• said locking means comprising a protrusion from a wall of one of an engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and a corresponding notch in a wall of the other of the engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members,
• said locking means further comprising a second protrusion and a second notch formed in opposite walls of said other of said engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and said one of said engaging pair,
• said locking means thereby operable for locking said longitudinal members in said slots within said cross members.

A farrowing crate for confining a sow so that when lying down the sow can only go down on her front feet, her udder and her rear legs, for preventing the sow from rolling to her side and over her young, comprising:

• a plurality of upstanding walls forming an enclosure having predetermined width and length dimensions for confining the sow,
• a permeated flooring panel for permitting waste to pass therethrough for collection externally of the farrowing crate,
• said flooring panel including:
• a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of correspondingly located slots;
• a plurality of longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means for locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• further comprising longitudinal locking means for locking said longitudinal members rom displacement relative to said cross members in a direction of longitudinal axes thereof,
• wherein said longitudinal locking means comprises plate means attached to said cross members and blocking terminal ones of said slots to prevent displacement of said longitudinal members through said slots.

A flooring panel for livestock, fowl and other animals comprising:

• a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of correspondingly located slots;
• a plurality of extruded longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means for locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• wherein:
• said plurality of slots of said cross members are arranged to receive said plurality of longitudinal members in a substantially parallel arrangement to one another, said longitudinal members received therein to form a predetermined angle between longitudinal axes thereof and longitudinal axes of said cross members,
• said slots define an insertion direction, substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axes of said cross members, and
• said locking means comprises perpendicular locking means for preventing movement of said longitudinal members relative to said cross members in said insertion direction,
• wherein said longitudinal members have a substantially circular cross section, said cross section representing a major angle subtended by a chord and including said chord as a flat upper surface thereof and
• wherein said slots include a portion having a substantially circular cross section for accommodating therein said longitudinal members and an opening to an upper surface of said cross members which is smaller than the diameter of said circular cross section of said longitudinal members, thereby locking said longitudinal members in said slots.

A flooring panel for livestock, fowl and other animal comprising a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of correspondingly located slots;

• a plurality of extruded longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means for locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• wherein:
• said plurality of slots of said cross members are arranged to receive said plurality of longitudinal members in a substantially parallel arrangement to one another, said longitudinal members received therein to form a predetermined angle between longitudinal axes thereof and longitudinal axes of said cross members,
• said slots define an insertion direction, substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axes of said cross members, and
• said locking means comprises perpendicular locking means for preventing movement of said longitudinal members relative to said cross members in said insertion direction,
• wherein said perpendicular locking means comprises a protrusion from a wall of one of an engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and a corresponding notch in a wall of the other of the engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members,
• further comprising a second protrusion and a second notch corresponding to said second protrusion formed in opposite walls of said one of the engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and the other of said engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members.

A facility for confining livestock, fowl and other animals to a predetermined area, comprising:

• a plurality of upstanding wall means forming an enclosure having said predetermined area for confining livestock, fowl and other animals,
• a permeated flooring panel for permitting livestock waste to pass therethrough for collection externally of the pen,
• said flooring panel including:
• a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of correspondingly located slots;
• a plurality of longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means for locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• said locking means comprising a protrusion from a wall of one of an engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and a corresponding notch in a wall of the other of the engaging pair of said slots nad longitudinal members,
• said locking means further comprising a second protrusion and a second notch formed in opposite walls of said other of said engaging pair of said slots and longitudinal members and said one of said engaging pair,
• said locking means thereby operable for locking said longitudinal members in said slots within said cross members.

A method of assembling a flooring panel comprising the steps of:

• (a) obtaining a plurality of longitudinal rods having a predetermined cross section;
• (b) obtaining a plurality of stringers for said longitudinal rods;
• (c) providing slots in said stringers having cross sections corresponding to said predetermined cross section of said rods for accommodating said rods therein;
• (d) providing a non-frictional locking structure in said slots for lockingly engaging said rods in said slots to prevent vertical withdrawal of said rods from said slots;
• (e) pressing said rods into said slots and
• (f) engaging said rods and said locking structure in said slots, and
• (g) fixing a locking strip across openings of said slots after engaging said rods therein, thereby locking said rods longitudinally within said slots.

A flooring panel for livestock, fowl and other animals comprising:

• a plurality of slotted cross members, each having a plurality of correspondingly located slots;
• a plurality of extruded longitudinal members received in said plurality of corresponding slots of said cross members;
• said longitudinal members and said slots shaped for engagement of one by the other;
• and
• locking means for locking said longitudinal members in said slots relative to said cross members,
• wherein:
• said plurality of slots of said cross members are arranged to receive said plurality of longitudinal members in a substantially parallel arrangement to one another, said longitudinal members received therein to form a predetermined angle between longitudinal axes thereof and longitudinal axes of said cross members,
• said slots define an insertion direction, substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axes of said cross members, and
• said locking means comprises perpendicular locking means for preventing movement of said longitudinal members relative to said cross members in said insertion direction,
• further comprising longitudinal locking means for locking said longitudinal members from displacement relative to said cross members in a direction of longitudinal axes thereof,
• wherein said longitudinal locking means comprises plate means attached to said cross members and blocking terminal ones of said slots to prevent displacement of said longitudinal members through said slots.