AU603033B2 - Floor structure for an animal pen - Google Patents

Description

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Form PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: 603033 Application Number: Lodged: PI 6805 17th February 1988 Complete Specification-Lodged: o Accepted: Lapsed: Published: a a* Priority: Related Art: i TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT SEGMENT FLOORING PTY. LIMITED Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: 6 Alice Street, BAYSWATER, W.A., 6053 Gregory Percival FITZPATRICK and Robert Graham WALKER HALFORD AND MAXWELL Patent Trade Mark Attorneys 49-51 York Street, SYDNEY 2000 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: "FLOOR STRUCTURE FOR AN ANIMAL PEN" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 2 E39 L 1 rr ul The present invention relates to floor structures for animal pens, sheds and the like (hereafter termed "pens").

When large numbers of animals are kept in pens it becomes necessary to clean the floor at regular intervals to remove excreta and other waste material and this can be both time consuming and expensive in labour. The present invention has as its object to alleviate this problem.

The present invention provides a floor structure for an animal pen, the floor structure comprising a floor surface, channel means beneath the floor surface, at least o 4 one opening in the floor surface above said channel means O°°o through which animal excreta or waste material can pass o0 o into said channel means, a flexible member extending along 0 o said channel means and movable longitudinally thereof and 15 disc members mounted at spaced intervals along the length .0 0 0 0 o0 of the flexible member, the disc members extending laterally of the flexible member and being adapted to convey waste material along the channel means when the flexible member is moved.

Although said channel means may be provided beneath only a portion of the floor surface, it is preferred that channel means be provided beneath the entire floor surface and that the floor surface have openings therein over substantially the whole of the area thereof. Thus, for example, said channel means may comprise channels which are arranged side-by-side beneath the whole of the floor surface and the floor surface may be slotted above said channels or may be in the form of a mesh or grating so that excreta and other waste material can pass through I L a -3said floor and into said channels. Each channel may have a said flexible member extending along the length thereof.

Preferably each said channel is in the form of a trough having side walls which converge towards a partcylindrical portion at the bottom thereof and said disc members are circular disc members which are mounted concentrically on said flexible member and are of a diameter which is slightly smaller than the diameter of the part-cylindrical portion of the trough. Said troughs may extend along the whole of the length or width of the o floor surface and may be arranged side-by-side in parallel relation beneath the floor surface so as to extend across 00 el substantially the whole of the width or length as the case may be of the floor surface. Each said flexible member is o 15 preferably an endless flexible member which extends along o the full length of a first trough member around a sprocket at one end of the trough members along the full length of a next adjacent trough member and around a second sprocket at the other end of the trough members. One of the said 0 *1 sprockets may be a driven sprocket so that the endless flexible member travels along one trough member in one direction and along the adjacent trough member in the opposite direction. Thus, each flexible member will serve two adjacent trough members and the disc members thereon will move waste material in one trough member to one end thereof and will move waste material in the adjacent trough member to the other end thereof. The waste material moved to the end of the trough members may be discharged into suitable storage means, such as one or -4more suitable storage bins, either directly or by means of a further conveyor or conveyors.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a sectional view of an animal shed incorporating a floor structure according to the present invention, Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of 4, 00 0grei 0r 0 10 a trough forming part of the floor structure of Figure 1, 0 0 0RO Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation on a O still larger scale of the trough shown in Figure 2 and Figure 4 is fragmentary plan view of the animal shed shown in Figure 1 with the roof and floor surface removed.

15 Referring to the drawings it will be seen that the 4t animal shed illustrated in Figure 1 comprises side walls i, a roof 2, a floor structure generally indicated at 3 suspended above the ground surface 4, and end walls The floor structure 3 comprises a floor surface 6 having apertures 7 therein through which extreta and other waste material can pass into a series of troughs 8 arranged in parallel side-by-side relationship beneath the floor surface 6. The floor 6 may be formed from wire mesh or may be in the form of a grill or grating having slots or apertures therein, the only criteria being that the apertures 7 are of a size sufficient for excreta and other waste material to pass therethrough into the troughs 8 whilst at the same time being sufficiently small to prevent the hooves or feet of animals being housed in the 01 0 o ns 0 0 00 0 00 o 0* 0 0o 0 0o shed from becoming caught therein.

Each trough 8 comprises side walls 9 which converge towards a part cylindrical portion 10 which may be formed integrally therewith. Mounted in the part-cylindrical portion 10 for movement longitudinally thereof is an elongate flexible member 11 having a series of circular discs 12 secured thereto at regularly spaced intervals therealong. The discs 12 are mounted concentrically on and extended radially of the elongate member 11 and are of 10 a diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the part-cylindrical portion 10. The flexible elongate member 11 may be a rope of wire, plastics or other suitable material whilst the discs 12 may be formed from suitable plastics material.

15 As will be more clearly seen from Figure 4, each flexible member 11 is an endless member which extends around a pair of pulleys 13, one of which is driven by means not shown, located outside the end walls 5 of the animal shed. One reach lla of each endless member 11 20 extends along the part-cylindrical portion 10 of a first trough 8a whilst the other reach llb of the endless member extends along the part-cylindrical portion 10 of the next adjacent trough 8b so that each endless member 11 serves two adjacent troughs 8 with the endless member 11 moving longitudinally of one trough in one direction and longitudinally of the adjacent trough in the opposite direction. Excreta or other waste material moved to the ends of the troughs 8 by the discs 12 and endless members 11 may be collected in storage bins 14 located outside the j 44 At

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animal shed or may be deposited on to further conveyor means (not shown) for transport to suitable storage bins or other storage means.

Whilst it is preferred that the floor surface 6 has apertures 7 therein over the whole of its surface and troughs 8 are mounted beneath the floor surface 6 over the whole of the area thereof, it will be understood that if desired one or more troughs 8 need be provided under only a portion of the floor surface and only that portion of 10 the floor surface provided with apertures 7, although in this case excreta and other waste material will need to be swept or hosed into the trough 8 for conveying to storage bins 14 or the like.

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Claims (7)

1. 2. A floor structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said channel means is provided over a portion of the floor o asurface.
2. 3. A floor structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said channel means is provided beneath said entire floor surface and said floor surface has openings therein extending over substantially the whole of the area thereof.
3. 4. A floor structure as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein said channel means include at least one trough having side walls which converge toward a part cylindrical portion at the base of said trough and said disc members are circular disc members mounted concentrically on said flexible member and of a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of said part cylindrical portion. A floor structure as claimed in claim 4 wherein said -8- channel means extend the length of said floor surface.
4. 6. A floor surface as claimed in claim 5 when dependent on claim 3 wherein said channel means extends the width of said floor surface and comprises a plurality of said troughs arranged in side-by-side parallel relation.
5. 7. A floor surface as claimed in claim 6 wherein said troughs are arranged in pairs and said flexible member comprises an endless flexible member associated with each S4 q pair of troughs extending the length of each of said pair 0 around sprockets arranged at either end thereof. C
6. 8. A floor structure as claimed in claim 7 wherein at 00 least one of said sprockets is a driven sprocket. St9. A floor structure as claimed in any previous claim further including storage means associated with an end of said channel means for collecting said waste material a o 0 discharged from said channel means. C 10. A floor surface as claimed in claim 9 wherein said storage means are connected with said channel means by conveyor means.
7. 11. A floor structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 16th day of February 1989 SEGMENT FLOORING PTY. LIMITED Patent Attorneys for the Applicant HALFORD AND MAXWELL