DE20121156U1 - Cubicle separation - Google Patents

Description

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Lying box separation

The present invention relates to a device for separating adjacent lying boxes for animals, in particular cows, for example in a stable.

In livestock sheds, separate cubicles are often created using partitions. Cubicle partitions of this type are usually made up of a partition bar with a stand mounted on the cubicle floor. The partition bars are often U-shaped and are usually rigidly connected to the stand. A rigidly mounted partition bar of this type can seriously hinder the animals, especially when they stand up, and they can injure themselves on the bar. In addition, these rigid cubicle partitions are very solid due to the high forces and moments that occur when an animal presses against the partition bar.

A modified version compared to these known cubicle partitions is described in DE-A-197 50 905. The device disclosed therein has a vertical support anchored to the floor in the area of the front end or animal head end of the cubicle with two side plates spaced apart from one another. The side plates are located at a distance above the floor of the cubicle and extend from the vertical support towards the rear end of the cubicle. The device also has a separating element or a partition which is arranged between the two side plates and extends over a considerable part of the length of the cubicle and has a free end. Furthermore, a flat elastic element is provided between each of the side plates and the separating element, with the aid of which a certain elastic lateral deflection of the separating element is made possible. This known cubicle partition has the disadvantage that it cannot be deflected in the vertical direction.

Another cubicle housing system is described in EP-A-0,447,822, in which the adjacent lying places for the animals are each separated from one another by means of a separating device. The separating device is made up of a stand attached to the cubicle floor at the end of the cubicle at the animal's head end and protruding upwards from this stand, and a separating bar attached to this stand. Each of the separating bars has a holder on the stand side with which it can be pivoted out of its normal position of use on both sides against spring force about a pivot axis that is essentially perpendicular to the stable floor. Furthermore, the separating bar can be designed to be pivoted up against spring force about an axis that is essentially parallel to the stable floor. The partition described in EP-A-0,447,822 can be deflected vertically and horizontally, but has a complicated structure with many individual parts and assembly elements and is correspondingly expensive.

The present invention is based on the object of providing an improved cubicle partition and cubicle housing system which consists of as few individual parts as possible and can be assembled quickly and inexpensively, whereby the animal's freedom of movement is restricted as little as possible and the risk of injury is minimized. This object is achieved with the features of the patent claims.

The invention is based on the basic idea of providing the divider bar so that it can be moved axially on the stand or foot of the cubicle partition. This means that the number of parts for the cubicle partition can be reduced to essentially two, namely the divider bar and the stand, whereby these parts can simply be inserted into one another. Only the stand has to be attached to the floor, for example by screwing it on or setting it in concrete. The cubicle partition according to the invention also has the advantage that the divider bar can be designed to be movable in height, i.e. it can be moved axially, whereby rotation around the stand is essentially avoided. This prevents animal injuries which occur when animals lying slightly below the cubicle partition stand up and bump into rigid partitions. The individual parts are, as already discussed, easy to assemble and also easy to replace, so that

The entire structure no longer needs to be replaced with conventional cubicle partitions (e.g. if there is rust damage to the foot part). Furthermore, the partition according to the invention can be quickly dismantled in emergencies. By changing the height of the stand, the cubicle housing according to the invention is suitable for different animals and animal sizes without changing the partition bar itself.

The present invention is described below using preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a cubicle partition according to the invention in side view;

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of the partition according to the invention in side view; and

Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of the cubicle partition according to the invention in side view.

The cubicle partitions 2 shown in Figures 1 to 3 essentially have a stand 4 and a dividing bar 6. The stand 4 is attached to the base 10 of a stable by means of a base 8. For this purpose, the base can be screwed to the base 10 or concreted into the base. A stand element 12, to which the dividing bar 6 is mounted, extends from the base 8. The dividing bar 6 itself consists essentially of a dividing section 14, which separates the individual cubicles from one another, and an assembly section 16, which is mounted on the stand element 12 of the stand 4. For this purpose, the assembly section 16 is simply pushed over the stand element 12, so that the dividing bar 6 can be telescopically displaced relative to the stand 4 in the axial direction of the stand element 12 and the assembly section 16. After pushing on, the dividing bar 6 can be fixed to the stand 4 or left axially movable. In the two embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the separating bracket is movable in the vertical direction. The stand element is preferably tubular and the mounting section preferably has at least one tubular section.

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According to the embodiment of the cubicle partition 2 according to the invention shown in Figure 3, the stand section 12 is inclined forwards with respect to the base 10 at an angle β relative to the cubicle direction, so that the partition bar 6 moves along a similarly inclined telescopic axis when an animal, for example, bumps into the bar 6 when standing up. The angle β is preferably 50 to 85°, particularly preferably 70°.

It is preferred to limit the displacement path of the separating bracket 6 with respect to the stand 4 by means of a stop (not shown) so that the separating bracket 6 cannot be easily removed from the stand 4. This can be done, for example, by means of a suitable limiting cord or chain which is attached to the base 8 and to the lower leg 18 of the separating section 14. As an alternative, a longitudinal groove can be provided on the mounting section 16, into which a blocking and/or guide element (e.g. screw, bolt, etc.) attached to the stand engages. The groove can also be provided in the stand element 12 and the blocking and/or guide element in the mounting section 16. It is also conceivable to design the stand element 12 so long that even in the event of an axial displacement, the separating bracket 6 cannot be pushed down.

Furthermore, it is preferred to form the separating section 14 essentially U-shaped with a lower leg 18, an upper leg 24 preferably arranged parallel thereto and a preferably arcuate connecting section 26 which connects both legs. According to a preferred embodiment, a part of the lower leg 18 of the separating section 14 is bevelled upwards at an angle α in the direction of the arcuate connecting section 26, as is shown schematically in Figure 3. The angle α is preferably 10 to 50°, particularly preferably 30°.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, it is preferred in this case that the inclined stand 4 is provided perpendicular to the bevelled leg of the separating bracket 6, so that the separating bracket 6 moves not only in the vertical direction when axially displaced along the stand element 12, but also in the horizontal direction.

This makes it even easier for the animal to stand up, as the dividing bar 6 not only moves upwards but also forwards.

The stand element 12 and the mounting section 16 preferably have a non-circular cross-sectional profile, so that the two profiles can be moved axially relative to one another, but are essentially connected to one another in a rotationally fixed manner. A rectangular or square cross-sectional profile (square tube) is particularly suitable for the stand element 12 and the mounting section 16. It is also preferred to provide an intermediate section 20 on the stand 4 between the base 8 and the stand element 12, the external dimensions of which essentially correspond to those of the mounting section 16. This intermediate section essentially represents a spacer element by means of which the separating bracket 6 can be kept away from the base 10. The spacer element can be provided in different lengths, so that the cubicle partition 2 according to the invention can be individually adapted for different animals and animal sizes.

Furthermore, it is advantageous to provide the cubicle partition 2 with a neck bar 22, which is preferably provided on the upper leg 24 of the dividing section 14 of, for example, two adjacent or further apart dividing bars 6 that separate a cubicle. The neck bar can be conventionally designed to be rigid (e.g. as a rod) or flexible (e.g. rubber band, rope, chain).

The two embodiments of the cubicle partition according to the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2 differ essentially in the position of the post 4, which in Figure 2 is positioned closer to the center of the cubicle. In certain construction cases, the second embodiment offers static advantages, since the neck bar 22 can then be provided in front of the post 4 (according to Figure 2 on the right). This also has the advantage that the neck bar can be easily mounted from the front to the upper leg 24 of the partition bar 6 using a plug connection, so that fewer assembly steps are required here too. For example, a tubular

The neck latch can be attached to a holder that can be pushed over the free end of the tubular upper leg. The neck latch can be fixed at a desired location, for example by a screw fastening or by means of a securing device, e.g. a bolt, split pin, clamp or ring, that passes through a hole in the tubular holder and a hole in the upper leg.

According to an embodiment not shown, it is also possible to provide the dividing bar 6 so that it can pivot to a limited extent on the stand 4, if this is necessary in order to create additional free space within the lying boxes in addition to the vertical deflection.

All parts can be made of metal, preferably galvanized steel tube or stainless steel.

Claims (14)

1. Cubicle partition ( 2 ) for animals, in particular cows, with a stand ( 4 ) mountable on the base ( 10 ) and a telescopically attached partition bar ( 6 ). 2. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to claim 1, wherein the stand ( 4 ) has a base ( 8 ) and a stand element ( 12 ) attached thereto, which extends away from the base ( 8 ). 3. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dividing bracket ( 6 ) has a dividing section ( 14 ) for separating the individual lying boxes and a mounting section ( 16 ) for mounting the dividing element on the stand ( 4 ). 4. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mounting section ( 16 ) of the partition bracket ( 6 ) is pushed over the stand element ( 12 ) so that the partition bracket ( 6 ) is telescopically displaceable relative thereto in the axial direction. 5. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the separating bracket ( 6 ) is substantially rotationally fixed about the longitudinal axis of the stand ( 4 ). 6. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to claim 5, wherein the support element ( 12 ) is tubular and the mounting section ( 16 ) has at least one tubular section, each of which has a non-circular, preferably rectangular or square cross-sectional profile; so that the two profiles are axially displaceable and essentially rotationally fixed to one another. 7. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the separating section ( 14 ) of the separating bracket ( 6 ) is substantially U-shaped, wherein the open part of the separating bracket ( 6 ) is fastened to the mounting section ( 16 ). 8. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to claim 7, wherein a lower leg ( 18 ) of the substantially U-shaped separating section ( 14 ) of the separating bracket ( 6 ) is bevelled at an angle α towards the U-bend. 9. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a neck latch is provided on the partition bar ( 6 ). 10. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the stand ( 4 ) is inclined at an angle β with respect to the base ( 10 ) in the plane spanned by the partition bracket ( 6 ), so that the telescopic axis also extends obliquely to the base ( 10 ). 11. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to claim 10, wherein the inclined post ( 4 ) is formed perpendicular to the bevelled leg of the partition bar ( 6 ). 12. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the stand ( 4 ) has an intermediate section provided between the base ( 8 ) and the stand element ( 12 ), the external dimensions of which preferably correspond to those of the mounting section ( 16 ) of the partition bracket ( 6 ). 13. Lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the stand ( 4 ) and the mounting section ( 16 ) of the dividing bracket ( 6 ) are arranged in the direction of the center of the lying box partition ( 2 ). 14. Lying box housing with at least one lying box partition ( 2 ) according to one of claims 1 to 13.