Abstract:
A stationary exercise support apparatus for a wheelchair comprises a frame with a pair of horizontal rollers across the frame onto which the wheelchair can be rolled to sit cradled between the rollers. Rotation of the rear wheels of the wheel chair thus drive the rollers while the wheel chair remains stationary on the frame. The wheelchair is held in place by a pair of guide wheels mounted inside the rear wheels of the wheelchair on a support plate behind the rear roller so that the wheelchair is prevented from side to side movement. The wheelchair is held against forward movement off the cradling rollers by a third roller positioned forwardly of the front roller which can be raised and lowered by a handle at one side to a lowered position in a common horizontal plane with the first two rollers in which the wheelchair can roll off the cradled position to a raised position preventing forward movement of the wheelchair.
Abstract:
An animal feeder includes a hopper above a shelf onto which feed can fall to be taken by the animal or dropped into a trough below the shelf. The height of the shelf is adjustable in a course movement to move the shelf from a low height for smaller animals to a raised height for the animal after they have grown. The shelf is also adjustable in fine movement to change the width of the opening through which the feed passes to control feed rate. The shelf is carried on straps which extend along the end walls of the hopper and are movable by an adjustment linkage defined by a plate carried on the end wall and a manually adjustable lever mounted for pivotal movement on the plate. The lever has two pivot positions on the plate providing the two course adjustments and two graduated scales for the fine adjustment each cooperating with a respective pivot position.
Abstract:
An adjustable water supply pipe has a pair of bite nozzles at a bottom end and a wall bracket holding the pipe vertical but allowing the height of the pipe to be adjusted. The bracket has a wall plate with top and bottom plates bent outwardly to define two aligned openings for the pipe. The top plate has a slot which holds the pipe fixed in the upstanding position but with a mouth at one side to release the pipe to an inclined position. The bottom plate is inclined to the horizontal such that the upstanding pipe is jammed against sides of the opening and such that the inclined pipe is free to slide longitudinally. The top plate includes fingers which cooperate with a locking ring on the pipe to hold the pipe upright and the slot is shaped to hold a non-circular portion of the pipe against rotation.
Abstract:
In a hog production plant the hogs are divided into a series of separate pens within the hog plant based generally on weight such that the lightest hogs closest to the initial weight are arranged in the first pen when the arrive and the heaviest hogs closest to the final market weight are arranged in the last pen. Each pen includes a sorting scale arranged to receive a hog therein and to weigh the hog for selection of one of two outlet paths leading to the next pen of the series or, in respect of the last pen, to a discharge location. A control unit for the system is arranged such that a required number of hogs to be removed from the last of the pens for market, the required number being less than the total number of hogs in the last pen and less than the total number of hogs in each of the other pens of the series is set and the sorter operated to remove the required number of hogs from the last pen and to transfer from each pen to the next of the series substantially the same number so as to maintain the numbers of hogs in the pens substantially constant. The sorter can also be used to sort the heaviest hogs into a pen where their feed is periodically and repeatedly withheld to slow their growth relative to pens of average and lightest hogs.
Abstract:
A method of storing semen includes a series of carrying trays mounted on a rack mounted within a refrigerated container. Each tray supports a plurality of tubes containing the semen with the tubes having a main body being cylindrical in shave. The rack is arranged to store the samples in a manner such that the samples are continuously mixed. The rack provides movement to the tubes for mixing. The housing may rotate about an axis such that the tubes are moved about the axis or the housing may tilt the tubes such that the sample mixes that samples end to end. The tubes can be removed from the rack on the trays for use.
Abstract:
An animal in a pen is fed by a drop tube from a raised supply system to a position at or adjacent the floor or a trough at the floor. A spout at the bottom of the drop tube extends at an angle to the tube for discharging the feed in a direction to one side of the drop tube depending upon an angular orientation of the drop tube about a vertical axis of the drop tube. A clamp for attaching the drop tube to the wall of the pen includes co-operating indexing adjustment components including a stud mounted on the tube and grooves in the top surface of the clamping band which can be adjusted to provide a plurality of indexed angular orientations of the tube about the axis for locating the direction of discharge of the spout at specific indexed locations relative to the trough.
Abstract:
A two sided feeder for feeding animals while the animals grow from a first smaller size to a second larger size comprises a trough having two opposed outwardly inclined front walls over which the animals can reach for taking feed from the trough and a feed hopper for discharging feed downwardly into the trough. The height of each front wall is adjustable by a hinged or removable supplementary portion to accommodate the different size animals. A shelf is provided above the trough onto which the feed is deposited. The height of the shelf is also adjustable. The hopper includes two vertical side walls defining a lower neck each having a lowermost edge adjacent the shelf for controlling deposit of material onto the shelf so that it remains on the shelf unless moved to the trough by the animal. The neck is supplemented by a clamped insert portion when the shelf is moved to its lower height.
Abstract:
A slat for forming a flooring structure for a hog pen and particularly the area under the sow in a farrowing crate is rectangular with side edges which abut side edges of adjacent slats to align the slats in a row. Each side edge has tabs projecting outwardly to interlock above or below tabs on the next adjacent slat to prevent lifting of the slats. The length of the slat is greater than 24 inches so that it can sit with its ends on top of an existing flooring spaced at exactly 24 inches. The slats can be supported on and held in place against longitudinal movement relative to edges of an underlying flooring by inter engaging strip elements which engage onto castellated members on the edge of the underlying flooring and include upstanding flanges which stand up under the edges of the slats to hold the slats above the flooring.
Abstract:
An adjustable feeder includes a first arrangement which acts as a dry feeder and provides two vertical slides (31) each on a respective side of a hopper (22) which is simultaneously vertically adjustable by straps (41) at the ends of the hopper. In a second arrangement the same adjustment system is used with a shelf type feeder so that the shelf (60) can be adjusted between a lower position for small animals and a raised position for large animals and the slides (31) can move vertically to accommodate the change in height of the shelf (60) and to adjust the distance of the slides (31) from the shelf (60) to control the feed flow.