Patent ID: 11903364
Assignee: ICM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 11:
12. A method comprising:
maintaining an animal-containment facility, the facility comprising a floor and one or more penning systems, wherein each of the one or more penning systems is for an area along an elongate barrier and over the floor and comprises:
movable-barriers;
partitions which carry the movable-barriers; and
partition-mountings attached to the elongate barrier, which mount the partitions to swing about the partition-mountings, and
wherein the partitions, and the movable-barriers, of each of the one or more penning systems are movable:
from a deployed configuration,
in which the partitions are spaced along the elongate barrier, extend transversely to the elongate barrier, and extend outwardly from the partition-mountings and the elongate-barrier to partition the area into spaces comprising a respective space between each adjacent two of the partitions, and
the movable-barriers enclose the spaces to define pens for penning animals, each of the pens being defined by the elongate-barrier, two of the partitions and one of the movable-barriers;

to a collapsed configuration wherein the partitions and movable-barriers are collapsed for cleaning the floor; and

wherein the partition-mountings of each of the one or more penning systems cantilever the partitions to hold the partitions and the movable-barriers clear of bedding material and debris on the floor, such that the partitions and movable-barriers are supported only by the partition-mountings;

the method comprising in connection with a penning system of the one or more penning systems:
removing animals from the pens;
collapsing the partitions and the movable-barriers to the collapsed configuration; and
cleaning the floor.