Abstract:
The invention is directed to devices, methods and systems for animal confinement. In general, the systems provide convenient wire holders that mount to a fence to hold a wire capable of carrying an electric current at a predetermined distance from the fence.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Not Applicable  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
       [0002]     Not Applicable  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention is directed to livestock or other animal containment systems to maintain the animals in a defined area. In particular, the invention is directed to devices, systems and methods for deterring an animal from contacting a fence before the animal contacts the fence.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     Known fencing systems for maintaining animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, poultry and other livestock are typically manufactured from wood, metal, plastic, or other materials, and including combinations of materials such as wood posts and polymeric railings, wood posts and steel railing, etc. A concern with many systems is the longevity of the fencing due to degradation by natural elements. Equally as damaging and often of greater detriment is the damage caused by the animals themselves due to rubbing, chewing, or leaning on the fence. Electric fence systems are known which include a wire run along a fence within the containment area of the fence which carries an electric current that delivers an electric shock to an animal when the animal contacts the wire, thus deterring the animal from rubbing, chewing or leaning on the fence.  
         [0005]     Often times, however, the electric wire is located immediately adjacent or close enough to the fence that by the time the animal contacts the wire and gets shocked, the damage to the fence, harm to the animal or both has already, or simultaneously, occurred.  
         [0006]     Simple, and easy to use systems to prevent animals from contacting fences causing damage to the fence, harm to animal or both are needed. The present invention is directed to this need.  
         [0007]     The art referred to and/or described above is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is “prior art” with respect to this invention. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. §1.56(a) exists.  
         [0008]     Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.  
         [0009]     A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention is directed to simple and easy to attach devices, systems and methods for providing a wire capable of carrying an electric current at a distance spaced from the fence to reduce the likelihood of harm to the animal or damage to the fence prior to the animal contacting the fence. The concepts and principles of the present invention and the specific embodiments disclosed teach one of skill in the art how to apply the invention in other configurations and arrangements for fencing systems not specifically disclosed herein.  
         [0011]     These and other embodiments which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for further understanding of the invention, its advantages and objectives obtained by its use, reference can be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof and the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described a embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)  
       [0012]     A detailed description of the invention is hereafter described with specific reference being made to the drawings.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a portion of a fence according to the invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2   a  is a top plan view of a fence mount wire holder according to the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2   b  is side plan view of the fence mount wire holder of  FIG. 2   a.    
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a portion of an animal confinement system according to the invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a top plan illustration of an alternative embodiment of a fence mount wire holder according to the invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a side plan view of an alternative embodiment of a fence mount wire holder according to the invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a portion of an animal confinement system according to the invention using the fence mount wire holder shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there are described in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of the invention. This description is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated.  
         [0021]     For the purposes of this disclosure, like reference numerals in the figures shall refer to like features unless otherwise indicated.  
         [0022]     Depicted in the figures are various aspects of the invention. Elements depicted in one figure may be combined with, and/or substituted for, elements depicted in another figure as desired.  
         [0023]     As known in the art, many fences are constructed using vertical support posts and horizontally extending rails. For example,  FIG. 1  is an illustration of a portion of a fence  10  having a vertical post  11  and three horizontal rails  12 . Posts  11  are generally positioned in a spaced relationship around a pasture or other animal confinement region. The particular spacing is not relevant to the present invention and is generally determined by factors known in the art including the material of the fence, the size of the pasture, the climatic conditions where the fence is located, etc. The rails  12  can be oriented in a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to the rails and extend in a longitudinal direction around the area contained by the fence. Three rails  12  are illustrated in  FIG. 1 . However, one, two, three, four, five or more rails may be used depending on factors well known in the art including esthetics, fencing material used, as well as the size, species and disposition of the animals being confined. The posts and rails can be made from commonly used materials including wood, metal, plastics, etc. and combinations thereof.  
         [0024]     One problem that can occur with such fences  10  is that the animals confined within the fence perimeter often lean on the fence, chew on the fence, rub up against the fence or do some other type of activity that can cause damage to the fence and/or harm to the animal. One well known solution is to construct the fence including one or more wires that carry an electric current and extend along the perimeter of the fence line which results in a shock to the animal when the wire is contacted. Receiving a shock when the animal contacts the electric wire will often condition an animal to maintain a distance from the fence to avoid being shocked. However, if the electric wire is poorly positioned, such as being too close to the fence, the proximity may allow the animal to contact the fence prior to or simultaneous with receiving a shock such that the damage to the fence or harm to the animal is done before the animal is shocked.  
         [0025]     The present invention provides fence mount wire holders that are simple and easy to use to position an electric current carrying wire at a predetermined distance from a fence to deter an animal from contacting the fence before it actually contacts the fence.  
         [0026]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b , one embodiment of a fence mount wire holder  20  is illustrated.  FIG. 3  illustrates the wire holder  20  mounted to post  11  of fence  10 . Wire holder  10  includes a fence mounting region  21 , an arm  22 , and wire holding region  23 . A wire  24  passes through wire holding region  23 . Wire holding region  23  also includes an insulator  25  which directly contacts the wire and is made of an electrically insulative material to prevent short circuiting the current passing through wire  24 .  
         [0027]     In some embodiments of the invention, the fence mounting region  21  can be configured to conform snugly around the perimeter shape of the cross-sectional configuration of a vertical post  11 . Thus, if the vertical post  11  has a circular cross sectional shape, the fence mounting region  21  can have a circular configuration; if the vertical post  11  has a rectangular cross sectional configuration, such as a square, the fence mounting region  21  can have a square configuration as seen in  FIGS. 2   a  and  3 , etc.  
         [0028]     It will also be appreciated that in the embodiment of  FIGS. 2-3 , the fence mounting region  21  is a closed loop  30  that completely surrounds the perimeter of vertical post  11 . In contrast, as shown in  FIG. 4 , in an alternative embodiment, the fence mounting region  21  can be an open loop  35 , that does not completely surround the perimeter of post  11 . In the embodiments of  FIGS. 2, 3  and  4 , the fence mounting region is sized and configured to snugly conform to the perimeter dimension of vertical post  11  such that the matching sizes and configurations of the fence mounting region  21  of fence mounted wire holder  20  and vertical post  11  provide for simply sliding the fence mount wire holder  20  onto the vertical post  11  and the wire holder  20  will maintain itself at a desired position on the vertical post without any further attachment accessories. However, ratchet mechanisms, screws, clips, and other similar or related systems can be used to further enhance the securement of the wire holder  20  to the fence  11 .  
         [0029]     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b , wire holder  20  can be manufactured from a cold rolled steel rod (eg. 0.187 inch diameter) that is contoured into the illustrated configuration and held securely into it&#39;s shaped configuration by interlocking tab  38 . Fence mounting region  21  has a square perimeter having sides slightly larger than 5 inches to fit around a 5 inch square vertical post  11 . It will appreciated that in this embodiment, the fence mounting region  21  includes one corner  37  which has an angle C slightly greater than 90 degrees. This configuration advantageously provides a slightly wider perimeter to provide easy fit over vertical post  11  but still sufficiently snug to permit the dependent weight of wire holder  21  to maintain a constant position on vertical post  11 .  
         [0030]     The wire holder can be manufactured from any material suitable to withstand the environmental conditions in which the fence is located. Typical materials include metals and plastics. Thus, for example, all portions of the wire holder  20  can be manufactured from steel and the insulator  25  from an appropriate electrically insulating material such as plastic, ceramics (such as porcelain), etc. Alternatively the entire holder  20  including insulator  25  can be manufactured from an electrically insulative material such as a plastic. It will also be appreciated that insulator  25  can include a channel  26  through which wire  24  can pass. Alternative configurations for a channel or other passage for wire  24  cab be can be used and are within the knowledge of a skilled person after reading the present disclosure.  
         [0031]     In a typical embodiment, the fence mount wire holder  20  of the invention will maintain an electric wire  24  in a spaced relationship along one side of the fence  10  and following a substantially parallel path along the fence  10 . The predetermined distance that the wire holder  20  maintains the wire  24  offset from the fence can generally be any distance that is suitable for the intended purpose of deterring the animal from contacting the fence  10 . Thus, in some embodiments, arm  22  can have a length D providing for spacing the fence mounting region  21  3-24 inches from the wire holding region  23 , typically about 6-18 inches. In at least one embodiment, for example, arm  22  has a length of about 10 inches. In one example, fence mount wire holders  20  having an arm  22  length of about 9 inches are spaced apart about every 16 feet, or every other vertical post, along the inner perimeter of a fence line.  
         [0032]     It is also possible that fence mount wire holders  20  having different arm  22  lengths, can be used to provide an undulating, converging, diverging or other path electric fence line relative to the rails of the fence line. Moreover, the arm  22  could also be manufactured from telescoping tube or similar arrangement to provide for selective adjustment of the predetermined length of arm  20  via pre-set stops or incremental adjustment by the tubes operating in threaded relationship to one another.  
         [0033]      FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate an alternative embodiment of a fence mount wire holder  20 . As shown in the embodiment, fence mount region  21  can be configured to hang over a horizontal rail  12  of a fence  11 . In this embodiment, fence mounting region  21  has an inverted U configuration  50 . This illustration also shows that in addition to the use of steel rods, bands, straps, etc., the fence mounting region can be manufactured from plate steel or plastic sheets contoured into a U shaped configuration. Such a fence mounting region  21  with the U configuration  50  can advantageously be used on rectangular or split rail fence rails.  
         [0034]     The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. The various elements shown in the individual figures and described above may be combined or modified for combination as desired. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims where the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to”.  
         [0035]     Further, the particular features presented in the dependent claims can be combined with each other in other manners within the scope of the invention such that the invention should be recognized as also specifically directed to other embodiments having any other possible combination of the features of the dependent claims. For instance, for purposes of claim publication, any dependent claim which follows should be taken as alternatively written in a multiple dependent form from all prior claims which possess all antecedents referenced in such dependent claim if such multiple dependent format is an accepted format within the jurisdiction (e.g. each claim depending directly from claim  1  should be alternatively taken as depending from all previous claims). In jurisdictions where multiple dependent claim formats are restricted, the following dependent claims should each be also taken as alternatively written in each singly dependent claim format which creates a dependency from a prior antecedent-possessing claim other than the specific claim listed in such dependent claim below.