Abstract:
A generally hollow plastic molded pen front provides multiple operating positions of the door having sets of interdigitating hinge knuckles on the door and door jamb on both the left and right side. The door also may be swung in or out, and one or more stops can be provided for any of four configurations—left hinged swing in; left hinged swing out; right hinged swing in; right hinged swing out. With the stops removed, the door may be swung both in and out. In one embodiment a J-shaped latching rod secures both the upper and lower portions of the door when latched and a J-shaped hinge rod cooperates on the other side and can use some of the same holes as the latching rod. In another embodiment, a pivoting handle works to secure the door in a catch channel for all six configurations. Other integrated features provide a choice of feed opening sizes and a guard that minimizes feed and water contamination.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/058,303 entitled “Pen Front” filed Oct. 1, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. 
     
    
     STATEMENT CONCERNING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    This invention relates to a molded plastic front panel containing a door for an animal pen confinement system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Livestock confinement pens such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,306 and commercially available from L. T. Hampel Corporation have attained widespread usage and are well known. Such pens are made from multiple generally planar panels that are molded plastic and fit together at the corners to create a single free-standing pen or a system containing any number of pens side-to-side and/or back-to-back in generally a grid pattern. The panels are generally hollow and made by vacuum thermoforming, rotational molding, blow molding, or similar processes. 
         [0005]    The front panel of such pens is pinned at the corners to the side panels or provided with other fastening means and contains a door that is hinged at one edge and latched to the front panel at the opposite edge. The door may contain an integrated feeding system that holds buckets of feed and water, or possibly a bottle to feed younger animals. These pens must be structurally sound, easy to set up and take down, easy to remove to clean the floor on which they stand, easy to clean, and must provide effective containment of a variety of animals. 
         [0006]    In addition, the human user of the pen system may like to set up the pen in a variety of ways, depending upon their operation. Another important aspect of the pens and particularly the raising of young animals like calves is preventing contact between animals in neighboring pens, as such contact promotes the spread of disease. The pen should also function to inhibit cross-contamination of the feed and water that are provided in the pen door. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The invention in one aspect allows for multiple operating positions for the door in the front panel without the need for secondary or add-on hinges to be attached to the door or door jamb. Incorporating multiple integrated interlocking knuckle locations, which are connected together by a hinge pin passing through the knuckles on the door and jamb, allows for the closing of the opening. Other integrated features allow for a choice of feed opening sizes and also an option for a guard that minimizes feed and water contamination. 
         [0008]    The invention also provides a design for an animal pen confinement front with a door with integrated left and right knuckles that interdigitate with corresponding hinge knuckles on the corresponding left or right side of the door jamb so the door can be hinged to the jamb from either the left or right side. The door can also swing either inward or outward. A door stop to facilitate latching of the door can be provided that creates a consistent door stop. In one form this can allow the upper section of a latching mechanism to pin into the frame and lock onto the door. In addition, this allows the lower section of the locking mechanism to securely pin the door and frame together at the bottom of the door to prevent the door from swinging in the door open direction. It also stops the door in the door closing direction when it is latched and makes it easier to find the holes in the door jamb for latching the door to the jamb. 
         [0009]    The door stop stops the door in the door closing direction in the closed position of the door to help align the latch with the door or frame. The door stop(s) may be detachable and reversible to be assembled in any of four positions so the door may be hinged left or right, and may swing in or out, using the same door stop(s) for each of the four configurations. 
         [0010]    In addition, a pail cross-over guard with an integrated snap-in feature that requires no mechanical fasteners prevents the animal within the pen from feeding and drinking from a single feed opening. This minimizes contamination of materials between the buckets, to keep the water more free of feed and the feed more dry. 
         [0011]    In addition, an integrated feed opening restrictor provides for enlarging the feed open area by the user to accommodate larger animals that need a larger feed opening. When present, the restrictor keeps smaller animals from exiting the pen through the feed opening. This provides the ability to keep smaller animals inside the pen and easy modification of the pen to accommodate larger animals that need a larger feed opening by removing the restrictor. 
         [0012]    Preferably, both sides of the door and jamb have cooperating latch and catch mounts, stop mounts that provide clearance with the door, alignable hinge holes and a spacer movable to either hinged side of the door that creates a clearance between the door and jamb as the door swings. 
         [0013]    The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the detailed description which follows. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of two side-by-side pens with the pen on the left set up with the door opening inward and the pen on the right having the door opening outward; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the pens of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one of the pen fronts of  FIGS. 1 and 2  shown alone and with a pail cross-over guard shown exploded off from the door; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a detail perspective view of a portion of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing the cross-over guard assembled to the door; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a front plan view of the pen front with a feed restrictor shown in the feed opening on the right and the opening on the left shown without a feed restrictor; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a view like  FIG. 6  with both feed restrictors removed; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view illustrating a door stop assembled to the pen front in a position to stop a door that opens outwardly (closes inwardly); 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a view showing the door stop as it would be assembled to the opposite side of the pen front and with the door stop exploded off from the pen front panel; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a view showing the top part of the door latch; 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a plan view of the pen front showing how the door latch rod extends through the door with a top leg extending through the door jamb and a bottom end extending into the bottom of the door jamb and showing on the opposite side the hinge rod with its short end disengaged from the door; 
           [0025]      FIG. 12  is a view like  FIG. 1  but of a second embodiment of the invention, shown with the doors closed; 
           [0026]      FIG. 13  is a view like  FIG. 12  with the left door hinged at the right side and opening inward and the right door hinged at the left side and opening outward; 
           [0027]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of the second embodiment as shown in  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 15  is a top plan view of the second embodiment as shown in  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 16  is a front plan view of the second embodiment; 
           [0030]      FIG. 17  is a rear plan view of the second embodiment; 
           [0031]      FIG. 18  is a left side plan view of the second embodiment; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 19  is a right side plan view of the second embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0033]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , each pen  10  is defined by four panels  12 ,  12 ,  14  and  16 , with the side panel  12  between the two adjacent pens  10  shared. Thus, each pen  10  has two side panels  12 , a rear panel  14 , and a front panel  16 . The panels are secured to one another at the corners by a rod that extends through interdigitating knuckles of the panels in the manner as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,306, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. The front panel  16  may also have a steel reinforcement incorporated inside of it as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,306. 
         [0034]    Each front panel  16  includes a frame portion or door jamb  18  and a door or gate  20 . Each side of the jamb  18  is molded with knuckles  19  and each side of the door  20  is molded with corresponding knuckles  21  that interdigitate with the knuckles  19  molded into the jamb on the same side so that on one side or the other of the jamb a hinge rod  27  can be inserted through holes in the sets of knuckles  19 ,  21  to extend vertically down through the sets of interdigitating knuckles to create a hinge joint between the door  20  and the jamb  18 , on one side or the other. Therefore, the door may be hinged on either the right or the left side. Holes may be provided on both sides of the door and jamb so that the user who assembles the front panel  16  can determine which side to hinge the door to. The hinge rod is J shaped and its short end at the top of the rod is received in a hole at  23  at the top of the door  20  with its long end received in a series of holes down through the knuckles at  44 . There is a hole at  23  on both the left and the right of the door. The hole at  23  is used by the latch rod if the latch is installed on that side and is used by the hinge rod on the hinged side of the door. The side the door is not hinged to is the latch side with the latch rod  30  described below, which uses the top hole at  23  in the door on that side. The short end of the latch rod  30  uses the top hole at  44  also. Thereby, sets of holes are provided on both sides of the door and jamb, and both the hinge rod and the latching rod use some of the same holes on opposite sides. 
         [0035]    Once hinged, a door stop  22  ( FIGS. 1 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 , and  11 ) is assembled to the door jamb  18  by using screws in the correct position. The door stop  22  helps stop the door in the closed position where the latch rod can be lined up to engage the latch holes in the jamb. Alternatively, the door stop could be fastened to the door. The door stop  22  may be, for example, a piece of galvanized steel and is bent in the shape of a dog leg. It has any of four positions, two positions (inside or outside) on each side of the door opening of the jamb. It may be screwed to the jamb either from the outside of the jamb or from the inside of the jamb. If screwed on the outside of the jamb, the door will open outwardly, and if screwed on the inside of the jamb, the door will open inwardly. As stated earlier, the four positions would be left inward or outward and right inward or outward. The door stop  22  is in all four positions received in a recess in the door jamb and is screwed to a web of plastic  24  that spans the recess. The part of the door stop that does not have mounting holes and extends upwardly is received in a recess of the door that is spanned by a web of plastic  26  ( FIG. 7 ). 
         [0036]    When the door  20  is closed against the stop  22 , a latching mechanism  30  is employed that locks the door shut to the door jamb  18 . Referring to  FIG. 11 , as described in part above, the latching mechanism  30  includes an upside-down J-shaped latching rod  32 . The rod  32  has a U-shaped keeper  34  welded or otherwise affixed to it. The rod  32  may be steel and the keeper  34  may be sheet steel. The rod  32  has a long end  36 , a cross run  38  to which the keeper  34  is attached, and a short end  40 . In the position shown in  FIG. 11 , the lower end of the long end  36  extends into a hole in the bottom part of the jamb  18  at  42  and the short end  40  extends into the hole at  44  in the top of the jamb  18 . The long end  36  extends through the door  20  for substantially its full height and is guided therein by the door  20 . Guides may be molded into the door  20 , or the entry and exit holes provided at the top and bottom of the door  20  for the long end  36  may be adequate in themselves. In the position shown in  FIG. 11 , the U-shaped keeper  34  extends down and overlaps both sides of the door  20 , so that the door  20  is between the vertical sides of the keeper  34 . This forms a U-shaped yoke that cradles the top of the door and keeps the rod  32  from rotating substantially relative to the door  20  so that the short end  40  is fixed to the door  20  to keep it from swinging in or out when the latch is secured. The keeper  34  also provides a handle to lift the latching rod  32  and open or close the door. 
         [0037]    When it is desired to open the door  20 , the user grabs the keeper  34 , lifts it until the end of the short end  40  clears the top of the jamb  18  which is at about the same point that the bottom of the long end  36  clears the hole  42  in the jamb. The user is then free to open the door either inward or outward, depending upon where the door stop  22  is assembled, either on the inside of the door or on the outside of the door. 
         [0038]    Referring particularly to  FIGS. 3-5 , a cross-over guard  50  is provided that snaps into holes  52  in the door  20 . It is also hollow plastic and may be molded using methods similar to the methods used to mold the panels. No mechanical fasteners are required to attach the guard  50  to the door  20 . The guard  50  has studs  54  molded integrally with it that have ears  56  on opposite sides that snap into the holes  52  and resist removal of the guard  50  from the holes  52 . When installed, the cross-over guard prevents an animal from feeding and drinking from a single feed opening in the door, which minimizes water contamination when moving from the feed pail to the water pail and keeps the food more dry when moving in the opposite direction. As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the holes  52  may be molded with an axially-facing shoulder  58  that catches on the back of the ears  56  to retain the guard  50  to the door  20 . 
         [0039]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the door  20  is illustrated on the right side feed opening with a feed opening restrictor  60 . The restrictor  60  is molded into the door  20  and when present, restricts the size of the feed opening so smaller animals, like small calves or goats, cannot exit the pen through the feed opening. For larger animals, like older calves, that may require a larger feed opening, the restrictor  60  is cut along its outside edges so that the opening looks like the left-hand side opening shown in  FIG. 6 . When new and delivered, the restrictor would be in both openings as is shown on the right side and after both restrictors are cut out, both openings would look like the opening on the left in  FIG. 6 . The area of the cut is preferably pinched off and welded so the two sides of the panel are welded together in that area, with no space between them. That creates a single edge of a single thickness with no hollow space between the two sides of the door when the cut is made. 
         [0040]    Thus, in one aspect, the invention provides a molded plastic pen front in which both sides of the door and door jamb are provided with interdigitating knuckles through which a rod may be inserted so that the hinge is on either side of the door. The hinge rod may be J-shaped with the long part of the rod extending through the knuckles and the short free end of the rod extending into a hole in the upper side or surface edge of the door. Preferably, the same sets of holes, or at least some of them, are used for the hinge rod and the latching rod, on opposite sides of the door. In addition, a door stop may be provided having any of multiple positions so that the same door stop can be used regardless of which side of the door is hinged to the door jamb and the door stop may be used regardless of whether the door is configured to swing in or swing out. The latching mechanism includes a J-shaped latching rod that secures the door both at the top and at the bottom. The rod may include a U-shaped keeper that extends on both sides of the front so that the rod is substantially restrained against pivoting when the latching rod is latched. In addition, the feed openings in the pen front may be provided with a restrictor that keeps small animals from exiting the pen through the feed opening, but can be removed to accommodate larger animals for feeding. In addition, the pen front preferably includes a cross-over guard that can be snapped in to prevent an animal from accessing two buckets from one opening. 
         [0041]    Modifications will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art that still incorporate the invention. For example, the U-channel keeper  34  that latches the door  20  could be integrally molded or attached to the top of the door  20  rather than mounted to the J-rod  30 . Such a configuration would help hold the rod  30  from rotating relative to the door  20  to reduce play in the latching of the door and may be preferable, particularly if molded in. It would also be possible to eliminate the door stop, allowing the door to swing either way, albeit it would make it more difficult to find the upper and lower holes to latch the door. It is also not necessary to have the door stop be doglegged or in recesses. 
         [0042]    Another embodiment  116  of a 6-way pen front panel is shown in  FIGS. 12-19 . Similar elements are labeled in the pen  110  with the same reference number as in the first embodiment  10 , plus  100 . 
         [0043]    The six ways the door  120  (or door  20 ) can be configured are:
       1) Left hinged, swings out   2) Left hinged, swings in   3) Left hinged, swings in or out.   4) Right hinged, swings out   5) Right hinged, swings in   6) Right hinged, swings in or out.       
 
         [0050]    In the pen front  116 , there are two door stops  122  on the side of the jamb that opens that are reversible or can be left off to provide the six ways. Illustrated are two reversible stops on either the right of the jamb  118  (right pen in  FIG. 12 ) or the left of the jamb  118  (left pen in  FIG. 12 ). The dog-leg-shaped stops  122 , secured with a screw or bolt along one edge of the jamb, are reversed between the inner or the outer surface of the web  124  to change the door from swinging in to swinging out, and are removed to permit the door to swing both ways. If the stops  122  are removed, the pivoting latch handle  150  positions and secures the door, latching into a channel-shaped receiver catch  152  affixed to the door. The rotary latch handle  150  and its accompanying receiver  152  stops the door from swinging in or out if the door stops are removed or the door is set to swing either in or out only. The handle  150  is secured in a recess  154  of the jamb with a fastener (e.g., a bolt or screw, to swing about the axis of the bolt), and there is one recess  154  provided on each side of the jamb for the purpose of mounting the handle  150 . A J-shaped rod  127  extends through the interdigitating two knuckles  121  of the door and three knuckles  119  of the jamb, on the left side or right side, to provide the hinge axis for the door  120 . The two knuckles  121  on the opposite side of the door are received in the open spaces at the edge of the web  124  and each abuts a stop  122 , so the knuckle is bordered on four sides (top, bottom, inside and free end), providing additional stability. 
         [0051]    The door stops  122  and handle  150  may be thermoformed plastic and the catch channel  152  may be formed of metal. The webs of plastic  124  form recesses at each of the four locations per pen front where a stop  122  may be fastened with a screw or bolt. These webs of plastic are recessed inwardly from the front surface and also are recessed outwardly, either rightwardly or leftwardly, from the inner edge of the jamb  119  to create an open space between the free edge of the web  124  and the free inner edge of the jamb  118 . This allows the door knuckles  121  on the hinged side of the door  120  to extend into that space and be engaged by the J-shaped hinge rod  127  to create the hinge of the door  120  to the jamb  118 . Also, those spaces on the opposite side let the knuckles  121  swing through them so the door can open both ways if no stop  122  is present, and can be made to open one way or the other with selective assembly of the stop  122  on either the inner or the outer side of the web  124 . Recessed mounting pads  158  are also provided at each of the two locations per panel  116  at which a catch  152  can be fastened with fasteners such as screws or bolts. 
         [0052]    With the knuckled configuration of the door, there are many ways that reversible/removable stops can be attached or utilized. Making the door with knuckles permits each tab to function as either a hinge knuckle or one of the two required components of a stop. The reversible and removable stops could be affixed to either the jamb or to the door. Also, a different number of knuckles, e.g., three or four, could be provided along each edge of the door instead of two as in the illustrated embodiment, with corresponding knuckles in the jamb and each edge of the door and jamb need not necessarily have the same number of knuckles. 
         [0053]    Although not illustrated, a pail cross-over guard could also be incorporated into the pen front  116 . A construction could be provided whereby the guard could be attached to the door between the feed openings with fasteners such as screws or bolts. 
         [0054]    In addition, shouldered spacer bushings  160  can be provided between the hinge rod  127  and the holes in the jamb  118  through which the rod  127  extends. Each bushing spacer  160  is shouldered, being mushroom shaped with an enlarged head that resides between the bottom side of each knuckle  160  and the jamb  118  and a shank that extends from the head into the adjacent hole in the jamb  118  with the rod  127  inside the hole that runs through the bushing  160 , The shoulder is therefore between the head and the shank. The spacers  160  are moveable to the chosen hinged side of the door, either right or left of the door, and raise the hinged side of the door so that the door clears the frame as it swings. 
         [0055]    Preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in considerable detail. Many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiments described will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the embodiments described.