CAGE BATTERY

Abstract: A cage battery comprises a number of cages disposed next to each other in horizontal rows at different levels, which cages are formed in a frame with vertical posts (2) which are interconnected with longitudinal beams (20) extending along the front side of the cages. An air supply duct (22) forms the common rear wall of two adjacent rows of cages at the same level. The air supply duct (22) is passed through single side walls (10) extending at the same level in two rows of cages with the rear walls facing each other. The side walls (10) are suspended in transverse beams (6) connecting the posts (2). The bottom walls of two rows of cages at the same level with the rear walls facing each other are formed by a single partition element (34) extending along the bottom edge of the side walls (10) of the cages fixed to the posts (2) beforehand. Along the top edge of the side walls (10) the return part (18a) of a droppings removal belt (18) extends, for shutting off the top side of the cages. A feed trough (46), of which the wall (46b) facing away from the cages is connected by means of arms (82) to the posts (2), extends along the row of cages. The cages are provided with sliding doors (92, 94). In a laying battery, an egg discharge trough (44) is formed by separate trough parts (45) to be connected to each other and to the frame.

Description: Cage battery. The invention relates to a cage battery, compris¬ ing: a number of cages disposed next to each other in horizontal rows at different levels, each having upright front, rear and side walls, to which a horizontal top wall and a bottom wall connect, each cage being provided at the front wall side thereof with a door which can shut off an access opening to the cage, and two adjoining cages of a row having one common side wall; a frame with posts to which the cages are fixed; endless droppings removal belts extending horizontally below the bottom walls of the row of cages; and closed air supply ducts extending above the droppings removal belts and provided with blower apertures for drying droppings on the droppings removal belts. Such a cage battery is known, for example, from various brochures relating to applicant's "Pyramid 300" laying battery system and its feeding, egg collection and droppings removal systems. This laying battery has for each cage an open wire structure which forms part of the front wall of the cage, and the top, rear and bottom wall thereof, and passes into a section of an egg trough. When the laying battery is being constructed, the abovementioned open wire structures or panels are interconnected - with the interposition of side wall panels - by means of clamping bushes or the like interconnecting the wires of different wire panels, until a partial row of a small number of cages is formed, which partial row is subsequently fixed at its ends at a predetermined height in a trapezoidal, upright frame, a number of partial rows forming a complete row of cages. Extending along the front side of the cages is a continuous feed trough, which is connected to each of the side walls of the cages, and additionally serves as a supporting element for the cages, in order to place them in line with each other. The feed trough has an essentially V- shaped cross-section and shuts off a part of the front side of each cage; the access opening of each cage situated above the feed trough is provided with an outward swinging, lockable door with two horizontal bars. The bars allow the animals in the cage to reach the feed trough, but prevent them from leaving the cage. A coil for conveying feed through the feed trough is provided in the bottom part of the feed trough, which is partially circular in cross- section. A drawback of the cage battery construction according to the prior art is that it requires an i prac- tical, time-consuming and labour-intensive method for assembling the parts: particularly laborious operations are the interconnection of wire panels for assembling a row of cages and the suspension of such a row of cages between previously positioned posts, working partly above man's height. The mechanically relatively weak row of cages is also difficult to handle, and setting and adhering to the specified dimensions is a great problem. Besides, after the suspension of a row of cages, many operations are needed for aligning the individual cages with each other and with other structural parts, in particular for the sake of smooth functioning of the moving parts thereof. The object of the invention is to provide a cage battery which can be erected particularly quickly, and in which alignment of the cages relative to each other and relative to other structural parts is unnecessary. The cage battery according to the invention is to that end characterised in that the rear, bottom and top - 3 - walls of the cages are common to all cages of two adjacent rows at the same level, and are each formed by one partition element extending in the direction of the row of cages along the respective edges of side walls of the cages previously positioned in the frame. For the erection of such a cage battery, a fundamentally different method from the usual one applied hitherto is followed: first, the side walls of a row of cages in a frame are set up in their final, aligned position in the frame, following which the common rear, bottom and top walls of the cages are guided along the respective edges of the side walls, at right angles to the plane of the side walls. The common rear, bottom or top wall can be made, for example, from one piece of material of a predetermined length, or it can also, for example, be taken from a roll of material and cut to the desired length. In general, an open wire structure will be used for forming the rear, bottom and top wall of a row of cages, but any other material suitable for the specific use in a cage battery can also be used. A further simplification of the construction and a saving in material and labour costs can still be achieved if the cage battery comprises single side walls extending at the same level in two rows of cages with the rear walls facing each other, which side walls are provided with a passage for a rear wall partition element forming the rear wall of two adjacent rows of cages at the same level, and extending in the lengthwise direction of the row of cages. Cage batteries according to the prior art have an air supply duct extending along the cages at the level of the place where the rear and bottom walls meet. Such a duct is provided at regular intervals with blower apertures for the air supplied through the air supply duct. The blower apertures are generally directed at the droppings removal belt situated below the bottom wall of a row of cages, so that drying of the droppings on the droppings removal belt occurs. An air supply duct is usually provided against a bottom wall at the top or bottom side thereof. A disadvantage of this is that dirt such as droppings and dust easily accumulates in the nip between an air supply duct and a bottom wall of a cage, which adversely affects hygiene in the cage battery and leads to contamination of the animals and anything which they may produce. In addition, the air supply duct, which is generally made of plastic, becomes electrostatically charged due to the air flow occurring therein, and this attracts even more dust. As a result of this, the blower apertures may become blocked, and sufficient drying of the droppings on the droppings removal belt is no longer guaranteed. The above problems are considerably reduced in the cage battery according to the invention, through the fact that the rear wall partition element consists of an air supply duct which near its underside is provided with downward directed blower apertures, the underside of the air supply duct being at a predetermined distance from the bottom wall of the corresponding row of cages. In this preferred embodiment, the air supply duct has a large cross-section, so that a very low pneumatic resistance is achieved. Placing the underside of the air supply duct at a predetermined distance from the bottom wall of the row of cages also has the beneficial effect that animals in the cage constantly brush with their toes, legs and coat or feathers along the air supply duct and the bottom wall below it, with the result that no dirt can collect there and the blower apertures of the air supply duct cannot become blocked. Using the air supply duct as a rear wall partition element means that the air supply duct can fulfil a load- bearing function. In a preferred embodiment, the air supply duct is connected to the side walls of the corresponding row of cages and provided with means for connecting the bottom walls of the corresponding row of cages to the air supply duct, for the purpose of locally supporting the bottom walls. In a preferred embodiment of the cage battery according to the invention, the posts extend vertically along the stand-up edges of the side walls, where the latter connect to the front side of the cages, and said posts are interconnected by means of horizontal longitudinal beams extending along the front side of the cages. The posts interconnected by the longitudinal beams form the frame of the cage battery, to which the elements defining the cage are fixed. A further improved cage battery construction is obtained if the posts of horizontal first rows of cages placed above one another are connected by means of transverse beams extending in the direction of the side walls to posts of horizontal second rows of cages placed above one another, the rear walls of the first and the second rows of cages facing each other. In this way a simple frame can be built up from interconnected posts and longitudinal and transverse beams, and the side walls can be fixed to the posts prior to the erection of the frame, following which the cages of the cage battery are formed in an extremely simple way according to the invention by sliding the partition wall elements in the horizontal direction into the frame at right angles to the side walls, and fixing them. It is advantageous if the transverse beams have a cross-section in the shape of a U, between the legs of which the top edge of the side walls is accommodated. An excellent guide for the return part of the droppings removal belt is thus obtained in a simple way. In the case of the cage batteries according to the prior art, for the interconnection of cage walls which are made at least partially of a wire structure, clips which have to be fitted with pneumatic equipment are mainly used. Given the limited space in the cages, handling the equipment is a laborious operation, which is also time- consuming. An object of the invention is to improve this situation by providing a multifunctional connecting element for interconnecting cage walls and partition elements which are made at least partially of a wire structure, which connecting element comprises an essentially V-shaped body part, at each of the ends of the two legs of which a bent- back hook is provided, the openings of which hooks lie in line with each other and are adapted for hooking around a wire of a wire structure. In use, the nip of the V-shaped body part is placed over a wire running in a first direction, following which a wire of another wall, the wire running at right angles to the first direction, is hooked into the two hooks and thus hangs from the first-mentioned wire. The lateral stability of the connecting element can be further improved by providing a notch in the outside edge of the body part at the place where the two legs meet, which notch is adapted to accommodate a wire of the wire structure. In order to be able to use the connecting element also when the rear wall partition element consists of an air supply duct, the body part is provided with two cams projecting at either side, the body part being adapted for interaction with a groove which is T-shaped in cross- section, and which is formed at the underside of the air supply duct. In the prior art it is known to make the doors of the cages in the form of an element curved to a U-shape, in which the two legs of the U-shaped element form the posts for shutting off the access opening of the cage. The ends of the two legs are fixed in a hinged manner near a side wall of the cage in question, while the body part of the element connecting the two legs can be snapped behind a spring hook, in order to close and fix the door. Such a door has a number of drawbacks. Firstly, the door has only two positions as regards putting animals into and removing them from the cage: fully closed and fully open. This is impractical if only one or a few animals from a larger number have to be removed from the cage or placed - 7 - in it. In that case it is in fact possible for animals to escape inadvertently while the handler is busy with another animal. An open door is also a nuisance and a dangerously projecting obstacle which could cause injury to anyone passing, or could be damaged by people or constructions passing. The hinge point for each door, and the closure thereof, necessitate special provisions on the cages. The cage battery according to the invention provides an assembly of a first sliding door for shutting off the access opening of a first cage and a second sliding door for shutting off the access opening of a second cage adjoining the first cage, the first sliding door having first guide means for guiding the first sliding door along horizontal top and bottom guides extending at the front side of the first cage, and second guide means for guiding the first sliding door along horizontal top and bottom guides extending at the front side of the second cage, while the second sliding door has first guide means for guiding the second sliding door along horizontal top and bottom guides extending at the front side of the second cage, and second guide means for guiding the second sliding door along one or more horizontal posts of the first sliding door. An advantage of the use of sliding doors is that they can be pushed away over any desired distance relative to the cage access opening, so that only the necessary passage can be set, and there is no risk of animals escaping when another animal is being placed in or removed from a cage. A major advantage of a sliding door is that it does not take up any additional space outside the cage, so that injury to persons and damage to constructions by open doors can no longer occur. The cage battery is preferably designed in such a way that the first and second sliding doors are each provided with a snap hook which in conjunction with a post adapted thereto can provide a lock, which can be undone - 8 - with one hand, on the sliding doors in the position in which they shut off the access openings of the cages. The snap hook makes it possible to open the sliding door with one hand in one movement, so that the other hand is left completely free to handle animals. The snap hook locks the door automatically when it is pushed shut. If the snap hook of the first and second sliding door respectively is fitted at the side thereof facing away from the second and first sliding door respectively, each first or second sliding door can be opened and closed completely independently of all other sliding doors. If the cage battery is provided with feed troughs extending along each row of cages and having an essentially V-shaped cross-section and an open side at the top, which feed troughs extend outside the cages below the access openings thereof, the top guides for the sliding doors advantageously consist of longitudinal beams, and the bottom guides consist of an edge of the feed trough. The first and second sliding doors are advantageously made integral in plastic, including moulded-on first and second guide means, for example arms with grooves. In the known cage battery it is possible to place such a number of rows of cages above one another that the top row of cages can no longer be reached by hand from a position standing on an outhouse floor. Therefore, in that case provision is made for foot supports extending along the front side of the row of cages, in the form of bars which can be climbed in order to reach the top cage level. In addition, it is possible to use such bars as rails for guiding a vehicle by means of which one can move along the rows of cages at a certain level. In the conventional cage battery constructions the bars are necessary, because other parts of the cage battery are too weak to support a person climbing up them, or a vehicle moving along them. This disadvantage is eliminated in the cage battery according to the invention, through the fact that the edge of the feed troughs facing away from the cages is connected - 9 - to the posts by means of arms projecting from the posts crosswise over the feed troughs. The large number of posts and the special way in which they are connected to the feed troughs mean that each feed trough can now be used without any problem as a foot support or as a guide for a vehicle as described above. This is a considerable simplification of the construction and leads to lower costs of the cage battery. Another major advantage is that the feed trough is held very well in shape by the arms, with the result that there is no longer any risk that a coil moving in the feed trough to move feed therein will become jammed. In a preferred embodiment, the edge of the feed troughs facing away from the cage is folded back in the direction of the trough, and the ends of the arms facing away from the cages have an upward hook part which can grip under said edge under pretension. The arms can be in the form of snap elements, which permits very rapid fitting of the arms. In a conventional cage battery construction serving as a laying battery, an egg trough for supporting an egg discharge belt is formed by partial egg troughs which form part of the floor of each cage, and this support, like the bottom of each cage, is an open metal wire structure of which the top wires are directed at right angles to the direction of movement of the egg discharge belt. Such a support has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the stiff wires only have a small diameter, and the space between the wires is many times the diameter of the wires, with the result that sharp contact between a wire and an egg can easily lead to cracking of the eggshell. Secondly, the wires of partial egg troughs directed at right angles to the direction of movement of the egg discharge belt cause considerable wear on the underside of the egg discharge belt, which consequently has to be replaced at regular intervals. It also means that vibrations are transmitted to the eggs while they are passing the wires. The replacement of an egg discharge belt entails not only maintenance costs, but also undesirable stoppage costs. Moreover, the drive of the belt over the transverse wires uses a relatively large amount of energy. Furthermore, the return part of the egg discharge belt is supported only to a limited degree; it therefore moves over large distances unguided and unsupported. This can lead to faults in belt running, and the tensions in the belt are locally high. Another drawback is that the partial egg troughs are often not in line with each other, so that there is a risk that the eggs being conveyed on the egg discharge belt will be cracked near transitions between partial egg troughs. These transitions can be considerable, because the partial egg troughs follow the movements of the cage bottoms, which movements are caused by the animals moving in the cages. In order to eliminate the abovementioned drawbacks, the invention provides for separate partial egg troughs which are the same length as the width of a cage or a multiple thereof, the partial egg troughs being provided with connecting means for rigidly connecting the partial egg troughs to each other and to the frame. The partial egg troughs are preferably provided with ribs which run parallel to the direction of movement of the egg discharge belt. The cage design according to the invention means that the egg trough can be designed entirely separately from the cages, and its design can be geared in the best possible way to the demands to be made upon it. Making the partial egg trough from a flexible material, for example a plastic, means that it is possible to make the element without sharp edges which can damage the eggs, and with a flexibility and with shock-absorbing features which largely prevent cracking of the eggshell. The guidance of the belt is straighter because of the ribs running parallel to the direction of conveyance of the eggs. It has also been found that 2/3rds of the originally required driving force for the egg discharge belt will suffice. Making the partial egg troughs separate from the cage bottoms means that the position of the egg trough is not affected by cage bottom movements, which greatly increases the stability of the egg trough. Abrupt transitions between adjacent partial egg troughs are no longer possible, because of the connecting means which advantageously at one end of a partial egg trough have projecting pins which can be accommodated in holes in an adjacent end of another partial egg trough. Each partial egg trough preferably comprises one or more guides for the return part of the egg discharge belt. In this way a good guide is obtained, and the tension in the egg discharge belt is kept as low as possible over the entire length. The invention is explained with reference to the drawing, in which: Fig. 1 shows a cross-section through one level of an embodiment of a laying battery according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of an egg trough according to Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a partial egg trough; Fig. 4 is a cross-section of a feed trough according to Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 5 shows a cross-section of a part of an air supply duct according to Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a multifunctional connecting element; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an assembly of a first and a second sliding door; and Fig. 8 is a part of a front view of a row of cages, in order to illustrate the way in which the sliding doors function. In the Figures identical reference numbers relate to identical elements or elements with an identical function. Fig. 1 shows two posts 2 extending in the vertical direction and fixed to a base 4. The posts 2 have an essentially U-shaped cross-section, the free ends of the legs of the U being bent towards each other, and the open side of each post 2 facing away from the cages. In order to form rows of cages between the posts, a number of posts 2 are placed in line with each other, one after the other, in the direction at right angles to the plane of the drawing. Each pair of posts 2 is connected in the direction at right angles to the direction of the row of cages by means of transverse beams 6 with an essentially U-shaped cross- section, the open side of which faces downwards. The transverse beams 6 are provided with notches 8 near the ends thereof, by means of which the transverse beams 6 can be placed in an opening designed for them in the posts 2 and can ensure an accurate distance betweeneachpair of posts2whichisdetermined by the distance between the notches 8. A side wall panel 10, made of a number of metal wires which are interconnected by spot welding, is also disposed between the posts 2. A number of horizontal wires 10a, 10b and 10c of the side wall panel 10 project through openings provided for them in each post 2 and are bent over for a permanent fixing of the side wall panel 10 to the posts 2. In addition, the side wall panel 10 is connected to the transverse beams 6 by means of hooks 12. Between the posts 2 extends a shaft 14, on which a number of wheels 16 which are rotatable about the shaft 14 are fitted, which wheels serve to support and guide the top part of a droppings removal belt 18. The return side 18a of the droppings removal belt can glide over the rounded top sides of the transverse beams 6. The posts 2 are interconnected at predetermined distances in the direction of the row of cages by means of longitudinal beams 20, as illustrated in Fig. 8. Returning to Fig. 1, for construction of the laying battery, a number of assemblies are first erected, consisting of two posts 2, a number of side wall panels 10, a number of transverse beams 6, and a number of shafts 14 with wheels 16. Such assemblies can simply be erected in the horizontal position, so that there is no need yet for ladders at this stage of the assembly of the laying battery. A number of assemblies erected in this way are then placed one after the other and interconnected by means of longitudinal beams 20. This produces a sturdily connected frame, on which all other components of the laying battery can be fixed. An air supply duct 22 with a special cross-section is pushed into openings provided centrally and aligned in the side wall panels 10, in the direction of the row of cages. Said air supply duct 22 acts as a rear wall partition element for two rows of cages to be formed on either side of the air supply duct 22. At the top side the air supply duct 22 is provided with a trough for collecting spilt drinking water coming from drinking nipples 24 of a drinking water supply duct 26. The drinking water supply duct 26 is provided in advance with drinking nipples 24, is then passed with laterally directed drinking nipples 24 through the openings 28 of the side wall panels 10 which are in line with each other, and is finally turned through 90° to the position shown in Fig. 1. The formation of a collection trough for spilt drinking water at the top side of the air supply duct 22 ensures that drinking water is prevented from reaching the droppings removal belt 18 and adversely affecting drying of the droppings there. At the underside the air supply duct 22 is provided with blower apertures 30, for ventilating the cages and promoting drying of droppings lying on the droppings removal belt 18. The air supply duct 22 is also provided at the underside with a longitudinal groove with a T-shaped cross-section, in which a multifunctional connecting element 32, discussed below with reference to Fig. 6, can be fitted. Protective sections 36 with a Z-shaped cross- section, for protecting the edges of the droppings removal belt 18, are simple to push through the openings bounded by the underside of the side wall panels 10, posts 2 and shafts 14 lying in a row. The sections 36 are provided at predetermined distances with notches which are intended for accommodating the shafts 14 in each post 2. In a similar way, a bottom panel 34, made in one piece with a V-shaped cross-section, can be passed with the edges sliding over the protective sections 36 along the posts 2 and then connected to the side walls 10 by means of the connecting elements 32. The side wall panels 10 are provided at their sides with passages 38, through which a strip, acting as an egg protection section 40, can be passed. The egg protection section 40 is provided at the top side with recesses disposed at a predetermined distance from each other, with the result that, after it is slid between the posts 2, it can be tilted and thus fixed in the lengthwise direction. At the centre of the front wall of each cage is a bracket 42 which at one end hooks around a wire of the bottom panel 34 lying below it and at the other end thereof hooks into an opening in the egg protection section 40. The bracket 42 supports the bottom panel 34 and ensures that it remains flat, with the result that eggs which have been laid roll out over the full width of each cage onto the egg discharge belt, and therefore knock against each other as little as possible. Egg troughs 44, feed troughs 46 and sliding doors 48 extend along the front wall of the cages, and will be discussed in detail below with reference to Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 7 and 8, respectively. Figs. 2 and 3 show an egg trough 44 which is made up of a number of partial egg troughs 45, fitted and unfitted respectively. The partial egg trough is made in one piece from a plastic, and comprises four guide ribs 50 which are interconnected by means of transverse ribs 52. The guide ribs 50 extend in the lengthwise direction of the egg discharge trough 44, for optimum guidance of an egg discharge belt 54 with little friction resistance. Fitted at one end of each partial egg trough 45 is a bridge 56, which is provided with a number of cams 58 for guiding and supporting the return part 54a of the egg discharge belt 54. The partial egg trough 45 is provided along one long side with an upright wall 60, in order to prevent eggs rolling out of a cage onto the egg discharge belt 54 from rolling out of the egg trough 44. At the other long side of the partial egg trough 45, a number of projections 62 facing the bottom panel 34 of the cages are moulded onto the partial egg trough 45. The projections 62 form a step of a stepwise transition from the bottom panel 34 to the egg trough 44. Such a stepwise transition prevents an egg from sticking at the transition between the bottom panel 34 and the egg trough 44. The partial egg trough 45 is also provided at the last-mentioned long side with resilient fixing elements 64, for connecting the partial egg trough 45 to a post 2, and a hook 66 for connecting the partial egg trough 45 to the guide section 38 via an opening therein. Each partial egg trough 45 is provided at one end with pins 68, which can be accommodated in holes 70 at the other end of another partial egg trough 45. Fig. 4 shows in detail the way in which a feed trough 46 is fixed to the posts 2. The cross-section of the feed trough 46 is essentially V-shaped, the underside of the feed trough 46 having a partially circular cross- section in which a coil 72 can be moved in the lengthwise direction, for moving feed in the feed trough 46. At the underside the feed trough 46 rests on supports 74, which are provided with downward directed hooks 76 for suspending the supports 74 in elongated openings in a wall of the posts 2. Each support 74 contains an insulator 78 with an opening 80 through which an electrically conducting wire can be passed, in order to act as an electric fence to prevent birds from pecking eggs lying on the egg trough through the opening between the bottom wall 34 and the egg protection section 40. The edge of the feed trough 46 running along the front side of the cages is folded back twice in the direction of the trough, forming an essentially horizontal face 46a. The other edge of the feed trough 46 is also folded back twice in the direction of the trough, forming a vertical face 46b and an edge 46c forming an acute angle therewith. The feed trough 46 is supported near the edge 46c by means of an arm 82, which is hooked with an upward hook 84 into an opening in the post 2. The arm 82 is made of a hollow tube with a circular cross-section which is flattened at both ends. The face of the flattened end 82a of the arm 82 is at an angle of 90° relative to the face of the flattened end 82b and is bent upwards in the direction of the hook 84. A recess 82c is provided in the flattened end 82b, in order to accommodate the face 46a of the feed trough 46. For fitting the arm 82, the hook 84 is first hooked into the post 2, following which the arm 82 comes to rest in the recess 82c on the face 46a, which face 46a must be pressed downwards in order to be able to hook the bent end 82a of the arm 82 under the edge 46c of the feed trough 46. Such a suspension of the feed trough 46 under pretension ensures that it retains its shape, and makes it possible for a person to use the feed trough as a foot support when carrying out work in the top rows of cages of the laying battery. Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate the design and the use of the connecting element 32. It should be pointed out here that in Fig. 5 the central connecting element 32 lies halfway between two side wall panels 10 and is therefore connected at the top side to the air supply duct 22 and at the bottom side to a wire 90 of the bottom panel 34, while the other two connecting elements 32 are used for connecting the side wall panel 10 to the bottom panel 34. As Fig. 6 shows, the connecting element 32 comprises an essentially V-shaped body part, which is provided with a hook 32a at both free ends. A notch 32b is provided at the outside edge of the body part, at the place where the two legs meet. A resilient lip 32c in the case of each hook 32a prevents a wire, once it is in the hook 32a, from springing out of the hook. The two hooks 32a are relatively narrow, with the result that the contact surface with a wire to be placed therein is small, and the chance of corrosion consequently is minimal. The connecting elements 32 are provided with laterally projecting cams 33, which permit a connection with a groove with a T-shaped cross-section at the underside of the air supply duct 22. Unlike the connecting elements accc iing to the prior art, the connecting element 32 supports the bottom wires of the bottom panel 34, with the result that the spot welds between said wires and the wires running crosswise thereto in the bottom panel 34 are not subjected to tensile stress, which is very beneficial for the service life of the spot welded connections. Fig. 7 shows an assembly of a first sliding door 92 and a second sliding door 94, which both have two longitudinal posts 92a and 94a respectively, which are connected to each other by means of four transverse posts 92b and 94b. The first sliding door 92 is provided with four arms 92c, 92d projecting at right angles to the direction of the longitudinal posts 92a, the arms 92c being provided at their ends with narrow notches 96, while the arms 92d are provided at their ends with broad notches 98. The arms 92c and 92d are interconnected at the righthand side of the first sliding door 92 shown in Fig. 7, and with the adjacent transverse post 92b bound an opening 93 for allowing through the longitudinal posts 94a and transverse posts 94b of the second sliding door 94. The second sliding door 94 is provided with an arm 94c directed at right angles to the lengthwise direction of the sliding door 94, and having a narrow notch 100 at the end, and an arm 94d extending in the opposite direction and being provided at the end with a broad notch 102. The part of the second sliding door 94 projecting through the opening 93 of the first sliding door 92 is guided at the end thereof along the edges of the longitudinal posts 92a by means of lips 94e gripping around it. The first sliding door 92 and the second sliding door 94 are each provided with a snap lock 104, 106 respectively at the side facing away from the second sliding door and first sliding door 92, respectively. The snap locks 104 and 106 can hook behind an edge of the posts 2 at the open side thereof and can be unlocked by exerting pressure thereon between thumb and forefinger. As Fig. 8 shows, the notches 96 and 100 are intended for guiding the first and second sliding doors 92 and 94 along the longitudinal beams 20 of the frame, while the broad notches 98 and 102 of the first sliding door 92 and second sliding door 94 are intended for guiding the sliding doors over the face 46a of the feed troughs 46. The various parts from which the laying battery is composed are as far as possible designed in such a way that they can be interconnected by hand without additional fixing means, or with the use of very simple equipment, for example for bending over wires or lips. Many parts can thus be interconnected by interhooking, for example the posts 2 and the transverse beams 6. The longitudinal beams .20 and the posts 2 are interconnected by providing the posts with a keyhole-shaped opening with a circular top part and a rectangular, narrower bottom part, a longitudinal beam 20 with a circular cross-section being provided at two opposite sides with grooves extending at right angles to the lengthwise direction. For fitting thereof, a longitudinal beam 20 is first inserted into the top part of the appropriate opening in a post 2 and then pressed into the bottom part of the opening at the position of the grooves. Although the invention is explained with reference to an embodiment of a laying battery, it will be clear that the measures according to the invention can also be carried out in the case of rearing batteries, both for birds and for other animals.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Cage battery, comprising: a number of cages disposed next to each other in horizontal rows at different levels, each cage having upright front, rear and side walls (10) , to which a horizontal top wall and a bottom wall (34) connect, each cage being provided at the front wall side thereof with a door (48) which can shut off an access opening to the cage, and two adjoining cages of a row having one common side wall (10); a frame with posts (2) to which the cages are fixed; endless droppings removal belts (18, 18a) extending horizontally below the bottom walls of the row of cages; and closed air supply ducts (22) extending above the droppings removal belts and provided with blower apertures (30) for drying droppings on the droppings removal belts, characterised in that the rear, bottom and top walls of the cages are common to all cages of two adjacent rows at the same level, and are each formed by one partition element extending in the direction of the row of cages along the respective edges of side walls of the cages previously positioned in the frame. 2. Cage battery according to claim 1, characterised by single side walls (10) extending at the same level in two rows of cages with the rear walls facing each other, which side walls are provided with a passage for a rear wall partition element forming the rear wall of two adjacent rows of cages at the same level, and extending in the lengthwise direction of the row of cages. 3. Cage battery according to claim 2, characterised in that the rear wall partition element consists of an air supply duct (22) which near its underside is provided with downward directed blower apertures (30) , the underside of the air supply duct being at a predetermined distance from the bottom wall (34) of the corresponding row of cages. 4. Cage battery according to claim 3, characterised in that the air supply duct (22) is connected to the side walls (10) of the corresponding row of cages and is provided with means for connecting the bottom walls (34) of the corresponding row of cages to the air supply duct, for the purpose of locally supporting the bottom walls. 5. Cage battery according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the posts (2) extend verti¬ cally along the stand-up edges of the side walls (10), where the latter connect to the front side of the cages, and said posts are interconnected by means of horizontal longitudinal beams (20) extending along the front side of the cages. 6. Cage battery according to claim 5, characterised in that the posts (2) of horizontal first rows of cages placed above one another are connected by means of transverse beams (6) extending in the direction of the side walls (10) to posts of horizontal second rows of cages placed above one another, the rear walls of the first and the second rows of cages facing each other. 7. Cage battery according to claim 6, characterised in that the transverse beams (6) have a cross-section in the shape of a U, between the legs of which the top edge of the side walls (10) is accommodated. 8. Cage battery according to any of the preceding claims, characterised by a multifunctional connecting element (32) for interconnecting cage walls and partition elements which are made at least partially of a wire structure, which connecting element comprises an essential- ly V-shaped body part, at each of the ends of the two legs of which a bent-back hook (32a) is provided, the opening of which hooks lie in line with each other and are adapted for hooking around a wire (90) of a wire structure (34) . 9. Cage battery according to claim 8, characterised in that a notch (32b) is provided in the outside edge of the body part at the place where the two legs thereof meet, which notch is adapted to accommodate a wire of the wire structure. 10. Cage battery according to claim 8 or 9 , characterised in that the body part is provided with two cams (33) projecting at either side, the body part being adapted for interaction with a groove which is T-shaped in cross-section, and which is formed at the underside of a rear wall partition element in the form of an air supply duct (22) . 11. Cage battery according to claim 5, characterised in that it comprises an assembly of a first sliding door (92) for shutting off the access opening of a first cage and a second sliding door (94) for shutting off the access opening of a second cage adjoining the first cage, the first sliding door (92) having first guide means (92c, 92d, 96, 98) for guiding the first sliding door along horizontal top and bottom guides (20, 46a) extending at the front side of the first cage, and second guide means (92c, 92d, 96, 98)- for guiding the first sliding door along horizontal top and bottom guides (20, 46a) extending at the front side of the second cage, while the second sliding door (94) has first guide means (94c, 94d, 100, 102) for guiding the second sliding door along horizontal top and bottom guides (20, 46a) extending at the front side of the second cage, and second guide means (94e) for guiding the second sliding door along one or more horizontal posts (92a) of the first sliding door (92) . 12. Cage battery according to claim 11, characterised in that the first and second sliding doors (92, 94) are each provided with a snap hook (104, 106) which in conjunction with a post (2) adapted thereto can provide a lock, which can be undone with one hand, on the sliding doors in the position in which they shut off the access openings of the cages. 13. Cage battery according to claim 12 , characterised in that the snap hook (104, 106) of the first or second sliding door (92, 94) is fitted at the side thereof facing away from the first or second sliding door. 14. Cage battery according to claim 11, provided with feed troughs (46) extending along each row of cages and having an essentially V-shaped cross-section and an open side at the top, which feed troughs extend outside the cages below the access openings thereof, characterised in that the top guides consist of the longitudinal beams (20) , and in that the bottom guides consist of an edge (46a) of the feed trough (46) . 15. Cage battery according to claim 5, provided with feed troughs (46) extending along each row of cages and having an essentially V-shaped cross-section and an open side at the top, which feed troughs extend outside the cages below the access openings thereof, characterised in that the edge (46a) of the feed troughs (46) facing away from the cages is connected to the posts (2) by means of arms (82) projecting from the posts crosswise over the feed troughs. 16. Cage battery according to claim 15, characterised in that the edge (46c) of the feed troughs (46) facing away from the cages is folded back in the direction of the trough, and in that the ends of the arms (82) facing away from the cages have a upward hook part (82a) which can grip under said edge (46c) under pretension. 17. Laying battery, comprising a cage battery according to any of the preceding claims, provided with egg troughs (44) extending along each row of cages and having therein endless egg discharge belts (54, 54a) which can be moved along, which egg troughs extend outside the cages below the feed troughs (46) and connect to the bottom walls (34) of the cages, characterised in that the egg troughs (44) each consist of a number of partial egg troughs (45) which are the same length as the width of a cage or a multiple thereof, the partial egg troughs (45) being provided with connecting means (68, 70, 64, 66) for rigidly connecting the partial egg troughs to each other and to the frame. 18. Laying battery according to claim 17, characterised in that the partial egg troughs (45) are provided with ribs (50) which run parallel to the direction of movement of the egg discharge belt (54, 54a). 19. Laying battery according to claim 17 or 18, characterised in that the connecting means for intercon- necting the partial egg troughs (45) consist of pins (68) projecting at one end of a partial egg trough, which pins can be accommodated in holes (70) in an adjacent end of another partial egg trough. 20. Laying battery according to any of claims 17 - 19, characterised in that each partial egg trough (45) has one or more guides (56, 58) for the return part (54a) of the endless egg discharge belt.

Inventors: VAN DAELE ANTOINE ACHIEL, VAN DAELE, ANTOINE, ACHIEL
Applicants: DAELE ANTOINE ACHIEL VAN, ROXELL NV, ROXELL N.V.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: A01K31
IPC codes: A01K31