Patent ID: 6863029

Claim:
A trailer for transporting a plurality of animals, said trailer having a floor with first and side walls that extend therefrom and a roof attached to the side walls to define an enclosed structure, said enclosed structure having a rear door for egress onto the floor and a forward door in at least one of said side walls, said floor being divided by a plurality of ramped gate assemblies, each gate in said plurality of gate assemblies is characterized by a rectangular frame having first and second bearing surfaces on a first side and third and fourth bearing surfaces on a second side, said first and second bearing surfaces being positioned to be in a perpendicular alignment with said first wall and said third and fourth bearing surfaces being positioned in a perpendicular alignment with said second wall, a plurality of roller means each having a head with a shaft respectively retained in one of said first, second, third and fourth bearing surfaces; a first rail assembly attached to said first side wall with a plurality of first vertical sections connected to a plurality of first horizontal sections by first splitter sections to define a first continuous rail member, a second rail assembly attached to said second side wall with a plurality of second vertical section connected to a plurality of second horizontal section by second splitter sections to define a second continuous rail member, said first and second vertical sections in said first and second continuous rail members being offset from each other with respect to rear door, said first and second rollers in each gate being retained in one of said first vertical sections of said first rail assembly and said third and fourth rollers on each gate being retained in one of said second vertical sections of said second rail assembly such that with said gate is located in a horizontal position to define a ramped individual stall within said enclosed structure, said each gate being moved from said horizontal position to a vertical position by said first and second rollers moving in said first continuous rail and said third and fourth rollers moving in said second continuous rail to a horizontal section to eliminate said individual ramped stall within said enclosed structure.