Patent ID: 6953266

Claim:
A system for illuminating the interior of each of a plurality of animal cages to be positioned on a rack and cage arrangement wherein the rack has at least one cage arrangement, said arrangement including a plurality of respective animal cage positions, the system comprising: (a) a source of energy selected from a group consisting of electrical energy or light energy in the visible spectrum; (b) means adapted to cooperatively engage said source of energy to thereby provide at least one respective portion of either said electrical energy or said light energy in the visible spectrum; (c) means for transporting said at least one respective portion of either said electrical energy or said light energy in the visible spectrum to respective predetermined locations in the rack and cage arrangement; and, (d) means for converting said respective portions of said energy, if said respective portions of said energy are electrical energy, into respective portions of light energy in the visible spectrum, said respective predetermined locations in the rack and cage arrangement corresponding in number, at least, to the number of animal cages to be illumined, each of said respective portions of light energy in the visible spectrum when located at a respective predetermined location in said cage and rack arrangement suitable for illuminating the interior of a respective one of the animal cages when the respective one of the animal cages is in place in its respective position in said arrangement so that an observer can view an interior of respective ones of the illumined cages so as to visually observe the animal and contents within a respective cage, the system adaptable to simultaneously and continuously illumine the interior of all animal cages positioned on the rack and cage arrangement if required.