Patent ID: 8091511

Claim:
A method of cleaning animal cages, involving the removal of dirty bedding from the cages, washing of the cages and subsequent refilling the cages with clean bedding, comprising the steps of: providing a transportation means, such as a pallet, filled with cages containing dirty bedding material; introducing said transportation means into a room defining a dirty side of a cleaning installation, featuring a robot handling equipment; sealing the room defining the dirty side after introduction of the cages into said room; emptying said cages with the aid of said robot handling equipment, said robot gripping each cage, emptying it over a dirty bedding receiving dump station; placing the emptied, dirty cages into a batch-wise working washing machine until said washing machine is full, and starting of the batch-wise working washing machine for performance of a washing cycle; and removing washed cages from said washing machine into a clean side of said cleaning installation, wherein the cages are introduced into and removed from the washing machine on one and the same side of the washing machine so that the room alternatively functions as a dirty area and a clean area; and filling the clean cages with clean bedding material.