Patent ID: 7377229

Claim:
In an animal transport vehicle of the type having upright exterior walls arranged to define at least one interior animal stall, the improvement of a windowed dropdown feed door, comprising: a rigid door panel shaped to close an associated opening in one of said walls of said animal transport vehicle, and including a centrally disposed window opening therethrough; at least one hinge connected with a bottom portion of said door panel and said one wall of said animal transport vehicle to permit said feed door to be rotated between a raised, closed position and a lowered, open position; a window assembly, comprising: a rigid marginal frame having interconnected top, bottom and side portions configured for close reception in said window opening in said feed door; a mullion member extending vertically between said top and said bottom portions of said marginal frame, and having opposite ends thereof connected with said marginal frame; a latch assembly, comprising: a latch arm supported by said mullion member, projecting upwardly from a top portion of said door panel and configured for shifting selectively between a locked position, wherein said latch arm engages said one wall of said animal transport vehicle to retain said feed door in said raised, closed position, and an unlocked position, wherein said feed door is free to be rotated to said lowered, open position; a latch actuator mounted on said mullion member at a predetermined position spaced vertically apart from said latch arm, and including a slide which is translated vertically between latched and unlatched positions; and a connector member having one end thereof operably connected with said latch arm, and an opposite end thereof operably connected with said slide, whereby movement of said slide between said latched and unlatched positions shifts said latch arm between said locked and unlocked positions, such that said latch assembly is integrated into said window assembly to facilitate fabrication of said feed door.