Patent ID: 6889631

Claim:
A flooring system for an animal confinement pen comprising: four, spaced apart, upstanding, elongated, parallel support rails for supporting said flooring system in a standoff position from a subfloor; a first row of molded plastic foraminous flooring panels supported on spaced apart first and second ones of said support rails, said first row of panels including plural panels disposed side-by-side, each of said panels of said first row including on opposite sides thereof opposed sets of spaced apart hook-shaped flanges engaged with respective ones of said first and second support rails; an intermediate row of cast metal foraminous flooring panels supported by said second one of said support rails and a third one of said support rails, said panels of said intermediate row being coplanar with said panels of said first row and said panels of said intermediate row including spaced apart hook-shaped flanges on opposite sides thereof, respectively, and engaged with said second and third support rails, respectively, said hook-shaped flanges on one side of said panels of said intermediate row being interfitted between cooperating ones of said hook-shaped flanges of said panels of said first row, respectively; a third row of molded plastic foraminous flooring panels supported on said third one of said support rails and a fourth one of said support rails, said third row of panels including plural panels disposed side by side, each of said panels of said third row including on opposite sides thereof opposed sets of hook-shaped flanges engaged with said third and fourth support rails, respectively, one set of hook-shaped flanges of said panels of said third row being interfitted between one set of hook-shaped flanges on an opposite side of said panels of said intermediate row for interlocking said panels of said intermediate row with said panels of said third row, said panels of said third row being coplanar with said panels of said intermediate row; and said panels of said intermediate row include perimeter and intermediate webs, and plural elongated slots formed in an animal support surface of said panels of said intermediate row, respectively, between respective ones of said webs.