Patent ID: 7426904

Claim:
A small-animal mount assembly for mounting a small animal, comprising: a table member having a top surface, a bottom surface, and defining a table plane; a platform member having a top face and an opposed bottom face, the bottom surface of the table member being mounted thereon the top face of the platform member; a means for orienting the table member so that the table plane of the table is positioned in a desired table plane; and a means for releasably mounting the platform member to the means for orienting the table member, wherein the means for orienting the table member comprises an orientation control mechanism that comprises: a ball-joint lock assembly having a distal end and a proximal end, the distal end of the ball-joint lock assembly being operatively coupled to the means for releasably mounting the platform member, the ball-joint lock assembly being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the ball-joint assembly is constructed and arranged such that the distal end of the ball-joint lock assembly can be positioned at a selected angle with respect to an upright axis, and a magnetic lock housed partially within a bottom portion of a housing and having a movable magnet, the magnetic lock movable from a retracted, non-engaged, position to an engaged position.