Poultry transport cage

Claim 2

A poultry transport cage of the type having a strong rectangular frame supporting openwork sides, ends, bottom and top wherein the top of the cage comprises: a pair of longitudinal beam members spaced from and parallel to the sides of the cage; a pair of lateral beam members spaced from and parallel to the ends of the cage between the longitudinal beam members, the space between the longitudinal and lateral beam members defining an access opening into the cage; a lid fitting within the access opening; hinge means for connecting the lid to one edge of the access opening to permit rotating the lid between open and shut positions; and flanges extending across the corners of the access opening at the intersections of the longitudinal and lateral beam members for supporting the lid flush with the top when the lid is shut, the flanges also serving to round the corners of the access opening without decreasing the length and width dimensions of the opening for easier insertion and removal of poultry when the lid is open.

Claim 3

The poultry caGe of claim 1 wherein the longitudinal beam members each comprise: end portions extending outwardly to the ends of the cage from the intersection of the corresponding corner flange with the beam, said end portions having a channel-shaped cross section in the form of an inverted U for combining light weight with substantial vertical and lateral bending stiffness and a center portion between the end portions, said center portion having a cross section in the form of an inward-facing L, the upright portion of the L being joined to the outer vertical walls of the inverted U-shaped end portions and the horizontal lip of the L extending inboard of the plane of the outer vertical walls of the end portions; and the lid comprises: lateral wing portions overlying the horizontal lip of the L-shaped center portion of each longitudinal beam member, whereby the L-shaped center portions of the longitudinal beam members provide additional support under the sides of the lid without decreasing the width dimension of the access opening to less than the distance between the inner vertical walls of the end portions and without reducing the bending strength of the longitudinal beam members.

Claim 4

The poultry cage of claim 2 comprising two identical cage halves of molded plastic, each half including that portion of the cage lying on one side of a vertical plane bisecting the cage.

Claim 5

The poultry cage of claim 3 wherein the vertical plane bisecting the cage is perpendicular to the longitudinal beam members, and the cage further comprises: circumferential flanges integrally molded on each cage half, each flange having a face abutting the vertical bisecting plane and extending outward from one of the longitudinal beam members across the top, down one side, across the bottom, up the other side and inward to join the other longitudinal beam member for providing additional rigidity and strength to the center portions of the longitudinal beam members and fastening means spaced along the flanges for joining the flanges of the two cage halves together.

Claim 6

The poultry cage of claim 1 wherein the hinge means comprises: laterally extending slots in each corner flange at one end of the access opening; vertical spacer pins mounted on each corner flange at each end of the corresponding lateral slots; hinge pins attached in spaced relation to the lid in position for resting on top of the spacer pins at each end of each lateral slot when the lid is properly positioned in the access opening; and hinge securing members of resilient material including a portion in the form of a U inverted over each hinge pin when the lid is properly positioned in the access opening, with the vertical arms of the U extending downward through the lateral slot in the corresponding corner flange, and portions extending outward from the ends of the U to engage the under side of the flange adjacent the edges of lateral slot.

Claim 7

The poultry cage of claim 1 further including means for latching the lid in the shut position, the latching means comprising: a latch member mounted in spaced relation to a cutout portion in an edge of the lid opposite the hinged edge, the latch member having a lip for engaging the underside of the beam member adjacent to the latching means when the lid is shut; torsional hinge tabs joining opposite sides of the latch member to adjacent edges of the cutout portion in the lid along an axis parallel to the beam member adjacent to the latching means for permitting rotation of the latch member about said axis to disengage the lip from the underside of the beam member for opening the lid; and biasing means connected between the lid and the latch member for urging the lip into engagement with the underside of the adjacent beam member when the lid is shut.

Claim 8

The poultry cage of claim 6 wherein the lid, the latch member, the torsional hinges and the biasing means comprise an integral structure of molded plastic.