Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
225 words
An animal waterer comprising: an insulated container for holding water, said container having an open top; a supply conduit means for supplying water under pressure to said container; valve means connected to said supply conduit means for maintaining the water in said container substantially at a predetermined level; an insulated lid for sealingly closing said open top of the container; a first and a second opening in said lid large enough to permit an animal to extend its mouth therethrough for the purpose of drinking from said container; a first closure means disposed within said container below said lid for selectively sealingly closing said first opening; a second closure means disposed within said container below said lid for selectively sealingly closing said second opening; a link member; means for attaching said first closure means to one end of said link member; means for attaching said second closure means to the other end of said link member; and means operably attached to said link member and said lid for biasing said link member and thereby said first and second closure means toward said first and second openings in the lid whereby said first and second openings will be closed by said first and second closure means at all times except when said first or second closure means are pushed downwardly by livestock drinking from said container.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
225 words
An animal waterer comprising: an insulated container for holding water, said container having an open top; a supply conduit means for supplying water under pressure to said container; valve means connected to said supply conduit means for maintaining the water in said container substantially at a predetermined level; an insulated lid for sealingly closing said open top of the container; a first and a second opening in said lid large enough to permit an animal to extend its mouth therethrough for the purpose of drinking from said container; a first closure means disposed within said container below said lid for selectively sealingly closing said first opening; a second closure means disposed within said container below said lid for selectively sealingly closing said second opening; a link member; means for attaching said first closure means to one end of said link member; means for attaching said second closure means to the other end of said link member; and means operably attached to said link member and said lid for biasing said link member and thereby said first and second closure means toward said first and second openings in the lid whereby said first and second openings will be closed by said first and second closure means at all times except when said first or second closure means are pushed downwardly by livestock drinking from said container.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
73 words
The animal waterer of claim 1 including a continuous depression around the top edge of said container, said lid having a continuous projection means for extending into said continuous depression, said projection means being slightly smaller than said depression whereby water disposed in a space between the depression and projection will collect and freeze in the wintertime, thereby forming a seal to prevent cold air from entering said container around the top thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
The animal waterer of claim 1 wherein said biasing means comprises a pulley rotatably attached to said lid and a flexible line member attached at one end thereof to said link member and at the other end thereof to a weight, said flexible line extending over and around a top portion of said pulley.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The animal waterer of claim 3 wherein said biasing means is attached near the center of said link member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The animal waterer of claim 4 wherein said link member is flexible.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
66 words
The animal waterer of claim 5 wherein said first and second closure members are partially spherically shaped on a top portion thereof and said first and second openings are circular at the bottom thereof and slightly smaller than the respective first and second closure means whereby exact alignment of the respective closure means with the respective opening is not necessary to achieve a good seal therebetween.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The animal waterer of claim 6 wherein said first and second closure means are rotatably attached to said link member.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The animal waterer of claim 1 wherein said container and lid are formed of polyethelene and filled with urethane foam.