Rack system and monitoring for animal husbandry

• US 8,739,737 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2009
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innovive, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Innovive, Inc.
• Inventors: Conger, Dee L., McGuffie, Francesca, Jenson, Leroy, Spivey, Cory
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Kristen C
• Application Number:
  US12/614,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20100242852A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• Field of Search: 119416-419
• US Class Current: 119/419
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/0058 Construction of air inlets or outlets in roofs
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/031 Cages for laboratory animals; Cages for measuring metabolism of animals

Abstract

A rack system having shelves configured to support a plurality of disposable animal cages may include a modular configuration that is adapted to easily provide a desired rack size during manufacturing. A rack system may also include shelves which are configured to receive disposable cages and which have spring biased rails configured to receive edges of the disposable cages and provide a spring bias pushing apertures of a cage against nozzles of the shelf to provide a seal therebetween. A rack system may also include shelves which are configured to receive disposable cages and which have resilient flexible lids configured to deflect for releasable engagement into the rack assembly and establish a seal between the nozzle and receptacle for a controllable flow of air therethrough. A rack system may also include a monitoring system that includes at least one sensor in communication with a exhaust manifold of a cage that provides information to a controller that communicates cage conditions to a user via a graphic user interface. The controller may also provide information to a user independent of sensor data.

Claims

1. A rack system comprising a plurality of disposable animal containment cage assemblies, the rack system comprising:

a frame comprising a nozzle and mount members configured to receive and support a disposable animal containment cage assembly; and

a disposable animal containment assembly comprising a lid, a flange or groove and a nozzle receptacle, wherein the nozzle receptacle is on a resilient flexible surface,

each of which mount members comprising a groove or flange configured to slideably receive a surface of a flange or groove portion of a disposable animal containment cage assembly;

which nozzle is configured for releasable coupling with the nozzle receptacle of the disposable animal containment cage assembly, and which releasable coupling is by the nozzle receptacle exerting a force onto the nozzle due to deflection of the resilient flexible surface.

2. The rack system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle receptacle of the disposable animal containment cage assembly is conical.

3. The rack system of claim 1, wherein the disposable animal containment cage assembly comprises a thin polymer.

4. The rack system of claim 1, wherein the lid of the disposable animal containment cage assembly is resiliently flexible.

5. The rack system of claim 4, wherein the lid comprises a thin polymer.

6. The rack system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle receptacle of the disposable animal containment cage assembly is on the lid.

7. The rack system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle is convex and the nozzle receptacle is concave.

8. The rack system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle is concave and the nozzle receptacle is convex.