US-12622410-B2 - Removable rodent cage divider

US12622410B2US 12622410 B2US12622410 B2US 12622410B2US-12622410-B2

Abstract

An improvement for an animal cage is disclosed. The animal cage may include a first, second, third and fourth vertical wall, each of which is connected to a floor on a first end and includes a top rim opposite to the first end. The improvement includes a support structure and a removable divider. The support structure includes at least one slot, is positioned above the floor and may be connected adjacent to the top rim of the first and second vertical walls. The removable divider is inserted into the slot and extends vertically away from the floor. A snap-fit connection detachably connects the divider to the support structure.

Inventors

Francesca McGuffie Pierce
Dee L Conger
Jose Javier Fuentes

Assignees

INNOVIVE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231226

Claims (8)

1 . An improvement for an animal cage comprising: a support structure spanning over a floor of the animal cage and connected to a top rim of each of first and second vertical walls of the animal cage, the support structure comprising at least one slot and a spine; a removable divider configured to be inserted into the at least one slot and comprising a notch, the removable divider extending vertically away from the floor; and a snap-fit connection disposed on the removable divider and detachably connecting the removable divider to a bottom of the support structure, wherein the snap-fit connection comprises having the spine inserted into the notch.
2 . The improvement of claim 1 , wherein: the at least one slot comprises a plurality of slots; and each of the plurality of slots supports the snap-fit connection.
3 . The improvement of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of slots is adapted to divide the animal cage in a different configuration.
4 . The improvement of claim 1 , wherein the removable divider extends from the support structure to both a third vertical wall and to a fourth vertical wall of the animal cage.
5 . The improvement of claim 1 , wherein the removable divider extends from the support structure to a third vertical wall of the animal cage.
6 . An animal cage comprising: a first, second, third, and fourth vertical wall, each of which is connected to a floor on a first end and includes a top rim opposite to the first end; a support structure spanning over the floor and connected to the top rim of each of the first and the second vertical walls, the support structure comprising at least one slot and a spine; a removable divider configured to be inserted into the at least one slot and comprising a notch, the removable divider extending vertically away from the floor; and a snap-fit connection disposed on the removable divider and detachably connecting the removable divider to a bottom of the support structure, wherein the snap-fit connection comprises having the spine inserted into the notch.
7 . The animal cage of claim 6 , wherein: the at least one slot comprises a plurality of slots; and each of the plurality of slots supports the snap-fit connection.
8 . The animal cage of claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of slots is adapted to divide the animal cage in a different configuration.

Description

PRIORITY APPLICATIONS AND REFERENCES This application relates to U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/642,248 issued on May 9, 2023 and entitled “Nestable Animal Containment Cage Bases and Covers And Nesting Processes”. This application claims priority as the Section 371 national filing of PCT application PCT/US23/85944 entitled “A Removable Rodent Cage Divider”” filed on Dec. 26, 2023, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 63/611,699 filed on Dec. 18, 2023 and entitled “A Removable Rodent Cage Divider”. All of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates in part to animal husbandry, and relates in part, to equipment for caging laboratory animals. BACKGROUND Many laboratory animals, especially rodents, are often raised in a laboratory setting for biological and behavioral experiments that can shed light on mammalian physiology, reactions to certain foods or substances with a medicinal purpose, or behavior. In many studies, the animals are individually caged, and sometimes the animals are moved from one cage to another to observe various behaviors. Rack space can be very expensive, so various improvements to animal cages can improve the versatility of cage space and improve use of laboratory space. Some animal studies, such as those focused on social behaviors, may entail enclosing more than one animal in a way that they can interact by seeing and smelling one another, but they cannot fight and hurt one another. While this can be achieved by placing two cages next to each other, this would require more space, and the distance between the animals may be greater than desired due to the geometry of cages and whether the cages used can be nested or stack in a space-efficient manner. In order to study the behavior of different individual animals living in close proximity, it is desirable to somewhat constrain the physical contact between individual animals in the same cage, such as by means of a customizable divider that would still enable the animals to interact via sight and smell. In the prior art, there are instances of removable divider doors that facilitate entry from one cage into another, as provided in US Publication 2011/0168104 to Matteson et al. However, such an arrangement does not prevent physical contact that could lead to fighting between two animals, and does not save valuable rack space when providing the means to observe an interaction. Instead, what is needed is a more space saving arrangement, whereby a removable divider better makes use of a space within the same cage to facilitate interactions among animals, and preferably allows for versatile, modular configurations of enclosed cage space. SUMMARY An improvement for an animal cage is disclosed. The animal cage may include a first, second, third and fourth vertical wall, each of which is connected to a floor on a first end and includes a top rim opposite to the first end. The improvement includes a support structure and a removable divider. The support structure includes at least one slot configured to be removably connected to the removable divider or another removable structure, spans over the floor, and may be connected adjacent to the top rim of the first and second vertical walls. The removable divider is inserted into the slot and extends vertically away from the floor. A snap-fit connection detachably connects the divider to the support structure. The support structure may include a plurality of slots, where each in the plurality can support the snap-fit connection. Also, each in the plurality of slots is adapted to divide the animal cage in a different configuration. The support structure may be a food trough. The removable divider may extend from the support structure to the third vertical wall and may also extend further to the fourth vertical wall. The removable divider may also have a support cutout that at least partially surrounds the support structure. The shape of the support cutout may be complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the support structure. The removable divider may have a plurality of holes. The removable divider may be full-length (extending from one vertical wall to the opposite vertical wall) or partial-length (extending from one vertical wall but not reaching the opposite vertical wall). The removable divider may connect to and support other structures that may be added inside a cage, such as a wheel or a platform. The support structure may have a spine, and the removable divider may have a wrap-around notch. A snap-fit connection may comprise having the spine of the support structure inserted into the wrap-around notch of the divider. Additional aspects, alternatives and variations, as would be apparent to persons of skill in the art, are also disclosed herein and are specifically contemplated as included as part of the invention. The invention is set forth only in the claims as allowed by the patent office in thi