Legs for height-adjustable brooder heating plates

Abstract

A leg for a height adjustable brooder heating plate is provided. The leg includes an elongated body having an externally configured spiral winding extending from a top end to a bottom end of the elongated body, a cap configured at the top end of the elongated body, and a foot configured at the bottom end of the elongated body. The leg is insertable into a slot of a heating plate and is capable of sliding therethrough to adjust the height of the brooder heating plate by using a push button configured underside the heating plate and/or by rotating the leg engaged within the slot.

Claims

1. A brooder heating plate (100), comprising: a heating plate (103) functioning by utilizing a radiant heat source embedded therein, the heating plate (103) distributes the heat evenly across its surface, wherein the heating plate (103) comprises a plurality of slots (103a); a cover (104) configured on top of the heating plate (103) to protect the heating plate (103), the cover (104) comprises a plurality of holes (104a); a plurality of legs (102), each of the leg (102) comprising an elongated body (102a) comprising an externally configured spiral winding (102b) extending from a top end (102c) to a bottom end (102d) of the elongated body (102a); a cap (102e) configured at the top end (102c) of the elongated body (102a); a foot (102g) configured at the bottom end (102d) of the elongated body (102a); wherein, each of the legs (102) is insertable into a slot (103a) and a hole (104a) combination of a heating plate (103), and the cover (104) and is capable of sliding therethrough to adjust the height of the brooder heating plate (100) by using a push button (103c) configured underside the heating plate (103), and/or by rotating the leg (102) engaged within the slot (103a).

2. The brooder heating plate (100) of claim 1, wherein the heating plate (103) is at least square, circular or rectangular in shape, and the cover 104 is at least pyramidal or conical in shape.

3. The brooder heating plate (100) of claim 1, wherein the spiral winding (102b) is continuously wound around the elongated body (102a) of the leg (102) and wherein each of the successive spiral windings (102b) is equidistant from each other.

4. The brooder heating plate (100) of claim 1, wherein the cap (102e) comprises a pair of prongs (102f) extending therefrom and is insertable into the top end (102c) of the elongated body (102a).

5. The brooder heating plate (100) of claim 1, wherein the foot (102g) comprises a base (102h), and a post (102i) extending upwardly from the center of the base (102h).

6. The brooder heating plate (100) of claim 1, wherein the push button (103c) when pressed allows the leg (102) to freely slide within the slot (103a), and when depressed allows the leg (102) inserted inside the slot (103a) to be locked.

7. The brooder heating plate (100) of claim 6, wherein an engaging member (103d) engages within the space (102j) located along the length of the elongated body (102a) to provide resistance to the movement of the leg (102) when the push button (103c) is depressed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings:

(2) FIGS. 1A and 1B show a traditional height-adjustable brooder heating plate with the legs widely in use with the height-adjustable brooder heating plate.

(3) FIG. 2 shows an assembled view of an improved leg assembly that can be used with the brooder heating plate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the improved leg assembly of FIG. 2.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a brooder heating plate that uses the proposed leg of FIG. 2.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a pyramidal shaped cover exploded out of the brooder heating plate of FIG. 4.

(7) FIGS. 6A-6C shows the brooder heating plate without the pyramidal cover, wherein the brooder heating plate is configured at different height levels h1-h3 with respect to ground surface.

(8) FIG. 7 shows the underside or bottom view of the brooder heating plate to specifically show push buttons that enable ease of sliding legs through the slot and hole pair located on the heating plate and pyramidal cover.

(9) FIGS. 8A and 8B shows an enlarged view of the push button in two different states of operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) Before describing the present invention in detail, it should be observed that the present invention utilizes a combination of components or processes, which constitutes a height-adjustable brooder heating plate, especially novel legs for use with the brooder heating plate. Accordingly, the components or processes have been represented, showing only specific details that are pertinent for an understanding of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with de/tails that will be readily apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific component-level details and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.

(11) Some embodiments, illustrating its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words comprising, having, containing, and including, and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open-ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms a, an, and the include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any methods, and systems similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments, the preferred methods, and systems are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary.

(12) References to one embodiment, an embodiment, another embodiment, one example, an example, another example and so on, indicate that the embodiment(s) or example(s) so described may include a particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element, or limitation, but that not every embodiment or example necessarily includes that particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element or limitation. Furthermore, repeated use of the phrase in an embodiment does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The words comprising, having, containing, and including, and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open-ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.

(13) The height-adjustable brooder heating plate and novel legs configured for use with the height-adjustable brooder heating plate will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, particularly FIGS. 2-7,8A-8B.

(14) FIGS. 2 and 3 in conjunction with FIGS. 4-8 illustrate an improved leg assembly that can be used with the brooder heating plate 100. The leg assembly 102 includes an elongated body 102a, a cap 102e, and a foot 102g.

(15) The elongated body 102a comprises an externally configured spiral winding 102b extending from a top end 102c to a bottom end 102d of the elongated body 102a. The top end 102c and the bottom end 102d are open ends. The spiral winding 102b is seen continuously wound around the body 102a. The elongated body 102a is cylindrical and may be hollow inside for receiving the cap 102e at the top end 102c and the foot 102g at the bottom end 102d. Each of the successive spiral windings 102b around the body 102a is equidistant from each other. Between each pair of spiral windings 102b there is a groove/space 102j. In an embodiment, for n number of spirals around the body 102a, there are (n1) grooves/spaces. The elongated body 102a is of a predefined length and is customizable based on the need to accommodate different sizes of chicks or based on the growing needs of the chicks. In an example embodiment, the length of the elongated body 102a is chosen such that the height of the heating plate 103 may be adjusted from 1 inch to 6 inches.

(16) The cap 102e of the leg assembly 102 is adapted to be inserted into the top end of the elongated body 102a. The cap 102e includes a pair of prongs 102f extending therefrom. The prongs 102f engage to a pair of engaging grooves (not see) configured within the interior wall of the elongated body 102a in proximity to the top end 102c.

(17) The foot 102g includes a base 102h which is substantially flat. The base 102h in an embodiment is circular. However, it should be understood that the base 102h may be configured in many other shapes. The foot 102g further includes a post 102i extending upwardly from the center of the base 102h. The foot 102g is inserted into the bottom end 102d of the elongated body 102a using the post 102i. The foot 102g portion of the leg assembly 100 is advantageous as it doesn't shrink into the bedding of the brooder or into the surface where the legs 102 stand. The foot 102g (specifically the base 102h) provides a larger surface area when it contacts the ground surface or the bedding of the brooder thus it doesn't shrink easily and provides more stability to the heating plate 100.

(18) FIGS. 4 and 5 essentially show an exemplary brooder heating plate 100. The brooder heating plate 100 includes a heating plate 103 that may be rectangular or square or circular. In a preferred embodiment, the heating plate 103 is configured to be seen in a square shape, however, it may be configured in the form of a rectangle. The heating plate 103 is in the form of a casing that function by utilizing a radiant heat source embedded therein. The plate 103 distributes the heat evenly across its surface, mimicking the natural warmth provided by a mother hen. The heating plate 103 simulates a hen keeping chicks 120 positioned underside warm and cozy. Chicks 120 stay warm by contact with the warm but not terribly hot. The heating plate 103 further comprises a plurality of slots 103a. In an example embodiment, the hearing plate 103 includes four slots 103a adapted for receiving and retaining the legs 102 of the brooder heating plate 100 as will be described in detail in the description to follow.

(19) The brooder heating plate 100 further includes a protective cover 104 configured on top of the plate 103. The protective cover 104 as seen may be pyramidal in shape. In some embodiment it may be conical in shape and so on. The cover 104 may protect the heating plate 103 from getting dirty from unhygienic poop from hen or chickens or dust and other hazardous materials or water. The cover 104 also comprises a plurality of holes 104a. In an example embodiment, the cover 104 includes four holes 104a adapted for receiving and retaining the legs 102 of the brooder heating plate 100 as will be described in detail in the description to follow.

(20) The legs 102 of the brooder heating plate 100 are essential aspects of this invention. Each of the legs 102 is the same leg 102 described above with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3. Each of the legs 102 is adapted to be inserted into the slot 103a and hole 104a pair of the plate 103 and the cover 104. In assembly, when the cover 104 is configured on top of the plate 103, the slots and the holes of the plate 103 and cover concentrically align to form four slot and hole pairs for the legs 102 to pass therethrough. Each of the legs 102 is inserted through the slot 103a of the plate 103 and then made to pass through the correspondingly aligned hole 104a of the cover 104. In operation, firstly a push button 103 provided/located on the plate 103 is pushed or pressed inward (in the direction of an arrowhead shown in FIG. 8B) to open the slot 103a, then top-end 102c of the elongated body 102 of the leg 102 is inserted through the slot 103a and the leg 102 is passed through the slot 103a and the corresponding hole 104a until a desired length of the leg 102 ejects out of the slot 103a and then the pressure applied on the push button 103c is released or depressed. As soon as the push button 103c is released the push button 103c regains its initial position as seen in FIG. 8A (indicated by the arrow). When the push button 102c is released after setting up the desired height for the brooder heating plate 100, an engaging member 103d (FIG. 8A) associated with the push button 103c gets engaged within a groove/space 102j (seen in FIG. 3) between a pair of spiral threads 102b providing a resistance to the movement. It is to be noted that leg 102 is not shown inserted through the slot 103a in FIGS. 8A and 8B for the sake of clarity.

(21) With the proposed legs 102 configuration, changing the height for the brooder heating plate 100 is comparatively made easier especially when a user or caretaker of chicks has to slightly change (with some millimeters) the height of the heating plate 103 from the ground surface or bedding to accommodate growing chicks and provide optimal warmth.

(22) In all the known traditional brooder heating plates available in the marketplaces or sold by different vendors as shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the legs are pushed through the slots and holes 13 of the plate 11 by activating or pushing the push button and that's only the option to adjust the height of the brooder heating plate 100. However, with the current leg 102 design, users can even skip using the push button 103c to adjust the height (especially when the height is to be adjusted by a very small length), the height can simply be adjusted by directly rotating the legs 102 within the slot and hole pair (103a, 104a). In an example embodiment, the user can hold the foot 102g (or other portions) of the leg 102 and rotate the same anticlockwise to increase the height of the brooder heating plate 100. Likewise, when the user needs to decrease the height of the brooder heating plate 100, the user can rotate the legs 102 clockwise. The traditional legs 14 (FIG. 1) do not allow such adjustment since the traditional legs 14 include different sets of the threads and each set is a distance apart from the other set thereby restricting the rotational motion of the legs within the slot 103a and hole 104a combination of the plate 103 and cover 104.

(23) Thus, it is the key advantage of the current leg 102 that it not only allows the user to adjust the height of the brooder heating plate 100 by using the push button 103c but it also allows a user to manually adjust the height of the brooder heating plate 100 by way of manually rotating the legs 102 in respective slot and hole pair (103a, 104a) when the plate 103 and protective covers are assembled forming the brooder heating plate 100 of FIGS. 4 and 5. If the cover 104 is not used in the embodiment, then the legs 102 just need to pass through the slots 103a of the plate 103 and not the holes 104a of the cover 104.

(24) The various components of the embodiments of the height adjustable brooder heating plate 100 the present invention are similar and interchangeable. It is obvious to the one skilled in the art that the various components, and parts of the height brooder heating plate 100 of one embodiment of the present invention could be considered for other embodiments with little or no variation. Further, the material used for the construction of the height adjustable brooder heating plate 100 and various components such as legs 102, cover 104, heating plate 103 and so on may include any material such as but not limited to: metal, plastic, wood, and so on. The term desired height in the context of the present invention refers to a height (from the ground level) suitable for the cheeks, chickens, or other small birds for which the brooder heating plate 100 may be utilized to provide optimum temperature. The desired height may be as low as 1 or 5 or 6. The maximum height of the brooder heating plate 100 will depend upon the length of the legs 102.

(25) It should be understood according to the preceding description of the present invention that the same is susceptible to changes, modifications, and adaptations, and that the said changes, modifications, and adaptations fall within the scope of the appended claims.