A DEVICE FOR OPENING THE JAWS OF AN ANIMAL

INVENTION; A DEVICE FOR OPENING THE JAWS OF AN ANIMAL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device for opening the jaws of an animal, in particular a hooved animal such as a horse, for pur¬ poses of treating the oral cavity or throat of the animal and, speci- fjcally the tεeth of the animal, in which device two mutually pivotal yokes are applied to the animal's head using strapping or the like, the device displaying first means for engagement with each jaw of the animal and being pivotally interconnected at the jaw joints of the an¬ imal and extending approximately from the one jaw joint past the front teeth to the other jaw joint. BACKGROUND ART

Prior art devices, gag bits and the like for opening the mouth of a horse are of extremely complicated construction with a number of cooperating parts, with resultant unreliability and high costs. More- over, it has proved to be no easy matter to apply such prior art de¬ vices to the animal. Naturally, this operation is rendered all the more di ficult if the animal is uneasy and difficult to handle. There have even proved to be serious risks involved in the use of prior art gag bits and the like: that they cause injury to both the animal and the person - for example a veterinary surgeon - who is to use the gag bit and carry out treatment of, for example, the animal's teeth. To name

OlΛPl one example, filing of the sharp edges of horses' masticatory teeth has, in recent years, become a steadily more common practice within trotting, horse racing and showjumping so as to improve the animal's nutritive gain from its fodder. Thus, there is a great need in the art for a reliable and readily applicable mouth-prop. OBJECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Hence, the task forming the basis of the present invention is to meet the above-outlined needs and to realise a simple and reliable mouth prop. SOLUTION

This task is solved according to the present invention in the de¬ vice disclosed by way of introduction, in that an angular lever is piv- otally anchored to at least one of the yokes of the device at a point between the jaw joint and the front teeth of the animal, and that the first angle arm is arranged, on pivoting of the second angle arm on the angle lever, to pivot the seco^'nd yoke away, from the first yoke for opening the jaws of the animal. ADVANTAGES As a result of the present invention, there is realised an ex¬ tremely simple device for opening the mouth of, for example, a horse. First, the device is extremely simple apply to the horse's head, since the device is handled in roughly the same manner as for a halter or snaffle, whereby the horse will accept it as natural that the device be placed on its head. In comparison with, for example, a snaffle, it is natural for the horse to open its mouth and accept the bit. With the device according to the present inven ion, the horse will open ts mouth and accept the bit plates between its front teeth, whereafter the strapping is applied about the horse's neck, behind its ears. Once the strapping has been tightened, it is an extremely simple operation to open the yokes, whereby, for example a veterinary surgeon may quite simply treat the horse's teeth, or perform any other treatment work on the oral cavity of the animal. The device according to the present invention is in no way painful to the animal, nor is it inconvenient for the person about to use it. The lever sections may advantageously be so adapted that the horse cannot unintentionally close its mouth.

OMPI The device according to the present invention is, furthermore, very simple to adapt to any desired degree of opening. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The nature of the present invention and its aspects will be more readily understood from the following brief description of the accom¬ panying Drawings, and discussion relating thereto.

In the accompanying Drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of one embodiment of a device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a similar view to that of Fig. 1, but with the parts of t device in a different position. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The embodiment of the present invention shown on the Drawings consists essentially of an upper yoke 1 and a lower yoke 2. The free ends of the lower yoke 2 display a strapping buckle 3 which may be pivotally anchored in the yoke 2. A strap 4 extends through the buckles

3 and is so adapted as to be laid about the neck of a horse. The strap

4 has one or more conventional tighteners 5. The strap 4 may, if de- sired, be provided with a browband for further securing its position on the head of the horse.

The free ends of the upper yoke 1 are pivotally connected to the free ends of the lower yoke 2 by means of bolts 6 and 7. The bolts 6 and 7 may be of optional type, but it would seem to be most suitable if the bolts 6 and 7 are threaded only at one end, so that they are completely smooth in that region which comes into contact with the walls of the holes in the ends of the yokes 1, 2.

The upper yoke 1 has, at its forward, arcuate end, a bit plate 8 which may be provided with a coating 9 of some material which is kind on the teeth, for example a suitable plastic material. As will be apparent from Fig. 1, the bit plate 8 is located along the one edge of the yoke 1, so that there is formed, between the yoke 1 proper and the bit plate 8, a transverse surface, or abutment surface which is provided with a coating 10 of some material which is kind on the teeth, for example a suitable plastic material. The lower yoke 2 is, like the upper yoke 1, provided with a bit plate 11 which is provided with a similar coating 12 to that on the bit plate 8. The bit plate 11 is placed in the same manner as the bit plate 8 so as to form an abutment surface which is covered with a suitable coating 13.

A link arm 15 is pivotally disposed by means of a bolt 14 on one side of the yoke 1, and on the other side of the yoke 1, there is a link arm 16 which is pivotally anchored by means of a bolt 17. The free end of the link arms 15 and 16 are, by means each of a bolt 18 and 19, pivotally anchored to the free end of an angle arm 20, 21 of an angle lever 22, 23 being pivotally anchored on the lower yoke 2 by means ofa bolt (25)«The long arms of the angle levers 23, 24 are interconnected by means of a crosspiece 26. The bolts 14, 17, 18, 19 and 25 may be of identical construction as the bolts 6 and 7. The angle levers may be of one-piece construction, which is bent in the form of a yoke so that the angle arms 20 and 21 are disposed on either side of the yoke 2, as shown on the Drawings.

When the angle lever 24 is pivoted counter-clockwise, as shown in Fig. 1, the various parts of the device will be switched to the pos- ition shown in Fig. 3, the upper yoke 1 being pivoted to the illus¬ trated opening position with the bit plate 8 at a distance from the bit plate 11. If the device is applied on a horse which bites on the plates 8 and 11 with its front teeth, the mouth of the horse will be opened and held open, as illustrated in Fig. 3. It is clearly apparent from Fig. 3 that the bolts 18 and 19 are pivoted past an imaginary line which connects the bolt 14 with the bolt 25. Thereby, the horse cannot return the yokes 1 and 2 to the position shown in Fig. 1. In order that the horse be able to occlude, the bolt 18 must be in a position on the other side of the imaginary connecting line between the bolts 14 and 25 in relation to the side illustrated in Fig. 3. So as to secure the parts in the position illustrated in Fig. 3, a further yoke 27 is dis¬ posed on the yoke 2 and is provided with a lock 28. The lock is an¬ chored to the end of a bolt 29. The end of the bolt 29 is anchored in the lock 28 and extends through a passage hole in the' yoke 27. Between the yoke 27 and the head of the bolt 29, a compression spring 30 is disposed for urging the lock 28 towards the position illustrated on

OMPI the Drawings. When it is desirable to release the lock 28 from the position illustrated in Fig. 3, the head of the bolt 29 is pressed against the action of the spring 30 in towards the yoke 27, whereby the crosspiece 26 is released from the lock 28 and may be pivoted to the position illustrated in Fig. 1. Naturally, the yoke 27 is not a nec¬ essary component, and neither is the lock 28, but tests have shown that the yoke 27 also constitutes an excellent handle or gripping member which affords suitable support while the teeth or oral cavity of the animal are undergoing treatment. The yokes 1, 2; the angle levers 23, 24; and the link arms 15,16 may be manufactured of, for example, band steel of preferably stain¬ less material, but other materials are, naturally, also conceivable.