Livestock squeeze chute with longitudinal torsion bar, mechanically advantageous manual drive linkage, hydraulic conversion kit, and passive c-frame panel stabilization

Abstract

A parallel livestock squeeze chute is capable of setup for manual or hydraulic operation, using predefined mounting locations for conveniently installable bolt-on equipment. A manual drive linkage has a crank and handle equipped upright driveshaft to impart substantially linear displacement of a drive link directly to one squeeze panel for optimal mechanical advantage, which in turn drives the opposing squeeze panel via a rocker equipped torsion tube linked to both panels. For conversion to hydraulic, the manual drive linkage is disconnected or removed, and a hydraulic actuator, via a bolt-on bracket including a swivel post for a control station swing arm, is coupled to the torsion tube for direct drive of both panels via the rockers thereof. Front-to-rear synchronization imparted by the torsion tube is supplemented by undriven C-frames at front and rear ends of the panels to maintain verticality of each panel, and longitudinal parallelism between the two panels.

Description

[0001] LIVESTOCK SQUEEZE CHUTE WITH LONGITUDINAL TORSION BAR, MECHANICALLY ADVANTAGEOUS MANUAL DRIVE LINKAGE, HYDRAULIC CONVERSION KIT, AND PASSIVE C-FRAME PANEL STABILIZATION

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates generally to livestock handling equipment, and more specifically to livestock squeeze chutes.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Conventionally, commercially available livestock squeeze chutes have been categorized in terms of how they are powered, namely manual or hydraulic, and in the shape of the squeeze space inside the chute, namely parallel squeeze, where the two squeeze panels occupy parallel vertical planes, and V-squeeze, where the two squeeze panels lies at oblique angles of upwardly divergent relation to one another, and the squeeze action occurs via inward pivoting of the squeeze abouts about pivotally supported bottom ends thereof. In the field of manually powered parallel squeezes, the movement of the squeeze panels is typically not a pure linear displacement in the lateral direction crosswise to the chute, instead typically involving some fore / aft swing in the longitudinal direction through which animals traverse through the chute. Some of the manually exerted input power in thus inherently wasted, being transformed into such fore / aft swinging motion, and not into the lateral motion that is the intended purpose of the squeeze: to bear laterally against the sides of the animal. In association with such inefficiencies, it remains a challenge of how to achieve notable holding force in a manual squeeze chute.

[0006] Hydraulically powered chutes are capable of much greater holding force than a conventional manual squeeze chute. Some hydraulically powered squeeze chutes have been designed that more closely resemble a true-parallel function with pure lateral displacement. U.S. patent 6,609,480 discloses a hydraulically powered squeeze chute in which hydraulic cylinders drive rollers chains at the top and bottom of each end the chute, and each end of each squeeze panel is connected to both the upper and lower rollers chains, with the two squeeze panels being attached to opposite top and bottom runs of each such chain, such that rotation of the chain in one direction moves the two squeeze panels further apart, and rotation in the other direction moves them closer together. US8240276 discloses an alternative approach, where the squeeze panels roll back and forth in the lateral direction on rollers, and eight separate hydraulic cylinders are used actuate the lateral displacement of the squeeze panels.

[0007] Neither of these references provides a true-parallel, purely lateral solution that is instead implementable in a manual chute however. This denotes another known shortcoming of the product offerings in the art, where designs typically tend to be specific, to either a hydraulic-focussed design process - destined to result in a high cost heavy duty product offering that can’t always be justified by the consumer, or in a lower cost but less robust and effective manual solution. Typically there is no commercial solution from the manufacturer to later upgrade the existing piece of equipment, at least not conveniently or easily without notable modification.

[0008] In one known example of a different approach, Robert Studebaker (GoBobPipe.com) has released a squeeze chute called the Lakeside 350, which addresses the holding force shortcomings of conventional manual squeeze chutes, without necessarily going to a fully hydraulic setup, by employing a hybrid approach of manual actuation with a hydraulic assist.

[0009] Despite such developments in the art, there remains a desire for improved solutions, including further optimization of a purely mechanical manual squeeze for maximum holding force, but also in fresh design contemplation of a solution by which a solid performing and reliable manual squeeze can be easily upgraded to hydraulic operation, without time or cost inventive redesign and custom fabrication, and ideally without permanent modification to existing componentry that has carryover usefulness in the changeover from manual to hydraulic operation.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks that span in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, and from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; a longitudinal torsion tube running longitudinally of the framework in adjacent to the header thereof at the first side of the chute; and at least two rockers on the longitudinal torsion tube for rotational movement therewith, each rocker having a first pivotally linked connection to the first squeeze panel and a second pivotally linked connection to the second squeeze panel.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks spanning in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and along which the first and second squeeze panels are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel, and comprises: a crank arm rotatable about an upright axis on the second side of the chute, and drive link pivotally coupled to said crank arm and spanning laterally cross-wise of the header to make connection to the first squeeze panel at an orientation substantially perpendicular thereto. According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks spanning in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and along which the first and second squeeze panels are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel; and a motion converter supported on the structural framework at the first side of the chute across from the second side thereof from which the manual drive linkage is manually operable, said motion converter being coupled to the first squeeze panel independently of the manual drive linkage, and also coupled to the second squeeze panel, and being operable to convert manually actuated movement of the first squeeze panel, via the manual drive linkage, into corresponding movement of the second squeeze panel.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks spanning in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and along which the first and second squeeze panels are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; one or more linkages through which the first and second squeeze panels are driveable in said opening and closing directions; and for each squeeze panel, a respective pair of front and rear C-frames connected to the squeeze panel, at locations of respective adjacency to front and rear ends of said squeeze panel, each C-frame comprising an upright torsion tube rotatably mounted to the structural framework for rotation about a respective upright axis, an upper pivotally linked connection to the squeeze panel proximate a top end thereof, and a lower pivotally linked connection to the squeeze panel proximate a bottom end thereof, by which movement of said top and bottom ends of the squeeze panel is synchronized during movement of the squeeze panel in the squeezing and releasing directions; wherein the squeeze panels and the C-frames are further characterized by at least one of the following features:

[0014] (a) the C-frames are connected to the squeeze panels entirely independently of the one or more linkages through which the squeeze panels are driven, and serve to constrain movement of the squeeze panels to linear displacement in the lateral direction without deviation of the squeeze panels from respective planes of parallel relation to one another, and without imparting any drive force to said squeeze panels through said C-frames;

[0015] (b) the upper and lower pivotally linked connections of each C-frame each comprise a first link of rotationally affixed and outwardly radiating relation to the upright torsion tube, and a second link pivotally coupled to the first link and pivotally coupled to the squeeze panel at a static pivot point thereon; and / or

[0016] (c) relative to the structural framework, which at each side of the chute comprises a respective pair of front and rear wall posts each spanning vertically between a respective longitudinal header beam of the header and a respective longitudinal floor beam at a bottom floor assembly of the structural framework, the squeeze panels are each movable in the opening direction at least far enough to reach a respective vertical plane occupied by laterally interior sides of the respective pair of front and rear wall posts.

[0017] According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; wherein: at each side of the chute, the structural framework comprises a respective pair of front and rear wall posts each spanning vertically between a respective longitudinal header beam of the header and a respective longitudinal floor beam at a bottom floor assembly of the structural framework; and each squeeze panel comprises: a front end post that is composed of square tubing and denotes both a front end of the squeeze panel and also a front boundary of an openable / closeable human-traversable emergency access opening of the squeeze panel; and a swing-out emergency access gate that, in a closed position thereof, occupies and closes off said human-traversable emergency access opening, and is swingable outwardly into an open position revealing said human-traversable emergency access opening; and an upper access window in the swing-out emergency access gate that is partially occupied by one or more safety obstructions, but through which at least limited access to an interior of the chute is nonetheless enabled; an upright front rail of the swing-out emergency access gate, which also denotes a front boundary of the upper access window, is a right-angle member whose horizontal cross-section is an L-shaped profile that, in the closed position of the swing- out emergency access gate, embraces outer and rear sides of the front end post; a gap width, measured in the longitudinal direction, between front end post of each squeeze panel and the front wall post of the respective side of the chute is no greater than a respective width, also measured in the longitudinal direction, of at least one of the following: the front end post of the squeeze panel; an unoccupied front region of the upper window left open between the right-angle member and a closest one of the one or more safety obstructions partially occupying said window.

[0018] According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided an actuator coupling bracket for mounting a powered actuator to a livestock squeeze chute, said actuator coupling bracket comprising: a pair of side plates for receiving pinned connection of an end of said powered actuator between said side plates; and an upright swivel post for receiving a swivel tube of a swing arm for swingingly relocatable support of a control station from which said powered actuator is controllable.

[0019] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; and first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; wherein: said structural framework comprises thereon: a predefined manual-drive mounting site at a first location, by which manual drive componentry is selectively mountable to the structural framework at said first location to enable operation of said squeeze panels in a manual mode; and a predefined powered-drive mounting site at a different second location, by which a powered actuator is selectively mountable to the structural framework at said different second location to enabled actuator-powered operation of said squeeze panels in a powered mode.

[0020] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0022] Figure 1 is a top front right perspective view of a manually operated livestock squeeze chute of the present invention, with squeeze panels in fully open positions thereof correspondence to a maximized effective width of the chute interior.

[0023] Figure 2 is a top front left perspective view of the chute of Figure 1 .

[0024] Figure 3 is a top rear right perspective view of the chute of Figure 1 .

[0025] Figure 4 is a top rear left perspective view of the chute of Figure 1 .

[0026] Figure 5 is an isolated top front right perspective view of squeeze componentry of the chute of Figure 1 , with other chute componentry omitted. Figure 6 is an isolated top front left view of the squeeze componentry of

[0027] Figure 5.

[0028] Figure 7 is another isolated top front right perspective view of the squeeze componentry of Figure 5, but with the squeeze panels in fully closed positions corresponding to a minimized effective width of the chute interior.

[0029] Figure 8 is an isolated top front left view of the squeeze componentry of Figure 7.

[0030] Figure 9 is an isolated perspective view of a singular squeeze panel from the chute of Figure 1 .

[0031] Figure 10 is an enlarged partial view of the squeeze panel of Figure 9.

[0032] Figure 11 is another enlarged partial view of the squeeze panel of Figure 9, as cross-sectioned along line A - A thereof.

[0033] Figure 12 is a partial side elevational view of a structural framework and one squeeze panel of the chute of Figure 1 , in isolation from the rest of the chute for illustrative purpose.

[0034] Figure 13 is a partial top rear right perspective view of the squeeze componentry of Figures 5 through 8, to provide closeup view of a manual drive linkage and an associated anti-opening squeeze lock installed therewith.

[0035] Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of the squeeze lock of Figure 13 in installed relation thereof to a crank arm and drive link of the manual drive linkage.

[0036] Figure 15 is a top front right perspective view of a hydraulically operated livestock squeeze chute sharing a substantial amount of common componentry with the manually operated embodiment of the preceding figures, and whose squeeze setup is identically reproducible via conversion of the manual embodiment.

[0037] Figure 16 is a partial top front right perspective view of the livestock squeeze chute of Figure 15.

[0038] Figure 17 is a partial top rear left perspective view of the livestock squeeze chute of Figure 16.

[0039] Figure 18 is an isolated, partly assembled perspective view of a bolt-on actuator coupling bracket of the livestock squeeze chute of Figure 15.

[0040] Figure 19 is another isolated perspective view of the bolt-on actuator coupling bracket of Figure 19, but fully assembled.

[0041] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Figures 1 through 4 show a livestock squeeze chute 10 according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, which in this illustrated example is particularly setup for manually driven operation of the chute’s squeeze function, though as described with reference to later figures further below, the same chute 10 can instead be setup for hydraulic drive of its squeeze function, either through original factory setup for hydraulic operation, or by retrofit conversion of the manually driven chute into a hydraulically driven one. A structural framework delimits an interior space of the chute, and also an entrance and exit thereto and therefrom. In addition to forming this skeletal structure of the chute, the framework also serves to support all of the functional components of the chute, including inventive squeeze componentry that is the subject of the present invention, and typically also the functional components of an admission gate at one end of the chute and a head gate at the other end. The framework includes a pair of longitudinal floor beams 12A, 12B lying horizontally in a longitudinal direction of the chute at a ground-level floor assembly thereof, a pair of longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B lying horizontally in parallel relation to the floor beams 12A, 12B in elevated relation thereover at a top header of the chute, and four wall posts 16A, 16B, 16D, 16E each standing vertically upright from one of the floor beams 12A, 12B at an end or end-adjacent region thereof to perpendicularly interconnect same to the matching end or end region of one of the longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B.

[0043] The framework thus delimits an interior space of generally rectangular volume. The header of the framework also includes a set of two or more header crossbeams 18A, 18B that span horizontally and perpendicularly between the two longitudinal header beams 14, 14B at spaced apart locations therealong to maintain a squareness of the header. At or near each end of the chute, the floor beams 12A, 12B are likewise perpendicularly and horizontally connected by cross-sills 20A, 20B of the floor assembly, the illustrated two of which are each situated at or closely adjacent a vertical plane occupied by a respective pair of the wall posts 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, to maintain a squareness of the ground level floor assembly. At or near each end of the chute, the two respective wall posts 16A &16B or 16C & 16D frame two opposing upright sides of a respective rectangular opening through which entrance to, and exit from, the chute’s interior space is possible, thereby enabling traversal of an animal through said interior space from one opening to the other on a longitudinal pathway therebetween.

[0044] One of these framed openings is referred to herein as an entrance opening 22, through which animals are admitted into the interior space of the chute during use thereof, for example in controlled one-by-one fashion via a sliding admission gate 24 or other openable / closeable entrance gate installed at this entrance opening 22. The framed opening at the opposing second end chute is referred to herein as an exit opening 26 through which animals depart the interior space of the chute once having travelled therethrough on the longitudinal pathway from the opposing entrance opening 22. The first and second ends of the chute are thus also referred to as the rear entrance end 28 and the front exit end 30 of the chute, respectively, in relation to the travel direction in which animals move therethrough, travelling forwardly from the rear entrance end 28 of the chute toward the opposing front exit end 30 thereof. In the illustrated example, with the sliding admission gate 24, the upright posts of the framework comprise not only the four aforementioned wall posts 16A-16D, but also an additional pair of gate posts 25A, 25B that stand upright from the floor beams 12A, 12B to the header beams 14A, 14B at terminal rear ends of the floor beams 12A, 12B, at a short distance rearwardly past the rearmost pair of wall posts 16C, 16D. The short longitudinal gap between the rearmost wall posts 16C, 16D and the nearby gate posts 25A, 25B defines a pocket into and out of which the slidable admission gate 24 is slidable back and forth. In other embodiments, depending on the type of admission gate employed, the rearmost pair of wall posts 16C, 16D may instead be the rearmost upright posts of the chute’s structural framework. At each side of the chute, the rectangular area delimited between the respective floor beam 12A, 12B, respective header beam 14A, 14B and respective pair of wall posts 16A & 16C or 16B & 16D is referred to herein as a sidewall area of the chute.

[0045] Departure of an admitted animal from the chute 10 through the exit opening 26 at the front end 30 thereof is controlled via an openable / closeable head gate 32. As is known in the art, closure of this head gate 32 is performed while the animal attempts to pass through the exit opening 26 so that two movable gate panels of the head gate abut against opposing sides of the animal’s body, at the neck thereof, to help hold the animal in a position in which their head resides outside the chute 10, while the trailing remainder of their body is still inside the chute 10. In the illustrated example, the head gate 32 is a curtain style headgate, with two gate panels rollingly supported on an overhead track running across the exit opening 26 at or below a front end of the header in perpendicular relation to the longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B and in parallel relation to the header cross beams 18A, 18B. The gate panels are rollable horizontally back and forth on the overhead track of the head gate in a lateral direction of perpendicularly transverse relation to the horizontally longitudinal direction already defined above with reference to the longitudinal floor and header beams 12A, 12B, 14A, 14B. That said, the type of head gate 32 employed at the exit opening 26 of the chute 10 may vary, without detraction from the novel squeeze-related aspects of the present invention.

[0046] Movably suspended from the header of the framework, within the elevational range of the two sidewall areas delimited between the longitudinal floor and header beams 12A, 12B, 14A, 14B, are a pair of movable squeeze panels 34A, 34B, each lying longitudinally of the framework within a vertical plane of parallel relation to those sidewall areas of the chute. Right squeeze panel 34A resides closest to the right sidewall area of the chute, and left squeeze panel 34B resides closest to the left sidewall area of the chute. The suspended support of the squeeze panels 34A, 34B from the header of the framework, along with detailed explanation of how these squeeze panels 34A, 34B are movable toward and away from one another in the lateral direction of the chute, are set forth herein further below. An interior squeeze space 35 of the chute 10 that is delimited between the two squeeze panels 34A, 34B is thus adjustable in width by such movement of the squeeze panels toward and away from one another, thereby controlling an effective width of the chute’s interior. As is known in the art, moving the squeeze panels 34A, 34B away from one another widens the squeeze space 35 to enable initial admission of an animal to said squeeze space 35, while moving the squeeze panels toward one another constricts said squeeze space 35 after the animal has been admitted thereto. The two squeeze panels 34A, 34B thus push against the sides of the animal’s body, thereby cooperating with the closed head gate 32 to hold the animal stationary in a secured position with their body standing in the squeeze space 35 of the chute 10, their neck reaching outwardly through the exit 26 of the chute via a central opening of the head gate 32, and their head residing outside the chute beyond the exit thereof.

[0047] In the illustrated embodiment, the chute is characterized as a “full squeeze”, in that that the two squeeze panel’s span effectively full lengths of the sidewall areas of the chute from the two front wall posts 16A, 16B at the gate-controlled exit 26 of the chute to the two rear wall posts 16C, 16D at the controlled entrance 22 of the chute, whereby the squeeze space 35 that is selectively constrictable by converging inward movement of the two squeeze panels toward one another refers to an effective entirety of the chute’s interior space spanning fully from the entrance 22 to the exit 26. Each squeeze panel 34A, 34B has a panel frame, and outer perimeter of which is composed of horizontal top and bottom beams 36A, 36B that lie parallel to the longitudinal floor and header beams 12A, 12B, 14A, 14B of the chute’s structural framework, and end posts 38A, 38B that perpendicularly connect the top and bottom beams 36A, 36B together at the longitudinally opposing front and rear ends thereof so that these four posts and beams collectively define a rectangular outer perimeter of the panel frame. A set of multiple access gates collectively and substantially fill the interior panel space bound by the outer perimeter of the squeeze panel frame.

[0048] Of these gates, a biggest thereof is an emergency access gate 40 that, a closed position thereof, occupies a majority of the overall panel area delimited by the perimeter of the squeeze panel frame. A perimeter frame of the emergency access gate 40 features a horizontal top rail 42A, a horizontal bottom rail 42B parallel thereto, an upright front rail 44A spanning perpendicularly between top and bottom rails 42A, 42B and denoting a front end of the emergency access gate 40, and an upright rear rail 44B likewise spanning perpendicularly between top and bottom rails in parallel relation to the upright front rail 44A to similarly define a rear end of the emergency access gate 40. Top and bottom ends of upright rear rail 44B are pivotally pinned to the top and bottom beams 36A, 36B of the squeeze panel frame, thus forming a vertical hinge axis about which the emergency access gate 40 can swing horizontally. The squeeze panel frame also features a divider post 46 spanning perpendicularly between the top and bottom beams 36A, 36B of the squeeze panel frame in rearwardly neighbouring adjacency to the hinged rear rail 44B of the emergency access gate 40. The rectangular area bound between the upper and lower beams 36A, 36B, front end post 38A and divider post 46 of the squeeze panel frame denotes a large, human-traversable emergency opening 48 of the squeeze panel that is selectively openable and closeable via opening and closing of the emergency access gate 40 about its hinged rear rail 44B, opening of which gives an operator fully enterable access to the interior of the chute should there be an emergency event concerning an animal inside in the chute.

[0049] As best shown in Figure 1 1 , the front rail 44A of the emergency access gate 40 is not composed of steel tubing like the other frame components of the emergency access gate and the squeeze panel. Instead, this front rail 44A is a rightangle member of L-shaped cross-section in horizontal planes, for example being composed of steel angle stock. The L-shaped cross-section of the right-angle front rail 44A has a rear leg 45A that faces toward the opposing rear rail 44B of the emergency access gate and, with reference to the closed position of the emergency access gate 40, points laterally inward of the chute toward the interior thereof. Again referring to the closed position of the emergency access gate, an outer leg 45B of the L-shaped crosssection of right-angle front rail 44A faces laterally outward from the chute and points forwardly toward the exit opening 26 and head gate 32 at the front end of the chute, thus pointing oppositely away from the rear rail 44B of the emergency access gate 40. The top and bottom rails 46A, 46B of the emergency access gate 40 are welded to the rear leg 45A of the right-angle front rail 44A.

[0050] The front end post 38A of the squeeze panel is instead composed of rectangular, and preferably square, tubing, and in the closed position of the emergency access gate 40, is embraced by the right-angle front rail 44A of the emergency access gate 40, the outer leg 45B of which lies in parallel adjacency to the outer side of the rectangular front end post 38A, and the rear leg 45A of which lies in parallel adjacency to the rear side of the rectangular front end post 38A. This embracing relation of the right-angle front rail 44A of the emergency access gate 40 to the square front end post 38A reduces the combined effective width of the front end framing of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B and its emergency access gate 40, where conventional use of steel tubing for the front rail 44A of the emergency access gate 40 in neighbouring but non-embracing adjacency to front end post 38A in the emergency access gate’s closed position nearly doubles the effective front end framing width of the squeeze panel and its closed emergency access gate compared to the presently disclosed arrangement. The benefit of the reduced effective front end framing width in the present invention is described in more detail further below.

[0051] The frame of the emergency access gate 40 also includes upper and lower mid-rails 50A, 50B that are situated an intermediate elevation thereon somewhere between the top and bottom rails 42A, 42B. These mid-rails divide a front section the squeeze panel 34A, 34B into upper and lower areas, of which the upper area bound between upper mid-rail 50A and top rail 42A is an upper access window 52 partially occupied by a group of skeletal upper access gates 54, when closed, of which there are three such upper access gates 54 in the illustrated example. These skeletal upper access gates 54 may take a variety of forms, but in the illustrated each have a ladderlike form composed of two uprights member 56A, 56B and a series of cross members 58 spanning horizontally between the two upright member 56A, 56B One of the upright members 56B, the rear one thereof in the illustrated example, has its top and bottom ends pivotably received by the top rail 42A and upper mid-rail 50A of the frame of the emergency access gate, thereby defining an upright hinge axis about which the upper access gate 54 is horizontally pivotable, while the other upright 56A forms part of a slam-latch by which the upper access gate 54, when closed, is automatically locked to the top rail 42A. in their closed positions partially occupying the upper access window 52, the skeletal front upper access gates 54 form safety obstructions providing some level of physical obstruction between an animal inside the chute and human operator outside the chute, while still leaving interior of the chute notably visible through the upper access window 50, and manually accessible to some degree via physical insertion of an operators hand(s) between the bars 58 of the upper access gates 54.

[0052] In the illustrated embodiment, in particularly beneficial accompaniment to the above described reduction of the effective front end framing width of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B and the closed emergency access gate 40, the frontmost one of the skeletal upper access gates 54 nearest to the front rail 44A of the emergency access gate 40, and thus nearest to the front end post 38A of the squeeze panel frame in the closed position of the emergency access gate 40, is longitudinally spaced from the front rail 44A by a distance greater than that by which the upper access gates 54 are spaced from one another, when closed, and also greater than the distance by which the rearmost one of the access gates is longitudinally spaced, when closed, from the rear rail 44B of the emergency access gate 40. This leaves an unoccupied front region 52A of the upper access window 52 of the emergency access gate 40 completely unoccupied between the closed frontmost one of the upper access gates 54 and the right-angle front rail 44A matingly embraced with the front end post 38A. This enables notable access to the neck of an animal constrained by the head gate 32 through this front region 52A of the upper access window 52 of the squeeze panel’s emergency access gate 40. This avoids the need to include a separate needling gate at the front end of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B, or a large gap space between the front of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B and the respective front wall post 16A, 16B of the chute framework by which to gain such needling access. In contrast with such prior art solutions for needling access, and with reference to Figure 12, the illustrated chute has only a minimal clearance gap 60 between the front end post 38A of the squeeze panel frame and the neighbouring front wall post 16A, 16B of the chute’s framework. This minimal clearance gap 60 has a width (measured longitudinally of the chute 10) that is no greater, and preferably less than, the individual width of at least one, and preferably both, of the front end post 38A of the squeeze panel, and the unoccupied front region 52A of the upper access window 52.

[0053] A pair of vertically-hinged lower access gates 62A, 62B, when closed, occupy a lower access window of the emergency access gate 40, which is bound vertically between the lower mid-rail 50B and the bottom rail 42B of the frame of the emergency access gate 40, and bound horizontally between the front and rear rails 44A, 44B thereof. A front one of these lower access gates 62A is hinged to the front rail 44A of the emergency access gate 40, while the other rear one of the lower access gates 62B is hinged to the rear rail 44B of the emergency access gate 40, just in front of the divider post 46 of the squeeze panel frame that divides the front section of the squeeze panel from a neighbouring rear section. The lower access gates 62A, 62B are of solidly cladded construction so that, when closed, these lower access gates 62A, 62B fully obstruct the lower access window of the emergency access gate 40, to ensure full kick protection to the operator outside the chute, unlike the skeletal upper access gates 54 at the upper access window 52 of the emergency access gate 40. Depending on whether upper body, lower body or full body access to the animal is required when securely held by the squeeze panels 34A, 34B and head gate 32, a different combination of one or more of the access gates 54, 62A, 62B of the emergency access gate 40 may be opened.

[0054] The rear section of each squeeze panel 34A, 34B delimited between the mid-post 46 and the rear end post 38B of the squeeze panel frame features a full-height veterinary access gate 64 that spans a near entirety of the height between the top and bottom beams 36A, 36B of the squeeze panel’s framework, and is pivotally coupled to these beams 36A, 36B, or to the rear end post 38B, for swinging movement about an upright axis parallel to the rear end post 38B. Opening of the veterinary access gate 64 enables human access to a rear inspection region of the squeeze space 35 that neighbours the entrance 22 of the chute 10, and from which a veterinarian can inspect and treat the rear of the animal that is being held in a front holding region of the squeeze space 35 by the closed head gate 32 and the squeeze panels 34A, 34B. In the illustrated embodiment, each veterinary access gate 64 is comprised of an uncladded skeletal upper portion 66 and a solid cladded lower portion 68 therebelow, thus enabling upper visual or manual access to the inspection region, even when the veterinary access gate 64 is closed, via the skeletal upper portion 66, while leaving intact the kick protection afforded by the solid cladded lower portion 68 of the veterinary access gate 64.

[0055] The hinged connection of each lower access gate 62A, 62B to the frame of the emergency access gate 40 is of a configuration that enables not only swinging movement the lower access gate 62A, 62B between its open and closed positions, but also enables complete removal of the lower access gate 62A, 62B from the emergency access gate 40. This way, a worker-accommodating area outside the chute 10 and adjacent to the gate frame squeeze panel 34A, 34B is not occupied at all by the open position of the lower access gate 62A, 62B if fully removed, thus further improving the overall available working space. The hinged connection of each lower access gate 62A, 62B includes a pair of male stub shafts 70 standing upright in parallel and adjacent, but spaced, laterally outward relation to the respective front or rear rail 44A, 44B of the emergency access gate 40. Each stub shaft 70 stands upright from a larger-diameter stop 72 that is affixed to, and protrudes laterally outward from, the respective front or rear rail 44A, 44B at the outer side thereof opposite the chute interior. The hinged connection also includes a pair of protruding hinge lugs 74 affixed to the exterior side of the respective front or rear lower access gate 62A, 62B, adjacent either a front end of the front lower access gate 62A or a rear end of the rear lower access gate 62B. Each such hinge lug 74 has an aperture penetrating vertically therethrough to form a female receptacle that rotatably receives a respective one of the male stub shafts 70.

[0056] The protruding hinge lugs 74 reside respectively above the stops 72 of the two stub shafts 70. The hinge lugs 74 normally rest on these stops 72, and thereby support lower access gate 62A, 62B at a normal default elevation residing closely adjacent to the bottom rail 42B of the emergency access gate 40. Each lower access gate 62A, 62B has a spring-loaded slam latch bolt 78 on an exterior side thereof. The slam latch bolt 78 is spring biased into a position protruding downwardly from a bottom edge of the lower access gate 62A, 62B into engaged relation with a slam latch catch 80 on the bottom rail 42B of the emergency access gate 40. These slam latch components 78, 80 thus cooperatively serve to normally lock the lower access gates 62A, 62B in their closed position in absence of a manual lifting of the slam latch bolts 78 via operator handles 78A thereon.

[0057] To remove either of the lower access gates 62A, 62B, first the slam latch bolt 78 thereof is manually lifted, and the gate 62A, 62B is swung outwardly to its open position, within which the lower access gate is then lifted upwardly to lift the hinge lugs 74 fully off the stub shafts 70, thereby disconnecting the lower access gates 62A, 62B from the emergency access gate 40. Prior to such removal of either lower access gate 62A, 62B a lock pin may normally be engaged through a cross-bore in one of the stub shafts 70, typically the upper one of the two thereof, at a position above the hinge lug 74 received on that stub shaft 70, thus preventing removal of the lower access gate 62A, 62B until such lock pin is first removed. The height of each stub shaft 70 exceeds the height of a clearance gap that is measured in the closed position of each lower access gate 62A, 62B between a top of the lower access gate 62A, 62B and a bottom of the lower mid-rail 50B that resides above the lower access gates 62A, 62B in their closed positions, whereby regardless of the optional presence of a lock pin at either stub shaft 70 of the hinged connection of either lower access gate, neither lower access gate 62A, 62B can be removed when occupying its slam-latched closed position, as any attempted lifting of the lower access gate 62A, 62B off the stub shafts 70 of the hinged connection is blocked by the presence of the lower mid-rail 50B situated closely above the closed lower access gates 62A, 62B.

[0058] Having described the squeeze panels 34A, 34B themselves, including novel aspects thereof for improved animal neck access through the squeeze panel itself and the full removability of swing-out lower access gates 62A, 62B from only their open positions with no possible animal induced removal when closed, attention is now turned to novel details of how the squeeze panels are supported, driven, and synchronized. In the illustrated manually driven example of Figures 1 through 6, the chute 10 is setup for manual drive of the squeeze functionality by a singular human operator from a single side of the chute, particularly the right-hand side thereof in the illustrated example, though the drive setup can alternatively be reversed from that of the illustrated embodiment for manual drive from the left side thereof. The head gate 32 of the illustrated embodiment is one in which a manual drive assembly for the head gate features a longitudinal head gate driveshaft 82 running longitudinally of the header of the chute 10 over a substantially full length thereof on the right side thereof a short lateral distance outside the longitudinal header beam 14A. This head gate driveshaft 82 enables operation of the head gate 32 from anywhere along this right side of the chute 10 via an operator handle 84 that is slidable back and forth along the head gate driveshaft 82, whereby both the head gate and the squeeze are operated from the same side of the chute. That said, the squeeze and the head gate are operated independently, and so the novel squeeze design disclosed herein is not limited to particular use thereof with any particular head gate style or drive type.

[0059] A manual drive linkage 86 for the squeeze function of the chute features an upright squeeze driveshaft 88 that also resides externally of the structural framework of the chute 10 the right side in the illustrated example, though like with the headgate drive assembly, the squeeze driveshaft 88 can also be relocated and mounted in at the opposing left side of the chute, with corresponding relocation of the rest of the linkage componentry of the manual drive linkage 86. It is from this side where the upright squeeze driveshaft 88 resides that a human operator will drive the squeeze function of the chute. In the illustrated example, with reference to the longitudinal measure of the chute, the upright squeeze driveshaft 88 resides near to the rear end of the chute than to the front end thereof, and for example nearer to the mid-post 46 of the neighbouring squeeze panel 34A than to either the front wall post 16A or rear wall post 16C of the respective side of the chute framework. A bottom end of the upright squeeze driveshaft 88 is rotatably supported by a lower support bracket 90 cantilevered off the outer side of the floor beam 12A, from which the driveshaft 88 spans upwardly past the respective longitudinal header beam 14A to carry and connect to other drive linkage componentry above the header of the chute 10.

[0060] At a short elevation above the longitudinal header beam 14A, a top end of the upright squeeze driveshaft 88 is rotatably received by an upper support bracket 92 mounted to that header beam 14A. At an intermediate elevation between the floor assembly and the header, an operator handle 94 is coupled to the driveshaft 88 in a manner rotationally locked thereto for rotation therewith about the driveshaft’s upright central axis, while also being pivotal relative to the driveshaft 88 about a horizontal hinge axis, by which the operator handle is movable between a default hanging position hanging alongside the driveshaft 88, and a lifted working position projecting radially outward from the driveshaft 88 in a generally horizontal orientation. In such lifted working position, the human operator can push on the operator handle 90 to drive rotation of the driveshaft 88 in either direction about its upright central axis.

[0061] Near the top end of the upright squeeze driveshaft 88, but below the rotatable coupling thereof to the upper support bracket 92, the drive linkage features a crank arm 96 radiating outward from the squeeze driveshaft 88 at an elevation slightly above the longitudinal header beam 14A, and a drive link 98 that has one end pivotally coupled to the crank arm 96 adjacent a distal end thereof furthest from the squeeze driveshaft 88, from which the drive link 98 runs laterally cross-wise of the chute interior in overhead relation thereto above the header of the chute to make connection to the squeeze panel 34B furthest relation to the squeeze driveshaft 88 (i.e. the left squeeze panel 34B, in the case of the illustrated embodiment). The two ends of the drive link 98 are pivotable about respective upright axes parallel to that of the squeeze driveshaft 88.

[0062] For overhead rolling support of each squeeze panel 34A, 34B from above, each squeeze panel 34A, 34B has a pair of hanger brackets 100A, 100B affixed to the top beam 36A thereof at an inner side thereof and at longitudinally spaced apart positions from one another. Of these hanger brackets, front hanger bracket 100A resides closer to the front end of the chute, and rear hanger bracket 100B resides closer to the rear end of the chute, and as shown may reside closer to the mid-post 46 of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B than to the rear end post 38B thereof. Each hanger bracket 100A, 100B is channel shaped, having two upright side walls in respective vertical planes of lateral orientation, between which there are rotatably supported a pair of rollers, of which an upper roller 102A resides at greater elevation than a lower roller 102B. Each roller 102A, 102B is rotatable about a horizontal axis lying longitudinally of the chute for compatibility with rolling movement of the squeeze panels 34A, 34B back and forth the in the lateral direction of the chute. For rolling support of the squeeze panels via their roller-equipped hanger brackets 100A, 100B, the header of the chute includes a pair of overhead support tracks 104A, 104B, each spanning perpendicularly between the two longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B. In the illustrated embodiment, each overhead support track 104A, 104B resides at a location of parallel adjacency to one of the header cross-beams 18A, 18B, and is reinforced at or near a midpoint of the overhead support track 104A, 104B by a gusset 105 that projects longitudinally from the header cross-beam 18A, 18B and receives passage of the respective overhead support track 104A, 104B therethrough. For optimally smooth, low friction rolling movement of the squeeze panels on the overhead support tracks 104A, 104B, each such track is embodied in a round shaft of circular cross-section, and the rollers 102A, 102B are concave rollers of arcuate profile for a conforming fit and smooth ride on these round overhead support tracks 104A, 104B. During prototyping, this was found to provide reduced friction of greater operability and reliability for manually driven implementations of the squeeze chute compared to alternative roller track designs employing flat rollers inside a channelshaped overhead support track. The upper rollers 102A ride atop the round-shaft support tracks 104A, 104B in rolling fashion thereon, the lower rollers 102B help vertically constrain the squeeze panels 34A, 34B against potential lifting or bumping thereof from the round overhead support tracks 104A, 104B during rough field use or transport of the chute 10. The channel-shaped hanger brackets 100A, 100B have flat outer sides thereof for flush fit against the flat inner sides of the top beams 36A of the squeeze panels where mounted thereto, as well as for flush abutment against, or close parallel adjacency to, the flat inner sides of the longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B of the chute in a fully open state of the squeeze where the squeeze panels 34A, 34B are at their furthest distance from one another maximizing the effective interior width of the chute 10.

[0063] Aside from the suspended rolling support of the respective squeeze panel, the hanger brackets 100A, 100B specifically on the farthest one of the squeeze panels 102B from the squeeze driveshaft 88 are also employed for another purpose, namely to accommodate attachment of an elevated drive rail 106 to the far squeeze panel 102B at an elevation above the top beam 36A thereof and offset laterally inward from the plane of the beam 36A and the rest of the planar squeeze panel frame. This drive rail 106 spans longitudinally between the two hanger brackets 100A, 100B of squeeze panel 34B in parallel, slightly elevated and inwardly offset relation to the longitudinal header beam 14B of nearest relation to this drive rail equipped squeeze panel 34B. In the illustrated example, this drive rail 106 is removably fastened to the two hanger brackets 100A, 100B of squeeze panel 34B, via bolted connection to the flat outer walls of these brackets 100A, 100B, and engages through aligned rectangular slots in the two vertically upright sidewalls of each bracket 100A, 100B. The bolt prevents sliding of the drive rail 106 out of its installed position engaged through the slots, and the slotted form of the hanger bracket 100A, 100B itself supplements the securement of the rail beyond the mere fastening strength of the bolt alone. In other embodiments, the drive rail 106 may be permanently attached, but the removability of the drive rail has benefits, such as enabling removal thereof in conversion of the chute from manual operation to hydraulic operation, and / or in reversal of an existing manual setup to be driven from the opposing side of the chute.

[0064] The elevated drive rail 106 has an upright pivot pin 106A installed therein near the rear hanger bracket 100B to serve as the pivotal connection point for a distal end of the drive link 98, of opposing relation to a proximal end thereof that is pivotally pinned connection to the crank arm 96 on the upright squeeze driveshaft 88. The pivotal connection of the distal end of the drive link 98 to the drive rail 106 of squeeze panel 34B resides at a position laterally straight across from the pivotally coupled connection of the drive link 98 to the crank arm 96 in at least one of the fully open and fully closed states of the squeeze, and more preferably in both thereof, which is the case of the illustrated embodiment, where the angle of the crank arm 96 in both such states of the squeeze is at forty-five degrees to the longitudinal direction, whereby in each of those states, the drive link 98 lies perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, truly lateral of the chute 10, and thus perpendicular to the planes of the two squeeze panels 34A, 34A that run longitudinally of the chute in parallel vertical planes. This geometry maximizes the mechanical advantage applied during use of the manual drive linkage to drive rolling movement of the far squeeze panel 34B back and forth along the round-shaft support tracks 104A, 104B. When the squeeze is in its fully open state, the crank arm 96 angles inwardly from the upright squeeze driveshaft 88 toward the interior of the chute, and rotation of the driveshaft in a squeeze-closing direction via pushing of the operator handle 94 toward the rear end 28 of the chute 10 rotates the crank arm 96 outwardly away from the chute interior, thus pulling on the drive link 98, and thereby pulling the far squeeze panel 34B toward the squeeze driveshaft 88, and thus toward a longitudinally and vertically oriented midplane of the chute 10. When the squeeze is in its fully closed state, with the two squeeze panels 34A, 34B at their closest achievable proximity to one another, and likewise at their closest achievable proximities to the midplane of the chute, the crank arm 96 angles outwardly from the upright squeeze driveshaft 88 away from the chute interior, and rotation of the driveshaft in a squeeze-opening direction via pushing of the operator handle 94 toward the front end 30 of the chute 10 rotates the crank arm 96 inwardly toward the chute interior, which in turns causes pushing of the drive link 98, and thereby pushes the far squeeze panel 34B away from the squeeze driveshaft 88, and thus away from the mid-plane of the chute and back toward the far sidewall area. At the start of such movement from each of the fully-open or fully-closed squeeze states, the drive link 98 occupies a perpendicular, or at least near perpendicular, relationship to the far squeeze panel 34B to maximize the force transmitted in the lateral direction of intended squeeze panel movement, and also undergoes minimal deviation from such perpendicularly angled relationship to the during the operable range of the linkage movement between those two extreme states of the squeeze, owing the short radial span of crank arm 96, thus maximizing the mechanical advantage of this manually actuated setup.

[0065] The manual drive linkage 86 is thus operable to push and pull the far squeeze panel 34B away from and back toward the side of the chute 10 from which this manual drive linkage 86 is driven via manual input from a human operator on the operator handle 94 of the squeeze driveshaft 88. In contrast, the manual drive linkage 86 provides no direct motive input to the near squeeze panel 34A of more closely adjacent relation to the manually driven squeeze driveshaft 88. Instead, the chute 10 employs a separate motion converter 108 that, specifically in manually powered operation of the chute 10, uses movement of squeeze panel 34B as mechanical input to impart synchronous movement to the other squeeze panel 34A. Manual drive linkage 86 is thus effectively an input linkage for harnessing human exerted input and transforming same into lateral displacement of squeeze panel 34A, and motion converter 108 is a connecting linkage using the human actuated displacement of one squeeze panel 34B as input to synchronously drive the displacement of the other squeeze panel 34A.

[0066] In the illustrated example, this motion converter 108 comprises a longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 running longitudinally of the header chute 10 on the left side thereof a short lateral distance outside the longitudinal header beam 14B, thus residing laterally across the header of the chute from both the squeeze driveshaft 88 and the longitudinal head gate driveshaft 82 (in embodiments inclusive thereof). In the illustrated embodiment, the torsion tube 1 10 is at least as long as the longitudinal distance, measured center-to-center, between the two round-shaft support tracks 104A, 104B, which matches the center-to-center distance between the two hanger brackets 100A, 100B of each squeeze panel 34A, 34B. In the illustrated embodiment, the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 is supported via bolt-on torsion tube support brackets 1 12A, 1 12B fastened to the outside of the longitudinal header beam 14B at predefined mounting sites thereon, which feature predrilled bolt holes of matching relationship to corresponding predefined mounting sites likewise provided on the other longitudinal header beam 14A to enable optional installation of the torsion tube 1 10 on either side of the header of the chute, just as the squeeze driveshaft 88 is optionally mountable to either side of the chute 10 using bolt-on upper and lower support brackets 90, 92 selectively mountable at predefined mounting sites with predrilled bolt holes on the longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B and longitudinal floor beams 12A, 12B.

[0067] In the illustrated example, rear torsion tube support bracket 1 12B is mounted on longitudinal header beam 14B at a rearward predefined mounting site, again with predrilled bolt holes, of matching relation to a matching predefined mounting site on longitudinal beam 14A, where the upper support bracket 92 of the squeeze driveshaft 88 is shown bolted in place across the chute interior from rear torsion tube support bracket 1 12B, and in elevated relation directly overhead of a lower predefined mounting site with predrilled bolt holes on the corresponding floor beam 12A that hosts the lower support bracket 90 of the squeeze driveshaft 88, for which there is a matching lower predefined mounting site on the opposing floor beam 12B to enable the aforementioned optional relocation of the manual drive linkage 86 from one side of the chute to the other. Longitudinal header beam 14A can be seen to have a front predefined mounting site of predrilled bolt holes across from where the front torsion tube support bracket 1 12A is shown bolted in place to a matching predefined mounting site on longitudinal header beam 14B, demonstrating the relocatability of the torsion tube 1 10 from header beam 14B on the left side of the chute to header beam 14A on the opposing right side of the chute.

[0068] The torsion tube 1 10 carries a front and rear pair of matching rockers 1 14A, 1 14B thereon that are rotationally affixed to the torsion tube 1 10 for rotation therewith at respective locations that reside at or adjacent the front and rear ends of the torsion tube 1 10. In the longitudinal direction of the chute, front rocker 1 14A is aligned with the front overhead support track 104A and the front hanger brackets 100A of the squeeze panels 34A, 34B, and rear rocker 1 14B is likewise aligned with the rear overhead support track 104B and the rear hanger brackets 100B of the squeeze panels 34A, 34B. Each rocker arm 1 14A, 1 14B has a hub engaged to the torsion tube 1 10, and projecting from that hub, a generally linear top arm 116A that projects outwardly from the hub at a generally radial or tangential orientation to the torsion tube 1 10, and an angulated bottom arm having a first span that projects outwardly from the hub in generally opposing direction to the linear top arm 1 16A, and a second span at roughly ninety-degree angulation to the first span. A distal end of the top arm 1 16A of each rocker 1 14A, 1 14B is pivotally pinned to a proximal end of a top connector link 118A, an opposing distal end of which of pivotally pinned to the aligned front or rear hanger bracket 100A, 100B of the squeeze panel 34A furthest from the torsion tube 1 10. A distal end of the bottom arm 1 16A is pivotally pinned to a proximal end of a shorter bottom connector link 1 18B, an opposing distal end of which of pivotally pinned to an aligned front or rear connector bracket 120A, 120B on an outer side of the top beam 36A of the squeeze panel 34B nearest to the torsion tube 1 10. As shown, the connector brackets 120A, 120B may be bolted to the squeeze panel 34B at predefined bolting locations thereon, of which there are matching predefined bolting locations on the other squeeze panel 34A to enable relocation of these connector brackets 120A, 120B to the other squeeze panel during optional relocation of the torsion tube 1 10 and rockers 1 14A, 1 14B to the other side of the chute header.

[0069] In the fully open state of the squeeze, the top arm 1 16A of each rocker 1 14A, 1 14B angles laterally inward and elevationally upward from the torsion shaft 1 10 to reach above the nearest longitudinal header beam 14B to place the pivotal connection of the rocker 1 14A, 114B and top connector link 1 18A overhead of the chute interior, while the bottom arm 1 16B of each rocker 1 14A, 1 14B angles laterally outward and elevationally downward to place the pivotal connection of the rocker 1 14A, 1 14B and bottom connector link 118B laterally outward from the chute interior at an elevation just below the header of the chute. In the fully closed state of the squeeze, the top arm 1 16A of each rocker 114A, 1 14B instead angles laterally outward from the torsion shaft 1 10, though again at an upward inclination therefrom, to place the pivotal connection of the rocker 1 14A, 114B and top connector link 1 18A laterally outward from the header 14 at an elevation still thereabove, while the bottom arm 116B of each rocker 114A, 1 14B hangs elevationally downward just outside the longitudinal header beam 14B, and then hooks laterally inward beneath the longitudinal header beam 14B to reach into the interior space of the chute, within which the pivotal connection between the rocker 1 14A, 1 14B and the bottom connector link 1 18B resides.

[0070] From the fully open state of the squeeze, operator-driven rotation of the squeeze driveshaft 88 in the squeeze-closing direction via the manually actuated operator handle 94 pulls the far squeeze panel 34B laterally inward toward the longitudinal mid-plane of the chute 10 through direct action on this squeeze panel 34B via the manual drive linkage 86. This directly-driven laterally inward movement of the squeeze panel 34B in turn drives the motion converter in a matching squeeze-closing direction, by pulling laterally inward on the bottom connecting links 1 18B, which rotates the two rockers 1 14A, 1 14B in a direction swinging the top arms 116A thereof laterally outward, which in turns pulls squeeze panel 34A laterally inward toward the longitudinal midplane of the chute 10 via the top connecting links 1 18A, whereby the manual drive linkage 86 and the motion converter 108 cooperate to synchronously draw the two squeeze panels 34A, 34B toward one another in symmetric fashion toward the longitudinal midplane of the chute 10. From a fully closed or any partially closed state of the squeeze, operator-driven rotation of the squeeze driveshaft 88 in the reverse squeeze-opening direction via the manually actuated operator handle 94 pushes the far squeeze panel 34B laterally outward away from the longitudinal mid-plane of the chute 10 toward the sidewall area between wall posts 16B, 16D at the far side of the chute 10 through direct action on this squeeze panel 34B via the manual drive linkage 86. This directly-driven laterally outward movement of the squeeze panel 34B in turn drives the motion converter in a matching squeeze-opening direction, by pushing laterally outward on the bottom connecting links 1 18B, which rotates the two rockers 1 14A, 1 14B in a direction swinging the top arms 1 16A thereof laterally inward, which in turns pushes squeeze panel 34A laterally outward away from the longitudinal midplane of the chute 10 and toward the other sidewall area of the chute between wall posts 16A, 16C via the top connecting links 1 18A, whereby the manual drive linkage 86 and the motion converter 108 cooperate to synchronously force the two squeeze panels 34A, 34B apart in symmetric fashion away from the longitudinal midplane of the chute 10. In the case of both opening and closing of the squeeze, the manual drive linkage 86 thus directly drives squeeze panel 34B via direct connection thereto, but lacks any direct connection to squeeze panel 34A, which it instead drives in indirect fashion via squeeze panel 34A and motion converter 108, of which motion converters lacks any direct connection to the manual drive linkage 86, and is connected thereto only through squeeze panel 34B.

[0071] The two squeeze panels 34A, 34A are each of uniplanar form, and lie in respective vertical planes, and remain in such parallel vertical planes at all times in the fully open state of the squeeze, the fully closed state thereof of closest achievable proximity to one another, and at any partially closed states therebetween, and also throughout any opening and closing movement between any of these various states. The movement of the panels is characterized by pure linear displacement in the lateral direction dictated by the rolling engagement of the squeeze panels on the overhead support tracks 104A, 104B, with no accompanying forwarding / rearward swing in the longitudinal direction, nor any upward / downward swing in elevation. The hanger brackets 100A, 100B are inwardly offset from the plane of each squeeze panel via their mounted attachment to the inner sides of the top rails 36A of the uniplanar frames of the squeeze panels, such that in the fully open state of the squeeze, each squeeze panel can extend outwardly past the vertical plane occupied by the inner sides of the respective header beam 14A, 14B and the corresponding pair of wall posts 16A & 16C or 16B & 16D at the respective sidewall area of the chute. In the illustrated embodiment, each squeeze panel can furthermore reach a state residing fully inline with those wall posts and directly beneath the header beam spanning longitudinally therebetween, thus maximizing the effective interior width of the chute. This is in novel contrast to other squeeze chutes in the art where the squeeze panels cannot actually enter the framed sidewall areas of the chute, whereby the effective width of the chute interior never reaches the full internal lateral measure of the chute framework from the wall posts of one side to the wall posts of the other side.

[0072] To help maintain the truly vertical squeeze panel orientations, and thus maintain the truly parallel relationship therebetween throughout the full operational movement range of the squeeze, a respective front and rear pair of pivotal C-frames 122A, 122B are coupled to each squeeze panel 34A, 34B adjacent the opposing front and rear ends thereof. Each C-frame 122A, 122B features a vertically upright torsion tube 124 residing a short lateral distance outside the sidewall area of the respective side of the chute 10, and supported for rotation about its own upright central axis by a pair of upper and lower C-frame support brackets 126A, 126B. Each upper C-frame support bracket 126A is attached to either the respective longitudinal header beam 14A, 14B (as illustrated in the case of the rear C-frames 122B whose upright torsion tubes 124 neighbour the rear wall posts 16C, 16D whose top ends are capped by the header beams 14A, 14B), or to one of the wall posts (as illustrated in the case of the front C- frames 122A whose upright torsion tubes 124 neighbour the taller front wall posts 16A, 16B whose rear sides are abutted by terminal front ends of the longitudinal header beams 14A, 14B). Each lower support bracket 126B is shown attached to the neighbouring wall post 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D near a bottom end thereof, which in the illustrated example is notched out an bottom inside corner thereof, where the notch accommodates inset placement of the respective floor beam 12A, 12B into the wall post from the inner side thereof. By way of this notched and inset relationship between the wall posts and floor beams, the outer side of the wall posts reside slightly outward from the outer side of the longitudinal floor beams 12, 12B. In other framework designs, for example where the outer sides of the floor beams and wall posts are flush, the lower C-framed support brackets 126B may alternatively be attached to the floor beams 12A, 12B.

[0073] The upright torsion tube 124 of each C-frame 122A, 122B has pivotally linked top and bottom connections to the respective squeeze panel 34A, 34A, which top and bottom connections reside at respective elevations at or near the top and bottom ends of the upright torsion tube 124. Each top or bottom connection of each C- frame 122A, 122B features a crank link 128 rotationally affixed to the upright torsion tube 124 in a position radiating outwardly therefrom, and a connecting link 130. The connecting link 130 has one end pivotally pinned to the crank link 128 near a distal end thereof radially furthest from the upright torsion tube 124 for pivotal motion of the connecting link 130 relative to the crank link 128 about an upright axis parallel to that of the upright torsion tube 124. The other end of the connecting link 130 is pivotally pinned to the squeeze panel, at a static pivot point thereon, for pivotal movement relative thereto about another such upright axis. The static pivot points for the upper and lower connections of each C-frame to the squeeze panel are provided, in the illustrated example, by an upper pivot lug 132A provided on the outer side of the top beam 36A of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B near the front or rear end post 38A, 38B thereof and a lower pivot lug 132B likewise provided on the outer side of the bottom beam 36B of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B near that front or rear end post 38A, 38B.

[0074] The C-frames 122A, 122B are of non-driven or passive character, and do not directly receive any drive input to the upright torsion tubes 124 thereof. That is, the C-frames do not drive movement of either squeeze panel 34A, 34B, but instead serve merely as constraints to the movement of each squeeze panel to maintain the vertical orientation thereof from top to bottom by synchronizing the movement of the top and bottom ends of each squeeze panel, and to maintain the longitudinal orientation of each squeeze panel by synchronizing the movement of the front and rear ends of the squeeze panel. The passive C-frames 122A 122B thus stabilize the squeeze panels 34A, 34B in their respective and parallel planes of vertical and longitudinal orientation relative to the chute framework to which the C-frames are mounted. The C-frames 122A, 122B are only connected to the squeeze panel drive componentry of the manual drive linkage 86 and motion converter 108 in indirect fashion through the squeeze panels 34A, 34B themselves, with no direct rotational drive input to the upright torsion tubes 124 of the C-frames 122A, 122B. The multi-link design of each upper or lower connection of the upright torsion tube 124 to each squeeze panel serves to provide the desired constraint and stabilization of the squeeze panel movements, while providing sufficient degrees of freedom to accommodate the aforementioned maximization of the effective interior chute width in the fully opened state of the squeeze, where the squeeze panels actually enter the sidewall areas of the chute framework to achieve in-line relation to the wall posts 16A-16D thereof to enable use of the framework’s full internal width between the two sets of wall posts. In the fully open state of the squeeze, each C-frame crank link 128 angles obliquely and laterally outward away from the shared vertical plane of the sidewall area and the fully opened squeeze panel, and the connecting link 130 angles inwardly to the respective pivot lug 132A, 132B, in oblique relation to both the crank link 128 and that shared plane, at an angle reaching proximally back toward the crank link’s attachment to the upright torsion tube 124. In the fully closed state of the squeeze, each C-frame crank link 128 instead angles obliquely and laterally inward through the vertical plane of the sidewall area into the chute interior, and the connecting link 130 runs further laterally inward to the respective pivot lug 132A, 132B, in nearly perpendicular relation to the vertical plane of the squeeze panel 34A, 34B. The forgoing design, with the fully open squeeze panels residing in-plane with the sidewall structures denoted by the wall posts and longitudinal header beams enables a notable working range of squeeze movement, preferably achieving a maximum internal effective chute width of over 30-inches in the fully open state of the squeeze, and more particularly 31.5 inches in the detailed embodiment, while preferably also achieving a minimum effective chute width of 8-inches or less in the fully closed state of the squeeze, and more particularly 7.75-inches in the detailed embodiment.

[0075] The novel manual drive linkage 86 of the illustrated embodiment is accompanied by novel reconfiguration of a squeeze lock and release mechanism that, absent an intentional user-release of its locking effect, will lock the squeeze against movement in the opening direction, such that an animal cannot force the squeeze panels outwardly from inside the chute. The lock and release mechanism of the illustrated embodiment, comprises a lock shaft 134 that resides above the header of the chute in adjacent relation to the drive link 98 of the manual drive linkage 86. At an outer end of the lock shaft 34, at a location proximate the longitudinal header beam 14A and near where the crank arm 96 of the squeeze driveshaft 88 is pivotally pinned to the drive link 98, the lock shaft 134 is likewise pivotally supported for pivotal movement about an upright pivot axis parallel that of the drive link 98. In this illustrated example, this pivotal support of the lock shaft 134 is achieved by pinned connection of the lock shaft 134 to the upper support bracket 92 of the squeeze driveshaft 88 just outside the longitudinal header beam 14A. From this pivotally pinned outer end, the lock shaft 134 is cantilevered inwardly over the longitudinal header beam 14A in a position running alongside the drive link 98 toward the opposing header beam 14B.

[0076] A frictional squeeze lock 136 has a housing 135 pivotally coupled to the drive link 98 in a position overtop thereof, but also cantilevered to the side thereof to which the lock shaft 134 adjacently resides. The housing 135 is pivotable relative to the drive link 98 about an upright pivot axis defined by a lock housing pivot pin 135A in Figure 14 that couples a bottom mounting plate of the housing 135 to the drive link 98. The housing 135 receives passage of the lock shaft 134 therethrough. The frictional squeeze lock 136 of the illustrated embodiment is a known type of frictional lock employed on Applicant’s prior manually driven squeeze chutes and manually driven head gates. Inside the lock housing 135 is a set of one or more locking plates 137 that are spring biased into tilted relation relative to the longitudinal axis of the lock shaft 134, which passes through an aligned hole of each such locking plate 137. The spring biased tilting action causes the perimeter edge of the hole in each locking plate 137 to frictionally bite into the outer periphery of the lock shaft 134, in a direction blocking relative sliding between the frictional squeeze lock 136 and the lock shaft 134 in one direction, but not the other. In the squeeze chute context of the invention, the frictional lock 136 prevents relative sliding in a direction corresponding to opening movement of the squeeze, while allowing relative sliding in an opposing direction corresponding to closing movement of the squeeze. A spring-loaded lock release plunger 138 projects externally of the lock housing 135, and includes an external actuation end 138A that resides outside the housing 135 to enable release of the locking action via external input. The release plunger 138 is spring biased into a position that, inside the lock housing, tilts the one or more locking plates 137 into their locking positions. Pushing the external actuation end 138A of the release plunger 138 in the reverse direction to the spring bias acts to release the frictional locking action, by reorienting the locking plates 137 into generally perpendicular relation to the lock shaft 134. In manual drive linkages of prior chutes, design of a release mechanism for reliable and consistent actuation the release plunger 138 of such a frictional squeeze lock 136 proved challenging, owing to notable degree of relative rotation between components in those prior designs, making it difficult to achieve reliable exertion of consistent release force on the release plunger 138 throughout the operational range of the squeeze.

[0077] The illustrated embodiment of the present invention overcomes this problem, making beneficial use of the relatively straight-line actuation of the drive link 98 in laterally cross-wise relation to the chute to exert a more linear and consistent actuation force on the release plunger 138 of the frictional squeeze lock 136 throughout the full operational range of the squeeze. For such purpose, the lock and release mechanism further comprises a release member 140 supported on, but displaceable back and forth along, the drive link 98. In the illustrated example, the release member 140 is an elongated arm formed of bent steel plate having a flat slide portion 140A that rides atop the drive link 98 in slidable fashion therealong and is pivotally pinned at an outer end thereof to the crank arm 96 of the squeeze driveshaft 88 via the same pivot pin 142 that couples the drive link 98 thereto. The bent release member 140 also has an angled neck 1406 of upwardly inclined relation to the slide portion 140A at an opposing inner end thereof, and finally an actuation portion 140C carried by the angled neck 1406 in elevated relation above the drive link 98 and at aligned elevation to the exterior actuation end 138A of the release plunger 138 of the friction squeeze lock 136. For receipt of pivot pin 142, release member 140 has a round pivot pin hole 142A, but underlying drive link 98 instead has a pivot pin slot 1426 of elongated character in the lengthwise direction of the drive link 98, which slot 1426 is used to accommodate relative sliding between the drive link 98 and the release member 140 in the lengthwise dimensions of their elongated forms (which lengthwise dimensions correspond to the lateral direction of the chute, owing to the cross-wise orientation of drive link 98 and release member 140 relative to the chute). To constrain the release member 140 to linear movement along the drive link 98, a guide pin 144 likewise penetrates both thereof in parallel relation to pivot pin 142 at a distance therefrom near the inner end of the flat slide portion 140 of the release member, this time specifically through a round guide pin hole 144A in the drive link 98, and an elongated guide pin slot 1446 in the slide portion 140 of the release member 140.

[0078] When the squeeze driveshaft 88 is manually driven in the squeezeclosing direction, crank arm 96 pulls outwardly on the drive link 98 via contacting engagement of pivot pin 142 with an outer end of the pivot pin slot 1426 in the drive link 98, and likewise pulls outwardly on the release member 140 via the constrained state of pivot pin 142 in the round pivot pin hole 142A of the release member 140, whereby the drive link 98 and the release member 140 move in concert with one another during this pulling action imparted thereon by the crank arm 96 through pivot pin 142. During such closing movement of the squeeze, the release plunger 138 of the frictional squeeze lock 136 is in its default spring-biased position corresponding to the tilted locking state of the locking plates 137 inside the housing of the frictional squeeze lock 136, while the actuation portion 140C of the release member 140 resides in either nonforceful contact, or close but non-contacting adjacency, to the actuation end 138A of the release plunger 138, thus having no detriment to the maximal locking action of the frictional squeeze lock 136 on the lock shaft 134. This locked state of the frictional squeeze lock 136 allows the frictional squeeze lock 136, carried on the pulled drive link 98, to slide along the adjacent lock shaft 134 toward the pivotally pinned outer end thereof, but acts to prevent any relative sliding in the reverse direction that would see the frictional slide lock 136 instead slide away from the pivotally pinned outer end of the lock shaft 134 toward the free inner end thereof situated above the chute interior. Such reverse sliding would be inherent to any animal-induced opening movement of the squeeze from inside the chute, whereby the frictional squeeze lock 136 prevents any such unintended (from the human operator’s perspective) animal-induced opening movement of the squeeze.

[0079] When intentional operator-driven opening of the squeeze is performed however, via manually driven rotation of the squeeze driveshaft 88 in the squeezeopening direction via operator handle 94, initial pivotal travel of the crank arm 96 is ineffective to push the drive link 98, owing to the above described position of pivot pin 142 at the outer end of the pivot pin slot 142B in the drive link 98. Meanwhile, owing to the constrained state of pivot pin 142 in the round pivot pin hole 142A of the release member 140, such crank motion is effective to push the release member 140 inwardly along the drive link 98, as permitted by the elongated guide pin slot 144B in the release member 140, whereby the release member 140 is driven into forceful and displacing contact with the exterior actuation end 138A of the release plunger 138 of the frictional squeeze lock 136, thereby overcoming the spring bias of the release plunger 138 and releasing the frictional locking action of the locking plates 137 on the lock shaft 134. During such advancement of the release member 140 along the drive link 98 to actuate the release plunger 138 of the frictional squeeze lock 136, the pivot pin 142 is meanwhile travelling toward the inner end of the pivot pin slot 142B in the drive link 98. The length of the pivot pin slot 142B is at least as great as the necessary distance by which the release member 140 must be displaced to fully actuate the release plunger 138 and disengage the frictional squeeze lock 136, so that after the frictional squeeze lock is disengaged, the pivot pin 142 reaches the inner end of the pivot pin slot 142B, whereafter the continued rotation of crank arm 96 by the manually driven squeeze driveshaft 88 now pushes the pinned outer end of the drive link 98 inwardly, thus actuating opening movement of the squeeze.

[0080] Having fully described the manually driven squeeze chute embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 through 14, attention is now turned to optional conversion of the manually driven squeeze setup of that chute to a hydraulically driven setup matching the fully hydraulic embodiment illustrated in Figures 15 through 17. The chute framework, the squeeze panels 34A, 34B and their rolling support on the overhead support tracks 104A, 104B, and the motion converter 108 with its longitudinal torsion tube 1 10, rockers 1 14A, 1 14B and connecting links 1 18A, 1 18B remain entirely unchanged from the foregoing description thereof in the manually driven setup of the earlier figures. In terms of removal and disconnection of earlier described components associated with the manual drive of the squeeze chute, the switchover to the hydraulic drive setup in the illustrated example includes at minimum, the removal of the drive rail 106 from squeeze panel 34B, and associated disconnection of the drive link 98, if not entire removal thereof, thus disconnecting the manual drive linkage 86 entirely from squeeze panel 34B, and thereby rendering the manual drive linkage 86 inoperable to drive the squeeze. In the illustrated hydraulic example of Figure 15, the manual drive linkage 86, and the associated lock and release components are omitted entirely, in demonstration of the full removability thereof during manual-to-hydraulic conversion, though such manual drive componentry can optionally be left in place, and merely disconnected, without interference to the hydraulic drive setup once installed. Such removable manual drive componentry rendered unnecessary in the hydraulic drive setup includes the squeeze driveshaft 88 and the associated supports 90, 92, the operating handle 92 and the crank arm 96, the drive link 98 and the associated frictional squeeze lock 136 and release member 140 coupled thereto, and the adjacent lock shaft 134 on which the frictional squeeze lock 136 was fictionally lockable during manual actuation.

[0081] With the manual drive componentry and associated squeeze lock either removed entirely, or at least functionally defeated by such disconnection of the drive linkage from squeeze panel 34B, the motion converter 108 that was previously responsible for converting manually driven motion of squeeze panel 34B into symmetrically equivalent motion of squeeze panel 34A now becomes a sole drive mechanism responsible for directly driven movement of both squeeze panels 34A, 34B via the rockers 1 14A, 1 14A and their top and bottom connector links 1 18A, 1 18B that are respectively connected to squeeze panel 34A and squeeze panel 34B. To enable hydraulically driven rotation of the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 and its two rockers 1 14A, 114B, the longitudinal torsion tube 110 has a first actuator coupling bracket 148 attached thereto in a manner rotationally locked thereto for rotation therewith. In the illustrated embodiment, this first actuator coupling bracket 148 is a pre-existing bracket permanently affixed to the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 during factory fabrication of the chute components, as can be seen in the earlier figures where such bracket 148 is present on the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 even the manual drive setup, though in an alternative embodiment, the first actuator coupling bracket 148 may be instead only added to the longitudinal torsion tube 110 as part of the changeover from the manual drive setup to the hydraulic drive setup, in which case the torsion tube 1 10 is preferably provided with a predefined mounting site for field installation of the bracket 48 at a predetermined position and orientation of proper alignment to other chute componentry for proper hydraulic operation once the conversion is completed. This first actuator coupling bracket 148 is embodied in the illustrated example by a parallel pair of parallel lug plates 148A, 148B radiating outward from the torsion tube 1 10 to accommodate pinned connection of one end of a hydraulic cylinder 150 therebetween. The first actuator coupling bracket 148 of the illustrated embodiment resides between one of the torsion tube support brackets 1 12A, 1 12B and the one of the rockers 1 14A, 1 14B nearest thereto, particularly between the front torsion tube support bracket 112A and the front rocker 1 14A in the illustrated example, which location aligns with one of the cross-beams 18A, 18B of the chute header, particularly the front cross-beam 18A in the illustrated example.

[0082] This alignment of the first actuator bracket 148 with one of the crossbeams 18A of the chute header is purposeful, for cooperative use of the first actuator bracket 148 with a second actuator coupling bracket 152 designed for installation on this cross-beam 18A of the chute header to accommodate pinned connection of the other end of the hydraulic cylinder 150 thereto to define a static pivot point on the framework of the chute from which extension and collapse of the hydraulic cylinder 150 can drive rotation of the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 to effect displacement of the squeeze panels 34A, 34B through the rockers 1 14A, 1 14B and connecting links 1 18A, 1 18B. In the illustrated embodiment, the second actuator coupling bracket 152 not only receives pinned connection of one end of the hydraulic cylinder 150, but also provides an upright swivel post 154 for swingable support thereon of a control station swing arm 156 by which a hydraulic control station 158 is movably supportable on the chute at a location laterally off to one side thereof in a manner movable back and forth along said one side via swinging movement of the swing arm about the swivel post 154. In the illustrated embodiment, the second actuator coupling bracket 152 is a bolt-on bracket, and more specifically a multi-piece bracket assembly to be assembled on site, though a prefabricated bracket may alternatively be employed to achieve a similar final result.

[0083] The illustrated assembly of the second actuator coupling bracket 152, shown on the chute in Figures 15 to 17 and in isolation in Figures 18 and 19, comprises a first bracket plate 160 for flush placement against one side of the header cross-beam 18A, specifically at a front side thereof from which the gusset 105 protrudes in the illustrated example, for which the first bracket plate 160 has an accommodating slot 160A therein to straddle the gusset 105. A predefined mounting location on the crossbeam 18A for installation of the second actuator coupling bracket 52 comprises a pair of bolt holes penetrating longitudinally through the cross-beam 18A from the gusseted front side thereof to the opposing rear side thereof. The bolts holes are horizontally spaced from one another along the length of the cross-beam 18A (i.e. in the lateral direction of the chute), but reside at the same elevation, and reside symmetrically of one another across the longitudinal midplane of the chute, at which the gusset 105 resides. The first bracket plate 160 has a pair of lower bolt holes 161 A therein on opposing sides of the gusset-accommodating slot 160A therein at a predetermined spacing matching that of the two bolt holes in the cross-beam 18A for alignment therewith. The height of the first bracket plate 160 from the lower boles 161 A to a top end of the first bracket plate 160 exceeds the vertical distance from the bolt holes in the cross-beam to the topside of the cross-beam 18A so that, when bolted in place, the first bracket plate 160 stands upright from the topside of the cross-beam 18A to accommodate pinned connection of the hydraulic cylinder 150 to the bracket plate 160 at an elevation above the cross-beam 18A.

[0084] The bracket assembly further comprises a second bracket plate 164 for installation against the opposing rear side of the cross-beam 18A. Instead of being embodied solely by a purely flat plate, as the first bracket plate 160 may be, the second bracket plate 164 instead has a U-shaped profile with a flat central span 164A placeable flush against the rear side of the cross-beam 18A, and two parallel end spans 164B, 164C of perpendicularly bent relation to the central span 164A at opposing top and bottom ends thereof, so that top span 164B resides in a more elevated horizontal plane than the bottom span 164C, and preferably also at a greater elevation than the topside of the cross-beam 18A. The central span 164A features two lower bolt holes 163A therein of matching spacing to the lower bolt holes 161 A of the first bracket plate 160 for bolted fastening of the two bracket plates 160, 164 together through their lower bolt holes 161 A, 163A via the correspondingly spaced bolt holes in the cross-beam 18A. The height of the central span 164A from the lower bolt holes 163A thereof to the top end thereof exceeds the vertical distance from the bolt holes in the cross-beam to the topside of the cross-beam 18A so that, when bolted in place, the central span 164A of the second bracket plate 164 stands upright from the topside of the cross-beam 18A, across from the likewise upstanding first bracket plate 160, to accommodate pinned connection of the hydraulic cylinder 150 between the two bracket plates 160, 164 above the cross-beam 18A.

[0085] For more strongly anchored stabilization of the bolted-together bracket plates 160, 164 than that provided by solely by two lower bolts 165A installed through the cross-beam via lower bolt holes 161 A, 163A, each of the first bracket plate 160 and the central span 164A of the second bracket plate 164 both also feature an upper pair of bolt holes 161 B, 163B therein that are positioned to reside in alignment with one another just above the topside of the cross-beam 18A in the installed position thereon, whereby two upper bolts 165B can be engaged through the aligned upper bolt holes 161 B, 163B of the two bracket plates 160, 164 in spanning relation across the topside of the cross-beam 18A. This secondary bolted connection of the bracket plates 160, 164 above the cross-beam 18A contributes to stronger anchorage of the assembled bracket plates 160, 164 to the cross-beam 18A without increasing the quantity of bolt holes in the cross-beam 18A, and thus without further sacrifice to the cross-beam’s structural integrity. The bottom span 164C of the second bracket plate 164 forms a seat, atop which a bottom end of the swivel post 154 is receivable, via lowering thereof into such seated relation on the bottom span 164C through a post-accommodating hole in the top span 164B. Assembly of the second actuator coupling bracket 152 thus involves placement of the two bracket plates 160, 164 against respective sides of the cross-beam 18A in positions properly aligned with the predefined bolt holes in the cross beam 18A, fastening of the lower bolts 165A through the aligned lower bolt holes 161 A, 163A to secure the two bracket plates to the cross-beam 18A, and then fastening the supplemental upper bolts 165B through the aligned upper bolt holes 161 B, 163B of the two bracket plates 160, 164 for improved hold and stabilization thereof to the crossbeam 18A.

[0086] Providing the actuator coupling bracket 152 as a multi-piece kit enables use of identical first bracket plates 160 for both left handed and right handed installations of the bracket 152, relying on simple reversal of the plate 160 depending on which side of the chute the torsion tube 1 10 is installed on for a given chute. Owing to the flat character of this bracket plate 160, it can be installed on the centrally located mounting site of the cross-beam 18A in either one of two mirrored positions, in each of which an elevated off-center pin hole 167A in the bracket plate 160 is offset to a different side of the longitudinal midplane of the chute for pinned connection of the hydraulic actuator 150 at this side of the midplane, particularly the side thereof opposite that where the torsion tube 1 10 is located. The second bracket plate 164 with the bent upper and lower spans 164B, 164C for supportive receipt of the swivel post 154 is not reversible in such fashion though, and thus needs to be provided in two different configurations for left and right-handed installation.

[0087] Once the actuator coupling bracket 152 is installed on cross-beam 18A, one end of the hydraulic cylinder 150, preferably the cylinder end thereof, is pinned in place to the assembled second actuator coupling bracket 152 via a removable securement pin 166A that is engageable through both the off-center pin hole 167A in the first bracket plate 160 and an aligned off-center pin hole 167B in the central span 164A of the second bracket plate 164. The other end of the hydraulic cylinder 150 is likewise pinned between the two lug plates 148A, 148B of the first actuator coupling bracket 148 on the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 using another such removable securement pin 166B. The predefined mounting site on the cross-beam 118A for bolted attachment of the actuator coupling bracket 152 dictates installation thereof in a position aligned with the torsion tube’s corresponding actuator coupling bracket 148, which serves as the drive connection point from which linear displacement of the hydraulic cylinder 150 is transformed into lateral displacement of the squeeze panels, via cylinder-driven rotation of torsion tube 110 and its rockers 1 14A, 1 14B. This drive connection point at actuator coupling bracket 148 denotes a separate and distinct drive connection point from that of the manual setup, where the generally linear displacement of the laterally oriented drive link 98 by the crank arm 96 of the upright driveshaft 88 is instead inputted to a connection point embodied by the drive rail pivot pin 106A carried directly on one the squeeze panels via the elevated drive rail 106 installed between hanger brackets 100A, 100B. Such different drive connection points correlate to different and distinct driving of the squeeze panels in the manual and powered modes of chute operation, where manual mode provides direct drive relationship to one squeeze panel 34B, with reliance on the motion converter 108 to move the other squeeze panel 34A, versus the hydraulic mode that uses only the motion convertor 108 to directly drive both squeeze panels 34A, 34B, completely independently of the disconnected, fully removed or fully omitted, components of the manual drive linkage 86.

[0088] Returning to installation of the hydraulic setup, before or after coupled connection of the hydraulic cylinder 150 to the actuator coupling brackets 148, 152, the swivel post 154 is inserted through the top span 164B of the second bracket plate 164 and seated on the bottom span 164C thereof. The bottom end of the swivel post 154 may have an axially protruding key at a bottom end thereof for mating with a matching slot in the bottom span 164 of the second bracket plate 164 to lock the upright swivel post 154 against any rotation about its upright axis. The axial height of the swivel post 154 exceeds the vertical distance between the top and bottom spans of the U-shaped bracket plate 164, so that when seated on the lower span 164C thereof, the swivel post 154 reaches upwardly beyond the top span 164B. By including the swivel post as part of the bracket assembly, the second actuator coupling bracket 152 doubles both as a connection point for the hydraulic cylinder 150 that will drive both squeeze panels 34A, 34B directly through the motion converter 108, and also as a connection point for an optional control station swing arm 156 having a down-turned swivel tube 168 at one end that is slidable axially down over the swivel post 154 above the top span of the II- shaped bracket plate 164 to place the swing arm 156 in swingable relation around the swivel post 154. The swing arm 156 has a first cantilevered segment 156A spanning radially out from the swivel tube 168 in generally horizontal orientation to span outwardly to either side of the chute, and a second hanging segment 156B that turns downwardly from the cantilevered segment 156A to support a hydraulic control station 158 at a roughly mid elevation of the chute height for convenient operator access to the hydraulic controls. As is known in the art, swinging of the swing arm 156 is operable to move the hydraulic control station back and forth along the side of the chute to any number of chosen operator locations, and optionally also from one side of the chute to the other around the front end of the chute.

[0089] Via a set of hydraulic hoses 170 routed along the swing arm 156, the hydraulic control station 158 is connected at least to the installed hydraulic cylinder 150 responsible for the squeeze operation of the chute, and to a hydraulic pump (not shown) for the necessary hydraulic supply. The hydraulic control station 158 may also be connected via such hoses 170 to other hydraulic cylinders optionally added or included for hydraulic operation of functional chute componentry other than the squeeze. The illustrated example includes another hydraulic cylinder 172 installed in association with removal of the head gate driveshaft 82 and associated operator handle 84 in order to operate a modified version of the head gate 32’ hydraulically. Bolt-on upgrade of the head gate 32’ to hydraulic operation from manual operation, in similarly convenient fashion to the herein described bolt-on upgrade of the squeeze operation, is described in Applicant’s co-pending U.S. provisional patent application No. 63 / 581 ,807, filed September 11 , 2023, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference for any and all purposes, including enablement of a combined hydraulic upgrade of both the head gate 32 and squeeze of the manually operated chute of Figures 1 to 14 of the drawings herein.

[0090] The fully hydraulic embodiment shown in Figures 15 through 17 also shows substitution of the manually operated slide-out admission gate 24 of the earlier figures for a hydraulic curtain style admission gate 24’ employing a third hydraulic cylinder 174, likewise connected to the same swingable hydraulic control station 158 by which the squeeze and head gate are operated in the illustrated fully hydraulic embodiment. The embodiment in Figures 15 through 17 denotes a factory-built fully hydraulic embodiment whose original factory fabrication and assembly included incorporation of the hydraulic admission gate 24’, but gains manufacturing efficiency by sharing the otherwise identical framework, squeeze panels, and motion convertor 108 as the manually operated chute detailed in relation Figures 1 to 14, and by using the same bolt-on actuator coupling bracket 152 that is likewise saleable as an upgrade component or upgrade kit to existing owners of the manual version of the chute.

[0091] In both the manual drive and hydraulic drive setups, there is a singular drive input to one of the squeeze panels: either drive link 98 of the manual setup whose movement is derived from human-powered rotation of the singular squeeze driveshaft 88 of the manual input linkage 86 by a singular human operator, or a singular hydraulic cylinder 150 providing the sole drive power for the squeeze function. In either case, the singular drive input to one of the squeeze panels is imparted at an elevated location above the chute header, and in the illustrated embodiments, is also imparted longitudinally off-center, for example nearer to the rear end of the chute in the illustrated manual drive setup, and nearer to the front end of the chute in the illustrated hydraulic setup. Yet, despite the singular drive input residing in both elevated and longitudinally off-center relation to the squeeze panels 34A, 34B, the squeeze operates in balanced fashion with distribution of the drive input relatively evenly across the elevational and longitudinal spans of the squeeze panels 34A, 34B, using the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10 for front to rear drive balancing, and the upright torsion tubes 124 of the C-frames 1 12A, 1 12B for top to bottom synchronization, thereby avoiding lateral tilt of the squeeze panels (relative lateral displacement between the top and bottom of either squeeze panel), and front to rear or rear to front synchronization avoiding longitudinal twist of the of squeeze panels (relative lateral displacement between the front and rear ends of either squeeze panel).

[0092] The illustrated hydraulic setup sees the hydraulic cylinder 150 mounted at the front cross-beam 18A, instead of the rear cross beam 18B closer to which the manual drive linkage 86 resides in the manual drive setup, at least in part because of the dual-purpose actuator coupling bracket 152 that also serves as a swivel support for the control station swing arm 156, as a front-adjacent swivel point for the swing arm 156 is beneficial to allow the swing arm to be swung from one side of the chute to the other around the front end of the chute 10. In other embodiments, particularly if no swing-arm is being employed, or swinging from on side to the other is deemed unnecessary, and if the rear cross beam 18B is positioned to reside within the length span of the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10, the actuator coupling bracket 152 could instead be installed on the rear cross-beam 18B of the header, or at an additional header cross-beam (not shown) residing intermediately between the front and rear cross-beams 18A, 18B somewhere along the length of the longitudinal torsion tube 1 10. For particularly convenient bolt-on installation of the actuator coupling bracket 152 on such an alternative cross-beam, such cross-beam would likewise be provided with pre- drilled bolt holes defining a predefined mounting site for easily bolted attachment of such bracket at a predetermined position, as likewise defined by the predrilled bolt holes on the illustrated front cross beam 18A, which can be seen at 176 in Figures 3 and 4. In the manual setup, the more rearwardly chosen location for the manual drive linkage 86 is to avoid interference with the front C-frame 122A on the same side of the chute, to retain optimal neck access to the animal at the front of the chute, and to maintain maximum openability of the front section of the squeeze panel 34A via the large emergency access gate 40 whose forwardly longitudinal span reaches almost right up to the head gate 32.

[0093] Since various modifications can be made in the invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

CLAIMS:1 . A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks that span in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, and from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; a longitudinal torsion tube running longitudinally of the framework in adjacent to the header thereof at the first side of the chute; and at least two rockers on the longitudinal torsion tube for rotational movement therewith, each rocker having a first pivotally linked connection to the first squeeze panel and a second pivotally linked connection to the second squeeze panel.

2. The chute of claim 1 wherein motion of each squeeze panel is constrained by a respective pair of front and rear C-frames connected to the squeeze panel at locations of respective adjacency to front and rear ends thereof, each C-frame comprising an upright torsion tube rotatably mounted to the structural framework forrotation about a respective upright axis, an upper pivotally linked connection from the upright torsion tube to the squeeze panel at an elevation proximate a top end thereof, and a lower pivotally linked connection from the upright torsion tube to the squeeze panel at an elevation proximate a bottom end thereof, by which movement of said top and bottom ends of the squeeze panel is synchronized at each of the front and rear ends thereof during movement of the squeeze panel in the closing and opening directions.

3. The chute of claim 2 wherein the upper and lower pivotally linked connections of each C-frame each comprise a crank link of rotationally affixed and outwardly radiating relation to the upright torsion tube, and a connecting link pivotally coupled to the crank link and pivotally coupled to the squeeze panel at a static pivot point thereon.

4. The chute of any preceding claim wherein the structural framework, at each side of the chute, comprises a respective pair of front and rear wall posts each spanning vertically between a respective longitudinal header beam of the header and a respective longitudinal floor beam of the structural framework at a bottom floor assembly thereof, and the squeeze panels are each movable in the opening direction at least far enough to reach a respective vertical plane occupied by laterally interior sides of the respective pair of front and rear wall posts.

5. The chute of claim 5 wherein the squeeze panels are each movable in the opening direction far enough to achieve an in-line relationship with the respective pair of front and rear wall posts.

6. The chute of any preceding claim wherein the overhead support tracks comprise round shafts on which the squeeze panels are rollingly supported by concave rollers.

7. The chute of any preceding claim wherein the squeeze panels are supported on the overhead support track by cooperating pairs of rollers, each cooperating pair of rollers comprising a top roller riding atop one of the overhead support tracks and a bottom roller residing beneath said one of the overhead support tracks.

8. The chute of any preceding claim wherein each overhead support track spans laterally between two longitudinal header beams of the header, is neighboured by a respectively adjacent cross-beam of the header that likewise spans laterally between said two longitudinal header beams, and is reinforced through a connection to said respectively adjacent cross-beam.

9. The chute of any one of any preceding claim wherein the squeeze panels are suspended from the overhead support track by hanger brackets, and the second pivotally linked connection of each rocker arm on the longitudinal torsion tube is pivotally coupled to a respective one of the hanger brackets on the second squeeze panel.

10. The chute of claim 9 wherein said hanger brackets are roller-equipped hanger brackets in rolling engagement to the overhead guide tracks.1 1 . The chute of any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the squeeze panels are suspended from the overhead support track by hanger brackets, and the hanger brackets reach upwardly from the squeeze panels to greater elevation than undersides of longitudinal header beams of the header, and have flat outer sides for flush adjacency with inner sides of the longitudinal header beams in fully opened positions of the squeeze panels.

12. The chute of any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the squeeze panels are suspended from the overhead support track by hanger brackets, and the chute furthercomprises a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel, which in turn drives movement of the second squeeze panel via the longitudinal torsion tube and the rockers thereon, wherein said manual drive linkage is coupled to the first squeeze panel via at least one of the hanger brackets belonging to said first squeeze panel.

13. The chute of claim 12 wherein said at least one of the hanger brackets belonging to said first squeeze panel comprises a pair of the hanger brackets between which a drive rail spans longitudinally at an elevation above said first squeeze panel, and said manual drive linkage is coupled to said drive rail.

14. The chute of any one of claim 1 to 1 1 further comprising a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel, which in turn drives movement of the second squeeze panel via the longitudinal torsion tube and the rockers thereon.

15. The chute of any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the manual drive linkage comprises a crank arm rotatable about an upright axis on the second side of the chute, and a drive link pivotally coupled to said crank arm and spanning laterally cross-wise of the header to make connection to the first squeeze panel at an orientation substantially perpendicular thereto.

16. The chute of claim 15 wherein said crank arm and said drive link reside above the header of the structural framework.

17. The chute of claim 15 or 16 wherein said crank arm is carried on, and rotationally driven by, an upright driveshaft that resides externally of the structural framework at the second side thereof and is rotatable about said upright axis by an operator handle on said upright driveshaft.

18. The chute of any one of claims 15 to 17 comprising a squeeze lockoperable to automatically impart an anti-opening locking action that prevents opening of the squeeze panels away from one another, absent a release action on the squeeze lock.

19. The chute of claim 18 comprising a lock shaft mounted adjacent to the drive link, wherein the squeeze lock is a frictional lock installed on the drive link in a position operable to impart a frictional locking action thereon in a locked state of said squeeze lock, by which relative movement between the drive link and the lock shaft is prevented in a direction corresponding to said opening of the squeeze panels.

20. The chute of claim 18 or 19 further comprising a lock release member coupled to the drive link, and also displaceable therealong by the crank arm, during initial movement thereof in a direction corresponding to said opening of the squeeze panels, into a lock-releasing position imparting said release action on the squeeze lock to allow said opening of the squeeze panels.21 . The chute of clam 20 wherein the lock release member and the drive link share a same pivotal coupling to the crank arm, which pivotal coupling is made through an elongated slot in the drive arm to accommodate relative displacement of the lock release member during said initial movement of the crank arm.

22. The chute of any one of claims 12 to 21 wherein the manual drive linkage is selectively disconnectable from the first squeeze panel, and the longitudinal torsion tube has an actuator coupling bracket thereon for selective coupling of a powered actuator thereto to drive movement of the squeeze panels via the longitudinal torsion tube and the rockers thereof in functional replacement of the disconnected manual drive linkage.

23. The chute of claim 8 wherein the longitudinal torsion tube has an actuator coupling bracket thereon for coupling of one end a powered actuator theretoto drive movement of the squeeze panels via the longitudinal torsion tube and the rockers thereof, said actuator coupling bracket being of aligned relation to one of the cross-beams of the header, which is further characterized by presence thereon of either (a) a second actuator coupling bracket for coupled receipt of another end of said powered actuator, or (b) a predefined mounting site preconfigured for selective mounting of said second actuator coupling bracket to said one of the cross-beams at one of one or more predetermined positions dictated by said predefined mounting site.

24. The chute of any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the header comprises laterally oriented cross beams, the longitudinal torsion tube has an actuator coupling bracket thereon for coupling of one end a powered actuator thereto to drive movement of the squeeze panels via the longitudinal torsion tube and the rockers thereof, said actuator coupling bracket being of aligned relation to said one of said cross-beams of the header, which is further characterized by presence thereon of either (a) a second actuator coupling bracket for coupled receipt of another end of said powered actuator, or (b) a predefined mounting site preconfigured for selective mounting of said second actuator coupling bracket to said one of the cross-beams at one of one or more predetermined positions dictated by said predefined mounting site.

25. The chute of claim 23 or 24 comprising a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel, which in turn drives movement of the second squeeze panel via the longitudinal torsion tube and the rockers thereon.

26. The chute of claim 25 wherein said one of the cross beams is characterized by presence of said predefined mounting site.

27. The chute of claim 26 wherein said predefined mounting site comprises at least one predefined bolt hole for bolted mounting of said second actuatorcoupling bracket.

28. The chute of claim 24 wherein said one of the cross beams is characterized by presence thereon of said second actuator coupling bracket.

29. The chute of any one of claims 1 to 11 comprising at least one powered actuator coupled to the longitudinal torsion tube to perform powered rotation thereof in opposing directions, and thereby drive opening and closing movement of the first and second squeeze panels.

30. The chute of claim 29 wherein said powered actuator is coupled to the longitudinal torsion tube via a first actuator coupling bracket thereon, with which there is aligned a second actuator coupling bracket installed on the header of the structural framework.31 . The chute of any one of claims 23 to 28 and 30 wherein said second actuator coupling bracket includes a swivel post thereon for swingable support thereon of a control station swing-arm by which a hydraulic control station is movably supportable on the chute laterally outward therefrom and movable back and forth therealong via swinging movement of the swing arm about said swivel post32. A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction;overhead support tracks spanning in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and along which the first and second squeeze panels are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel, and comprises: a crank arm rotatable about an upright axis on the second side of the chute, and drive link pivotally coupled to said crank arm and spanning laterally cross-wise of the header to make connection to the first squeeze panel at an orientation substantially perpendicular thereto.

33. The chute of claim 32 wherein said crank arm and said drive link reside above the header of the structural framework.

34. The chute of claim 32 or 33 wherein said crank arm is carried on, and rotationally driven by, an upright drive-shaft that resides externally of the structural framework at the second side thereof and is rotatable about said upright axis by an operator handle of said upright driveshaft.

35. The chute of any one of claims 32 to 34 comprising a squeeze lock operable to automatically impart an anti-opening locking action that prevents opening of the squeeze panels away from one another, absent a release action on the squeeze lock.

36. The chute of claim 35comprising a lock shaft mounted adjacent to thedrive link, wherein the squeeze lock is a frictional lock installed on the drive link in a position operable to impart a frictional locking action thereon in a locked state of said squeeze lock, by which relative movement between the drive link and the lock shaft is prevented in a direction corresponding to said opening of the squeeze panels.

37. The chute of claim 35 or 36 further comprising a lock release member coupled to the drive link, and also displaceable therealong by the crank arm, during initial movement thereof in a direction corresponding to said opening of the squeeze panels, into a lock-releasing position imparting said release action on the squeeze lock to allow said opening of the squeeze panels.

38. The chute of clam 37 wherein the lock release member and the drive link share a same pivotal coupling to the crank arm, which pivotal coupling is made through an elongated slot in the drive arm to accommodate relative displacement of the lock release member during said initial movement of the crank arm.

39. The chute of any one of claims 32 to 38 comprising at least one of either (a) one or more actuator coupling brackets for selective coupling thereto of a powered actuator thereto in functional replacement of the manual drive linkage; or (b) one or more predefined mounting sites for selective mounting of said one or more actuator coupling brackets at one or more predetermined positions dictated by said predefined mounting sites.

40. The chute of claim 39 comprising a motion converter supported on the structural framework at the first side of the chute across from the second side thereof from which the manual drive linkage is manually operable, said motion converter being coupled to the first squeeze panel independently of the drive linkage, and also coupled to the second squeeze panel, and being operable in a manual mode to convert manually actuated movement of the first squeeze panel, via the manual drive linkage,into corresponding movement of the second squeeze panel, wherein at least one of said one or more actuator coupling brackets or said one or more predefined mounting sites belongs to said motion converter, such that installation of the powered actuator enables actuator-powered operation of the motion converter in a powered mode thereof that directly drives both of the squeeze panels, independently of the manual drive linkage.

41. The chute of claim 40 wherein said motion converter comprises a longitudinal torsion tube and at least two rockers on the longitudinal torsion tube for rotational movement therewith, each rocker having a first pivotally linked connection to the first squeeze panel and a second pivotally linked connection to the second squeeze panel.

42. The chute of any one of claims 32 to 41 wherein the manual drive linkage is selectively disconnectable from the first squeeze panel.

43. A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks spanning in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and along which the first and second squeeze panels are displaceableback and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; a manual drive linkage that is manually operable from the second side of the chute to drive movement of the first squeeze panel; and a motion converter supported on the structural framework at the first side of the chute across from the second side thereof from which the manual drive linkage is manually operable, said motion converter being coupled to the first squeeze panel independently of the drive linkage, and also coupled to the second squeeze panel, and being operable to convert manually actuated movement of the first squeeze panel, via the manual drive linkage, into corresponding movement of the second squeeze panel.

44. The chute of claim 43 wherein the structural framework and the motion converter comprise thereamong at least one of either:(a) one or more preexisting actuator coupling brackets for selective coupling thereto of a powered actuator thereto in functional replacement of the manual drive linkage; or(b) one or more predefined mounting sites preconfigured for selective mounting of one or more installable coupling brackets at one or more predetermined positions dictated by said one or more predefined mounting sites; whereby said powered actuator is installable in coupled relation to both the structural framework and the motion converter, each by way of either one of said one or more preexisting actuator coupling brackets or one of said one or more installable coupling brackets, when mounted at one of said one or more predetermined positions, to enable actuator-powered operation of the motion converter in a poweredmode thereof that directly drives both of the squeeze panels, independently of the manual drive linkage.

45. The chute of claim 43 or 44 wherein the manual drive linkage is selectively disconnectable from the first squeeze panel.

46. A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; overhead support tracks spanning in the lateral direction of the structural framework at an upper header thereof, from which the first and second squeeze panels are suspended and along which the first and second squeeze panels are displaceable back and forth in the lateral direction for movement of the squeeze panels toward one another in a closing direction reducing an effective interior width of the chute, and away from one another in an opening direction increasing said effective interior width of the chute; one or more linkages through which the first and second squeeze panels are driveable in said opening and closing directions; and for each squeeze panel, a respective pair of front and rear C-frames connected to the squeeze panel, at locations of respective adjacency to front and rear ends of said squeeze panel, each C-frame comprising an upright torsion tube rotatablymounted to the structural framework for rotation about a respective upright axis, an upper pivotally linked connection to the squeeze panel proximate a top end thereof, and a lower pivotally linked connection to the squeeze panel proximate a bottom end thereof, by which movement of said top and bottom ends of the squeeze panel is synchronized during movement of the squeeze panel in the squeezing and releasing directions; wherein the squeeze panels and the C-frames are further characterized by at least one of the following features:(a) the C-frames are connected to the squeeze panels entirely independently of the one or more linkages through which the squeeze panels are driven, and serve to constrain movement of the squeeze panels to linear displacement in the lateral direction without deviation of the squeeze panels from respective planes of parallel relation to one another, and without imparting any drive force to said squeeze panels through said C-frames;(b) the upper and lower pivotally linked connections of each C-frame each comprise a first link of rotationally affixed and outwardly radiating relation to the upright torsion tube, and a second link pivotally coupled to the first link and pivotally coupled to the squeeze panel at a static pivot point thereon; and / or(c) relative to the structural framework, which at each side of the chute comprises a respective pair of front and rear wall posts each spanning vertically between a respective longitudinal header beam of the header and a respective longitudinal floor beam at a bottom floor assembly of the structural framework, the squeeze panels are each movable in the opening direction at least far enough to reach a respective vertical plane occupied by laterally interior sides of the respective pair of front and rear wall posts.

47. The chute of claim 46 characterized by at least feature (a).

48. The chute of claim 46 or 47 characterized by at least feature (b).

49. The chute of any one of claims 45 to 47 characterized by at least feature (c).

50. The chute of claim 49 wherein the squeeze panels are each movable in the opening direction far enough to achieve an in-line relationship with the respective pair of front and rear wall posts.51 . A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; wherein: at each side of the chute, the structural framework comprises a respective pair of front and rear wall posts each spanning vertically between a respective longitudinal header beam of the header and a respective longitudinal floor beam at a bottom floor assembly of the structural framework; and each squeeze panel comprises: a front end post that is composed of square tubing and denotes both a front end of the squeeze panel and also a front boundary of an openable / closeable human-traversable emergency access opening of the squeezepanel; and a swing-out emergency access gate that, in a closed position thereof, occupies and closes off said human-traversable emergency access opening, and is swingable outwardly into an open position revealing said human-traversable emergency access opening; and an upper access window in the swing-out emergency access gate that is partially occupied by one or more safety obstructions, but through which at least limited access to an interior of the chute is nonetheless enabled; an upright front rail of the swing-out emergency access gate, which also denotes a front boundary of the upper access window, is a right-angle member whose horizontal cross-section is an L-shaped profile that, in the closed position of the swing- out emergency access gate, embraces outer and rear sides of the front end post; a gap width, measured in the longitudinal direction, between front end post of each squeeze panel and the front wall post of the respective side of the chute is no greater than a respective width, also measured in the longitudinal direction, of at least one of the following: the front end post of the squeeze panel; an unoccupied front region of the upper window left open between the right-angle member and a closest one of the one or more safety obstructions partially occupying said window.

52. The chute of claim 51 wherein said gap width is no greater than said respective width of the front end post of the squeeze panel.

53. The chute of claim 51 or 52 wherein said gap space is no greater that said respective width of the unoccupied front region of the window.

54. The chute of any one of claims 51 to 53 wherein said nearest one ofthe one or more safety obstructions is a nearest one of one or more movable access gates installed in the window of the emergency access gate to enable modification of a relative openness of the window via opening and closing of said one or more movable access gates.

55. A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; and first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; on each squeeze panel: a lower access opening in the squeeze panel; at least one lower access gate installed in a lower access opening for pivotal movement of the lower access gate about an upright hinge axis between a closed position obstructing at least a portion of said lower access opening, and an open position revealing said portion of the lower access opening; for each lower access gate, a hinged connection by which said side-gate is pivotably coupled, and also removably coupled, to the squeeze panel for said pivotal movement, said hinged connection comprising a set of male stub shafts and a cooperating set of female receptacles, which are distributed among said sidegate and said squeeze panel in co-operable relative positions to one another such that said side-gate is pivotally movable between the open and closed positions while at afirst elevation relative to the squeeze panel, and, of the open and closed positions, is removable from the gate frame only in the open position by lifting of the side-gate to a greater second elevation at which the male stub shafts are disengaged from said female receptacles.

56. The chute of claim 55 wherein lifting of the side-gate to the second greater elevation is blocked in the closed position by a cross-bar of the squeeze panel that defines an upper perimeter boundary of the lower access opening.

57. The chute of any preceding claim wherein the first and squeeze panels are full-length panels that each individually and solely, in uniplanar fashion, closes off a respective substantial entirety of the first or second side of the chute from the front end to the rear end thereof.

58. The chute of any preceding claim wherein the first and second squeeze panels includes respective vet cage doors therein at respective rear sections of said squeeze panels.

59. An actuator coupling bracket for mounting a powered actuator to a livestock squeeze chute, said actuator coupling bracket comprising: a pair of side plates for receiving pinned connection of an end of said powered actuator between said side plates; and an upright swivel post for receiving a swivel tube of a swing arm for swingingly relocatable support of a control station from which said powered actuator is controllable.

60. The actuator coupling bracket of claim 59 wherein one of said side plates comprises an upright span configured to host said pinned connection of the end of said powered actuator, and at least one out-turned span deviating from a plane of said upright span to receive the upright swivel post in a standing position beside saidupright span.

61. The actuator coupling bracket of claim 60 wherein said at least one out-turned span comprises two out-turned spans projecting in a common direction, of which a lower one of said out-turned spans denotes a seat for receiving a bottom end of said swivel post, and an upper one of said out turned spans has an opening therein for downward passage therethrough of said pivot post into seated relation atop the lower one of said out-turned spans.

62. A livestock squeeze chute comprising: a structural framework having an exit at a front end of the structural framework and an entrance at a rear end of the structural framework that opposes said front end in a longitudinal direction; and first and second squeeze panels movably supported on the frame between the entrance and the exit in positions residing opposite one another in a lateral direction that lies transverse to said longitudinal direction, said first and second squeeze panels residing respectively adjacent to first and second sides of the chute that are of opposing relation to one another in said lateral direction; wherein: said structural framework comprises thereon: a predefined manual-drive mounting site at a first location, by which manual drive componentry is selectively mountable to the structural framework at said first location to enable operation of said squeeze panels in a manual mode; and a predefined powered-drive mounting site at a different second location, by which a powered actuator is selectively mountable to the structural framework at said different second location to enabled actuator-powered operation of said squeeze panels in a powered mode.

63. The chute of claim 62 wherein said predefined manual-drive mounting site one of a cooperable pair of manual-drive mounting sites, of elevationally spaced relationship to one another situated respectively on or adjacent to an elevated header of the framework and a lower floor assembly of the framework.

64. The chute of claim 62 or 63 wherein said predefined manual-drive mounting site resides at the second side of the chute, in aligned relation across from a matching predefined manual-drive mounting site on the first side of the chute to enable selective mounting of the manual drive componentry at either side of the chute.

65. The chute of any one of claims 62 to 64 wherein the powered-drive mounting site resides on a header component on the framework.

66. The chute of claim 65 wherein said header component is a header cross beam of the framework.

67. The chute of any one of claims 62 to 66 wherein the powered-drive mounting site resides laterally centrally of the framework to accommodate mounting of the powered actuator in two possible operating positions spanning laterally outward in opposing directions from said powered-drive mounting site.

68. The chute of any one of claims 62 to 67 wherein the manual-drive mounting site and the powered-drive mounting site are respectively positioned to align the manual drive componentry and the powered actuator with different respective drive connection points to which the powered actuator and the manual drive componentry are respectively connected when installed, for different and distinct driving of the squeeze panels through said different respective drive connection points in said powered-drive and manual-drive modes.

69. The chute of claim 68 wherein of said different respective drive connections point, only a first one thereof is carried on one of the squeeze panels.

70. The chute of claim 69 wherein said first one of the different respective connection points a manual-drive connection point.

71. The chute of any one of claims 68 to 70 wherein of said different respective connection points, a second one thereof is carried on a rotational component whose drive rotation drives movement of at least one of the squeeze panels.

72. The chute of claim 71 wherein said second one of the drive connection points is a powered-drive connection point.

73. The chute of claim 71 or 72 wherein said rotational component is a longitudinal torsion tube connected to both squeeze panels via rockers supported on said longitudinal torsion tube for driving of said at least one of the squeeze panels via said rockers.

74. The chute of any one of claims 62 to 73 comprising said manual drive componentry, which comprises a drive link oriented generally perpendicularly to one the squeeze panels in direct-drive relationship thereto.

75. The chute of claim 74 wherein said drive link is driven via an upright driveshaft mounted to the framework at said predefined manual-drive mounting site.

76. The chute of any one of claims 62 to 75 comprising an actuator coupling bracket of cooperable configuration to the powered-drive mounting site for mounting thereat in one of one or more predetermined positions dictated thereby, and configured for pivotally pinned connection of the powered actuator to said actuator coupling bracket.

77. The chute of claim 76 wherein said actuator coupling bracket comprises an upright swivel post thereon for swingable support thereon of a control station swing-arm, by which a control station for the powered actuator is movably supportable on the chute laterally outward therefrom and movable back and forththerealong via swinging movement of the swing arm about said swivel post.

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