Patent Grant
9561951
This invention relates to the field of tail set cruppers.
A tail set crupper is a portion of a harness for an animal, such as a horse, that is used to encourage the tail to be maintained in an arched shape. It may be worn by the animal for extended periods of time. After a period of use, the crupper may tend to cause the tail to be straightened relative to the direction of the spine of the animal, and also to extend on a relatively upstanding, arcuate shape, such that the tail may take on the desired “set”, hence the “tail set” crupper. A horse, or other animal, may find the crupper uncomfortable. Consequently, the horse may make repeated efforts to dislodge the crupper. In the view of the present inventor, horses often are, or become, quite adept at dislodging the crupper. It might therefore be advantageous to have a crupper that might tend either to be more comfortable, or less easily dislodged, or both. The specification and drawings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892 are incorporated herein by reference.
In an aspect of the invention there is a crupper. There is a base portion and a trough portion. The base portion has a first surface for placement next to the hindquarters of an animal. A trough portion is joined to the base portion. The trough portion, in use, extends outwardly away from the animal. The trough portion has a first end adjoining the base portion, a second end distant from the base portion and an intermediate portion between the first and second ends. The second end of the trough portion has a rounded mouth. The trough has a medial portion between the first end and the second end, the medial portion being predominantly downwardly open.
In a feature of the aspect of the invention, the trough portion has a spine extending therealong, and apertures are formed in the trough portion adjacent to the spine, the spine being narrower than the apertures. In another feature, the trough portion has a central spine and a cross-rib extending between the first end and the second end, and is otherwise downwardly open. In yet another feature, the rounded mouth defines a continuous imperforate rounded surface. In still another feature, the crupper has a central longitudinal plane, and the crupper has the rounded mouth presents a continuous rounded surface over a sweep in the central longitudinal plane of more than 2(Pi)/3 radians. In an additional further feature, the crupper has an outlet tangent portion extending away from the continuous rounded surface.
In a still further feature, the crupper is substantially spoonless. In another feature, the base portion and the trough portion are joined as parts of a single casting, the base portion including left and right hand pads located to either side of the first end of the trough. The first and second pads have a through-thickness measured to the trough. The first end of the trough extends a distance less than the through-thickness proud of the first and second pads. In another feature, the first end of the trough is free of upward slope deviation.
In another aspect of the invention there is a tail set crupper. It has a base portion and a trough portion. The base portion has a first surface for placement next to the hindquarters of an animal. The trough portion is immovably joined to the base portion, the trough portion, in use, extending outwardly away from the animal. The trough portion has a first end adjoining the base portion, a second end distant from the base portion and an intermediate portion between the first and second ends. The first end of the crupper being substantially spoonless.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention, the base portion has a through-thickness adjacent to the trough, and the first end of the trough extends a distance less than the through-thickness proud of the pads. In another feature, the base portion has cushioning applied thereto, and the cushioning stands proud of the first end of the trough. In another feature, the first end of the trough is free of upward slope deviation. In still another feature, the intermediate portion of the trough is downwardly vented.
In another aspect of the invention there is a tail set crupper. It has a base portion and a trough portion. The base portion has a first surface for placement next to the hindquarters of an animal. The trough portion is immovably joined to the base portion. The trough portion, in use, extends outwardly away from the animal. The trough portion has a first end adjoining the base portion, a second end distant from the base portion and an intermediate portion between the first and second ends. The crupper has a mouth at the second end thereof, the mouth has the form of a channel defining continuous support surface, the channel being formed on a curve turned partially back toward the base.
In a feature of that aspect, the curve of the channel is formed on a curl greater than 2(Pi)/3 radians. In another feature, the mouth terminates at a tangentially extending cuff. In a further feature, the channel is at least ⅖ as deep as it is wide. In another feature, the trough portion is downwardly vented. In another feature, the crupper is substantially spoonless.
These aspects and other features of the invention can be understood with the aid of the following illustrations of a number of exemplary, and non-limiting, embodiments of the principles of the invention in which:
The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, are provided by way of illustration of an example, or examples of particular embodiments of the principles of the present invention. These examples are provided for the purposes of explanation, and not of limitation, of those principles and of the invention. In the description, like parts are marked throughout the specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated in order more clearly to depict certain features of the invention.
By way of a general overview,
Crupper assembly 20 may include a crupper frame, referred to hereinafter simply as crupper 40, discussed in greater detail below, padding 42, and a leather cover 44. Crupper 40 has a compound concave surface that is fabricated to conform to the compound curvature of a horse's hindquarters adjacent to the root of the spine. Padding 42 is mounted to sit between the curvature of crupper 40 and the skin of horse 12. For other animals, a different curvature may be used, such as may correspond to the customary shape of that animal. Leather cover 44 is sewn to padding, the whole assembly of cover and padding fitting over the greater part of crupper 40. The terminology “crupper” may, depending on context, refer to either the entire assembly, i.e., crupper assembly 20, or more specifically, to the rigid crupper frame, i.e., designated as crupper 40, alone.
The illustrations provided herein are based on photographic views of an example of a crupper 40. Crupper 40 may be fabricated from a metal, such as aluminium, but may also be fabricated from other suitable materials. In general, crupper 40 may have a vertical-longitudinal plane of symmetry, allowing for the asymmetries and imperfections in production of castings, and, in particular, of sand castings.
Although crupper 40 may be formed as an integral, monolithic casting, crupper 40 can be thought of as having a base, or base portion, or base, 46, and a trough portion, or trough 48. In general terms, base portion 46 has a pair of left and right hand pad portions, 50, 52 joined by a U-shaped web portion 54.
Pad portions 50 and 52 may each have a contoured inward surface 56, 58 that may be formed on a compound concave curvature, that is generally symmetrical about a vertical longitudinal central plane bi-secting trough portion 48, the two compound curved surfaces tending to lie on the same geometric surface, the curvature being intended to permit crupper 40 to conform, in a general sense to the curvature of the hindquarters of the animal, such as horse 12, or as the case may be. The compound curvature may be formed according to a geometric polynominal function, or may be formed on radii of curvature about respective vertical and transverse axes, the resultant compound curvature being formed generally to conform to the shape of a horse's hind quarters. To that end, the transverse radius of curvature may be of the order of 80 to 100 inches, and may be about 90 inches (+/−5″); the vertical radius of curvature may be of the order of 10 to 15 inches, and may be approximately 11½ inches (+/−1 inch). The resultant surface may tend to be an ellipsoid, or a reasonably close approximation of an ellipsoid given the possible imprecision of a sand casting, if such is employed. That is, the surfaces of the two pad portions 50, 52 would then be portions lying on the same ellipsoidal surface. Put alternately, the two surfaces may tend to lie on a common torus (i.e., doughnut) surface, where, converting the radii above, the main radius of the torus may be about 75 to 80 inches in the horizontal plane, and the minor radius of the torus may be about 10 to 15 inches. While it is desirable for this curvature to conform closely to the size of the hindquarters of horse 12, a layer of padding 42 may generally be placed between the surface of the crupper frame pad portions 50, 52, and may tend to take up a reasonable degree of imprecision.
In one embodiment, the U-shaped web portion 54 may tend to have quite a square-cornered, or three-sides-of-the-rectangle appearance, with slightly splayed legs. The splay may be about .+−0.2 inch in width over about a 4 inch rise in height, giving a splay angle of about 3 to 4 degrees from either side of vertical for the respective sides, if the back portion is taken as being substantially horizontal in terms of the view shown in
Each of the pad portions 50, 52 may have a lower, rather wider region 68, that may be smoothly radiused along the laterally outboard portions at its upper end to give onto an upper, narrowing region or tail, or toe 60 (left or right hand, respectively). At the distal or upper extremity of each tail, or toe 60, is a strap attachment fitting 62, such as a rectangular ring, or eye, 64, whose hinge fitting 66 may be riveted in place. Given that the general use environment may tend to be acidic, mechanical fasteners in the nature of galvanically suitable rivets may be used, such as copper rivets being used in an aluminum casting with stainless steel hinge fittings, for example. The lower lobate regions 68 of pads 50, 52 also have mounting fittings 67, such as may be in the nature of hingedly mounted ring fittings 69 that may be mounted to the laterally outermost extremities of the outer surface 57, 59 of the wings (namely lobate regions 68) of crupper 40. Fittings 67 may be employed as connection points for rearward spider straps 34, whereby the lateral positioning of crupper 40 may be adjusted. In the embodiment shown, and in contrast to the crupper shown in FIG. 4a of U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892, toe 60 is formed into a less sharp or pointed form, but rather retains a broader, more gently curved form to a relatively higher location such as may tend to increase the upper surface area, and spread, of the crupper, such as may be more comfortable for the animal. In the embodiment shown, the tangent of the uppermost slope portion of the outside edge of the crupper is shown as alpha60. The maximum inward slope angle (taken at the tangent of the point of inflection of the transition, as indicated at alpha68 forms an intersection angle identified as beta. In the embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892, the corresponding angle is quite pronounced, being less than ¾(Pi) radians, such that toe 60 is relatively long and thin. If the inside edge 71 of toe 60 is taken as a first datum, In U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892 the intersection at angle beta is located less than halfway from the trough transition (i.e., the height h71 at which tangent 102 intersects pad portion 50, 52, as may be) to the uppermost tip h60 of toe 60. By contrast, in the embodiment described herein, that point of intersection lies more than halfway toward datum toe 60, and may be more than ¾ of the way. Further, the angle of intersection is well more than ¾(Pi) radians and may be more than ⅚(Pi) radians. Expressed differently, toe 60 in U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892 has a significantly higher aspect-ratio of length to width from the inflexion point to the tip, being roughly 3:1, whereas toe 60 herein has an aspect ratio of less than 3:1, and which may be less than 2:1. As can be seen, the slope at the point of inflexion is also correspondingly shallower. Each of these measures is a proxy for the qualitative difference of the pads being fatter further upward to spread load.
The outer surfaces 57, 59 of pad portions 50, 52 may also be curved, but in such a way that the through thickness t1 at the extremity of toes 60 may be substantially less than the through thickness t2 at the lowest extremity of lobate regions 68. For example, the upper thickness may taper to thickness t1 of about half an inch, or less. The lower thickness may broaden to thickness t2 of roughly about an inch (+/−⅛″), and the variation in thickness may be a smoothly continuous increase as a function of position along the arc. This may tend to result in a disproportionate biasing of the weight distribution of the pads toward the lower extremity.
Trough portion 48 may include an outboard, or rearward portion 70 that, in use, extends outwardly and upwardly away from the hind quarters of the animal, and an inward portion, 72 that extends inwardly of the surface of the body of revolution on which surfaces 56 and 58 of pad portions 50 and 52 are formed. Rearward portion 70 has the form of a nozzle or chute. Rearward portion may taper from its base (next to the animal) to its distal end. At its broad, proximal end adjacent pad portions 50, 52 rearward portion forms a smooth transition into the web, or bridge portion 54 of base portion 46. At the distal end of rearward portion 70, the tapered chute region gives onto a third region of trough 48, the outboard curl or mouth 74 with a downwardly opening arcuate lip 76. The outboard curl may be considered to commence at the outboard end or margin of apertures 84 noted below.
The chute of trough portion 48 has a base, or bottom portion, 78 and side portions 80, and may include respective inward and outward reliefs 82, and 84 in the nature of apertures. Apertures 82 and 84 are shown as being generally rectangular or square. Although apertures were provided in the embodiment shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892, for the purpose of making the section lighter, the inventor has observed that the horse's tail may tend to become warm, and may after time, be a source of discomfort. As horsehair is relatively insulating in a thermal sense, apertures relatively close to the top edge or margin of the trough, as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892, did not apparently tend to promote cooling very well, if at all. To address this issue, trough portion 48 herein is more open than previously, the openings are larger than previously, and the openings are intended to be placed more predominantly below the tail rather than in the former, high up locations that were predominantly beside the tail. It is thought that this arrangement may tend to give better access for cooling air from below to cool the horse's tail. Trough portion 48 may include a centrally positioned, longitudinally extending external reinforcement rib, or spine, 88, and may include a transversely oriented, integrally formed rib 90 that may emanate from spine 88 and extend peripherally about thereabout from side to side of trough 48 in a U-shape. Rib 90 may be located at a longitudinal station roughly mid-way intermediate base portion 46 and the point of tangency where the downward curvature 92 of mouth 74 of trough 48 that leads to lip 76. Rib 90 may be located between inward relief 82, and outward relief 84. In the embodiment shown, rib 90 is the only laterally extending structural member between inward portion 72 and mouth portion 74. The longitudinal width or thickness W90 of rib 90 is less than either the longitudinal length L82 of relief 82 or length L84 of relief 84. When viewed in bottom view projection, width W82 of relief 82 may be wider than spine 88, and may extend lengthwise a distance L82 more than double W90. Similarly, and again as viewed in bottom view projection, as in
The upper edges or margins of the side portions 80 of the trough portion 48 are indicated as 94 and 96, and have a profile indicated as 98. Profile 98 includes an outward end portion 100 and an inward portion 102. Outward portion 100 is downwardly concave, with local radii of curvature having local centers of curvature lying below trough portion 48. Inward portion 102 is substantially straight and runs along, and defines the upper edge of, each respective side of trough 48. In contrast to the previous crupper of U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892, the inventor has found that a larger curl 110 at mouth 74 may be helpful, such that the horse's tail may be less likely to rub on a relatively abrupt end edge and thereby irritate the horse. To that end, the outward facing or upper surface 112 of mouth 74 is formed on a large-radius curve alpha112 extending over more than 120 degrees of arc (i.e., more than ⅔(pi) radians), and having a generally downwardly and forwardly (i.e., with a component of direction toward the horse) extending cuff 114, which may extend away from curl 110 on a tangent portion 116 at its distal end. In one embodiment alpha 112 may be about 150 degrees. That is, the outer end portion of crupper 40 has a cross-sectional profile that merges into, or is substantially the same as, that of the intermediate portion of trough 48 more generally. However the outer end of the channel or trough is bent around and somewhat back upon itself on a return angle oriented partially back toward the horse. The end of the tail may then be supported on a well radiused large curve, and in the normal condition the tail may tend to hang vertically under gravity somewhat away from cuff 114 rather than swinging against a sharp edge. In the embodiment shown, there are no apertures in curl 110, such that a continuous, relatively smooth curved surface is presented to the horse's tail, the curve being both in the lengthwise orientation of crupper 40 (and or the horse's tail) and in the cross-wise orientation. Furthermore, trough 48 is wide and deep, with an inside depth that is greater than ⅖ of the width, and the width at mouth 74 being more than ¾ the width of trough 48 at the junction with base portion 46. Thus mouth 74 presents a continuous surface of compound curvature around curl 110, and provides an out-feed or chute or collar, or cuff on the tangent at its outlet. The lip of curl 110, at the end of cuff 114, is also well radiused to be free of sharp edges.
The bottom or forward portion or region 78 of the trough portion 48 and 72 may sometimes be referred to as the “spoon” of the crupper. In the earlier apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,892 the inner region of the spoon protruded significantly beyond, or inwardly proud of the surface of the body of revolution of the inner surfaces of pad portions 50, 52. The spoon was also angled upwardly and inwardly relative to the slope of the trough taken along the upper, or inside, surface at the trough centerline. This geometry may not have been as comfortable for the horse as might have been desired. In the embodiment shown herein, trough 48 is substantially spoonless. That is, inner portion 78 extends inwardly proud of pad portions 50, 52 described herein, but less far than the inward surface of the undeflected cushioning or padding 47, 49 on surfaces 56, 58. Expressed differently, the extension distance d78 inwardly proud of surfaces 56, 58 is less than the through thickness t50 of pad portions 50, 52. Expressed differently again, as a proportion of the width of trough 48 at its inward end, indicated as W48, d78 may be less than about ⅓ of W48, may be in the range of ⅙ to ⅓ of W48, and in one embodiment may be about ¼ of W48. Moreover, in the embodiment the upper surface of inner portion 78 continues on the same, or substantially the same, slope or curvature as trough 48, rather than having a marked change in curvature, or other distinct deviation upward. That is, in the direction toward the horse it is free up upward slope deviation relative to the inside surface of trough 48 generally, such that no “spoon” shape is formed.
Certain geometric relationships between the forgoing elements may be observed. First, as compared to existing cruppers, the center of gravity CG, of crupper 40, as viewed from the side may tend (a) to be relatively low; and (b) may tend to lie relatively close to the bottom of trough portion 48, and may tend to lie relatively close to the surface of the body of revolution corresponding to the curvature of pad portions 50 and 52.
Although the embodiments illustrated and described above are preferred, the principles of the present invention are not limited to this specific example which is given by way of illustration. It is possible to make other embodiments that employ the principles of the invention and that fall within its spirit and scope as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 408340 | Ellis | Aug 1889 | A |
| 458674 | Ellis | Sep 1891 | A |
| 899661 | Ellis | Sep 1908 | A |
| 1563841 | Ellis | Dec 1925 | A |
| 1991299 | Swaggerty | Feb 1935 | A |
| 2128498 | Ottley | Aug 1938 | A |
| 2487005 | Walker | Nov 1949 | A |
| 2508117 | Lavery, Sr. | May 1950 | A |
| 3534527 | Miller | Oct 1970 | A |
| 6408603 | Babuik | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6993892 | St. Louis | Feb 2006 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150121817 A1 | May 2015 | US |
