- Patent Number:
6,860,238
- Appl. No:
10/754682
- Application Filed:
January 09, 2004
- Abstract:
Shelves suspended in culverts allow animals to move easily and safely under a highway. The shelves can be retrofitted to any existing culvert or can be part of a new, manufactured culvert. The shelves are removable so as not to impede water movement in times of high water or flood. The shelves are adapted to encourage all animals to use them as passageways under the highway. Ramps allow animals to access shelves. The shelf floor is mesh of the less than one inch to allow smaller animals to cross comfortably. The shelves are equipped with tubes to encourage small semi-fossorial animals to cross. The tubes provide covered protection from predators. Entrance funnels direct vole-like animals toward the tubes. The culvert shelves of the subject invention encourage animals to cross under the highway so that the highway no longer poses a barrier to these animals.
- Inventors:
Foresman, Kerry R. (Missoula, MT, US); Claussen, Cory W. (Missoula, MT, US)
- Assignees:
The University of Montana (Missoula, MT, US)
- Claim:
1. A shelf in combination with a culvert to encourage an animal to travel through said culvert, the shelf comprising: at least one frame member supporting a floor; at least one ramp on each end hinged to said frame member extending from said culvert to provide access to said shelf by said animals; a tube through which a small animal can travel, said tube supported by said frame member and comprising a funnel; wherein said shelf is removably suspended in said culvert.
- Claim:
2. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said floor is mesh comprising openings of from about ¼ inch to about ¾ inch.
- Claim:
3. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said floor is mesh comprising openings of about ½ inch.
- Claim:
4. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said frame member comprises at least one lip on one side of said frame member and at least on fastening means on another side of said frame member and wherein said shelf is removably suspended in said culvert by engaging said lip to a bracket affixed to a side of said culvert and connecting said at least one fastening means to a ceiling of said culvert.
- Claim:
5. The shelf of claim 4 , wherein said lip has holes to engage pins on said bracket.
- Claim:
6. The shelf of claim 4 , comprising at least two fastening means placed opposite one another of said frame member.
- Claim:
7. The shelf of claim 4 , wherein said fastening means is a hook to capture a loop in a cable suspended from said ceiling of said culvert.
- Claim:
8. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said frame member is rectangular.
- Claim:
9. The shelf of claim 8 , wherein said frame member is from about six feet to about nine feet long and about two feet to about three feet wide.
- Claim:
10. The shelf of claim 8 , wherein said frame member is about eight feet long and about 25 inches wide.
- Claim:
11. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said shelf comprises a plurality of frame members to span the length of said culvert.
- Claim:
12. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said tube is from about four inches to about eight inches wide and from about one inch to about three inches high.
- Claim:
13. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said tube is about six inches wide and about two inches high.
- Claim:
14. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said funnel is from about two inches to about four inches high.
- Claim:
15. The shelf of claim 1 , wherein said funnel is about two inches high.
- Claim:
16. A culvert adapted to encourage an animal to travel through said culvert, the culvert comprising: means to removably suspend a shelf inside said culvert; and a shelf, said shelf comprising: at least one frame member supporting a floor; at least one ramp on each end hinged to said frame member extending from said culvert to provide access to said shelf by said animals; a tube through which a small animal can travel, said tube supported by said frame member and comprising a funnel.
- Claim:
17. The culvert of claim 16 , wherein said frame member of said shelf comprises at least one lip on one side of said frame member and at least on fastening means on another side of said frame member and wherein said shelf is removably suspended in said culvert by engaging said lip to a bracket affixed to a side of said culvert and connecting said at least one fastening means to a support on a ceiling of said culvert.
- Claim:
18. The culvert of claim 17 , wherein said lip has holes to engage pins on said bracket.
- Claim:
19. The culvert of claim 17 , wherein said shelf comprises at least two fastening means placed opposite one another on said frame member.
- Claim:
20. The culvert of claim 17 , wherein said fastening means on said shelf is a hook to capture a loop in a cable suspended from said support of said ceiling of said culvert.
- Claim:
21. The culvert of claim 16 , wherein said floor of said shelf is mesh comprising openings of from about ¼ inch to about ¾ inch.
- Current U.S. Class:
119/703
- Patent References Cited:
6413015 July 2002 Poirier et al.
- Other References:
Kerry R. Foresman, Interim Report For: The Effects of Highways on Fragmentation of Small Mammal Populations and Modifications of Crossing Structures to Mitigate Such Impacts, Apr. 29, 2002. cited by other
Foresman, Kerry R., Small Mammal Use of Modified Culverts on the Lolo South Project of Western Montana, abstract, Aug. 31, 2001. cited by other
Foresman, Kerry R., Monitoring Animal Use of Modified Drainage Culverts on the Lolo South Project, report, Nov. 2001, Montana Deptartment of Transportation, Helena, MT. cited by other
- Assistant Examiner:
Smith, Kimberly S.
- Primary Examiner:
Luu, Teri P.
- Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Saliwanchik, Lloyd & Saliwanchik
- Accession Number:
edspgr.06860238
Processing Request
No Comments.