| completely through his hand which resulted in a painful injury that took a long time to heal. In talking with other farmers in the area, Russell learned that many other cattlemen had sustained similar injuries while treating robust cows that were moving and jerking their heads. Stories of broken fingers, smashed hands, damaged arms, long recovery periods, and costly medical bills were frequently told. Russell concluded that there must be a better way to control cattle that is being treated in a head gate. He accordingly started experimenting with devices that he designed for such a purpose. The first prototype units that Russell made utilizing the skills that he had learned as a carpenter were constructed on a wood frame. Russell ultimately made a prototype unit that was designed to restrain the heads of both smaller and larger cows. |
| An early all steel prototype unit mounted to a head gate |
| Russell W. Kerns (The Inventor) |
| Russell W. Kerns of Jane Lew, West Virginia spent his boyhood years on a farm and developed a love for farming. This led to farming becoming his life-long career. Over the years Russell has been involved with raising beef cattle, growing crops, and operating an egg business. However, life on a West Virginia farm wasn't always easy and there were tough times during which Russell took on work as a carpenter to provide for himself and his family. On one occasion when Russell was treating his cattle, a cow jerked its head which caused Russell to pierce his hand with a hypodermic needle. The needle extended |
| On January 31, 2005, Russell filed his first patent application in the United States Patent & Trademark Office covering the new head restraint that he had designed as an article of manufacture. Russell's patent application was approved by the Patent Office and on June 5, 2007, it was issued as United States Patent 7,225,759. With the continuing support of his three children Tim, Rusty, and Carolyn (Hamric), and his wife (Martha), Russell continued to improve upon his fundamental design to make it more user and animal friendly. Russell also started fabricating head restraints that were constructed with steel utilizing the assistance of his son-in-law, Richard Hamric. This model which was made of steel made the Head-Lock a commercially viable product. Russell's continuing work has led to further improvements that allows his cattle head restraint to adjust for attachment to head gates of virtually any type and size. Russell has also continued to improve upon his original apparatus to make the locking mechanism more user friendly and to reduce the total weight of the unit. Mr. Kerns subsequently filed further patent applications covering improved designs which have issued as United States Patent 8,230,821, United States Patent 8,424,494, and United States Design Patent D612,110. Foreign patents covering the Head-Grip (The Kerns Head Holder) have also been issued in Australia, Canada, the European Patent Office, and the United Kingdom. |
| Cattle Republic Incorporated |
| Cattle Republic Incorporated 1109 Silvery Shadows Avenue Henderson, Nevada 89015 Telephone: (702) 476-0087 - Toll Free: (800) 472-1468 - Facsimile: (330) 666-2561 © Cattle Republic Incorporated, 2012 |