Animal husbandry – Waste toilet or related device – Walled receptacle; e.g. – litter box – etc. – containing...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-15
2001-05-29
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Waste toilet or related device
Walled receptacle; e.g., litter box, etc., containing...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237534
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to litter boxes, especially litter boxes for household pets, and, more particularly, to litter box assemblies that can be mounted to the exterior of a house or other residence to provide for the ingress and egress of a small animal between the litter box and the interior of the house or other residence.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently commercially available litter boxes and litter box assemblies are designed to maintain pet waste and litter, especially litter soiled with such waste, within a confined space. They are also optionally designed to, at least to some degree, control the odor of such waste and soiled litter. Nonetheless, presently commercially available litter boxes are deficient in a number of respects.
Many pet owners have so-called “indoor” pets that are domiciled predominantly, or exclusively, indoors and, more particularly, are domiciled inside the home or residence of the owner or owners. These owners often desire to keep the litter box of the pet outside of the residence for one or more of a number of reasons, including, to avoid the odor associated with litter and/or litter soiled with pet waste, to prevent the loss of the space inside the residence that is occupied by the litter box, to prevent excess litter, especially soiled litter, from accumulating near the litter box location of the litter box or along the typical path of the pet to and from the litter box, and other factors However, allowing an “indoor” pet outside to use an exterior litter box often creates undesirable effects including an increased chance that the pet will be lost, stolen, or injured, an increased chance that the pet will be exposed to harsh or unpleasant outdoor or environmental effects such as rain, cold, or wind, an increased chance that the pet will confront other animals, as well as other effects.
To address these problems, there have been created assemblies involving an opening to the outside from the residence, such as an open window, and a mounting for the litter box such that the litter box accessible through the window. To prevent the pet from getting outside of the residence and assembly, baffles have been affixed to the open window of the residence.
There are problems associated with this arrangement, including: the security and weather-resistance of the residence and the litter box assembly are often compromised as there must be an opened window; it is relatively easy for one outside the residence to remove the baffles and the litter box assembly, and to climb through the opened window; the weather resistance of the residence is often compromised when a window is opened; by having the litter box against the open window, the air may readily flow into the house from the litter box, bringing the undesirable odor into the residence.
Other problems are that the litter may get stuck to the paws of the pet, and subsequently may be brought into around the house or residence; and that there are only a limited variety of installations options. For example, it is often not desirable to have the litter box directly mounted against the house, but rather, it is desirable to have the litter box near the house but in a more convenient location. However, when the entrance of the litter box is not directly linked to the opening of the residence, the pet is more prone to escape to the outside entailed the above-mentioned undesirable effects.
Therefore, a need exists for a litter box and litter box assembly that may be placed outside the residence in a variety of convenient or otherwise desirable orientations or locations. A need also exists for a litter box or litter box assembly that will prevent the pet from escaping to the outside. Furthermore, a need exists for a litter box or litter box assembly that will prevent odor or litter and associated waste from entering the house or residence, while allowing the residence and litter box to remain weather resistant, or while allowing the residence and litter box to remain secure against unwanted intrusion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A litter box assembly is described that comprises a box for containing litter, having a base, rigid side walls, an opening in one of the side walls, and a removable lid atop the side walls; and a flexible tunnel, preferably made of an accordion plastic. The tunnel allows for the ingress and egress of a small animal, preferably a “so-called” indoor pet such as a cat, and supports the weight of the small animal during its ingress and egress to and from the litter box. The tunnel is preferably suspended above the ground via removable attachments to the opening in the litter box, the to an opening in a residence. The litter box is not fixed in a particular orientation relative to the opening in the residence, even when connected to the tunnel. The litter box is preferably substantially divided, by an interior wall, into a waste chamber for containing litter and an interior passageway. The interior passageway may comprises holes on the floor to allow the passage of litter through the holes during ingress and egress of the animal, but small enough to prevent passage of the feet of the animal through the holes. The rigid side walls of the litter box may also comprise wall holes, which may be covered by overhangs, where the wall holes are of a size to permit the free flow of air and gases into and out of the litter box, and small enough to prevent passage of the animal from the litter box through the holes. Also described is an apparatus for connecting the litter box assembly to a residence opening for purposes of the ingress and egress of a small animal, comprising a tunnel corrugated in a direction perpendicular to it lengthwise axis to permit modification of the length of the tube and to permit flexing of said tube normal to the lengthwise axis, and means for removably affixing the opened ends to, respectively, an opening in a residence; and an opening in a litter box. The floor of the tube is preferably perforated with holes of a size sufficient to allow litter to pass through and insufficient to allow a small animal to pass through. Kits for constructing such litter box assemblies and methods for constructing such litter box assemblies are also described.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 5975017 (1999-11-01), Cameron
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Price Thomas
Schwartz David
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