Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Sanitary handler for pet droppings – Pole mounted
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-05
2002-11-26
Cherry, Johnny D. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Sanitary handler for pet droppings
Pole mounted
Reexamination Certificate
active
06485073
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices to scoop up and dispose of waste material, or animal refuse deposited on a surface by a pet dog or other animal.
2. Description of Related Art
A pet dog is said to be housebroken when trained to excretory habits acceptable for indoor living; particularly, a housebroken dog is taught to confine these habits to the outdoors. In a rural environment, this presents no problem because the dog is free to deposit solid waste material or animal refuse in any open field where it can decompose over time. But in urban and suburban communities, where the deposit of animal refuse on sidewalks or in other public places cannot be tolerated, pet owners are now faced with so-called “animal refuse scooper” laws. Such laws mandate that those responsible for a dog or other pet animal must promptly remove animal refuse deposited by the pet on a sidewalk or other outdoor sites. Since a violation of these laws may subject a pet owner to heavy fines, owners seek in various ways to comply with the laws without, however, becoming soiled in the process. Because animal refuse may contain harmful bacteria or could present other health hazards, a sanitary and efficient way to pick up and dispose of animal refuse is needed.
One conceivable way of scooping up animal refuse from the sidewalk would be to use a conventional dust pan and brush. For this purpose, the pet owner would advance the dust pan toward the animal refuse, pushing it with the brush into the dust pan in the same manner as dirt. Then the animal refuse is transferred from the dustpan into a bag suitable for disposal. One practical problem with this procedure (and one reason it is rarely used) is that the dust pan and the brush inevitably become contaminated with the animal refuse, and therefore both must be cleaned (and maybe sterilized) after use.
Another approach is to train the pet dog to deposit animal refuse on a sheet of newspaper placed on the ground by the dog owner who, after a deposit is made, folds the paper into a package for disposal. But this approach leaves much to be desired because it is difficult to train a dog to defer depositing animal refuse until the owner has found a convenient place to lay down a sheet of newspaper. Moreover, it can be an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience for the dog owner to lay down a newspaper sheet and then fold it about an animal refuse deposit.
A more commonly used technique is for a dog owner to place one of his hands in a small, bag, using the biodegradable bag as a glove to pick up the animal refuse. The dog owner then pulls the bag off his hand by inverting it which thereby packages the animal refuse inside the bag so that the animal refuse is bagged and can then be discarded. Apart from the fact that the dog owner is required to handle the animal refuse with his gloved hand-an experience that many find distasteful-a significant problem is the possibility that the biodegradable bag may not be properly sealed or that it will rupture in use and thereby soil the handler.
Another animal refuse handling technique is disclosed in the 1989 patent to Peck, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,729 (the '729 patent). This approach makes it possible to isolate the handler from the animal refuse and thereby encourage compliance with the “scooper animal refuse” laws. This technique makes use of a triangular frame having a handle attached to its apex, the frame being inserted into a small biodegradable bag so that the broad base of a frame is adjacent the closed end of the biodegradable bag covering the frame. In use, the bag-covered frame is held at an angle to the ground surface on which the animal refuse is deposited, and then advanced to scoop up the animal refuse so that it falls within the confines of the biodegradable bag-covered frame. The user, with his other hand, then inverts the bag so that the outside of the biodegradable bag becomes the inside and the animal refuse is then contained therein to provide a disposable package. One advantage of this technique is that the user's hands are isolated: from the animal refuse and there is no risk of contamination. One practical, drawback of this technique is that it is not always effective in scooping up animal refuse. For example, the mass, firmness and configuration of animal refuse depends on the dog and what the dog excretes on a given occasion. It is not always easy, therefore, simply with a forward motion of the biodegradable, bag-covered frame, to scoop up the animal refuse, for there is no force holding the animal refuse in place or pushing it toward the advancing bag-covered frame. In contradistinction, with a conventional dustpan and brush arrangement, the brush functions as a tool that cooperates with the pan to push waste matter into the pan. In the absence of the brush, a forward motion of the pan may only succeed in pushing the waste matter forward.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,871, issued to Hemans (the ‘871’ patent) discloses a hand-held device for picking up animal waste using a scooping device and a fold-lock-top sandwich bag as the receptacle for waste material. The large pocket of the fold-lock-top sandwich bag fits through a central opening in the scoop device while the small pocket completely covers the scooping-type tapered blade, which purportedly prevents soiling of the scoop device by the waste material. A single centrally-located hook is provided opposite the tapered blade for the purpose of attaching the flap of the bag, which maintains the bag in an open configuration. One problem of the scooping device disclosed in the '871 patent is that the hook cannot not hold the sandwich bag firmly in place and furthermore attachment of the hook to the bag creates a rip that, under even small pressure, can extend so far that the flap is released from the hook thereby eliminating the support necessary to hold the bag in an open position. Slippage of the bag during pickup can create difficulties in picking up the waste; for example, as the blade is advanced forward, the friction between the bag and the surface forces the interior of the bag to slip forward, pushing the waste away from the advancing blade. Slippage can also reduce the size of the opening in the bag, which could interfere with picking up the animal waste. Large amounts of slippage could cause the small pocket of the bag to fall away entirely from the blade, leading to possible dropping of the waste.
Dog animal refuse is excrement, and the handling of disease-bearing animal refuse is not only a repellent activity, but one in which there is a risk of contamination. While dog owners are generally law-abiding and have no wish to defy “scooper animal refuse” laws, these laws are nevertheless disobeyed by many dog owners due to the difficulties with prior art refuse scooping devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A shovel and attachable bag assembly is described to scoop up and act as a repository for waste material and/or animal refuse deposited on a surface by a pet animal. In one embodiment, the animal shovel and bag assembly comprises an adjustable handle, a spaded loop, and a biodegradable rectangular biodegradable bag whose dimensions are such to allow the biodegradable bag to be inserted over the spaded loop to allow the central pocket of the biodegradable bag to receive animal refuse. The biodegradable bag creates a pocket to place the animal refuse inside. In operating the assembly, the user grasps the handle in one hand and with a forward stepping motion advances the open end of the attached biodegradable bag along the surface toward the animal refuse, scoops the animal refuse into the bag in the confines of the spaded loop, and the animal refuse tumbles into the bag. Then, after at least partially detaching the bag, the user inverts the bag so that now the animal refuse is inside the biodegradable bag and is packaged thereby in condition for disposal.
An animal refuse shovel for receiving a disposable bag comprises a handle and a spaded loop connected thereto. The spaded loop includ
Cherry Johnny D.
Law Offices of James D. McFarland
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