Animal husbandry – Waste toilet or related device – Walled receptacle; e.g. – litter box – etc. – containing...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-05
2001-03-27
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Waste toilet or related device
Walled receptacle; e.g., litter box, etc., containing...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205954
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for collecting excrements of pet animals, more particularly a so-called litter box for cats, as well as to an auxiliary element which can be applied therewith.
2. Related Art
It is known that such devices substantially consist of a receptacle in which a filling material can be provided. It is also known that hereby a filling material, such as grains of an absorbing material, for example, based on bentonite, can be applied which, when coming into contact with a liquid, such as the urine of the animal, clumps to a larger substance.
In such a receptacle, waste substances are found, on one hand, in the form of solid or semi-solid excrements and, on the other hand, in the form of substances which, as aforementioned, have been formed as a consequence of the fact that a certain quantity of the filling material has come into contact with the liquid excrements, more particularly, the urine, of the animal.
It is known that such devices can be equipped with a carrying element which can be moved through the receptacle in order to automatically remove the aforementioned waste substances from the filling material. An example of such a device is commercialized, amongst others, by the Windmere company, and is traded under the trade name of LitterMaid. Hereby, the carrying element consists of a comb which is moved through the filling material like a rake. This comb has teeth which are situated at mutual distances which are larger than the diameter of the grains, in such a manner that the comb can move freely through the grains, whereas larger waste substances are carried off with the comb to an extremity of the receptacle, where a receiving container is situated.
The present invention aims at an improved device for collecting the excrements of pet animals, more particularly an improved device of the aforementioned automatic type.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this aim, the invention relates to a device for collecting the excrements of pet animals, more particularly a so-called litter box for cats, of the type which at least consists of a receptacle in which a filling material can be provided, and a carrying element which can be moved through the receptacle in order to remove waste from the filling material, with the characteristic that the invention is equipped with removal means which can cooperate with the carrying element and remove waste substances from the carrying element.
By equipping the device according to the invention with such removal means, it is obtained that waste substances which possibly adhere to the carrying element and do not drop thereof by themselves, for example, because they stick to the carrying element or, in the case of a carrying element in the form of a comb, are stuck between the teeth thereof, are removed explicitely. Hereby, it is excluded that the waste substances, during the backward movement of the carrying element, end up in the receptacle again or permanently, remain at the carrying element and have to be removed manually.
Preferably, the removal means are designed as loosening means, more particularly, in the form of a scraper, with which waste substances which have adhered to the carrying element are removed from this carrying element.
In the case that the carrying element consists of a comb which is movable through the receptacle, the removal means preferably consist of elements which can be moved in the interspaces between the teeth of the comb and thereby push loose the waste and other substances situated in between them, more particularly, adhered to and/or stuck in between them. In the most preferred form of embodiment, these elements in their turn are also formed by the teeth of a comb.
In the most preferred form of embodiment, the aforementioned elements are rotatable, whereby they are rotated during their activation through the interspaces between the teeth of the carrying element. This is preferably performed in such a manner that they, during the pushing off, pass alongside the teeth of the carrying element in such a manner that they perform a movement towards the free extremities of the teeth as well as from the back to the front. As a consequence of this movement, substances stuck in between the teeth of the carrying element are pushed off therefrom in an optimum manner.
In the most preferred form of embodiment, the device comprises automatic operation means for activating the removal means at least each time when the carrying element is active. As a result thereof, it is guaranteed after each cleaning cycle that no substances remain at the carrying element.
Preferably, the carrying element as well as the removal means, more particularly the loosening comb, will be mounted on one and the same movable carriage. In such a case, it is also preferred that the removal means, more particularly loosening means, are situated such that they are activated directly or indirectly by the movement of the carriage, in such a manner that no separate drives, such as a special drive motor or similar, will have to be provided.
In a practical form of embodiment, use is made of an operation element which, when the carriage has come into a certain position, cooperates with a stop-forming part, whereby the removal means, more particularly the aforementioned loosening comb, are activated by the contact of the operation element with the stop-forming part.
Furthermore, the device, as known, preferably shall be equipped with a receiving container for the removed waste substances. In such a case, the removal means preferably are provided with operation means which are designed in such a manner that the removal means are activated at that moment when the carrying element is situated at the height of the receiving container. Hereby, it is obtained that not only the waste substances pushed off freely by the carrying element ahead thereof end up in the receiving container but also the waste substances which are loosened from the carrying element by the removal means.
According to a particular form of embodiment, the removal means are situated at the height of one of the extremities of the device and are installed in such a manner that they cooperate with the carrying element when this latter reaches the extremity concerned. The loosening movement then is obtained by the mutual movement between the moving carrying element and the removal means situated fixedly at one extremity of the receptacle.
Besides, the device preferably also comprises operation means which allow that the removal means, more particularly loosening means, at least can be controlled manually. In the case of a non-automatically operating device, the carrying element then can easily be freed of substances adhered thereto by operating the removal means manually now and then. In the case of a device which does work automatically, such manual operation means allow for an additional manual control of the removal means, if desired.
The invention also relates to an auxiliary element which can be mounted on an existing device for collecting excrements of pet animals, in order to transform it into a device according to the present invention. To this aim, this auxiliary element consists of a loosening element which can cooperate with the carrying element of such device and which is provided with mounting means, such as fixation flanges for installing it on the existing device.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4934317 (1990-06-01), Pourshalchi
patent: 5477812 (1995-12-01), Waters
patent: 5544620 (1996-08-01), Sarkissian
patent: 5931119 (1999-08-01), Nissim et al.
Bacon & Thomas PLLC
Price Thomas
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