Animal husbandry – Confining or housing – Animal display or open work enclosure
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-21
2001-07-31
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Confining or housing
Animal display or open work enclosure
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267080
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of pets. More particularly, the present invention relates to the care of pets out of doors. Most particularly, the present invention relates to an outdoor recreation containment cage for pets.
2. Description of Prior Art
Housepets, for safety reasons, are often not allowed to be outside without human supervision and control. It is difficult to train some pets, particularly cats, to stay within the bounds of a yard and owners of such pets are particularly fearful of a pet roaming into a roadway and being run over by a motor vehicle. Thus, cats are often simply not allowed to go outside at all. Many owners of cats that are kept strictly indoors would like to have some means of allowing the cats to enjoy the outdoors, yet still keep them safe. Such a means should allow the cat owner to easily transport the cat in a secured device to an outdoors location and provide a comfortable yet secure space within which the cat can play and lounge. This means should also provide a separate space for a litter box. Prior art discloses very few containment devices that are suitable for transporting one or more pets to an outdoor location and keeping them in secured surroundings that are at the same time pleasant and appealing to the pet or pets.
Marquette (U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,181; issued 1963) discloses a portable rabbit hutch. The hutch is a cage supported on four legs with two small wheels swingably attached to the two legs at one end. These small wheels can be swung down into an operable position and the cage lifted at the other end and rolled to another spot on the grass to allow the rabbit to graze on fresh grass and to avoid an accumulation of droppings in one spot. The four legs are releasably attached to the hutch and can be slid up along the side of the hutch or released and used to support the hutch at a level above the ground. For general use, the hutch is placed directly on a grassy surface, so as to allow the rabbit to graze on the grass that juts up through the cage-bottom and to deposit its droppings through the cage-bottom onto the grass. Leader et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,793; issued 1992) discloses a mobile pet carrier for transporting pets, particularly dogs, through shopping malls and tourist attractions. The mobile carrier is similar to a baby stroller with a box-shaped cage set within the frame of the stroller to contain the pet. The cage is covered with material that can be folded back to allow sunlight into the cage. The purpose of the device disclosed by Leader et al. is to allow a person to take his or her pet almost anywhere. Neither of the devices disclosed provides the space, particularly the vertical space, needed to fit the cage with climbing devices such as poles and platforms and other playthings that some animals, particularly cats, typically enjoy for climbing and lounging. Furthermore, neither of the devices provides for a space separate from the playing/lounging space to contain a litter box that is readily accessible by the cats from within the cage and by the pet owner from outside the cage for cleaning and replacement.
Therefore, what is needed is an outdoor recreation containment device for cats that is easily transportable. What is yet further needed is such a device that is spacious enough to allow climbing poles and platforms to be installed. What is still yet further needed is such a device that has a separate space for a litter box that is readily accessible from within the cage by the cat and from outside by the pet owner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an outdoor recreation device for pets that provides a secured recreational space for a pet and is easy to transport with the pet in it. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a device that is spacious and large enough to install climbing poles and platforms for pets to play and lounge on. It is a still further object of the invention to provide a space separate from a recreation space for a litter box that is accessible from within the recreation device by the pets and from the outside of the device by the pet owner for cleaning.
The device of the present invention is an outdoor recreation cart for pets, particularly for cats. This outdoor recreation cart has an animal enclosure mounted on a cart frame with a handlebar and large wheels. The enclosure is divided into two areas—an upper area separated by a floor from a lower area. The upper area has a door through which to place the pet inside the enclosure and is spacious enough to allow climbing poles and platforms to be installed. Other playthings may also be kept in this area, as well as containers for food and water. The lower area can be used to hold a litter box and may also provide storage space for supplies. It is accessible through a lower door by the pet owner, who can withdraw the litter box for cleaning, and by the pet through an opening in the floor between the upper area and the lower area. A tray or board that slides through a narrow opening in an end wall of the upper area and can be easily removed from the upper area for cleaning can be used to cover the floor. The tray has an opening in it so that when the tray covers the floor of the upper area in its normal position, the opening in the tray is located above the opening in the floor, allowing the pet unrestricted access to the lower area. If for some reason access by the pet to the lower area is to be restricted, the tray can be inserted into the upper area “backwards”, so that the opening in the floor is now covered by the tray, and the opening in the tray is located above a closed section of the floor. The use of the tray is suggested for reasons of hygiene—it can be cleaned easily once it is removed from the upper area—but is not necessary and is not meant to be limiting. If the floor of the upper area is made of a material that will allow the pet to walk on it easily, the tray can be dispensed with.
The outdoor recreation enclosure is mounted on a cart frame having a single axle, two large wheels, and a side frame on each side of the enclosure connected by a handlebar. The side frames are attached to the recreation enclosure and hold the enclosure in a stable, level condition. The handlebar can be folded down flat against the side of the enclosure in a storage position and moved to an operational position. When the recreation enclosure is to be moved, a slight lift on the handlebar will raise the side frames off the ground, allowing the enclosure to be easily pushed along on its wheels.
The outdoor recreation cart of the present invention has a large spacious enclosure with an upper area and a lower area. The upper area and the lower area are accessible by the pet owner through an upper door and a lower door, respectively. A floor with a pet-accessible opening in it separates the upper recreational area from the lower area. The enclosure is supported on a cart frame and a single axle with wheels. The side frames are lifted off the ground by lifting on the handlebar, thereby allowing the cart to be easily pushed along on its wheels.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2821165 (1958-01-01), Wright
patent: 3077181 (1963-02-01), Marquette
patent: 3310317 (1967-03-01), Luff
patent: 3815549 (1974-06-01), Opmeer
patent: 3834352 (1974-09-01), Gervis
patent: 4335897 (1982-06-01), Muller, Jr
patent: 4349210 (1982-09-01), Rutt
patent: 5113793 (1992-05-01), Laeder et al.
patent: 5154137 (1992-10-01), Stanaland
patent: 5458356 (1995-10-01), Fedorko et al.
patent: 6032614 (2000-03-01), Tominaga
Bohan Thomas L.
Mathers Patricia M.
Price Thomas
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