Animal husbandry – Exercise or amusement device – Toy – lure – fetch – or related device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-31
2004-01-06
Abbott, Yvonne (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Exercise or amusement device
Toy, lure, fetch, or related device
C119S710000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672252
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a ductile pet chew having inclusions, preferably a tooth-cleaning component, and a method for forming the pet chew. In particular, the pet chew is formed from a ductile substrate material and either a fibrous component, a hard component, or both.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Pet chews have been known for quite some time. A pet chew is a product that is intended to occupy an animal that may, or may not, be consumed. In particular, some pet chews are food-like products, which may have some nutritional value, and are often intended to clean a animal's teeth. Known pet chews are both hard and soft. Hard chews tend to be used in teeth cleaning by having the animal bite down on the chew to cause friction and to resultingly clean the teeth. Soft chews are intended to clean teeth and to occupy the animal's time by having the animal gnaw on the pet chew for a sustained period of time. Dogs are known to enjoy the chewing of such products.
A variety of different products are used to make pet chews of varying hardness. For example, in the past, pet chews have been made from animal hide. Animal hide chews, however, have a number of disadvantages associated therewith. In particular, animal hide can produce a foul odor as a result of being chewed. Moistening, as a result of chewing, will cause the hide to soften and degrade, whereby the chews can smear and stain carpets and furniture. More problematic, the rawhide can swell and cause blockage in an animal. Additionally, the animal hide or raw hide can harbor bacteria, which can multiply in the mouth of an animal and be passed on to children, elderly people, or the immune impaired. As such, chews made from rawhide have been replaced by compositions that are “man made,” such as various starch and plastics based compositions.
Of the known developed compositions for use as an animal chew, most are either made from starch, protein, or mixtures thereof. Like the rawhide chews, the starch composition chews also have a number of problems associated therewith. Starch compositions are known to readily degrade in water, which means that during chewing, they become very “mushy” and can dissolve. Also, starch compositions readily dehydrates if left exposed to the environment for any length of time and resultantly can splinter or shatter. The crystalline nature of the starch polymers causes this shattering or splintering effect. Such splinters can poke or cut the animal and, thus, are undesired. For this reason, it is desired to have a chew that does not readily breakdown when moistened, or be prone to shatter when removed from its package and allowed to dry under ambient conditions. It is further desired to not have a chew that after moistening dries out and cracks.
Plastic or nylon animal chews do not suffer from degradation when exposed to moisture, nor do they dehydrate and readily splinter. However, plastic animal bones tend to be non-digestible, which is undesired. It is further believed that most consumers do not like the idea of having a animal consume synthetic plastic or petroleum-based products. As such, it is desired to have a chew that is perceived to be “natural.”
Finally, other known animal chews are hard and brittle, which resultantly causes the chews to readily crumble. This type of chew is consumed quickly. Although these chews tend to be effective in cleaning teeth, they have a short-lived cleaning action. The duration of cleaning is directly tied to the length of time the crumbled material is in contact with the teeth. Thus, it is desired to have a animal chew that will not only clean teeth, but will have a cleaning action, which continues for an extended period of time.
It is preferably desired to have a chew that does not readily crumble, degrade in water, and does not pose a hazard by shattering or splintering. It is also preferred that the chew exhibit an extended duration of tooth-cleaning. Another preferred, but not required, characteristic, is that the chew be digestible. It is further preferred if the animal chew is made from natural materials, or at least perceived to be natural, and not made from synthetic or plastic materials.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pet chew composition formed from a polymeric material and an amount of inclusions. Specifically, the pet chew is ductile so that when chewed, an animal's teeth will sink into the chew without tearing or breaking apart the composition. The ductility characteristics of the pet chew are important because this allows the chew to be held in contact with the animal's teeth. A polymeric material is a composition that includes at least one polymer, and may include additional additives. Polymeric material, polymers, and substrate material will be used interchangeably throughout the present application. A polymer is a macro-molecule having five or more monomers.
As stated, included in the polymeric composition will be inclusion members. Preferably, the inclusions are either hard components or fibers. The inclusions are preferred for use in cleaning the animal's teeth. Any of a variety of different types of fibrous materials may be used, including synthetic and natural fibers. The fibers, however, must have a length of greater than 900 microns. Any constituent can be used as a hard component, as long as it has a hardness greater than 0.5 Mahs. More preferably, the inclusion will have a hardness greater than 2.0 Mahs. Among the hard components that may be used with the present invention are various types of grains and legumes, as well as minerals and synthetic materials.
The polymeric material can be any of a variety of compositions, as long as it satisfies the ductility characteristics of the present invention, can retain the inclusions, and can be molded into any of a variety of different shapes or structures. It is most preferred if the polymeric material has a water activity of less than 0.9, and a total moisture content equal to or less than 25% by weight. It is also preferred if the polymeric material is edible. Most preferably, the polymeric material is either a starch or protein based composition.
Any of a variety of methods can be used to form the pet chew, as long as a chew composition of any of a variety of shapes and sizes may be formed. Among the suitable formation methods are injection molding, extrusion, rotary molding, compression molding, and sheet casting.
The present invention is advantageous for a number of reasons. In particular, the present invention is well suited for cleaning various animals' teeth, because the fibers and hard inclusions are held in contact with the animal's teeth during the chewing process. As such, a dual cleaning action is achieved because the ductile polymers rub against the teeth, and the inclusions contact the teeth. Additionally, the present invention is preferred because it is, preferably, digestible and does not significantly swell in the stomach of an animal. The present invention does not readily break down due to exposure to moisture, and, therefore, does not stain or damage furniture or carpets.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to a pet chew composition formed from a substrate material and an amount of an inclusion component, wherein the pet chew is ductile so that an animal's teeth, in particular, a dog's teeth, can penetrate into the chew. The inclusion is preferably a tooth-cleaning component. The chew is such that it does not readily crumble, break, or tear, but requires multiple chews or compressions to break down. Importantly, the ductile character of the chew causes the tooth-cleaning components to be held in contact with the animal's teeth. This results in a cleaning action of the animal's teeth, which is superior to the rubbing action of the ductile material alone. The substrate can be any of a variety of materials that are ductile as described herein. The tooth-cleaning constituents should be somewhat abrasive and hard to thereby rub tarter off of the animal's teeth and to
Adamson Joel S.
Levin Mark
Abbott Yvonne
Poisinelli Shalton & Welte, P.C.
Sergeant's Pet Products, Inc.
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