Animal husbandry – Waste toilet or related device – Activated by presence of animal
Patent
1993-05-03
1995-10-24
Mancene, Gene
Animal husbandry
Waste toilet or related device
Activated by presence of animal
119165, A01K 1035
Patent
active
054601223
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sanitary device for cats, and more particularly, a cat toilet with automatic cleaning and replenishment of kitty litter.
2. Description of Related Art
All cat toilets that have been commercially available for years have had to be cleaned by hand. At least once or twice a day, the kitty litter that has been soiled with fecal material has to be tossed out entirely or the fecal materials must be removed individually by means of a specially designed shovel, which is also commercially available.
The resulting odor, which appears despite the odor-inhibiting kitty litter, should be viewed as a disadvantage of that cat toilet.
A cat toilet with automatic cleaning and replenishment has been disclosed in German P 39 18 121.9-23, and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,575. A more detailed discussion of this is, however, not necessary because both cleaning, as well as replenishment, are solved with means other than those described therein.
Other cat toilets that are self-cleaning are disclosed in DE-GM 89 05 314, as well as in DE-GM 84 19 845. The disadvantages of those cat toilets are explained in P 39 18 121.9-23.
Because it does not matter to a cat if it is left alone at home for a temporary period of time, the number of pet cats in the households of working people has increased enormously in the past few years. Given this circumstance, and recognizing the cleanliness of cats, if cats are left alone for long periods of time, there exists the danger that a cat, if it does not consider its toilet to be clean enough, will do its "business" in another place in the home that the cat considers suitable for such purposes.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
An object of the present invention is to provide a cat toilet that, on the one hand, meets most modern requirements of keeping pets, to the benefit of the pet, as well as takes into account hygiene and human comfort.
This object is accomplished by the present invention because it provides a sanitary device for cats, i.e., a cat toilet, which automatically cleans itself after every use and provides for fresh kitty litter.
A cat toilet according to the present invention includes a frame; a flexible floor supported by said frame; a supply tower mounted at one end of said frame above said floor; and means for moving said floor between a first position, in which the toilet can be used by a cat, and a second retracted position; said supply tower having an open end positioned above said floor such that when said floor moves from the first position to the second retracted position, kitty litter on the floor is pushed off of the floor, and as the floor moves from the second retracted position to the first position, kitty litter is deposited onto the floor from the open end of the supply tower.
The present invention further includes a method of cleaning a cat toilet having a retractable floor below a supply tower, comprising the steps of retracting the floor from a first position to a retracted position; pushing kitty litter off the floor by kitty litter in the supply tower while the floor is being retracted; returning the floor to the first position; and depositing kitty litter from the supply tower onto the floor while the floor is returning to the initial position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the cat toilet of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the major components of the cat toilet of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawing.
A cat toilet has two rectangular parts that are placed on top of each other, a drawer, a separate supply tower with a dosaging device, and a flexible, exchangeable floor.
The rectangular lower part 1 has an open top, and an opening 4 going across the entire width on the narrow right side, through which a separate lower portion 6 that is suitable for supporting an exchangeable supply cassette 7 can be p
REFERENCES:
patent: 3747563 (1973-07-01), Brockhouse
patent: 3954086 (1976-05-01), Maness
patent: 4465018 (1984-08-01), Mopper
patent: 4844011 (1989-07-01), Strickland
patent: 4854267 (1989-08-01), Morrow
patent: 4934317 (1990-06-01), Pourshalchi
patent: 5003920 (1991-04-01), Miksitz
patent: 5107797 (1992-04-01), LaRoche
Manahan Todd #E.
Mancene Gene
LandOfFree
Self cleaning kitty litter box having a movable floor does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Self cleaning kitty litter box having a movable floor, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Self cleaning kitty litter box having a movable floor will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1880375