Animal husbandry – Exercise or amusement device – Toy – lure – fetch – or related device
Patent
1997-01-31
1998-06-02
Price, Thomas
Animal husbandry
Exercise or amusement device
Toy, lure, fetch, or related device
A01K 2900
Patent
active
057586047
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a toy, preferably for animals and of the type where an object, such as a titbit, may be moved in a hollow body with side faces that are formed by the inner wall of the hollow body, and where the hollow body has an entrance opening and an exit opening, where the entrance opening and the exit opening are formed by the same opening.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
British Patent Application 2 260 912 shows a toy which is shaped as a cube that has a labyrinth consisting of 81 cubic compartments. The cube has an entrance opening and an exit opening, with circular holes provided between the smaller cubic compartments so that a ball can move through the various small cubic compartments from the entrance to the exit by manipulation of the cube. As will be appreciated, the structure thus known will be difficult to use with anything but ball-shaped bodies, which, of course, limits the use of the toy.
U.S. patent application No. 666,022 discloses a toy, where an object may be moved inside a hollow body with side faces. The hollow body has an entrance and an exit opening that are formed by the same opening. The object is a small ball that can be moved along the side faces of the hollow body and a groove in a tubular member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide a toy of the above-mentioned type whose possible applications are considerably more versatile than known before. For example, it will be desirable to provide a toy - e.g. for a dog - which is so arranged as to meet the natural needs of the dog with respect to the use of brain and olfactory sense. The dog will hereby be more relaxed and behave in a balanced manner, because it can then expend its energy, which could otherwise not be brought into use.
The object of the invention is achieved by a toy of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 1, which is characterized in that the hollow body has formed therein a path defined by the side faces of the hollow body and a further side face which is formed by a tubular member.
It is hereby ensured that objects which are not ball-shaped may be moved along the path. For example, a titbit for a dog may be used as an object, which has the advantage that in addition to using its brain the dog can also use its olfactory sense. The activity of the dog is hereby stimulated, because it recognizes the smell of titbits.
Further, it is considerably cheaper to manufacture such a toy, because it is not necessary to drill a plurality of holes in cubic compartments to provide the path, cf. the above-mentioned GB publication.
Expediently, the tubular member is insertable into the opening. As will be explained later, the use of a tubular insert member opens up the possibility of changing the "difficulty" of the toy.
Further, it is expedient that the upper wall portion of the insert member is formed with a hole which communicates with the path, and that the lower portion of the insert member is formed with a second hole which communicates with the path. The insert member is rotatable with respect to the hollow body, which provides the advantage that the "difficulty" of the toy may be adjusted, as the hole cooperates with a vertical wall which extends perpendicularly upwards from the path of the labyrinth.
The insert member is provided as a separate member which is insertable into the hollow body by snap locking, thereby ensuring that various insert members resulting in various "difficulties" of the body may be provided by e.g. making the holes in different sizes.
Expedient embodiments of the invention are expressed in the dependent claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be explained more fully below with reference to the drawing, which shows an embodiment, and in which:
FIG. 1 shows the toy shaped as a cube with bevelled edges,
FIG. 2 shows the insert member with the upper hole and the connection to the path, while
FIG. 3 shows, partly in section, how the path and the insert member are arranged inside the hollow
REFERENCES:
patent: 2752725 (1956-07-01), Unsworth
patent: 3028704 (1962-04-01), Rumbaugh
patent: 3648403 (1972-03-01), Gommel
patent: 3696549 (1972-10-01), Zilius
patent: 4175665 (1979-11-01), Dogliotti
patent: 4595369 (1986-06-01), Downs
Jorgen Kruuse A/S
Price Thomas
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