Animal husbandry – Confining or housing – Often portable – small capacity – roofed housing structure
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-23
2003-06-03
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Confining or housing
Often portable, small capacity, roofed housing structure
C119S416000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06571740
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a pet kennel. More particularly, this invention relates to a nestable pet kennel for compact storage including a latch mechanism to lock the kennel components together.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A variety of nestable pet kennels having connectable upper and lower portions have been designed in order to allow for compact storage. These designs usually require the user to unhook a latch in order to separate the upper and lower portions so that the lower portion can be configured to stack or nest inside the upper portion. Oftentimes, however, when reconfiguring the kennel between the nested and assembled/use positions, the latches tend to freely rotate, often interfering with the portions fitting together. This can cause the latch to break, to detach from the kennel and/or cause damage to the kennel portions. Assembly becomes increasingly difficult because the freely rotating handles must be manually displaced when assembling the kennel portions. This can be difficult when multiple latches are used to connect the kennel portions together. Additionally, when the kennel is nested during storage and/or shipping, there is no means to lock the upper and lower portions together and the latches tend to freely rotate; thus, components may separate and the latches may snap apart.
Additionally, many prior designs tend to warp when the top and bottom portions are nested because the sidewalls are used for supporting the upper and lower portions.
Finally, when the kennel is configured in the nested position, the entranceway door must be detached and removed from the kennel. When detached, these doors are often misplaced or lost as there is no method to re-connect the door to the kennel while in the nested position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a kennel for a household pet that can be placed between a use position, where an enclosure is formed to house an animal, and a nested position, where the kennel is reconfigured to provide a compact structure for storage.
The kennel contains an upper portion and lower portion with the upper portion containing a lip so as to mate with a rim on the lower portion. While in the assembled position, the lower portion rim supports the upper portion to form an interior for holding a small animal. To place in the nested position, the lower portion rim and the upper portion lip are detached and the lower portion is re-configured such that it is housed inside the upper portion. While in this position, the lower portion rim fully supports the top lip in position to prevent the upper portion from being supported by the walls of the lower portion. This prevents the sidewalls of the upper and lower portions from warping.
At least one latch mechanism is used to lock the upper and lower portions together while in the use and nested position. The latch is rotatably connected to the upper portion such that it can be pivoted between a locked position, to hold the portions together, and an unlocked position, where the latch is fixed in position to remain open to allow separation or assembly of the upper and lower portions. The latch is prevented from moving while in the unlocked position by a detent. This reduces any chance that the latch will interfere with the attachment or detachment of the upper and lower portions.
Finally, when the upper and lower portions are in the nested position, a door storage area, located between the upper and lower portions permits the user to store the entrance door so as to prevent the door from separating when the kennel is stored.
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Kinder Steven F.
Mininger Staci A.
Terleski Timothy W.
Doskocil Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Jordan Charles T.
Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
Nelson Judith A.
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