Patent Application
20230173402
The embodiments relate to dog agility training and related equipment, and more specifically to apparatuses used as part of a system for performing trial runs for through equipment representative of what is typically used in running canine through various fixed obstacles on an agility course.
“Agility” is commonly known to be a dog sport that began as an exhibition sport in Great Britain and it has since spread around the world, with major competitions held worldwide. It was patterned after equestrian events and combines handler control, agility, and confidence. An agility ring is set up with a variety of obstacles. Obstacles can include jumps, tunnels, a dog walk, a see-saw or teeter, an A-frame, and weaver poles. The ring is generally square, about 100 ft. by 100 ft., and is typically fenced off from spectators. Dogs can go through the ring on a leash with a handler (basic agility), or off leash with a guiding handler (advanced agility). Dogs are judged by their ability to correctly negotiate the obstacles in a predetermined order. The dogs are judged primarily by the correctness by which they move on and off the obstacles and by which they stop and stay (on command) on other obstacles. The dogs are secondarily judged by their time in completing the obstacle course. This event requires significant training of both the handler and their dog. An agility course surfaces may be of grass, dirt, rubber, or special matting. Depending on the type of competition, the obstacles may be marked with numbers indicating the order in which they must be completed.
Dogs can begin training for agility at any age, but care is taken when training dogs under a year old so as to not harm their developing joints. Dogs generally start training on simplified, smaller, or lowered (in height) agility equipment and training aids (such as ladders and wobbling boards to train careful footing), but puppies who learn quickly must be finished growing before training on equipment at standard height to prevent injury.
Training techniques for each piece of equipment varies. The techniques for training the weave poles include using offset poles that gradually move more in line with each other, poles that tilt outward from the base and gradually become upright, wires or gates around the poles forcing the dog into the desired path and putting a hand in the dog's collar and guiding the dog through while leading with an incentive. It also includes teaching the dog to run full speed between two poles and gradually increasing the angle of approach and number of poles.
Agility may be trained independently (for instance at home) or with an instructor or club that offers classes. Seasoned handlers and competitors, in particular, may choose to train independently, as structured classes are commonly geared towards novices. Seasoned handlers often instead look to seminars and workshops that teach advanced handling techniques, and then practice on their own. Common reasons for joining an agility class include:
In addition to the technical and educational training, physical training must also be done. The dog must be fit enough to run and jump without causing stress or injury to its body. The handler can also benefit from being physically fit, but with some handling styles it is not necessary to keep up with the dog (nor is it possible with very fast dogs). Being able to handle a dog from a distance allows mobility-impaired handlers to participate in the sport on par with mobile handlers. Research has also demonstrated health benefits to handlers engaged in dog agility.
A jump, or hurdle, is an example of equipment used in agility. A jump typically has two uprights supporting a horizontal bar over which the dog jumps. The height is adjusted for dogs of different heights. The uprights can be simple stanchions of various shapes, sizes, and colors. The height of the jumps must be routinely adjusted for animals of different sizes or classes, or for different types of animals or competitions. There are one-piece dog jumps have stanchions that are mechanically fixed or welded to the base. Existing two-piece dog jumps have stanchions with separate external supporting structures.
Weave poles are another example of equipment used in agility. Similar to a slalom, this is typically a series of 5 to 12 upright poles, each about 3 feet (0.91 m) tall and spaced up to about 24 inches (61 cm) apart (extra spacing length relieve stress on the dog's back) through which the dog weaves. The dog must always enter with the first pole to their left, and must not skip poles. For many dogs, weave poles are one of the most difficult obstacles to master. The dog must enter the obstacle by passing between the first two poles from the right to the left, the next from left to right, and so on, continuing the alternating sequence for the full length of the set.
It would be more convenient if current jumps were more portable and storage in a low and easily collapsible profile. It would also be more convenient if separate aspect of agile equipment could be combined for convenience of storage and use.
The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiments and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
It is an aspect of the embodiments to provide an improved agility system that can include a first stanchion rotatably secured within a storage area of a first base by a shaft and rotatable at least ninety degrees from the storage area into an upright position with respect to the first base. The system can also include a second stanchion rotatably secured within a storage area of a first base by a shaft and rotatable at least ninety degrees from the storage area into an upright position with respect to the second base.
It is an aspect of the embodiments that a pair of stanchions rotatable by a shaft from within a storage area of an associated base can be utilized for suspending a bar horizontally between the pair of stanchions by retaining means formed on first and second stanchions.
It is another aspect of the embodiments that a plurality of stanchions rotatable by a shaft from within a storage area of an associated base can be utilized for defining a slalom course.
It is yet another aspect of the embodiments that the retaining means can be comprised of bore holes formed at various distances along the stanchions from their respective shafts.
It is yet another aspect of the embodiments that the retaining means can be comprised of bore notches formed at various distances along the stanchions from their respective shafts.
It is another aspect of the embodiments that the retaining means can be comprised of metallic or magnetic strips disposed along sides of the first and second stanchions.
It is another aspect of the embodiments that the retaining means can be comprised of metallic or magnetic elements disposed at various distances along sides of the first and second stanchions.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:
The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate one or more embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.
Subject matter will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific example embodiments. Subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any example embodiments set forth herein; example embodiments are provided merely to be illustrative. Likewise, a reasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matter is intended. Among other things, for example, subject matter may be embodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly, embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof (other than software per se). The following detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be interpreted in a limiting sense.
Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, phrases such as “in one embodiment” or “in an example embodiment” and variations thereof as utilized herein do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment” or “in another example embodiment” and variations thereof as utilized herein may or may not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter include combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.
In general, terminology may be understood, at least in part, from usage in context. For example, terms such as “and,” “or,” or “and/or” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend, at least in part, upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,” or “the”, again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.
The term “at least one” as utilized can mean “one or more”. For example, “at least one widget” may mean the same as “one or more widgets”. Likewise, the term “a plurality of” may refer to “a group of”. For example, “a plurality of widgets” may have the same meaning as “a group of widgets”.
As described in the Background, a jump, or hurdle, is an example of equipment used in agility. Referring to
It is important that bars 105 can be adjusted up and down on supporting stanchions 103/104 while remaining horizontal in order to create the barrier over which dogs must jump as indicated by the arrow 107 in
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Complementary sides would face each other when used to suspend a bar 105 vertically between the stanchions 203/213, which is why opposite side views of stanchions 203 and 213 are shown in
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It can be appreciated given the foregoing teachings that the more than two integrated stanchions-bases can be utilized to create a slalom course for dogs. As mentioned in the Background, weave poles are another example of equipment used in agility. Similar to a slalom, this is typically a series of 5 to 12 upright poles, each about 3 feet (0.91 m) tall and spaced up to about 24 inches (61 cm) apart (extra spacing length relieve stress on the dog's back) through which the dog weaves. The dog must always enter with the first pole to their left and must not skip poles. For many dogs, weave poles are one of the most difficult obstacles to master. The dog must enter the obstacle by passing between the first two poles from the right to the left, the next from left to right, and so on, continuing the alternating sequence for the full length of the set. The stanchions extending from the bases in the present embodiments as described and shown in
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.
The above detailed description of embodiments of the apparatus is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the apparatus to the precise form disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the apparatus are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the apparatus, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.
While certain aspects of the apparatus are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the apparatus in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the apparatus.
