Patent Application
20230263127
Not Applicable
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SYSTEM.
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Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to animal containment assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new animal containment assembly for transporting a pet. The present invention discloses an animal containment assembly comprising a wheeled housing with an open top that is closable by a pair of hinged covers, and which has an extendable handle for pulling the animal containment assembly across a surface.
The prior art relates to animal containment assemblies. Prior art animal containment assemblies generally comprise substantially cuboid housings with a gated opening at one end. The housings may have wheels and handles. The housings also may be collapsible or comprise two separable and nestable sections. What is lacking in the prior art is an animal containment assembly comprising a wheeled housing with an open top that is closable by a pair of hinged covers, and which has an extendable handle for pulling the animal containment assembly across a surface.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing and a pair of covers. A top of the housing is open. The covers are hingedly engaged to the housing and are positioned to selectively close the top. The housing and the pair of covers thus define an interior space that is configured to contain an animal. The covers are selectively engageable to the housing so that the covers are fixedly positioned over the top. A plurality of wheels is engaged to a bottom of the housing. A pull handle is engaged to and is selectively extensible from the housing. The pull handle is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user, positioning the user to pull on the pull handle to locomote the housing across a surface.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A plurality of first fasteners 26 engaged to the housing 12. A plurality of second fasteners 28 is engaged to the pair of covers 14. The second fasteners 28 are complementary to the first fasteners 26 so that each second fastener 28 selectively engages a respective first fastener 26 as the covers 14 are hinged closed to fixedly engage the pair of covers 14 to the housing 12. The second fastener 28 and the respective first fastener 26 may comprise a latch closure 30, or other closing means, such as, but not limited to, toggle clamps, cam closures, and the like.
The housing 12 may be substantially rectangular cuboid shaped, as shown in
An opening 34 is positioned in a respective opposed end 22 of the housing 12. A screen 36 is slidably engaged to the housing 12 so that the screen 36 is positioned to selectively cover 14 the opening 34. The screen 36 may be extensible from a bottom 38 of the housing 12 toward the top 16 of the housing 12, although the present invention also anticipates the screen 36 sliding toward the bottom 38 or toward either of the opposed sides 24 of the housing 12.
A first connector 40 is engaged to the housing 12. A second connector 42 is engaged to the screen 36 so that second connector 42 is positioned to selectively engage the first connector 40 upon extension of the screen 36 over the opening 34 to retain the screen 36 in position over the opening 34. The second connector 42 may comprise a ring 44 and the first connector 40 may comprise a hook 46. The present invention also anticipate the first connector 40 and the second connector 42 comprising other connecting means, such as, but not limited to, latches, hook and loop fasteners, and the like.
A plurality of wheels 48 is engaged to the bottom 38 of the housing 12. The plurality of wheels 48 may comprise wheels 48 positioned singly proximate to each corner 50 of the bottom 38, or other configurations of wheels 48, such as two wheels 48 positioned on the bottom 38, or three wheels 48 along each opposed side 24 of the housing 12. As shown in
A pull handle 54 is engaged to and is selectively extensible from the housing 12. The pull handle 54 is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user, positioning the user to pull on the pull handle 54 to locomote the housing 12 across a surface. The pull handle 54 may comprise a first rod 56, a bar 58, and a second rod 60. The bar 58 is engaged to a first end 62 of the first rod 56. The bar 58 is slidably engaged to and extends between a pair of rails 64, which is engaged to the bottom 38 of the housing 12. The second rod 60 is engaged to a second end 66 of the first rod 56. The first rod 56 is extensible from the housing 12 upon grasping and pulling upon the second rod 60. The present invention anticipates the pull handle 54 being extensible from the housing 12 by other extension means, such as, but not limited to, by comprising a plurality of nested section, an articulating arm, or the like.
Each of a pair of side handles 68 is engaged to a respective opposed side 24 of the housing 12. The side handles 68 are configured to be grasped in hands of the user, positioning the user for lifting the housing 12. The present invention also anticipates the side handles 68 being hingedly engaged to the housing 12.
A top handle 70 is rotationally engaged to one of the covers 14. A catch 72 is engaged to the other of the covers 14. The catch 72 is positioned to selectively engage the top handle 70 as the top handle 70 is rotated so that the top handle 70 is engaged to and extends between the covers 14.
In use, the animal containment and transport assembly 10 enables a method 74 of containing and transporting an animal. The method 74 comprises a first step 76 of providing an animal containment and transport assembly 10 according to the specification above. A second step 78 of the method 74 is disengaging the second fasteners 28 from 15 the first fasteners 26. A third step 80 of the method 74 is hinging the covers 14 open. A fourth step 82 of the method 74 is positioning an animal in the housing 12. A fifth step 84 of the method 74 is hinging the covers 14 closed so that the second fasteners 28 engage the first fasteners 26. A sixth step 86 of the method 74 is extending the pull handle 54 from the housing 12. A seventh step 88 of the method 74 is locomoting the 20 housing 12 and the animal across a surface by pulling on the pull handle 54.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
