Patent Application
20050272327
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to the field of animal safety. More specifically, the invention relates to apparatus for reducing or eliminating the possibility of an animal drowning, particularly domestic animals.
2. Related Art
Pets and other domestic animals have attained special place in many human lives as friends, a source of protection and guidance, a means of relieving stress through play or journeys to the park, and in some cases a means of making a living. When near water bodies, especially those having steep walls or cliffs, such as oceans, lakes, ponds, swimming pools meant for human use, spas, and even bath tubs, animals are in a predicament in that they have the possibility of drowning. This is a severe problem for domestic pets, such as small dogs and cats. In today's world, where space comes at a premium, and costs for caring for large pets can be onerous, humans desiring canine and feline companions, or other animals are finding justification for smaller animals. While this gravitation toward smaller animals alleviates somewhat the space and expense issues, smaller animals have a disadvantage in that they frequently have difficulty extricating themselves from situations, such as bodies of water. Unless the pool or other water body has readily available means for egress, such as steps or a gradual slope, such as found at a beach, the animal may drown since it cannot continue swimming indefinitely. Even in situations where a means for egress is present there have been incidents where the animal simply is not able to find the steps, or has not been trained to do so.
There are of course many known devices in the patent literature for domestic animals, however, these typically fall in categories such as pest killing and drug delivery; protective apparel such as udder protectors for cows, clothing and bandages; training devices, such as imitation cattle horns; and animal control devices, such as tag and release devices, pet cages, and pet restraint harnesses.
In the area of collars and bands there may be found, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,803, which discloses a padded sleeve for a pet collar. U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,177 discloses a decorative pet flea collar and method for changing the appearance of the flea collar. U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,511 discloses an ornamental and protective collar. U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,991 discloses a pet collar with a retainer thereon for reception of a removable, flexible strip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,016 discloses a safety pet collar that frictionally releases, so that the pet does not choke when the collar becomes entangled on a foreign object. This device would apparently not be useful for ensuring the animal does not drown. Some patents describe collars that include absorbent materials for delivery of medicaments, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,202. A recently published patent application, U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20030037735A1, describes an animal collar system for safely and conveniently limiting physical movement of an animal's head, for example after the animal has had surgery. The animal collar system includes an elongate protective member having a generally broad cylindrical structure and is preferably comprised of a resilient material such as foam material, which may be buoyant.
As may be seen, the need remains for apparatus to efficiently and safely prevent accidental drowning of domestic animals, particularly near bodies of water that have steep and/or slippery side surfaces.
In accordance with the present invention, apparatus are presented which reduce or overcome the problem of animal drowning.
A first embodiment of the apparatus comprises:
Preferred apparatus of this embodiment the invention are those wherein the carrier is an elongate strap comprising first and second ends adapted to be fastened together using a fastening means; those apparatus wherein the fastening means is selected from the group consisting of hook and loop fasteners, buckles, clasps, snaps, pins, and buttons; and those wherein the carrier comprises a carrier material selected from the group consisting of natural and synthetic carrier materials. The carrier material may be a natural material, including, but not limited to, leather, or synthetic material selected from the group consisting of woven and nonwoven materials. Suitable woven synthetic materials include those comprising fibers selected from the group consisting of nylon, polyester, cotton, and combinations thereof. The at least one floatation member may be a single floatation member or a plurality of floatation members. The at least one floatation member may be a synthetic foam material, preferably a closed cell foam, wherein the synthetic foam material is selected from the group consisting of foamed polystyrene, foamed polyurethane, and foamed polyethylene. The cover material may be a synthetic material, such as woven nylon fabric, and the cover material is preferably stitched to the carrier, holding the floatation member(s) adjacent the carrier. When a plurality of floatation members are employed in this embodiment, the cover material may be stitched to the carrier in locations sufficient to keep the floatation members substantially adjacent to the carrier.
A second embodiment of the invention comprises a strap-like carrier having front and back surfaces, first and second ends, and means to fasten the ends together; and at least one floatation member removably fastened to at least one of the front and back surfaces of the carrier. Preferred apparatus within this embodiment are those wherein the strap-like carrier includes a first portion of a fastener and the at least one floatation member includes a mating second portion of the fastener, such as a snap fastener or hook and loop type fastener. Apparatus of this embodiment are useful when the animal owner wishes to quickly change the appearance and/or adjust the floatation characteristics of the device, for example to use with more than one animal.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reviewing the description of preferred embodiments that follows.
The phrase “substantially adjacent”, as that term is used herein when referring to the positional relationship between the floatation members and the carrier, means that normally the floatation member or members are adjacent to and touching at least one surface of the carrier, but some “looseness” is allowed, so that the floatation members may move away from the carrier slightly, for example if the cover material stretches.
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for animal safety, and more specifically to apparatus for reducing or eliminating the possibility of an animal drowning, particularly domestic animals such as house pets. A particular use for apparatus of the invention is for small pet mammals, for example those weighing less than about 50 pounds. Although apparatus of the invention in the form of collars may be made to easily break away from the animal if the apparatus becomes entangled in some object, such as fence, it is preferred that apparatus of the invention be only used for short time periods, and be reasonably difficult to be removed by such “snagging” events.
Referring to
Referring now to
Floatation members suitable for use in the invention of course require the function of buoyancy. Preferably the floatation member is made of a foamed polymeric material, such as foamed polystyrene, foamed polyurethane, foamed polyisocyanurate, foamed polyethylene, foamed rubbers, such as foamed polyvinyl chloride/acrylonitrile butadiene (PVC/NBR) rubber, and the like. Preferably the foam is a closed cell foam. Commercial products, such as the materials known under the trade designations “Ensolite®” and “OleTex®”, both available from RBX Industries, Inc., Roanoke, Va., USA, may find use as floatation members. Products known under the trade designation “Ensolite®” are made in many varieties, but are all essentially variations of PVC/NBR foamed polymers having maximum water absorption of 0.1 lb/ft2 when tested using American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) test D-1667. The products under the OleTex® product line are high-performance, closed cell polyolefin foams, chemically cross-linked using a patented, continuous processing method. The materials are closed cell and moisture proof. These products can be die cut, heat sealed, vacuum formed, and heat molded.
Carrier materials may be natural, synthetic, or combination thereof. Woven polyamide fabric is one preferred synthetic carrier material, due to its strength and flexibility. Leather is a preferred natural material. The material of choice will depend on many factors, including the weight of the animal, the type and amount of floatation member, and the desires of the animal owner.
Cover materials may also be selected from natural, synthetic, or combinations thereof. Woven polyamide fabric is one preferred cover material.
Fastening means are common and require no further explanation. One preferred hook and loop fastener is that known under the trade designation Velcro®, available from Velcro USA, Manchester, N.H.
The embodiments of the invention allow an animal owner flexibility in their lifestyle, for example when it is necessary to leave the home for a short time period for a scheduled or unscheduled event, such as a doctor appointment, a trip to the grocery store for a recipe item, or similar trips. The owner, after securing the device to the animal, typically around the neck, or securing one or more floatation members to the previously secured carrier, may leave the home safe in the knowledge that the pet will not drown in a swimming pool or bath tub filled with water.
Although the foregoing description is intended to be representative of the invention, it is not intended to in any way limit the scope of the appended claims.
