Claims
- 1. A cat litter box comprising:
(a) a floor; (b) first, second, and third sidewalls that extend upwardly from the floor in an at least generally triangular arrangement with the first sidewall being generally perpendicular to the second sidewall so as to permit the cat litter box to be placed in a corner of a room with the first sidewall disposed adjacent to and parallel with one of the walls of the room and the second sidewall disposed adjacent to and parallel with another one of the walls of the room; and (c) an entranceway that extends outwardly from the third sidewall.
- 2. The cat litter box according to claim 1, wherein the entranceway comprises an ingress and egress platform formed from an upper end of a reduced height portion of the third sidewall, extends outwardly from the third sidewall.
- 3. The cat litter box according to claim 2, wherein the ingress and egress platform extends outwardly from the third sidewall.
- 4. The cat litter box according to claim 2, wherein the ingress and egress platform comprises a handle for facilitating lifting of the cat litter box to permit cleaning of the floor underneath.
- 5. The cat litter box according to claim 4, wherein the handle of the ingress and egress platform comprises an outturned lip.
- 6. The cat litter box according to claim 2, wherein the ingress and egress platform comprises a curved bottom panel and a pair of side panels that extend outwardly from the third sidewall.
- 7. The cat litter box according to claim 6, wherein the ingress and egress platform further comprises an outturned curved lip that extends outwardly from the bottom panel and the side panels.
- 8. The cat litter box according to claim 7, wherein the outturned curved lip comprises a handle that facilitates lifting of a front end of the cat litter box.
- 9. The cat litter box according to claim 2, wherein the ingress and egress platform is located no more than about 5″ off a floor of a room on which the cat litter box is supported.
- 10. The cat litter box according to claim 9, wherein the ingress and egress platform is located about 3″ off the floor of the room.
- 11. The cat litter box according to claim 9, wherein the entranceway has an average width, as measured along a height of the entranceway, of between about ⅕th and about ⅓rd of a length of the third sidewall.
- 12. The cat litter box according to claim 2, wherein the entranceway has an average width, as measured along a height of the entranceway, of between about ⅕th and about ⅓rd of a length of the third sidewall.
- 13. The cat litter box according to claim 2, wherein the entranceway has an average width of between about 6″ and about 12″.
- 14. The cat litter box according to claim 13, wherein the entranceway has an average width of between about 8″ and about 10″.
- 15. The cat litter box according to claim 14, wherein the entranceway has an average width of about 9″.
- 16. The cat litter box according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of legs that extend downwardly from the floor to support the floor of the room in a spaced-apart relationship.
- 17. The cat litter box according to claim 16, wherein each of the legs comprises a projection that is integrally molded into the floor of the cat litter box.
- 18. A cat litter box for placement in a corner of a room comprising:
(a) a floor; (b) a pair of sidewalls that extend upwardly from the floor with one of the sidewalls being generally perpendicular to the other one of the sidewalls; (c) a front wall that extends from one of the sidewalls to the other one of the sidewalls; and (d) an ingress and egress platform that extends outwardly from the front wall, the ingress and egress platform being located no more than about 5″ above a floor of a room on which the cat litter box is supported.
- 19. The cat litter box according to claim 18, wherein the ingress and egress platform forms an obtuse angle, α, with the front wall.
- 20. The cat litter box according to claim 18, wherein the obtuse angle, α, is between about 110 degrees and about 165 degrees.
- 21. The cat litter box according to claim 20, wherein the obtuse angle, α, is about 135 degrees.
- 22. The cat litter box according to claim 18, wherein the ingress and egress platform includes a landing surface that is disposed above cat litter when cat litter is placed in the cat litter box and below a top edge of the front wall.
- 23. The cat litter box according to claim 22, wherein the landing surface is oriented at an angle common with the platform.
- 24. The cat litter box according to claim 23, wherein the landing surface is collinear with the platform.
- 25. The cat litter box according to claim 23, wherein the landing surface is a top surface of the platform that faces toward a cat entering or leaving the cat litter box.
- 26. The cat litter box according to claim 23, wherein the landing surface is disposed an angle of between about 110 degrees and about 165 degrees relative to the front wall.
- 27. The cat litter box according to claim 26, wherein the landing surface is disposed at an angle of about 135 degrees relative to the front wall.
- 28. The cat litter box according to claim 18, wherein the ingress and egress platform includes a pair of side panels that extend along one edge of the landing surface to the front wall.
- 29. The cat litter box according to claim 28, wherein each side panel is obtusely angled relative to the front wall.
- 30. The cat litter box according to claim 28, wherein each side panel forms an included angle, β, with the exterior surface of the front wall of between about 100 degrees and about 155 degrees.
- 31. The cat litter box according to claim 30, wherein each side panel forms an included angle, β, with the exterior surface of the front wall of about 135 degrees.
- 32. The cat litter box according to claim 18, wherein a bottom edge of the ingress and egress platform is spaced no more than about three inches above the floor.
- 33. The cat litter box according to claim 32, wherein a top or outer edge of the ingress and egress platform is spaced at least one inch below a top edge of the front wall.
- 34. A cat litter box for placement between a first wall and a second wall of a room that define a corner of the room comprising:
(a) a floor having a plurality of discrete legs that space the floor of the room; and (b) a plurality of sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor of the cat litter box to form an enclosure.
- 35. A cat litter box of claim 34, wherein one of the sidewalls is generally parallel to the first wall of the room and generally perpendicular to another one of the sidewalls, and another one of the sidewalls is generally parallel to the second wall of the room; and
a front wall that extends from one of the sidewalls to another one of the sidewalls.
- 36. A cat litter box of claim 35, further comprising an ingress and egress platform that extends outwardly from the front side wall.
- 37. A cat litter box according to claim 34, wherein each leg is integrally formed as part of the floor.
- 38. A cat litter box according to claim 34, wherein each leg comprises a rounded or hemispherical protrusion that is integrally molded into the underside of the floor.
- 39. A cat litter box according to claim 34, wherein
a first leg is located adjacent a first front corner of the floor, a second leg is located adjacent a second front corner of the floor, a third leg located adjacent a rear corner of the floor, a fourth leg is located in line with and below the ingress and egress platform, and fifth and sixth legs are located between 1) the first leg and the second legs and 2) the third leg.
- 40. A cat litter box according to claim 34, wherein the legs space the underside of the floor at least about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch above the floor of the room.
- 41. A cat litter box according to claim 34, wherein each of the legs protrudes downwardly from the underside of the floor by at least about ⅛ of an inch.
- 42. A cat litter box according to claim 41, wherein each of the legs protrudes downwardly from the underside of the floor by at least about {fraction (3/16)} of an inch.
- 43. A cat litter box for placement in a corner of a room comprising:
(a) a floor; (b) a pair of sidewalls that extend outwardly from the floor with one of the sidewalls being generally perpendicular to the other one of the sidewalls, wherein each sidewall has a lip that extends outwardly therefrom; (c) a front wall that extends from one of the sidewalls to the other one of the sidewalls; and (d) an ingress and egress platform that extends outwardly from the front wall.
- 44. A cat litter box according to claim 43, wherein each lip is outturned and downturned such that it curls generally downwardly.
- 45. A cat litter box according to claim 43, wherein each lip extends along an entire length of a top edge of both sidewalls.
- 46. A cat litter box according to claim 43, wherein a lip extends about a top edge of the front wall.
- 47. A cat litter box according to claim 43, wherein the front wall extends generally perpendicularly upwardly from the floor such that it is within about 15 degrees of being perpendicular to the floor.
- 48. A cat litter box that is disposed between a first wall and a second wall of a room that define a corner of the room, the cat letter box comprising:
(a) a floor having a plurality of discrete legs that space the floor from a floor of the room; (b) first and second sidewalls that extend outwardly from the floor with the first sidewall being generally parallel to the first wall of the room and generally perpendicular to the second sidewall and the second sidewall being generally parallel to the second wall of the room; (c) a curved front wall that extends from the first sidewall to the second sidewall; (d) an ingress and egress platform that extends outwardly from the front wall, the ingress and egress platform having an outwardly extending lip that defines a handle for lifting the cat litter box.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/370,875, filed Apr. 7, 2002, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60370875 |
Apr 2002 |
US |