Patent Application
20170156292
This invention relates generally to animal garments and more particularly to an animal support garment and support garment kit and methods of using the garment and kit for helping to maintain an animal diaper or shield in a desired animal protection position while being worn by an animal.
Utilization of dog and cat diapers is well known in the prior art For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. Patent Nos.: U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,949 by O'Rourke issued on Mar. 21, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,421 by Lowman issued on Feb. 10, 1993 U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,015 by Ohta issued on Sep. 21, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,985 by Shover issued on Nov. 7, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,847 by Kelly issued on Sep. 17, 1996; and US Patent Application Publication No.: 2011/0192357 by Pellegrini published on Aug. 11, 2011.
While each of the above-mentioned diapers have generally been satisfactory for their intended purpose, nevertheless they have not been entirely satisfactory. That is, due to the body shape of the rear hind portion of a dog or cat, many of the conventional animal diapers will not remain in place on the animal but instead, will slip and slide off the rear of the animal. This is true whether or not the diaper is soiled, but it is particularly true when the absorbent material within such a diaper becomes saturated with the urine and waste product of the animal. In either event, either the clean or the spent diaper may fall off the animal leaving the animal unprotected from soiling and causing unwanted and undesired damage to an indoor environment area or otherwise protected area where animal urine and waste product discharge is undesired and unwanted.
Recognizing this slippage problem, various solutions have been proposed in the form of improved diaper constructions and diaper support systems. For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,105 by McKnight issued on Nov. 7, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,008 by Krenkel issued on Jul. 13, 2010; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,565 by Williams issued on Nov. 6, 2012.
Each of the above mentioned diaper support garments and harnesses have been generally satisfactory for their general intended purpose; nevertheless, they have not been entirely satisfactory. In this regard, if the animal owner desires to release his or her animal to an outside environment area for the purpose of eliminating their waste products, the support garment and diaper must be removed from the animal and then subsequently the diaper and the support garment must be placed once again on the animal, which is not only time consuming and inconvenient but may also because of such nuisance encourage the animal owner to leave a soiled diaper on the animal for an excessive period of time.
Therefore it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved diaper support system that prevents a soiled animal diaper from sliding off the animal either because of normal animal activity movement or because of excess diaper weight caused when the absorbent material within the diaper becomes saturated with the waste product of the animal.
It would also be highly desirable to have a new and improved diaper support system that does not require the support system to be removed from the animal when the animal is released to an outside environment for waste elimination purposes thereby encouraging the animal owner to release the animal to the outside environment on a more frequent basis.
Such a new and improved diaper support system should be universal and easy and convenient to use with animals of different breeds and sizes as well as with the various different types and kinds of utilized animal diapers. Finally, such a new and improved diaper support system should be relatively inexpensive and convenient to use with conventional animal protective and decorative clothing items like sweaters, T-shirts and the like.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a support garment for an animal that comprises a base animal protective garment having disposed thereon a garment support arrangement that helps secure a primary animal protective garment or diaper in a desired animal protective position. The garment support arrangement includes a utility envelope that defines at least one compartment for the storage and release of a support coupler, where the support coupler is adapted to be removably secured to the diaper for helping to maintain the diaper in its intended desired animal protective position.
In one embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention the base animal protective garment and the diaper have separate and distinctly different animal protection purposes and are adapted to be spaced from one another on an animal to be protected.
In another embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention the utility envelope of the garment support arrangement has a closure flap for protecting the support coupler from an animal wearing the animal protective garment.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention t he utility envelope is adhesively secured to the animal protective garment.
In still yet another embodiment of the present invention the utility envelope is sewn to the animal protective garment.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention the utility envelope is secured by rivets to the animal protective garment.
In another embodiment of the present invention the garment support arrangement includes a reinforcement pad that helps to prevent the tearing and ripping of the garment support arrangement under repeated use.
Another embodiment of the present invention is that the support coupler is a set of hooks or a set of loops that are adapted to releasably engage a fabric surface of the diaper so that the diaper is maintained in its intended desired animal protective position.
In another embodiment of the present invention the set of hooks or said set of loops is disposed on a distal end portion of an elastic band where a proximal end portion of the elastic band is secured to the reinforcement pad.
In still yet another embodiment of the present invention the support coupler is a large loop having a sufficiently large opening to receive therein at least one set of securing members forming part of the diaper so that the diaper is maintained in its intended desired animal protective position.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention the large loop is disposed on a distal end portion of an elastic band; and wherein a proximal end portion of the elastic band is secured to the reinforcement pad.
In another embodiment of the present invention the support coupler a fastener for engaging a fabric surface of the diaper.
In still yet another embodiment of the present invention the fastener is a clip.
In another embodiment of the present invention the clip is a clam shaped clip.
In still yet another embodiment of the present invention the clip is an alligator clip.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention the fastener is disposed on a distal end portion of an elastic band; and wherein a proximal end portion of the elastic band is secured to the reinforcement pad.
still yet another embodiment of the present invention the fastener is a Y-shaped fastener that includes a pair of short straight leg members forming a V like configuration and a single long straight leg member having a distal end and a proximal end; wherein the distal end of the single long straight leg member intersects an interconnection between the pair of short straight leg members and wherein a proximal end of the long straight leg is secured to the reinforcement pad; and wherein the pair of short straight leg members have a set of hooks or a set of loops disposed thereon for engaging opposing fabric surfaces of the diaper.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention a garment support kit for an animal protective garment comprises a garment support arrangement to facilitate securing a diaper so the diaper is maintained in its intended and desired animal protective position; and wherein the garment support arrangement is adapted to be secured to the animal protective garment to facilitate deployment of a support coupler so that the support coupler can be coupled to the diaper helping to maintain the diaper in its intended desired animal protective position.
An embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is that the garment support arrangement includes a utility envelope having a closure flap, where the envelope has at least one compartment dimensioned for containing therein the support coupler to facilitate removably securing the animal protective garment to the diaper to help maintain the diaper in its intended desired animal protective position.
Another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is that the envelope is adapted to be adhesively secured to said animal protective garment.
Yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is the provision that the closure flap is adapted to be positioned in either an open position or a close position; wherein the closure flap when positioned in the open position, facilitates the deployment of the support coupler from the at least one compartment so that the support coupler can be fastened to the diaper to releasably hold the diaper in its intended desired animal protective position; and wherein the closure flap when positioned in its closed position facilitates the protection of the support coupler from an animal wearing the animal protective garment.
In still yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is the primary animal protective garment and the diaper garment have separate and distinctly different animal protection purposes and are spaced from one another when disposed on an animal to be protected.
In another embodiment of the second aspect of the present the garment support arrangement is an elongate flap that has a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is adapted to be permanently secured to the animal protective garment and wherein a distal end portion of the flap is provided with a set of hooks or a set of loops for engaging a fabric surface of the diaper to releasably hold the diaper in its intended desired animal protective position.
In yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present the flap has a top surface and a bottom surface; wherein the top surface has disposed thereon along its longitudinal dimension at least one strip of hooks or at least one strip of loops to facilitate the rolling up of the flap into a cylindrical configuration when said flap is not in use; wherein the set of hooks or the set of loops for engaging said fabric surface of the diaper is disposed on the bottom surface of the flap; and wherein the flap in its cylindrical configuration is adapted to be rolled open into a substantially flat configuration for deployment and engagement with the fabric surface of the diaper when in use.
In still yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is that the utility envelope includes a reinforcement pad to help prevent the tearing and ripping of the animal protective garment.
Yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present the support coupler is a set of hooks or a set of loops for releasably engaging a fabric surface of the diaper so that the diaper is maintained in its desired animal protective position.
Another embodiment of the second aspect of the present the set of hooks or the set of loops is disposed on a distal end portion of a fabric band; and wherein a proximal end portion of the fabric band is secured to the reinforcement pad.
In yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present the support coupler is a large loop having a sufficiently large opening to receive therein at least one set of securing members forming part of the diaper so that the diaper is maintained in its desired animal protective position.
In still yet another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention the large loop is disposed on a distal end portion of a fabric band; and wherein a proximal end portion of the fabric band is secured to the reinforcement pad.
An embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention the support coupler is an elongate flap having a proximal end and a distal end; wherein said proximal end is adapted to be permanently secured within the utility envelope and wherein a distal end portion of the flap is provided with a set of hooks or a set of loops for engaging a fabric surface of the diaper to releasably hold it in its intended animal protective position.
In another embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention the flap has a top surface and a bottom surface; wherein the top surface has disposed thereon along its longitudinal dimension at least one strip of hooks or at least one strip of loops to facilitate the rolling up of the flap into a tight cylindrical configuration for storage within the envelope when the flap is not in use; wherein the set of hooks or the set of loops for engaging the fabric surface of the diaper is disposed on the bottom surface of the flap; and wherein the flap in its cylindrical configuration is adapted to be rolled open into a substantially flat configuration for deployment from the envelope and for engagement with the fabric surface of the diaper when in use.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention a garment support kit for an animal protective garment comprises a garment support arrangement to facilitate securing a diaper to the animal protective garment to ensure that diaper remains secured in a desired and intended animal protective position; wherein the garment support arrangement includes: a support coupler adapted to be coupled to the diaper to help maintain the diaper in its desired and intended animal protective position; and a reinforcement pad adapted to be permanently secured to the animal protective garment as a fabric reinforcement to help prevent the tearing and ripping of the animal protective garment and for supporting from below for deployment the support coupler.
The above mentioned features and steps of the invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters represent like parts throughout the several views and in which:
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
Its accordance with the novel method of using 1400 as best seen in
Another important advantage of the pet protection garment 10 is that it may be coupled or attached to an animal diaper 40 in a very fast and convenient manner, as best seen in
Still yet another advantage of the pet protection garment 10 is that it is universal in nature. That is, the pet protection garment 10 may be utilized to support various different types and kinds of diapers and shields. Still yet another advantage is that the pet protection garment 10 is relatively inexpensive and may be easily and conveniently used for any of its intended purposes whether this is its primary purpose of providing protection to the animal from environmental elements, such as inclement weather conditions or a secondary purpose such as supporting or holding the diaper 40 in its intended and desired animal protection position.
As best seen in
The primary animal protective garment 20 is a multi-function garment; that is, it functions to protect the animal 12 from environmental conditions or it may be configured with simple or complex fabric design features so that it further functions as a decorative fashion wear item or a fashion statement item worn by the animal 12. More particularly, the primary animal protective garment 20 may comprise a water-repellant fabric to protect the animal from raining weather, a thick quilted fabric to protect the animal from cold weather or a light-weight print fabric arranged in a highly decorative pattern. Other fabric structures, such as non stretchable and stretchable fabric structures which open and wrap around the body and neck areas of an animal in either a lateral manner or in a longitudinal manner as opposed to pull-over type structures are clearly contemplated relative to the present invention, so there is no intention of limiting the fabrics, their structures or the purpose of the primary protective garment to those mentioned herein.
Considering now the garment support arrangement 30 in greater detail with reference to
Because of its fabric construction, the garment support arrangement 30 is integrally formed in the fabric structure of the animal protective garment 20 at about a distal end area 94 thereof. In this regard, the decorative garment 20 may be cut, constructed, sewn and fashioned to enhance the decorative features of the protective garment 20 while at the same time enabling the protective garment 20 to have a further unique function, namely being constructed via the tail 36 to grip and hold a diaper in its desired and intended animal protection position. In the alternative, the support arrangement 30 may be formed as a separate structure which may then be sewn, stitched, riveted or adhesively secured to the fabric surface area 90 of the garment 20 at about a distal end area 94 thereof.
As best seen in
In a similar manner, the bottom surface area 36B of the tail 36 is provided with a secondary support coupler arrangement 52B, which is also provided with a plurality of hooks. The hooks of the secondary support coupler 52B are adapted to engage and securely grip the top fabric surface area 90 of the primary protection garment 20 for holding the tail 36 in a closed or support garment engaging position 62 (
In summary then, a multi-functional animal protective garment 10 generally includes a primary protective garment 20 having an integral tail 36 moveable between an open secondary garment engaging position 60 and a closed primary garment engaging position 62. The tail 36 has a top surface area 36A and a bottom surface area 36B, where the top surface area 36A is provided with primary support coupler 52A for helping to fasten the tail 36 in its open position to a secondary animal protective garment 40 (a diaper or shield), and where the bottom surface area 36B is provided with secondary support coupler 52B for helping to fasten the tail 36 in its close position (a non diaper engaging position). In this manner, the tail 36 of the primary protective garment 20 is adapted to grip and hold the secondary animal protective garment 40 in its desired and intended animal protective position as best seen in
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
The self contained garment support kit 110, when used in accordance with a novel method of using and attaching 1400 (
In accordance with the novel method of using and attaching 1400, the garment support kit 110 in use provides several unique and unexpected advantages. More particularly, the support kit 110 may be easily and quickly secured to a primary animal protective garment 120 to provide the primary animal protective garment 120 with the above-mentioned secondary function. The kit 110 in this regard, when attached to the primary support garment 120, prevents a soiled or unsoiled animal diaper 40 from sliding off the animal 12 during normal animal activity movement and even when there is excessive diaper weight caused by the absorbent material of the diaper 40 becoming saturated with the waste product of the animal 12.
Another important advantage of the garment support kit 10 is that it can be easily and quickly coupled or attached to the secondary animal protective garment 120 in a very fast and convenient manner. Likewise, the kit 110 may be easily and quickly attached and detached from such a diaper 40, permitting the diaper 40 to be quickly and conveniently removed from the animal 12 so that the diaper 40 may be replaced if soiled or simply removed and temporarily set aside for later use, when the animal 12 is released to a suitable environment or waste elimination purposes.
Still yet another advantage of the garment support kit 110 is that it is universal in nature and may be utilized with different types and kinds of primary animal protective garments such as shirts, sweaters, and vests, to support various different types and kinds of diapers and shields. Another advantage provided by the garment support kit 110, is that the kit 110 is simplistic in nature, relatively inexpensive, and may be easily and quickly attached to a primary animal protective garment 120 for immediate use with another animal protective garment, such as a secondary animal protective garment 40, as best seen in
Considering now the garment support kit 110 in greater detail with reference to
The underside of the pocket unit 132 is provided with an adhesive backing 131 as best seen in
Although the,attachment of garment support arrangement 130 to the primary support garment 120 has been described as an adhesive attachment, it is contemplated that other means of attachment could also be employed. For example, a set of hook or loop fasteners could be provided on the undersigned of the pocket unit 132 and a complimentary set of hook or loop fasteners could be adhesively secured to the fabric surface area 90 of the garment 120 so the hook and loop fasteners could be engaged to secure the support arrangement 130 to the garment 120. As another example, a set of fastening buttons and complementary button holes could be provided in the garment 120 so the arrangement 130 could be button fastened to the garment 120. Likewise a set of snap buttons could be attached to the garment 120 and to the underside of the pocket unit 132 to enable the arrangement 130 to be snapped placed on the garment 120. Based on the foregoing, there is no intention of limiting the manner in which the garment support arrangement 130 may be temporarily or removably secured to the garment 120 as other means of attachment are fully contemplated within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The important feature however, is that the arrangement 130 may be quickly attached or removed from the primary protective garment 120 for those times when the animal 12 needs or does not need to be protected with a diaper, such as the diaper 40. Moreover, the location of the garment support arrangement 130 is selected at about the distal end area of the primary protective garment 120 so that it may be easily and quickly utilized to grippingly hold or secure the diaper 40 in its intended and desired animal protective position at a rear bodily area 14 of the animal 12, while at the same time being positioned at a location where it can not be easily reached by the animal 12.
Considering now the closure flap 136 in greater detail, with respect to
The closure flap 136 has a top diaper engaging surface area indicated generally at 136A (
In a similar manner, the bottom surface area 1368 is provided with a secondary support coupler 152B, which is also provided with a plurality of hooks that are adapted to engage and securely grip a pocket fasteners 133 which is secured to a top surface floor area 138 of the pocket unit 132. In this regard, the pocket fastener 133 is composed of a plurality of loops which will engage the hooks of the secondary support coupler 152E to grip or fasten the closure flap 136 in its closed position 62. As best seen in
By way of example only, and without intending any limitation on the size or appearance of the primary support coupler 152A, it may be of different sizes and configurations. For example, it may be in the configuration of the face of an animal, such as the face of a dog as best seen in
Considering the primary coupler 152A in still greater detail, the primary support coupler 152A in one preferred embodiment is sewn to the outside or diaper engaging surface area 136A of the closure flap 136. There is no intention however, of limiting the manner of attaching the primary support coupler 152A to the closure flap 136 by this method. Other methods of attachment are contemplated and will be described hereinafter in greater detail. For example in other preferred embodiments of the present invention as best seen in
As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the male pin component 656 (
From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the closure flap 636 may be provided with a removable or interchangeable primary support coupler, or it may be provided with a permanent set of hook or loop fasteners secured to either the exposed or concealed surfaces of the closure flap 135. In these configurations, the hook or loop fasteners may also be provided in a decorative pattern to complement the fabric design features of the primary animal protective garment 120. There is therefore no intention of limiting the disclosed invention to that of a removable or interchangeable primary support coupler 634 or a permanently attached support coupler 152A as described herein.
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
The self contained garment support kit 210 may be easily and quickly attached to a primary animal protective garment 120, such as a protective animal vest, animal sweater or animal shirt. When so attached, the kit 210 provides the primary protective garment 120 with a completely new and unexpected secondary functions; namely, 1) a storage area for a diaper 40; and 2) when needed, means for securing or supporting the secondary animal protective garment 40 in its intended and desired animal protective position.
The self contained, garment support kit 210, when used in accordance with a novel method of using and attaching 1400 (
Considering now the garment support kit 210 in greater detail with reference to
Considering now the secondary support couplers 250 in greater detail with reference to
In view of the above-described need, the closure flap 237 has a dual purpose as mentioned earlier: first, it provides a storage space or storage compartment 240 for storing a packaged diaper (not shown) and one or more secondary couplers, such as the secondary coupler 250. Secondly, it is for supporting in a diaper engaging position, one or more of deployed secondary couplers, such as the secondary coupler 250, when such a secondary coupler 250 is utilized to further secure the diaper 40 in its intended and desired animal protective position as best seen in
Like the garment support arrangement 130, the garment support arrangement 230 is also composed of a fabric material that is soft and pleasing to the touch, and decorative with an aesthetic appearance which may be selected to be coordinated in appearance to the primary animal protective garment 120. In this manner the garment support arrangement 230 maybe selected to enhance the overall decorative features of the primary animal protective garment 120 to provide a fashion statement.
Considering now the closure flap 236 in greater detail, with respect to
The closure flap 236 has a top or diaper engaging surface area indicated generally at 236A and a bottom or a base unit engaging surface area indicated generally at 236B. The top surface area 236A of the closure flap 236 is provided with the primary support coupler 234, which is substantially similar to primary support coupler 234 and will not be described hereinafter in greater detail except to mention that the primary support coupler 234 is adapted to engage and securely grip a top fabric surface of the diaper 40 so the closure flap 236 is held in its open position 60 (
As mentioned earlier, whenever the open weave or loop-like construction of the diaper 40 is not sufficiently open to provide an absolute gripping relationship with the hooks of the primary coupler 234, the gripping function of the primary coupler 234 may be reinforced, supplemented or completely substituted with one or more secondary couplers 250 as best seen in
As best seen in
In those situations where the primary coupler 234 is unable to grip the weave of the diaper 40 or in those situations where the gripping force of the primary coupler 234 is so sufficiently weak that it may be easily disengaged from the diaper 40, the closure flap 236 being moved to a closed position, similar to the closed position illustrated in
Again referring to
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
The pet protection garment 310, generally comprises: (1) a primary animal protective garment 120, such as a protective animal vest, a pressure wrap garment, a T-shirt, or a sweater, and (2) a garment support arrangement 330, which is either integral to or sewn (attached) onto and carried by the primary animal protective garment 120. The primary pet protection garment 120 may be worn by a dog or cat or nearly any other type of animal with a similar body construction to that of a dog or cat. The primary animal protective garment 120 functions to protect the animal 12 from environmental conditions or it may be configured with simple or complex fabric design features so that it further functions as a decorative fashion wear item or a fashion statement item worn by the animal 12. More particularly, the primary animal protective garment 120 may comprise a water-repellant fabric to protect the animal from raining weather, a thick quilted fabric to protect the animal from cold weather or a light-weight print fabric arranged in a highly decorative pattern. Other fabric structures and primary animal protective garment purposes are clearly contemplated relative to the present invention, so there is no intention of limiting the fabrics or the purpose of the primary protective garment to those mentioned herein.
Considering now the garment support arrangement 330 in greater detail with reference to
Considering now the different types and kinds of secondary support couplers that may be deployed for supplemental support of the diaper 40, reference may be made to
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
As best seen in
Considering now the utility pocket 432 in greater detail with reference to
Considering now the zipper pocket assembly 466 in greater detail, the zipper pocket assembly 466 generally comprises overlaying inside and outside pocket layers 481, 482, which are joined together along peripheral edges indicated at stitching lines 483, 484, and 485 respectively. When so stitched together, the utility pocket 432 is then provided with a secondary support coupler storage compartment, indicated generally at 438. The storage compartment 438 has an access opening 486 with a zipper closure 488. The storage compartment 436 has a sufficient storage capacity for receiving and storing therein a packaged diaper (not shown) and at least two support couplers, such as the support coupler 450. With this arrangement, access to the zipper pocket assembly 466 and the support couplers stored therein is prevented, when the closure flap 436 is disposed in its close position.
As noted herein earlier, the garment support arrangement 430 is disposed at a distal end area of the primary protective garment 120 so that when the closure flap 436 is moved to its open position, the primary support coupler (not shown) carried by the closure flap 436 is deployed for engagement with the diaper 40. When the flap 436 is so positioned in its open position, the spacing difference between the primary protective garment 120 and the diaper 40 should be sufficiently small so the closure flap 436 will be deployed in an overlaying relationship with the diaper 40. In this manner then, the primary support coupler s positioned to be easily positioned by the user gripping the flap 436 and then fastened to the secondary protective garment or diaper 40 so the diaper 40 is securely held in its intended and desired animal protective position. While deployment of the primary support coupler as described above is generally successful, the utilization of a secondary support coupler 450 may be needed, when (1) the spacing difference between the primary protective garment 120 and the diaper 40 is so great that the closure flap 436 when moved from its close position to its open deployment position to deploy the primary support coupler, does not result in an overlaying relationship. When this occurs, the utilization of a secondary support coupler, such as the secondary support coupler 450 may be required.
As best seen in
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
The pet protection garment 610 generally comprises: (1) a primary animal protective garment 120, such as a protective animal vest, a pressure wrap garment, a T-shirt, or a sweater, and (2) a garment support arrangement 630, which is carried by the primary animal protective garment 120. The garment support arrangement 630 generally includes a base utility pocket unit 632 that is secured to the primary animal protective garment 120 at about its distal end. The preferred method of attachment is by stitching the support arrangement 630 to the underlying garment 120, but as mentioned earlier other means of attachment are fully contemplated by the present invention. Attached to the base pocket unit 632 at about its distal end boundary is a closure flap 636 which is moveable between a closed position and an open position in the same manner as closure flap 336.
Considering now the closure flap 636 in greater detail, the closure flap 636 has a diaper engaging surface 636A and a pocket engaging surface area 636B. Disposed on the diaper engaging surface 636A is a primary coupler 634 (
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
As best seen in
The upper and lower sections 1340 and 1350 respectively, are integrally attached to one another along an imaginary lateral line indicated generally at 1390 as best seen in
The lower section 1350 when folded back onto the upper section 1340 exposes the tail 1360 so that it may be gripped and pulled forward toward the rear or tail end of an animal 12 a sufficient distance so that the tail 1360 overlays a substantial top surface area of the diaper 40. In this manner, a primary diaper coupler 1365 carried by the tail 1360 may be brought into gripping, securing engagement with the top fabric surface area of the diaper 40 for holding or securing the diaper 40 in its intended animal protection position as best seen in
Considering now the garment support arrangement 1330 in still greater detail with reference to
In a similar manner, the garment support arrangement 1330 is provided with a secondary support coupler arrangement 1380 (
Because of its fabric construction, the garment support arrangement 1330 is adapted to be sewn, stitched, riveted or adhesively secured to the fabric surface area of the garment 1320 at about a distal end area 1394 thereof
Referring now to
The novel method of use 1400, begins at a start step 1402 and proceeds from the start step 1402 to a placing step 1404 where an animal owner, not shown, places the pet protection garment 10, on an animal 12 to be protected. The pet protection garment 10 in this regard is the primary animal protective garment 20 having disposed thereon the garment support arrangement 30. Next at another placing step 1406, the animal owner places a secondary animal protective garment 40, namely the animal diaper 40, on the animal 12. With the animal diaper 40 in place, the animal owner expects that any animal waste product eliminated from the animal 12 will be retained by the diaper 40 and will not be able to be deposited on the ground or floor in the surrounding environment whether the floor or ground is in a home residence, or on a footpath, or a sidewalk in a public or private location. However, to make absolutely certain that the diaper 40 does not accidental slip off the animal 12 due to normal animal movement or due to the absorbent material of the diaper 40 become excessively weighty due to the, absorption of waste, owner proceeds to a release or deployment step 1408.
At the release or deployment step 1408, the animal owner deploys a primary support coupler 52A from the garment support arrangement 30. In this regard, the owner opens the closure flap or tail 36 allowing it to be fully opened so the primary support coupler 52A carried by the closure flap 36 is able to engage with a fabric surface of the secondary animal protective garment 40. As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the garment support arrangement 30 may include a single support coupler or a plurality of support couplers, including like type couplers and unlike type couplers. For the moment however, for the purpose of describing this aspect of the unique and novel method of use 1400 only a single coupler, namely the primary support coupler 52A carried by the closure flap 36 will be described. In this regard, in order to facilitate the coupling of the primary animal protective garment 20 with the secondary animal protective garment 40, the closure flap 36 needs to have 1) a sufficient longitudinal length to extend from the primary animal protective garment 20 into an overlaying position on a desired fabric area of the diaper or secondary protective garment 40; and 2) a primary support coupler 52A with a set of loop fasteners or a set of hook fasteners that operates to provide a sufficient fastening or gripping force to securely hold the diaper 40. That is, the set of loop or hook fasteners must sufficiently grip and secure the diaper 40, so that it can not slide off the animal 12 because of normal animal activity movements or because of excessive weight caused when the absorbent material of the diaper 40 becomes saturated with the waste product of the animal 12.
Since there is great variation in the size of animals 12, in the size and fit of a primary animal protective garment 20 on an animal, and in the size, fit and fabric structure of a diaper, the closure flap 36 may not have a sufficient length to overlay the diaper 40 or the fabric structure of the diaper 40 may be such that it prevents the primary support coupler 52A from gripping its fabric structure, the process proceeds to a verifying step 1410, where the animal owner verifies that the primary support coupler 52A has in fact securely engaged the diaper 40.
The process continues to a decision step 1412, where the animal owner makes a determination that the diaper 40 is securely gripped and is being held in its intended and desired animal protection position. If the owner determines the diaper is not being securely held, the process advances to a go to secondary deployment step 1416 that will be described hereinafter in greater detail. On the other hand, if the animal owner determines that the diaper 40 is being securely held, the process proceeds to a go to a waiting step 1414.
If the animal owner confirms that the primary support coupler 52A has firmly gripped the diaper 40 so the animal 12 may freely roam and move about within a protected environment, the process proceeds from step 1414 to step 1433 as best seen in
When the animal owner is ready to allow his or her animal 12 to be released to a non protected environment where the animal may eliminate its bodily waste products, the method proceeds to a removal decision step 1436 to determine if the diaper 40 needs to be removed from the animal 12. If not, the process simply waits at this decision step until such time as the diaper 40 needs to be changed or simply removed. In any event, if the diaper 40 needs to be changed or removed, the process advances to a releasing step 1438 where the animal owner releases the gripping forces applied to the diaper 40 via the garment support arrangement 30.
Next, the process advances to a removing step 1440, where the animal owner removes the diaper 40 from the animal and releases the animal to a non protected environment area, such as a runway, kennel area, or an non protected yarn area. The process then goes to a ready determination or decision step 1442 to determine when the animal owner is ready to have the animal 12 be returned to a protected environment. If the owner is not ready, the process repeats the ready decision step 1442 until the owner is ready. In any event, when the animal owner is ready, the process advances to a go to step 1444 which initiates a new process via a go to step 1444 which returns to step 1402 so the above-described process may be repeated again. If the owner determines that there is no longer any need for the animal 12 to be protected, the process ends when the owner removes the pet protection garment 10 from the, animal 12 causing the novel method of use to be concluded.
Referring again to
After retrieving the selected secondary support coupler 50 from the storage compartment, the process goes to an attaching step 1422. At the attaching step 1422, the animal owner attaches the selected secondary support coupler 50 to a male tether pin which is disposed in the deployment compartment. The attachment is done by simply pushing an associated female tether coupler, disposed at about a proximal end of the support coupler 50, onto the male tether pin.
When the secondary support coupler 50 is tethered to the pin, the process goes to a securing step 1424, where a fastener, such as an alligator clip fastener secured to the distal end of the support coupler 50 is opened and moved to the diaper 40 and released so that the fastener securely grips and holds the diaper 40. As mentioned earlier, other types of fasteners are fully contemplated by the present invention, so there is no intention of limiting the type of fastener to that of an alligator clip type fastener. Next, the process advances to an anchoring step 1426, where the animal owner moves the closure flap 36 back to its close position 62 where the closure flap 36 then anchors the tethered fastener or support coupler 50 so that it is securely held within the pocket of the garment support arrangement.
From the anchoring step 1426, the process advances to a determination step 1428, where the animal owner verifies that the support coupler 50 is securely anchored and is securely gripping the diaper 40 holding the diaper 40 in its intended and desired animal protective position. If the there is a problem with either the support coupler 50 being anchored or not securely gripping the diaper 40, the process returns to step 1426 and proceeds as previously described. If there is no problem with the support coupler 50 being anchored and securely gripping the diaper 40, the process goes to a go to step 1432 returning the process to step 1433 where the process continues from there as previously described.
The preceding merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes and to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the figures of the accompanying drawing, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
All patents, publications, scientific articles, web sites, and other documents and materials referenced or mentioned herein are indicative of the levels of skill of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and each such referenced document and material is hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if it had been incorporated by reference in its entirety individually or set forth herein in its entirety. Applicants reserve the right to physically incorporate into this specification, any and all materials and information from any such patents, publications, scientific articles, web sites, electronically available information, and other referenced materials or documents to the extent such incorporated materials and information are not inconsistent with the description herein.
The written description portion of this patent includes all claims. Furthermore, all claims, including all original claims as well as all claims from any and all priority documents, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the written description portion of the specification, and Applicant(s) reserve the right to physically incorporate into the written description or any other portion of the application, any and all such claims. Thus, for example, under no circumstances may the patent be interpreted as allegedly not providing a written description for a claim on the assertion that the precise wording of the claim is not set forth in haec verba in written description portion of the patent.
The claims will be interpreted according to law. However, and notwithstanding the alleged or perceived ease or difficulty of interpreting any claim or portion thereof, under no circumstances may any adjustment or amendment of a claim or any portion thereof during prosecution of the application or applications leading to this patent be interpreted as having forfeited any right to any and all equivalents thereof that do not form a part of the prior art.
All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
It is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Thus, from the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for the purpose of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims and the present invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
The specific methods and compositions described herein are representative of preferred embodiments and are exemplary and not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Other objects, aspects, and embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of this specification, and are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims. It will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that varying substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The invention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, or limitation or limitations, which is not specifically disclosed herein as essential. Thus, for example, in each instance herein, in embodiments or examples of the present invention, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “containing”, etc. are to be read expansively and without limitation. The methods and processes illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in differing orders of steps, and that they are not necessarily restricted to the orders of steps indicated herein or in the claims.
The terms and expressions that have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intent in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalent of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as claimed. Thus, it will be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by various embodiments and/or preferred embodiments and optional features, any and all modifications and variations of the concepts herein disclosed that may be resorted to by those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.
The invention has been described broadly and generically herein. Each of the narrower species and subgeneric groupings falling within the generic disclosure also form part of the invention. This includes the generic description of the invention with a proviso or negative limitation removing any subject matter from the genus, regardless of whether or not the excised material is specifically recited herein.
It is also to be understood that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the term “X and/or Y” means “X” or “Y” or both “X” and “Y”, and the letter “s” following a noun designates both the plural and singular forms of that noun. In addition, where features or aspects of the invention are described in terms of Markush groups, it is intended and those skilled in the art will recognize, that the invention embraces and is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
Other embodiments are within the following claims. For example, rather than having as disclosed a utility envelope for the deployment of a support coupler it is contemplated that utility means in the form of a simple strap with spaced apart coupling means could be provided to deploy coupling means to the primary protective garment and to the secondary protective garment so the primary protective garment in combination with the utility means support and hold the secondary protective garment in its intended animal protection position. Therefore, the patent may not be interpreted to be limited to the specific examples or embodiments or methods specifically and/or expressly disclosed herein. Under no circumstances may the patent be interpreted to be limited by any statement made by any Examiner or any other official or employee of the Patent and Trademark Office unless such statement is specifically and without qualification or reservation expressly adopted in a responsive writing by Applicants.
Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.
Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the description hereinabove is not intended to limit the invention, except as indicated in the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14453839 | Aug 2014 | US |
| Child | 15416340 | US | |
| Parent | 13915090 | Jun 2013 | US |
| Child | 14453839 | US |
