Patent Application
20200404884
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for donning a flexible covering on an animal limb. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for donning a disposable, elastomeric boot on a canine paw.
Protective coverings for animal limbs are desired or required in many situations. Notably, many owners of domesticated animals want to protect their animals' paws from inclement weather, chemicals, debris, and other harmful elements. The prior art discloses a myriad of boots, socks, and other coverings developed to protect animal paws against these hazards.
A typical paw covering disclosed by the prior art resembles a human-like shoe, comprising fabric stitched over a padded sole and a Velcro, zipper or strap closure. This type of conventional covering presents the following problems: it is expensive; it is generally not waterproof; it easily detaches from the animal's limb; and it feels unnatural to the animal, which makes the animal less sure-footed.
In view of the above problems, a solution was presented in U.S. Pat. No. 8,360,012, which discloses a disposable, waterproof canine boot, comprising a single, seamless piece of material having a bulbously shaped, bottom closed end and a top open mouth of smaller cross-section. The boot is made of elastic, lightweight material, such as latex, which provides a natural feel for the dog and allows the boot to remain reliably secured to the dog's limb. Owing to these advantages, the boot shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,360,012 has gained significant popularity with dog owners in recent years.
Although the boot disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,360,012 confers many advantages over the prior art, it does present one drawback: it is difficult for a dog owner to don the boot on their pet's paw without the assistance of others. Owing to its rubbery material and constricted mouth, the boot must be stretched open—normally with two hands—in order to be slipped over a dog's paw. It is challenging for one person to coordinate both stretching open the boot and slipping the boot over the dog's paw. As a result, the donning process generally requires two people, which is inefficient and impractical for many dog owners.
At present, there is only one device available on the market that is designed facilitate this donning process. Said device is a tong-like tool, which is configured to stretch and secure the mouth of the canine boot in an open position. The tool was designed with the intention of allowing users to open the mouth of the boot with one hand—by employing the tool's tongs—while using the other free hand to guide the dog's paw into the boot. However, for the following reasons, among others, users of this tool have found that it does not fulfill its purpose: first, it takes a great deal of force to open the mouth of the boot with the tongs, with the process being unreasonably strenuous for the average person; second, depending on the size of the dog, the tongs often do not open wide enough to fit around the dog's paw; and third, the tool does not adequately grip the boot—the boot commonly slips off the tool before the boot is fixed around the dog's paw.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements in the art.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for donning a flexible covering on an animal limb.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the present invention provides an apparatus for donning a flexible covering on an animal limb, the flexible covering including a top open mouth defined by a lip, comprising: a rigid ring having an outer face around which the mouth of a flexible covering can be positioned, wherein the ring has an inner circumference sized to allow the animal limb to fit through the ring, and wherein the ring comprises one or more protrusions disposed along the outer face of the ring that are adapted to secure the mouth of the flexible covering in an open position, and wherein the ring comprises a linear indentation situated on the outer face of the ring that is adapted to accommodate the lip of the flexible covering.
According to a further embodiment, the present invention provides a method for donning a flexible covering on an animal limb, the flexible covering including a top open mouth defined by a lip, the method comprising: stretching the mouth of the flexible covering around an outer face of a ring; aligning the lip of the flexible covering with a linear indentation on the ring; guiding the animal limb through the ring and into the flexible covering; releasing the flexible covering from the ring by removing the lip of the flexible covering from the outer face of the ring; and removing the ring from the animal limb by guiding it over the flexible covering and away from the animal limb.
Other aspects and features according to the present application will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example only, embodiments of the invention, and how they may be carried into effect, and in which:
Appendix A contains a series of snapshots that depict a method for donning a flexible covering on an animal limb using the apparatus of
Referring to
As illustrated in
Referring to
According to a further embodiment as shown in
According to a further embodiment, when apparatus 100 is in use, the mouth of a flexible covering may be stretched around the outer face 105 of the ring 130. Next, the lip of the flexible covering may be aligned with linear indentation 125, effectively securing the mouth of the flexible covering to the ring 130 in an open position. While grasping the apparatus 100 and open flexible covering in one hand, a user may guide an animal's limb through the inner circumference of ring 130 and into the flexible covering with the other hand. The flexible covering may then be released from the ring 130 by removing the lip of the flexible covering from the outer face 105 of the ring. Lastly, the ring 130 may be removed from the animal limb by guiding it over the flexible covering and away from the animal limb.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Certain adaptations and modifications of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the presently discussed embodiments are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62868124 | Jun 2019 | US |
