Patent Application
20060156997
This invention relates generally to an animal harness for increased mobility, and more particularly, to a canine vest that can be worn comfortably all day optionally with handles for a human handler to use in assisting the mobility of the canine as needed to descend stairs, ascend stairs, walk, and stand.
By Jan. 17, 2004, the family dog is twelve and one-half years old. Our yellow Labrador, Missi, has been experiencing a decline in mobility since she was eight years old. For the past two years, she is unable to negotiate stairs. My husband has been carrying her down in the morning and up in the evening and we block the stairs during the day. Fortunately, my husband is physically able to carry an 85-pound dog up and down stairs. Not all households are that fortunate. I know of one person that had to walk and rub their elderly dog for 15 minutes at the top of the stairs before he would allow the dog to attempt going down. I know of another person that is sleeping downstairs with their pet because she does not want the pet to feel dejected, as it cannot make it up and down the stairs. Another person hangs onto their dog's collar in precarious positions hoping for a safe landing. Others having experienced dangerous incidents that lead the owner not to allow the dog to go upstairs with the family. Products on the market only assist with walking, standing, and going upstairs. While considering the unanswered, longstanding need to assist an elderly dog downstairs, I designed a very secure dog vest that allows the owner to stabilize and support some of the dog's weight as they both descend the stairs side by side. The vest is also useful for assisting the elderly or injured dog in standing up, walking, and performing other outdoor duties.
Prior Art research does not produce a product that encompasses the same purpose as the present invention. Assisting the mobility of a dog going downstairs requires a very strong, secure design that has not been claimed until the present invention. Prior art research does not produce a vest design with undercarriage support or a secure, non-slip ribcage enclosure as comfortable and as easy to install as the present invention because the present invention does not require the threading of limbs through holes.
The Warming Pet Wrap, All Purpose Dog Coat, U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,537, Dog Coat, U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,611, Pendleton Dog Jacket, and Turnout Blanket do not claim to assist a pet's mobility. The coats only claim to be ornamental, warmth enhancing, reflective, or brush protective. The coats could not support or distribute the pet's weight as the design either does not have an underside or is fastened in areas that would be compromised or dangerous if upward pressure is applied. The coats do not include any form of handles in the design.
The Pet Carrier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,902, has awkward leg holes in a sling and is proposed only to carry very small pets or infants.
The Four Paws Safety Support Harness and Dog Car Restraint, U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,335, are mainly proposed to restrain pets during transportation or walking and their designs do not adequately distribute weight causing pressure points rather than even comfortable support.
The Bullet Proof Canine Vest, U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,049, is proposed to provide ballistic protection and repelling support through many straps holding the coat in place. The design does not include handles for human assistance and requires the threading of limbs through the vest for installation.
The Comfort Lift Carrier and Dog Assist Harness, U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,921, does not claim to assist a pet going downstairs, as the sling design is not secure to the animal and slips to the hindquarters, rendering it useless or even dangerous for this application.
The Combination Front and Back Harness and Pet Lift are cumbersome to dress the dog since the animal has to be on its back to get the limbs through the holes. The Combination Harness requires both hands of the handler which can only be practical for very short distances since the human is virtually walking sideways. The Front Harness restricts limb movement with limb holes and does not extend to support the full ribcage area. The Pet Lift material is stretchy which is not safe for going downstairs, and handles apply undue pressure to the abdominal area where vital organs are not protected by the ribcage.
The Dog Lift-N-Aid Mobility Harness is not designed to go downstairs, only upstairs. Going downstairs with this harness would be uncomfortable for the animal since the shoulder webbing straps do not adequately distribute weight and it would be very dangerous as the plastic buckles can break or the straps lose position, causing the animal to slip through.
It is an object of the invention to assist the mobility of an injured, lame, recovering, or arthritic elderly dog or other quadruped animal that has difficultly carrying its own weight. The objective of the mobility vest is to improve the quality and longevity of the animal's life by allowing the owner to assist when the animal's ability to move is painful or compromised. It is an object of the invention to provide mobility assistance, not only for walking, standing, and going upstairs, but also to assist going downstairs.
It is an object of the invention to provide a vest design that can be quickly installed, but also comfortable enough to be worn throughout the day under human supervision for immediate assistance. An additional object of the vest design is to be secure, maintaining its position during use, and provide support that is spread throughout the chest, ribcage, and spine.
A further object of the invention is to provide the human with one hand access to support the canine's weight from various attachment points to the vest that best support the canine for the chosen activity.
The vest can be quickly installed because it is fitted in just a few quick motions with Velcro, RTM closures and the design works around limbs and does not require the threading of limbs through holes, which is important for a dog that needs support in the first place. The vest materials are breathable and lightweight so that the vest could remain on the pet all day under human supervision. An extra lining can be added for extended periods outside in the cold. Maintaining mobility is medically recommended for arthritic pets and it keeps the pet's spirits up.
The human handler can provide counter weight or upward resistance through the handles to support a portion of the dog's weight. The handle straps positioned at the front legs and rear chest provide support throughout the pet's whole ribcage which, in turn, supports the spine for assistance in going upstairs, walking, stabilizing during outdoor duties, and standing up from a seated or lying down position. The handle straps positioned at the front legs and the shoulders provide secure chest support for going downstairs. The vest stays securely in place with Velcro, RTM and metal hardware connectors to handles with no risk of sliding backwards while going downstairs or walking. The wide shoulder straps provide control and stability throughout the chest with no pressure points, and the cross bracing of webbing straps help distribute weight throughout the entire vest.
The present invention achieves its object results with the following key design features and is also set forth in the references to the accompanying drawings.
a diagrams another manufacturing embodiment of the vest lying flat inside-up; and
a-4p diagram several alternative handle configurations from the top-view.
a shows that the improved manufacturing method is to cut out the inner lining and outer lining at the same time on a fold of material and all in one piece (34) to save on labor costs, which also adds additional integrity to the vest. The two layers are then surged together right sides out and then binding is applied along the outside with rounded corners.
a demonstrates improved manufacturing methods by cutting the vest out in one piece (34) with rounded corners as opposed to five pieces (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) as shown in
The garment is now a wearable vest ready to add the supporting straps and handles. (It is to be understood that the vest without the handles could be worn by an animal simply as a cold weather vest.) The material used for the strapping is either nylon or polypropylene webbing. First, the chest straps are sewn with the right strap (9) crossing over or under the left (10), ending on the shoulder strap with a cast D-Ring (19) (20). Then, the cross bracing is sewn (6) to the undercarriage.
The additional cold weather lining is made on one continues piece of woolen material (23) or PolarFleece™ and the hook side of the connecting Velcro, RTM is sewn right side (25) and the loop side is sewn to the left (24) to secure the side sections at the top line. This garment is not sewn to the vest so that it can be worn only as needed.
There are numerous handle configurations as shown in
The preferred hardware for connecting the handles includes heavy duty metal snaps and cast metal D-rings to receive the snaps. Alternatives include buckles and holes in the webbing to receive the buckles, or using bolt snaps instead of snaps. Plastic hardware is only usable if the plastic is rated to carry the entire weight of the dog.
The preferred embodiment includes adjustable handles by adding 8 to 16 inches of webbing to the front (8) straps and winding it back through a heavy duty plastic tension-lock buckle (30) (31) or jam lever buckle that can withstand loads over 200 pounds, although custom lengths, can be manufactured. The preferred embodiment uses nylon and polypropylene webbing for the straps, but other strong material like leather could be used. The preferred embodiment uses a one inch webbing but wider webbing can be used.
The size of the vest is completely customizable to any size dog. The pattern size shown in
The vest material could be substituted provided that the outer lining is strong and rip-stop and the inner lining is comfortable to the dog. The recommended vest fastener is one and one-half inches to two inches sewn-on Velcro, RTM; however, a zipper could also be used.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described. With the foregoing description in mind, however, it is understood that this description is made only by way of example, that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described herein, and that various rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions may be implemented without departing from the true spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60643986 | Jan 2005 | US |
