Patent Application
20200146256
The present disclosure relates to a pet gear being assembled with posts and boards, and more particularly to a pet gear assembly that is made of a paper material and that can function as a pet house, a pet toy, and other pet gear.
With the recent rise of environmental awareness, many products that were previously manufactured with plastic materials are now manufactured with recycled paper. Currently, pet gear such as cat houses, cat perches, and dog houses are also transitioning toward being made with cardboard. Pet gear made with cardboard can not only reduce the waste of natural resources, but with paper having the characteristics of being low cost, simply structured, and easily assembled, such pet gear can also have the features of being low cost and allowing for DIY assembly by pet owners.
Conventional paper-made pet gears are generally assembled with cardboard boards. However, the limited material strength of cardboards can cause the assembled pet gears to have weak structural integrity, so that the assembled pet gears is easily damaged and has a short lifespan. Furthermore, the conventional paper-made pet gears are often assembled using tenon joints so that the cardboards can fittingly engage with each other to form a box structure. However, cardboard tenons are not only relatively fragile and easily damaged, but are also difficult to assemble with.
In addition, the box structure adopted by the conventional paper-made pet gear is assembled by folding a flat piece of cardboard. However, in order to be folded into a box, the shape of the flat piece of cardboard would be quite complex, leading to high die-cutting costs and leaving scraps of unused material that unnecessarily raise overall costs.
In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the present disclosure provides a pet gear assembly that addresses the issues in the conventional paper-made pet gear assembly having weak structural integrity and being difficult to assemble and easily damaged.
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a pet gear assembly including at least two main boards, a plurality of supporting posts, and a plurality of side boards. The main boards are spaced apart from each other by a distance and are parallel to each other. A plurality of through holes are formed in each of the at least two main boards, and the positions of each of the through holes on one of the main boards respectively align with the positions of each of the through holes on another one of the main boards. The plurality of supporting posts are disposed between and perpendicular to the at least two main boards, and two ends of each of the supporting posts respectively pass through each of the through holes. The plurality of side boards are respectively disposed in a frame-shaped area defined by two adjacent ones of the supporting posts and two of the main boards, a top side and a bottom side of each of the side boards are respectively connected to the two main side boards, and a left side and a right side of each of the side boards are connected to the two adjacent ones of the supporting posts. The at least two main boards, the plurality of supporting posts, and the plurality of side boards jointly form a box unit, and at least one opening is formed in one of the side boards to allow a pet to enter or exit.
In certain embodiments, the at least two main boards and the plurality of side boards are made of corrugated paper, and the plurality of supporting posts are cylinder structures made of paper. More specifically, the plurality of supporting posts are hollow tube structures, and two sleeve elements are respectively inserted into two ends of each of the supporting posts. The two sleeve elements each have two opposite sleeve portions respectively arranged at two opposite ends of each of the sleeve elements, and the outer diameter of the two sleeve portions complement the inner diameter of the supporting post so that the two sleeve portions can be respectively inserted into the two ends of the supporting post.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.
The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like.
Reference is made to
The present disclosure discloses a pet gear assembly that is assembled with paper boards and paper posts. Referring to
The two main boards 20 can be boards with a rectangular shape or other geometrical shapes, and are spaced part from each other by a distance and parallel to each other. A plurality of through holes 21 are formed in the two main boards 20 and are respectively formed near the peripheral edges of the two main boards 20, and the positions of each of the through holes on one of the main boards respectively correspond with the positions of each of the through holes on another one of the main boards.
The plurality of supporting posts 30 are disposed between the two main boards 20, and two ends of each of the supporting posts 30 respectively pass through two corresponding ones of the through holes 21 on each of the main boards 20. In this embodiment, the through holes 21 are round holes, and the supporting posts 30 are cylindrical posts to allow the supporting posts 30 to be sleeved through the through holes 21. In order to stabilize the sleeved connection between the supporting posts 30 and the through holes 21, the outer diameter of the supporting posts 30 are designed to be slightly larger than or equal to the inner diameter of the through holes 21, so that the supporting posts 30 and the through holes 21 can be sleevingly connected in a stable manner by virtue of frictional interference therebetween, and the supporting posts 30 are not easily detached from the through holes 21. Aside from the frictional interference, other methods of stably fixing the supporting posts 30 to the through holes 21 can also be implemented, such as applying an adhesive to the conjoining areas between the supporting posts 30 and the through holes 21, or disposing engaging structures such as a flange or a bump at the conjoining areas for engagement therebetween.
Referring to
In addition, a plurality of first engaging flanges 41 are respectively disposed at the top and bottom sides of the side boards 40, and a plurality of second engaging flanges 42 are respectively disposed at the left and right sides of the side boards 40. In this embodiment, the first and second engaging flanges 41, 42 are respectively formed as a protrusion, and respectively protrude from the top and bottom sides of the side boards 40, and the left and right sides of the side boards 40. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shapes of the first and second engaging flanges 41, 42 are identical to each other, but in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the first and second engaging flanges 41, 42 can have different shapes.
Referring to
As shown in
Various types of pet equipment can be placed in the box unit 10 to form a different kind of pet gear. For example, when a cushion is placed in the box unit 10, a pet gear for resting can be formed; when a scratching board for cats is placed in the box unit 10, a pet house for playing or perching can be formed, or when a litter box for cats is placed in the box unit 10, a pet potty house can be formed.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the flange portion 322 of the sleeve element 32 is equal to the outer diameter of the supporting post 30, so that when the sleeve element 32 and the supporting post 30 are sleeved together, the outer side surface of the flange portion 322 of the sleeve element 32 can be flush with the outer side surface of the supporting post 30. Therefore, an integral appearance with a single diameter can be presented when two of the supporting posts 30 are joined together, so that the plurality of supporting posts 30 can be joined together through the sleeve elements 32 to lengthen the supporting posts 30.
Referring to the embodiment of
In this embodiment, after the sleeve portion 321 of the sleeve element 32 passes through the through hole 21 of the main board 20, the sleeve portion 321 is sleeved into another one of the supporting posts 30. This supporting post 30 can further have an end sleeved around another one of the sleeve elements 32 that in turn connects with the through hole 21 of another one of the main boards 20. Therefore, the main boards 20 and the supporting posts 30 of the present embodiment can be joined together via the sleeve elements 32 and form a stacked structure with multiple box units 10.
In sum, the pet gear assembly of the present disclosure has a stronger structural integrity than the conventional paper-made pet gear assembly, is not easily damaged, and can have a prolonged lifespan. Furthermore, the pet gear assembly of the present disclosure has a simple structure, can be easily assembled, and can allow pet owners to assemble the pet gear assembly themselves so as to increase the convenience of use thereof.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.
