Patent Application
20240315426
The present invention relates generally to the pet industry, and more particularly to a wearable system having accessories for walking and cleaning up after a pet.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Responsible pet owners routinely walk their animals in order to promote healthy lifestyles and to ensure their pet receives adequate exercise each day. In this regard, many pet owners carry a plurality of items such as a ball or other pet toy, a drink bottle, and/or a collapsible water dish, for example. In addition to exercise, the pet will usually need to go to the bathroom at some point. In most areas, it is required that the pet owner remove solid waste after the animal has finished their business. This requirement means that pet owners must also carry a plurality of plastic bags for collecting the waste.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for the user to have to carry the waste-filled bag for some period of time before finding a garbage receptacle or returning home. This process makes many users uncomfortable, as they are carrying around a clear bag filled with solid waste which may smell. This situation is worsened when other people are around, thus causing embarrassment to the pet owners who may choose to simply drop the used bag on the ground or toss it into nearby bushes.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a pet walker fanny pack system for securely carrying a plurality of items commonly used in such situations, and that provides a safe storage area for soiled waste bags so as to alleviate the issues noted above.
The present invention is directed to pet walker fanny pack system. One embodiment of the present invention can include a fanny pack having a main body that includes a rear pocket, a front pocket, a side pocket, a clip, and an elongated belt. A rigid watertight bucket can be positioned within the rear pocket, and a cover can secure the bucket within the rear pocket. The bucket can function to receive and store pet waste and is removable so as to be washed after each use.
The front pocket can include a bag dispenser having an opening and a plurality of resilient flaps. A roll of plastic bags is positionable within the front pocket and each bag of the roll is configured to be individually dispensed by the dispenser.
The side pocket can include a cylindrical-shaped elastic member for receiving and storing a water bottle, and the clip can be positioned anywhere along the fanny pack body or belt. A collapsible pet bowl can be removably secured onto the clip and can receive water from the bottle when the system is in use by a user.
This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
As described herein, a “unit” means a series of identified physical components which are linked together and/or function together to perform a specified function.
As described throughout this document, the term “about” “approximately” “substantially” and “generally” shall be used interchangeably to describe a feature, shape, or measurement of a component within a tolerance such as, for example, manufacturing tolerances, measurement tolerances or the like.
As described herein, the term “removably secured,” and derivatives thereof shall be used to describe a situation wherein two or more objects are joined together in a non-permanent manner so as to allow the same objects to be repeatedly joined and separated.
As described throughout this document, the term “complementary shape,” and “complementary dimension,” shall be used to describe a shape and size of a component that is identical to, or substantially identical to the shape and size of another identified component within a tolerance such as, for example, manufacturing tolerances, measurement tolerances or the like.
As described herein, the term “connector” includes any number of different elements that work alone or together to repeatedly join two items together in a nonpermanent manner. Several nonlimiting examples of connectors include, but are not limited to, flexible strips of interlocking projections with a slider (i.e., zipper), thread-to-connect, twist-to-connect, and push-to-connect type devices, opposing strips of hook and loop material (e.g., Velcro®), attractively oriented magnetic elements or magnetic and metallic elements, buckles such as side release buckles, clamps, sockets, clips, carabiners, and compression fittings such as T-handle rubber draw latches, hooks, snaps and buttons, for example. Each illustrated connector and complementary connector can be permanently secured to the illustrated portion of the device via a permanent sealer such as glue, adhesive tape, or stitching, for example.
In one embodiment, the main body of the fanny pack 20 can also include a second pocket 23 that is defined by a front wall 23a, a back wall 23b that is secured to the intermediate wall 21b, a bottom wall 23c, and side walls 23d and 23e. As shown, a bag dispenser 24 having a central opening 24a and a plurality of resilient flaps 24b can be provided along the front wall 23a, and connectors 25a and 25b, such as hook and loop material, for example, can be provided along the top ends of the front and back walls to selectively secure the second pocket area in the closed position.
Although not specifically illustrated, each of the pockets may include any number of internal walls or dividers for allowing a user to separately store and/or organize items being carried within the pockets other than the below described bucket and bags.
As described herein, the main body of the fanny pack 20 can be constructed from any number lightweight durable materials such as various fabrics, leather, or malleable plastics (e.g., nylon) as are commonly used for constructions of backpacks and wearable articles. Of course, any number of other construction materials are also contemplated. Moreover, although illustrated with regard to generally rectangular-shaped pockets, this is for illustrative purposes only, as the main body and each of the pockets may be constructed to include any number of different shapes and sizes.
In one embodiment, a generally cylindrical-shaped side pocket 26 can be provided along the side of the main body. The pocket can be constructed from an elastomeric material such as nylon mesh, for example, and can include an open top end 26a for receiving and storing a bottle, such as the water bottle 11.
In one embodiment, a clip 27 or other such connector can be provided along the outside of the main body. The clip can function to receive and store any number of different items along the exterior of the main body. In the preferred embodiment, the clip will be secured to the ring 15a of a collapsible pet bowl 15, so as to provide a dish for receiving water from the bottle 11 for the pet when the system is in use. The clip and bowl are specifically provided along the outside of the bag to allow the bowl to air dry between uses, and to prevent water from accumulating within the interior of the fanny pack body.
In one embodiment, an elongated belt 28 can extend outward from the side walls 21d and 21e. The belt can ideally be constructed from an elastomeric material such as a nylon strap, for example, and can include a tensioning mechanism 28a for allowing a user to selectively tighten and loosen the belt when wearing the same about their waist. Although described with regard to a continuous elastic belt, other embodiments are contemplated wherein the belt is constructed in two sections and includes a buckle and receptacle for securing the belt to the waist of a user. In such an embodiment, the belt may be either elastic or inelastic, and may also include the tensioning mechanism.
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In the preferred embodiment, a roll of plastic bags 35 are positioned within the second pocket 23. The bags 35 can be provided in a rolled configuration such that an individual bag 35a is selectable from the end of the roll. In this regard, the first individual bag is routed through the opening 24a and retained in a partially exposed manner via the resilient flaps 24b. Each bag is sequentially and removably connected to the end of each subsequent bag on the roll, such that as a user removes one bag, the next bag is fed through the dispenser and is available to the user without opening the pocket itself.
Accordingly, the system 10 can be easily worn by a user to store a plurality of items in a seamless manner while walking their pet thus freeing up their hands and allowing them to discretely store and dispose of pet waste.
As to a further description of the manner and use of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
As described herein, one or more elements of the device 10 can be secured together utilizing any number of known attachment means such as, for example, screws, glue, compression fittings and welds, among others. Moreover, although the above embodiments have been described as including separate individual elements, the inventive concepts disclosed herein are not so limiting. To this end, one of skill in the art will recognize that one or more individually identified elements may be formed together as one or more continuous elements, either through manufacturing processes, such as welding, casting, or molding, or through the use of a singular piece of material milled or machined with the aforementioned components forming identifiable sections thereof.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Likewise, the term “consisting” shall be used to describe only those components identified. In each instance where a device comprises certain elements, it will inherently consist of each of those identified elements as well.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application Ser. No. 63/453,593 filed on Mar. 21, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63453593 | Mar 2023 | US |
