Patent Application
20100237640
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to an improved method of temporarily containing and disposing animal waste.
Many cities and municipalities currently require owners of domestic animals to remove and dispose of the animals' waste in public places. Current methods of removing waste range from collecting the waste products with plastic bags or specially designed containers to ease owner's transport of their animals' waste and minimize contact with such waste.
The prior art is exemplified in the following United States patents developed in a search:
Current methods of containing, transporting, and disposing animal waste have several drawbacks. First, plastic bags and apparatuses containing non-biodegradable materials may remain inert in landfills for thousands of years. With current societal trends toward recycling and minimizing waste, creating extra garbage is unacceptable to many environmentally-conscious pet owners.
Second, current methods do not provide enough of a barrier between the pet owner and the animal waste, requiring the owner to either hand-carry the waste container or secure it at some personal space close to the owner (such as pockets or backpacks), where the waste can come into close contact with other personal items. Owners may have to carry the waste container by hand for long distances if no garbage receptacle is immediately available and must deal with the unpleasantness of keeping animal waste in close proximity.
Third, current methods are limited by cost or simple physics from being airtight, crush-proof or seepage-proof. Combined with the drawbacks earlier described, current waste containers risk contaminating its surrounding environment and causing inconvenience to the owner.
Fourth, even if current methods do isolate the waste from the pet owner, no efficient or cost-effective method exists to securely attach the waste container for the duration of the walk.
The instant invention presents an ergonomic, sanitary, and environmentally friendly way to temporarily contain animal waste awaiting disposal.
The instant invention comprises a waste receptacle container made of 100% recyclable and biodegradable paperboard material, attached via a leash clip, which can then be secured to the animal's leash or other location convenient to the pet owner. The preferred embodiment of the waste receptacle container is made from foldable paperboard with a smooth, waxy side designed to resist short-term soiling by animal waste. The paperboard is folded and glued into a flattened container for storing or shipping. Pieces of paperboard form the container's closable lid, a loop to be attached to the clip, and a removable scooper tab.
The flattened container is ordinarily stored or shipped unexpanded and stacked. Pet owners may transport a flattened container easily inside pockets or purses or hang it on the leash clip. When the owner desires to use the container, he lifts the lid from its folded position and squeezes the container on opposite sides along fold lines, which causes the container to expand and retain a roughly trapezoidal shape. The owner can expand the container with two fingers. The owner detaches the scooper tab affixed to the back of the container by lifting and tearing the pre-cut paperboard tab.
The container is laid on the ground near the animal waste with its lid side placed closest to the ground. The owner folds the lid underneath the container and uses the scooper tab to leverage the waste into the container. The soiled scooper tab is then deposited into the container and the lid folded back over the container. A small protruding tab on the lid is inserted into a corresponding notch at the top of the container to secure the lid over the container. Securing the lid can be accomplished with one finger.
The leash clip comprises a ribbon attached to a hook clip at one end and a loop at the other end large enough for the hook clip to pass through. The owner will have already secured the leash clip to the leash or some other convenient location by tying a knot. This can be accomplished easily by wrapping the fabric ribbon around the leash and inserting the hook clip into the loop at the end of the ribbon and pulling on the clip. The action causes the ribbon to tighten around the leash. The owner then attaches the used waste container to the clip by sliding the cardboard loop over the clip. The weight of the waste container, exerted on the ribbon and plastic clip, prevents the container from sliding on the leash. The owner may adjust the tension of the knot to achieve the desired position of the leash clip.
When the owner reaches a garbage receptacle, the waste container is removed from the leash clip by a ripping motion which severs the cardboard loop. The waste container is disposed and the leash clip is retained at its current location for future use.
The present invention addresses the inadequacies of prior art in several ways. It solves the problem of having to hold or store the waste container before reaching the next garbage receptacle by hanging the waste on the leash and keeping it away from the owner. The present invention also frees the owner's hand to accomplish other tasks while walking the animal and is comparatively simple to operate, requiring only two fingers to expand and one finger to close its lid.
The present invention avoids expensive materials, complicated manufacturing, and reduces overall waste because by hanging the container at an external location selectable by the pet owner, it does not have to be made sturdy enough to survive the bottom of a backpack or leak-proof enough to avoid soiling a pocket. The use of a durable, reusable leash clip avoids the prior art's problems of having the waste container separating from the leash before a suitable garbage receptacle is found, particularly if thin or wire-like leashes are used. Another problem avoided by the present invention is container sliding when directly attached to the leash.
Furthermore, the disposable part of the present invention, which includes the whole of the waste container, is made of 100% recyclable materials and is 100% biodegradable. By providing a durable and reusable leash clip, the invention is less prone to failure than the prior art and also creates less garbage overall.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is represented by a waste receptacle container 10 and a leash clip 30.
The waste receptacle container 10 is formed from a unitary blank paperboard 1 represented in
Tab 20 comprises a rectangular unitary blank paperboard, with perforation 17 and fold line 18 as illustrated in
To form container 10's expanded state, the pet owner lifts lid 3 upwards from the flattened container 10 and squeezes the container inward along fold lines 11, causing container 10 to acquire a third dimension. The owner applies enough pressure to cause lines 11 to completely flatten out and locks container 10 in its expanded state. This action requires only the thumb and another finger of one hand, and no additional pressure or maneuvering is required to keep container 10 in its expanded shape. The curve of lines 12 creates tension in the container as the owner applies pressure along lines 11 and prevents the container from self-collapsing when pressure is released. Furthermore, the curve of lines 12 gives surfaces 2 a slight curve and facilitates owner's grip on container 10.
When needed, the pet owner acquires waste by detaching scooper tab 8 from tab 20 along perforation 17. Lid 3 is folded backwards via fold line 15 toward the outside of container 10 to expose the interior of container 10 toward the ground with fold line 15 nearest the ground. Pet waste is then leveraged into container 10 with scooper tab 8. The owner may elect to fold scooper tab 8 using fold line 41 to give scooper tab 8 extra rigidity. The soiled scooper tab 8 is inserted into container 10. The owner then folds lid 3 back toward container 10 and applies pressure on fold line 16 so that lid tab 4 inserts into notch 9. This action, which is a one-finger operation, immobilizes lid 3, effectively closing container 10. The owner then attaches container 10 to leash clip 30.
Ribbon 21 may be made of flat, woven material such as fabric, synthetic fibers, or thick paper. Ribbon 21 comprises of two loops, 22 and 29, formed by folding the material back upon itself and uniting the material with stitches or adhesive 31 and 32. Loop 22 forms a durable connection between ribbon 21 and clip 24. Loop 29 is slightly larger than the width of hook clip 24 to allow hook clip 24 to pass in its entirety through loop 29.
To attach leash clip 30 to a pet leash 27, the owner wraps ribbon 21 around pet leash 27 and inserts hook clip 24 into loop 29, as shown in
Container 10 may be attached to leash 30 by passing paperboard loop 5 between the protruding lip of tab 25 and hook clip 24 so loop 5 comes to rest at the bottom of hole 28. Because of tab 25's S-shape, loop 5 is unlikely to separate from hook clip 24 under the ordinary motions experienced while walking a pet. Such motions transferred by pet leash 27 will only cause loop 5 to flex.
When a suitable garbage receptacle is found, the owner detaches container 10 from leash clip 30 by a sudden ripping motion. This causes the thin paperboard of loop 5 to detach cleanly from clip 24. Container 10 is deposited into the garbage receptacle. Leash clip 30 is retained in its location for reuse. Since container 10 is only intended for one-time use, it can be made more economically with less material and reduces the overall garbage generated.
Although the preferred embodiment has been described above by way of example only, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention, defined by the subsequent appended claims.
