Patent Application
20220087217
None.
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This application generally relates to pet watering equipment, particularly, a sealable container with prefilled water used to hydrate pets.
The following is a tabulation of prior art that presently appears relevant:
Pets are constantly on the move with their owners: dining out at restaurants, exercising outdoors, and even traveling on long commercial flights. In essence, pets are just as active as their human counterparts. With constant movement comes a need to remain hydrated, and just as a pet's owner must hydrate, so must the pet.
Historically, pets have depended on their owners to provide water during travel; however, doing so was extremely burdensome. The common scenario was an owner had to carry a bottle of water and a receptacle wide enough for the pet to consumer the water. That burdensome task stills exists today. In some scenarios, pet owners without a water bottle have to rely on finding a nearby water source to hydrate their pets, such as, a public restroom sink or park water fountain. Even in those scenarios where a water source is found, the second task is to find a receptacle from which the pet can drink the water. Often, that receptacle is a makeshift container or used cup, like an empty fast food drink cup.
In scenarios where the pet owner has to find a receptacle to hold the water, it is usually an object that cannot transport the water once the pet has finished drinking. In those instances, the owner has to either carry the wet receptacle, leaking with residual water, or dispose of the receptacle and hope to find another once the pet is thirsty again. Additionally, most impromptu receptacles do not possess openings wide enough for the pet to access the water with ease.
In the worst of scenarios, an owner does not have water or a receptacle for the pet to drink. In those situations, the pet is obligated to drink from stagnant water, such as water puddles, in order to remain hydrated. Such a scenario presents significant health risks for the pet.
Previous inventions have attempted to solve this hydration dilemma, but not withstanding multiple disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,148 (2011) to Swenson et al. discloses a high-maintenance bowl device that requires the owner to find a water source to fill the bowl, or fill the bowl before traveling. After use, the device's inside and outside surfaces must be cleaned, otherwise, they are susceptible to developing water-borne mold and harboring unsanitary bacteria which could harm the pet if ingested.
Another attempt to cure the hydration dilemma was made by NERO in US20180103610. This device is a plastic container filled with water, but is not watertight for traveling. Its sealing function relies on a thin covering that, once removed, reattaches to the bowl using a zipper seal; in similar fashion as a Ziploc bag. Thereby, rendering the device easily susceptible to ruptures and leakage when used during extremely rugged travel, such as hiking, or stored within tight, moving storage; such as, suitcases or sport bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 813,468 (2018) to Cronkhite was an attempt to provide water to traveling pets, but in the form of a cumbersome, engorged container that is not suitable for all traveling. This container is limited in how it may be positioned. If positioned improperly, the water will leak from therein, thus, rendering the device obsolete for the active traveler. Additionally, the container's size does not allow for compact traveling; such as, onboard planes and hiking trips. Hurwitz provides a water bottle, cup and dish assembly in U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,487. However, the device's assembly is arduous to the busy pet owner as it has multiple moving parts that must be maintained while traveling. Additionally, the device is too bulky for travelers needing to pack light. Lastly, the assembly inconveniences the pet owner since a water bottle must be acquired and carried to attach to the device.
Additional inventions designed to provide water to the traveling pet include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,974 to Frohlich (2000); U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,249 to Mushen (2005); U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,184 to Sharkan (1993); U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,261 to Fick (2005); US20080115732 to Stenberg (2006); and US20060236948 to Wechsler (2006). Nonetheless, the last-mentioned prior art references fail to solve the dilemma of having to constantly find drinking water along with a receptacle to hold and transport the water for the traveling pet.
The functionality and manufacturing of prior art fail to satisfy market demand for pet hydration needs. The present embodiments are geared toward alleviating one or more of the above-referenced limitations. In sum, insofar as I am aware, no traveling pet embodiment formally developed provides fresh, prefilled water in a tamper proof screw lid container for pets.
In accordance with one embodiment, a pet hydration device comprising a circular dish-like plastic container holding prefilled drinking water and sealed with a tamper-evident screw-on lid. The device contains a tamper-evident seal, which assures the owner that the pet's water is fresh and unaltered from the time of manufacturing. The seal is broken once the user unscrews the device's lid upon its initial opening, revealing fresh drinking water. If the pet does not consume all the liquid contents in one sitting, the container may be resealed and unsealed continuously utilizing the screw-on lid until the water has been completely consumed.
Accordingly, several advantages of one or more aspects exist, in that the device:
Ref. 101—Screw-on lid
Ref. 102—Tamper-evident seal
Ref. 103—Portable pet travel cup
Ref. 104—Cup base
Ref. 201—Outer continuous threads [opening mouth]
Ref. 401—Inner continuous threads [screw-on lid]
Ref. 501—Gripping teeth
As is in common practice, the multiple features within the drawings described below are not necessarily drawn to scale. The features' dimensions and various elements may be reduced or expanded to clearly illustrate each embodiment.
In operation, the pet owner uses the cup 103 in the same manner as a pet water dish, but with the added features of portability and being able to open and close the cup as one would a water bottle.
The cup's utilization is not limited to traveling outside of the pet's home.
Accordingly, the reader will see the various embodiments can be used to provide fresh drinking water to pets in a manner that is safe, quick, and convenient. In addition, the cup can be sealed watertight and stowed in the pet owners traveling storage for impromptu use. In essence, the embodiments alleviate the pet owner of the unfortunate scenario of not having access to immediate, clean drinking water for his or her pet while traveling. This dilemma has yet to be met by prior art.
The various embodiments do not require training or strenuous assembly and maintenance as similar art in the marketplace. Rather, they provide a more reliable, lightweight, yet economical, method of hydrating the traveling pet. Furthermore, the operation and conceptual use are similar to those of a plastic water bottle used for human consumption and can be used by persons of almost any age. The embodiments are easy to open, fit in one human hand, and are disposable.
The majority of prior art requires the owner to add water to the device, after which, the device must be cleaned and the water reapplied. Conversely, the various embodiments presented complete the pet owner's job insofar as they provide the drinking water and the watertight device used to transport and serve the drinking water. Once the water is consumed, the pet owner can dispose of the device and simply grab another prefilled device for the next serving or trip.
Even pet owners who do not travel with their pet can take advantage of the various embodiments as they provide a clean source of water for in-home use, unlike most current art in the marketplace. Not every household contains tap water that is ideal for pet consumption. Nonetheless, many owners have no alternative but to provide their pets with tap water with high mineral contents and infested with microbiological contaminants. This device can be stored in bulk within the pet owner's home and placed on a level surface for continuous, casual consumption at the pet's leisure.
The embodiments are healthy alternatives for traveling pets that rely on puddles, standing wastewater, and public water (e.g., public restrooms or pet park fountains) to satisfy their thirst. This likely scenario assumes the pet is willing to spontaneously drink unfamiliar water, as many animals are sensitive to water outside the home, particularly the odorous water found in public. The various embodiments provide fresh water from a known source. Further, as the pet becomes accustomed to drinking from the device overtime, it will begin to trust the water by recognizing its taste and smell.
The multiple specificities mentioned in the description above should not be construed as limiting the scope of the device. For example, the cup can come in various sizes filled with corresponding amounts of water to accommodate the size of the pet. Also, the consumer can purchase the device in multipacks (e.g., 4-cups, 8-cups, etc.) based on pet's water consumption level, etc.
As such, the appended claims and their legal equivalents should be used to determine the embodiments' scope, as oppose to the examples given above.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/051,820, filed 2020 Jul. 14 by the present inventor, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
