The present disclosure relates generally to small animal habitats and, more particularly, to a system and method for coupling respective halves of a small animal habitat.
Small animal habitats for housing pets such as, e.g., hamsters, gerbils, mice, rats, etc. are commonly found in many settings, and in an array of sizes and configurations. Generally, these habitats include multiple wall portions, a base portion, and a top shell portion, with at least one of the wall portions having a wire cage and/or one or more viewing windows to allow for visibility, airflow, etc. into the interior of the habitat. In some configurations, the top shell portion may form (or include) a lid, thereby allowing the pet owner to access the interior of habitat for cleaning, feeding, pet removal or replacement, etc. In other configurations, at least one of the top shell portion and the wall portions may have a door or hatch formed therein so as to allow owner access to the interior of the habitat.
Often, small animal habitats are relatively simple in shape and design, with cage-like configurations as described above. To many owners, habitats with unique themes and/or shapes may be desirable, further adding to their enjoyment of owning a pet. However, because at least a portion of the habitat must be separable from other portions so as to allow the pet owner to access the interior, as well as to ease manufacture, habitat designs having anything other than the typical cage-like configurations have been very limited.
Accordingly, this patent document described devices that are intended to address the issues discussed above and/or other issues.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a small animal habitat in the form of an automobile is disclosed. The small animal habitat may include a top shell portion, the top shell portion comprising a plurality of top wheel portions, each of the top wheel portions forming a top half of a respective wheel section. The small animal habitat may also include a bottom shell portion, the bottom shell portion comprising a plurality of bottom wheel portions, each of the bottom wheel portions forming a bottom half of a respective wheel section. Additionally, the small animal habitat may include a plurality of assembly rings, wherein each assembly ring is configured to couple the top wheel portion to the bottom wheel portion of a respective wheel section so as to hold the top shell portion and the bottom shell portion of the small habitat in engagement.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a small animal habitat is disclosed. The small animal habitat may include a top shell portion, the top shell portion having a plurality of slots formed therein. The habitat may further include a bottom shell portion, the bottom shell portion having a plurality of slots formed therein, wherein the bottom shell portion is entirely separable from the top shell portion. Additionally, the habitat may include a plurality of assembly rings, wherein each assembly ring comprises at least a first clip and at least a second clip, and further wherein the first clip of a respective one of the plurality of assembly rings is configured to mate with a respective one of the plurality of slots formed in the top shell portion, and the second clip of the respective one of the plurality of assembly rings is configured to mate with a respective one of the plurality of slots formed in the bottom shell portion so as to hold the top shell portion and bottom shell portion in engagement.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of coupling respective halves of a small animal habitat is disclosed. The method may include providing a top shell portion having a plurality of slots formed therein, and providing a bottom shell portion having a plurality of slots formed therein. The method may also include positioning the top shell portion and the bottom shell portion together in alignment. Furthermore, the method may include providing a plurality of assembly rings, wherein each assembly ring comprises at least a first clip and at least a second clip. The method may include mating the first clip of a respective one of the plurality of assembly rings with a respective one of the plurality of slots formed in the top shell portion. Also, the method may include mating the second clip of the respective one of the plurality of assembly rings with a respective one of the plurality of slots formed in the bottom shell portion so as to hold the top shell portion and bottom shell portion in engagement.
The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present system and method and is not meant to limit the inventive concepts claimed in this document. Further, particular features described in this document can be used in combination with other described features in each of the various possible combinations and permutations.
Unless otherwise specifically defined in this document, all terms are to be given their broadest possible interpretation including meanings implied from the specification as well as meanings understood by those skilled in the art and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc.
It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless otherwise specified. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. All publications mentioned in this document are incorporated by reference. Nothing in this document is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this document are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to”. Additionally, use the term “couple”, “coupled”, or “coupled to” may imply that two or more elements may be directly connected or may be indirectly coupled through one or more intervening elements.
In this document, position-identifying terms such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, “front”, “rear”, “side”, “top”, and “bottom” are not intended to limit the invention to a particular direction or orientation, but instead are only intended to denote relative positions, or positions corresponding to directions shown when a small animal habitat is oriented as shown in the Figures.
Referring to
Referring still to
The wheel sections 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D shown in
Additionally and/or alternatively, each wheel section 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D that is not coupled to one or more tubes 18 may include a selectively-removable cap 25, which may close the circular opening formed between respective top wheel portion 22 and bottom wheel portion 23. In this way, each cap 25 may prevent the small animal from escaping, while also producing a hubcap-like decorative appearance to the wheel sections of the small animal habitat 10. As the user is capable of selectively removing each cap 25, one or more tubes 18 may be coupled to any or all of the wheel sections 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, thereby enabling numerous different configurations and attachment/accessory options. Both the assembly ring 24 and the cap 25 may be formed of any appropriate material such as, e.g., plastic.
Referring now to
As shown in
Next, referring to
Additionally and/or alternatively, it is to be understood that the assembly rings 24 may be configured to allow for tooled or tool-less removal by the user, which would enable the user to selectively separate (and then reattach) the top shell portion 12 and bottom shell portion 14 for, e.g., animal removal, cleaning, etc. Furthermore, it is to be understood that that interface between each assembly ring 24, top wheel portion 22, and bottom wheel portion 23 may be configured utilizing features other than the clips and slots shown and described with respect to
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments 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 disclosure. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
This patent document claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/737,583, filed Sep. 27, 2018, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated into this document by reference.
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