Abstract:
A portable and inexpensive device for restraining a dog, cat or other animal within a defined area. The device has a main body providing an endless circular groove that confines a wire or ring to rotating movement about the main body. The ring is attached to the animal&#39;s leash and allows the animal free movement within a circular area defined by the length of the leash. A plurality of removable pins anchor the device to the ground, with the pins being stored in storage grooves in the main body when not in use. The main body has a central recess that accommodates a bowl for food or water.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/938,791 filed on May 18, 2007, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to the art of animal restraints and particularly to such restraints which are portable with a tangle-free tether that can be used outdoors and which also provide a feeding and watering bowl that cannot be easily overturned. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Carnes et al U.S. Pat. No. 227,675 discloses a stake that is driven into the ground, the stake having a rounded head with an annular recess that contains a ring freely rotatable in the recess. The ring has an eye to which the animal&#39;s tether is attached. 
         [0006]    Webb U.S. Pat. No. 2,087,176 shows a tethering stake similar to Carnes et al but having a dome shaped guard between the tethering ring and the ground. 
         [0007]    Cawley U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,199 discloses a tethering post driveable into the ground and having a cylindrical-shaped guard mounted on the post and rotatable around the post. The guard has an opening through which the tether extends, one end of the tether being attached to a ring around the post inside the cylindrical-shaped guard and the other end of the tether being attached to the animal being restrained. As the animal moves around in the area of restraint, the guard will turn on the post and prevent the tether from becoming entangled. 
         [0008]    Putnam U.S. Pat. No. 2,981,230 describes a tangle-free pet hitch which has a stake that is driven into the ground and which permits the tethered animal to have a full circular area for exercise. There is a vertical post that is driven into the ground, and it has a stabilizing member to prevent the post from being pulled loose. Near the top of the post is a fixed collar, and it supports a sleeve member that is rotatably and slidably mounted relative to the post and to the collar. The collar has a series of radially spaced holes for receiving a pair of stop bolts which are adjustably mounted which cooperate with an abutment on the collar to limit the rotary movement of the sleeve. The animal is fitted with a collar and chain that is attached to the free end of the rigid arm so that the animal is restricted so that it cannot run completely around the post because of the lost-motion stop means provided for limiting the rotary movement of the sleeve. 
         [0009]    Holland U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,730 teaches what is alleged to be a tangle-free pet tether that is combined with an umbrella and a bowl to provide water or food for the restrained animal. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable pet tether-feeding station combination with a tether that is tangle free. 
         [0011]    A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable pet tether-feeding station combination that has multiple pins to anchor the device more securely to the ground. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The present invention provides a convenient, portable and inexpensive device for restraining a dog, cat or other animal within a defined area. The device has a relatively flat main body providing an endless circular groove that confines a wire or ring to rotating movement about the main body. The ring is attached to the animal&#39;s leash and allows the animal free movement within a circular area defined by the length of the leash. A plurality of removable pins anchor the device to the ground, with the pins being stored in storage grooves in the main body when not in use. The main body has a central recess that accommodates a bowl for food or water. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    This invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pet tether-feeding station assembly embodying the principles of the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged top perspective view of the tether-feeding assembly of  FIG. 1  with the feeding bowl removed; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged bottom perspective view of the tether-feeding assembly of  FIG. 1  with the feeding bowl removed; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4A  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  and illustrating insertion of the pins to hold the assembly in place; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4B  is a view similar to  FIG. 4A  but showing the pins in place and the feeding bowl ready to be placed in the assembly; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4C  is a view similar to  FIG. 4B  but showing the pins in place and the feeding bowl in place to complete the assembly; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 4C  with portions of the assembly broken away to illustrate details of the assembly; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 5  but showing another embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    Turning now to a consideration of the drawings, and in particular, to the perspective view of  FIG. 1  there is shown an embodiment of the animal tether feeding station assembly  10  to which is attached a chain, leash, rope, tether or the like  12  the free end of which can be attached in any suitable well-known manner to the animal to be restrained. The assembly  10  has a doughnut-shaped main body  14  having an annular groove  16  extending around its periphery between a circular upper member  18  and a circular lower member  20 . Members  18  and  20  are preferably of substantially the same diameter but could be of different diameters. Upper member  18  preferably has a flat top surface  22  and the lower member  20  has a flat bottom surface  24  (see  FIG. 3 ) so that the assembly will be more stable when it is resting on the ground. If desired, the flat bottom surface  24  can be provided with a non-slip surface either formed in the surface or in a separate non-slip mat (not shown) affixed to surface  24 t. This is especially desirable if the assembly is used indoors. The main body  14  is preferably formed of one piece by molding it from cement or plastic, casting it from metal or by any other suitable method. Of course, the main body  14  could be made of separate components fastened or adhered together in any suitable manner, such as by screws  25 . 
         [0023]    Received in and freely engaged in the annular groove  16  is a flexible member  26 , such as a cord, wire or the like, which has suitable fasteners  28  to provide for fastening the leash  12  which typically has a snap-fastener  29 . The wire  26  is free to rotate around the assembly  10  in the groove  16 , but the loop formed by the wire  26  is sufficiently small so that the wire  26  cannot slip out of the groove  16  when the fasteners  28  are attached to the leash  12 .  FIG. 6  show another embodiment of the invention in which an endless belt-like ring  26   a  having a fastener  28   a  is used in place of the wire  26 . The ring  26   a  can be either rigid or somewhat flexible and has a diameter larger than the diameter of the annular groove  16  but less than the diameters of the upper and lower members  18  and  20 . If the endless ring  26   a  is used, preferably the main body  14  is made of separate components to simplify assembly. 
         [0024]    As best seen in  FIGS. 4B and 4C , the circular opening formed by the ring-shaped members  18  and  20  provide a central recess  30  for the receipt of a removable bowl  32  into which food or water can be placed. If desired, the bowl  32  could be formed with separate compartments (not shown) so that one can be supplied with food while the other holds drinking water, for example. Also, it is conceivable that some people may prefer more than two separate compartments depending on the preference of the owner, and the bowl  32  can have dividers that form more than two compartments. It should be understood that the bowl  32  need not be circular and could also be formed as a part of the assembly and therefore not removable. 
         [0025]    In order to anchor the pet tether-feeding station assembly  10  to the ground when used outdoors, the main body  14  has a plurality of spaced-apart openings  34  extending through the main body between the annular groove  16  and the central recess  30 . Each openings  34  is adapted to receive a spike or pin  36  which should be of a length so as to extend into the ground a sufficient amount to secure the assembly  10 . Since the force exerted by a tethered animal on the wire  26  or ring  26   a  will mostly have a radial component with a relatively small vertical or axially component, the assembly  10  will remain in place if it is properly secured to the ground. In situation where a large animal is being secured, longer pins  36  can be used that will extend 10″ to 20″ or more into the ground. Usually, the pins  36  need to extend only a few inches into the ground, and preferably, the pins  36  are of a length less than the diameter of the lower ring member  20 . As best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , if the pins  36  are of this lesser length, the bottom surface  24  of the ring member  20  can be formed with grooves  38  of a size to accommodate storage of the pins  36  in the grooves  38  when not in use so as to minimize the chance of the pins  36  becoming lost. 
         [0026]    Although the main body  14  is illustrated in the drawings as being solid, the main body components could be made hollow with the main body  14  provided with a fill opening (not shown) closed by a removable cap (also not shown). This would allow the main body  14  to be filled with cold liquid on hot days or hot liquid on cold days to keep the contents of the bowl  32  at a desired temperature. 
         [0027]    In the foregoing description, the animal leash  12  is illustrated as a separate item from the flexible member  26 . This is because most pet owners have a leash and can therefore use the leash to connect the animal to the assembly of the invention by hooking the leash to the flexible member  26 . However, it should be understood that the flexible member  26  and leash  12  could be a single, one piece item with the free end being connectible to the collar of the animal. 
         [0028]    From the foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention, it will be evident that the animal tether feeding station assembly of the invention provides a simple device that can be used to tether and restrain animals, especially small dogs and cats. The device can be easily secured by pushing or driving the pins  36  into the ground. The pins  36  can be easily removed and stored in the storage grooves  38  so that the entire assembly can be moved to a new location. This makes the device of the invention especially suitable for pet owners who travel with their pets. The bowl  32  is removable for easy cleaning. The main body components can be made of a variety of different materials, such as cement or wood, or various metals or plastics. The material used will in part depend upon the method of manufacture and cost considerations. 
         [0029]    Thus, the device of the invention provides a convenient, portable and inexpensive means for restraining a dog, cat or other animal within an area defined by the length of the leash  12 . Many people own pets, and with leash laws now existing in most metropolitan areas, it may be too costly to fence-in a yard. Most pets enjoy being outside, especially when the weather is nice. The present invention provides an inexpensive means for allowing the pet to stay outside but restrained while at the same time having water and food available. The device also allows a restrained pet ample room to move and exercise without the danger of the pet becoming entangled by the restraining leash. 
         [0030]    Having thus described the invention in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be evident to those skilled in the art, that various revisions can be made to the preferred embodiments as described herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is my intention, however, that all such revisions and modifications that are evident to those skilled in the art will be included within the scope of the following claims.