Abstract:
A net pet barrier designed for installation behind the front or rear seat in a vehicle to keep pets off vehicle seats and in the back of the vehicle. Netting formed of micro-mesh material is attached to a pop-up wire frame which keeps the net from sagging and facilitates installation and removal. Adjustable side expansion panels allow installation of the barrier in vehicles of various sizes and configurations, from sedans to full-size SUVs.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Applicant claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/835,316, filed Aug. 3, 2006. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not applicable 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0004]    A Net Pet Barrier designed for installation behind the front or rear seat in a vehicle to keep pets off vehicle seats and in the back of the vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0005]    Excited pets can be very distracting to the driver and can be especially dangerous if the pet interferes with access to the vehicle pedals or interferes with steering the vehicle. Pet restraining devices have been devised to control pets while being transported in vehicles. One is a harness that is useful on larger animals and the other is a basket-like carrier for smaller animals. Bird dogs used for hunting are often loaded in a portable kennel or cage. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
       [0006]    Vehicle pet barriers exist that are assemblies of metal tubing that have “compression rods” that fit between the floorboard and headliner of a vehicle. Problems with these types of barriers are: high cost, heavy weight, large packaged size, difficulty of installation, and difficulty of uninstallation. 
         [0007]    Barriers also exist that are sections of netting with fasteners on the edges which attach to mating fasteners on a vehicle&#39;s interior. While these types of barriers are cheaper to manufacture, are lighter in weight and have smaller package size, there are some problems including: tendency to sag when installed; difficult to adjust to various size vehicles, thus requiring a multitude of sizes to fit all vehicles; difficult to return to its originally-packed size and configuration when uninstalled; the use of a fairly large netting material with large (1+-inch) hole size creates a large “pattern” which is distracting to drivers trying to see through it when it is installed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The net pet barrier we have devised comprises netting material fastened to a metal wire hoop, that pops open and folds down in three concentric circles. By fastening to this wire hoop, the netting is stretched tight when opened and will not sag. Also, when the wire frame is “closed”, the netting returns to its original packaged shape to stow easily in its included pouch. 
         [0009]    To allow the barrier to adjust to fit multiple vehicles, an “expansion panel” is included on the left and right sides of the barrier, outside the wire framed section. This expansion panel has a set of “grommet strips” running laterally from the outer edge of the netting. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention are annexed hereto, so that the invention may be better and more fully understood, in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a net pet barrier installed behind the back seat in a SUV; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a fragmentary elevational view of an expansion panel with grommet strips attached; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a fastener set for securing the barrier in a vehicle; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the wire frame, parts being broken away to show details of construction; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an elevational view of a pouch; and 
           [0016]      FIGS. 6-11  illustrate the barrier being folded for storage. 
       
    
    
       [0017]    Numeral references are employed to designate like parts throughout the various figures of the drawing. 
       DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    A preferred embodiment of the barrier comprises a storage pouch  10  containing a pet barrier  15  including a large netting section  20 , and a kit of fastener sets  40  each of which includes six circular fasteners  41 - 46  with cords  50  attached, six square fasteners  60  with adhesive backing, and six spring-loaded barrel locks  70 . It should be noted that only six of the fastener sets are needed to install the barrier  15 . Spare fastener sets may be stored in the storage pouch  10  or some other safe place. 
         [0019]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the large netting section  20  has a generally rectangular central section  20 C bounded by a wire frame  25  comprising a casing  27  which encloses a wire  26 , as best illustrated in Fig. ______ of the drawings. Casing  27 , extending around top, right, bottom and left edges  21 ,  22 ,  23  and  24  of central section  20 C, is formed by a folded strip of material to form an envelope of sorts for encasing a wire  26 , as will be hereinafter more fully explained. The folded strip is preferably sewn or can be welded around the periphery of the central section  20 C of netting section  20 . 
         [0020]    Side expansion panels  30  are secured to the wire frame  25  extending along the right edge  22  and left edge  24  of central section  20 C. A plurality of grommet strips  35 , each having horizontally spaced grommets  36  having holes  37  formed therein, are vertically spaced and extend generally horizontally across the right and left side panels  30 . A strip of edging, similar to casing  27 , extends around edges of side expansion panels  30 . 
         [0021]    Cords  50  preferably are provided with shoestring tips  51  on one outer end thereof, which can be of conventional plastic or metal design, can be attached to one end of the cordage. The opposite end of each cord  50  extends through an aperture formed in a circular fastener disk  40  or button. A disk of adhesive-backed reclosable flexible fastener material is bonded to the face of each circular disk  40 . Each of the square fasteners  60  has an adhesive backing connectable to the vehicle&#39;s interior. 
         [0022]    Reclosable adhesive-backed flexible fasteners consisting of continuous plastic strips with fields of mushroom-shaped plastic heads which tightly interlock when pressed together are commercially available under the registered trademark “Dual-Lock” from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, aka 3M, of Saint Paul, Minn. It should be appreciated that hook and loop fastener material may be used, such as material commercially available under the trademark “VELCRO” from Velcro Industries B.V. of Curacao, Netherlands. 
         [0023]    Barrel locks  70  have a body containing a plunger which can be pressed inwardly relative to the body against the resistance of an actuating spring, with the body and plunger having apertures through which a cord  50  or cords can extend and which have edges acting to grip the cords when the plunger is in a predetermined locking position. The apertures are desirably of oblong sectional shape, and the gripping edges of the plunger and body are preferably sharpened in a relation assuring effective clamping of the cord  50 . 
         [0024]    Barrier  15  is designed for installation behind the front or rear seat in all vehicles. The netting section  20  is attached to a wire frame  25  which “pops open” automatically. Care should be taken when removing the netting section  20  from the storage pouch  10 . 
         [0025]    In general, installation of barrier  15  consists of three steps: 
         [0026]    1) Adhere six of the square fasteners  60  with adhesive backing to the vehicle&#39;s interior; 
         [0027]    2) Attach six of the round fasteners  40  with cord  50 , extending through holes  37  in grommets  36  on grommet strips  35 , to the netting section  20 ; and 
         [0028]    3) Suspend netting section  20  by connecting the round fasteners  40  to the square fasteners  60 . 
         [0029]    The following instructions provide detail for each of the above steps. 
         [0030]    Step 1: The square fasteners  60  must be attached to the plastic covers on the vertical columns which separate the windows—three fasteners per side—either behind the front seat or behind the back seat. 
         [0031]    It is critical that the square fasteners  60  be attached to a super-clean surface. 
         [0032]    The approximate position to adhere the three square pieces  60  is: 1) at the highest point on the plastic cover, or about 5 inches below the headliner, whichever is lower; 2) eight inches below the first fastener  60 ; and 3) eight inches below the second fastener  60 . Vehicle dimensions vary widely; therefore, to determine the exact position to adhere the fasteners  60 , we recommend holding the netting section  20  in place by hand, centered in the vehicle and behind the seat, with the top of the wire frame  25  flush with the headliner. Now stretch the side panels  30  of the netting section out until they reach the plastic covers (this is easier with two people). Please note the netting section is large enough to fit the widest vehicles. Therefore, the side panels  30  might not extend fully before touching the plastic covers—this is normal for most vehicles! Make sure the side panels  30  are held such that the grommet strips  35  are in a level position. Starting on one side of the vehicle, mark with a pencil the location where each of the three grommet strips  35  touches the plastic cover. Add three marks on the other side of the vehicle that are “mirror images” of the first three marks (same height, same forward position). 
         [0033]    Around each of the six pencil marks, clean a 2-inch square area thoroughly with rubbing alcohol. Repeat this cleaning step three times to make sure the surface is ready. Working one at a time, peel the backing off the fasteners  60  and press firmly against the plastic where it has been cleaned. Once all six fasteners  60  are in place, wait overnight before installing the netting section  20 . Store the extra square fastener  60  in a safe place. 
         [0034]    Step 2 (next day): To attach the six round fasteners  40  to the netting section, thread the cord  50  from each fastener through the outermost grommet hole  37  on each of the six grommet strips  35 , and slip a spring-loaded barrel lock  70  onto each cord  50 . Store the extra round fastener and barrel lock  70  in a safe place. 
         [0035]    Step 3: Hold the netting section in place in the vehicle so the two pieces of “hook” tape  75  along the bottom of the wire frame  25  are facing toward the front. Press each of the round fasteners  40  against its respective square fastener  60  until all six fastener sets are connected. 
         [0036]    Most likely, it will be necessary to adjust the location of the barrel locks  70  on the fastener cords  50  to achieve the best fit. On narrower vehicles, the cords  50  might need to be threaded through two or more grommets  36  to get the best fit. In this case, the netting on the side panels  30  will gather in a fan-fold pattern when the barrel locks  70  are tightened. This keeps the material neat and out of the driver&#39;s vision. If necessary, excess cord  50  can be kept out of the way by tying it in a loose knot or bow. 
         [0037]    The hook tape strips  28  along the bottom of the wire frame  25  will adhere to most automotive carpet. Press the strips into the carpet on the back of the seats (if applicable) to further stabilize the barrier  15 . 
         [0038]    Once adjusted for the correct fit, the net pet barrier  15  can be uninstalled and reinstalled quickly and easily. To uninstall, carefully pull each of the round fasteners  40  off the square fasteners  60 , grab the short sides  22  and  24  of the Wire frame  25  with both hands, and twist (one hand clockwise, the other counter-clockwise) so the wire frame  25  will “fold” into three loops which align together. Slip the net  20  in this position into the provided pouch  10  for storage. To reinstall, carefully remove the “folded” net  20  from the pouch  10  taking care the wire frame  25  does not “pop open” unintentionally. Reposition the netting section  20  in the vehicle, press the round and square fasteners  60  together and adjust the barrel locks  70 , if necessary. 
         [0039]    Terms such as “horizontal,” “vertical,” “up,” and “down” When used in reference to the drawings, generally refer to the orientation of the parts in the illustrated embodiment and not necessarily in the described orientation during use. 
         [0040]    While preferred embodiments of the method and apparatus for forming a pet booster seat have been disclosed, it should be apparent that other and further embodiments may be devised without departing from the basic concepts of the invention. 
         [0041]    It is to be understood, that, while detailed descriptions of a preferred embodiment have been illustrated and described, the invention is not to be limited to the specific arrangement of parts and specific features herein described and illustrated in the drawing. Rather, the descriptions are merely of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.