Abstract:
A manually operated portable animal excrement collector is disclosed which facilitates the even collection of animal fecal matter from the ground. Variations of the disclosed tool comprise means for gathering, enclosing, and disposing of the fecal matter with a disposable receptacle detachably affixable to the elongated tool to prevent a human operator from having to clean the tool and interact with gathered fecal matter. The present invention discloses means of manually operating a lid hingedly connected to the detachable receptacle of the tool.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to waste collection, and more particularly relates to a portable device for gathering animal and/or pet excrement. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    The object of the present invention is to improve standard tools commonly available in the art for cleaning, or gathering, animal fecal matter, such as that of dogs from public park grounds. Traditional tools known in the art primarily comprise gripable, elongated clubs or rods with cup-like scoops for gathering excrement. 
         [0005]    The conventional tools are all meant to serve the mutual goals of gathering and transporting animal excrement to a final disposal locale. Unfortunately, traditional tools usually must be cleaned after use, and do not comprise disposable excrement receptacles. Traditional tools also do not normally enclose the gathered excrement during transport, thus exposing the operator carrying to the excrement, and others around the operator, to unpleasant sights and odors. 
         [0006]    Furthermore, traditional tools comprise cups which are pushed or dragged across the grounds in a manner which does not optimally gather all fecal matter deposited. The uneven pressure applied to fecal matter and the ground results in the fecal matter being smeared across the ground, and softer aggregate from the ground being deposited into the scoops affixed to traditional tools. 
         [0007]    None of the tools known in the art are designed to enclose gathered fecal matter during transport, with edges to optimally gather it, or with easily disposable receptacles eliminating the need to clean and expose an operator to the gathered fecal matter. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for a portable animal excrement collector. Beneficially, such a tool would overcome many of the difficulties with prior art by providing a tool capable of gathering, enclosing, transporting, and easily disposing animal fecal matter. 
         [0009]    The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available information management systems. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a portable animal excrement tool for applying gathering animal fecal matter, the tool comprising: an elongated shaft mounted between a cantilevered handle affixed to a proximal end of the shaft, the shaft affixed at an opposing distal end to bracket for detachably gripping a receptacle; the receptacle comprising a substantially cubic-shaped housing defining a hollow recess within, the receptacle comprising one open side, the hollow recess defined by five surfaces. 
         [0010]    The portable animal excrement tool further comprises a second cantilevered handle affixed to an inner shaft, the inner shaft partially slidably enclosed within the proximal end of the elongated shaft, the inner shaft traversing the shaft longitudinally; the bracket affixed to the distal end of the shaft for clasping the exterior of a receptacle, the bracket comprising a plurality of prongs affixed to a rear plate at approximately right angles, the rear plate affixed to a baseplate at approximately a right angle, the baseplate affixed to the shaft; and a first slide bar hingedly affixed at one end to the inner shaft, the first slide bar comprising an elongated rigid bar, the first slide bar affixed at an opposing end to a reversing lever. 
         [0011]    The portable animal excrement tool further comprises the reversing lever pivotably affixed at its mid-section to the shaft; a second slide bar hingedly affixed at one end to the reversing lever, the second slide bar affixed at an opposing end to a lid; and the lid hingedly connected above the open side of the receptacle, such that when the inner sleeve travels toward the distal end of the shaft, the lid is lifted open by the second slide bar affixed to the reversing lever  116 . 
         [0012]    In some embodiments, the receptacle further comprises notching along a lower edge of the open side. 
         [0013]    In further embodiments, the lid is snappably connectably to the receptacle. In still further embodiments, the lid comprises two male snap components for fastening the lid to a portion of the receptacle comprising two female snap components. 
         [0014]    The receptacle may further comprise groves for receiving the pluralilty of prongs. The receptacle may be transparent. The lid may further comprise a cantilevered lip detachably connected to the second slide bar. 
         [0015]    These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a rear lower perspective view of the receptacle of a portable animal excrement collector in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a front elevational perspective view of another embodiment of a portable animal excrement collector in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a rear lower perspective view of another embodiment of a portable animal excrement collector receptacle in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a front elevational perspective view of a portable animal excrement collector in accordance with the present invention; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a rear lower perspective view of a portable animal excrement collector in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
         [0023]    Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a front elevational perspective view of a portable animal excrement collector  100  in accordance with the present invention. The portable animal excrement collector  100 , in the shown embodiment, comprises a shaft  102 , a baseplate  104 , a receptacle  106 , a lid  108 , a handle  112   a , a handle  112   b , an inner sleeve  114 , a reversing lever  116 , a lever axis  118 , a slide bar  120   a , and a slide bar  120   b.    
         [0025]    The shaft  102  comprises an elongated, hollow, tube-like member, with a distal end connected to one or more handles  112 , and a proximal end connected to the baseplate  104  of a bracket. 
         [0026]    The shaft  102  may comprise a rod, beam, stick, i-beam, h-beam, c-beam or the like. The shaft  102  may be fabricated from steel, metal alloys, polymers, wood, aluminum, titanium, and the like. The shaft  102  may be from 0.5 meters to 5 meters in length. 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, the shaft  102  is telescopic and collapsible. In other embodiments, the shaft  102  is detachably connected to the handles  112  and/or to the bracket  202  and/or the baseplate  104 . In some embodiments, the shaft  102  is partitioned, or modularized, into sub-shaft members, like tent poles, which detachably connect to form the shaft  102 . 
         [0028]    The handle  112  comprises a rigid, cantilevered protrusion from the shaft  102  (cantilevered meaning that the handle  112  juts horizontally from the shaft  102  such that the handle  112  is oriented substantially orthogonally to the shaft  102 ). The handle  112  is capable of being gripped by the hand(s) of human operator. In some embodiments, the handle  112  comprises a polymer grip for improving the ergonomics of the handle  112 . In some embodiments, the handle  112  is affixed to the shaft  102  using means known to those of skill in the art, including screws, nails, clamps, glues, weldings, and the like. 
         [0029]    A bracket is affixed to the bottom, or distal end, of the shaft  102 . The bracket comprises a planar baseplate  104  affixed at its top plane orthogonally to the length of the shaft  102 . The baseplate  104  may be fabricated from metal, polymers, wood, aluminum, and the like. 
         [0030]    The bracket grips a receptacle  106 . The receptacle  106  comprises a box-like, or cubic-shaped, housing defining a recess within it for holding animal fecal matter. The receptacle  106  is a five-sided box with one open end. The receptacle  106 , in some embodiments, comprises two to three sidewalls, and/or a rear wall (i.e. back wall), a top, and bottom. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments, the receptacle  106  is disposable. The receptacle  106  slides in and out of the bracket. The receptacle  106  may be fabricated from paper, cardboard, aluminum, plastic, or any other material commonly known in the art to be beneficial in fabricating disposable containers. 
         [0032]    The receptacle  106  is hingedly connected at its top to a lid  108 . The lid  108  open and closes over the open side of the receptacle  106 . In its closed position, the lid  108  encloses fecal matter within the receptacle, ensuring that it is not smelled or seen by the human operator porting the portable animal excrement tool  100 . 
         [0033]    In the shown embodiment, an inner sleeve  114  is slidably inserted into the proximal end of the shaft  102 . The inner sleeve is partially extruded from the proximal end of the shaft  102 . The extruded end of the inner shaft  114  is affixed to a second cantilevered handle  112   a.    
         [0034]    Inside the shaft  102 , the end of the inner sleeve  114  not affixed to the handle  112   a  is affixed to either the slide bar  114   a , or the cylinder  122 . 
         [0035]    The cylinder  122  is affixed to the distal end of the inner sleeve  114 . The cylinder  122  wraps around the shaft  102  and moves longitudinally up and down the shaft  102  as the handle  112   a  is inserted and withdrawn from the proximal end of the shaft  102 . 
         [0036]    The handle  112   a  and handle  112   b  are meant to be gripped together with a single hand. When gripped, and pushed together, the handle  112   a  slides the inner sleeve  114  further into the shaft  102  (the “closed” handle position). When the handles  112   a - b  are not pushed together, the tool  400  is in its “open” position. 
         [0037]    In other embodiments, the handles  112   a - b  may not be cantilevered to the shaft  102 . The handles  112   a - b  may parallel the shaft  102 , or comprise rubber grips surrounding the shaft  102 . 
         [0038]    In some embodiments, the inner shaft  114  is biased toward the open position with a spring disposed within the shaft  102  between the distal end of the shaft  102  and the distal end of the inner sleeve  114 . In some embodiments, the inner sleeve  114  is flexible such that curves after exiting the shaft  102  to meet the handle  112   b.    
         [0039]    The first slide bar  120   a  is hingedly affixed, in some embodiments, to one end to the inner shaft  114 . The first slide bar  120   a  comprises an elongated rigid bar. The first slide bar  120   a  may be affixed at an opposing end to a reversing lever. 
         [0040]    The reversing lever  116  is pivotably affixed at its mid-section to the shaft. The second slide bar  120   b  is hingedly affixed at one end to the reversing lever  116 , the second slide bar  120   b  is affixed at an opposing end to the lid  108 . 
         [0041]    The lid  108  is hingedly connected above the open side of the receptacle  106 , such that when the inner sleeve  114  travels toward the distal end of the shaft  102 , the lid  108  is lifted open by the second slide bar  120   b , which is affixed to the reversing lever  116 . 
         [0042]    The lid  108 , in the shown embodiment, comprises a substantially planar rectangular member which encloses the open end of the receptacle  106 . The lid  108  is affixed to a cantilevered lip jutting orthogonally from the top of the lid away from the receptacle  106 . The cantilevered lip is detachably affixed to one of the slide bar  120   b  and a rope, such that when the slide bar  120   b  is forced upward, the lid  108  is hingedly forced away from the receptacle  106  such that the open end of the receptacle  106  is open. 
         [0043]    In some embodiments of the present invention, the lid  108  is snapped with a snap fastener to the receptacle  166  (e.g. the lid is “snappable”). In these embodiments the lid  108  comprises two male snap members which engage alternative sides of the butt hinge  304 , which butt hinge  304  is affixed to, and forms part of, the receptacle  106 . In other embodiments, the lid  108  comprises two female snap members which receive corresponding male snap members affixed to opposing ends of the butt hinge  304 . 
         [0044]    The lid  108  may be formed from cardboard or polymers. In some embodiments, the lid  108  is formed from a transparent polymer material so that a human operator can see if the receptacle  106  is full. 
         [0045]    The cylinder  122  is hingedly connected to the slide bar  120 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 2  is a rear lower perspective view of a portable animal excrement collector  200  in accordance with the present invention. The portable animal excrement collector  200 , in the shown embodiment, comprises a shaft  102 , a bracket  202 , a receptacle  106 , a lid  108 , a handle  112   a , a handle  112   b , an inner sleeve  114 , a reversing lever  116 , a lever axis  118 , a slide bar  120   a , and a slide bar  120   b.    
         [0047]    Each of the components  102 - 120   b ,  202  are substantially described above in relation to  FIG. 1 . 
         [0048]    The bracket  202 , also described above, comprises the baseplate  104 , and one or more prongs  204 . The prong(s)  204  project from a rear plate affixed to the baseplate  104 . The prongs  204  are affixed to the rear plate at approximately a right angle (70-402 degrees), and the rear plate is affixed to the baseplate at approximately a right angle. 
         [0049]    Because of the shown configuration of the bracket  202 , the prongs  204  and the baseplate  104  are essentially parallel and serve collectively to grip the receptacle  106  when the receptacle  106  is slid into place within the bracket  202 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 3  is a rear lower perspective view of the receptacle  106  of a portable animal excrement collector in accordance with the present invention. The receptacle  106 , in the shown embodiment, comprises four grooves  302   a - d , a butt hinge  304 , a sidewall  306   b , a back wall  308 , and a top  310 . 
         [0051]    The receptacle  106  is described above in relation to  FIGS. 1-2 . As shown, the receptacle  106  comprises a top  310 , shown with two grooves  302   c - d  running from the back wall  308 . The grooves  302   c - d  receive protrusions affixed to the bottom of the baseplate  104 . The grooves  302   a - d  serve as tracks for the protrusions descending from the baseplate  104  and for the prongs  204 . 
         [0052]    In the shown embodiment, the open edge of the top  310  is affixed to a cydrical tube running the length of the open edge. This cylindrical tube comprises part of a butt hinge  304  used for hingedly attaching the lid  108  to the receptacle  106 . 
         [0053]    In many embodiments of the present invention, the lid  108  is detachably and hingedly affixed to the receptacle  106 . 
         [0054]    The some embodiments, the lower edge of the open side may be notched to improve the scooping efficiency of the receptacle  106 . 
         [0055]      FIG. 4  is a front elevational perspective view of another embodiment of a portable animal excrement collector  400  in accordance with the present invention. The portable animal excrement collector  400 , in the shown embodiment, comprises a shaft  102 , a baseplate  104 , a receptacle  106 , a lid  108 , a clamp  402 , and a handle  112 . 
         [0056]    Each of the shaft  102 , the bracket  202 , the receptacle  106 , the lid  108 , the baseplate  104 , and the handle  112  are substantially described above in relation to  FIGS. 1-3 . 
         [0057]    The clamp  402 , in some embodiments, comprises a pipe clamp affixed to a cylinder oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shaft  102 . 
         [0058]    In some embodiments, a rope, string, cable, or tube is strung from the lid  108 , through the clamp  402 , to the handle  112 . When the rope is pulled by a human operator, the lid  108  is opened for scooping up fecal matter into the receptacle  106 . Other methods of activating the lid  108  are disclosed below in relation to subsequent figures. 
         [0059]      FIG. 5  is a rear lower perspective view of another embodiment of a portable animal excrement collector in accordance with the present invention. The portable animal excrement collector  500 , in the shown embodiment, comprises a shaft  102 , a bracket  202 , a receptacle  106 , a lid  108 , a clamp  402 , and a handle  112 . 
         [0060]    Each of the shaft  102 , the bracket  202 , the receptacle  106 , the lid  108 , the clamp  402 , and the handle  112  are substantially described above in relation to  FIGS. 1-4 . 
         [0061]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.