Abstract:
A dog training collar provides aversion training without requiring the use of a conventional pinch collar structure. The dog training collar has a series of spikes mounted on the inner side of the collar diametrically opposite the position of the buckle of the collar when mounted on a canine. The spikes are formed as truncated cones of plastic that have a rounded apex so as not to injure the canine during utilization. The spikes can be formed as pairs mounted on a base that is positioned on the interior of the collar with the spikes projecting through openings on the inner side of the collar. The rounded apex on the cones allows the collar to be worn comfortably until the leash is pulled to engage the spikes into the neck of the canine being trained. The exterior of the collar has the look of a standard flat buckle dog collar.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims domestic priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/188,260, filed on Jul. 2, 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a dog collar for use to train a canine, and more particularly, to a dog training collar having non-penetrating cone-shaped spikes to press against the neck of the animal. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Dog collars have been used in different configurations to train canines for many years. Some of the more simpler dog collars are choke collars in which one end of the collar slidably receives the body of the collar and the lead is attached to the free end of the collar such that pulling the lead (leash) results in the canine being choked to control the movement of the animal, similar to the dog collar disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,701, granted on Feb. 15, 2011, to Barbara Gordon. Similarly, the dog control apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,274, granted to John Moynihan on Sep. 28, 2004, incorporates a slip lead mechanism engaged with the dog&#39;s muzzle that results in lowering the dog&#39;s head when tension is applied. Other dog collars have been sold as training devices, but few have been effective in making a significant change in the behavior of the animal. Some such dog collars are focused on a more passive approach to training the animal and are devoid of any corrective qualities or attributes. 
     One popular dog training collar incorporating traditional structure for changing canine behavior is often referred to as a pinch or prong collar. The pinch collar is generally an all-metal collar and often draws criticism because of the appearance of the collar. The pinch collar is often referred to as looking like a medieval torture device because of the large protruding prongs on the inside surface of the training collar. The pinch collar has other drawbacks in that the links of the all metal dog collar can be difficult to remove and reconnect, which is attributable in at least part to the inflexible properties of the metal from which the pinch collar is constructed. However, such collars do create an aversion in the animal that results in long lasting changes in canine behavior. 
     One alternative to the pinch collar is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 8,356,579, granted to Don Sullivan on Jan. 22, 2013, in which the respective links of the pinch collar are pivotally interconnected and incorporate a releasable fastener that connects adjacent collar links. In the Sullivan pinch collar, the number of links can be adjusted to provide a better fit for differently sized dogs. Nevertheless, the V-shaped prongs  24 ,  26  on each respective link of the dog collar retain the distinctive appearance that is often found to be displeasing to dog owners. 
     Other dog collar devices incorporate a higher level of technology by incorporating electronics that emit a noise or a deliver an electrical shock in response to input from either the dog or the owner. One such collar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,293, granted on May 13, 1980, to Gerald Gonda, et al, which can emit a sound or provide an electrical shock to the animal in response to the dog barking. Similar approaches are used in invisible fences for dogs in which the dog wears a shock collar that delivers an electrical shock to the dog&#39;s neck whenever the animal gets too close to a wire buried in the ground to define the territory in which the canine is free to move about. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a training dog collar that would be effective in providing an aversive for a canine without utilizing the conventional pinch collar. It would also be desirable to provide an effective training dog collar that is easy to apply to the animal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a training dog collar that allows the use of aversive training for a canine without utilizing a conventional pinch collar structure. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide a dog training collar that includes cones positioned on the inside of the collar for pressing against the neck of the dog during training activities. 
     It is a feature of this invention that the cones located on the inside of the dog collar are truncated. 
     It is an advantage of this invention that the truncated cones do not injure the dog during utilization for aversive training sessions. 
     It is another feature of this invention that the cones are formed in pairs and positioned internally of the collar structure to project therefrom through openings in the inside portion of the dog training collar. 
     It is another advantage of this invention that the cones will rest gently against the neck of the dog until pressure is applied by the trainer or handler via pulling on the leash to provide aversive training. 
     It is still another advantage of this invention that pulling on the leash connected to the training dog collar enables the trainer or handler to utilize force to train a dog without requiring significant physical effort on behalf of the trainer or handler. 
     It is still another feature of this invention that the cones can be formed of a plastic material, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), into a conical shape. 
     It is yet another feature of this invention that the cones are formed with a base positioned at the inner side of the collar with the apex of the cones spaced away from the inner side of the collar so as to press into the neck of the animal when desired. 
     It is yet another advantage of this invention that the rounded apex of each cone is not sharp so as to cause discomfort to the canine. 
     It is a further advantage of this invention that the canine can wear the dog training collar without discomfort unless the leash is pulled to apply pressure from the collar onto the neck of the canine. 
     It is a further feature of this invention that the cones are positioned on the inner side of the dog training collar at a position diametrically opposite the buckle of the dog training collar and extend approximately 90 degrees to both sides of the collar so that the cones engage the throat and sides of the neck of the canine. 
     It is still another advantage of this invention that the training dog collar has the appearance of a standard flat buckle dog collar, as the outer side of the training dog collar has a conventional dog collar appearance. 
     It is still another object of this invention to provide a dog training collar which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use. 
     These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a dog training collar that provides aversion training without requiring the use of a conventional pinch collar structure. The dog training collar has a series of spikes mounted on the inner side of the collar diametrically opposite the position of the buckle of the collar when mounted on a canine. The spikes are formed as truncated cones of plastic that have a rounded apex so as not to injure the canine during utilization. The spikes can be formed as pairs mounted on a base that is positioned on the interior of the collar with the spikes projecting through openings on the inner side of the collar. The rounded apex on the cones allows the collar to be worn comfortably until the leash is pulled to engage the spikes into the neck of the canine being trained. The exterior of the collar has the look of a conventional, standard flat buckle dog collar. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description that follows, in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a upper perspective rear view of a training dog collar incorporating the principles of the instant invention, the dog collar being shown in an assembled configuration, as though being fastened on a canine; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the training dog collar shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the training dog collar unfastened and stretched out into a linear format, the inside surface normally against the body of the canine being shown on the upper surface of the dog collar; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the training dog collar looking orthogonally to the perspective view shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of the inner side of an alternate configuration of a dog training collar incorporating the principles of the instant invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the dog training collar depicted in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged partial top plan view of the inner side of the dog training collar shown in  FIG. 5  with a portion of the inner side of the collar being broken away to shown the structure of the spikes; 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged side elevational view of the preferred configuration of the spike structure with a pair of conical spikes being mounted on a base member that is confined within the interior of a dog training collar incorporating the principles of the instant invention; 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged perspective view of the spike structure shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged top plan view of an alternative spike structure; 
         FIG. 11  is an enlarged side elevational view of the spike structure depicted in  FIG. 10  with dashed hidden lines that depict a hollow interior of the respective spike members; 
         FIG. 12  is an enlarged end elevational view of the spike structure shown in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 13  is an enlarged perspective view of the spike structure shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a top plan view of an alternative dog training collar incorporating the principles of the instant invention; and 
         FIG. 15  is an enlarged top plan view of the spike structure utilized within the dog training collar shown in  FIG. 14 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, a training dog collar  10  incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. The training dog collar  10  has an inner side  12  that is placed against the neck of the canine on which the dog collar  10  is to be fastened and an outer side  13  that is the opposing side of the dog collar  10  that is facing outwardly from the animal. The training dog collar  10  has a standard flat buckle  15  cooperable with the distal end  19  of the body of the dog collar to fasten the dog collar  10  around the neck of the canine in a conventional manner. 
     The inner side  12  is inlayed with multiple plastic, non-penetrating, cone-shaped spikes  20  that project toward the neck of the canine wearing the training dog collar  10 . The spikes  20  will rest gently against the neck of the dog until pressure is applied by the trainer or handler by pulling on the leash (not shown) which is typically attached to the bale  17  adjacent the buckle  15 . When the bale  17  is attached to the leash which is being held by the trainer or handler, the buckle  15  and bale  17  are located on the back of the neck of the dog, thus positioning the spikes  20  around the lower portion and sides of the animal&#39;s neck. Thus, from the perspective of the public, the training dog collar  10  has the same general appearance of a standard flat buckle dog collar. 
     Pulling on the leash (not shown) connected to the training dog collar  10  enables the trainer or handler to utilize compulsion, which is the act of using force to train a dog, without as much physical effort on behalf of the trainer or handler as is normally required with other collars, including the pinch collar, or harnesses. Applying the training dog collar  10  to the canine is as simple as placing a flat buckle collar onto the canine. The nature of the training dog collar  10  allows the canine to wear the dog collar  10  even when not being trained or supervised. The training dog collar  10  has no protruding parts that can be hooked on environmental structures, such as a crate, fence, carpet or gate. The adjustment in size of the training dog collar  10  is done the same as is done for simple flat buckle collars, which is to fit the collar  10  around the neck of the dog and passing the distal end  19  through the flat buckle  15  and inserting the catch  16  into the appropriate one of the holes  14  proximate to the distal end  19 . 
     A slightly different configuration of the dog training collar  10  is depicted in  FIGS. 5-7  wherein the spike structures  20  are supported within the interior of the collar  10  in closer proximity than the spikes  20  shown in the first embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 1-4 . In this configuration, the spike structures  20  are mounted internally of the collar structure  10  between an outer layer  13  and an inner layer  12  which can then be secured together in a number of ways, as described in greater detail below. Alternatively, the spike structures  20  can be fastened to the inner side of a single layer of dog collar  10  to provide an effective configuration. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the spikes  20  are preferably formed of a plastic material, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC) and are formed in a conical shape with the base  22  of the cone positioned at the inner side  12  of the collar  10  with the apex  25  spaced away from the inner side  12  so as to press into the neck of the animal on which the dog collar  10  is fastened. The apex  25  is rounded with a radius so as not to be sharp and cause discomfort to the canine. Accordingly, the canine can wear the dog collar  10  without discomfort unless the lead (leash) is pulled to apply pressure from the collar  10  onto the neck of the canine. The spikes  20  are preferably mounted in pairs, as is seen in  FIGS. 9-15 , to provide stability for the mounting of the spikes  20  within the collar  10 ; however, the spikes  20  can be mounted on the inner side  12  in spaced singles as well. Preferably, the spikes  20  are integrally formed with the support base  30  which is a flat generally rectangular member extending around the base of the spikes  20 . 
     Preferably, the area of the inner side  12  of the collar  10  on which the spikes  20  are mounted is located diametrically opposite the buckle  15  and extend approximately  90  degrees to both sides of the collar  10  (diametrically opposite being defined with respect to the mounting of the dog collar  12  on the canine so that the spikes  20  engage the throat and sides of the neck of the canine). Even when pressure is applied to the collar  10  by pulling on the leash, the spikes  20  are not configured to cause injury to the canine. The rounded apex  25  of each spike  20  exerts some pain to the canine without causing injury so that the aversion technique of training can be utilized effectively. Thus, the spikes  20  will rest gently against the neck of the canine giving the handler or trainer the ability to efficiently utilize compulsion, i.e. the act of using force to train a dog, without much physical effort and without injury to the animal. 
     More specifically, the conical spikes  20 , as depicted in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , can be formed to have a height of 0.8 inches from the apex  25  to the bottom of the support base  30  with the base having a thickness of approximately 0.075 inches, a width of approximately 0.75 inches and a length of about 1.5 inches. The apexes  25  of each pair of spikes  20  can be formed to be approximately 0.75 inches apart with each apex having a diameter of approximately 0.0355 inches rounded with a radius of about 0.0125 inches. With the base  22  of the spike  20  having a diameter of approximately 0.4 inch the sides of the conical spikes  20  would project upwardly from the support base  30  at an angle of approximately 72.6 degrees. The spikes  20  can be hollow, as is depicted in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , to provide some flexibility in application. More particularly, the plastic spikes  20  can be easily modified at the discretion of the end user by clipping the tip of the spike  20  with sheers or scissors, and/or by sanding the tip  25  with sand paper to provide a less intense sensation to the dog wearing the collar  10 . 
     An alternative configuration of the spikes  20  can be seen in  FIGS. 10-13 . As noted above, the spike members  20  can be modified at the tip or apex  25  at the discretion of the user, and to accommodate such modification, the tip  25  of the spike  20  is provided with sufficient material that can be removed without exposing the hollow core  27 . In the configuration of the spikes  20  shown in  FIGS. 10-13 , each respective spike  20  is supported on top of a base collar  29  that elevates the cone above the support base  30  a distance preferably corresponding to the thickness of the material overlying the support base  30  to form the dog training collar  10 . The base collar  29  defines perpendicular surfaces for the spike structure  20  to keep the spikes  20  within the structure of the dog training collar  10 . As with the configuration of the spikes  20  shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the base  22  of the conical spike  20  is rounded to present a curved surface to the material forming the inner side  12  of the dog training collar  10  to lessen the stresses applied to the material of the inner side  12  and the associated risk of tearing the material. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 14 and 15 , an alternative configuration of the dog training collar  10  can best be seen. The dog training collar  10  shown in  FIG. 14  is preferably used with large breed dogs and is preferably about two inches wide. The spikes  20  are formed as two pairs on the support base  30  to span the width of the dog training collar  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 10-13 , the spikes  20  are preferably formed as hollow members with a base collar  29  elevating the conical spikes  20  above the support base  30  the general thickness of the collar material. 
     The spike members  20  are preferably formed by injection molding with the mold permitting the hollow structure of the individual spikes  20  that projects through the support base  30  and is open through the support base  30 . This hollow configuration for the spikes  20  enables the spikes  20  to have less weight, which reflects on the overall weight of the dog training collar  10 . Furthermore, the support base  30  is formed with rounded corners  32  that lessen the stresses imposed on the material forming the inner side  12  of the dog training collar  10  and helps maintain integrity of the collar  10  during usage. 
     The dog collar  10  made according to the principles of the instant invention provides an effective training collar that has the appearance of a standard flat buckle dog collar, as the outer side  13  of the collar has a conventional, standard flat buckle dog collar appearance. The spikes  20  are simple, but very effective while maintaining a humane approach to training a dog through the aversion technique. The spikes  20  are non-penetrating but still deliver the aversive sensation to the animal. The training dog collar  10  can be left on the animal even when not being trained as the collar  10  has no parts that will be caught on exterior structures, as is found on conventional pinch collars. Further, the collar  10  can be left on the animal even when the animal is crated without fear of the collar causing damage to the canine. 
     The body of the collar  10  can be formed of any conventional material found on standard flat buckle dog collars, including nylon, leather, canvas, plastic, rubber, and other typical materials. The spikes  20  can be secured to the body of the collar  10  in a number of different ways, including fasteners, adhesives, or even integrally molded. Preferably, the spikes  20  are inlaid through the collar  10  to project from the inner side  12 . Accordingly, the training collar  10  can be made in distinctive colors, fashion styles and from multiple textiles. The training collar  10  can be formed in multiple sizes to properly fit differently sized canines from small to large in size. 
     It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.