Abstract:
A harness is disclosed for holding and maintaining a protective sleeve in place on a dog&#39;s leg in order to protect a dressing or even just a wounded area on the leg.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to protective coverings designed to keep a dog from removing dressings on one or more of its legs. More particularly, it relates to fastening a sleeve surrounding the dog&#39;s injured limb to a harness with a member which connects the top of the sleeve to the harness and keeps it high on the dog&#39;s limb and close to the dog&#39;s body so that the animal cannot dislodge it. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A variety of harness systems have been designed for keeping a covering on a dog&#39;s legs. One such system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,817 (also shown in No. 4,744,333). Buckles are secured to the outside edges of socks on the dog&#39;s feet, and a suspender arrangement utilizing elastic ribbons threaded into the buckles is placed over the dog&#39;s shoulders and hindquarters. Design patents Nos. Des. 375,586 and Des. 376,448 disclose similar arrangements. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,765 a dog is shown wearing leg holsters with their outside edges fastened to an elongated back strap. There is also a chest strap fastened to the back strap which is passed below the animal. Similar sleeves and supporting members are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,240,882; 5,076,043; and 3,791,383, as well as United States Application No. 2008/0022945. 
         [0003]    Paw coverings for a cat are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,095 and United States Application No. 2008/0173258. A body jacket designed to restrict loose animal hair is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,383 with strategically placed snaps along the outside edges for joining leg coverings to the jacket. United States Application No. 2007/0163520 illustrates a diaper held onto a dog&#39;s hindquarters. A horizontal strap passing around the dog&#39;s chest is fastened to the diaper with a VELCRO® strip of material. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,383 recognizes the tendency of animals whose limbs have been wounded to gnaw, chew or otherwise get at the injury, and the patent emphasizes a need to prevent such animals from reaching the injury. The patents noted above illustrate various ways of holding sleeves on injured animal limbs for therapeutic purposes. And an elbow pad provided with extra padding, or a pocket for holding ice, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,457. 
         [0005]    Thus, several inventors have sought to solve the problem of preventing a dog (or a cat or other four legged pet) from displacing leg coverings, especially when the coverings are needed for therapeutic purposes. 
         [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a leg covering assembly which connects a protective sleeve with a harness on a dog&#39;s body at a point high on the dog&#39;s body and around the dog&#39;s injured limb so that the animal cannot dislodge it. 
         [0007]    It is a further object of this invention to connect the top of a protective sleeve member to a harness close to the junction of the dog&#39;s limb and trunk, and maintain it there. 
         [0008]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a means for connecting and holding a protective sleeve on a dog&#39;s leg in place and concomitantly allow the sleeve to be easily placed over the leg and adjusted to a secure and comfortable place on the animal. 
         [0009]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a connection member for attaching a protective sleeve over a dog&#39;s leg which can be easily moved to a desired position prior to having the sleeve engaged. 
         [0010]    These and other objects of the invention will become apparent after reading the description of the invention which follows. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    This invention is a harness system for holding a protective sleeve on an injured leg of a dog in place. The system includes a harness portion, at least one leg sleeve portion and a special connecting member between the harness and the sleeve. Together they comprise a cover assembly for protecting a dressing, or even just a wounded area, on the dog&#39;s leg. The connecting member surrounds the base of the injured leg, either a foreleg of a hind leg, and is held in place by adjacent portions of the harness. It is easily moved to a position next to the dog&#39;s body where the animal cannot dislodge it or the upper end of the sleeve attached to it 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a dog, shown in dotted lines, with the harness portion of a leg covering assembly arranged on the left side of the dog&#39;s body and holding sleeve portions of the assembly on the dog&#39;s left foreleg and on the dog&#39;s left hind leg. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a portion of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1  showing a connecting member arranged about the dog&#39;s left hind leg prior to a sleeve being attached to the connecting member. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a portion of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1  showing a connecting member arranged to be worn about the dog&#39;s left foreleg prior to a sleeve being attached to the connecting member. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view partially broken away of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1  arranged to be mounted on the dog&#39;s left side. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a dog&#39;s right side assembly of the harness system shown in  FIG. 1  prior to attachment of a sleeve portion over the dog&#39;s right hind leg. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view partly broken away of a portion of the assembly shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  4  arranged to be mounted over and support the assembly on the dog&#39;s hind quarters 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of the left foreleg sleeve portion of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1  prior to the foreleg sleeve portion being placed over the dog&#39;s leg and joined to the foreleg connecting member of the assembly. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of the left hind leg sleeve portion of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1  prior to the hind leg sleeve portion being placed over the dog&#39;s leg and joined to the hind leg connecting member of the assembly. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view of the left foreleg sleeve portion, partly broken away, of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1  and adding a sock covering the dog&#39;s front paw at the lower end of the sleeve. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a modified form of the left foreleg portion of the leg covering assembly shown in  FIGS. 6 and 8 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a plan view of a modified form of the connecting member in the assembly shown in  FIG. 2  configured for engaging the left foreleg portion shown in  FIG. 9 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    In  FIG. 1 , a dog  10 , shown in phantom, is illustrated wearing a protective cover assembly  12  which includes a harness portion  14 , a first sleeve portion  16  and a second sleeve portion  18 . A connecting member  20  for engaging the second sleeve portion  18  on the harness portion  14  is shown in  FIG. 1A  extending around the dog&#39;s left hind leg. A similar connecting member  22  is shown in  FIG. 2  for engaging the first sleeve portion  16  on the harness portion  14  around the dog&#39;s left foreleg. The harness portion  14  holds both sleeves,  16  and  18 , high on the dog&#39;s legs where they cannot be dislodged by the animal while the legs are bandaged and recovering from surgeries. An upper or first end portion  24  of the first sleeve  16  is held high on the dog&#39;s left foreleg adjacent the dog&#39;s left shoulder by a hook and loop fastener on the inner face of connecting member  22 , and an upper end portion  26  of the second sleeve  18  is held high over the dog&#39;s left hip by the hook and loop fastener on the inner face of connecting member  20 . 
         [0024]    The harness portion  14  of the protective cover assembly  12  is adjustable at several places, as will be described below, so that it can be securely fastened over the dog&#39;s body and continue to stay in place despite the dog&#39;s attempts to dislodge the sleeves. 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a vertical shoulder strap  28  for the dog&#39;s left foreleg extends over the dog&#39;s back at approximately the dog&#39;s shoulder. The strap  28  has a downwardly extending end portion  30  which may be looped through a first side of link  32  and fixed in place with complementary hook and loop fastener covered segments  34 . A belly portion  36  of strap  28  has an upper end portion  38  which is looped through a second side of link  32 . Upper end portion  38  may be fastened onto link  32  with complementary hook and loop fastener covered segments (not shown) or by stitching  40  (see  FIG. 2 ). A buckle segment  42  is attached to a loop in the lower end portion  44  of strap  28  with a moveable link  46 . The link  46  may be adjusted in order to vary the size of the loop and fix how far the buckle segment  42  may be extended on strap  28 . 
         [0026]    The vertical strap  28  extends over the dog&#39;s back and is fastened into a first side of link  48  adjacent the dog&#39;s right shoulder with complementary hook and loop fastener covered segments  50  (see  FIG. 4 ). A second belly portion  52  of strap  28  is looped through a second side of link  48  and fixed in place there by stitching  56 . A second buckle segment  58 , which locks onto the first buckle segment  42 , is attached to the lower end portion  54  of belly portion  52  opposite link  48 . The lower end portion is long enough to permit the second buckle segment  58  to be placed beneath the dog&#39;s belly and engage the first buckle segment  42  there. 
         [0027]    A second vertical strap  60  fits over the dog&#39;s back adjacent the animal&#39;s shoulders. Strap  60  is fastened at one end next to the animal&#39;s left shoulder with a loop around a first side of link  62 , fastened there with adjustably placed hook and loop fastener faced segments  64  (see  FIG. 2 ). Strap  60  is also adjustably fixed at its opposite end next to the animal&#39;s right shoulder with a loop through a first side of link  66  accomplished by complementary hook and loop fastener faced segments  68  (see  FIG. 4 ). Both links  62  and  66  are held in place by tabs which are stitched onto the harness  14 , link  62  by a short tab  70  of strap material with stitching  72 , and link  66  by a short tab  74  of strap material with stitching  76 . 
         [0028]    The vertical shoulder straps  28  and  60  are spaced apart on both sides of the dog&#39;s body. On the dog&#39;s left side, stitching  40  and stitching  72  are spaced apart along an upper horizontal upper strap  78  and its extension  78 A, and on the dog&#39;s right side stitching  56  and stitching  76  are similarly spaced apart along the horizontal upper strap  78 . The straps  28  and  60  are also kept from separating by a yoke  80  which is disposed on the straps above the animal&#39;s shoulders utilizing stitchings  82  and  84  on straps  28  and  60 , respectively. The strap  78  also passes around the dog&#39;s chest, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , and can be adjusted there to fit the animal by varying the attachment of hook and loop fastener faced segments  86  which are engaged in link  88  adjacent the dog&#39;s left shoulder. 
         [0029]    The sleeve portion of the cover assembly  12  is typified by sleeve portion  16  shown on the dog&#39;s left foreleg in  FIG. 1  and by itself in  FIG. 6 . Sleeve portion  16  includes a cuff member  92  which is arranged to fit the dog&#39;s leg near its paw and a leg covering member  94 , as seen in  FIG. 1 . The leg covering member  94  is large enough to loosely cover the dog&#39;s entire leg, including any bandage on a surgical area, and extends high up on the dog&#39;s left shoulder where it is joined to the harness portion  14  through connecting member  22  which is a flexible strip of material. The hook and loop fastener faced strip  96  is such a gripping and fastening member for joining the leg covering member  94  to harness portion  14 . The strip  96  is arranged around a distal edge of the inner face of the upper end portion  24  of sleeve portion  16 , and accomplishes a secure junction with the harness portion. A slit or gusset  100 , which form a flap that may be opened or closed with a hook and loop fastener faced panel  102  on the inside of sleeve portion  16  at the upper end  24 , intersects and expands or decreases the distal edge of sleeve portion  16  and assists when pulling sleeve portion  16  up around the dog&#39;s leg. The hook and loop fastener faced strip  96  of material fastened inside the upper end  24  of the sleeve portion  16  is a flexible strip of material which also enables the upper end  24  of the sleeve  16  to be fastened onto the harness portion  14  high on the dog&#39;s left shoulder above the dog&#39;s elbow where the dog cannot dislodge it. 
         [0030]    At times it may be desirable to cover the dog&#39;s paw with a sock  104 . When that happens, the sock  104  may be placed over the dog&#39;s paw and the sleeve portion  16  fully pulled down over the animal&#39;s leg as shown in  FIG. 8 . Cuff  92  holds the sock  104  upper end securely, either by an elastic weave of the cuff material or by cooperative hook and loop fastener strips inside the cuff and on the sock, and keeps the sock on the dog&#39;s leg. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the sock may be an integral portion of the sleeve at the lower end of the sleeve. 
         [0031]    The connecting member  22 , mounted on harness portion  14 , is shown in  FIG. 2 . Member  22  is preferably a circular strip of hook and loop fastener faced material with an open center  108 . The circular strip form of member  22  is interlaced onto harness portion  14  behind vertical straps  28  and  60 , and also onto horizontal upper strap extension  78 A. A first portion  106  of connecting member  22  extends below horizontal upper strap  78  and its extension  78 A and also forward of vertical shoulder strap  28 . There, aperture  108  allows the dog&#39;s left foreleg to be placed through the connecting member  22 , with first portion  106  of member  22  located behind the dog&#39;s leg adjacent to the dog&#39;s body but overlying strap  78 A and a trailing lower horizontal strap  110 . After the dog&#39;s left foreleg is put through the connecting member  22 , the first sleeve  16  is placed over the dog&#39;s left foreleg and is joined to connecting member  22  by pressing hook and loop fastener faced strip  96  onto the connecting member  22 . It should be noted that connecting member  22 , being a supple fabric, has a lower section which folds up behind the dog&#39;s left foreleg and brings the body side of sleeve portion  16  up between the base of the dog&#39;s leg and the dog&#39;s body when sleeve portion  16  is pulled up. 
         [0032]    When a sleeve portion is needed for protecting the dog&#39;s right foreleg, another hook and loop fastener faced connecting member like connecting member  22  is utilized, mounted on the right shoulder side of the harness  14  (see  FIG. 4 ). The connecting member for holding a sleeve on the dog&#39;s right foreleg is interlaced into the right side harness straps, as just described for connecting member  22  on the left side, and a sleeve placed over the dog&#39;s right foreleg and engaged on the connecting member in the same way as a sleeve  16  was described fastened over the left foreleg. 
         [0033]    While the protective cover assembly  12  may be used just to hold protective sleeves over one or both forelegs, additional straps, or traces, and sleeve portions besides those just described may be used to cover the dog&#39;s rear legs, with or without sleeves being applied to the animal&#39;s forelegs. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1-5 , the horizontal strap  78 A is provided with a link  112  at the strap&#39;s trailing end. An upper trailing strap  114  forming a dorsal support member includes a forward end where complementary hook and loop fastener segments  116  on the end of the strap are looped through one side of link  112 . The segments  116  may be attached together to form a larger or smaller loop and thus shorten or lengthen the distance covered by strap  114  along the dog&#39;s body. Similarly, lower trailing strap  110  forms a belly support member and is provided with complementary hook and loop fastener segments  120  at the strap&#39;s forward end for forming a loop in the strap through link  122 . A tab  124  is stitched to the lower end portion of strap  28  with stitching  126  to hold the link  122  at that point and enable connecting the lower trailing strap  110  to the vertical strap  28  along the left side of the animal&#39;s body. The upper and lower trailing straps  114  and  110  are thus connected to the chest strap  78  and can be adjusted to fit the dog&#39;s body comfortable and also form a secure fit. 
         [0034]    The left side upper and lower trailing straps  114  and  110 , respectively, extend rearwardly along the dog&#39;s body toward the dog&#39;s left hind leg where they are connected to the hook and loop fastener faced rear leg connecting member  20 . Connecting member  20  is generally oval in shape, and the rear ends of trailing straps  114  and  110  are joined to it along its forward side. 
         [0035]    A similar arrangement for disposing a right hind leg connecting member  130  on the dog&#39;s body and connecting it to the forward portions of the harness  14  is shown in  FIG. 4 . An upper link  132  is attached to the trailing end of upper strap  78  where a forward end of the upper trailing strap  134 , provided with adjustable complementary hook and loop fastener segments  136 , is looped through and held by link  132 . In addition, a tab  138  is fixed to the lower end  54  of strap  28  with stitching  140  in order to hold a link  142  to that strap, thereby enabling a forward end of a lower trailing strap  144 , provided with adjustable complementary hook and loop fastener segments  146 , to be fastened to link  142  by looping the complementary segments through the link. Connecting member  130 , like connecting member  20 , is generally oval in shape, and the rear ends of trailing straps  134  and  144  are joined to connecting member  130  along its forward side. 
         [0036]    Connecting members  20  and  130  are also adjustably joined to each other over the dog&#39;s back with rump straps  148  and  150  which form dorsal support members. As shown particularly in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , links  152  and  154  are joined to connecting member  130  with tabs  156  and  158 . Rump straps  148  and  150 , which each have one end joined to left rear leg connecting member  20 , have their other ends looped through links  152  and  154  by means of complementary adjustable hook and loop fastener segments  160  and  162 . 
         [0037]    The sleeve portions for the dog&#39;s hind legs are mirror images of each other, and the assembly connecting members for the front and hind legs are also quite similar. Accordingly, placement of only one sleeve portion over a hind leg needs to be described. Using the dog&#39;s left hind leg as an example, second sleeve portion  18  is brought over the dog&#39;s left hind leg and attached adjacent the dog&#39;s loin to connecting member  20  in much the same way as sleeve portion  16  is brought over the dog&#39;s left foreleg. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the dog&#39;s left hind leg is inserted into the central opening  164  in connecting member  20  (see  FIG. 3 ). Straps  148  and  150  are adjusted so that they hold connecting member  20  high on the dog&#39;s hip where it is difficult for the animal to reach. Then sleeve portion  18  is pulled up over the dog&#39;s left hind leg so that cuff  166  is disposed near the dog&#39;s paw (see  FIG. 1 ). The upper end of sleeve portion  18  includes a hook and loop fastener faced strip  168  arranged on the inner side of the sleeve portion where it will be engageable on a complementary hook and loop fastener faced portion of connecting member  20 . A hook and loop fastener faced slit  170  along the top of sleeve portion  18  may be opened to provide more of an opening at the upper end of sleeve portion  18  while bringing that sleeve portion up over the dog&#39;s hind leg. Thereafter, the slit may be closed when the sleeve portion  18  is in place. The hook and loop fastener faced strip  168  is then pressed into engagement with the connecting member  20 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0038]    In the modified form of sleeve  172  shown in  FIG. 9 , the sock segment and the sleeve segment are integrally connected as a single unit having a sock element  174  at the lower end  176  of sleeve portion  172  and an upper end sleeve segment  178 . Inside the upper end segment  178  of sleeve portion  172  there is a hook and loop fastener faced strip  180 , similar to the strip  96  shown in  FIG. 6 . The strip  180 , however, is elongated and somewhat oval or rectangular, and it conforms to and fits inside the distal edges of upper end sleeve segment  178 . Also, similarly to the slit or gusset  100  and hook and loop fastener  102  shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper end sleeve segment  178  shown in  FIG. 9  includes a slit or gusset  182  and a hook and loop fastener faced panel  184 . 
         [0039]    The hook and loop faced fastener strip  180  is also the same size and configuration as the elongated connecting member  186  shown in  FIG. 10 , and strip  180  can be easily fastened to the connecting member  186  by pressing the two together. Like connecting member  22 , connecting member  186  is substantially continuous and configured to be held in the harness portion  14  shown in  FIG. 2  in the same way as the connecting member  22  is mounted there. When connecting member  186  is so mounted, the hook and loop fastener faces of strip  180  and connecting member  186  can be registered with each other and the sleeve portion  172  fastened to the harness portion  14  by pressing the fastener faces together. 
         [0040]    Although particular forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, nevertheless, various modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, no limitation is intended by the foregoing description, and its full breadth is intended to be covered in the following claims.