Abstract:
An animal exercise device and animal exercise apparatus provide a beam of collimated light whose impingement on a surface can be chased by a cat for beneficial. The animal exercise device can be mounted upon an elongated wand to form the animal exercise apparatus. The animal exercise device includes a strap that is extendable around the wand or another device, and this enables the illuminated animal exercise device to be mounted to the wand or such other device to enable the impingement of the collimated light to be moved to interest and exercise the cat

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The instant application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/951,161 filed Mar. 11, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to animal-related devices, and more particularly, to an illuminated animal exercise device and animal exercise apparatus. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    Numerous types of animal toys and exercise-related devices are known to exist. It is known to be desirable for animals to exercise for reasons of health and for other reasons. Animals become highly motivated to exercise when the exercise involves play or other interaction with humans. In some animals, such as certain dogs, a retrieval instinct will cause the animal to fetch and retrieve a thrown ball, stick, etc., which will cause the animal to engage in beneficial exercise. 
         [0006]    Certain animals, however, such as cats, do not have an innate retrieving instinct and thus will not engage meaningfully in a game of “fetch”. It is known, however, that cats possess other natural instincts. For example, a cat&#39;s defensive instincts will cause the cat to investigate certain sounds that may be heard inside the household. Moreover, cats possess a visual and auditory chase instinct, and cats sometimes prefer to indulge the chase instinct more than the actual catching of the prey. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    An improved animal exercise device and animal exercise apparatus provide a beam of collimated light whose impingement on a surface can be chased by a cat for beneficial. The animal exercise device can be mounted upon an elongated wand to form the animal exercise apparatus. The animal exercise device includes a strap that is extendable around the wand or another device, and this enables the illuminated animal exercise device to be mounted to the wand or such other device to enable the impingement of the collimated light to be moved to interest and exercise the cat. 
         [0008]    Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosed and claimed concept is to provide an improved illuminated animal exercise device that is usable to gain the interest of an animal and to thereby induce the animal to exercise by chasing an impingement of light that moves along a surface. 
         [0009]    Another aspect of the disclosed and claimed concept is to provide such an illuminated animal exercise device that is attachable to other devices to form an illuminated animal exercise apparatus. 
         [0010]    Other aspects of the disclosed and claimed concept are provided by an improved animal exercise device that can be generally said to include a support, a light source situated on the support, the light source being structured to output collimated light, and the support comprising a base and a strap, the light source being situated on the base, a first portion of the strap having a first connection with the base, the strap being structured to be extendable around another object and to make a second connection with the base and to attach the light source to such other object. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    A further understanding of the disclosed and claimed concept can be gained from the following Description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an improved illuminated animal exercise device in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept situated in proximity to a wand; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1 , except depicting the animal exercise device being affixed to the wand to form an improved animal exercise apparatus in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is another perspective view similar to  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is another perspective view similar to  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of a beam of collimated light from the animal exercise device impinging on a wall; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the animal exercise device; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is another perspective view of the animal exercise device. 
       
    
    
       [0019]    Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification. 
       DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    An improved animal exercise device  4  is depicted in  FIGS. 6 and 7  and is configured to selectively output a beam of collimated light  16  ( FIG. 5 ) that is usable with an animal to induce exercise, play, etc. with the animal. More particularly, when the beam of collimated light  16  is directed onto a surface  22  such as a floor or a wall, the animal desirably will visually notice and observe an impingement  26  of the beam of collimated light  16  on the floor or other surface  22  as being a circle or dot (or other shape) of light. The animal&#39;s natural chase instinct will cause the animal to touch the light impingement  26  in order to try to catch it. As the user moves the animal exercise device  4 , the position of the impingement  26  is likewise caused to move, which further heightens the interest of the animal in the light impingement  26 . As the animal continues to chase the light impingement  26 , the animal is exercised and its natural chase instinct is likewise indulged. 
         [0021]    If, during such chase, the animal moves into the beam of collimated light  16  and thus interrupts its impingement  26  onto the wall or floor, the impingement  26  will appear to the animal to have vanished. The impingement  26  will eventually reappear once the animal no longer interrupts the impingement  26 . Such disappearance and reappearance of the impingement  26  further increases the interest of the animal in the impingement  26 . 
         [0022]    The animal exercise device  4  is usable on its own but is also usable in conjunction with another object which, in the depicted exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1-5 , is an elongated wand  68 . The animal exercise device  4  being mounted to the wand  68  forms an improved animal exercise apparatus  64  that is likewise in conjunction with the disclosed and claimed concept. One version of the exemplary elongated wand  68  that is depicted in  FIG. 5  is collapsibly movable between a collapsed position and an extended position (depicted). It is understood, however, that the animal exercise apparatus  64  in other embodiments could employ the animal exercise device  4  in a condition attached to any of a wide variety of objects to form another such animal exercise apparatus. Such objects are preferably movable to enable the impingement  26  to be movable to heighten the animal&#39;s interest. 
         [0023]    The animal exercise device  4  can be said to include a support  8  and a light source  12 , with the light source  12  being situated on the support  8 . As suggested above, the light source  12  is configured to output the beam of collimated light  16 , which is a beam of electromagnetic energy having minimal divergence and whose impingement  26  on a surface  22  of another object is visible, either to a human or to an animal The beam of collimated light  16  thus is generally in the form of a beam of laser light, but in the depicted exemplary embodiment the light source  12  employs extremely bright light emitting diodes (LEDs) since true lasers are regulated under governmental authority. 
         [0024]    The light source  12  is an off-the-shelf unit that can be purchased from any of a wide variety of manufacturers and that is operated by a battery. The light source  12  additionally includes a pushbutton switch  14  to change the light source  12  between an ON condition and an OFF condition. While the beam of collimated light  16  is described herein as being minimally divergent, it is understood that any non-divergent beam of light can be referred to as being a beam of collimated light regardless of the method in which the beam of light is made essentially non-divergent. 
         [0025]    The support  8  can be generally said to include a base  20  and a strap  24 , with a first portion of the strap  24  having a first connection  32  with the base  20 . The strap  24  extends generally away from the base  20  and has a free end  52  opposite the first connection  32 . In the depicted exemplary embodiment, the support  8 , and especially the strap  24 , is formed of an elastomeric material whereby the strap  24  is flexible and elastic. 
         [0026]    The base  20  can be said to include a hollow sleeve  56  having an interior region  60  within which the light source  12  is situated. The base  20  further includes a connector  44  that is situated on the sleeve  56  at an exterior thereof and that is cooperable with the free end  52  of the strap  24 . More specifically, the exemplary connector  44  is in the form of a protrusion that protrudes outwardly from the sleeve  56  and which includes a ledge  72 . 
         [0027]    The strap  24  includes a pair of legs  74 A and  74 B and further includes at its free end  52  a lug  76 . In the depicted exemplary embodiment, the lug  76  extends between and is interposed between the free ends of the pair of legs  74 A and  74 B. The lug  76  is engageable with the ledge  72  to cause the strap  24  to make a second connection  40  with the base  20 . The ends of the pair of legs  74 A and  74 B opposite the lug  76  form the first connection  32  with the base  20 . It is understood that other types of attachment devices can be employed to cause the strap  24  to make the second connection  40  with the base  20 . Moreover, it understood that other attachment methodologies may be employed to affix the light source  12  to another object, and such other attachment methodologies would be considered to be within the spirit of the present concept. 
         [0028]    When the free end  52  of the strap  24  is connected with the ledge  72  to make the second connection  40  between the ledge  72  and the lug  76 , the strap  24  is in a state of elastic tension. That is, the strap  24  is of a length whereby it can be wrapped or extended about any of a variety of objects and, in so doing, will need to be elastically stretched in order to make the second connection  40 . Such tension in the strap  24  results in radially-oriented compressive forces  48  being applied by the strap  24  to the other object such as the elongated wand  68 , and such compressive forces  48  result in friction between the strap  24  and the wand  68  which retains the animal exercise device  4  on the wand  68 . Moreover, since the strap  24  is formed of an elastic material such as a rubber-like material, the material of the strap  24  and the elongated wand  68  (or other structure) have a high coefficient of static friction therebetween, which further helps to retain the animal exercise device  4  on the wand  68  or other structure. 
         [0029]    As can be understood from  FIG. 5 , the wand  68  includes a handle  80  at a first end thereof. The animal exercise device  4  is depicted as being attached to the wand  68  generally at another end that is opposite the handle  80 . The animal exercise device  4  can be installed on the wand  68  at any location thereon and, as set forth above, can be mounted to any of a variety of other objects by wrapping the strap  24  around the wand  68  or such other object and by connecting the lug  76  with the ledge  72  (which can together be said to faun the connector  44 ) to make the second connection  40 . 
         [0030]    In the depicted exemplary embodiment, the animal exercise device  4  can be switched to its ON condition whereby it outputs the beam of collimated light  16  in both the extended and collapsed configurations of the handle  80 . Other variations of the foregoing will be apparent and will be within the scope of the disclosed and claimed concept. 
         [0031]    While specific embodiments of the disclosed concept have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosed concept which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.