Abstract:
A scooper apparatus ( 10 ) for removing feces ( 44 ) from the ground, of the type that includes a scooper ( 11 ) with a cardboard closing plate ( 12 ) that is moved horizontally to move an open bag end ( 30 ) so it receives the feces, the cardboard plate then being moved down to close the bag. The scooper includes a pusher plate ( 50 ) to help push feces into the bag. The cardboard plate has an opening ( 52 ) that holds a piece of cardboard that can be pushed out to form the pusher plate that is used to prevent feces movement.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    My earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,707 describes a disposable scooper for scooping up the feces of a dog into a bag and then closing the bag, which is of low cost so it can be disposed of, and which keeps the hands of the user away from the feces. That scooper includes a cardboard plate, a U-shaped wire, and a bag with an open end. The wire has a horizontal bottom lying a few inches below the bottom of the plate and has opposite wire sides that extend up into the cardboard plate and that hold the bag. The bottom of the bag open end is scraped along the ground to receive feces on the ground, and then the cardboard plate is pushed down to close the bag as the wire opposite sides slide into the cardboard plate. The bag, which is closed and contains feces, is thrown into a garbage can. 
         [0002]    When the scooper is used, it is often found that the dog feces is pushed along the ground by the bag open end instead of being scooped into the bag. This is especially true for the feces of small dogs. The feces can be forced into the bag by placing a barrier against the feces as the bag scrapes towards it. However, the dog owner often does not have such a barrier, especially one of low cost so it can be disposed of because a small amount of feces sticks to it. A feces scooper that provided means for forcing feces into the bag, which was always available when the owner was about to scoop up feces, which could be readily disposed of, and which did not add appreciable cost to the scooper, would be of value. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a disposable scooper is provided which is always available to a dog owner when he/she begins to scoop up feces with the scooper, which avoids owner contact with the feces, and which does not add an appreciable cost to the manufacture of the scooper. The scooper is of the type that includes a closer plate, preferably of cardboard, a U-shaped wire, and a bag with an open end held between the bottom of the closer plate and a horizontal portion of the wire. To facilitate moving feces into the bag open end, the closer plate carries a pusher in the form of a small plate with a plane lying adjacent to or coplanar with the plane of the closer plate. The pusher is preferably a piece of cardboard that lies in an opening in the closer plate. 
         [0004]    The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a scooper apparatus of the invention, shown with the pusher removed and being used to push feces into the bag of the scooper. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the scooper of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a scooper apparatus  10  of the invention which is similar to that of my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,707, and which includes a scooper  11  with a closer plate  12 , a wire  14 , and a bag  16 . The wire frame or wire  14  is of generally U shape, with a horizontal bottom  20  and vertical opposite sides  22 ,  24 . The closer plate has vertical passages  26 , and is preferably formed of corrugated cardboard that is oriented so its passages are vertical, as described in my earlier patent. The wire opposite sides project upward into the closer plate. The bag  16  has a bag end  30  that is initially open and that has vertically opposite bag end parts, including an upper bag part  32  attached to a bottom portion  34  of the closer plate and an opposite lower bag part  36  attached to the wire horizontal bottom  20 . The bag also has laterally L opposite parts  40 ,  42  slidably coupled to the wire opposite sides. 
         [0008]    Feces  44  on the ground is picked up by holding the closer plate  12  primarily vertical so the bottom of the bag at  36  lies against the ground near the feces. The closer plate  12  is pressed down against the ground with a small force such as one-half pound. While continuing to press down the closer plate  12 , the plate is moved forward F to move the bottom  36  of the bag under the feces and thereby move the feces into the bag. The closer plate is lifted and possibly tilted to drop the feces deep into the bag. The bag lower part  36  is again placed against the ground in the position of  FIG. 1  and is then forced down, as with a force of about 3 pounds, so the wire opposite sides  22 ,  24  slide upward into the plate as the plate is pushed down, to pinch the bag end  30  closed. The scooper is then disposed of as by dropping it into a garbage can. During the operation, a person continues to hold the closer plate with his/her hand H at a constant position relative to the plate until he/she releases the closer plate to drop the scooper into a garbage can. 
         [0009]    It often happens that the feces  44  slides along the ground as it is pushed by the bag lower part  36 , instead of moving into the bag. This happens most often with feces from small dogs, which do not extend far above the ground. Such feces can be scooped up by pushing it rearward or holding it from moving forward, with a pusher  50 . However, a dog owner may forget to bring the pusher or forget where it was stored, when taking the dog for a walk. The owner wants to discard the pusher, which may have feces on it, when the scooper is discarded. The scoopers  11  are manufactured and sold at low prices, and the pusher  50  should be convenient and unlikely to be forgotten when an owner brings a scooper on a dog walk, and should not raise the cost appreciably. 
         [0010]    Applicant stores the pusher  50  in an aperture or opening  52  of the closer plate, with a cut  51  ( FIG. 2 ). Where the closer plate is formed of cardboard, the pusher is a piece of cardboard and preferably the cardboard piece left when the aperture was punched out. When the pusher  50  is formed by punching out the aperture  52  from the plate, the pusher can be replaced in the aperture and makes an interference fit with the walls  54  of the aperture. The pusher that is replaced in the aperture is easily removed, as with a pushing force of about 2 pounds. This makes it easy for the owner to remove it because the paper sheets at the front and back of the cardboard do not tear during pusher removal (because they are already cut). 
         [0011]    The aperture  52  ( FIG. 1 ) that holds the pusher in an interference fit, is laterally L elongated with a length of at least 2.5 inches and preferably at least 3 inches, and has a height of at least 0.5 inch. This allows a person to place his/her four fingers (other than the thumb) of one hand through the aperture to comfortably hold the closer plate with the thumb T, and allow its easy manipulation. A vertical middle  55  of the aperture is located no more than 3 inches below the plate primarily horizontal top edge  60 , to facilitate a person inserting the four fingers through the aperture while the plate top edge  60  lies against the front of the person&#39;s palm. The aperture also allows a person to use the closer plate as a handle to conveniently carry the scooper apparatus, especially when it holds feces. 
         [0012]    In a scooper apparatus that applicant has constructed, the cardboard had a thickness of 0.12 inch, the pusher  50  was made of the same cardboard as the closer plate, and the pusher  50  and aperture  52  for it each had a length of 3⅛ inch and a vertical width of ¾ inch, with the horizontal centerline  55  of the aperture spaced 1⅜ inch from the plate top edge. 
         [0013]    It would be possible to mount a pusher on a face of the closer plate  12 , as at  50 A in  FIG. 1 , using a holder  70  that easily released the pusher. With the pusher at  50 A it has a plane lying parallel and adjacent to the plane of the closer plate  12  so the apparatus still could be stored in a small space. 
         [0014]    Thus, the invention provides a scooper apparatus for scooping up feces from the ground, which includes a pusher that is automatically carried with the scooper. The pusher is planer and lies in substantially the same plane as the closer plate, that is, the pusher lies in the same plane as the closer plate or in a plane spaced from the closer plane by no more than the closer plate thickness. This results in the pusher adding almost no additional thickness to the apparatus. The pusher is preferably formed from the same plate of cardboard as the closer plate and is already separated from the closer plate but lies in an interference fit with the aperture. 
         [0015]    Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.