Abstract:
A multi-purpose furniture structure and system can be used for caring for an animal throughout the life of the animal. For small animals such as puppies, this furniture system can be used to train the animal to behave in a desired manner. Animal toys are stored in the animal living space as well. Animals can use a detachable ramp member to climb to the top of the furniture structure. The ramp is extendable allowing for the ability to vary the length of the ramp. This feature enables the owner to change the angle of inclination of the ramp to accommodate animals that may have difficulty climbing steeper ramp inclines. For larger or older animals, the extendable ramp can serve a bed or as a means to help the animal get into the bed of the owner. The furniture piece can be positioned adjacent an owner&#39;s bed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of and is related to and claims priority from utility patent application Ser. No. 11/121797 filed on May 4, 2005, and from utility patent application Ser. No. 11/287,716 filed Nov. 28, 2005, the contents of both application which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to furniture for an animal and in particular to a piece of furniture that has multiple configurations and can function in multiple ways to accommodate various desires of the animal at any stage of growth. More particularly this invention describes a detachable and extendable ramp member attached to the furniture structure. The extendable ramp allows the owner to vary to ramp length and thereby decrease the angle of inclination during the animal climb.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     For many people, pet animals are literally members of the family. Some of these pets live inside the home with the owner and have many accessories designed specially for the animal. As with the ‘dog houses’ kept in the yard, some of the furnishings provide a place for the animal to dwell as well providing a storage place for the toys of the animal. One convention piece of animal furniture is a bed. There have been many types of animal beds. These beds come in various designs. Some of the designs include beds shaped as different types of animals. Many beds in form of animal designs are made of a cushion material to facilitate animal comfort.  
         [0004]     One animal bed U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,065 describes an animal bed that includes an annular bed frame defining an interior chamber. A perforated top wall is supported at its periphery by the bed frame to receive and support the animal above the chamber. The perforated top wall is composed of a non-woven fabric material to provide a hammock like suspension for the animal, and to permit small insects to fall through the top wall. The chamber is dimensioned to provide a space below the top wall sufficient to inhibit the insects from traveling upwardly through the top wall. An insect exterminating composition contained within the chamber receives the falling insects and destroys them.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. d288,970 describes a combined animal bed and housing unit. This design has a bed mat resting on a storage unit. The bed also has a canopy covering the mat. The animal would rest on the mat and would be covered by the canopy.  
         [0006]     Although the animal bed is a common piece of furniture for the inside pet, animals do more than just sleep. For indoor animals, there is a need for the animal to know when, where and how to ‘use the bathroom’. Cats usually have a litter box for waste. Many pets and owners have a system by which the pet is let out of the house on a periodic basis to relieve themselves. Pets also have toys with which they play. One particular thing some pets like to do is to climb up on the owner&#39;s bed. The climbing is necessary because many pets cannot jump high enough to reach the surface of the bed in one jump. The climbing process results in the pet pulling and sometimes tearing the bed linen. Pets also do not stay the same size. As the pet grows, it is often necessary to replace a piece of animal furniture with a different type of furniture or a larger size of the same furniture.  
         [0007]     With all of the different types of animal furniture that is available to accommodate the many needs of the pet and pet owner, there remains a need for a multiple function piece of animal furniture. The animal throughout the animal&#39;s life can use this piece of furniture. Basically, the piece of furniture can serve as an indoor dwelling for the animal. This piece of furniture could assist in ‘potty training animals and well as other behavior training. The multiple function furniture piece can also have components that enable the animal climb up the furniture and get into an owner&#39;s bed. Further, this furniture piece can serve as an elevated bed for larger animals.  
         [0008]     For some younger and some older animals, climbing onto the furniture piece may be difficult. We the assistance of a ramp, the climb would be easier. However, in some instances the inclination angle of the ramp on the furniture piece may still be to steep for the animal to easily climb onto the furniture piece. There remains a need for a means to adjust the inclination angle of a ramp member such that an animal can easily climb the ramp member to the top of the furniture piece.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     It is an objective of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose animal furniture system that can accommodate uses of animals at all ages.  
         [0010]     It is a second objective of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose piece of animal furniture with modular components to provide the capability to reconfigure the furniture as needed.  
         [0011]     It is a third objective of the present invention to provide a training cage to assist in training of small animals for indoor living.  
         [0012]     It is a fourth objective of the present invention to provide a portable piece of animal furniture that can be positioned adjacent to an owner&#39;s bed.  
         [0013]     It is a fifth objective of the present invention to provide a detachable and extendable ramp member to assist animals in climbing to the top of the multiple purpose piece of animal furniture.  
         [0014]     It is a sixth objective of the present invention to provide a removable floor cover for the furniture piece to facilitate ease of cleaning animal waste.  
         [0015]     It is a seventh objective of the present invention to provide a furniture piece with a living and storage.  
         [0016]     It is an eighth objective of the present invention to provide removable a grill-type cover that serves as a guard to keep a smaller animal inside the furniture piece.  
         [0017]     It is a ninth objective of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose animal furniture piece that can be used as a bed for an animal or a rest bench for humans.  
         [0018]     It is a tenth objective of the present invention to provide a portable piece of animal furniture that can be made of various materials such as wood, plastic or metal.  
         [0019]     The present invention provides a multi-purpose furniture piece and system that can be used for an animal throughout the life of the animal. For small animals such as puppies, this furniture system can be used as a dwelling in which the owner can train the animal to behave in a desired manner. The animal training could include animal potty training. Animal toys can also be stored in the animal living space as well. A removable barrier such as a grate or plastic ventilated sheet could cover a front opening to prevent undesirable movement of the animal in and out of the furniture piece. Animals can use a detachable ramp member to climb to the top of the furniture piece. For larger or older animals, the furniture piece can serve a bed or as a means to help the animal get into the bed of the owner. The furniture piece can form a bed for animals of all ages. The bed can be positioned adjacent an owner&#39;s bed.  
         [0020]     The ramp member is also extendable. The owner can vary the length of the ramp such that the angle of inclination of the ramp against the animal furniture piece can vary. The ability vary the climbing angle sometimes be desirable to assist animals that have difficulty climbing a ramp positioned at a steeper angle. The extendable ramp structure can be of various designs and can comprise two or more sections. The sections are slidably attached to each other such that a lower section move relative to an upper section to vary the length of the ramp. The movement of the lower section can be in discrete intervals or can be designed to vary the ramp length to any desirable length.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]      FIG. 1  is a front, top and side view of the multiple function animal furniture piece.  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a view of the multiple function animal furniture piece with the top extended up to open the furniture piece.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a view of the multiple function animal furniture piece with a ramp member extended from the furniture piece.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a view of the multiple function animal furniture piece with a ramp member extended from the furniture piece such that the angle of inclination is decreased.  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a configuration of an extendable ramp in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 6   a  is a side view of one embodiment of an extendable ramp in accordance with the present invention having a rotatable lower section.  
         [0027]      FIG. 6   b  is a top view of the extendable ramp having a rotatable lower section  
         [0028]      FIG. 7   a  is a top view of an alternate embodiment of an extendable ramp in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0029]      FIG. 7   b  is a side view of the extendable ramp embodiment of  FIG. 7   a.    
         [0030]      FIG. 8  is a bracket designed to hold a lower section and provide a guide for movement of the lower section in relation to the upper section of the extendable ramp.  
         [0031]      FIG. 8   a  shows extrusions in the lower section of the extendable ramp.  
         [0032]      FIG. 8   b  shows a recess in the bracket for engaging the extrusions from the lower section of the extendable ramp.  
         [0033]      FIG. 9  is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention having multiple sections of the ramp.  
         [0034]      FIG. 10  is a view of the backside of the furniture piece showing the ramp in a stored position.  
         [0035]      FIG. 11  is a view of the interior top of the furniture piece showing the grate in a stored position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0036]     The multiple function animal furniture piece of the present invention provides an animal owner with a system they can use for an animal throughout the life of the animal. The invention can serve as a training cage to help train small animals such as puppies for living indoors. A detachable mat on the floor of the furniture piece provides for ease in cleaning animal waste. A removable front cover such as a grill or grate can serve to restrict undesired movement of the animal in and out of the furniture piece. As an animal gets older and or bigger, the animal may no longer dwell inside the furniture. At this point, the furniture piece can have another function as a store structure. As will be discussed, the furniture system of this invention has an attachable ramp member for use by an animal to climb to the top of the furniture structure. This ramp is especially useful for smaller animals and older animals. The ramp can be stored inside the furniture structure when the ramp is not in use. This animal structure is portable and can be positioned adjacent the owner&#39;s bed. In this arrangement, the animal can easily move to the owner&#39;s bed. Further the owner can easily sit on the top of the structure. When an animal dies, the structure can be converted into a container (coffin) for burying the deceased animal.  
         [0037]      FIG. 1  shows a general design of the multiple function animal piece of the present invention. Other configurations such as those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/121797 to the same inventor can be implemented to achieve the same results as the designed described in  FIG. 1 . As shown, this piece has a top  10 , open front side  12 , a back side  14  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ), multiple side walls  16  and  18 . The number of side will vary with the particular design shape. This furniture piece can also contain a floor  20 . The front side  20  has an opening  22 , which covers a large portion of the front side. This large opening allows for animals to easily enter the furniture piece. The opening also allows for easy insertion of toys and food and water trays into the furniture piece. In addition, smaller openings  24  and  26  can be included the side walls. These opening improve ventilation in the furniture piece. The front side also has a lip  28  that extends up from the base. This lip serves to prevent toys such as balls from accidentally rolling out of the furniture piece. In addition, a lip section can also be attached to the top surface  10  to serve as restraining means to stabilize the cushion and keep the cushion stationary when an animal is resting on it.  
         [0038]      FIG. 2  shows the animal furniture piece of the present invention with the top  10  extended in an upward position, which thereby opens up the piece. As shown a bar  30  extends across the front side of the piece and serves as a rest bar for the top. Hinges  32  and  34  attach the top  10  to the back side  14  and allow the top side to open and close as desired. Attached to the inside surface of the top side is a rack means  36  for holding a ramp member when the ramp member is not in use. The rack has an L-shape this fits with the shape of a rectangular ramp member. This L-shaped rack is really a groove with a generally u-shape in which the ramp member is placed. When the ramp member is placed in the rack means, a latch  38  secures the ramp in the latch member.  
         [0039]      FIG. 3  shows a configuration of the animal furniture piece with a detachable ramp  40  engaged at one side. In this configuration, an animal can climb to the top side  10  of the furniture piece without the need to climb up on a bed of other piece of furniture. Depending on the height of the furniture piece, the length of the ramp can vary such that the inclination angle formed by the engagement of the ramp to the furniture piece is not to steep for the animal to safely climb.  
         [0040]      FIG. 4  shows a configuration of the animal furniture piece having the extendable ramp  40 . The ramp can comprise two sections. The upper section  41  can have a length similar to the length of the ramp shown in  FIG. 4 . This section has sufficient length such that it could solely assist some animals climbing to the top of the furniture piece. Attached to this front side of each section can be a fiber-type material such as a cloth or carpet material  44 . This material increases the friction of the ramp such that an animal can has good traction as they climb the ramp to the top of the furniture piece. The ramp contains a lip  46  in the top section that engages the edge of the topside securing the ramp to the furniture piece.  
         [0041]      FIG. 5  shows a general configuration for an extendable ramp in accordance with the present invention. The upper section  41  attaches to the furniture piece  10  using the lip mechanism  46 . The top end of the lower section can comprise a bar  48 . The bar slidably engages the upper section. A translation section facilitates the engagement and attachment of the upper an lower sections of the extendable ramp. The lower section extends to the floor  10  or the means that supports the furniture piece.  
         [0042]      FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  show an embodiment of the extendable that is related to the extendable ramp shown in  FIG. 5 . The two ramp sections  41  and  42  are slidably attached by the engagement of the bar  48  of the lower section with the translation area of the upper section  50 . The bar fits into a groove  52  in the translation area. The bar is able to move linearly with the groove  52 . The translational movement of the bar lower section with regard to the upper section will vary the length of the two-section ramp.  
         [0043]      FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  show an alternate embodiment of the extendable ramp of the present invention. In this embodiment an upper section  70  engages a lower  72  to form the extendable ramp. The linear movement of the sections will vary the length of the ramp. In this embodiment, the upper section will also have a means to engage the animal furniture piece such as the previously mentioned lip member. In addition, the edge of the upper section that engages the animal piece can be designed such that there is some minimal sway on the ramp the will allow for a rotational movement of the ramp without detaching the ramp from the animal house.  
         [0044]      FIG. 8  shows a bracket  74  member that can be attached to the under side of the upper section  70 . The bracket is designed such that channel  76  creates a clearance between the upper section  70  and the bracket surface  78 . The lower section  72  can engage the upper section through channel  76 . In this embodiment,  FIGS. 8   a  and  8   b  show a design for the engagement of the lower section with the bracket. As shown, in  FIG. 8   a , the bottom surface of the lower section  72  can have extrusions  80  that can extend downward.  FIG. 8   b  shows recesses  82  in the surface  78  of the bracket. These recess have the same shape as the extrusions  80  to facilitate the engagement of the lower section of the ramp with the bracket. The bracket design can be one that extends a portion of the length of the lower section of the ramp and can serve as a translation and engagement area between the upper and lower sections of the ramp in a manner similar to the previously described translation area  50 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 9  shows still another embodiment of the extendable ramp of the present invention. This configuration comprises multiple sections that can extend and retract as desired by the owner. As shown, the multiple sections  84 ,  86  and  88  have slightly different areas. This configuration is similar to a telescope design in that one section fits inside the adjacent section.  
         [0046]      FIG. 10  is a view of the backside  90  of the furniture piece showing the ramp in a stored position. In this configuration when the ramp  40  is not in use (attached to the furniture piece), it can be stored on the backside of the furniture piece. The ramp can be retracted to a minimum length and placed in a rack  92  affixed to the backside of the furniture piece.  
         [0047]      FIG. 11  is a view of the interior top  94  of the furniture piece showing the grate  96  in a stored position. In this configuration, sets of instructions can be attached to this interior surface. The design of the grate can enable the owner to read the instructions through the grate.  
         [0048]     As mentioned, the structure and system of the present invention provides the owner of an animal with the versatile means for providing care for the animal. This structure and system can accommodate activities for animals of all ages and sizes. The structure serves as both a dwelling for small animals as well as a training cage to teach certain behaviors. The internal storage capacity makes this structure useful for any animal that has toys. The ability to store the detachable components of the system within the structure itself makes this system easy to manage. The portability of the structure enables the owner to position it at any location. As mentioned, owners can use it as bed for the animal or as a means for the animal to climb into the owner&#39;s bed. The attachable ramp also makes it easy for animals of all ages and sizes to climb the ramp to the top side of the structure. At the animal&#39;s death, the structure can serve as a container coffin in which to bury the animal.  
         [0049]     As mentioned, the configurations for attaching the multiple sections of the ramp can vary. Described herein are only examples of the various one can mechanically design an extendable ramp for use as described in the present invention. The invention described herein is not limited in scope to the example configurations described in this disclosure.  
         [0050]     The present invention provides significant advantages over the current art. The invention has been described in connection with its preferred embodiments. However, it is not limited thereto. Changes, variations and modifications to the basic design may be made without departing from the inventive concepts in this invention. In addition, these changes, variations and modifications would be obvious to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the foregoing teachings. All such changes, variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of this invention.