Unitary collapsible and disposable pet litter container

A disposable pet litter container is disclosed. The container is foldable between a collapsed state for storage and disposal, and an erect state for use. The container includes a lower box portion defining a litter-containing receptacle. The lower box portion includes a bottom, peripheral wall members extending upwardly from the bottom to form the litter-containing receptacle therewith, and a foldable top for covering the lower box portion in the collapsed state. An upper box portion is provided and is selectively extendable from the lower box portion. The upper box portion includes front and rear panels extending upwardly from one pair of oppositely disposed wall members of the lower box portion and are adapted for selectively folding into the lower box portion for storage when in its collapsed state. A pair of side panels are also provided and project upwardly from a second pair of oppositely disposed peripheral wall members and are adapted to form the top when in its collapsed state. The side panels include a mechanism for interlocking with the front and rear panels to selectively maintain the container in its erect state and further includes top flap members adapted for overlapping engagement when in its erect state to form a top surface for the container and to totally enclose the container. Finally, the front panel has an entry to and from the interior of the enclosed, erect container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to pet litter containers and, more 
particularly, to disposable pet litter containers constructed from 
cardboard and the like. Specifically, the present invention relates to 
such a collapsible pet litter container constructed from a single piece of 
material and which is adapted to be fully enclosed during use. 
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
Disposal systems for pets, and in particular cats, are well known to the 
art. The traditional cat litter box has generally consisted of an open 
container of some sort with particulate litter material, comprised of clay 
and other absorbent materials, placed therein. The litter material absorbs 
urine and odors, and as the box becomes filled, the soiled litter is 
removed and replaced. 
One of the more annoying problems with existing pet litter boxes of the 
type described above, is that the pets tend to dig in the clay and spread 
it during use. This frequently causes the clay and fecal matter to be 
kicked out of the box onto the floor area surrounding the box. This 
situation is both messy and a potential health problem due to diseases 
associated with cat litter. Moreover, the open box itself can also be a 
source of certain problems due to diseases associated with cat litter. One 
answer to this particular problem was the advent of litter containers that 
were enclosed. Examples of such enclosed containers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 
4,111,157, 4,522,150 and 4,667,622. While the animal litter containers 
disclosed in these references address the problem of retaining the litter 
and fecal matter within the container, these particular arrangements are 
expensive and still require certain disassembly in order to clean the 
litter box and change the litter. 
Another problem associated with cat litter boxes includes the distasteful 
and unsanitary job of either cleaning the litter in the box and/or 
changing the litter. The process of dumping the litter from a box can 
cause certain health problems since considerable particulate matter 
becomes airborne as the solid litter is dumped, thereby increasing the 
potential of transmitting litter box diseases to the individuals dumping 
the litter. Moreover, the odor and general uncleanliness of the situation 
is highly distasteful to many people. Solution to this situation were 
sought in part by the design of disposable litter boxes. There are 
numerous examples of such disposable litter containers in the art, and 
they include devices disclosed in the following listed U.S. Pat. Nos.: 
3,154,052, 4,441,451, 3,377,990, 4,501,226, 3,684,155, 4,541,360, 
3,743,170, 4,548,160, 4,014,292, 4,627,382, 4,164,314, 4,628,863, 
4,271,787, 4,646,685, 4,305,544, 4,648,349. 
While all of the above referenced patents disclose disposable litter boxes 
for cats, all of them are open containers readily accessible to the 
environment and therefore have the same problems as initially described 
above. Moreover, a measure of these devices are complicated containers to 
both manufacture and assemble. Some of the devices include their own tops 
for storage, while others require additional packaging material for 
storage. Moreover, it is also necessary to separately add litter to these 
disposable boxes, and the process of adding litter to a cat litter box in 
and of itself can be distasteful because of the large amount of fine 
particulate material which is put into the air at the time clay litter is 
transferred to the litter box. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,982 attempts to attend to both of the above problems by 
disclosing an enclosed, disposable cat relief chamber. Howver, this 
particular device is relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture 
and does not come with its own litter contained therein. Moreover, the 
device of this particular reference also has a storage and disposal 
problem in that it is not collapsible during storage or disposal. Thus, 
there is still the potential for easy spillage of cat litter during 
disposal as well as space problems of disposal due to the size of the 
enclosed, non-collapsible litter box. Therefore, there is still a distinct 
need for an enclosed, disposable pet litter container which entails little 
or no mess in either the placement or removal of litter therefrom. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide an 
improved disposable pet litter container. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable pet 
litter container which is totally enclosed to prevent spillage of litter 
during use by pets. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable, 
totally enclosed pet litter container which is capable of being 
manufactured from a single blank of material. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a disposable 
totally enclosed pet litter container which is easily stored in a 
collapsible state, readily erected for use, and easily stored in a 
collapsible state, readily erected for use, and easily returned to its 
collapsible state for disposal purposes. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable, 
totally enclosed pet litter container which contains its own litter and 
does not require removal thereof for disposal. 
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the 
purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described 
herein, a disposable pet litter container is disclosed. The container is 
foldable between a collapsed state for storage and disposal and an erect 
state for use. The container includes a lower box portion defining a 
litter-containing receptacle. The lower box portion includes a bottom, 
peripheral wall members extending upwardly from the bottom to form the 
litter-containing receptacle therewith, and a foldable top for covering 
the lower box portion in its collapsed state. An upper box portion is 
selectively extendable from the lower box portion. The upper box portion 
includes front and rear panels extending upwardly from one pair of 
oppositely disposed peripheral wall members of the lower box portion and 
are adapted for selective folding into the lower box portion for storage 
when in its collapsed state. A pair of side panels also project upwardly 
from a second pair of oppositely disposed peripheral wall members and are 
adapted to form the foldable top when in its collapsed state. The side 
panels include a mechanism for interlocking with the front and rear panels 
to selectively maintain the container in its erect state. The side panels 
further include top flap members adapted for overlapping engagement when 
in its erect state to form a top surface for the container and to totally 
enclose the container. Finally, the front panel has a pet entry into and 
from the interior of the enclosed, erect container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a pet litter container 10 preferably includes a 
lower box portion 12 and an upper box portion 14. The lower box portion 12 
is constructed from a bottom 16, a pair of peripheral side walls 18, 20, 
and a pair of peripheral end walls 22, 24. The peripheral wall members 
18-24 extend substantially vertically upwardly from the bottom 16 and 
define a receptacle or bin 26 adapted to contain particulate litter 
material 28 and the like. As can be appreciated from the description 
provided below, it is preferred that the litter material 28 be placed 
within the receptacle 26 at the time of formation of the container 10 and 
remain therewithin throughout the life of the container 10. The litter 
material 28 can be of any desired material known to the art, such as clay. 
Moreover, it is preferred that the interior surface of the receptacle 26 
be lined, sealed or in some way treated to reduce the likelyhood of liquid 
soakage therethrough. Examples of such lining includes a plastic liner 
secured to the surface, wax treatments of the surface, and the like. 
In preferred form, the lower box portion 12 is preferably approximately 14 
inches wide by 18 inches long and approximately two and one-half inches in 
height, that is the peripheral walls 18-24. When the container 10 is in 
its collapsed state as illustrated in FIG. 2, a top member 30 is provided 
which encloses the container 10 and provides a compact and easily stored 
article. As previously indicated, it is preferred that the litter 28 be 
stored within the box 10, and it is further preferred that the box 10 in 
its collapsed, stored condition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, be sealed with 
a plastic wrap or simialr type of material to maintain the litter in a 
dried condition for an indefinite storage period of time. 
The container 10, when in its erected state, includes a front panel 32, a 
rear panel 34, a pair of side panels 36, 38. The front and rear panels 32, 
34 are extensions, respectively, of the end peripheral walls 22, 24 and 
are defined by a fold crease 32', 34', respectively. Each of the panels 
32, 34 has a lower portion which extends approximately one-third the 
height thereof, or preferably about three inches, vertically upwardly. The 
remaining upper two-thirds of the panels 32, 34 are generally in the form 
of a modified "A", or that of a truncated cone shape. The front panel 32 
includes a pair of ears 35, 37 projecting outwardly from the side edges 
40, 42, respectively thereof. Likewise, the rear panel 34 includes a pair 
of ears 44, 46 projecting, respectively, from the side edges 48, 50 
thereof. The function of the ears 35, 37, 44, 46 will be described in more 
detail below. When it is desired to collapse the container 10 to its 
storage and disposal condition as illustrated in FIG. 2, the side panels 
32, 34 are folded inwardly along the fold creases 32', 34' into the 
receptacle 26. The height of the front and rear panels 32, 34 are such so 
that the panels 32, 34 are contained fully within the receptacle 26. 
The side panels 36, 38 are similarly extensions of the peripheral side 
walls 18, 20 and are interconnected thereto along fold creases 36', 38'. 
The side panel 36 is divided into two side portions 52, 54 by a fold 
crease 52' which is substantially parallel to the fold crease 36'. The 
side panel portion 52 is approximately one-third the heights of the panel 
36 and is preferably equivalent in height to the lower portion of the end 
panels 32, 34. A top flap 56 is disposed at the end of the side portion 36 
and is defined by a fold crease 54' which is likewise parallel to the 
creases 36', 52'. 
The opposite side panel 38 is likewise divided into a lower portion 58 and 
an upper portion 60 by a fold crease 58'. In addition, a top flap 62 is 
provided at the end of the side panel 38 and is defined by a fold crease 
60'. The side panel 36 includes a pair of slots 64, 66, while the side 
panel 38 alsp includes a pair of slots 68, 70. These slots are adapted for 
engagement with corresponding ears 35, 37, 44, 46, respectively, of the 
front and rear panels 32, 34. This interengagement can be clearly seen in 
FIG. 1 wherein the ear 37 is illustrated as having engaged through the 
slot 68, while the ear 46 is illustrated as passing through the slot 70. 
This interengagement of the slots with the ears is what maintains the 
container 10 in its erect psotion as illustrated in FIG. 1. 
When the ears 35, 37, 44, 46 have been interengaged with the slots 64-70, 
the top flaps 56 and 62 are preferably overlapped with each other. The top 
flap 56 includes apertures 72, 74, while the top flap 62 includes 
apertures 76, 78. The apertures 76, 78 are preferably formed by cutting 
tabs in the flap 62, although the tabs are not fully removed but are 
retained along one side thereof. FIG. 1 illustrates clearly the tab 80 
which is cut into the top 62 to form the aperture 76 but which is retained 
along its edge 81. In this manner, the tab 80 can be bent through the 
aperture 76 and the corresponding aperture 72 and around to the underside 
of the inner top flap 56 so as to firmly interengage the top flap 62 with 
the flap 56 and thus interlock these members. The interlocking of the top 
flap 62 and 56 further insures the maintenance of the container 10 in its 
erect position. Moreover, these apertures may also serve as a handle or 
handle hold for carrying the container 10 in its erect position, although 
any type of handle arrangement may be utilized with the present invention. 
As can be seen from FIG. 1, in particular, the fold or crease lines 52', 
58' in the side portions 36, 38 are provided to permit the upper sections 
54, 60 of the sides 36, 38 to be angled inwardly along the edges 40, 42, 
and 48, 50 of the end panels 32, 34, respectively. This preferred shape of 
the container 10 reduces the amount of material necessary to construct the 
container yet provides ample head room and maneuvering room for the pet 
within the container 10. Moreover, this angle orientation also assists in 
maintaining the container 10 in its erect position. 
A front entryway 84 is provided in the front panel 32 to permit access to 
the interior of the container 10 when the container 10 is in its erect 
position. The positioning of the opening 84 is important in that it should 
be as high as possible along the panel 32 relative to the bottom 16 to 
prevent a pet from kicking litter out of the container 10 through the 
opening 84 when the container 10 is in use. If the opening 84 is 
positioned low on the panel 32, there is an increased likelyhood that 
litter and fecal matter may be kicked through the opening 84 and onto the 
surface area surrounding the container 10, thereby defeating one of the 
prime purposes of the present invention which is to provide a total 
enclosure device for cleanliness and sanitation. It also preferred that a 
ventilation opening, such as the half moon 86 in the rear panel 34, is 
provided to assist in ventilation of the interior of the container 10. 
Referring in particular to FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottom 16 of the container 10 
is constructed from a plurality of flaps. In one preferred form, a first 
bottom flap 88 is provided as an extension from the bottom edge of the 
side wall 18 and is defined by crease line 88' at this juncture. Likewise, 
a bottom flap 90 is also provided from the bottom of the wall member 20 
and is defined by a crease line 90'. In preferred form, the flaps 88 and 
90 extend the entire width of the container 10 between peripheral walls 
18, 20 so as to provide a double thick bottom surface. Interior bottom 
flaps 92 and 94 are likewise extensions, respectively, from the bottom of 
the front peripheral wall 22, defined by the fold line 92', and the bottom 
of the rear peripheral wall 24, as defined by the crease line 94'. The 
inner bottom flaps 92, 94 are folded interiorly of the flaps 88, 90 and 
are preferably half the length of the container 10. In this manner, the 
end surfaces 96, 98 of the flaps 92, 94 abut each other along the juncture 
100 as illustrated in FIG. 4. In this manner, there is no central crack or 
opening through the bottom of the container 10 due to the complete 
overlapping of the flaps 88, 90. This arrangement of the invention assists 
in preventing leakage from the container 10. Moreover, the multiple 
overlapping arrangement of the bottom 16 provides a triple thick bottom to 
prevent soakage through the bottom of the container 10 onto the surface 
below. 
Turning not to FIG. 3, the container 10 of the present invention is 
preferably constructed from a single blank of material. In preferred form, 
the material is single wall corrugated cardboard of approximately 
one-eighth inck thick, although any appropriate material of construction 
may be utilized. Such a cardboard construction arrangement provides 
sufficient strength so that approximately 10 pounds of clay litter may be 
readily placed within the receptacle 26. 
In preferred from, the single blank construction member is made from four 
panel sections, 102, 104, 106 and 108. Panel section 102 corresponds to 
the side panel 54, peripheral side wall 18 and the bottom flap 88, while 
the panel section 104 corresponds to the front panel 32, the front 
peripheral wall 22 and the interior bottom flap 92. The panel section 106 
corresponds to the side panel 60, peripheral side wall 20 and the bottom 
flap 90, while the panel section 108 corresponds to the rear panel 34, the 
rear peripheral wall 24 and the interior bottom flap 94. The only 
connection between the panels 102-108 is along the peripheral side walls 
18-24, which peripheral side walls 18-24 are a unitary piece of material 
as illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, crease folds 18', 22', and 20' are 
provided, respectively, between the side edges of the peripheral side wall 
members 18, 22, 20 and 24. Finally, an end tab 110 is provided at the 
outermost edge of the peripheral side wall 24, the tab 110 being divided 
from the wall 24 by a crease fold 24'. 
Once the blank material for the container 10 is stamped out as illustrated 
in FIG. 3, the panels 102-108 are folded along the fold creases 18', 22', 
20' and 24'. The tab 110 is then glued to the interior of the peripheral 
side wall 18 as clearly illsutrated in FIG. 4. Glue and/or tape may be 
utilized to connect the bottom flap members 88, 90, 92 and 94. To fold the 
container 10 to its collapsed position as illustrated in FIG. 2, the front 
and rear panels 32, 34 are folded inwardly along their crease lines, 32', 
34' within the receptacle 26. The top flaps 56 and 62 of the side panels 
36, 38 are then folded along their respective crease lines 54', 60', and 
laid down along the inner surface of the side portions 54, 60, 
respectively. The side panels 36, 38 are then folded inwardly along their 
crease lines 36', 38' into the receptacle 26. Thus, the side panels 36, 38 
function as the top member 30 for the container 10 in its collapsed 
condition. A piece of tape or other adhesive member may then be used to 
temporarily keep the top 30 in position until it is desired to erect the 
container 10 to its erect, used position as illustrated in FIG. 1. When 
this is desired, the panels 32, 34, 36 and 38 are unfolded, the ears 35, 
37, 44, 46 are then inserted into their respective slots 64-70, the top 
flaps 56 and 62 are overlayed, and the tabs 80, 82 are then folded down 
through the apertures 72-78 to secure the flaps 56 and 62 together. At 
this point, the container 10 is then in its fully erect position and is 
ready for use, since the litter 28 is already contained within the 
container 10. 
As can be seen from the above, the present invention provides a disposable, 
totally enclosed pet container which has the option of having litter 
already included therein. The present invention prevents spillage of 
litter outside the container during use by pets, yet provides for easy 
disposal merely by collapsing the box to its fully collapsed position. 
Moreover, this fully collapsed position prior to use permits easy storage 
of the box with very little space consumption. Finally, the container of 
the present invention is easily manufactured since it is made from a 
single piece of material and may be secured together merely by following 
the fold creases and gluing a couple of key critical points. Thus, very 
little labor or material is required to manufacture and assemble the 
container of the present invention. Consequently, the present invention is 
convenient to store, easy to erect and use, and economic to manufacture. 
The box of the invention can also be used as a portable pet house without 
the litter. 
The foregoing description and the illustrative embodiments of the present 
invention have been shown in the drawings and described in detail in 
varying modifications and alternate embodiments. It should be understood, 
however, that the foregoing description of the invention is exemplary 
only, and that the scope of the invention is limited only to the claims as 
interpreted in view of the prior art.