Pet waste scoop assembly

An animal waste scoop assembly, with a handle portion and a shovel portion with a series of spaced fingers, and is used in conjunction with a disposable bag to collect solid pet waste. The bag has a plurality of spaced fingers for fitting over the respective fingers of the shovel. The user first pulls a bag over the shovel so that each finger on the bag engages over a respective finger of the shovel, then grips the handle beneath the open end of the bag, and positions the shovel beneath any solid waste. The shovel member is then lifted so that the solid waste remains on top of the fingers and any clean particles sift down between the fingers. At this point, the bag is inverted in order to remove it from the shovel member and also retain the solid waste within the bag. The bag and its contents can then be discarded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to pet waste scoops for use in 
picking up and removing animal waste from animal litter boxes or other 
areas, and is particularly concerned with a scoop assembly designed for 
removing solid waste matter from pet litter. 
Indoor pets such as cats and the like are commonly provided with a box of 
litter, sand, or granular material for toilet purposes. Pet owners 
generally use scoops or the like to remove solid waste from the litter at 
periodic intervals, rather than discarding the entire volume of litter 
each time it is soiled. Typically such scoops are spatulas with slots to 
sift out the clean litter from the solid waste picked up on the spatula. 
The solid waste is then disposed of in a suitable container. 
There are several problems with this existing method of cleaning pet 
litter. First, the action of sifting introduces dust into the air which 
may be inhaled by the user. Such dust can carry disease, and cat litter 
dust is a known source of the disease toxoplasmosis, which can be 
dangerous to certain individuals, particularly pregnant women. Another 
problem is that the scoop, which is generally of plastic or metal, becomes 
soiled with each use and must be cleaned to retain it in a sanitary 
condition. A further problem is the risk of soiling of the user's hands in 
transferring the solid waste from the scoop to a suitable container for 
disposal. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,326 of Nunn describes a cat litter box cleaner in which 
a slotted litter shovel is secured to the front edge of a hand held 
container. The user scoops solid matter and litter onto the shovel, shakes 
the litter through the slots in the shovel, and then tilts the assembly 
back to allow the retained fecal matter to fall from the shovel into the 
container. A disposable plastic bag may be retained in the container to 
facilitate the disposal of the waste material. However, this does not 
avoid the problem of soiling of the litter shovel itself. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved 
scoop or shovel assembly for removal of solid animal waste from litter 
boxes and other areas. 
According to the present invention, an animal waste scoop assembly is 
provided, which comprises a shovel member having a handle portion and a 
shovel portion projecting forwardly from the handle portion, the shovel 
portion having a series of spaced fingers, and a disposable bag having an 
open end for fitting over the shovel and handle portion, the bag having a 
plurality of spaced fingers for fitting over the respective fingers of the 
shovel portion and an intermediate portion extending from the fingers to 
the open end of the bag for covering the remainder of the shovel member 
including the hand of a user gripping the handle portion beneath the bag. 
In order to use the assembly, the user will first pull a bag over the 
shovel member so that each finger on the bag engages over a respective 
finger of the shovel member. The user then grips the handle portion 
beneath the open end of the bag, and digs the shovel portion through the 
cat litter or the like so that the shovel portion is positioned beneath 
any solid waste. The shovel member is then lifted so that the solid waste 
remains on top of the fingers and any clean litter particles sift down 
between the fingers and back into the litter box. At this point, the bag 
can be simply inverted or turned inside out in order to remove it from the 
shovel member and also retain the solid waste within the bag. During the 
entire procedure, both the shovel member and the user's hand are 
completely shielded from contact with the waste material, considerably 
reducing the risk of soiling or contamination. The inverted bag and its 
contents can be suitably discarded, leaving the shovel member completely 
clean and ready for the next use. At the next use, a new bag is placed 
over the shovel member in the same manner. 
Preferably, the shovel member has an opening or recess to the rear of the 
fingers, into which a portion of the bag is pushed prior to use of the 
shovel. This forms a recessed region or pocket for collecting solid waste. 
An upwardly projecting rib extends across one end of the opening between 
the opening and the fingers. After waste is collected on the fingers, the 
shovel member may be tilted back to allow the solid waste to fall into the 
recessed region of the bag. The previously collected waste is then 
securely held in position in the recessed portion of the bag behind the 
rib as the shovel is tilted downwards to dig into the litter and collect 
more waste. This procedure is repeated until the litter box is clean. The 
bag is then inverted to contain the waste material. In this way, instead 
of having to dispose of each small portion of waste immediately after it 
is collected on the fingers or shovel, the shovel can be used repeatedly 
before disposing of all collected waste in the same bag. 
The shovel member will be of any suitably durable material, such as 
plastic. After the initial purchase of the shovel member, the user only 
needs to purchase supplies of disposable bags for fitting over the shovel 
member as needed, providing an inexpensive and convenient litter cleaning 
system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings illustrate the two parts of a pet waste 
scoop assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present 
invention, while FIG. 3 illustrates the method of using the assembly. The 
first part of the assembly comprises a scoop or shovel member 10 of a 
suitably durable, rigid material such as plastic or metal. Member 10 has a 
handle portion 12 and a shovel or scoop portion 14 projecting forwardly 
from the handle portion. Scoop portion 14 has a plurality of spaced 
fingers 16, with a transverse barrier or rib 18 projecting across the 
inner ends of the fingers, and an opening or well 20 to the rear of rib 
18. 
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second part of the assembly comprises a 
disposable glove-type shield or bag 22. The bag or glove 22 is of a 
similar plastic material to that used for garbage bags and the like. Bag 
22 has a plurality of spaced fingers 24 at one end, and is open at the 
opposite end 25. The bag tapers outwardly in width from the finger end to 
the open end. 
Using the shovel and bag combination, a user can clean out solid waste or 
fecal matter 26 from a cat litter box 28 as generally illustrated in FIG. 
3. The user first takes a clean, unused glove or bag 22 and pulls it over 
the shovel 10 so that each bag finger 24 engages over a corresponding 
finger 16 of the scoop portion 14 of the shovel, and the remainder of the 
bag 22 extends rearwardly to completely cover the handle 12, as 
illustrated in FIG. 3. The shovel is now completely shielded, with all 
surfaces covered by the glove or bag 22. The user then pushes a portion 30 
of the bag lying over opening 20 down through the opening to form a 
recessed area or pocket 32. At this point, the combination is ready for 
use. The user then grips handle 12 beneath the bag with a hand 34, and 
proceeds to dig into the particulate litter material 36 until the fingers 
16 are located beneath the solid waste 26 to be picked up. The shovel is 
then raised, retaining the solid matter or waste 26 as well as soiled, 
clumped litter on the fingers 16, while clean particulate litter material 
36 will fall down through the gaps 38 between adjacent fingers. At this 
point, the shovel is simply tilted back slightly so that the solid waste 
26 falls back from the fingers and into the pocket or recessed region 32, 
as illustrated in FIG. 3. The shovel can then be tilted forward to dig 
into the litter again, as in FIG. 3, while the waste already picked up is 
held in recessed region 32 by the rib or dam 18, so that it cannot fall 
off the shovel. The procedure is repeated until all solid waste has been 
picked up. At this point, the user grips the open end of the bag and pulls 
it forwards, as indicated in dotted outline in FIG. 3, so as to invert the 
bag over the solid waste 26 and simultaneously remove the bag from the 
shovel 10. The waste is then hygienically contained within the inverted 
bag, while the shovel is free and completely clean, ready for the next 
use. The waste and used bag can then be discarded in an appropriate refuse 
container. 
As best illustrated in FIG. 1, the fingers 16 are rounded and tapered 
vertically at their forward ends to enable easy sifting or digging through 
the particulate material in box 28. This also allows the bag fingers to 
engage and disengage readily and smoothly over the scoop fingers without 
snagging or catching on anything. The separation or gap 38 between the 
fingers is uniform along their length, as illustrated in FIG. 4, and is 
arranged such that solid material will be retained while particulate 
material will sift readily between the fingers without requiring excessive 
shaking. In practice, it has been found that the width of gap 38 between 
each adjacent pair of fingers should preferably be of the order of 0.15 
inch to 0.4 inch to achieve this objective. Additionally, as best 
illustrated in FIG. 1A, the individual fingers are each of generally 
inverted V-shape configuration, and taper outwardly from their upper 
central edges 40, which each form a ridge, towards their lower edge 42, 
forming a downwardly tapering gap 38 which also acts to help in sifting 
out the particulate material without requiring excessive shaking of the 
shovel, as would be necessary if the fingers were flat. This arrangement 
helps to reduce the amount of material which becomes airborne and 
potentially causes a health hazard to the individual cleaning out the cat 
litter box. 
The inverted V shape of the fingers makes the fingers stronger and more 
rigid. It also allows the small clean litter particles to drop down easily 
between the fingers, while retaining the larger waste and clumped litter 
on the fingers. 
Although the pet waste scoop assembly is described above for use in 
cleaning out a cat litter box, it will be understood that it may be 
readily used to clean pet waste from other areas, such as a backyard or 
any outdoor location where a pet is exercised, for example. It is easy to 
use and relatively inexpensive, since the scoop itself can be reused and 
the user only needs to have a supply of the relatively inexpensive, 
disposable gloves or bags 22 to place over the scoop each time it is used. 
The technique is significantly cleaner and more hygienic than previous 
devices and methods used for similar purposes, since the scoop itself is 
never exposed during use and thus cannot become soiled. Also, the scoop 
can be used repeatedly without having to dispose of any waste picked up 
each time, since the first waste picked up is retained behind dam 18 in 
the recessed region 32 so that more waste can be picked up before all 
picked up waste is disposed of in the bag. This is unlike previous spatula 
devices, where any waste picked up, however small, must be disposed of 
before more waste can be picked up. The bag will also act to shield the 
user's hand against any unpleasant soiling or contamination. 
Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described 
above by way of example only, it will be understood by those skilled in 
the field that modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiment 
without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is 
defined by the appended claims.