Dog drinking device

A dog drinking device has a trapezoidal water container with a top cover. A rotatable round drum made of plastic or stainless steel is rotatably mounted in the water container. A plurality of transverse grooves formed on the round surface of the drum. A top portion the round surface of the drum is exposed through a rectangular access opening of the cover. A long ear dog may drink the water by standing at the narrower front end of the device with its ears falling on the outside of two forward converging sides of the trapezoidal shape water container and licking the water carried to the exposed round surface of the drum by the transverse grooves without water splashing on its face and floor area around the device or to its ears to cause potential ear infection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a drinking device for dogs and particularly for dogs with long ears.

2. Background Art

Commonly, a dish or bowl is used for providing drinking water for dogs. When a dog drinks from a drinking dish or bowl, due to the slapping of its tongue in the water during drinking, water from the dish or bowl often splashes on to the dog's face and muzzle. Also, water would also spill and trail over the floor area around the dish or bowl and is stepped over and tracked to other floor area by the dog. Furthermore, to dry itself, the dog would shake off the water which could spread over a wider area of the floor as well as to furniture in the close vicinity. The spilled water on the floor as well as that on the furniture would cause potential sanitary problems and/or slippery floor hazard. It is even more problematic for dogs with long ears, due to that their ears would either be located in the close neighborhood of the water dish or bowl when the dog lower its head to the dish or bowl during drinking, and often the lower portion of its long ears would actually dip into the water in the dish or bowl, thus water could enter and remain in their ears to cause ear infections.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a drinking device for dogs to drink without causing water to splash onto their face and muzzle and the floor area around the device.

It is another object of the present invention to prevent water from entering the ears of a long-eared dog during drinking.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a drinking device from which dogs may drink cleanly without causing water spillage to the floor area.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dog drinking device that is simple in construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the different views, the drinking device10of the present invention has a generally trapezoidal shaped water container11having a rear wall12and two side walls13and14. The side walls13and14are preferably slanting forward towards one another to a front wall15having a width shorter than the rear wall12. The container11may alternatively have a triangular shape with the side walls13and14converging forward to a pointed front end. The trapezoidal shape provides better stability than the triangular shape for the container so as to prevent it from tipping.

A circular drum16is located in the water container11. The drum16has two opposite flat side surfaces19and20and a round surface22and it has a support axle having two arms17and18extending sideways directly opposite to one another from the center of the two side surfaces19and20respectively. The drum16is preferably made of a plastic material or stainless steel and a plurality of transverse grooves21are formed in its wide round surface22and extending between the two flat side surfaces19and20. The transverse grooves21preferably have a depth extending inwardly towards the center axis of the drum at a downward angle with respect to the diameter of the drum16. The transverse grooves21may have a V-shaped cross section as shown in the exemplary embodiment. Two mounting tracks23and24having a mirror image of one another in shape and construction are formed at the center location on the inside surface of the side walls13and14of the water container11. The mounting tracks23and24are generally L-shaped and have vertical channels25and26respectively extending from an upper open end to a round depression27curving sideways from the lower end of the channels25and26respectively. The drum16may be removably and slidably mounted within the water container11by sliding engagement of the arms17and18with the channels25and26respectively until the end of the two arms17and18of the axle engage with the round depression27of both mounting tracks23and24respectively for maintaining the drum16rotatably and securely mounted in the water container11. The upper portion of the round surface22of the drum16extends flush with the upper edge28of the water container11when it is mounted therein.

A cover29having a shape similar to the water container11and having slightly larger dimensions is removably mounted on top of the water container11. The cover29has downward skirting rear wall30, side walls31and32and front wall33. The cover29and the water container11may be snap-mounted together with the provision of engaging means such as a rib34formed around the top edge portion of the outer surface of the rear wall, side walls and front wall of the water container11and a mating groove35formed around the edge portion of inside surface of the skirting rear wall, side walls and front wall of the cover29. The rib34and the mating groove35are engageable with each other in a snap action for securely retaining the cover29mounted on the water container11. Alternatively, the rib may be formed on the cover29and the engageable rib formed on the water container11for the same purposes.

A rectangular access opening36is formed in the cover29. The top portion of the round surface22of the drum16is exposed in the rectangular access opening36and it may be located flush with or extending upwards beyond the top surface of the cover29with the drum16mounted in the water container11. The four sides37,38,39and40of the rectangular opening36are located in close proximity but spaced from the round surface and side surfaces of the drum16. The four sides of the rectangular opening36have short skirting flanges41,42,43and44respectively extending downward and preferably sloping slightly towards the drum16.

In use, the water container11is filled with the drinking water and the lower portion of the drum16is immersed in the latter. The cover29is securely snap-mounted on top of the water container11with only the top portion of the round surface22of the drum16exposing in the access opening36. As shown inFIG. 4, the dog45is trained to drink the water from the device10by standing at the front side of the device and to drink by licking the round surface22of the drum16exposing in the rectangular opening36. The licking action will cause the drum16to rotate backward towards the rear of the device10as shown by the curve arrow46inFIG. 2, so that water in the water container11is carried by the grooves21upwards continuously to the upper portion of the round surface21exposed in the rectangular access opening36of the round surface so as to provide the drinking water for the dog. The downward slanting depth of the transverse grooves21enhances that a satisfactory amount of drinking water is carried on the exposed round surface and running over the upper surface22of the rotating drum16for the dog to drink.

Water is prevented from splashing by the close fitting between the access opening36and the surfaces of the drum16. The downwardly sloping flanges41,42,43and44will return splashing water, if any, to run back into the water container11or towards the drum16. The ears of a long-eared dog will be positioned adjacent to the side walls13and14during drinking so that they are protected by the forward converging side walls13and14as well as the cover29without exposing to any splashing water or the danger of dipping into the drinking water in the container11to cause potential ear infection.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described and it may, on the contrary, be modified in numerous ways which will become apparent to a person skilled in the art.