A TOY, PREFERABLY FOR ANIMALS

Abstract: A toy, preferably for animals, is shaped as a hollow body with an inner labyrinth (9). An object such as a titbit, may be caused to move along the labyrinth, in that e.g. a dog manipulates the hollow body. The hollow body is preferably shaped as a cube (3) with bevelled edges, one side face of the cube being provided with an opening capable of receiving an insert member (2) and discharging the titbit after it has passed through the labyrinth (9). Accordingly, a toy is provided, preferably for dogs, capable of meeting the natural needs of a dog with respect to the use of brain and olfactory sense.

Description: A toy, preferably for animals The invention concerns a toy, preferably for animals and of the type where an object, such as a titbit, may be moved through a labyrinth provided in a hollow body which has an entrance opening and an exit opening. Such a toy is known from the British Patent Application 2 260 912. This known toy is shaped as a cube which has a labyrinth consisting of 81 cubic compartments. The cube has an entrance opening and an exit opening, with circular holes provided between the smaller cubic compartments so that a ball can move through the various small cubic com- partments from the entrance to the exit by manipulation of the cube. As will be appreciated, the structure thus known will be difficult to use with anything but ball-shaped bod¬ ies, which, of course, limits the use of the toy. Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide a toy of the above-mentioned type whose possible applications are considerably more versatile than known before. For ex¬ ample, it will be desirable to provide a toy - e.g. for a dog - which is so arranged as to meet the natural needs of the dog with respect to the use of brain and olfactory sense. The dog will hereby be more relaxed and behave in a balanced manner, because it can then expend its energy, which could otherwise not be brought into use. The object of the invention is achieved by a toy of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 1, which is characterized in that the entrance opening and the exit opening are formed by the same opening, and that the laby¬ rinth is formed as a path defined by continuous side faces. It is hereby ensured that objects which are not ball-shaped may be moved through the labyrinth. For example, a titbit for a dog may be used as an object, which has the advantage that in addition to using its brain the dog can also use its olfactory sense. The activity of the dog is hereby stimulated, because it recognizes the smell of titbits. Further, it is considerably cheaper to manufacture such a toy, because it is not necessary to drill a plurality of holes in cubic compartments to provide the labyrinth. Expediently, the side faces are formed by the inner wall of the hollow body and a tubular insert member which is in- sertable into the opening. As will be explained later, the use of a tubular insert member opens up the possibility of changing the "difficulty" of the toy. Further, it is expedient that the upper wall portion of the insert member is formed with a hole which communicates with the labyrinth, and that the lower portion of the insert member is formed with a second hole which communicates with the labyrinth. The insert member is rotatable with respect to the hollow body, which provides the advantage that the "difficulty" of the toy may be adjusted, as the hole cooperates with a vertical wall which extends perpen¬ dicularly upwards from the path of the labyrinth. The insert member is provided as a separate member which is insertable into the hollow body by snap locking, thereby ensuring that various insert members resulting in various "difficulties" of the body may be provided by e.g. making the holes in different sizes. Expedient embodiments of the invention are expressed in the dependent claims. The invention will be explained more fully below with ref¬ erence to the drawing, which shows an embodiment, and in which: fig. 1 shows the toy shaped as a cube with bevelled edges, fig. 2 shows the insert member with the upper hole and the connection to the labyrinth path, while fig. 3 shows, partly in section, how the labyrinth path and the insert member are arranged inside the hollow body. Fig. 1 shows the toy shaped as a cube with bevelled edges, one of the side faces of the cube being provided with an insert member. Fig. 2 shows how part of the labyrinth path cooperates with the insert member. An upright barrier wall is provided on the labyrinth 9. It will be seen that opposite the upright barrier wall the insert member 2 is formed with a hole 5, whose extent may be limited by rotation of the insert mem¬ ber in the direction of the arrow. As will be seen in fig. 3, the insert member has a lower hole 6 which, together with a bore 14 in the insert member, is intended for passing an object, such as titbit, down to the lower portion of the labyrinth in the hollow body. Fur¬ ther, the lower portion of the labyrinth has a recess which, together with a boss 7 on the bottom of the hollow body, is intended to limit the distance through which the insert member can be moved. As will be moreover seen in fig. 3, the upper portion of the insert member is formed with snap locking means 8 capable of engaging the edge of the hollow body which defines the opening in the hollow body. The mode of operation of the toy will be explained now. An object, such as a titbit for a dog, is moved down through the opening 14 in the insert member 2 to get placed on the labyrinth. The titbit can now be smelled by a dog, and the dog will of course try to get the titbit out of the laby¬ rinth. This is done in that the dog manipulates the hollow body e.g. with the nose, thereby causing the hollow body to rotate, and the titbit will then follow the labyrinth and eventually end at the upper hole 5, from which it falls out of the opening 14 on the insert member. When the dog has tried this a couple of times, the "difficulty" of the toy may be increased, merely by rotating the insert member so that the titbit, when in the proximity of the hole, does not readily fall out. Although the invention has been explained with reference to the drawing, it will be appreciated that other embodiments are conceivable. For example, the labyrinth may be formed as a tube or merely a U-shaped open channel which extends along the inner side of the hollow body. The insert member may hereby be omitted, but then it will not be possible to vary the "difficulty" of the toy.

Claims: P a t e n t C l a i m s 1. A toy, preferably for animals and of the type where an object, such as a titbit, may be moved through a labyrinth (9) provided in a hollow body which has an entrance opening and an exit opening, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the entrance opening and the exit opening are formed by the same opening (2) , and that the labyrinth (9 ) is formed as a path defined by continuous side faces (11, 15). 2. A toy according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the side faces are formed by the inner wall of the hollow body and a tubular insert member (4) which is in- sertable into the opening. 3. A toy according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e in that the side of the insert member - at the opening (2) - is formed with a hole (5) which communicates with the labyrinth (9). 4. A toy according to claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the side of the insert member - remote from the opening (2) - is formed with a second hole (6) which communicates with the labyrinth (9) . 5. A toy according to claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the insert member is rotatable with re¬ spect to the hollow body, angular rotation being restricted by a boss (7) which cooperates with a recess ( 13) in the lower wall portion of the insert member, and which extends upwards from the bottom of the hollow body. 6. A toy according to claims 3-4, c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that in the area around the hole (5) the laby¬ rinth has a barrier wall (10) which terminates the laby¬ rinth. 7. A toy according to claims 2-6, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the insert member has a through passage (14) which communicates with the labyrinth via the second hole (6). 8. A toy according to claims 2-7, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the insert member (4) is insertable into the hollow body by snap locking. 9. A toy according to claims 1-8, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the hollow body is shaped as a cube with bevelled corners (3). 10. A toy according to claims 1-9, c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that the labyrinth winds around the insert mem¬ ber and evenly slopes from the upper end of the hollow body, or that the labyrinth is preferably stepped.

Inventors: JOERGENSEN KURT LIND, JOERGENSEN, KURT, LIND
Applicants: JOERGENSEN KURT LIND, KRUUSE JOERGEN AS, JOERGEN KRUUSE A/S, JOERGENSEN, KURT, LIND
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A63F7
IPC codes: A01K15, A01K29, A63F7, A63F9