Abstract:
A Pet Dish and Disposable Liner. The dish is durable and washable, but the liner is made from low-cost material such that it can be disposable, if desired. The dish and liner are both aesthetically pleasing, particularly since they resemble a pet&#39;s face. The dish and liners are cooperatively designed so that the liner inserted into the dish will not inadvertently be forced out by the eating pet, nor will the liner be allowed to spin within the dish. The dish and liner are also configured so that a stack of liners can be held conveniently within a single dish.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates generally to pet products and, more specifically, to a Pet Dish and Disposable Liner. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Pet food and water dishes are available in virtually all shapes and sizes, and typically present a common problem for the pet caretakers—they become soiled and are very undesirable to clean once in that condition. 
   Several inventions have sought to solve this problem using a variety of techniques. Birnie, U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,110 discloses a “Pet Feeding System with Disposable Inserts.” The Birnie device is a semi-spherical bowl having a stack of disposable bowl liners within it. The liners each have an adhesive tab to hold them in their place in the stack. Each liner further has a thumb notch to assist the caretaker in removing the soiled liner for disposal. Another device is the Jordan “Combined Pet Food Bowl and Disposable Liner,” U.S. Pat. No. D330,785. The Jordan device is a cylindrical bowl having a similarly-shaped liner; the liner has a protruding tab that presumably aids in the removal of the liner from the bowl. Another device is the Budd “Disposable Pet Food Dish,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,845. It is a bowl having a pair of rectangular bowls formed within it; each bowl has one or more dimples or “raised portions” in their walls to hold the liners in the bowls while in use to provide food and water to the pet. Koch, U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,325 is a “Feeding Bowl and Liner Therefor,” is a bowl/liner combination with horizontal and vertical recesses to retain the liner within the bowl and to aid the caregiver in pulling the liners out of the bowl. Finally, the Boehlert “Disposable Feeding Dish and Its Complementary Receptacle,” U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,594 is a cylindrical bowl having a liner, where the liner is adhered to the bowl with a temporary adhesive to prevent its pulling out while the pet is feeding. 
   None of the numerous aforementioned attempts at solving the soiled food dish problem has truly provided a desirable solution. Notably lacking is a bowl/liner combination that has any aesthetic attractiveness. Furthermore, the only prior devices that included the capacity to hold a stack of liners required adhesive between each liner; making these approaches undesirable from the perspective of manufacturing, storage and shipping. Furthermore, to prevent spinning (a common problem with the basic bowl-and-liner design), these prior devices either require adhesive, or if they do have some other approach, this other approach is limited to a non-stacked liner arrangement and/or it is very difficult to overcome the anti-spin element so that the liner can be removed. 
   What is needed, then, is a pet dish and liner combination that is aesthetically appealing, includes anti-spin features, yet still permits a stack of liners to be held within the bowl without the need for supplemental adhesive or some sort of tool to remove the liners from the bowl. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In light of the aforementioned problems assocaited with the prior devices, it is an object of the present invention to provide a Pet Dish and Disposable Liner. The dish should be durable and washable, but the liner should be made from low-cost material such that it is disposable, if desired. The dish and liner should both be aesthetically pleasing. The dish and liners should be cooperatively aligned so that the liner inserted into the dish will not inadvertently be forced out by the eating pet, nor should the liner be allowed to spin within the dish. The dish and liners should also be configured so that a stack of liners can be held conveniently within a single dish. The dish would be particularly attractive if it resembled the face of a pet, such as a cat or dog. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects and features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, of which: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the pet dish with disposable liner of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of the pet dish of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the pet dish of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the disposable liner of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a stack of disposable liners of  FIGS. 1 and 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the pet dish of  FIGS. 1–3 ; and 
       FIG. 7  is another side view of the pet dish of  FIGS. 1–3  and  6 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventors of carrying out their invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide a Pet Dish and Disposable Liner. 
   The present invention can best be understood by initial consideration of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the pet dish with disposable liner  10  of the present invention. The dish  121  has a generally circular or cylindrical shape, and defines a spherically bowl-shaped recessed portion in its center and has a side wall  16  generally defining its periphery. 
   The liner  14  is made to closely nest within the recessed portion  18  of the bowl  12 , and is made from a thin-walled (typically polymeric) material to provide durability yet low cost. The liner  14  has a center receptacle  20  for food or water, and is bounded on its outer periphery by a side lip  22 . The side lip  22  provides additional protection against slop-over of food onto the side wall  16  of the bowl, as well as preventing material from getting food material from getting in between layers of liners  14 . If we now turn to  FIG. 2 , we can examine this novel dish in more detail. 
     FIG. 2  is a top view of the pet dish  12  of  FIG. 1 . As should be apparent, this particular embodiment is formed to resemble a cat&#39;s face. The circular side wall  16  has a first liner retaining element  28 A protruding from it that resembles the cat&#39;s tongue. Second and third liner retaining elements,  28 B and  28 C resemble the cat&#39;s ears. While not shown in the drawings, the liner (see  FIG. 1 ) may further have eyes and a nose inscribed on it to further convey the resemblance to a cat. 
   The first liner retainer retaining element  28 A has a groove  30  formed in its top surface so that it looks more like a tongue. Similarly, the second and third liner retaining elements  28 B and  28 C have recessed portions  32 A and  32 B, respectively, to increase their aesthetic representation of a cat&#39;s ear. 
   The central semispherical recessed portion  18  is formed by the interior wall  26  of the dish  12 . The interior wall  26  and side wall  16  terminate at their top surfaces in the top wall  24 . The top wall  24  is a generally flat surface encircling the recessed portion  18  that is broken in its continuity by the liner retaining elements  28 A– 28 C that extend upwardly from the top wall  24  to create more distinctive animal-like features to the dish  12 . As should further be noticed, the outer walls of each of the liner retaining elements  28 A– 28 C extend outwardly from the side wall  16 . 
   In other non-depicted versions, a dog or other species&#39; face might be emulated, with the liner retaining elements  28 A– 28 C being shaped to more closely resemble that animal&#39;s features. We will now turn to  FIG. 3  to examine the dish features in more detail. 
     FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the pet dish  12  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Here, as in  FIG. 1 , the liner retaining elements  28 A– 28 C, seen in a perspective view, reveal that each element  28  has a retaining lip  34 A– 34 C formed on its inwardly-facing side. The retaining lips  34 A– 34 C serve to hold down the liner(s) that are inserted within the recessed portion of the dish  12 . Furthermore, the retaining lips  34 A– 34 C, in that they rise up above the surface of the top wall (see  FIG. 2 ) of the dish  12 , prevent the liners from spinning when the pet licks the liner to get all of its food out. Also depicted here more clearly is that the first, second and third liner retaining elements have respective side walls  36 A,  36 B and  36 C that protrude outward from the dish side wall  16  (see  FIG. 1 ). Review of the design of the liners is provided in connection with  FIG. 4 . 
     FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the disposable liner  14  of  FIG. 1 . As discussed above, the liners  14  of the device are preferably made from a durable plastic or coated paper material that prevent leak-through such as from wet food, but are thin and low-cost such that they can be disposed of when done being used. 
   Each liner  14  defines a food receptacle  20  (also for liquids, if desired) in its center that is semi-spherically shaped such that it nests very well with the center recessed portion of the dish. At the upper periphery of the receptacle  20 , the liner  14  extends outwardly at a first rim portion  40 A, a second rim portion  40 B and a third rim portion  40 C. These rim portions are collectively the liner rim, which, as shown, extends out from the bowl portion  38 . 
   Separating each rim portion from each other (i.e. between  40 A and  40 B,  40 B and  40 C and  40 C and  40 A) are notches  42 A,  42 B and  43 C. The notches  42 A– 42 C are sized and located to correspond to the three liner retaining elements  28 A– 28 C (see  FIG. 2 ). When inserted properly into the dish, then, the bowl portion  38  lays against the recessed portion of the dish, and the rim lays against the top wall of the dish (see  FIG. 2 ). Because the retaining elements  28 A– 28 C (see  FIG. 2 ) extend through the notches  42 A– 42 C, they prevent the liner(s) from spinning when the pet licks it. Furthermore, the three retaining lips  34 A– 34 C (see  FIG. 3 ) are designed to overhang the inside edge of the notches  42 A– 42 C to resist the liners  14  being lifted out of the dish. Unlike the prior art, however, no adhesive or special removal tool is required. The user need only slightly deflect a portion of the rim inwardly until an adjacent notch can pass inside of its retaining lip. Then the soiled liner  14  can be removed from the dish. 
     FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a stack of disposable liners  14  of  FIGS. 1 and 4 . A substantial benefit of the instant design is that two or more liners  14  can be nested into a stack, and then the stack  44  can be inserted into the dish (or the liners  14  can simply be stacked as they are individually placed into the dish). All of the notches align with one another and with the liner retaining elements so that the entire stack is prevented from spinning or accidental removal. Furthermore, as discussed above, each liner has a side lip  22  formed around the periphery of its rim such that it prevents material from inadvertently finding its way between a pair of adjacent liners  14 . 
     FIGS. 6 and 7  are side views of the pet dish  12  of  FIGS. 1–3 . Here, the retaining lips  34 A– 34 C can be clearly seen to be a notch formed on the inner surface of reach retaining element  28 A– 28 C such that the top surface  38 A– 38 C of the retaining elements  28 A– 28 C create an overhang that are the lips  34 A– 34 C that hold the liners in place in the dishes. 
   Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.