Abstract:
An aerodynamically interactive artifact is proportioned to experience at least one of tumbling, fluttering, and autorotating motion when subjected to free fall in a gravitational field. Suitable shapes include films, strips, butterflies, birds, and the like. The artifact may be contain a neutraceutical, may be dissolvable in pet saliva, and may provide an olfactory sensation for a pet. Dimensionless parameters such as Froude number and length-to-thickness ratios may be used to select aerodynamically interactive motions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/606,905, filed Dec. 1, 2006, by Jay Kling et al., the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates broadly to pet treats. More particularly, the invention concerns airborne treats for interaction between a cat and a person and a method of such interaction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An artifact adapted for enhancement of human/feline interaction may comprise an article having a major dimension, a minor dimension, and a thickness, where the minor dimension is less than the major dimension and the thickness is substantially less than the major dimension such that the article is aerodynamically interactive when moving through air under the influence of gravitational forces. That aerodynamic interactivity may give rise to erratic movement and may include one or more or fluttering motion, tumbling motion, and autorotation motion. Ordinarily, the article may be characterized as film-like to reflect its thin sheet appearance. 
     Typically, the article includes a substrate that may or may not be coated. The substrate may have any of various configuration including, without limitation, a generally rectangular shape, a thin narrow strip, a bird, a butterfly, or a seed. The substrate may be edible, and may even be soluble in cat saliva if desired. One or more conventional palatant, flavorant, and/or nutraceutical may be incorporated in the substrate, as may be desired. 
     Where a coating is applied to the substrate, the coating may also include one or more conventional palatants, flavorants, and/or nutraceuticals, again as may be desired. In some embodiments, a nutraceutical may be added to the substrate by the consumer to tailor the artifact as a nutraceutical delivery system. 
     Where a particular type of aerodynamic interaction is desired, the article can be constructed and arranged to provide tumbling, or fluttering, or autorotating motion. 
     To use the artifact as a toy, a treat, or a nutraceutical delivery system, the caregiver provides the artifact constructed and arranged to interact with air and exhibit the desired erratic motion. The caregiver drops or otherwise releases the artifact in proximity to the feline pet from a height sufficient for the artifact to exhibit the desired erratic motion. As the artifact falls under the influence of gravity, the feline pet is allowed to chase and catch the artifact—and eat it where it is a treat or nutraceutical. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art when this specification is read in conjunction with the attached drawings where like reference numerals have been applied to like elements and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an artifact according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of an artifact according to a second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of an artifact according to a third embodiment of the invention having a curved shape; 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric view of an artifact according to a forth embodiment of the invention having a wavy shape; 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric view of an artifact according to a fifth embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of an artifact according to a sixth embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view of an artifact according to a seventh embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a plan view of an artifact according to a eighth embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a plan view of an artifact according to a ninth embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a package for use and display of multiple artifacts of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Interaction between a pet owner and a pet provides benefits for both. The pet enjoys a one-on-one experience with its owner, an experience that promotes bonding between the pet and its owner or caregiver. Simultaneously, the owner/caregiver has an opportunity to be amused by the pet, and may use the opportunity to give the pet a treat, or a neutraceutical. This interaction may be effected through use of a toy designed to promote the interaction, or a treat designed to provide a pleasant sensory sensation for the pet. Where the pet is a feline, i.e., a cat or kitten, that interaction can be promoted and capitalized upon by recognizing that felines are typically intrigued by movement, especially erratic movement. 
     The present invention builds upon that concept—erratic motion—by using the aerodynamic interaction between a light, falling object and atmospheric air to create an airborne artifact. When a light object, such as a feather, falls through air under the influence of a gravitational field, the object may experience one or more kinds of erratic motion. More particularly, the object may flutter downwardly. Fluttering is exemplified by side-to-side gyrations in two or three dimensions as the object falls. An object might also experience tumbling movement as it falls. Tumbling is exemplified by rotational movement about an axis that is generally transverse to the direction the object is falling. An object might also experience an autorotation movement as it falls. Autorotation is exemplified by rotational movement about an axis that is generally aligned to the direction through which the object is falling. In most situations, as an object falls it undergoes a combination of such movements: fluttering, tumbling, and/or autorotation. 
     This invention employs those various airborne movements of an object falling through a gravitational field to design an artifact that enhances interaction between a pet and its owner/caregiver. Turning now to  FIG. 1 , an elementary embodiment of the artifact  20  is shown. The artifact  20  may be fashioned from thin sheet material. The material may have a generally uniform thickness less than about 0.010 in. Preferably, the material may have a thickness of less than about 0.005 in. More preferably, the material may have a thickness of less than about 0.003 in.—about the thickness of a sheet of paper. 
     The artifact  20  normally has a major dimension measured between the extremities in its largest direction. In addition, the artifact normally has a minor dimension measured between the extremities in a direction transverse to the major dimension. Ordinarily, the minor dimension is less than the major dimension. As seen in  FIG. 1 , the artifact  20  may be a generally planar film-like sheet having a thickness which is substantially smaller than both the major dimension and the minor dimension. For purposes of this discussion, “substantially smaller” means that the ratio of the minor dimension to the thickness is 15 or greater. 
     Depending upon the intended use, the artifact  20  may be fabricated from different materials. For example, where the artifact  20  will be used as a cat toy, the artifact  20  may be fashioned from paper; an edible film; a wafer-like edible material, a thin, non-toxic sheet material; or the like. Where the artifact  20  will be used as a treat or a nutraceutical delivery system, the artifact  20  may be fashioned from an edible film; a thin, non-toxic sheet material; or the like. When used as a treat or nutraceutical delivery system, a coating  22  may be applied to a substrate  24  of the artifact  20 . The coating  22  may provide an scent or smell attractive to the cat and/or a taste found pleasing to cats. To this end, the coating  22  may comprise any compound or combination of ingredients that result in a coating having one or more of an attractive taste, smell, and/or scent. Moreover, when used as a treat or nutraceutical delivery system, the artifact  20  itself may be fabricated from a material containing one or more compounds or ingredients having an attractive taste, smell, and/or scent. Without intending to limit the generality of such compounds or ingredients, exemplary taste, smell, and/or scent compounds or ingredients may include one or more of catnip, fish, chicken, shrimp, seafood and/or poultry odor or taste generators. 
     Where the artifact  20  is used as a nutraceutical delivery system, the nutraceutical may be incorporated into the substrate of the artifact  20 , or incorporated into the coating  22 , or both. Plainly, in some applications it may be desired to incorporate the nutraceutical in the substrate while a masking scent or smell is applied in coating to disguise the nutraceutical. If the nutraceutical is a granular material, it may also be applied in the coating  22  with a suitable food-grade binder to hold the granular material to the substrate of the artifact  20 . 
     Although the artifact  20  depicted in  FIG. 1  is substantially rectangular in shape, it is not required that the artifact  20  have such a specific configuration. More particularly, the artifact  20  may include edges  26 ,  26  (see  FIG. 2 ) which are irregular, which meet adjacent edges with sharp corners or rounded corners, and/or which are dissimilar to one another. Furthermore, although the artifact  20  has been illustrated for convenience as a planar object ( FIG. 1 ), it may be desired that a more complex shape such as curved plate (see  FIG. 3 ), a wavy plate (see  FIG. 4 ), or other more complex shapes may be employed. Such nonplanar shapes may be capable of generating even more interesting aerodynamic interactions as the artifact drops though air. 
     In the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-4 , the major dimensions have the same order of magnitude as the minor dimension, that is the ratio of the major dimension to the minor dimension for the artifact  20  is less than about 5. However, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the artifact may comprise a long strip  30  for which the ratio of the major dimension to the minor dimension is greater than about 5. As with the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-4 , the long strip  30  may be coated, may have irregular edges  32 ,  34  (see  FIG. 6 ), and may be flat, curved, or wavy, and may be constructed from the same materials and compounds described above. 
     While the artifact  20  may have two or more generally parallel edges, as shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , the artifact  20  may have an irregular shape if desired. For example (see  FIG. 7 ), a bird-shaped design  36  may be used for the external contour of the artifact  20 . The design  36  may include a pair of opposed, elongated wings  38  and a tail  40 . The design  36  may be symmetric about an axis  41  positioned between the wings  38 . Alternatively, the design  36  may be asymmetric to generate even more complex airborne movements. 
     The artifact  20  may also have an irregular shape resembling a butterfly  42  (see  FIG. 8 ). In this embodiment, a pair of wings  44 ,  46  are generally symmetric about an axis  48  extending between them. 
     Another embodiment of the artifact  20  (see  FIG. 9 ) resembles a single wing  50  and is also an irregular configuration. The wing  50  may include a bulbous portion  52  at one end. The wing  50  also has a leading edge  54  and a trailing edge  56 . If desired, some curvature may be provided between the leading and trailing edges  54 ,  56  so that the wing-like portion of this embodiment  50  is nonplanar. The bulbous portion  52  may define a pocket suitable to receive a morsel of food, a treat, or a nutraceutical. The morsel, treat, or nutraceutical may be supplied with the artifact  20 , or the artifact  20  may be supplied with an empty pocket that may be filled by the purchaser with a nutraceutical or treat or the purchaser&#39;s own selection to tailor the product to observed likes and dislikes of the particular cat. The wing-shaped artifact  20  may exhibit an autorotation movement when allowed to fall through air in a gravitational field. 
     It should be noted that any of the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1-9  may have a substrate with the characteristics described above. Likewise, it should be noted that any of the embodiments illustrated may have one or more coatings with the characteristics described above. 
     Turning now to the motion of the artifact, as described above fluttering can be described as side-to-side gyrations in two or three dimensions as an object falls. Tumbling can be described as rotational movement about an axis where the axis is generally transverse to the direction through which the object falls. Autorotation can be described as rotational movement about an axis where the axis is generally aligned with the direction through which the object falls. The physical characteristics of the artifact which differentiate between fluttering and tumbling motion are not well understood for light artifacts moving in three dimensions falling through air. While not desiring to be bound by any particular analysis in a scientific area that is not well understood, it has been reported in the scientific literature that the transition between tumbling and fluttering in quasi-two-dimensional flows occurs for a Froude number, F r , of about 0.67. See, A. Belmonte et al., “From Flutter to Tumble: Inertial Drag and Froude Similarity in Falling Paper”, 81 P HYSICAL REVIEW  L ETTERS  (No. 2), 345 (Jul. 13, 1998). The Froude number is a dimensionless number typically used as a parameter representative of certain similarities between seemingly different fluid flow systems. The Froude number can be expressed as follows: 
             Fr   =           2   ⁢   γ       ρ   ⁢           ⁢     C   D           ⁢       t   L               
where γ is the density of the material, ρ is the density of air, C D  is the drag coefficient of the shape through air, and t/L is the ratio of sheet thickness to a characteristic length dimension of the sheet. For a rectangular sheet perpendicular to the flow direction, the drag coefficient can be found on the internet to be about 2. The density of a typical paper sheet and the density of air are also readily available on the internet. Accordingly the foregoing equation can be solved to show that a threshold length-to-thickness ratio, L/t, of about 1200 would correspond to the transition between fluttering and tumbling for paper in air—higher L/t values suggesting flutter motion and lower L/t values suggesting tumbling motion.
 
     For artifacts having different major and minor dimensions, the transition between tumbling and fluttering may require that Froude numbers based on both the major dimension and the minor dimension need to exceed that threshold length-to-thickness ratio—i.e., the major-dimension-to-thickness ratio and the minor-dimension-to-thickness ratio both should exceed about 1200 for flutter motion. Accordingly, for an application where fluttering motion is desired, the artifact should be designed such that the ratio of major-dimension-to-thickness and the ratio of minor-dimension-to-thickness both exceed about 1200. Where primarily tumbling motion is preferred, at least one of those ratios should be less than about 1200. 
     The artifacts  20  of this invention may be merchandised in any desired manner. However, one presently preferred package (see  FIG. 10 ) may comprise a hollow container  60  which is generally rectangular in plan view with generally rounded corners and a plurality of outwardly extending side protrusions  62 . The package preferably has a length and width exceeding the major and minor dimensions, respectively, of the artifacts to be packaged therein. Preferably, a plurality of similarly shaped artifacts will be stacked inside the package  60 . The protrusions  62  aid the consumer&#39;s grip on the package. 
     At one end of the package, an openable flap  64  may be provided with a width corresponding to the width of the package so that artifacts inside the container can be removed one at a time. Preferably, the flap  64  also extends from one end of the package so that a consumer can access a portion of the uppermost artifact in the stack. A lift tab  66  may be provided on the flap  64  to facilitate lifting the tab  64  so that is folds along a hinge line  68  at the end opposite the tab  66 . 
     The artifact  20  (e.g.,  FIG. 1 ) can be used to promote interaction between a human and feline pet. For example, a package  60  ( FIG. 10 ) of artifacts may be provided. The artifacts of the package  60  are preferably designed to generate erratic motion when they fall through a gravitational field and aerodynamically interact with air during the fall. More particularly, the artifact may be designed to generate erratic motion which may include one or more of fluttering motion, tumbling motion, and/or autorotation motion as the artifact falls. In addition at the time of manufacture, the artifact may be given a coating having one or more ingredients selected from the group consisting of palatants, flavorants, and nutraceuticals. 
     The flap  64  may be opened by lifting the tab  66  to expose a stack of artifacts inside the package. Then, one of the artifacts may be removed from the package  60  and the flap  74  is closed to maintain freshness of the remaining artifacts in the package  60 . 
     The selected artifact  20  (e.g.,  FIG. 1 ) may then be dropped or released from height sufficient for the designed erratic motion to develop as the selected artifact interacts with air during its fall. To promote interaction between the human and the feline pet, the dropping step should take place in proximity to the feline pet. That concept of proximity is elastic. When the feline pet first experiences a falling artifact according to this invention, the artifact may need to be near the feline. On the other hand, when the cat has enjoyed multiple interactions with these artifacts, then the cat may become aware of the erratically moving airborne object as long as it is, for example, in the same room. 
     Usually, the feline pet is allowed to chase, jump at, and/or catch the falling artifact. 
     To enhance the feline pet&#39;s interest in the artifact, the artifact may be coated with a conventional palatant or flavoring. Such palatants and flavorings may convert the falling artifact into a desirable treat or toy. Repeated dropping of these artifacts provides periods of time where the feline pet and its human handler spend time together playing with objects of common interest—the feline pet playfully chasing, jumping at, and catching the artifact, while the human handler raises and drops erratically moving artifacts for the pet&#39;s amusement. In this connection, that interaction between the caregiver and the feline pet may also be effective to promote exercise for the feline pet, thereby enhancing its physical condition and well-being. 
     These artifacts may also function as a delivery system for nutraceuticals. The nutraceutical may be an ingredient of a coating or an ingredient of the substrate of the artifact. In such arrangements, the nutraceutical may be provided as part of the artifact at the time of manufacture. On the other hand, when an artifact such as the embodiment of  FIG. 9  is used, the nutraceutical may be placed in the pocket of the bulbous area  52  by the human handler before the artifact is dropped to the pet. In this way, the nutraceutical can be delivered to the feline pet in a playful manner. Such an arrangement may be particularly useful when the feline pet has become accustomed to playful interaction with artifacts according to this invention and it then becomes necessary to deliver a nutraceutical to the pet. 
     In this specification, when the word “about” or “substantially” is used in connection with numerical values, applicants intend that such numerical values include a tolerance of ±10% to reach substantially equivalent values. 
     Various embodiments of a novel and nonobvious airborne interactive cat treat or toy and a method of using it have been described above in detail. Nevertheless, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications, variations, substitutions and equivalents exist for various features and elements of the product and method. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such modifications, variations, substitutions and equivalents which fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims be embraced thereby.