Abstract:
A pet toy includes a handle, a wire composed of a metallic material, a wire attachment apparatus coupled with a first end of the wire, an attachment mechanism coupled to a second end of the wire and structured to releasably couple to an object, and a telescoping pole having a first end coupled to the handle and a second end coupled to the wire attachment apparatus.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This patent application claims the priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/951,227 filed on Mar. 11, 2014, and entitled, “TELESCOPING WAND WITH METALLIC WIRE AND GROUND TOY,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The disclosed concept relates generally to pet toys and, more particularly, to a pet toy including a wand with an attached object. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    It is generally well known in the relevant art to attach an object to the end of a wand using a string or chain to create a pet toy. These types of pet toys are particularly suitable as cat toys. Swinging the wand causes the object to move about as if it were flying or running which entice a cat to chase and catch the object. One example of such a cat toy is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,300. 
         [0006]    Although the types of pet toys using a wand with an object attached to it are suitable for entertaining pets, they are not without their drawbacks. For instance, the wand is generally an elongated piece that can be several feet long making it difficult or impractical to ship the pet toy. Also, when a string or chain is used in conjunction with a ground toy, the movement of the toy can be somewhat predictable. The string may also become tangled which can result in a considerable amount of time spent untangling the string. Furthermore, the object attached to the string tends to wear out before the wand, and it can be difficult or impossible to attach a new object to the string. 
         [0007]    It would thus be desirable to provide an improved pet toy that overcomes these and other shortcomings in the relevant art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    These needs and others are met by embodiments of the disclosed concept in which a pet toy includes a telescoping wand and a metallic wire. 
         [0009]    In accordance with aspects of the disclosed concept, a pet toy comprises: a handle; a wire composed of a metallic material; a wire attachment apparatus coupled with a first end of the wire; an attachment mechanism coupled to a second end of the wire and structured to releasably couple to an object; and a telescoping pole having a first end coupled to the handle and a second end coupled to the wire attachment apparatus. 
         [0010]    In accordance with other aspects of the disclosed concept, a pet toy comprises: an object; a handle; a wire composed of a metallic material; a wire attachment apparatus coupled with a first end of the wire; an attachment mechanism coupled to a second end of the wire and structured to releasably couple to the object; and a telescoping pole having a first end coupled to the handle and a second end coupled to the wire attachment apparatus. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    A further understanding of the disclosed and claimed concept can be gained from the following Description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which: 
           [0012]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are isometric views of a telescoping wand with a metallic wire in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a view of a handle in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0014]      FIGS. 3A-3D  are views of a wire attachment apparatus in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a view of an attachment mechanism in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view of an assembled pet toy in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosed concept; and 
           [0017]      FIGS. 6-9  are views of ground toys in accordance with example embodiments of the disclosed concept. 
       
    
    
       [0018]    Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example, left, right, front, back, top, bottom and derivatives thereof, relate to the orientation of the elements shown in the drawings and are not limiting upon the claims unless expressly recited therein. 
         [0020]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  include isometric views of a pet toy  1  in an extended ( FIG. 1A ) and a retracted ( FIG. 1B ) position. The pet toy  1  includes a telescoping wand  2 . A handle  4  is attached to one end of the telescoping wand  2  and a wire attachment apparatus  6  is attached to the other end of the telescoping wand  2 . A metallic wire  7  extends from the wire attachment apparatus  6  and its distal end is attached to an object via an attachment mechanism, as will be described in more detail in the description related to  FIGS. 5 . The telescoping wand  2  includes several segments that are able to retract into each other when the pet toy  1  is in the retracted position. 
         [0021]    The telescoping wand  2  can be made from any suitable material. For example and without limitation, in some embodiments of the disclosed concept the telescoping wand  2  is made from a metallic material such as stainless steel. In other embodiments of the disclosed concept, the telescoping wand  2  is made from a plastic material. 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 1B , when the telescoping wand is retracted, the size of the pet toy  1  is considerably reduced. When the telescoping wand  2  is retracted, the majority of it fits within the handle  1 . This reduction in size makes it much easier to ship or travel with the pet toy  1 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a view of a handle  4  that is used in conjunction with the pet toy  1 . The handle  4  is generally hollow so that the telescoping wand  2  can fit inside of it. The handle  4  can be made of any material, but it is preferable that the handle  4  is made of a material that is comfortable and easy to grip. 
         [0024]      FIGS. 3A-3D  are views of the wire attachment apparatus  6 .  FIG. 3A  is an isometric view of the wire attachment apparatus  6 ,  FIG. 3B  is a front view of the wire attachment apparatus  6 ,  FIG. 3C  is a side view of the wire attachment apparatus  6 , and  FIG. 3D  is a rear view of the wire attachment apparatus  6 . As shown in  FIGS. 3A-3D , the wire attachment apparatus  6  is attached to the end of the telescoping wand  2 . One end of the metallic wire  7  is attached to the wire attachment apparatus  6 , The metallic wire  7  extends from the wire attachment apparatus  6 . It is contempla..ted that the wire attachment apparatus  6  may be made of any suitable material such as, without limitation, a plastic material. 
         [0025]    The metallic wire  7  is made of a metallic material, in some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed concept, the metallic wire  7  is made of stainless steel. The metallic material provides the metallic wire  7  with a degree of rigidity and elasticity, unlike a string or a cord. Thus, unlike a string or a cord, when an object attached to the metallic wire  7  is batted, the object will move in an unpredictable fashion as the rigidity and elasticity of the metallic wire  7  in response to the weight of the object and the force it is batted with. 
         [0026]    In some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed concept, the metallic wire  7  has a length within a range of about 25 to 35 inches and a thickness within a range of about 0.015 to 0.030 inches. These lengths and thicknesses of the metallic wire  7  result in an object attached to the metallic wire  7  to exhibit particularly unpredictable movement when batted. in another exemplary embodiment of the disclosed concept, the metallic wire  7  has a length of about 31.5 inches and a thickness of about 0.022 inches. In this exemplary embodiment of the disclosed concept, an object attached to the end of the metallic wire  7  also exhibits particularly unpredictable movement when batted. 
         [0027]    In some exemplary embodiments of the disclosed concept, a metallic wire used in the Catfishert Whipper Snapper™ Wand is employed as the metallic wire  7 . 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , an attachment mechanism  10  is shown. The attachment mechanism  10  is structured to releasably attach the metallic wire  7  to an object such as a ground squirrel toy. The attachment mechanism  10  shown in  FIG. 4  has two primary parts, a swivel attachment  11  and a releasable hook  12 . The swivel attachment  11  is coupled to the metallic wire  7  on one end and the releasable hook  12  on the other end. The swivel mechanism  11  is structured to be capable of swiveling. That is, when the object attached to the releasable hook  12  spins, the swivel mechanism  11  will swivel so that the metallic wire  7  does not also spin. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , the pet toy  1  including a squirrel ground toy  50  is shown. As shown in  FIG. 5 , one end of the swivel mechanism  11  is coupled to the releasable hook  12 . The other end of the releaseable hook  12  is releasably attached to the squirrel ground toy  50  via an attachment point  15  included on the squirrel ground toy  50 . The attachment point  15  may be a loop, as shown in  FIG. 5 , or any other structure suitable to attach to. In some embodiments of the disclosed concept, a cord extends a short distance from the object and the attachment point is disposed at the end of the cord. 
         [0030]    The releaseable hook  12  can be easily operated to detach the ground squirrel toy  50  from the releaseable hook  12 . The squirrel ground toy  50  can then be easily reattached or another object can be easily attached to the releasable hook  12 . Thus, the attachment mechanism  10  makes it easy to detach an attached object when it becomes worn out and to attach a new object without discarding the other components of the pet toy  1  such as the telescoping wand  2  and wire attachment apparatus  6 . 
         [0031]      FIGS. 6-9  are examples of objects that can be attached to the distal end of the metallic wire  7  and used in conjunction with the telescoping wand  2  and the wire attachment apparatus  6 . For example, referring to  FIG. 6 , a spider ground toy  20  is an example of an object that can be attached to the metallic wire  7 . 
         [0032]    The spider ground toy  20  includes a body  21 . The body  21  is preferably made of a soft rubber material. The body  21  includes openings in which fur inserts  22  are placed. The spider ground toy  20  also three sets of legs. Each set of legs includes a pair of leg supports  23  that are made of a rigid material such as plastic. The leg supports  23  fit into the openings in the body  21 . The sets of legs also include ribbon feet  24  that extend from each of the leg supports  23 . 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , a mouse ground toy  30  is shown. The mouse ground toy  30  includes a head section  31 . The head section  31  is preferably made of a rigid material such as plastic or a soft rubber material. The head section  31  may also be partially fur covered. The mouse ground toy  30  also includes a body section  32 . The body section  32  is preferably fur covered. The head section  31  and the body section  32  are connected together by a pivot mechanism  33 . The pivot mechanism  33  is structured to allow the head section  31  and the body section  32  to pivot from side to side. The mouse ground toy  30  further includes a tail  34 . The tail  34  is preferably made of string and includes a knotted end. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , an octopus ground toy  40  is shown. The octopus ground toy  40  includes a head section  41 . The head section  41  is preferably made of a rigid material such as plastic. The head section  41  is at least partially hollow and at least partially transparent so that the inside of the head section  41  can be seen. A ball  42  is disposed inside the hollow area of the head section  41 . The head section  41  further includes a pair of eyes  43 . The eyes  43  are moveable such as, fur example and without limitation, opening and closing eyelids or moving pupils. The octopus ground toy  40  further includes a number of legs  44  attached to the head section  41 . The exterior of the legs  44  is preferably made of a soft material such as fabric. The inside of the legs  44  may include a noisemaking material such as crinkle plastic. 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , the squirrel ground toy  50  is shown. The squirrel ground toy  50  includes a head  51  and a body  52 . The head  51  and the body  52  are connected to each other. The head  51  and the body  52  are preferably made of a soft rubber material. The squirrel ground toy  50  further includes a tail section  53 . The tail section  53  is preferably made to look furry like a squirrel&#39;s tail. The tail section  53  may be made to look furry by covering in with a soft material such as fabric. The tail section  53  may be attached to the body  52  or a string may be used to pull the tail section  53  into the body  52 . The squirrel ground toy  50  further includes an interior tail section. The interior tail section fits inside the tail section  53 . The interior tail section is preferably made of a noisemaking material such as crinkle plastic. 
         [0036]    While some example of objects that can be attached to the metallic wire  7  have been described with respect to  FIGS. 6-9 , it will be appreciated that any suitable object may be attached to the metallic wire  7  without departing from the scope of the disclosed concept. The spider ground toy  20 , the mouse ground toy  30 , the octopus ground toy  40 , and the squirrel ground toy  50  are all ground toys which are particularly suitable for use with the telescoping wand  2  and the metallic wire  7 . The metallic wire  7  causes the attached object to slide and bounce in an unpredictable manner as through it were an animal scurrying along the ground. 
         [0037]    Although the foregoing discussion has presented specific embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments to achieve similar functionality and utility to the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. Moreover, it should be appreciated that features from. a particular embodiment may be implemented in another embodiment disclosed herein to achieve a desired functionality, Accordingly, the specific embodiments described herein should be understood as examples and not limiting the scope of the disclosure.