Abstract:
A leash that allows any individual to control a pulling dog without risking injury or walking in an unsafe manner. The disclosed leash maximizes body mechanics and basic pulley/lever principles to achieve more strength. The leash comprises a cuff that preferably wraps around a user&#39;s arm above the elbow. Attached to the cuff are a few feet of leash material that freely runs through an O-ring and ends in a handle. Attached to the O-ring are another few feet of leash ending with a clip that can go to a dog collar. When the dog pulls, the user pulls the handle. The resulting force goes through the O-ring, which acts as a pulley and on to the arm cuff and back of the arm, utilizing stronger shoulder and back muscles. Therefore the user is able to pull back with a lot more force than is obtainable with a typical leash.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/606,143, filed on Mar. 2, 2012. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for a leash. More specifically, the present invention is an apparatus for a pet leash that attaches to a user&#39;s arm for more control over the pet. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are many dogs that pull very strongly for various reasons when walked, and owners that frequently struggle to gain control. At times this results in various injuries or owners giving up their otherwise likable dogs. Even medium sized dogs can produce a strong pulling force that can overwhelm children and adults that are not a matching size, weight, or strength. This is not a new problem and various methods have been used to address the challenge. 
     To prevent the leash from breaking, leashes have been produced in which the material is stronger, such as doubling the thickness of nylon webbing or using leather instead of nylon. These solutions prevent the strong dog from breaking the material but do not address the issue of easier control. 
     One method of control includes using a choke collar. As the name implies, when the leash is pulled, the collar chokes the dog and the dog stops pulling in order to reduce the sensation. Choke collars can include chain, leather, and various spiked materials. Many owners feel this is harmful to the dog and do not consider it an option. 
     Some solutions use a harness instead of a collar on the dog. The leash used is the same but the harness is a series of straps that result in pulling the dog from underneath instead of on top. This does reduce the pulling since dogs respond quicker. The challenge with these harnesses is the difficulty in putting on a complex series of straps and buckles each time the owner wants to use it. They also stretch out with time. Harness type products are where most of the commercial efforts have been made to reduce dogs from excessive pulling. 
     Retractable leashes designed for larger dogs are another option. These have a heavier duty mechanism for the larger breeds but do not reduce the excessive pulling and will not retract under force. The mechanism will also break since the line or webbing has to be thin enough to retract and can foul the inner workings. 
     Other solutions include additional hand loops for shorter grabs on the leash, various ways to create a spring type leash where a device can expand and pull back, or leashes that are designed for active children, which may include a harness. There are also leashes with a simple attachment to the waist. None of these solutions are a practical and consistent method to control a dog under a variety of conditions with minimal impact to the dog or human. 
     Training a dog not to pull at all is one of the best solutions; however, many owners do not spend the time or money necessary to train and see significant results. 
     The traditional, simple, well-known type of leash is made either of nylon webbing usually one-inch diameter or leather with a loop at one end and a clip on the other. If the user holds the loop like a handle and there is a strong pulling force, much of the force is being held only by the fingers. It is recommended that a user put his/her hand through the loop and grip the leash. That transfers most of the force to the back of the hand and the wrist, followed by a much lesser extent, the arm and shoulder. This method of holding the leash does not give sufficient control over a strong pulling dog. Injuries to the wrist, dislocations of the shoulder and falls resulting in injury have been known to occur. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to use a person&#39;s natural body mechanics to maximize the human pulling force on any animal. The present invention accomplishes this by using a different method of design and attachment of the leash to the human body. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a leash that allows any individual to control a pulling dog without risking injury or walking in an unsafe manner. The present invention maximizes body mechanics and basic pulley/lever principles to achieve more strength. The present invention comprises a cuff that wraps around a body appendage, particularly around user&#39;s arm above the elbow. Attached to the cuff are a few feet of leash material that freely runs through an O-ring and ends in a handle. Attached to the O-ring are another few feet of leash ending with a clip that can go to a dog collar. When the dog pulls, the user pulls the handle backwards. The resulting force goes through the O-ring, which is acting as a pulley and on to the cuff and body appendage, e.g., the back of the arm and thus utilizing stronger shoulder and back muscles to help distribute the pulling force from the dog. Therefore the user is able to pull back with a lot more force than is obtainable with a typical leash. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following detailed description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the present invention solely thereto, will best be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top-side diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a right-side diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention while in use; 
         FIG. 3  is a right-side diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention showing a cuff being attached to an arm of a user; 
         FIG. 4  is a front-side diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention showing the cuff being attached to the arm of the user; 
         FIG. 5  is a front-side diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention showing the cuff attached to the arm of the user; 
         FIG. 6  is a front-side diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention showing the cuff being attached to the arm of the user; and 
         FIG. 7  is a close-up diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention showing the cuff attached to the arm of the user. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A better understanding of the disclosed embodiments will be obtained from the following detailed descriptions and accompanying drawings. All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the preferred embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. According to one embodiment described herein, a leash is disclosed for walking and controlling a dog that has excessive pulling force. The dog may be large and strong or a medium size dog that has a lot of strength. 
     The leash may comprise the following components, with all component numbers referring to  FIG. 1 :
           202  Handle     204  Webbing     205  Upper Leash     206  O Ring Pulley     208  Squeeze Release Buckle     209  Adjusting slide bar     210  Lower Leash     210 A Dog Clip     212  Quick Release     214  Large D Ring     216  Arm Cuff     218  Arm Cuff—Outer Cuff with Back Padding     220  Arm Cuff—Inner Cuff Elastic Velcro on one side     222  Loop Locks A &amp; B     224  Lower Leash Section       

     The lower leash  210  that runs from the O-ring pulley  206  to the dog collar has a standard clip  210 A that attaches to any dog harness or collar. The clip  210 A may be sewn to the lower leash  210 , which is the preferred method of joining material components or otherwise permanently attached to the preferred material of flat nylon webbing  204 . The nylon webbing  204  can be any color with any variety of graphics, lettering or customization. Leather, chain, cable, rope, cloth or any suitable material for the leash may also be used. In this embodiment, the flat nylon webbing  204  is preferably 1 inch wide, but may be any widths ranging from ¼ inch to over 2 inches. The nylon flat webbing then runs several feet to where it is attached to a squeeze release buckle  208 . The squeeze release buckle  208  can be multiple colors and sizes depending on the width of the webbing  204 ; it is also part of an adjustable slide bar  209  on one side that allows the leash to be adjusted to multiple lengths. The part of the leash that is attached to the clip  210 A is fed through the adjustable slide bar  209  so the webbing can lock down on itself and stay in the adjusted position. When the sides of the squeeze release buckle  208  are squeezed, the mechanism detaches completely and the clip  210 A attached to the dog along with the length of webbing and part of the squeeze release buckle  208  are completely free from the leash and attached only to the dog. This allows easy disentanglement that may occur from playing with other dogs. Note that, as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize, the squeeze release buckle  208  shown in  FIG. 1  is the presently preferred quick release, but other types of quick release mechanisms may be used, including, but not limited to, the Velcro-like mating straps discussed below. 
     On the opposite side of the adjustable slide bar and squeeze release buckle  208  is a small 1 to 4 inch piece of webbing section  224  where one end of the webbing is attached permanently around the small bar of the quick release  208  in such a way to allow it to rotate freely. The other end of section  224  is attached in the same manner around the O-ring pulley  206  with approximately 1 to 4 inches of webbing in between the squeeze buckle  208  and the O-ring pulley  206 . Both ends of the small piece  224  can rotate freely around the bar attached to the squeeze buckle  208  as well as the end that is attached to the O-ring pulley  206 . 
     The O-ring pulley  206  may be made of metal, plastic or other material or design suitably strong (or rigid) that serves the same basic mechanical advantage principles of a pulley. In this embodiment as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the O-ring pulley  206  is a 1.5 inch diameter metal ring. The O-ring  206  must allow the webbing part  224  to pass through it freely in all directions, which allows flexibility for the lower leash  210 , which is attached to the dog so the dog and leash can travel in all directions. 
     The upper leash  205  is threaded through the O-ring pulley  206 . The upper leash  205  comprises several main components, handle  202 , quick release  212 , large D ring  214  and arm cuff  216 . 
     The handle  202  is at one end of the upper leash. This can be used right or left handed by the user and preferably comprises of a loop of webbing and a rubber or plastic grip to cushion the hand and provide the first part of controlling the leash and dog. The handle grip may be of multiple colors and materials, permanently affixed to the webbing or allowed to rotate freely around an inner cushion or the nylon webbing or leash material. In another embodiment the leash may contain no grip but a have a simple loop of nylon, leather or other material to grip. 
     The handle  202  is permanently affixed to the webbing  204 , which is threaded through the main pulley  206  and attached to a quick release  212 . The embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  includes an optional quick release  212 , which may be omitted in other embodiments. The quick release mechanism  212  may comprise positive  212 A and negative  212   b  Velcro or Velcro-like components that, when stuck together, cannot be pulled apart vertically along the length of the leash. When a loop  212 C that is attached to component  212 B is pulled at right angles to the webbing, the positive  212 A and negative  212 B components easily pull apart. The other end of the quick release  212  is attached to a large D-Ring  214 . Pulling the two components  212 A,  212 B apart leaves the handle with one component  212 A in the hand of the user while the pulley  206  and lower leash run free with the dog. Quick release mechanism  212  is meant for emergency situations only, since the dog would be free to escape from the user&#39;s control when released. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize, other types of quick-release mechanisms may be used, including, but not limited to, a squeeze buckle type mechanism like squeeze release buckle  208  shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, the piece  212 B of the Velcro quick release that is attached to pull tab  212 C is fixed permanently to the 2 inch large D-Ring  214  in a manner that allows it to rotate freely around the rounded side thereof. 
     Attached to the flat side of the large D-Ring  214  is a larger 2 inch nylon webbing or similar material that forms the outer cuff with back padding  218 . The arm cuff  216  is designed so that the user can put their arm through it up past the elbow, tighten it to comfort and it will stay there while walking the dog. The arm cuff  210  comprises an inner cuff  220  with 2-inch elastic Velcro and an outer cuff  218  which may include back padding. The outer cuff  218  has two sewn-in rectangular 2-inch loop locks  222 A,  222 B approximately 8 inches apart which are sewn to the back padding of the outer cuff  218  in a manner that allows them to move freely so the inner cuff  220  can pass through both loop locks  222 A,  222 B. The inner cuff  220  is the approximate size of the outer cuff  218  and made with 2 inch elastic with Velcro on one side and in particular on the side facing the inner side of the outer cuff  220 . Sewn on the same side at an end  320  thereof is an approximately 1.5 inch square  310  of opposite Velcro to allow the inner cuff  220  to be secured. This can be seen in more detail in  FIGS. 3 to 5 . The entire inner cuff  220  is sewn securely to the outer cuff, then threaded through loop lock  222 A and loop lock  222 B. The loop locks  222 A,  222 B are the same width as the elastic and back pad and are made of metal or plastic. The purpose of the loop locks  222 A,  222 B is to keep the inner cuff  220  and outer cuff  218  parallel and to provide a method for the elastic of inner cuff  220  to come across the arm. The cuff  216  is attached to the arm as shown in  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 5  and discussed below. In overview, the user puts their chosen arm through the inner cuff  220 , pulls it tight to comfort and secures it with the Velcro portions  300 ,  310 . 
     In another embodiment of the arm cuff  216 , the inner cuff  220  may have be omitted and the outer cuff  218  simply looped around the upper arm. 
     In another embodiment of the arm cuff shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the inner cuff may be replaced by a piece of elastic line  620  which runs through a sleeve  600  and a one-handed operated line lock  610 . The elastic line  620  goes from one side of the outer cuff to the other side of the outer cuff  218  (and through sleeve  600 ) a few inches in from the D-Ring  214  ( FIG. 7 ). The line lock  610  is sewn in and threaded through grommets therein (not shown) so as to run smoothly. A user then simply puts on the cuff  216  and with one hand tightens the line lock  610  by pulling on elastic line  620 , which draws the two sides of the arm cuff&#39;s nylon webbing together, thereby securing the arm cuff  216  to the arm. When the user wants to remove the arm cuff  216 , they release the line lock  610  and the arm cuff  216  loosens, allowing the user to slide arm cuff  216  off. The line lock  610  and elastic line  620  prevent the cuff from falling down the arm when the arm is in the down or relaxed position. 
     An additional prevention from allowing the cuff  216  to fall down the arm is to line the inside of the cuff  210  with a non-slip type material such as rubber. Many other materials are possible to affix to the padding that add friction between the arm cuff and human skin or clothing material. Non-friction material may be added with or without a mechanism to hold the cuff to the arm or may be made as part of the padded backing material. 
     In another embodiment of the design of the arm cuff, the cuff may not be made of nylon webbing with padding but of plastic or some other rigid material that may or may not be lined with non-slip material. 
     In another embodiment of the design of the arm cuff there may be various types of clips that tighten the cuff together or hold the cuff to the sleeve of the user. The clips may involve elastic, metal, springs, plastic, screws, bolts, eyelets, grommets, nylon, cable, wire or leather. 
     In reference to  FIG. 2 , the leash is shown in use, with arm cuff  216  shown attached to the human body and clip  210 A attached to the dog, ready for walking and prior to the dog pulling. 
     In reference to  FIG. 3 , the arm cuff is shown during the attachment process. The arm is through the inner cuff  220 . The free end  320  of inner cuff  220  is through loop lock  222 B and ready to be pulled for fastening.  FIG. 3  also shows the 1-inch square “opposite” Velcro (or Velcro-like) patch  310  for use in securing inner cuff  220 . Also shown is D-Ring  214  and optional quick release  212 . 
     In reference to  FIG. 4 , arm cuff  216  is shown during the process of securing inner cuff  220  by folding end  320  of inner cuff  220  over loop lock  22   b  and securing patch  310  to part  300 . 
     In reference to  FIG. 5 , arm cuff  216  is shown attached and ready for use. The D-ring  214  is shown off to the side for illustration purposes only and naturally swings around to the forward position when ready to walk the dog as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The entire leash with the arm cuff  216  on the body and ready to use is shown in  FIG. 2 . As discussed above, to put the leash on, the user first slides the cuff  216  onto the arm above the elbow, and then secures the Velcro portion as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Preferably, the cuff  216  is tightened so that it stays on the arm but is not uncomfortable to the user. Optional padding of the outer cuff  218  may be positioned at the back of the arm above the elbow, over the triceps muscles. D-Ring  214  should be aligned forward when ready to start walking  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  show the D-Ring off to the side for illustration of how the cuff attaches and functions. Since the inner cuff  220  is positioned to the inside of the outer cuff  218 , the whole cuff  216  remains in a proper position as the dog and user move. The purpose of the inner cuff  220  is to allow the total arm cuff  216  to stay on the arm above the elbow when the arm is straightened or relaxed. The secured arm cuff  216  is shown in  FIG. 5 . The cuff  216  should not be too tight to restrict motion, circulation or cause discomfort. There can be some movement as the only purpose of the elastic on inner cuff  220  is to hold the cuff in place. The user then attaches the lower leash  210  with the clip  210 A to the dog&#39;s harness or collar. After securing the clip to the dog, the user simply picks up the handle and is ready to walk the dog. 
     During the walking process, as the dog pulls, the user resists by holding or pulling straight back with the handle  202 . As the leash  205  runs through the O-ring pulley  206 , the force of the dog pulling on the leash is immediately distributed between cuff  216  and handle  202 . The leash uses the mechanics of a pulley and a lever to reduce the pulling force of the dog that is actually exerted on the user. The user maximizes the use of natural body mechanics and larger shoulder muscles to walk any type of dog, including strong, pulling, medium or large-sized dogs, with ease. The pull from the dog is mostly felt in the back of the arm or triceps muscle (where there may be additional padding) and then to a lesser extent in the hand, wrist, shoulder and back muscles. In addition, if a user meets up with other dogs being walked and the leashes get tangled, quick release  208  provides a way to quickly separate the lower leash from the O-ring  206  to allow the leashes to be quickly disentangled (and may be quickly reattached as well). Additionally, the handle  202  can be dropped without losing the dog and leaving both hands free for temporary tasks such as unloading groceries or finding car keys (since the handle  202  is not able to pass through O-ring  206 ). 
     In a further alternative embodiment, the arm cuff  216  may only include an outer cuff  218 , and may further include additional webbing that runs over the shoulder to keep the cuff up. Alternatively, there may be a self-tightening mechanism but not one that would add any additional tightening as the dog pulls causing stress on the arm. In another embodiment of the arm cuff, a plastic or hard piece can be added to improve rigidity and make it easier to take on and off. The leash might also be used to walk other animals such as horses, cows, and circus animals. The leash may also perhaps be used in taming, control and capture of wild animals. 
     In an alternate use, the leash may also serve as an exercise device for the person since it works several muscles in a divided and gentle fashion while allowing one to increase the weight gradually. Since the leash is extremely portable, it may be used as an effective and efficient traveling exercise device. 
     In a further alternative embodiment, the cuff  216  may be alternatively placed around a leg of the user. In another further alternative embodiment, the cuff  216  may be alternatively placed around a wrist of the user. In a still further embodiment, the cuff  216  may be replaced by a device similar to clip  210 A for coupling to the belt of a user. 
     While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments and various aspects thereof, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including the embodiments described herein, the alternatives mentioned above, and all equivalents thereto.