Abstract:
A treatball for storing and dispensing pet treats has an elastic body and is restorably compressible in response to an external force applied to the body and has a plurality of spaced-apart internal baffles. A method of making the treatball includes providing an internal mold, introducing an elastomeric material onto the internal mold, molding the elastomeric material into a shape that is representative of the treatball, and extracting the internal mold through an opening in the treatball. Therein, the elastomeric material has sufficient hot tear resistance to allow the internal mold to be extracted through the opening of the treatball without tearing the treatball.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 11/434,557 filed on May 15, 2006, which is pending and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     U.S. Ser. No. 11/434,557 is a non-provisional counterpart to and claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 60/681,004 filed on May 13, 2005 and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to pet amusement and exercise equipment and, more particularly, to a treat dispensing toy capable of attracting and generating interaction with a pet animal. The invention furthermore relates to a toy having a unitary, one-piece construction. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     For dogs and other animal companions, toys are not a luxury, but a necessity. Toys help fight boredom in pets left alone, and toys can even help prevent some problem behaviors from developing. Many factors contribute to the “right” toy, and a number of them depend upon the pet&#39;s size, activity level, and preferences. 
     Many pet toys should be interactive. For example, interactive play is very important for pet dogs because dogs need active “people time”—and such play also enhances the bond between the pet owner and pet. By focusing on a specific task—such as repeatedly returning a ball or playing “hide-and-seek” with treats or toys—a pet can expel pent-up mental and physical energy in a limited amount of time and space. This greatly reduces stress due to confinement, isolation, and boredom. For young, high-energy, and untrained dogs, interactive play also offers an opportunity for socialization and helps the dogs to learn about appropriate and inappropriate behavior, such as jumping up or being mouthy. 
     The goal of animal toy designers is to make the toy attractive to the animal and to the animal caretaker. A toy is attractive to an animal when it presents a challenge that is neither too easy nor too difficult to solve and rewards the animal. The toy is attractive to the caretaker when the toy has good playability, durability, and quality of construction and occupies the interests of the animal. 
     The term “treatball” generally refers to a class of animal toys, typically dog toys, wherein one or more edible treats may be placed into a ball and the treat and/or treats are dispensed as the animal interacts with the toy. In interacting with the toy, the animal follows its natural instinct to obtain food and performs problem solving tasks that engage the animal&#39;s mind. Typically, treat dispensing toys are in the form of solid-covered, non-spheroid toys, such as bone-shaped toys or balls with a series of regular or irregular openings through which is dispensed the treat, which is usually shaped to be insertable along only one axis. Turning to  FIG. 6 , an example of a convention spheroid-shaped treatball  600  is depicted. The prior art treatball  600  consists of an outer shell  602  with a number of openings  604  for inserting/accessing treats. 
     Prior art, ball-shaped treatballs  600  are generally designed and intended to only be rolled by the pet owner or chewed by the pet, but not thrown by the pet owner. Typically the materials used may not bounce and roll well on soft or irregular surfaces such as a grass field. In addition, the insertion/access openings  604  of conventional designs may allow treats to prematurely fall out without animal interaction, particularly if the conventional treatballs are thrown or bounced. Thus, such conventional treatballs  600  do not have bounce or interactivity characteristics that excite and engage an animal. Although non-spheroid toys that dispense treats may retain treats better than conventional ball-shaped treatballs  600  and thus may be more interactive, such toys may not have desirable bounce and roll characteristics. In either case, prior art treat dispensing toys do not provide impact protection to inserted treats and when bounced, treats may crumble and prematurely fall out of the toy. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for a toy that offers at once the desirable bounce and roll characteristics of a spheroid-shaped treatball and also the engaging aspect of a treat dispensing toy that requires an animal to interact with the treatball in order to cause treats to be dispensed at the appropriate time in response to the animal&#39;s efforts. 
     A further need exists for the toy that permits a person to find enjoyment interacting with a pet. 
     Still a further need exists for the toy that combines rolling, bouncing and interactivity characteristics that can amuse and attract the pet. 
     Yet, a further need exists to make the manufacture of the toy as simple as possible. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the invention, an improved treatball is disclosed that has the desirable bounce and roll characteristics of a spheroid-shaped treatball and also the engaging aspect of a treat dispensing toy that requires an animal to interact with the treatball in order to cause treats to be timely dispensed in response to the animal&#39;s efforts. Specifically, the toy includes a spherical solid outer cover or exterior wall that has a covered opening for treat insertion and a diametrically disposed opening for treat dispensing. Within the inventive treatball, a series of baffles define a path through the toy from the covered opening to the treat dispensing opening. The path may include a series of interconnected chambers through which treats inserted into the covered opening must be made to traverse in order to reach the dispensing opening. 
     In use, treats are preferably inserted at the covered end by the pet owner and the toy is thrown or kicked to the pet. As the toy bounces and rolls, the preferably elastic structure of the toy protects the treats (e.g., hard baked and relatively brittle dog biscuits) from crushing impacts. Once the animal begins interacting with the treatball, e.g., via shaking, tossing, compressing, pawing, chasing, scratching, bouncing, etc., the treats are advanced past the baffles, through the toy, and eventually dispensed through the unobstructed opening. 
     In some embodiments, the treatball of the present invention may be part of a system or kit wherein the treat size and ball size are associated with each other. For example, smaller treats may be used with smaller balls and larger treats may be used with larger balls. Such a system may, for example, allow small dogs, who may be only capable of consuming small treats, to enjoy playtime with a small-sized treatball and prevent such small treats from prematurely dispensing from an inappropriately large treatball. 
     In accordance with one or more embodiments, the treatball is made using an internal mold that upon formation of the ball is removed through an opening of the treatball. 
     The above and other features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description accompanied by the following drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the inventive toy according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present toy similar to the one shown in  FIG. 1A , but having a smaller size; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective cross-sectional view of the inventive toy of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2A  is a cross-sectional view of the inventive toy of  FIG. 1  illustrating a single baffle; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a cross-section of the inventive toy shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a first diagrammatic planar view of the inventive toy of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a second diagrammatic planar view of the inventive toy of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a prior art treatball. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. For purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as top, bottom, left, right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front may be used with respect to the drawings. These and similar directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. The words “connect,” “couple,” and similar terms with their inflectional morphemes do not necessarily denote direct and immediate connections, but also include connections through mediate elements or devices. Furthermore, such terms as “toy,” “treat toy,” and “treatball” are used interchangeably. 
     Turning now specifically to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , two identically shaped, but differently dimensioned treatballs  100  may be packaged individually to meet the individual needs of dogs classified in accordance with their respective size, which typically includes large, medium and small size dogs. In an alternative embodiment, however, more than one toy  100  can be packaged together so as to constitute a kit. One of the reasons for having the kit is that a pet may like one of the packaged toys  100  and, for some reason, ignore the other one regardless of the size of toys  100 . Treatball  100  is preferably a single unit, which is made from a moldable material selected from a substantially rigid material, such as plastic or foam, or a flexible material, such as rubber or plastic. In some embodiments, the treatball  100  may be molded from a single material in a single pour step. 
     Focusing on  FIG. 1A , a perspective view of an example embodiment of a treatball  100  is depicted. The treatball  100  may include an exterior wall  102  that may be formed in the shape of a spheroid or round ball. The exterior wall  102  may include one or more ports or openings  104  for inserting or dispensing a treat. The exterior wall  102  may also include texturing  106  on the outer surface of the treatball  100 . The opening  104  may include a lip  108  that defines and/or reinforces the edge of the opening  104 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 1B , a different sized embodiment of a treatball  100  is depicted. The same reference numerals are used to identify the corresponding features. 
     Referring to both  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the exterior wall  102  of a treatball  100  may be manufactured of a compressible elastic material such as rubber or plastic. Likewise, the structure (e.g., thickness, density, etc.) of exterior wall  102  may be such that the treatball  100  is compressible and stretchable. The treatball  100  may be manufactured so that it can be distorted by compressive and/or stretching forces and yet, when the distorting forces are removed, return to its original manufactured shape and size. Application of such distorting forces may alter the shape of (e.g., elongate) opening  104  so as to cause a treat within the treatball  100  to be dispensed. The manufacture of exterior wall  102  from a compressible material may further provide improved bounce characteristics when treatball  100  is thrown onto either hard or soft surfaces. Further, the compressible structure and material of exterior wall  102  may absorb impacts resulting from bouncing or other shocks so that treats within the treatball  100  are protected and not broken by the impacts. In some embodiments of the present invention, exterior wall  102  may be constructed to be durable enough to withstand chewing by an animal. Additionally, a material that emits a squeaking sound when chewed by an animal may be selected for constructing exterior wall  102 . 
     In some embodiments, exterior wall  102  may be manufactured using any of a variety of different colored material, as well as using a clear or multi-color material. Additionally, exterior wall  102  may be manufactured from a material that may include a scent attractive to animals. Some embodiments of treatball  100  may include lighting and/or electronic sound generators within the exterior wall  102 . 
     The one or more ports or openings  104  may be in any shape including a circular opening. The openings  104  may be of any practicable size to allow insertion or dispensing of different sized or shaped treats. Additionally, the openings  104  may be sized to view treats inside treatball  100 . As indicated above, the treatball  100  may include ports or openings  104  which become temporarily distorted when compressive force is applied. Temporary distortion of openings  104  may allow for treats to be retrieved with either greater ease or greater difficulty. In other embodiments, the treatball  100  may include openings  104 , which do not become distorted (e.g., remain rigid or at least more rigid than exterior wall  102  when compressive force is applied. 
     Texturing  106  of the outer surface of exterior wall  102  may be embodied to allow for better gripping of treatball  100 , either by pet owners or pets. Some embodiments of treatball  100  may have texturing  106  characteristics including, for example, bumpy, spiky, orange peel, and/or smooth surfaces. The texturing  106  may be such that the visual appearance of the overall treatball  100  is enhanced by intriguing and/or attractive patterns, designs, symbols, and/or the like. Texturing  106  may include words or trademarks in relief. Texturing  106  and/or coloring of the exterior wall  102  may be used to make the treatball  106  appear to be a different object such as, for example, a soccer ball, a basketball, a relief globe/map, a stone, a pumpkin, etc. Texturing  106  may be used to imbalance the treatball  100  by irregularly distributing weight about the surface of the exterior wall  102  to cause the treatball  100  to roll and bounce erratically and/or unpredictably. Texturing  106  may also be used to reinforce or weaken portions of the structure of exterior wall  102  to cause a desired or predefined distortion pattern (e.g., collapse along a predefined meridian) when compressive force is applied to the exterior wall  102 . Such a desired or predefined distortion pattern may cause treats within the treatball  100  to advance through the toy  100 . 
     Lip  108  may be of any thickness, height or width surrounding openings  104 . Lip  108  may extend out from treatball  100  opening  104  at any length. In some embodiments, lip  108  may provide reinforcement of openings  104  to prevent damage from wear due to extended usage of treatball  100 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , a cross-sectional perspective view of an example embodiment of a treatball  100  is depicted. An embodiment of treatball  100  may include one or more covered ports or openings  202 . Similar to opening  104 , covered opening  202  may include a lip  204  to reinforce the edge of opening  202 . Treatball  100  may include one or more baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C extending from the inner surface  208  of the exterior wall  102 . 
     Covered opening  202  may be of any size or shape including a circle and may include any practicable covering or flap. Covered opening  202  may include characteristics or features such that treats may not be easily removed or dispensed via covered opening  202  allowing for a defined, one-way entry point. Covered opening  202  may function to ensure that treats do not fall out prematurely or without interaction between the treatball  100  and the pet. Covered opening  202  may allow treats to be inserted into treatball  100  at a point farthest away from opening  104 . Maximizing the distance that the treat must travel within the treatball  100  may provide an enhanced challenge to an animal attempting to retrieve a treat. Covered opening  202  may be of any practicable size to allow insertion while preventing dispensing of different sized or shaped treats. As with the one or more openings  104 , in some embodiments, the treatball  100  may include one or more covered openings  202  that do not become distorted (e.g., remain rigid or at least more rigid than exterior wall  102 ) when compressive force is applied to the treatball  100 . In some embodiments, covered opening  202  may be diametrically disposed relative to dispensing opening  104  as pictured in  FIG. 2 . In other embodiments, the openings  104 ,  204  may be adjacent to each other but still at opposite ends of a predefined path through treatball  100 . In yet other embodiments, the ports or openings  104 ,  204  may be disposed at right angles or at any other relative positions that can be practicably used to provide an entrance and exit for treats. 
     One or more baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C may be attached to, or extend from, the interior surface  208  of the exterior wall  102  of treatball  100 . The baffles  206   a ,  206   b ,  206   c  may be embodied so as to prevent treats from passing directly through treatball  100  on a direct or straight path. Thus, baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C may provide an enhanced challenge to an animal when attempting to retrieve treats from treatball  100 . In the example embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2 , the baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C are implemented as semi-circular partitions disposed perpendicular to, and above ( 206 A,  206 C) and below ( 206 B), a center line (not shown) running directly from the covered opening  202  to the dispensing opening  104 . The baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C may be of any size, shape, thickness, rigidity, etc. that is practicable to prevent treats from passing straight through the treatball  100  while still allowing treats to pass through if an animal playing with the toy  100  executes or performs an effective or proper sequence of interactions with the toy  100 . 
     In alternative embodiments, additional or alternative baffles may be included in addition to or in alternative to baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C. In some embodiments, treatball  100  may include a spiral tunnel or other limited paths through treatball  100 . Baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C may be attached to the interior surface  208  of exterior wall  102  parallel to each other or askew. In some alternative embodiments, the quantity, placement and length of baffles may vary. 
     In further alternative embodiments shown in  FIG. 2A , instead of multiple covered receiving ports or openings  202  and dispensing ports  104 , treatball  100  may have a single port  105 . The baffles, then, are so configured that at least one of them  205  adjoins port  105  along interior surface  107  of the treatball so that one of opposite surfaces of the baffle&#39;s wall  209 ,  211  defines the upstream of a path “P” of treats through the interior of treatball and the other the downstream of the path. Consequently, port  205  is divided into two adjacent sectors: a receiving sector  213  closable by one or more flaps  215  in the manner discussed above and a dispensing sector  217 . In this embodiment, like in the above discussed embodiments, treats are inserted through the closable port sector and, then are displaced along the treat path which is defined by a single or a plurality of baffles configured so that the treats can be retrieved through the dispensing sector. 
     Additional embodiments of treatball  100  may include a noise maker (not pictured) or other electronic sound generator for attracting the animal&#39;s attention and providing stimulation/feedback to the animal. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , a side elevational view of a cross-section of an example embodiment of a treatball  100  is depicted. This view more clearly illustrates the relative size, shape and locations of baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C in relation to the overall diameter of the exterior wall  102  and the openings  104 ,  202  of the example embodiment. The illustrated proportions may be suitable for particular shaped treats. Alternative proportions may be suitable for different shaped treats. For example, the depicted proportions may allow passage of longer rectangular shaped treats while an embodiment with larger and more numerous baffles may only allow passage of small round treats. 
     The baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C may be thought of as defining a series of adjacent chambers  302 A,  302 B,  302 C within the treatball  100 . An animal playing with the toy  100  may cause the treats to traverse these chambers  302 A,  302 B,  302 C, leading from the covered opening  202  to the dispensing opening  104 , by manipulating and interacting with the treatball  100 . In some embodiments, the chambers  302 A,  302 B,  302 C may be shaped and sized to control the level of difficulty associated with moving treats through the treatball  100 . In some embodiments, a pet owner may be able to add, remove, and/or alter baffles and or chambers within the treatball  100  to adjust the level of challenge to be appropriate for the owner&#39;s particular pet. In other embodiments, the pet owner may select different sized and shaped treats to adjust the level of challenge for a given pet. 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , a diagrammatic planar view showing details of an example embodiment of the covered opening  202  of the treatball  100  is provided. The covering of the opening  202  may be formed by flaps  402 A,  402 B,  402 C,  402 D that together allow treats to be pushed into the treatball  100  but obstruct the treats from exiting via the covered opening  202 . In some embodiments, the flaps  402 A,  402 B,  402 C,  402 D may be formed by cutting a membrane (initially spanning the opening  202 ) along cut lines  404 A and  404 B. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 5 , a diagrammatic planar view depicting the dispensing opening  104  of the treatball  100  is provided. Looking into the unobstructed opening  104 , baffles  206 A and  206 B may be seen. These baffles  206 A,  206 B may prevent an animal that is interacting with the toy  100 , from initially seeing any inserted treats. However, the animal is likely to be able to smell the treats and hear the treats hitting the interior surface  208  ( FIG. 2 ) and the baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C as the treatball  100  is moved. This awareness of the treats is likely to stimulate the animal to further interact with the treatball  100 . With further interaction, the animal may be able to view treats as they move into the chamber  302 A closest to the opening  104 . This view may further excite the animal and provide additional motivation to work for the treats. 
     Returning to  FIG. 1 , it is particularly desirable to produce toy  100  in as simple a manner as possible. Thus, it is preferred, but not limited, that toy  100  has a unitary, one-piece construction. Since the toy must have a shape and be made of material that is suited for bouncing and rolling, the toy may be made using an internal mold as further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,590, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, and using an elastomeric material, which is preferably natural rubber, synthetic natural rubber, or a blend of natural rubber or synthetic natural rubber and one of a plurality of blending polymers including butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber and ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer rubber. 
     Thus, an inside mold advantageously forms at least one baffle, and preferably baffles  206 A-C, and is disposed between at least one outside mold. The inside mold further advantageously forms at least one cavity defined by inner surface  208  and more preferably forms chambers  302 A-C defined by inner surface  208  and baffles  206 A-C. Therein, the baffles are sized so as to allow the mold to be removed. Additionally, the mold forms a corresponding internal lip of opening  104  and the interior portion of opening  202 . After the inner mold forms toy  100  in cooperation with at least one outer mold, the inner mold is removed from toy  100 . This may be accomplished preferably by removing the inner mold through opening  104 , although opening  202  may also be used after being made more suitable for the task. Therein, it is preferred that the inner mold is removed while the elastomeric material, which has suitable hot tear resistance, is of a suitable temperature. 
     This document describes the inventive toy for illustration purposes only. Neither the specific embodiments of the invention as a whole, nor those of its features limit the general principles underlying the invention. In particular, the invention is not limited to any specific configuration of openings  104 ,  202 , shapes of treatball  100  or treats, texturing  106 , and baffles  206 A,  206 B,  206 C. The specific features described herein may be used in some embodiments, but not in others, without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth. Many additional modifications are intended in the foregoing disclosure, and it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed in the absence of a corresponding use of other features. The illustrative examples therefore do not define the metes and bounds of the invention and the legal protection afforded the invention as defined by the appended claims.