Abstract:
A method of carrying an animal bed includes placing a harness on an animal, folding the bed, inserting the bed in and between center-facing pouches of a pack, and attaching the pack to the harness. Apparatus for carrying out the method is described wherein the pack has a protective cover covering the openings of the center facing pouches, the cover having a body strap attached thereto.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to the fields of animal harness, dog packs and pet bedding. In particular, the invention relates to a pack suitable for wear by dog, other animal, or human, having a detachable animal harness. The pack is intended for transport of a folded animal bed attached thereto, the animal bed in turn having storage compartments for storing the pack components when the pack is not in use. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Numerous varieties of harness and packs for wear by dogs are known. Further, such harness and packs are known that have multiple compartments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,321, issued Oct. 1, 1996, illustrates an animal harness having two attached pouches for transport of litter bags and feces. The harness has a first strap for attachment about the body of the animal, the first strap also attached to both pouches. A second strap perpendicular to the first strap has ends attached to the first strap, and has a middle portion for attachment about the base of the animal&#39;s neck forward of the forelegs. A third strap perpendicular to the second strap is intended for wear over the shoulders of the animal. The harness appears to be permanently attached to the pouches. Other dog packs are, illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,644,902 and 5,887,772. 
     Animal beds having a resilient core, such as rubber or polymeric foam, encased in a fabric cover, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,384, issued Jul. 13, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,257 issued Nov. 11, 1997. Such beds have the ability to insulate and protect an animal from contact with cold, damp, hard or hot surfaces which can be uncomfortable for the animal, and which can result in a variety of physical problems and may exacerbate pre-existing physical problems or medical conditions. 
     Many animals, including dogs, are mobile. Exercise is recognized as beneficial to dogs, and dog owners often take their dogs for walks. Dog owners also may take their dogs with them while traveling and visiting friends and relatives. Typical animal beds are not, however, easily portable. It is desirable to have an animal bed, intended for use by a dog, that is easily portable and can be carried by a dog. It is also desirable that, when configured for carriage by the dog, the dog also be capable of carrying some additional supplies. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A soft-sided pack has at least two center-facing pouches and a protective cover covering the pouch openings. The pack has an adjustable, detachable harness permitting it to be worn by a dog or other animal of similar size, and a detachable strap for use either as a leash, a shoulder strap, or belt. 
     Attached to the pack is an animal bed. The bed is made of resilient material enclosed within a bed cover made of fabric such as an aramid fabric, polyester or nylon. The bed is formed such that it may easily fold along three parallel fold lines, the fold lines dividing the bed into four sections. The cover includes pockets for storing pack components when the device is used as a bed. 
     When folded along the fold lines, the bed can be placed in and between the center-facing pouches of the pack, the gap between the center-facing pouches being covered by the cover. The pack may then be attached to the removable harness for wear by the animal, with the strap used as a leash. Alternatively, the pack may be folded, attached to the strap, and worn by a human as a shoulder bag, fanny pack, or back pack. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration of an animal harness having attachment apparatus for attachment to a pack. 
     FIG. 2, an illustration of the pack of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3, an illustration of the pack of the present invention worn by a human using an adjustable strap as a shoulder strap. 
     FIG. 4, an illustration of the attachment apparatus of the animal harness of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5, an illustration showing attachment of the pack of FIG. 2 to the harness of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6, an illustration of a side-squeeze quick-release buckle as known in the art. 
     FIG. 7, an illustration of a center-squeeze quick-release buckle as known in the art. 
     FIG. 8, an illustration showing an animal wearing the harness of FIG. 1 assembled to the pack of FIG. 2, and showing alternate positions for attachment of the adjustable strap as a leash thereto. 
     FIG. 9, an illustration of the ventral side of the pack, showing apparatus for attaching the pack to the harness. 
     FIG. 10, an illustration of the dorsal side of the pack, showing the cover, and its two center-facing compartments for holding a folded animal bed. 
     FIG. 11, an illustration showing the animal bed being opened from the center-facing pack compartments. 
     FIG. 12, an illustration showing the pack components being stored in a pocket on the undersurface of the bed. 
     FIG. 13, an illustration of the device used as an animal bed. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to FIGS. 1,  4 , and  8 , an animal harness comprises an adjustable neck strap  100  for wear by an animal at the base of the animal&#39;s neck  802  in front of its front legs  804 . The harness also has an adjustable body strap  102  for wear about the animal&#39;s body between its front legs. The body strap is typically worn about the animal&#39;s chest. Neck strap  100  and body strap  102  are interconnected by a chest strap  104  and a back strap  106 . Neck strap  100 , body strap  102 , and back strap  106  are permanently attached to each other, typically by sewing. A back pad  400  may also be attached along the back strap  106  and attached to the collar  100  and body strap  102 . 
     Body strap  102  and neck strap  100  have quick-release buckles  108  permitting them to be rapidly opened so that the harness may be removed from the animal. These quick release buckles  108  also permit rapid attachment of the harness to an animal, especially if the strap  100  and body strap  102  have previously been adjusted for correct length to fit the animal. Neck strap  100  and body strap  102  each have buckles  110  as known in the art for adjustment of strap length. 
     The harness is equipped with one or more attachment rings  112  for coupling the harness to a leash  114 . On the dorsal surface of the back strap  106  are attachment apparatus for attaching the harness to a pack. The attachment apparatus may include snap type fasteners  116  and the loop side of a hook-and-loop fastener  118  such as Velcro. 
     With reference to FIGS. 2,  9 , and  10 , a soft-sided pack is typically fabricated from fabric by sewing. The pack has a top surface  202  and a bottom surface  204 . The top surface  202  is interrupted in the center, such that it forms two pouches. The top surface has two strap guide loops  206  permanently attached to it, one on each pouch. Between the top surface  202  and bottom surface  204  is an edge surface, the edge surface further divided into front  210 , rear  212 , and side  214  surfaces. The pack has at least two D-rings  216  attached to it at the midpoint of the front and rear surfaces. 
     A protective cover  218  is attached to the pack such that it may cover the interruption between pouches in the top surface  202 . The cover is equipped with a cover body strap  220 , equipped with quick release buckles  1014 , and hook-and-loop fasteners  1016  for retaining it in proper position when closed. When the pack is in use, cover body strap  220  is routed through strap guide loops  206 . Cover  218  may, but need not, be permanently attached to the pack top surface  202  along one edge. 
     Attached to the pack at a joint of bottom surface  202  and front surface  210 , near each side surface  214  is an auxiliary strap  222 . Each auxiliary strap  222  is equipped with a buckle 224  such that it may be fastened about the neck strap  100 . 
     The convertible leash/shoulder-strap/waist-belt strap  300  is equipped with clips  304  at each end, and buckles for adjusting its length. When it is desired for a human  302  to carry the pack, clips  304  are coupled to the D-rings  216  of the pack. Strap  300  may then be worn over the shoulder to conveniently carry the pack and its enclosed bed. 
     With reference to FIGS. 5 and 9, the bottom surface of the pack is equipped with attachment apparatus for connecting it to the mating attachment apparatus of the harness. In the illustrated embodiment, there is a snap fastener  500  for mating with the snap fastener  116  of the harness, and the hook portion  502  of a hook-and-loop fastener for mating with the loop portion  118  on the harness. With reference to FIG. 8, when it is desired that an animal carry the pack, the harness of FIG. 1 is placed upon the animal, the bed  1020  is folded and installed in the pack, the pack is attached to the harness, cover body strap  220  is fastened about the animal, and auxiliary straps  222  coupled about the neck strap  100 . The owner may then select a D-ring of the D-rings  216  or  112  and couple the convertible strap  300  as a leash in aft position  114 , or alternatively in forward position  800 . 
     The quick release buckles may be of the side-squeeze type illustrated in FIG. 6 or of the center squeeze type as illustrated in FIG. 7, or other quick-release buckles as known in the art. Side-squeeze quick release buckles comprise a male portion  600  having springy ears  602  that fit into a female portion  604 . The buckle is released by squeezing the ears  602  through openings  606  in the female portion. Center-squeeze quick-release buckles have a male portion  700  with a springy tongue  702  that fits into and locks in a female portion  704 . The buckle is released by squeezing the springy tongue  702  through an opening  706  in the female portion  704 , releasing the tongue and thus the male portion from the female portion. 
     With reference to FIGS. 10,  11 , and  13 , the animal bed  1020  is made of a resilient core material enclosed within a fabric cover, and is designed such that it has four panels  1300  and folds readily along three fold lines  1302 . Fold lines  1302  may be formed by cutting the resilient material along that line and stitching the top and bottom of the fabric cover together along that line. Other methods of making an easily-folded line may also be used. 
     As shown in FIG. 11, the animal bed  1020  may be pulled out of the pouches formed in the pack by the gap in the top surface  202 . The bed may then be unfolded. As shown in FIG. 12, the pack  1200  may be inserted into pockets  1202  on the bottom surface of bed  1020 ; which may then be flipped over (FIG. 13) for use by an animal. 
     When it is desired to transport the bed, the harness of FIG. 1 is placed about the animal. Pack components are removed from storage pocket  1202 . The bed  1020  is folded along fold lines  1302  and installed in the pack as shown in FIGS. 11 and 10, the pack is attached to the harness as shown in FIG. 5, the cover body strap  220  is fastened about the animal as shown in FIG. 8, with auxiliary straps  222  coupled about the neck strap  100 . The owner may then select a D-ring of the D-rings  216  or  112  and couple the convertible strap  300  as a leash in aft position  114 , or alternatively in forward position  800 . 
     While the invention has been described with reference to assembly of by sewing, other forms of assembly known in the art may also be used. For example, heat-sealing or thermal bonding, solvent-welding, and gluing may be used to assemble portions of the harness and pack when suitable materials are used. 
     An alternative embodiment (not shown) of the present invention is fabricated by stitching top surface  202  (FIG.  2 )to the bottom surface  204  directly, without separate edge surfaces  210 ,  212 , and  214 . In this embodiment, the D rings  216  and auxiliary straps  222  are in approximately the same positions as heretofore described. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to buckles  224  on the auxiliary straps  222  for fastening attaching them to neck strap  100 , it is anticipated that other attachment apparatus may be used including quick-release buckles, snap fasteners, and knots. Similarly, while the attachment apparatus for attaching the pack to the harness has been described with reference to a snap fastener and hook-and-loop fastener, alternative attachment apparatus may be used. Such alternative attachment apparatus may include one or more of snaps, hook-and-loop fasteners, twist-lock devices, buttons, rings and clips, or quick-release buckles. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to two center-facing pouches, the pack may have additional pouches formed on it Such additional pouches are of particular use in transporting additional material or supplies required for the care and maintenance of a dog, such as medications, scoops and bags for recovery and transport of excrement, brushes, or treats. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that various changes may be made in adapting the invention to different embodiments without departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein and comprehended by the claims that follow.