Abstract:
According to one aspect, a litter scoop is provided that permits a user to take multiple passes with the scoop through litter having animal waste therein, without having to empty the litter scoop after each pass. In one embodiment, a rake portion and a receptacle portion of the litter scoop are separated by a lip arranged to retain the clumps of animal waste in the receptacle portion during reuse of the litter scoop. In another embodiment, a top edge of a receptacle of the litter scoop is located generally in a plane, and at least a portion of an inner surface of the receptacle that faces a proximal end of the receptacle is arranged such that a line normal to the portion of the inner surface of the receptacle is oriented at an acute angle with respect to the plane that is less than forty-five degrees.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed to pet supplies and, more particularly, to implements for cleaning animal waste from litter. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     When animals such as cats are kept indoors for long periods of time, it is necessary to provide a place for them to leave waste (i.e., urinate or defecate), lest they may do so on the floor or the furniture within the residence. For this reason, many people train their pets to leave their waste in a box full of litter (i.e., a litter box). To keep litter boxes from emanating an unpleasant odor, it is necessary either to remove the animal waste from the used litter, or to discard the used litter having the animal waste therein and replace it with a new batch of litter. Many pets are even reluctant to use a litter box that is not cleaned regularly. Because it could become quite expensive to replace litter each time a pet uses a litter box, most people choose to use a so-called “litter scoop” to selectively separate the animal waste from the litter, thereby leaving the litter fresh and ready for another use by the pet. 
     A typical prior art litter scoop includes a receptacle adapted to receive a quantity of litter and a handle attached to the receptacle that may be grasped by a user to insert the receptacle into the litter underneath the animal waste. Generally, the receptacle in such a prior art device includes a screen that permits the litter to exit the receptacle yet retains the animal waste therein. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Because animal waste is typically strewn throughout the litter in a litter box, it is generally necessary for the user of a litter scoop to take multiple passes with the scoop through the litter in order to remove all of the animal waste therefrom. In using a prior art litter scoop such as that described above, the user must empty the waste from the receptacle after each pass through the litter. Otherwise, the waste left in the receptacle may fall out of the receptacle each time the user tilts the receptacle to pass through another section of the litter. This inability of a litter scoop to retain animal waste in its receptacle portion during multiple passes through the litter increases the time required for a pet owner to clean a litter box. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, a litter scoop is provided that permits a user to take multiple passes with the scoop through used litter, without having to empty animal waste from the litter scoop after each pass. 
     In one embodiment, a litter scoop includes a rake portion, a receptacle portion, and a handle. The receptacle portion has openings therein that are large enough to enable litter to exit the receptacle yet are small enough to retain clumps of animal waste in the receptacle. The handle is attached to the receptacle portion to permit a user grasp the handle and insert the litter scoop into litter. The rake portion and the receptacle portion are separated by a lip arranged to retain the clumps of animal waste in the receptacle portion during reuse of the litter scoop. 
     In another embodiment, a litter scoop includes a receptacle and a handle. The handle is attached to a proximal end of the receptacle to permit a user grasp the handle and insert a distal end of the receptacle into litter. The receptacle has openings therein that are large enough to enable litter to exit the receptacle yet are small enough to retain clumps of animal waste in the receptacle. A top edge of the receptacle is located generally in a plane, and at least a portion of an inner surface of the receptacle that faces the proximal end of the receptacle is arranged such that a line normal to the portion of the inner surface of the receptacle is oriented at an acute angle with respect to the plane that is less than forty-five degrees. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a litter scoop according to one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial-cutaway, side-view of the litter scoop of FIG. 1 shown as it may appear after a user has taken a first scoop of animal waste and litter from a litter box; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial-cutaway, side-view of the litter scoop of FIG. 1 shown as it may appear when a user is taking a second scoop of animal waste and litter, after having previously taken a first scoop thereof; and 
     FIG. 4 is a partial-cutaway, side-view of the litter scoop of FIG. 1 shown as it may appear when the user has taken a scoop of animal waste from a litter box and also showing the orientation of an upper surface of the litter scoop receptacle with respect to a waste retention lip thereof. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1-4 show a litter scoop  100  according to one illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the litter scoop  100  includes a rake portion  101 , a receptacle portion  102 , and a handle  104 . The rake portion  101  is connected to a distal end  103  of the receptacle portion  102 , and the handle  104  is connected to a proximal end  120  of the receptacle portion  102 . This position of the handle  104  permits a user to grasp the handle  104  to insert a distal end  118  of the litter scoop  100  into litter  204  disposed in a litter box  206  (FIG.  2 ). 
     As shown, the receptacle portion  102  may include a plurality of openings  106  which are large enough to permit litter  204  to exit the receptacle portion  102  yet are small enough to retain clumps of animal waste therein. In the illustrative embodiment shown, the rake portion  101  also includes openings  106  therein so that litter may also exit the litter scoop  100  from the rake portion  101 . It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited in this respect, and that the rake portion  101  need not include any openings  106  therein. 
     In the embodiment shown, the rake portion  101  and the receptacle portion  102  are separated from one another by a lip  108 . As can be seen best in FIGS. 2 and 3, a surface  208  of the lip  108  extends downwardly from a ledge  110  of the rake portion  101 . As is explained in more detail below, the presence of the lip  108  prevents animal waste  202   a  in the receptacle portion  102  from exiting the receptacle portion  102  and falling from the distal end  118  of the litter scoop  100  when the litter scoop  100  is tilted to re-insert the distal end  118  into the litter  204 . As is also explained in more detail below, the presence of the ledge  110  permits animal waste  202   a  present on an upper surface  210  of the rake portion  101  to fall into the receptacle portion  102  when the user brings an upper surface  112  of the receptacle portion  102  to a substantially level position (e.g., as shown in FIG.  2 ). 
     The rake portion  101  may be configured in any of numerous ways, and the invention is not limited to any particular configuration. In the illustrative embodiment shown, for example, the rake portion  101  includes fingers  116  extending therefrom. The fingers  116  may be used, for example, to sift through the litter  204  for the clumps of animal waste  202  or to groom an upper surface  214  of the litter  204  after removing the clumps of animal waste  202  therefrom. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited in this respect, and that the rake portion  101  need not include the fingers  116 . 
     The receptacle portion  102  may also be configured in any of a number of ways, and the invention is not limited to any particular configuration. In the illustrative embodiment shown, for example, the receptacle portion  102  includes a substantially U-shaped sidewall  124  and a bottom portion  126 . In the embodiment shown, a portion  124   a  of the sidewall  124  also extends above the rake portion  101  to cause animal waste  202   a  received by the rake portion  101  to be directed toward the receptacle portion  102  when the user brings the upper surface  112  of the receptacle portion  102  to a substantially level position (e.g., as shown in FIG.  2 ). In one embodiment, the maximum height of the sidewall  124  with respect to an upper surface  212  (FIG. 2) of the bottom portion  126  is approximately 3.60 centimeters (cm), and the maximum height of the sidewall portion  124   a  with respect to an upper surface  210  (FIG. 2) of the rake portion  101  is approximately 1.52 cm. In another (slightly larger) embodiment, the maximum height of the sidewall  124  with respect to the upper surface  212  of the bottom portion  126  is approximately 4.24 cm, and the maximum height of the sidewall portion  124   a  with respect to the upper surface  210  of the rake portion  101  is approximately 1.74 cm. 
     The handle  104  may be configured in many of numerous ways, and the invention is not limited to any particular type of handle. In the illustrative embodiment shown in the figures, for example, the handle  104  includes a plurality of grooves  122  extending circumferentially around the handle  104 . The grooves  122  inhibit the handle  104  from slipping from the user&#39;s grasp. In addition, in the embodiment shown, the handle  104  includes an opening  114  in a proximal end  128  of the handle  104  which permits the litter scoop  100  to be hung from a hook, nail, screw, or the like, to store the litter scoop  100  when it is not being used. 
     In the illustrative embodiment shown, the rake portion  101 , the receptacle portion  102 , and the handle  104  all are integrally formed of a plastic material. It should be appreciated, however, that the various components of the litter scoop  100  may be made of any of a number of alternative materials (e.g., aluminum, steel, fiber glass, etc.) and may be connected together in any of numerous ways; the invention is not limited to the plastic-molded example shown in the figures. Additionally, it should be appreciated that, in alternative embodiments, each of the various components may be made of a different material than the other components. 
     As is illustrated in FIG. 4, according to one embodiment of the invention, the surface  208  of the lip  108  faces generally toward the proximal end  120  of the receptacle portion  102  in the direction indicated by the arrow  406 . A dashed line  402  in FIG. 4 represents a line which is normal to a portion of the surface  208  (and which remains stationary with respect to the litter scoop  100 ), and a dashed line  404  represents a cross-section of a plane (which remains stationary with respect to the litter scoop  100 ) in which the upper edge  112  of the receptacle portion  102  is generally oriented. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, according to one embodiment of the invention, the line  402  is oriented at an acute angle θ with respect to the line  404 . In the FIG. 4 example, the line  402  intercepts the line  404  at a location (not shown) to the right of the figure. It should be appreciated, however, that portion of the portion of the surface  208  to which the line  402  is normal could also be oriented such that the line  402  intercepts the line  404  at a location (not shown) to the left of the figure. In either case, the angle θ can be made small enough so that the clumps of animal waste  202   a  present in the receptacle portion  102  are retained in the receptacle portion  102  by the surface  208  of the lip  108 . Preferably, the angle θ is less than 45°, more preferably, the angle θ is less than 30°, and still more preferably, the angle θ is less than 15°. In this regard, it should be appreciated that the angle θ may also be any other angle less than, greater than, or in between these preceding example angles, so long as the surface  208  is oriented so as to retain the clumps of animal waste  202   a  in the receptacle portion  102  when the user tilts the litter scoop  100  (as explained below) to re-insert the distal end  118  of the litter scoop  100  into the litter to receive another quantity of litter  204  containing animal waste  202 . It should also be appreciated that the size of the portion of the surface  208  which faces generally in the direction  406  towards the proximal end  120  and to which the line  402  is normal may be quite small. It is important only that some portion of the surface of the lip  108  (or another surface) faces generally in the direction  406  so that the clumps of animal waste  202   a  are retained in the receptacle portion  202  when the litter scoop  100  is reused. 
     Operation of the litter scoop  100  is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in phantom in FIG. 2, the handle  104  may first be tilted to an angle of approximately 45° with respect to an upper surface  214  of the litter  204 , and the distal end  118  of the litter scoop  100  may be inserted into the litter  204  in the litter box  206  wherein clumps of animal waste  202   a  are disposed. 
     As indicated by the arrow  216  (FIG.  2 ), the handle  104  may then be manipulated such that the distal end  118  is caused to pass through the litter  204  so that the receptacle portion  102  receives a quantity of litter  204  as well as some pieces of animal waste  202   a . 
     As indicated in solid lines in FIG. 2, the handle  104  may then be tilted such that it is substantially level. When the litter scoop  100  is held in this position, the openings  106  in the receptacle portion  102  permit the litter  204  to exit the receptacle portion  102 , but retain the pieces of animal waste  202   a  in the receptacle portion  102 . When the receptacle portion  102  is oriented as shown in FIG. 2, i.e., so that the upper edge  112  of the receptacle portion  102  is generally level, the upper surface  210  of the rake portion  101  is higher than the upper surface  212  of the receptacle portion  102 . Therefore, any clumps of animal waste  202   a  that find themselves atop the upper surface  210 , will be forced by gravity to fall over the ledge  110  defined by the lip  108  into the receptacle portion  102 . In the embodiment shown, the presence of the openings  106  in the rake portion  101  facilitate this action of the waste  202   a  by filtering the litter  204  from the rake portion  101 , thereby permitting the clumps of waste  202  to fall into the receptacle portion  102 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 3, after the user has taken a first scoop of litter  204  from the litter box  206  so that the clumps of animal waste  202   a  remain in the receptacle portion  102 , the user may reuse the litter scoop  100  a second time by again tilting the handle  104  to an angle of approximately 45° with respect to the upper surface  214  of the litter  204 , and inserting the distal end  118  of the litter scoop  100  into the litter  204  (as indicated by arrow  302 ) underneath one or more additional clumps of animal waste  202   b.  As shown in FIG. 3, when the user tilts the handle  104  to take a second pass with the litter scoop  100  through the litter  204 , the animal waste  202   a  already in the receptacle portion  102  is held therein by the surface  208  of the lip  108 . 
     Having described several embodiments of the invention in detail, various modifications and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and improvements are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended as limiting. The invention is limited only as defined by the following claims and the equivalents thereto.