Abstract:
An animal harness for use together with a stand by veterinarians and groomers and the like in which elongated members form an adjustable size loop that encircles the animal&#39;s head and extends to cam buckles supported by the stand.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to pet harness systems and components therefore and, more particularly, to such pet harness systems used, for example, by groomers and veterinarians to restrain pets (such as dogs and cats) while receiving services. 
         [0002]    When a groomer or veterinarian services a pet, it is often necessary to restrain the animal using a harness typically attached to a vertical rigid stand. It is important to effectively restrain the animal so that services can be carried out, but in such a way as to not harm the animal by choking or the like. It is also important to be able to quickly release the animal from the harness in the event that the animal gets agitated and could be injured if retained in the harness. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In one embodiment, a pet harness for use with a stand having a vertical member and a horizontal member comprises an upper cam buckle securable to the horizontal member and a lower cam buckle securable to the vertical member. 
         [0004]    One or more elongated members secured together at a first end and at a spaced-apart second end form a closed loop between the first end and the second end and a slide lock is disposed about the loop between the first end and the second end whereby the slide lock can be positioned at a selected location between the first end and the second end where the slide lock resists movement away from the selected location. 
         [0005]    A first extension elongated member is secured at the first end and is of a length sufficient to extend from the first end to and beyond the upper cam buckle, and a second extension elongated member secured at the second end and of a length sufficient to extend from the second end to and beyond the second cam buckle. 
         [0006]    The harness is used by first locating the slide lock near or at the first end and then gently placing the closed loop around the pet&#39;s head and securing the first extension elongated member through the upper cam buckle and the second extension elongated member through the lower cam buckle. The slide lock is then moved to reduce the size of the loop around the animal&#39;s neck until it is located at the back of the animal&#39;s neck and the first extension strap is pulled through the cam buckle to take up the slack. The second extension elongated member is then pulled through the lower cam buckle until the slack is taken up, making sure there is ample space between the second end of the loop and the animal&#39;s neck so as not to create a choking hazard. By being able to secure the lower cam buckle at any selected location on the vertical member of the stand, the harness can be tailored to animals of different sizes and still maintain the spacing that effectively restrains the animal without creating a choking hazard. 
         [0007]    In the event that an animal becomes agitated and could be harmed if not quickly released from the harness, the operator simply depresses the cam buckle lever to fully release the animal. It is important to be able to quickly release the upper restraint in the event the animal falls over the edge of the table and hangs there. 
         [0008]    The first and second extension elongated members working together with the cam buckles as described above eliminate the need for a plurality of straps of different lengths to accommodate animals of different sizes as is the need in prior art harnesses. 
         [0009]    The novel arrangement of elongated members and connection hardware that comprise the harness systems of the present invention provide superior performance and flexibility as compared to prior art systems while providing for the safety of the animals. 
         [0010]    The elongated members can be of a variety of materials including, without limitation, rope, webbing, cord and the like. In one embodiment, the elongated member(s) that forms the closed loop that circumscribes the animal&#39;s neck are of a rope material having a generally circular cross-section while the extension straps are of flat webbing which works very well with cam buckles. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that various other materials could be used without departing from the invention. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a standard grooming stand to which an embodiment of the harness of the present invention is attached; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is similar to  FIG. 1  with the addition of an animal (dog) in the harness; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of a universal cam buckle bracket including a cam buckle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The following terms used herein shall be understood to have the following meanings: 
         [0015]    “Slide lock”: a device that can be disposed at a selected location along an elongated member and where it will resist movement until manually moved to a different location along the elongated member. 
         [0016]    “Cam buckle”: a device that releasably secures an elongated member at a selected location along the length of the elongated member. 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a pet restraint harness system  11  includes a closed loop  18  formed by side-by-side elongated members  12  and  13  that are secured together at a first end  14  and a spaced-apart second end  15 . Elongated members  12  and  13  can be portions of a single elongated member folded over onto itself, or two separate elongated members. In one embodiment, elongated members  12  and  13  are secured together at the first end  14  by inserting them into a deformable metal crimp sleeve  16  and then crimping the sleeve to reduce its diameter (in a manner well known in the art) until the two elongated members  12  and  13  are secured together. The elongated members  12  and  13  are similarly secured together at the second end  15  by a second crimped sleeve  17 . With the first and second ends  14  and  15  so secured together, elongated members  12  and  13  form the closed loop  18  that is large enough to comfortably fit over the head of an animal (such as a dog)  19  of various sizes. 
         [0018]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the joinder of the elongated members  12  and  13  can be effected by devices other than crimped sleeves  16  and  17 , such as by stitching or any one of numerous known devices for joining two elongated members together, such that the invention is not limited to embodiments of crimped sleeves. 
         [0019]    A slide lock  22  is formed from a third crimp sleeve  21 . After the ends of elongated members  12  and  13  are disposed in crimp sleeve  21 , the diameter of crimp sleeve  21  is reduced enough to fully engage the elongated members  12  and  13  but without fixedly securing them together. Rather, the degree of engagement of the crimp sleeve  21  after it is crimped permits it to slide along the length of the first and second elongated members  12  and  13  to any selected location between first end  14  and second end  15  where it will resist movement until manually relocated. By positioning the slide lock  22  along the elongated members  12  and  13 , a loop  18   a  is formed between the slide lock  22  and the second end  15  which will vary in size depending on the location of the slide lock  22 . In this way, animals of different sizes can be accommodated without additional elongated members. 
         [0020]    While crimp sleeve  21  is an advantageous embodiment of the slide lock  22 , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a variety of devices exist and are known that are capable of performing the function of being secured at a selected position between the first and second ends  14  and  15  and manually movable to a different selected position as described for crimp sleeve slide lock  22  such that the invention is not limited to an embodiment of a crimped sleeve slide lock. 
         [0021]    In one embodiment, elongated members  12  and  13  are a rope material having a generally circular cross-section which works well with crimp sleeves, both in securing the ends and forming a simple but effective slide lock. Other embodiments using different materials for the elongated members  12  and  13 , such as webbing, are possible and within the scope of the invention. 
         [0022]    A first extension elongated member  24  is secured by and extends from the first crimp sleeve  16  (first end  14 ), while a second extension elongated member  26  is secured by and extends from the second crimp sleeve  17  (second end  15 ). As more fully described below, the first extension elongated member  24  passes through and is secured by an upper cam buckle  37  ( FIG. 1 ), while the second extension elongated member  26  passes through and is secured by a lower cam buckle  38 . 
         [0023]    Extending from sleeve  17  is a muzzle connection loop  28 . In one embodiment, loop  28  is formed from a portion of elongated member  12  and/or  13 . Alternatively, muzzle connection loop  28  is formed from an elongated member separate from elongated member  12  or  13  or is an affixed metal or plastic ring (not shown) secured at sleeve  17 . 
         [0024]    A commercially available grooming stand  31  is typical and has a vertical member  32  affixed to a clamp fixture  33  that secures the stand  31  to a grooming or examining table  34 . A horizontal member  36  of grooming stand  31  extends from vertical member  32  above and over table  34 . 
         [0025]    Upper cam buckle  37  is secured to and near the end  35  of horizontal member  36  and disposed to receive the first extension elongated member  24 . It is common that commercially available grooming stands  31  have one or two apertures  45  in the horizontal member  36  and for an eye bolt  43  to be secured in an aperture  45 . Unlike the prior art where the harness system&#39;s primary connection to the grooming stand  31  is by a snap hook  42 , or the like, directly onto eye bolt  43 , in the invention embodiment illustrated, the eye bolt  43  supports upper cam buckle  37  (as described below) which is a primary connection point of the loop  18 . 
         [0026]    In the embodiment illustrated, cam buckle  37  is secured to horizontal member  36  by a connection strap  39  which connects to a D-ring  41 , which, in turn, is secured to snap hook  42  which connects to the eye bolt  43  which is secured in horizontal member  36  at an aperture  45 . The invention is not limited to the particular connection arrangement described above for securing cam buckle  37  to eye bolt  43 . In one embodiment described below, a novel universal cam buckle bracket secures the cam buckle to either or both of the vertical member  32  and horizontal member  36 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , a universal cam buckle bracket  47  is attached to vertical member  32  and disposed at any selected location along the length of vertical member  32 . The universal cam buckle bracket  47  comprises a rigid frame  51  enclosing a space, and dividers  52  and  53  that partition the space within frame  51  into separate spaces  56 ,  57  and  58 . In one embodiment, separate spaces  56 ,  57  and  58  are essentially enclosed, as shown. 
         [0028]    Space  56  forms a part of and contains cam buckle  38  including its spring-loaded armature  38   a . As is well known in the art, armature  38   a  is spring-loaded to apply pressure to elongated member  26  and secure it within cam buckle  38  until the armature  38   a  is depressed, releasing the pressure on the elongated member  26 . Space  57  is sized to be larger than the cross-section of vertical member  32  such that vertical member  32  fits inside the essentially enclosed space  57 . A clamping screw  60  is threaded through the corner  61  of frame  51  and into space  57 . With the vertical member  32  disposed within space  57  ( FIG. 1 ), the universal cam buckle bracket  47  is positioned at a desired location on the vertical member  32  and the clamping screw  60  tightened until clamp  47  is secured in place. Universal cam buckle bracket  47  works equally well with members  32  having circular or other cross-sections (not shown). As shown in  FIG. 2  universal cam buckle bracket  47  works equally well on horizontal member  36 . 
         [0029]    Space  58  provides a convenient location for attaching an auxiliary strap  63 , such as a leash, with a snap hook  64  or the like. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , an advantage of the universal cam buckle bracket  47  is that it can replace the cam buckle  37  and eye bolt assembly ( 39 ,  41  and  42 ) ( FIG. 1 ), allowing the cam buckle to be located anywhere along horizontal member  36  and not just where there are pre-drilled apertures  45  for an eye hook. 
         [0031]    While universal cam buckle bracket  47  has certain advantages, it will occur to those skilled in the art that other clamp mechanisms can be joined to a cam buckle whereby the cam buckle can be secured at any selected location on a supporting member such that the invention is not limited to the particular integrated clamp-cam buckle combination described herein. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the method of use of pet restraint harness system  11  of the invention described above and in the FIGS. comprises the steps of: securing the first extension elongated member  24  through an upper cam buckle  70 ; securing the second extension elongated member  26  through a lower cam buckle  38 ; locating slide lock  22  near or at the first end  14 ; gently placing the loop  18  over the head  66  of pet  19 ; positioning slide lock  22  at the back of the neck  68  of pet  19 ; pulling first extension elongated member  24  through upper cam buckle  70  to take up the slack in first extension elongated member  24 ; pulling the second extension elongated member  26  through the cam buckle  38  to take up the slack; positioning universal cam buckle bracket  47  on vertical member  32  to where second end  15  is positioned away from the throat  71  of pet  19 , creating a safety space  72  that eliminates a potential choking hazard. 
         [0033]    The method of the invention is not limited by the particular order of steps described above, as a different order is within the scope of the invention. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a novel muzzle  74  comprises a doubled length of an elongated member  75  (such as rope or webbing or the like) and a slide lock  76  that surrounds both arms  75   a  and  75   b  of the doubled length of elongated member  75 . A muzzle loop  74   a  is formed between the slide lock  76  and the end  78  of the doubled length of elongated material  75 . The muzzle loop  74   a  is sizable by positioning slide lock  76 . To implement the muzzle  74 , the end  78  is passed through muzzle connection loop  28  (see  FIG. 1 ) and between the second end  15  (crimped sleeve  17 ) and the animal&#39;s throat  71  and then looped around the dog&#39;s snout  79 . Once so positioned, the elongated member is pulled through the slide lock  76  (slide lock  76  is pushed along elongated member  75 ) until the muzzle loop  74   a  is firmly around the dog&#39;s snout  79  as shown. 
         [0035]    Of course, various changes, modifications and alterations in the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof. As such, it is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.