Abstract:
A cover for a portable pet containment system is provided. The cover has a body portion that is formed of a first resilient material and that has a first lateral side with a first edge and a second lateral side with a second edge. The second lateral side is opposite the first lateral side. The cover also has a number of members for connecting the first lateral side to the second lateral side. The number of members secure the cover on the portable pet containment system. The first lateral side is held substantially taut against the first pet containment system side, and said second lateral side is held substantially taut against the second pet containment system side, to minimize the possibility that the cover will be disturbed when positioned on the portable pet containment system.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to an apparatus or device for converting a pet containment system into a den for an animal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cover that will be held substantially taut on the lateral sides of the pet containment system to prevent removal therefrom.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Insulated covers for pet containment systems are known in the art. One such cover is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,557 B1 to Salahor. Salahor discloses an insulated cloth cover in combination with a portable pet containment system. The insulated cloth cover has a top and a bottom with the bottom fully covering the bottom of the floor of the pet containment system. The insulated cloth cover has a right side and a left side, and a front. The front has a door flap and a hook and loop fastener connecting the door flap with the insulated cloth cover.  
         [0005]     The insulated covers of the prior art are deficient in their operation. The insulated covers are difficult to handle and manipulate especially when securing the insulated covers to the pet containment system. For example, Salahor&#39;s insulated cloth cover necessitates the animal caregiver to lift the heavy pet containment system with one hand, then place the entire pet containment system into a front opening of the insulated cloth cover that needs to be manipulated with the other hand. Such manipulation is difficult for the elderly, handicapped, or children, especially if the pet containment system is relatively large and heavy. The caregiver will have to lift and place the pet containment system on a side, then open and slide the insulated cloth cover over the pet containment system. Upon completion, the caregiver will then have to further tip the pet containment system over to return the pet containment system to an operable position for which the animal may enter and exit the pet containment system.  
         [0006]     By tipping the pet containment system, the caregiver may injure himself or herself, the animal, or may damage the pet containment system or the insulated cloth cover. Still further, the caregiver will have to remove any and all water bowls, food bowls, toys, blankets from the pet containment system prior to application of the insulated cloth cover. Once the insulated cloth cover is applied, the caregiver will then have to replace the items. This removal and replacement is time consuming and may be difficult for the caregiver, given that the pet containment system is usually low to the ground and has a relatively smaller interior compartment therein.  
         [0007]     Caregivers will then often, to avoid such known problems in the art, place a blanket or covering on a top of the dog crate or dog containment system. This arrangement also is inconvenient in its operation especially with the manner the covering or cover is supported or unsupported on the pet containment system. The covering will further, if windy, blow off of the pet containment system. Even if the covering does not blow off, it may not substantially cover the pet containment system entirely causing pockets of the pet containment system to remain uncovered. This uncovered pet containment system may cause an interior of pet containment system to cool, and permit light entry into the interior of the pet containment system. This uncovered pet containment system thus may not fully protect the animal therein and cause the animal distress.  
         [0008]     Moreover, certain types of animals, such as a dog, may become very pesky with regard to any covering, especially one that is not secured thereon in an appropriate manner.  
         [0009]     A known problem in the art is that the covering will hang away from the first and second lateral sides of the pet containment system. This will result in the formation of a large gap between the first and second lateral sides of the pet containment system and the covering. This over hang will also prevent an opportunity for such a dog. A dog may pull of the covering, or chew or damage the covering. This will cause the covering to be replaced, and thus cause unnecessary expenses.  
         [0010]     Accordingly, there is a need for a covering or cover that eliminates one or more of the aforementioned drawbacks and deficiencies of the prior art.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a cover that can easily be applied and removed from a pet containment system without the need to lift the pet containment system.  
         [0012]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cover that has a number of connectors that secure the cover to the pet containment system.  
         [0013]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cover that has a number of connectors that secure the cover to the pet containment system with some of the number of connectors being inelastic and the remainder of the number of connectors being elastic.  
         [0014]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cover that has a number of connectors that are on a bottom side of the pet containment system, and this out of view, to secure the cover to the pet containment system.  
         [0015]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cover that has a first lateral side and a second lateral side that are held substantially taut to a first pet containment system lateral side and a second pet containment system lateral side, respectively, to prevent an animal from tampering with the cover.  
         [0016]     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a cover that has an exterior surface with an aesthetically pleasing design or pattern.  
         [0017]     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cover that can be selectively applied to a pet containment system by a challenged, a handicapped or an elderly individual in an easy manner.  
         [0018]     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cover made from a breathable material such as a breathable fabric.  
         [0019]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cover that can be selectively applied to a pet containment system while a pet is in the pet containment system.  
         [0020]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cover that can be selectively applied to a pet containment system without any disruption to a pet and/or any contents in or around the pet containment system and applied in an easy manner.  
         [0021]     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by an apparatus for covering a portable pet containment system according to the present invention. The portable pet containment system has a first pet containment system side and a second pet containment system side. The apparatus has a body portion formed of a first resilient material. The body portion has a first lateral side with a first edge and a second lateral side with a second edge. The second lateral side is opposite the first lateral side. The cover has a number of members that connect the first lateral side to the second lateral side. The number of members secure the cover on the portable pet containment system. The first lateral side is held against the first pet containment system side and the second lateral side is held against the second pet containment system side, to prevent the apparatus from being removed from the portable pet containment system. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a pet containment system of the prior art.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an apparatus for covering the pet containment system of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the apparatus for covering the pet containment system of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 5  is a close up view of the first connector and the second connector of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a close up view of the third connector and the fourth connector of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2  positioned on the pet containment system of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 8  is another front perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 7  with a pattern thereon. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0030]     Referring to the drawings and, in particular, to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a pet containment system of the prior art generally represented by reference numeral  10  having an animal therein. The pet containment system  10  is preferably any structure for providing shelter to an animal. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the pet containment system  10  is a crate made from a grid of resilient bars thereby having a number of interspaces. Preferably, the pet containment system  10  may also be any crate for crate training a puppy for housebreaking purposes. The number of interspaces of the pet containment system  10  allows air, light and small food particles to enter the pet containment system. The pet containment system  10  preferably has a door  12 . The door  12  is preferably a hinged or movable structure that allows the door to move between an opened position and a closed position. In a preferred embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the door  12  swings between the opened position and the closed position in a direction as indicated by reference arrow  16 . In this preferred embodiment, the door  12  is connected to a front of the pet containment system  10  by a suitable hinge  14 . The door  12  preferably has a locking device  18  that selectively locks the door to prevent the animal from exiting the pet containment system  10  or is in an opened position, shown in  FIG. 1 , to allow the animal to enter the pet containment system  10 .  
         [0031]     Recently, pet professionals have advised that the care of an animal, such as a dog, should accommodate the dog&#39;s natural instinct to den. The dog has territorial instincts. One aspect of these territorial instincts is the dog&#39;s need for a den for sleeping purposes and/or resting purposes. Likewise, the caregiver will usually establish the animal&#39;s bed or mat on a floor  20  of the pet containment system  10 .  
         [0032]     Often, the pet containment system  10  is placed in a part of a house that is secluded, so the dog can have a quiet retreat when desired. Often, the pet containment system  10  is placed in the same location as the bedroom of the caregiver.  
         [0033]     To prevent light or wind from entering the pet containment system  10 , the caregiver will place a cover or blanket over the pet containment system. This arrangement is problematic. First, the cover or blanket of the prior art will not rest or be supported in a complementary fashion on the pet containment system  10 . Often, the blanket and/or cover will not sit appropriately and evenly cover the pet containment system  10 . Moreover, any lateral sides of the blanket and/or cover will hang off the sides of the pet containment system  10 , and thus could be tampered with by the animal thereby probably damaging the cover or pulling the cover off of the pet containment system. Even though positioned on a top of the pet containment system  10 , the cover may leave portions of the pet containment system exposed. This exposure will allow heat to escape from the number of interspaces of the pet containment system  10  and/or sun to enter through the number of interspaces of the pet containment system to adversely affect what is desired by the animal therein.  
         [0034]     Second, the dog may chew and pull off the cover from the pet containment system  10  even if the blanket or cover is initially placed on the pet containment system  10  properly.  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , an apparatus for converting the pet containment system  10  solves these problems of the prior art. The apparatus generally is referred to as a cover  22 . The cover  22  is shown separated from the pet containment system  10  for illustration purposes only. The cover  22  is preferably made from a first resilient material in order to cover snuggly the pet containment system  10 . The first resilient material is preferably any deformable material known in the art that will block light and also provide insulation to prevent the transfer of heat from the pet containment system  10  to ambient conditions outside of the pet containment system. Preferably, the first resilient material is a deformable material so that the cover  22  is lightweight and can be folded away in a convenient manner for storage purposes. The first resilient material most preferably is cotton weave material. Alternatively, the first resilient material may be a polyester, a bonded leather, canvas, velvet, acrylic, nylon, micro-fiber, a fleece material, a wicker material, a mesh fabric, a seagras fabric, a subrella® fabric material, a coolaroo® fabric material, leather, a velour, a silk, a nylon, a cotton, an elastomer, a weather proof material, a foam rubber, a polyvinyl chloride, a closed cell resistant foam plastic material, a polypropylene, a polyurethane, a polyethylene, a composite material, or any combinations thereof.  
         [0036]     Preferably, the cover  22  has a first or lateral side  24 , a second or lateral side  26 , a top  28 , a front  30  and a rear  32 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , preferably, the cover  22 , preferably is knit from sections of fabric material. Alternatively, the cover  22  may be formed from one unitary member or one fabric section of material. Preferably, the cover  22  has a suitable length and a width to rest snuggly over the pet containment system  10  of similar dimensions as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0037]     The front  30  preferably has an opening  34 . The opening  34  is preferably generally orthogonal shaped and sufficiently sized to allow the door  12  of the pet containment system  10  to open and close. The rear  32  of the cover  22  may optionally have a second opening  36 . One skilled in the art should appreciate that the cover  22  may be formed only with one opening  34 . The second opening  36  allows a predetermined amount of light and air therethrough can allow light and/or air or be a second ingress and egress.  
         [0038]     The cover  22  preferably is stitched together along a seam  38 , and preferably made from a number of sections of fabric. Alternatively but less preferably, the cover  22  may be formed by a molding operation, an extrusion operation, a manual sewing operation, a knitting operation, a circular knitting operation or any other method known in the art.  
         [0039]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a bottom view of the cover  22  for illustration purposes. The first lateral side  24  has a first edge  40  and the second lateral side  26  of the cover  22  has a second edge  42 . Preferably, the first edge  40  and the second edge  42  are located at a complementary location adjacent to a bottom of the pet containment system  10  of  FIG. 1  to provide a maximum amount of coverage to both the first side  24  and the second side  26  of the pet containment system as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0040]     The cover  22  has a number of connectors  44 . Preferably, the connectors  44  connect the first edge  40  to the second edge  42 . The connectors  44  preferably apply an amount of tension to impart a force on the first side  24  and the second side  26  in a direction opposite the top  30  shown in  FIG. 3 , when applied on the pet containment system  10 . In this manner, the first side  24  and the second side  26  of the cover  22  are held taut against the first side and the second side of the pet containment system  10 . Accordingly, the animal in the pet containment system  10  cannot tamper with the cover  22 , or remove the cover since the cover  22  will remain supported securely in place on the pet containment system  10 . Moreover, the cover  22  will be retained securely on the pet containment system  10  in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Further, the placement of the cover  22  about the pet containment system  10  will be achieved with a minimum amount of effort expended by the caregiver. This aspect is useful especially to children and the elderly.  
         [0041]     One significant unexpected advantage of the present invention is that one skilled in the art normally would not place such connectors  44  underneath the pet containment system  10 . Instead, normal clip fasteners are relatively large and bulky. This bulkiness of the known clip fasteners would prevent the pet containment system  10  from resting flush on a floor and would, in fact, disturb an orientation of the pet containment system. However, the connectors  44  of the cover  22  have an unexpected result that remedies this known problem. The connectors  44  are formed of a sufficiently thin width to permit being disposed underneath the pet containment system  10  to hide the connectors from view without any disturbance of the orientation of the pet containment system  10  so that the pet containment system is supported thereon in a sturdy manner.  
         [0042]     Referring to  FIGS. 4 through 6 , in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cover  20  has a first connector  46 , a second connector  48 , a third connector  50  and a fourth connector  52 . Preferably, the second connector  48  and the third connector  50  are made from an elastic material. The elastic material most preferably is an elastic band. Alternatively, the second connector  48  and the third connector  50  are a strip of stretch fabric, a hook and loop Velcro fastener, or multiple strips of fabric. Less preferably, the second connector  48  and the third connector  50  may be, a elastomeric yarn, a spandex, a visco-elastic rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer, and any combination thereof or any other elastic material known in the art.  
         [0043]     The first connector  46  and the fourth connector  52  are preferably made from the first resilient material or the same material as the remainder of the cover  22 . Alternatively, the first connector  46  and the fourth connector  52  may be formed from a cotton material, a cotton weave material, a polyester, a bonded leather, canvas, velvet, acrylic, nylon, micro-fiber, a fleece material, a wicker material, a mesh fabric, a seagras fabric, a subrella® fabric material, a coolaroo® fabric material, leather, a velour, a silk, a nylon, a cotton, an elastomer, a weather proof material, a foam rubber, a polyvinyl chloride, a closed cell resistant foam plastic material, a polypropylene, a polyurethane, a polyethylene, a composite material, or any combinations thereof.  
         [0044]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , there is shown the cover  22  of the pet containment system  10  with a dog therein. The connectors  44  shown in  FIGS. 4 and 6  are under the pet containment system  10  to permit first side  24  and the second side  26  of the apparatus to be held taut against the pet containment system as shown. Preferably, the first connector  46  is on a front step facade or entry portion  54  of the pet containment system  10  to cover the facade. The fourth connector (not shown) likewise is on the rear facade of the pet containment system  10  to give the pet containment system a framed appearance. Preferably, the second connector  48  and the third connector  50  are between the first connector  46  and the fourth connector  48  and underneath the pet containment system  10  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  
         [0045]     The cover  22  may have a pattern  56 . The pattern  56  is on the exterior so that when the cover  22  is positioned on the pet containment system  10 , the pattern is on the surface of the cover  10 . The pattern  56  may be a multicolored floral pattern, a design, or any other aesthetically pleasing arrangement as shown in  FIG. 8 . The pattern  56  may be a solid color, a woven color, a number of various prints, a textured bonded leather, a customized pattern, a monogram, a name, a logo, a painting, a picture, a photo, an image, a digital image, a canvas painting, text, or any combinations thereof. The pattern  56  may be on only a portion of the cover  22  or alternatively the entire cover  22 . The cover  22  may have a fringe  58  or a number of tassels on one or more edges of the cover for decorative purposes. The cover  10  may further be embellished with buttons, tassels, and fringes and be manufactured with a first and a second window (not shown) for limited visibility of the pet by the user.  
         [0046]     It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the present invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances.