Abstract:
An integrated pet leash comprising a pet restraint, handle, retractors fastened to the outer side of the collar, and flexible elongated members. The flexible elongated members are coupled between the ends of the handle and the retractors. The retractors exert a force on the flexible elongated members toward the restraint. Additionally, the handle may include a detachable fastener to lock the collar-leash to poles, fence posts, parking meters, and the like.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to pet collar, and more specifically, to a pet collar having a retractable and lockable leash integrated into the collar.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Pet owners are routinely confronted with the inconvenience of the standard pet collar, which requires a separate, detachable leash for maintaining control of their pet. At times, pet owners may only need to use a leash for short periods of time under certain circumstance, such as when crossing a street or in the park when confronted with an aggressive dog. These situations require quick access to the leash. Also, pet owners may desire to quickly and easily tie the leash to a pole while entering a store. With the standard collar and leash, pet owners must carry the leash separately and may be inconvenienced by the time it takes to attach and detach the leash to the collar.  
         [0003]     The time required to gather the leash and attach it to the collar is extremely problematic for pet owners confronted with increasingly stringent leash laws. The ability to quickly leash a pet can save pet owners the hassle and expense of fines for violation of leash laws.  
         [0004]     An integrated collar and leash has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,198 issued to Peterson and entitled Counterweighted Pet Leash Retracting Collar. Peterson discloses a pet collar with a reflective strip, a leash, a counterweight and a leash retractor. The counterweight is needed to counterbalance the weight of the leash retractor and to ensure that the leash handle always comes to rest on the back of the animal&#39;s neck where it is easy for the user to access the leash handle. The extra weight can be cumbersome to the animal.  
         [0005]     Another integrated collar and leash has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,547 issued to Austin, which eliminates the need for the counterweight. In Austin, the leash feeds through a portion of the collar into a casing that stores the majority of the leash when not in use. The casing holds a coiled spring that is coupled to one end of the leash and provides the retractability. The opposite end of the leash forms a handle and is removably attached to the outside of the collar to provide access. The handle requires use of a fastener to attach the leash to the collar when not in use.  
         [0006]     Neither Peterson nor Austin discloses the use of a locking mechanism for quickly securing the leash to an object such as a pole, signpost, or parking meter. Also, both disclose the use of a separate handle that is not integrated into the collar. In the case of Austin, the handle needs to be attached to the collar by a fastener to prevent the collar from hanging loose when not in use. As for Peterson, the handle is in the form of a cylindrical handle, which dangles from the collar when not in use.  
         [0007]     An example of a locking leash is disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2002/0035968 issued to Prusia et al. and entitled Locking Leash and Collar System. Prusia shows a leash with a pet-securing region and handle region. The leash attaches to the collar in the standard manner.  
         [0008]     The present invention provides an improved integrated collar-leash, as well as integrating a locking mechanism into the leash portion of the collar-leash.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The present invention generally is an integrated pet leash comprising a pet restraint, handle, retractors fastened to the outer side of the collar, and flexible elongated members. The flexible elongated members are coupled between the ends of the handle and the retractors. The retractors exert a force on the flexible elongated members toward the restraint. Additionally, the handle may include a detachable fastener to lock the collar-leash to poles, fence posts, parking meters, and the like.  
         [0010]     The present invention has other objects and advantages which are set forth in the description of the Detailed Description of the Invention. The features and advantages described in the specification, however, are not all inclusive, and particularly, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings and specification herein. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the integrated collar-leash with the leash portion retracted.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a frontal view of the integrated collar-leash with the leash portion extended.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a frontal view of the integrated collar-leash with the leash portion retracted.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  depicts the integrated collar-leash in use on an animal with the leash portion extended.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a retractor.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the latch mechanism incorporated into the handle portion of the leash.  
         [0017]      FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  are perspective views of the double strap embodiment of the hook and loop fasteners incorporated into the handle portion of the leash in open and closed mode, respectively.  
         [0018]      FIGS. 8   a  and  8   b  are perspective views of the triple strap embodiment of the hook and loop fasteners incorporated into the handle portion of the leash in open and closed mode, respectively.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the harness embodiment of the integrated leash-collar. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     Overview  
       [0020]     The preferred embodiment of the integrated collar-leash is depicted in  FIGS. 1-4  with leash in both the retracted and extended positions. Collar-leash  10  includes collar portion  12 , collar buckle  14 , leash portion  16 , handle portion  18 , buckle  20  which is part of and incorporated into handle portion  18 , retractors  22   a  and  22   b  (collectively, referred to as retractors  22 ), and retractor covers  24 .  
         [0021]     Collar-leash  10  is depicted in collar mode in  FIG. 3 . As shown, leash portion  16  is retracted so that collar-leash  10  functions as a pet collar. In contrast, collar-leash  10  is depicted in leash mode in  FIGS. 2 . As shown, leash portion  16  is extended so that collar-leash  10  functions as both a leash and collar. Collar portion  12  functions as the restraint for the pet as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0022]     Retractors  22  are fixed to the exterior side of collar portion  12  at a distance apart approximately equal to the width of the average human hand (approximately 3-4 inches). Rivets  26  or any one of many known means for fastening objects to leather or nylon such as punch buttons are used the fasten retractors  22  to collar portion  12 . Optionally, retractor covers  24  are stitched over retractors  22  to provide additional fastening support and protect retractors  22  from potential impact when worn by a pet. Retractor covers  24  each have a riveted hole for allowing leash portion  16  to pass through. Retractors  22  having a sufficiently durable housing  30  and a strong connection by way of rivets  26  will obviate the need for retractor covers  24 .  
         [0023]     Retractors  22  are preferably spring-loaded retractors such as RT-03S steel metal wire retractable reels made by UMX. The structure of a spring-loaded retractor  22  is shown in  FIG. 5 . Retractor  22  includes housing  30  comprising a top cap  32  and bottom cap  34 . Within housing  30  is spring loaded retraction mechanism  34  comprising spring coil  36  connected to the inside of dense plastic spool  38 . Thin, flexible steel cable  28  is wrapped around the outer side of spool  38  and locked to spool  38  by a knot pinched or wedged in spool  38 . Spring coil  36  maintains the steel cable  28  wound into a coil within housing  30  when counter force is being exerted on steel cable  28 .  
         [0024]     Leash portion  16  is formed by handle portion  18  (which is separable for locking purposes into two portions  17   a  and  17   b , collectively referred to as separable handle portions  17 ) and two separate flexible cables  28   a  and  28   b  (collectively, referred to as flexible cables  28 ), which are made of a flexible, thin and strong material such as steel cable, nylon cord, or the like. Flexible cable  28   a  is attached between retractor  22   a  and end  19   a  of handle portion  18 . Flexible cable  28   b  is attached between retractor  22   b  and end  19   b  of handle portion  18 . This configuration causes the retractors  22  to apply a constant force on flexible cables  28  that pulls handle portion  18  toward collar portion  12 .  
         [0025]     Handle portion  18 , when retracted as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , is positioned between and held in place by the retractive force of retractors  22 . This prevents handle portion  18  from hanging loose from collar portion  12  so that handle portion  18  will not interfere with the pet&#39;s ability to run or walk, or get caught on objects such as bushes and trees. Collar buckle  14  is positioned opposite (180 degrees around collar portion  12 ) handle portion  18 .  
         [0026]     Additionally, as depicted in  FIG. 6 , handle portion  18  is equipped with a detachable fastener such as latch  20 . When leash portion  16  is extended, latch  20  may be disengaged. Each extension of leash portion  16  can be placed around an object and latch  20  re-engaged in order to lock collar-leash  10  to an object, such as a pole, fence post or parking meter.  
         [0027]     Alternatively, as shown in  FIGS. 7-8  a hook and loop fastener  120 , such as Velcro® made by Velcro USA Inc., may be used to form a handle with a detachable fastener. Hook and loop fastener  122  may be constructed of two rectangular strap portions, top portion  124  with loops on the inner side and bottom portion  126  with hooks on the inner side as shown in  FIG. 7   a  in open mode (i.e., unlocked) and  FIG. 7   b  in closed mode (i.e., locked). Alternatively, for a stronger locking mechanism, hook and loop fastener  122  may be constructed of three rectangular strap portions, top portion  128  with loops on the inner side, bottom portion  130  with loops on the inner side and middle portion  132  with hooks on both sides as shown in  FIG. 8   a  in open mode (i.e., unlocked) and  FIG. 8   b  in closed mode (i.e., locked).  
         [0028]     An alternate restraint embodiment is depicted in  FIG. 9 . The retraction mechanism of collar-leash  10  is incorporated into a harness style restraint. As shown, harness-leash  100  includes a harness portion  102 , in lieu of collar portion  12  of the preferred embodiment. Harness portion  102  is formed by a front circular strap  104  and rear circular strap  106 , both of which wrap around the body of the pet and connect by buckles  105 , and top connector strap  108  and bottom connector strap  110 , both of which connect front circular strap  104  to rear circular strap  106 . Retractors  112  are fastened to rear circular  106  of harness portion  102  in the same manner and function in the same way as described with respect to the preferred embodiment. As shown, the handle portion  108  and cables  128  are arranged laterally along the pet and harness portion  102 , but alternatively may be arranged longitudinally along the pet and harness portion  102  by fastening retraction mechanisms to top connector strap  108 .  
         [0029]     From the above description, it will be apparent that the invention disclosed herein provides a novel and advantageous integrated pet restraint and leash. The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary methods and embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion that various changes, modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.