Abstract:
A tray contains a bag of litter and provides four sides to form a litter box. An enclosure folds into a flat configuration against the top of the tray. In use, the panels of the enclosure unfold and form an enclosure for the tray. Closure panels fold upwardly from the tray and interlock with the unfolded panels to add stability. The closure panels are provided with openings to allow the ingress and egress of cats. When desired, the panels can be folded back into the flat configuration and the entire unit disposed of.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims benefit of Provisional Application 60/442,076 filed Jan. 24, 2003. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The invention is directed to a disposable litter box made from multi-section panels open from a flat configuration to an assembled disposable box.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Cat owners need to provide a litter box for the cat. The litter needs to be changed on a regular basis and most cat owners do not enjoy this task. With the long standing domestication of cats, many types of litter boxes have been developed and used in the marketplace.  
           [0004]    Litter boxes are often made of plastic and, to facilitate the cleaning of litter boxes, are used with liners to contain the cat litter. When the liner is removed, the litter is also removed. This procedure necessitates placing a liner in the litter box and filling the litter box with litter. Litter is dispensed and stored in large bags. This typical method is inconvenient and time consuming.  
           [0005]    There is a need in the prior art for a single, self-contained unit supplying both the litter and the litter box. The self-contained unit must have the ability to be set up, used by the cat and easily disposed after use.  
           [0006]    It is an object of the invention to provide a disposable litter box provided with litter.  
           [0007]    It is another object of the invention to provide a litter box that is transported and sold in a flat configuration and converted into a setup, usable configuration.  
           [0008]    It is another object of the invention to provide a disposable litter box made a biodegradable material.  
           [0009]    These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading the disclosure of the invention.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    A tray contains a bag of litter and provides four sides to form a litter box. An enclosure folds into a flat configuration against the top of the tray. In use, the panels of the enclosure unfold and form an enclosure for the tray. Closure panels fold upwardly from the tray and interlock with the unfolded panels to add stability. The closure panels are provided with openings to allow the ingress and egress of cats. When desired, the panels can be folded back into the flat configuration and the entire unit disposed of.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a top view of the blank used to make the tray;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a top view of the blank used to make the enclosure;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIGS. 3 a - 3   f  depict the transformation of the box from the flat to the assembled condition;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a top view of the second embodiment of the blank used to make the tray; and  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a top view of the second embodiment of the blank used to make the closure.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]    The tray forming part of the invention has a bottom wall  12  provided with a pair of slots  14  at each side, as seen in FIG. 1. An outer wall  16  is foldably connected to the bottom wall  12  at one end and to a bridge panel  18  at its opposite end. Attached to the bridge panel  18  is inner side wall  20  having a pair of tabs  24  at its free edge.  
         [0017]    End walls  32  extend from the remaining two edges of the bottom wall  12 . Each end wall  32  has a of corner flaps  34  extending from the side edges. Closure flaps  42  extend from each end wall  32  and have a pair of side flaps  46 . The top of the closure flap is slightly peaked in the middle and a pair of top flaps  48  extend from the top edge. Formed in the top edge of the closure flap  42  is a pair of tabs  50 .  
         [0018]    To assemble the tray from the blank into the erected condition, end walls  32  are folded up with corner flaps folded perpendicular to the end walls and over the bottom wall  12 . After outer side walls  16  are folded up, the inner side walls are folded downwardly until tabs  24  engage slots  14 . When this is done, corner flaps  34  are captured between the inner and outer side wall. The two fold lines on either side of bridge panel  18  facilitate the folding of the inner side wall 180° from being coplanar with the outer side wall to the final orientation. Closure panels  42  are folded inwardly to form the top of the tray with side flaps  46  folded inwardly to align against inner side wall  20 .  
         [0019]    The blank for making the enclosure is seen in FIG. 2. The blank has a pair of bottom panels  62  each having a pair of bottom flaps  80  foldably extending from the side thereof. A base panel  64  with base flaps  84  extends from the side edge of each bottom panel. Foldably connected to the base panel  64  is side panel  66  bisected by fold line  68 . Forming the middle of the blank is top panel  70  bisected by fold line  72  and provided with notches  74  for reasons that will be explained later.  
         [0020]    When the enclosure blank is formed together with the tray, the bottom panels  62  lie against bottom wall  12  with base panel  64  lying against inner side walls  20 . With bottom panel  62  perpendicular to base panel  64 , slot  86  in base flap  84  engages notch  82  in bottom flap  80  to lock two flaps together. Side panel  66  extends between the inner side wall  20  and side flaps  46 . Fold lines  68  allows the sidewalls to fold in an accordion-like manner and lie against the closure flaps  42 . When folded, the upper section of side panel rests upon the lower section. Extending across the folded side panels  66  and across the top of the tray is the top panel  70 . This folded, compact configuration is seen in FIG. 3.  
         [0021]    Transformation of the device from the flat configuration to the useable configuration is clearly shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3A shows the enclosure transformed from the flat configuration to the fully formed configuration with the intermediate state shown in phantom. As can be seen, the side panel  66 , originally lying against the top  42  of the tray is unfolded until the two sections of the side panel  66  formed by the bisecting fold lines  68  are coplanar. The fold line  72  in the top  70  allows the formation of a peaked top.  
         [0022]    Once the enclosure is fully formed, the two closure flaps of the tray can be raised. The first closure panel  42  is raised until tabs  50  engage the notches  42 , as seen in FIG. 3 b . The second closure flap  42  is pulled all the way through the enclosure in order to access the cat litter stored within the tray, depicted in FIG. 3 c - 3   e . The cat litter, usually packaged in a bag, is emptied into the tray. Thereafter, the closure flap is pushed upwardly until the tabs  50  engage notches  74 , as seen in FIG. 3 f . After use, the closure flaps  42  can be pushed inwardly until they again rest on top of the tray and the enclosure can be collapsed back into the flat configuration for disposal.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the blank for making the tray. All similar parts have been identified with the same reference numerals and only that structure which differs from the first embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, corner flaps  34  have been replaced with a corner fold  134  formed by two panels connected to one another and between the side and end walls. The free edge of the inner side wall  20  is provided with notches  124  as will be described hereinafter. Extending from the side edges of inner side wall  20  are wall flaps  122 ,  124 . Each of these is provided with slots  126 . The two wall flaps  122 ,  124  differ in their orientation of the slots  126  as, when assembled, slots  126  of the flap  122  face downwardly with slots  126  of flap  124  extending upwardly. The slots align with one another and allow the two flaps to interlock. Also differing from the first embodiment, one closure flap  42  is provided with a large opening  144  for cats with the second closure flap  142  provided with a smaller opening  146  for kittens.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 shows the second embodiment of the blank for making the enclosure. In this embodiment, bottom panel  62  is provided with bottom flaps  180  having L-shaped cut  182 . Base panel  64  is provided with base flaps  184  with an L-shaped free edge  186 . When the enclosure is folded, bottom flap  80  is perpendicular to base flap  84  and the L-shaped free edge engages L-shaped notch  182  to interlock the two flaps. Between bottom panel  62  and base panel  64  are notches  188  which complement notches  124  to provide some degree of interlocking between the tray and enclosure blanks when folded.  
         [0025]    The tray and enclosure are preferably made of degradable material such as cardboard. The blanks are provided with a coating, such as plastic or paraffin, to render the material waterproof.  
         [0026]    While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, variations and modifications would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. The invention encompasses such variations and modifications.