Patent Publication Number: US-2019191660-A1

Title: Animal toilet

Description:
This Nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 on Patent Application No. 2017-250222 filed in Japan on Dec. 26, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an animal toilet capable of weighing an excretion of an animal. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses and makes publicly known an animal toilet capable of weighing an excretion of an animal. The animal toilet disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes (i) a support table that allows a pet aminal to stand thereon, (ii) an excretion tray configured to be slid in the main container to be positioned under the support table, and (iii) a weight scale provided under the excretion tray inside the main container. The weight scale supports the excretion tray inside the main container in such a manner as to lift the excretion tray from below. 
     The animal toilet is configured such that the excretion tray receives urine discharged by a pet on the support table and that the weight scale measures how much the excretion tray is heavier due to the received urine in order to weigh the urine discharged by the pet. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     [Patent Literature 1] 
     Japanese Patent Application Publication, Tokukai, No. 2017-153400 (Publication Date: Sep. 7, 2017) 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     The above conventional animal toilet, which includes a weight scale positioned under an excretion tray, unfortunately has a large overall height. 
     An aspect of the present invention has been accomplished in view of the above issue involved with conventional animal toilets. It is an object of the present invention to provide an animal toilet that has a small overall height. 
     Solution to Problem 
     In order to attain the above object, an animal toilet in accordance with an aspect of the present invention includes: an excretion tray including (i) an excretion container configured to receive an excretion of an animal and (ii) a placement member on which the excretion container is placed; a main container having a side-surface opening and an upper-surface opening and configured to support the excretion tray in such a manner as to allow the excretion tray to be slid into the main container through the side-surface opening; a support table placed on the main container, configured to support the animal while the animal is excreting, and having a bottom surface having a urine passage opening that allows urine of the animal to (i) pass through the urine passage opening and (ii) drop into the excretion container of the excretion tray under the urine passage opening; and at least one weight scale placed on an upper surface of the placement member of the excretion tray and configured to support the excretion container in such a manner as to be capable of measuring a weight. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     An aspect of the present invention advantageously provides an animal toilet that has a small overall height. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a pet toilet as an animal toilet in accordance with Embodiment 1 of the present invention, illustrating the configuration of the pet toilet. 
       (a) of  FIG. 2  is a plan view of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet. (b) of  FIG. 2  is a left side view of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet. (c) of  FIG. 2  is a right side view of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet. (d) of  FIG. 2  is a front side view of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a control device included in the pet toilet. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of an excretion tray, illustrating the configuration of a pet toilet in accordance with Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of an excretion tray, illustrating the configuration of a pet toilet in accordance with a variation of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a variation of the pet toilet, illustrating the overall configuration of the variation of the pet toilet. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiment 1 
     The following description will discuss an embodiment of the present invention with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 4 . 
     The present embodiment is a pet toilet as an example animal toilet. The pet toilet in accordance with the present embodiment is used by a pet such as a cat or a dog (that is, an animal kept domestically) when the pet urinates. The pet is not limited to a cat or a dog, and may be another animal. The present embodiment described here is a pet toilet having the function of measuring, for example, the amount of discharged urine and the number of times of urination for the pet&#39;s healthcare. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the description below deals with how a pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment is configured.  FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment, illustrating the configuration of the pet toilet  1 A. (a) of  FIG. 2  is a plan view of the pet toilet  1 A, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet  1 A. (b) of  FIG. 2  is a left side view of the pet toilet  1 A, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet  1 A. (c) of  FIG. 2  is a right side view of the pet toilet  1 A, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet  1 A. (d) of  FIG. 2  is a front view of the pet toilet  1 A, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet  1 A.  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the pet toilet  1 A, illustrating the configuration of the pet toilet  1 A. 
     The pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , includes a leg table  11 , a main container  13 , a support table  20 , an upper-surface frame  14 , a urine tray  19  as an excretion tray, and a weight scale  40 . The pet toilet  1 A further includes a control device  30  illustrated in  FIG. 4  referred to later. The pet toilet  1 A may further include a cover (not shown) that covers the support table  20  and the upper-surface frame  14 . 
     The leg table  11  has a lower surface provided with four legs  11   a  each positioned at one of the four corners of the lower surface. The leg table  11  supports the main container  13  when the main container  13  is placed on the leg table  11 . 
     The main container  13  is hollow, and has (i) an upper surface with an opening, (ii) a lower surface with an opening, and (iii) a side surface with an opening. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the main container  13  has an upper-surface edge configured to receive the support table  20 , on which an animal as a pet stands. The main container  13  is configured such that a urine tray  19  can be slid into a lower portion of the main container  13 . 
     The support table  20  is a container-shaped table on which an animal stands for excretion. The support table  20  is inserted into the main container  13  through the upper-surface opening of the main container  13  to be (i) placed on the upper-surface edge of the main container  13  and (ii) supported by the main container  13 . The upper-surface frame  14  is mounted on the upper-surface edge of the support table  20 . The support table  20  has a bottom surface  21  having a mesh  22  including a plurality of slits  23  as urine passage openings. An excretion (in this example, urine) that an animal has discharged from above the mesh  22  passes through the slits  23  to fall onto the urine tray  19  so placed below as to face the bottom surface  21  of the support table  20 . 
     The slits  23  allow a liquid to pass therethrough, but do not allow, for example, feces or an object (for example, a toy) that the animal has brought in its mouth. The bottom surface  21  of the support table  20  in accordance with the present embodiment is flat, and has a mesh  22  across the entire bottom surface  21 . The mesh  22  may be provided in only a portion of the bottom surface  21 . 
     The support table  20  may have, instead of the mesh  22 , an opening with a different shape which opening allows an excretion to pass therethrough. As described above, the support table  20  in accordance with the present embodiment is shaped like a recessed container. The shape of the support table  20  is, however, not limited to such a shape. The pet toilet  1 A may alternatively further include a member other than the support table  20  which member is supported by the support table  20  and be configured such that an animal stands on that member. 
     The support table  20  may be filled with a filler such as water-repellent gravel, sand, or glass beads. The support table  20  may itself be water-repellent to (i) prevent urine from remaining thereon and (ii) allow urine to easily run thereon. 
     The urine tray  19 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , includes an excretion receiving container  16  as an excretion container and a slidable frame  17  as a placement member. 
     The excretion receiving container  16  is a vessel configured to receive urine of an animal. The excretion receiving container  16  is combined with an absorbing sheet  18  laid on a bottom  16   a  of the excretion receiving container  16 . With this configuration, when an animal has discharged urine onto the absorbing sheet  18 , the absorbing sheet  18  retains the urine. Further, after the urine is weighed, the absorbing sheet  18  is replaced with a new one. This allows the urine to be discarded easily. The absorbing sheet  18  is preferably, for example, a retainer containing a water absorbent resin and having high water absorbency. The retainer is, however, not limited to such a retainer, and may be any retainer capable of absorbing liquid such as sponge or paper. 
     The excretion receiving container  16  is detachable as described above, so the urine tray  19  can be detached from the main container  13  for removal of the absorbing sheet  18  and subsequent cleaning. The excretion receiving container  16  is thus easy to keep clean. This allows the pet toilet  1 A to have high convenience. 
     The slidable frame  17  supports the dish-shaped excretion receiving container  16  placed thereon. The slidable frame  17  for the present embodiment is a rectangular frame having a central opening  17   a . Fitting the excretion receiving container  16  into the central opening  17   a  of the slidable frame  17  from above allows the excretion receiving container  16  to be mounted on the slidable frame  17 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the urine tray  19  is detachable from the main container  13 , and is slid into the main container  13  through a side-surface opening  13   a  at a side surface of the main container  13 . This allows the urine tray  19  to be positioned under the bottom surface  21  of the support table  20  mounted on the main container  13 , in other words, allows the urine tray  19  to face the bottom surface  21  of the support table  20  mounted on the main container  13 . When the absorbing sheet  18  on the excretion receiving container  16  is to be replaced, the urine tray  19  is slid out of the main container  13  through the side-surface opening  13   a . This configuration makes it possible to remove the urine tray  19  from the main container  13  and easily replace the absorbing sheet  18 . 
     The weight scale  40  is configured to measure the amount of urine in the absorbing sheet  18  on the excretion receiving container  16 . The weight scale  40  for the present embodiment includes load cells  41 . A load cell is a device that converts a pressure from a load into an electric signal, and is capable of easily weighing urine of an animal. 
     The load cells  41  may each be, for example, a spring-type load cell, a piezoelectric load cell, a magnetostrictive load cell, a capacitive load cell, a gyroscopic load cell, or a strain gauge load cell. The weight scale  40  may alternatively include a member other than a load cell such as an electromagnetic equilibrium sensor or a tuning fork sensor. 
     The present embodiment is configured such that the weight scale  40  is placed on the upper surface of the slidable frame  17  of the urine tray  19 . The excretion receiving container  16  is thus supported by the slidable frame  17  via the load cells  41 . The load cells  41  support the excretion receiving container  16  in such a manner as to be capable of measuring a weight. The load cells  41  are thus contained between the slidable frame  17  and the excretion receiving container  16  of the urine tray  19 . The slidable frame  17  and the excretion receiving container  16  of the urine tray  19  would, according to conventional art, be separated by a space for the excretion receiving container  16  to be lifted. The present embodiment includes load cells  41  in otherwise a sheer space. The pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment has a small overall height as compared to conventional counterparts. 
     The present embodiment includes a total of four load cells  41  each positioned on one of the four corners of the upper surface of the slidable frame  17 , which is a rectangular frame. 
     The above configuration allows the four load cells  41  to support the excretion receiving container  16  in balance. 
     The present embodiment includes a control device  30  to control weight measurement involving the load cells  41 . The control device  30  is, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , in the form of a substrate on the lower surface of the leg table  11 . The control device  30  may alternatively be in the form of a substrate on the upper surface of the leg table  11 . The control device  30  is configured to be capable of supplying electric power to the load cells  41  and receiving electric signals from the load cells  41  when the urine tray  19  has been inserted into the main container  13  so that a terminal (not shown) of each load cell  41  becomes electrically connected to a terminal (not shown) extending from the control device  30 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the description below deals with how the control device  30  is configured.  FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control device  30  included in the pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment. 
     The control device  30  for the present embodiment carries out operations such as controlling how the weight scale  40  is driven and receiving electric signals from the weight scale  40 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the control device  30  includes a power source section  31 , a sensor driving section  32 , a control section  33 , a storage section  34 , and a communication section  35 . 
     The power source section  31  supplies electric power to each section of the control device  30 , namely, the sensor driving section  32 , the control section  33 , the storage section  34 , and the communication section  35 . The power source section  31  may be, for example, a battery. 
     The sensor driving section  32  is configured to receive electric signals each indicative of the value (measured value) of a weight that a weight scale  40  has measured. Specifically, the sensor driving section  32  supplies electric power to the weight scale  40  for operation of the weight scale  40 . The sensor driving section  32  also receives data on measured values from the weight scale  40 . More specifically, the sensor driving section  32 , when having detected that a pet such as a dog or a cat has stepped onto the pet toilet  1 A, causes the weight scale  40  to make a measurement. The sensor driving section  32  outputs, to the control section  33 , information indicative of the measured values that the sensor driving section  32  has received. 
     The control section  33  calculates the weight of urine that a pet such as a dog or a cat has discharged. The present embodiment is configured as an example such that the measured values from the weight scale  40  indicate the combined weight of (i) the absorbing sheet  18  containing urine and (ii) the excretion receiving container  16 . The control section  33  thus subtracts the value of the combined weight of the absorbing sheet  18  not containing urine and the excretion receiving container  16  from the value of the combined weight (indicated by the measured values received) of the absorbing sheet  18  containing urine and the excretion receiving container  16  to calculate the amount of urine that the absorbing sheet  18  has absorbed. The value of the combined weight of the absorbing sheet  18  not containing urine and the excretion receiving container  16  is stored in the storage section  34  in advance. This stored value of the combined weight may be the value of a weight that the weight scale  40  measured immediately after an old absorbing sheet  18  was replaced with a new one. 
     The control section  33  then stores, in the storage section  34 , data on the measured time point of the urination and the measured weight of the urine. The control section  33  may transmit the data (stored in the storage section  34 ) from the communication section  35  to a terminal device of the owner of the pet. This configuration allows the owner of the pet to check the stored data on the time point (number) of the urination and the weight of the urine to learn the health condition of the pet. 
     The description below deals with how the pet toilet  1 A configured as described above weighs urine. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , in a case where a pet (not shown) such as a dog or a cat has stood on the support table  20  and urinated, the urine runs through the slits  23  of the support table  20  to fall onto the excretion receiving container  16  of the urine tray  19  to be retained in the absorbing sheet  18 . 
     The sensor driving section  32  of the control device  30  thus receives electric signals each indicative of the value (measured value) of a weight that a load cell  41  of the weight scale  40  has measured, and outputs, to the control section  33 , information indicative of the measured values that the sensor driving section  32  has received. 
     The control section  33  calculates the weight of urine that a pet such as a dog or a cat has discharged. As the present embodiment includes four load cells  41  as the weight scale  40 , the total weight value is approximately equal to the sum of the weight values that the four load cells  41  have outputted (the weight value is determined through an arithmetic operation of respective signals outputted from the four load cells  41 , and is not simply the sum). 
     The measured values from the weight scale  40  indicate the combined weight of (i) the absorbing sheet  18  containing urine and (ii) the excretion receiving container  16 . The control section  33  thus subtracts the value of the combined weight of the absorbing sheet  18  not containing urine and the excretion receiving container  16  from the value of the combined weight (indicated by the measured values received) of the absorbing sheet  18  containing urine and the excretion receiving container  16  to calculate the amount of urine that the absorbing sheet  18  has absorbed. The value of the combined weight of the absorbing sheet  18  not containing urine and the excretion receiving container  16  is stored in the storage section  34  in advance. 
     A cat as a pet, for example, discharges urine two to three times a day, in an amount of 20 g to 30 g a day per kilogram of the body weight. A mature cat, which typically has a body weight of 3 kg to 5 kg, discharges urine in an amount of normally 60 g to 150 g per day. When a mature cat is, for example, sick, it tends to discharge urine fewer times and/or in a smaller amount. In combination with this knowledge, the pet owner, for example, can learn the health condition of the pet such as a cat by using the pet toilet  1 A of the present embodiment to measure how many times and/or how much (weight) the pet urinates. In a case where the storage section  34  is configured to store each measurement value, the present embodiment is capable of continuing to weigh urine even without replacement of the absorbing sheet  18  on the excretion receiving container  16 . 
     As described above, the pet toilet  1 A as an animal toilet in accordance with the present embodiment includes a urine tray  19  as an excretion tray including (i) an excretion receiving container  16  as an excretion container configured to receive an excretion of an animal and (ii) a slidable frame  17  as a placement member on which the excretion receiving container  16  is placed; a main container  13  having a side-surface opening  13   a  and an upper-surface opening and configured to support the urine tray  19  in such a manner as to allow the urine tray  19  to be slid into the main container  13  through the side-surface opening  13   a ; a support table  20  as a support table placed on the main container  13 , configured to support the animal while the animal is excreting, and having a bottom surface  21  having slits  23  as a urine passage opening that allows urine of the animal to (i) pass through the slits  23  and (ii) drop into the excretion receiving container  16  of the urine tray  19  under the slits  23 ; and a weight scale  40  placed on an upper surface of the slidable frame  17  of the urine tray  19  and configured to support the excretion receiving container  16  in such a manner as to be capable of measuring a weight. 
     With the above configuration, the excretion receiving container  16  is supported by the slidable frame  17  via the weight scale  40 , and the weight scale  40  supports the excretion receiving container  16  in such a manner as to be capable of measuring a weight. The weight scale  40  is thus contained between the slidable frame  17  and the excretion receiving container  16  of the urine tray  19 . The slidable frame  17  and the excretion receiving container  16  of the urine tray  19  would, according to conventional art, be separated by a space for the excretion receiving container  16  to be lifted. The present embodiment includes a weight scale  40  in otherwise a sheer space. The pet toilet  1 A as an animal toilet in accordance with the present embodiment has a small overall height as compared to conventional counterparts. This makes it possible to provide a pet toilet  1 A that has a small overall height. The present embodiment has another advantage of eliminating the need for a complex structure in which an excretion receiving container is lifted as conventional. 
     The pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment includes a slidable frame  17  with an upper surface provided with a plurality of load cells  41  as weight scales  40 . Specifically, the slidable frame  17  is in the shape of a rectangular frame having a central opening  17   a , and the load cells  41  are provided on the four corners of the upper surface of the slidable frame  17 . The above configuration allows the four load cells  41  to support the excretion receiving container  16  in balance. 
     The pet toilet  1 A in accordance with the present embodiment is configured such that the weight scale  40  includes load cells  41 . A load cell is a device that converts a pressure from a load into an electric signal. Using load cells  41  as the weight scale  40  makes it possible to easily weigh urine of an animal. 
     Embodiment 2 
     The following description will discuss another embodiment of the present invention with reference to  FIGS. 5 to 8 . The present embodiment is identical in configuration to Embodiment 1 except for the points described about the present embodiment. For convenience, any member of the present embodiment that is identical in function to a member illustrated in the drawings for Embodiment 1 is assigned the same reference sign, and is not described again here. 
     The present embodiment is a pet toilet  1 B as an animal toilet which pet toilet  1 B is identical to the pet toilet  1 A of Embodiment 1 except that the slidable frame  17  is replaced with, as a placement member included in the excretion tray, a slidable member  57  having a bottom. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the description below deals with how the pet toilet  1 B as an animal toilet in accordance with the present embodiment is configured.  FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a urine tray  59 , illustrating the configuration of the pet toilet  1 B in accordance with the present embodiment.  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the pet toilet  1 B, illustrating the overall configuration of the pet toilet  1 B. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the pet toilet  1 B in accordance with the present embodiment includes a slidable member  57  as a placement member which slidable member has a slidable member bottom  57   a  having an upper surface provided with a single load cell  42  as a weight scale  40 . 
     As described above, in a case where the pet toilet  1 B includes, as a placement member, a slidable member  57  having a bottom, the weight scale  40  can be provided on the upper surface of the slidable member bottom  57   a . In this case, the weight scale  40  may include only one load cell  42 . 
     The above configuration allows a single load cell  42  to support the excretion receiving container  16  in balance, making it possible to measure a weight. 
     The present invention is not limited to the above configurations, but may be altered variously within the scope of the claims of the present application. For instance, although the above description specifies the slidable member  57  as having a slidable member bottom  57   a  with an upper surface provided with a single load cell  42 , the present invention is not limited to such a particular configuration. 
     For instance, the present embodiment may be a pet toilet  1 B′ including, as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a slidable member  57  having a slidable member bottom  57   a  with an upper surface provided with four load cells  44 . Including a plurality (that is, two or more) of weight scales  40  as such makes it possible to easily support the excretion receiving container  16  in balance and measure a weight. 
     The embodiments described above are each configured to weigh only an excretion, but may each be configured to weigh the pet as well. In that case, the embodiments above are each configured such that the legs  11   a  supporting the main container  13  are replaced with weight sensors. This configuration allows the weight sensors to, when the pet has stepped onto the support table  20 , measure a weight increase as the weight of the pet. 
     [Recap] 
     An animal toilet (pet toilet  1 A,  1 B,  1 B′) in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention includes: an excretion tray (urine tray  19 ,  59 ) including (i) an excretion container (excretion receiving container  16 ) configured to receive an excretion of an animal and (ii) a placement member (slidable frame  17 , slidable member  57 ) on which the excretion container (excretion receiving container  16 ) is placed; a main container  13  having a side-surface opening  13   a  and an upper-surface opening and configured to support the excretion tray (urine tray  19 ,  59 ) in such a manner as to allow the excretion tray to be slid into the main container  13  through the side-surface opening  13   a ; a support table  20  placed on the main container  13 , configured to support the animal while the animal is excreting, and having a bottom surface  21  having a urine passage opening (slits  23 ) that allows urine of the animal to (i) pass through the urine passage opening and (ii) drop into the excretion container (excretion receiving container  16 ) of the excretion tray (urine tray  19 ,  59 ) under the urine passage opening; and at least one weight scale  40  (load cell  41  to  43 ) placed on an upper surface of the placement member (slidable frame  17 , slidable member  57 ) of the excretion tray (urine tray  19 ,  59 ) and configured to support the excretion container (excretion receiving container  16 ) in such a manner as to be capable of measuring a weight. 
     With the above configuration, the animal toilet includes: an excretion tray including (i) an excretion container configured to receive an excretion of an animal and (ii) a placement member on which the excretion container is placed; a main container having a side-surface opening and an upper-surface opening and configured to support the excretion tray in such a manner as to allow the excretion tray to be slid into the main container through the side-surface opening; and a support table placed on the main container, configured to support the animal while the animal is excreting, and having a bottom surface having a urine passage opening that allows urine of the animal to (i) pass through the urine passage opening and (ii) drop into the excretion container of the excretion tray under the urine passage opening. 
     Conventional animal toilets of this type include a weight scale below an excretion tray and have a large overall height. 
     An animal toilet in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, in contrast, includes a weight scale on the upper surface of a placement member included in an excretion tray. With this configuration, the excretion container is supported by the placement member via the weight scale, and the weight scale supports the excretion container in such a manner as to be capable of measuring a weight. 
     The weight scale is thus contained between the placement member and the excretion container of the excretion tray. The placement member and the excretion container of the excretion tray would, according to conventional art, be separated by a space. An aspect of the present invention includes a weight scale in otherwise a sheer space. An animal toilet in accordance with an aspect of the present invention has a small overall height as compared to conventional counterparts. 
     This makes it possible to provide an animal toilet that has a small overall height. 
     An animal toilet (pet toilet  1 A) in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention may be configured such that the at least one weight scale  40  includes a plurality of weight scales  40  (load cells  41 ). 
     With the above configuration, in a case where, for instance, the placement member is a rectangular frame having no bottom, a plurality of (for example, four) weight scales may be provided on the four corners of the upper surface of the placement member. 
     An animal toilet (pet toilet  1 A) in accordance with a third aspect of the present invention may be configured such that the placement member (slidable frame  17 ) has a shape of a rectangular frame having a central opening  17   a , and the plurality of weight scales  40  (load cells  41 ) are present on four corners of the upper surface of the placement member (slidable frame  17 ). 
     With the above configuration, in a case where the placement member is a rectangular frame having no bottom, four weight scales as a plurality of weight scales may be provided on the four corners of the upper surface of the placement member. Further, the above configuration allows the four weight scales to support the excretion container in balance. 
     An animal toilet (pet toilet  1 B,  1 B′) in accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention may be configured such that the placement member (slidable member  57 ) has a bottom (slidable member bottom  57   a ) having an upper surface on which at least one of the at least one weight scale  40  (load cell  42 ,  43 ) is present. 
     With the above configuration, in a case where the placement member has a bottom, the weight scale can be provided on the upper surface of the bottom. In this case, there may be provided only one weight scale. The above configuration allows a single weight scale to support the excretion container in balance, making it possible to measure a weight. Further, including a plurality of weight scales makes it possible to easily support the excretion container in balance and measure a weight. 
     An animal toilet (pet toilet  1 A,  1 B,  1 B′) in accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention may be configured such that the at least one weight scale  40  includes a load cell  41 ,  42 ,  43 . 
     A load cell is a device that converts a pressure from a load into an electric signal. Using a load cell as the weight scale makes it possible to easily weigh urine of an animal. 
     The present invention is not limited to the embodiments above, but can be altered variously by a skilled person in the art within the scope of the claims. The present invention also encompasses, in its technical scope, any embodiment derived by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in differing embodiments. Further, it is possible to form a new technical feature by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
     
         
         
           
               1 A Pet toilet (animal toilet) 
               1 B,  1 B′ Pet toilet (animal toilet) 
               11  Leg table 
               13  Main container 
               13   a  Side-surface opening 
               14  Upper-surface frame 
               16  Excretion receiving container (excretion container) 
               17  Slidable frame (placement member) 
               17   a  Central opening 
               18  Absorbing sheet 
               19  Urine tray (excretion tray) 
               20  Support table 
               21  Bottom surface 
               22  Mesh 
               23  Slit (urine passage opening) 
               30  Control device 
               31  Power source section 
               32  Sensor driving section 
               33  Control section 
               34  Storage section 
               35  Communication section 
               40  Weight scale 
               41  to  43  Load cell (weight scale) 
               57  Slidable member (placement member) 
               57   a  Slidable member bottom 
               59  Urine tray (excretion tray)