Patent Publication Number: US-2003227115-A1

Title: Spring

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to a novel spring construction.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] Canadian Patent Application 2,310,164, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Securing a Bottle to a Pet Cage”, describes a method of securing a bottle to a pet cage using a spring. In such application, the positioning of the spring relative to the pet cage was problematic due to the fact that the spacing between the bars of the pet cages was not consistent as between various makes and models of pet cages. Attaching the spring was only possible by working from the inside of the cage to extend the spring through the bars of the pet cage.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] What is required is new form of spring construction which will be easier to use with pet cages and other applications in which positioning of a spring relative to a support structure is problematic.  
       [0004] According to the present invention there is provided a spring which includes at least one biasing element, a first member and a second member. The at least one biasing element is integrally formed with the first member and the second member and adapted to bias the first member and the second member either toward each other or away from each other. A mounting element extends from the at least one biasing element. This enables the at least one biasing element to be suspended from a support structure.  
       [0005] The provision of a mounting element extending from the coil biasing element enables the spring, as described above, to be suspended from a pet cage, or any other support structure. This enables the spring to be installed without having access to both sides of the support structure. Although a single coil biasing element may be used in some applications, it is envisaged that for most applications there will be a pair of coil biasing elements in spaced apart relation. The coil biasing elements need not be limited to a single coil. Beneficial results have been obtained through the use of coil biasing elements having a dual coil. The dual coil exerts a more gentle pressure than a single coil and was, therefore, found to be better suited to hold the water bottle for pets. Although the form of mounting element may vary, beneficial results have been obtained when the mounting element is a hook. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0006] These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:  
     [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spring constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.  
     [0008]FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the spring illustrated in FIG. 1.  
     [0009]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the spring illustrated in FIG. 1, in use suspending a water bottle from a pet cage. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0010] The preferred embodiment, a spring generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3.  
     [0011] Structure and Relationship of Parts:  
     [0012] Referring to FIG. 1, spring  10  includes a pair of wire dual coil biasing elements  12 . Each dual coil biasing element  12  has a first coil  14  and a second coil  16 . First coil  14  of each of respective dual coil biasing elements  12  has a common axis  18  and is positioned in spaced apart relation. Second coil  16  of respective dual coil biasing elements  12  also has a common axis  20  and is positioned in spaced apart relation. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first member  22  of wire extends between pair of dual coil biasing elements  12 . A second member  24  of wire extends between pair of dual coil biasing elements  12 . Pair of dual coil biasing elements  12  are integrally formed out of wire with first member  22  and second member  24  and, in the illustrated embodiment, are adapted to bias first member  22  and second member  24  away from each other.  
     [0013] Referring to FIG. 3, mounting hooks  26  extend from each of dual coil biasing elements  12 , whereby dual coil biasing elements  12  may be suspended from a support structure such as a pet cage  28 , as will hereinafter be further described.  
     [0014] Operation:  
     [0015] The use and operation of spring generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3.  
     [0016] Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an example of spring  10  being used to securing a bottle  30  to pet cage  28 . Hooks  26  are used to suspend spring  10  from bars  32  of pet cage  28 . Bottle  30  is positioned between dual coil biasing elements  12  and first member  22  and second member  24  while spring  10  is compressed. When spring  12  is released, the biasing force of spring  12  acts upon first member  22  and second member  24  to force them apart. In doing so, bottle  30  is forced securely against bars  32 . While spring  10  is shown in use with pet cage  28  and bottle  30 , it will be appreciated that spring  10  could be used with other support structures and for use in holding other types of items.  
     [0017] In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.  
     [0018] It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the claims.