Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/5947061
Timestamp: 2020-07-12 07:47:00
Document Index: 541873597

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 105', 'art 107', 'arts 103', 'arts 103', 'arts 103', 'art 109', 'art 111', 'art 111', 'art 111']

US Patent for Pet toy product with integral treats receiving receptacles Patent (Patent # 5,947,061 issued September 7, 1999) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents Flavor Enhanced Or SupplementedUS Patent for Pet toy product with integral treats receiving receptacles Patent (Patent # 5,947,061)
Nov 18, 1997 - Bounce, Inc.
In accordance with the present invention, a pet toy product is provided for holding, by friction or adhesion, one or more animal treats wherein the toy has a body member having an outer surface with one or more recesses for receiving one or more animal treats. The term "treat" is intended to include any items which are attractive to or are consumed by an animal. The recesses may be of varying depth so that the treats in the deeper recesses are more difficult for the animal to extract than are the treats in the shallower recesses. The recesses may be circular, triangular, irregular, or in the form of a groove or any other suitable configuration. The outer surface of the toy may be raised to accommodate the recesses or the recesses may extend into the surface. Also, the pet toy may have a recess forming an opening which extends completely through the side wall for receiving a treat. With the structure recited, the pet owner can replenish the treats as often as necessary to maintain the pet's interest in the toy. Different treats can be provided with different nutritional values and tastes. Also, because some treats will be harder for the animal to remove than others, the animal can be kept occupied for several hours before the treats need to be replaced again. The toy may be made of molded rigid or flexible material which can accommodate different types of treats. This construction allows the toy to be used repeatedly by refilling the recesses with more treats.
FIG. 30 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a KONG.RTM.-shape including dividers;
FIG. 31 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a KONG.RTM.-shape without dividers;
FIG. 18 illustrates yet another embodiment T.sub.7 of the pet toy product of this invention. This embodiment includes an outer surface 92 of a side wall 93 (FIG. 21) which is formed in the shape of a round ball to form a substantially closed hollow interior. The side wall 93 includes two opposed side openings 94 which are configured as bone-shaped openings. In addition to the pair of side openings 94, the pet toy product T.sub.7 further includes an upper opening 96 and a lower opening 98. As illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19, the upper and lower openings may be round. Furthermore, lower opening 98 may be of a diameter larger than that of upper opening 96. The terms "side", "upper" and "lower" as applied to side opening 94, upper opening 96 and lower opening 98 are used only to describe their position with respect to FIG. 18. Therefore, these terms will not be interpreted as limiting the location of these openings when the pet toy product T.sub.7 is rotated or turned in use. One or more treats 100 may be inserted through the side, upper and lower openings. As shown in FIG. 20, a dog is occupied by the pet toy product T.sub.7 wherein a treat 100 is placed in both the side, upper and lower openings.
As shown in FIG. 21, the pet toy product T.sub.7 is especially adapted to receive treats 100 in the form of dog biscuits which have a substantially rectangular shape with flared ends thus giving the dog biscuits a bone-shape. These bone-shaped dog biscuits resemble those known as MILKBONE.RTM. biscuits as manufactured by Nabisco. FIG. 21 illustrates three treats 100; two treats being inserted in the side openings 94, and the third treat 100 inserted within upper opening 96.
FIG. 24 illustrates the manner in which the treats 100 may be broken away from and dislodged from the interior of the pet toy product T.sub.7. The left-side of FIG. 24 illustrates a treat 100 which has been broken across its mid-section and wherein a first part of the treat 101 may fall free from the pet toy product, while a second part of the treat 103 falls within the hollow interior of the pet toy product. The treat 100 inserted within opening 96 may be broken in the same fashion as the treat on the left-side of FIG. 24. That is, a first part 105 may break free from the pet toy while a second part 107 falls within the hollow interior. For both the treats 100 on the left-side and upper portion of FIG. 24, the second parts 103 and 107 which fall within the hollow interior of the pet toy product may exit through opening 98. Thus, opening 98 may be sized to allow the parts 103 and 107 to fall therethrough. Alternatively, opening 98 could be made of a smaller size so that the animal must work to dislodge or extract parts 103 and 107 held within the hollow interior. The right-side of FIG. 24 illustrates another way in which a treat 100 may be broken and dislodged from the pet toy product. More specifically, it is possible for the treat 100 to have a first part 109 which breaks away from the pet toy product leaving the remaining portion or part 111 of the treat 100 lodged within opening 94. In this circumstance, the animal could pull the remaining portion or part 111 of the pet treat 100 through opening 94 or the remaining portion or part 111 could be pushed through the opening 94 thus allowing it to fall through lower opening 98 like the other remaining portions 103 and 107.
FIG. 27 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having an irregular slot-shape 106. FIG. 28 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a combination triangle and rectangle-shape 108. FIG. 29 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a slot-shaped with parallel sides 110. FIG. 30 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a KONG.RTM.-shape 112 including dividers 113. KONG.RTM. is a registered trademark owned by the applicant of this invention, the shape also being illustrated in Trademark Registration No. 1,972,163. The dividers 113 may simply be thin walled extensions which traverse between the rounded portions of the KONG.RTM.-shape. As shown in FIG. 30, there are three dividers 113. These dividers 113 can result in the KONG.RTM.-shape having four distinct openings shown as openings 132, 134, 136 and 138, respectively. FIG. 31 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a KONG.RTM.-shape 112 without dividers 113. FIG. 32 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a cross-shape 116 with rounded ends 117. FIG. 33 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a bell-shape 118. FIG. 34 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a butterfly-shape 120. FIG. 35 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating an upper opening having a fanciful cross-shape 122. FIG. 36 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating a modified cross-shape 124. FIG. 37 is another perspective view of the pet toy product embodiment of FIG. 18. FIG. 37 illustrates a modified lower opening 126 which may replace the round lower opening 98 of FIG. 18. As shown, lower opening 126 may have a central circular shape opening which is surrounded by a plurality of extensions 127.
Although the interiors of the pet toy products of this invention have been shown as being hollow, it is also contemplated that the pet toy products' hollow interiors may be filled with material enabling the pet toy products to float. For example, buoyant Styrofoam.RTM.-like material could be placed within the hollow interiors of the pet toy products in order to allow the pet toy products to float. Such a buoyant object could be sized to still allow varying treats to be placed within the various recesses and openings of the pet toy products.
a molded body member having a flexible side wall with an outer surface which encompasses a substantially closed hollow interior;
a plurality of recesses geometrically arranged on at least a portion of said outer surface, at least some of said recesses having a peripheral wall with a plurality of peripherally spaced inwardly projecting gripping elements; and
an edible treat positioned in said at least one of said plurality of recesses and held in place by said gripping elements.
said plurality of recesses are of varying depths so that said edible treats in said recesses having deeper depths are more difficult for the animal to extract than are said edible treats in said recesses having shallower depths.
at least one of said plurality recesses is generally circular shaped.
at least one of said recesses is generally triangular shaped.
5. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
some of said plurality of recesses include a flexible cup portion extending beyond said flexible side wall.
6. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
at least one of said plurality of recesses extends through said flexible side wall.
7. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
at least one of said plurality of recesses is star-shaped.
8. A pet toy product as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
at least one of said plurality of recesses is bone-shaped.
9. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
at least one of said plurality of recesses is peanut-shaped.
10. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
at least one of said plurality of recesses is crescent-shaped.
11. A pet toy product which includes one or more edible treats to induce an animal to play with said pet toy product, said pet toy product comprising:
a molded body member having a flexible side wall and an outer surface,
a plurality of recesses geometrically arranged on at least a portion of said outer surface;
edible treats positioned in at least some of said plurality of recesses, and
at least some of said recesses are side-by-side grooves including a common side wall positioned therebetween.
12. A pet toy product which includes one or more edible treats to induce an animal to play with said pet toy product, said pet toy product comprising:
a molded body member having a flexible side wall and an outer surface;
edible treats positioned in at least some of said plurality of recesses; and
said outer surface has a plurality of raised areas and at least some of said plurality of recesses are formed respectively in said plurality of raised areas.
13. A pet toy product to induce an animal to play with said pet toy product, said pet toy product comprising:
at least one edible food treat;
a body member having a side wall with an outer surface which encompasses a substantially hollow closed interior, and a plurality of geometrically arranged recesses extending completely through said side wall to form openings, at least one of said openings holding said at least one edible food treat in a fixed position.
14. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 13, wherein said plurality of recesses further include:
resilient gripping means.
15. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 13, further including:
a first type of edible food treat in at least one of said plurality of recesses; and
a second type of edible food treat in another of said plurality of said recesses.
16. A method of entertaining an animal, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a pet toy having an outer surface with a plurality of recesses of different depths formed therein at least some of the recesses having a peripheral wall with a plurality of peripherally spaced inwardly projecting gripping elements;
inserting a first edible pet treat in at least one of the plurality of recesses so as to be retained within the at least one recess by the gripping elements until dislodged by the animal;
inserting a second edible pet treat in at least one other of the plurality of recesses so as to be retained within the at least one other recess by the gripping elements until dislodged by the animal; and
17. A method, as claimed in claim 16, wherein said inserting step incudes:
18. A method, as claimed in claim 16, wherein said inserting step includes:
using adhesion to secure the first and second edible pet treats within the recesses.
19. A method, as claimed in claim 16, including the further steps of:
20. A method, as claimed in claim 16, including the further step of:
21. A pet toy product which includes one or more edible treats to induce an animal to play with said pet toy product, said pet toy product comprising:
a body member having a flexible side wall with an outer surface;
a plurality of means for releasably retaining edible treats, said plurality of retaining means being formed through said body member; and
an edible treat positioned simultaneously in at least two of said plurality of retaining means.
22. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 21, wherein:
said body member encompasses a substantial closed hollow interior.
23. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 21, wherein:
said plurality of releasable retaining means secures said edible treat by friction.
24. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 21, wherein:
said plurality of releasable retaining means retains said edible treat as by adhesion.
25. A pet toy product comprising:
a body member having a flexible side wall with an outer surface which encompasses a substantially closed hollow interior;
a plurality of recesses arranged across at least a portion of said outer surface, at least some of said recesses having peripheral wall with a plurality of peripherally spaced inwardly projecting gripping elements; and
edible treats positioned in at least some of said plurality of recesses and held in place by said gripping elements.
26. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 25, wherein:
said plurality of recesses are of varying depths so that the edible treats in the recesses having deeper depths are more difficult for the animal to extract than are the edible treats in the recesses having shallower depths.
27. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 25, wherein at least one of said plurality of recesses includes:
a flexible cup portion extending beyond said flexible side wall.
28. A pet toy product to induce an animal to play with said pet toy product, said pet toy product comprising:
a body member having a flexible side wall and an outer surface which encompasses a substantially closed hollow interior;
a pair of recesses formed through said flexible side wall and positioned on substantially opposite sides of said body member, said pair of recesses each having a desired shape; and
at least one edible food treat positioned in at least one of said pair of recesses, said at least one edible food treat having a shape substantially conforming to the shape of the recess in which it is placed.
29. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 28, wherein:
30. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 29, further including:
a first additional recess positioned approximately 90.degree. from said pair of recesses, said first additional recess being formed completely through said side wall.
31. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 30, wherein:
another edible treat is placed in said first additional recess.
32. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 30, further including:
a second additional recess positioned on a substantially opposite side of said body member from said first additional recess.
33. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 32, wherein:
said first or second additional recess comprises an opening having a larger end and a smaller end.
34. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 33 wherein said opening further incudes:
at least one divider traversing said opening.
35. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 32, wherein:
said first or second additional recess has a bell-shaped opening.
36. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 32, wherein:
said first or second additional recess has a butterfly-shaped opening.
37. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 32, wherein:
said first or second additional recess has a cross-shaped opening.
38. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 32, wherein:
said first or second additional recess has an irregular-shaped opening including a plurality of extensions.
39. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 29, wherein:
said edible treat extends continuously between said pair of opposed recesses and through said hollow interior.
40. A pet toy product, as claimed in claim 28 wherein:
said at least one edible treat is two edible treats, one each of said two edible treats being placed within a corresponding one of said pair of recesses.
41. A method of entertaining an animal, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a pet toy having an outer surface with at least one recess formed therein and an inside surface;
inserting a pet treat in the at least one recess of the plurality of recesses, the pet treat having a portion extending away from the pet toy when inserted therein;
giving the pet toy to the animal;
breaking the portion of the pet treat extending from the pet toy;
causing at least a first part of a remaining portion of the pet treat to fall within the pet toy and be held by an inside surface of the pet toy;
dislodging the at least first part of the remaining portion of the pet treat from within the pet toy.
said causing step further includes a second part of the remaining portion being retained within the at least one recess.
dislodging the remaining portion from within the at least one recess by pulling the remaining portion from the at least one recess.
44. A method, as claimed in claim 41, wherein the at least one recess includes a plurality of recesses and further including the steps of:
providing a first recess of the plurality of recesses having a size to resiliently hold the pet treat therein;
providing a second larger recess of the plurality of recesses; and
dislodging the remaining portion of the pet treat from within the pet toy by removing the remaining portion through the second larger recess.
45. A method, as claimed in claim 41, wherein the at least one recess includes a plurality of recesses and said inserting step further includes the step of:
inserting the pet treat simultaneously through two recesses of said plurality of recesses.
Jungle Talk International advertisement. Buster Cube. "Recipe for the Perfect Dog" brochure.
Patent number: 5947061
Application Number: 8/972,549