Abstract:
The invention relates to a collar ( 10 ) for mounting around the neck ( 8 ) of an animal ( 1 ), such as a dog, said collar ( 10 ) including i) a first part ( 20 ) with an inside for receiving the head ( 5 ) of said animal ( 1 ), said first part ( 20 ) having a flared shape, such as the shape of a truncated cone, and including a peripheral flexible wall (W) de-fining said flared shape, said wall (W) extending between a first opening ( 22 ) leading into said inside and an opposite second opening ( 24 ) leading into said inside, and ii) a second part ( 40 ) joined to said first part at said second opening ( 24 ), said second part ( 40 ) defining a sleeve for extending around said neck ( 8 ), wherein said peripheral flexible wall (W) including a recess (R) extending towards said first opening ( 22 ) and defining an enlargement of said second opening ( 24 ).

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a temporary, protective collar that can be applied to the neck of an animal to prevent contact between the animal&#39;s head and other parts of its body. The collar is useful, for instance, after surgery to allow wounds to heal or to allow topical medications to be applied in a manner that will not be disturbed by the animal. 
         [0002]    In particular, the collar of the invention is of the type that includes a first part with an inside for receiving the head of the animal and having a flared shape, such as the shape of a truncated cone, with a peripheral flexible wall extending around the inside and defining the flared shape, the wall extending between a first opening into the inside and an opposite second opening into the inside, and a second part joined to the first part at the second opening and defining a sleeve for extending around the neck of the animal. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0003]    Protective collars, often called “Elizabethan” collars in view of the appearance that some have when in place, have long been used in veterinary medicine to protect against contact between an animal&#39;s head and other parts of its body. The collars are used, for instance, after surgery to prevent an animal from biting or chewing at dressings or areas below its neck, or from pawing or scratching at dressings or areas on or about its head. 
         [0004]    Frequently such collars have taken the general form of truncated cones. Such collars have been closed and thereby retained in place around the animal&#39;s neck by such things as interlocking tabs, snaps, lacing, staples, and the like. Such collars frequently need to be offered in a variety of sizes or size ranges to accommodate animals of various sizes, and the effective size range of a particular collar is often limited by the closure mechanism used. Such closure mechanisms are also frequently cumbersome and time-consuming to use. 
         [0005]    Examples of such collars include “Buster” disposable collars as shown by way of example in WO 95/22891. 
         [0006]    Other devices along these lines have been described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,013,530, 3,072,098, 3,036,554, 3,942,306, 4,328,605, 4,476,814 and 8,181,609. 
         [0007]    What is needed is a collar that is quickly, easily, and accurately fittable and removable in a manner that will not cause trauma to the animal. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention provides a novel protective collar which may be easily applied without causing trauma to the animal, even when the animal is lying on its side after surgery, and which may remain reliably in position after such placement. Preferably, the collar is supplied to the end-user in an assembled state, which does not require any further assembling before the collar is applied to the animal. 
         [0009]    The above object is achieved in that the wall of the collar of the aforementioned type has a recess that extends towards the first opening and defines an enlargement of the second opening. 
         [0010]    Thus, through the invention, by flattening the first part by hand, such as against a table on which the animal is lying, a relatively wide passage is provided through which the head as well as a portion of the neck of the animal may be passed without causing trauma to the animal; by the invention, pulling the flattened collar over the head of the animal can be done without meeting any significant resistance. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, the sleeve is an annular band formed of a stretchable material, which allows the sleeve to expand as the collar is pulled over the head of the animal. In another embodiment the second part is formed to selectively assume two different configurations, one wherein it assumes the shape of a sleeve for surrounding the neck of the animal, and another wherein the second part is sideways open, with a loose portion that is subsequently wrapped around a part of the neck of the animal such that the second part assumes the shape of the sleeve. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    In the following an embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, wherein: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective side view of an embodiment of the present protective collar for mounting around the neck and head of an animal, 
           [0014]      FIG. 2 a    shows the collar of  FIG. 1  in a temporary flattened state, 
           [0015]      FIG. 2 b    shows a portion of the collar of  FIG. 2 a   , in an embodiment without a part thereof covering a recess formed in the wall, 
           [0016]      FIG. 3 a    shows the collar mounted onto a dog, 
           [0017]      FIG. 3 b    shows certain anatomical features of a dog, 
           [0018]      FIG. 4 a    shows the collar of  FIG. 3 a    in a second configuration, before the second part is wrapped around the neck of the animal, 
           [0019]      FIG. 4 b    shows the collar of  FIG. 3 a    in the second configuration, 
           [0020]      FIGS. 5 a  and 5 b    are enlarged inside and outside views, respectively, showing the collar in the area of recess formed in the wall of the collar, 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is a schematic side view showing the fundamental constituents parts of the collar, and 
           [0022]      FIGS. 7 a , 7 b  and 7 c    show the constituent parts of the described embodiment, ready for being shaped for subsequent assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    In  FIG. 1  is shown a perspective side view of an embodiment of the present protective collar  10  for mounting around the neck and head of an animal; for the purpose of the following discussion the animal will be assumed to be a pet, such as a dog. 
         [0024]    More specifically, the collar  10  comprises two parts, viz. a flared first part  20  joined to a sleeve-like second part  40 . The first part  20  comprises a circumferential wall W which is flexible in nature and which defines an inside sized for receiving the head of the animal. The material of the flexible wall W is such that the first part  20  is elastically deformable, i.e. such that the first part  20  will seek to return to the its normal, flared shape after any reasonable deformation, in particular such as one arising from manual forces applied onto the first part  20 . Preferably, the wall is transparent, allowing a person to see the head of the animal inside the first part  20 . 
         [0025]    At the base of the first part  20  shown to the left in  FIG. 1  the first part  20  has a first opening  22  delimited by one peripheral edge  23  of the wall W and leading into the inside of the first part  20 . A second opening  24  also leading into the inside is located opposite the first opening  22  and is delimited by another peripheral edge of the circumferential wall; the second part  40  of the collar  10  is joined to the first part  20  at the second opening  24 , and defines an extension of the first part  20 . As will be understood, through the generally tapered or flared shape of the first part  20  the second opening  24  is smaller than the first opening  22 . 
         [0026]    In  FIG. 1 , the first part  20  is shown as having a hollow frusto-conical flared shape; other, similar hollow flared shapes may also be foreseen. Through the flexible nature of the peripheral/circumferential wall W a person manipulating the collar  10  may bring the first part  20  to temporarily assume a deformed flattened shape, as shown in  FIG. 2 a   , in which the collar  10  may be easily pushed over the head and neck of the animal, as discussed further below. In the flattened state, the first opening  22  of first part  20  will tend to appear oval, in contrast to its normal circular or almost circular outline.  FIG. 2 b    is an illustration where certain elements have been removed to allow the ovalised opening  24 , with an extension thereof (discussed below), to be better discernible. 
         [0027]    The collar  10  will normally be delivered from the factory to the end-user in a configuration wherein the first part  20  assumes the aforementioned flared shape; for this the wall W of the first part  20  may be a molded flexible plastic structure manufactured by injection molding using a mold having a flared cavity. Alternatively, the first part  20  may be factory-made on the basis of a flat plastic sheet which defines the peripheral wall W and which is bent so as to form a cone, after which overlapping edges of the plastic sheet are joined at overlap  29  in a permanent manner by gluing, welding or by stitches  31 ,  32 , see  FIG. 2 a    which also shows a protective soft lining applied to the wall W along the peripheral edge  23 , as well as the other edge at opening  24 . Such a bending, but without any permanent joining, is normally done by the end-user by prior art collars of the type shown, by way of example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,609. 
         [0028]    The second part  40  is joined to the first part  20  to as to form an extension thereof. More particularly, preferably the second part  40  is stitched or otherwise permanently joined to the first part  20  along the edge thereof that defines the aforementioned second opening  24 . Stitch  39  along that edge and shown in  FIG. 2 a    illustrates the connection between the first part  20  and the second part  40 ; as explained below, the second part  40  is, however, only joined to a portion of the perimeter of the wall W at the second opening  24 . 
         [0029]    Shown in  FIGS. 2 a  and 2 b    is a recess R or cut-away portion of the wall W, the outline of which recess R is shown by numeral  26 . The recess R extends in and along the flared wall W from the second opening  24  towards the first opening  22  and defines an enlargement of the second opening  24 . As mentioned below, a patch  42  of a stretchable flexible material, such as a textile, may cover part of the aforementioned enlargement;  FIG. 2 b    shows the opening  24  with the enlargement defined by recess R, without any patch  42 . 
         [0030]    In  FIG. 3 b   , a schematic view of a dog  1  is shown; the back of the neck  8  anatomically is often such that the neck in cross-section is more oval than circular. The present invention involves one particular advantage when the protective collar is applied when the animal is lying on its side after surgery; flattening the first part  20  by hand towards a table on which the animal  1  is lying provides a relatively wide passage defined by the opening  24  with the enlargement, through which passage the head  5  as well as a portion of the neck  8  of the animal  1  may pass without causing trauma to the animal  1 . Thus, pulling the flattened collar  10  over the head  5  of the animal  1  can be done without meeting any significant resistance. 
         [0031]      FIG. 1  shows the second part  40  according to one embodiment, in a first configuration forming a cylindrical sleeve, with through going holes H that may allow for a through-flow of air; in this first configuration the second part  40  serves to position and fix the collar  10  in relation to the animal which has its head  5  in the inside of the first part  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3 a   , by tightly surrounding the neck  8  of the animal  1 . In contrast, in  FIG. 4 a    the second part  40  of this embodiment is in a second configuration used when placing the collar  10  around the neck of the animal  1 .  FIG. 4 b    perhaps better shows the second part  40  in this second configuration; as seen, the second part  40  of this embodiment preferably comprises a preferably stretchable band joined to the first part  20  along a portion of the wall W, such as by the stitch  39 , and having a free end  46 ,  48  which may be folded against an opposite end  47 ,  49  and fixed thereto, such as by Velcro, to define the first configuration. In the second configuration the band of the second part  40  may be placed freely around the neck of the animal  1 ; the stretchable band is not joined to the wall W in the area of the aforementioned recess R at opening  24  but will span around the entire second opening  24  when in the configuration shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3   a.    
         [0032]    As will be clear to the skilled person the second part  40  may alternatively comprise an annular band of an elastically stretchable material attached to the edge defining the second opening  24 , such as by the stitch illustrated by numeral  39  in  FIG. 2 b   . Using such a band which is annular, i.e. preformed as a closed ring, may be preferable in some instances. 
         [0033]      FIGS. 5 a  and 5 b    are enlarged inside and outside views, respectively, showing the collar  10  in the area of the aforementioned recess R having the general outline marked by numeral  26 . A flexible stretchable patch  42  is preferably stitched or otherwise attached to the wall W along line  27  so as to cover the recess R. The patch  42  is covered by the free end  46  of the band of the second part  40  when the latter is in the first configuration and represents a safety measure by reducing the risk that an animal attempting to free itself from the collar  10  may introduce its hind paw into the inside of the collar  10  at the area of the recess. Velcro parts  49 ′ may be applied to cooperate with the band. 
         [0034]      FIGS. 6  is a schematic side view showing the fundamental constituents parts  20 ,  40  of the collar  10  of one embodiment.  FIGS. 7 a -7 c    show the constituent parts of the described embodiment ready for being shaped and assembled at the factory, namely the flat band defining the second part  40 , the flat patch  42  and a flat flexible sheet of a plastic material defining the wall W after having been bent or rolled into the desired flared shape of the first part  20 . The band has a first portion of length L which is joined to the wall W along arc of length L′ shown in  FIG. 7 c   .  FIG. 7 c    shows the plastic material sheet with edges  25 ,  25 ″ configured to subsequently overlap, curved edges defining the openings  22 ,  24 , and cut-away portion with respective edges  26 ′,  26 ″ defining the recess R after bending/folding of the plastic sheet. 
         [0035]    Materials for the collar may, by way of example be: flexible plastic sheet forming the first part  20 : transparent PP second part  40 , and patch  42 : perforated neoprene. 
         [0036]    Although not shown in the drawings, for the purpose of reinforcement the band forming the second part  40  may be provided in the area of the edges with a narrow elastic padding in the form of a material strip bent as a U and attached to the band so as to extend along the edges thereof shown in  FIG. 7   a.