Abstract:
A connector for connecting multiple receptacles is provided. The connector has at least one midline support having a base at its bottom end, wherein the base comprises a left flange and a right flange, and wherein the right flange has a lip extending in an upward direction from its end, and the left flange has a lip extending in an upward direction from its end. A right side of the midline support, the right flange and right lip form a right channel at the base, and a left side of the midline support, left flange and left lip for a left channel at the base. The connector also has a top cover at the top of the midline support, wherein the top cover extends laterally in both the left and the right directions from the midline support.

Description:
[0001]    The application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/313123, filed Mar. 12, 2010, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to connectors for connecting multiple receptacles, such as multiple dog potties in a manner that prevents leakage of fluid between any gaps or spaces that may exist between the multiple receptacle. The present invention also relates generally to connectors for connecting multiple receptacles, such as multiple dog potties in a manner that prohibits or prevents dogs or other pets from disconnecting the multiple receptacles from one another. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Dog potties are already known in the art. Examples of such dog potties include the UGODOG®, which is a dog potty that can be used indoors or outdoors. They typically come in one size. The size is practical for most breeds of dogs, but there are very large breed dogs that would benefit from larger dog potties that don&#39;t exist. One example of a dog potty is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/972,094, filed Jan. 10, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
         [0004]    Some people place two dog potties next to each other to make enough space for their large breed dogs. The problem with this approach is that if the dog urinates over the seem that exists between the two dog potties, then the urine leaks through the seem space and onto the floor. Another problem that this creates is that there is no practical way to keep the dog potties right next to each other, and dogs often move them around either accidentally or intentionally thus opening the gap between the two dog potties. 
         [0005]    Thus, what is needed is a connector for receptacles, such dog potties that prevents leakage of fluid between any gaps or spaces that may exist between multiple receptacles. The receptacle must also solve the problem of preventing or prohibiting dogs or other pets from disconnecting the multiple receptacles from one another, while being easy for human handlers to disconnect the multiple receptacles from one another. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In one particularly innovative aspect, a connector for connecting multiple receptacles is provided. The connector has at least one midline support having a base at its bottom end, wherein the base comprises a left flange and a right flange, and wherein the right flange has a lip extending in an upward direction from its end, and the left flange has a lip extending in an upward direction from its end. A right side of the midline support, the right flange and right lip form a right channel at the base, and a left side of the midline support, left flange and left lip for a left channel at the base. The connector also has a top cover at the top of the midline support, wherein the top cover extends laterally in both the left and the right directions from the midline support. 
         [0007]    In another aspect, a dog potty system is provided. The dog potty system has a first dog potty and a second dog potty. The first dog potty has a perimeter with four walls and a receptacle that catches and retains fluid, wherein each of the walls has a top side and a bottom side. The second dog potty has a perimeter with four walls and a receptacle that catches and retains fluid. One of the walls of the first dog potty is adjacent one of the walls of the second dog potty. The dog potty system also has a connector that connects the first and second dog potties. The connector has a length that is approximately the same length or shorter than the length of the walls of the dog potties that are adjacent to one another. The connector has a top cover having a top side and a bottom side, wherein the top cover covers the top sides of the walls of the adjacent dog potties and channels any fluid into the receptacles of the first and second dog potties. The connector also has a midline support that extends downward from the bottom side of the top cover, wherein the midline support has a bottom end that has a first channel and a second channel. The first channel receives the bottom side of the wall of the first dog potty that is adjacent to the wall of the second dog potty, and the second channel receives the bottom side of the wall of the second dog potty that is adjacent to the wall of the first dog potty, such that the two dog potties are horizontally connected to one another by the connector. 
         [0008]    Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1A  is a three-dimensional perspective view of a receptacle connector. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1B  is a three-dimensional perspective view of a receptacle connector of another embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1C  is a three-dimensional perspective view of a receptacle connector of another embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1D  is a three-dimensional perspective view of a receptacle connector of another embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1E  is a three-dimensional perspective view of a receptacle connector of another embodiment. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 1   
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a three-dimensional perspective view of the receptacle connector of  FIG. 1  connecting two dog potties. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view through lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a three-dimensional perspective view of a receptacle connector of another embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    Turning now to the drawings,  FIGS. 1A and 2  show a first embodiment of a connector  10  for connecting multiple receptacles. The connector  10  can be made of a unibody construction, or can be made of various parts that are connected together gluing, fusing, soldering, screwing, nailing, and through various other means known in the art. In one embodiment, the connector  10  is made of a unibody construction from a single mold. 
         [0019]    The connector  10  can be made of various materials, such as plastic, various metals, wood, or various composite materials. In one embodiment, the connector  10  can be made of polypropylene or other plastic raw material. 
         [0020]    The connector can be of various lengths from one end  18  to the other end  19 . Its length will depend on the length of the sides of the receptacle that it connects. In one example, the connector can be between about 1 and about 50 inches long, or between about 5 and about 30 inches long, or between about 10 and about 25 inches long, or between about 12 and 25 inches long, or between about 15 and about 25 inches long, or between about 20 and about 25 inches long, or between about 20 and about 30 inches long. In one embodiment, it is about 25 inches long from one end  18  to the other end  19 . 
         [0021]    The connector is formed by two members that can be integrally formed with one another or connected to one another as described above. The first member is a top cover  11  that in one embodiment is shaped like a tudor arch. The second member is a midline support  14  (sometimes referred to as a web, as in the web of an I-beam). 
         [0022]    The top cover  11  covers the gap between two receptables. The top cover  11  spans the entire length of the connector  10 . The top cover  11  has a right haunch  13  and a left haunch  12  that give the cover its tudor arch shape. The top cover  11  should extend most of the length of the sides of the receptacle that it is used to connect. Thus, for example, if a receptacle has a connection side that is about 26 inches in length, the top cover  11  can be about 24 or 25 inches in length. In one embodiment, the connector is about 24.25 inches in length. 
         [0023]    The midline support or web  14  extends vertically downward from the bottom side of the top cover  11 . The junction between the midline support and the bottom of the top cover  11  forms about a ninety degree angle, such as in an I-beam. The top of the midline support  14  is at the bottom side of the center or apex of the arch that forms the top cover  11 , such that the right haunch  13  and left haunch  12  are the same length and their ends are equidistant from the midline support  14 . The midline support  14  has a base  15 . The base  15  consists of a right flange  16  and a left flange  17 . Each of the flanges  16  and  17  have ends that extend in an upward direction, thus forming a right lip  16 A and a left lip  17 B. The right lip  16 A, right flange  16  and right side of the midline support  14  forms a channel  16 B. The left lip  17 A, left flange  17  and left side of the midline support  14  form a left channel  17 B. In one embodiment, the right lip  16 A and left lip  17 A can form about a ninety degree angle with their respective flanges  16  and  17 . In another embodiment, the right lip  16 A and left lip  17 A can form greater than a ninety degree angle but less than a one hundred fifty degree angle with their respective flanges  16  and  17 . In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the right lip  16 A and left lip  17 A form about a one hundred degree angle with their respective flanges  16  and  17 . In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1A , the midline support  14  extends along the entire length of the connector  10 , and the base  15  extends along the entire length of the midline support  14 . In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1B , the base  25  does not extend along the entire length of the midline support  14 , but only along part of the length of the midline support  14 . In yet other embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1C , the base can be formed only at the ends of the midline support  14 , such that two bases  35  and  45  are formed; one at one end  18  of the connector and the other at the other end  19  of the connector, with no base formed in between the two ends. Alternatively with respect to  FIG. 1C  (not shown), additional bases can be formed on the midline support  14  between the bases  35  and  45 . For example, a base (not shown) can be formed half way in between the bases  35  and  45  on the bottom of the midline support  14 . In yet another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1D , the midline support  24  does not extent along the entire length of the top cover  11 , but only along part of the length of the top cover  11 . In yet another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1E , the midline support can be formed only at the ends of the top cover  11 , such that there are two midline supports  34  and  44  along with their corresponding bases  55  and  65 ; one midline support  34  being at one end  18  of the connector  10  and the other midline support  44  being at the other end  19  of the connector  10 , with no midline support formed in between the two ends. The two midline supports  23  and  44  extend along the same plane, which is shown by the phantom lines  62 . Alternatively with respect to  FIG. 1E  (not shown), additional midline supports and corresponding bases can be formed between the midline supports  34  and  44  along the same plane  62  as the plane along which midline supports  34  and  44  extend. For example, a midline support and its corresponding base (not shown) can be formed half way in between the midline supports  34  and  44  on the bottom side of the top cover  11 . The configurations shown in  FIGS. 1B ,  1 C,  1 D, and  1 E reduce the amount of raw material needed to form the connector  10 , and make the connector  10  lighter. However, these configurations also weaken the connector and make it easier to damage or break the connector with less stress than the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0024]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show how a connector  10  can connect two dog potties  200  and  300  along the length of one of the sides of the dog potties. The dog potties  200  and  300  each have corresponding sides  250  and  350  with corresponding side walls  260  and  360  that lead into corresponding receptacles  270  and  370  that retain fluid, such as urine. When the dog potties  200  and  300  are placed next to each other, there is always a gap  400  between them. When a dog or other pet urinates over the gap  400 , the urine leaks onto the floor in between the two dog potties rather than flowing into the receptacles  270  and  370  of the dog potties. The top cover  11  of the connector  10  covers the gap  400  and does not permit fluid to flow into the gap  400 . Instead, with the connector  10  in place, all fluid will flow down the right haunch  13  and left haunch  12  of the connector and into the receptacles  370  and  270  respectively. 
         [0025]    The connector  10  connects the dog potties  200  and  300  in the following manner. The bottom of the side wall  360  of the dog potty on the right fits into the channel  16 B. The bottom of the side wall  260  of the dog potty on the left fits into the channel  17 B. The right lip  16 A prevents the right dog potty  300  from sliding away from the connector  10 . The left lip  17 A prevents the left dog potty  200  from sliding away from the connector  10 . Thus, the connector  10  prevents the two dog potties  200  and  300  from horizontally sliding away from one another. In addition, because the channels  16 B and  17 B are on the bottom side of the connector and thus underneath the dog potties  200  and  300 , it is very difficult for any dog or other pet from devising a way to disconnect the dog potties  200  and  300  from the connector  10 . This is made even more difficult, because the haunches  13  and  12  of the top cover  11  arch over the top sides  350  and  250  of the right and left dog potties respectively, thus preventing dog or other pets from somehow lifting the bottom edges of the side walls  360  and  260  up over the lips  16 A and  17 A. The rounded arches of the haunches  13  and  12  make it easy for a person to use their hands to disconnect the connector  10  from the dog potties  300  and  200 , but difficult for a pet to do so. In this manner, the connector  10  keeps the two dog potties horizontally connected to one another. 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  shows another embodiment of a connector  50  that has a flat top cover  51  with a right flange  53  and a left flange  52 . The right flange  53  has a right lip  53 A that extends downward, and the left flange  52  has a left lip  52 A that extends downward. The configuration shown in  FIG. 5  can be used if the side walls of the receptacles, such as dog potties, are flat or squared rather than rounded as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The midline support  54  can be identical to any of the midline supports of any of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1A-1E . As with the dog potties shown in  FIG. 4 , the dog potties  700  and  800  each have corresponding sides  750  and  850  with corresponding side walls  760  and  860  that lead into corresponding receptacles  870  and  870  that retain fluid, such as urine. 
         [0027]    A system that comprises two dog potties and a connector is also described as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 . 
         [0028]    While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific examples thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular forms or methods disclosed, but to the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.