Patent ID: 8544417

Claim:
Stackable pet crates operable to be interconnected with each other to form a bank of crates arrayed in a lateral and/or vertical configuration, each of said stackable pet crates comprising: a unitary molded crate housing including vertically arranged top and bottom wall sections, opposite side walls, and opposite end walls that are unitarily molded together and cooperatively present an enclosed pet space, said crate housing presenting a crate opening defined by one of the end walls, said crate opening permitting pet ingress and egress relative to the enclosed pet space, said one of the end walls being spaced from other of the interconnected crates when the pet crates are interconnected so that the crate opening is exposed to permit pet ingress and egress, at least one of said top and bottom wall sections including a wall and a threaded fastener insert integrally molded in place within the wall, with the threaded fastener insert of a first one of the pet crates being removably attached relative to a second one of the pet crates when the first and second pet crates are interconnected in the lateral or vertical configuration, such that the threaded fastener insert serves to connect the first and second crates in each of the lateral and vertical configurations, a coupler interconnecting the first and second pet crates when in the lateral configuration; and a plurality of threaded fastener elements, each corresponding to one of the threaded fastener inserts and being in threaded engagement therewith to cooperatively secure the coupler to the respective one of the first and second pet crates when the first and second pet crates are in the lateral configuration, at least one of said top and bottom wall sections defining an opening and a pocket extending inwardly from the opening, with the other of the wall sections presenting a projection, said opening presenting an opening dimension and said projection presenting a projection dimension smaller than the opening dimension so that the projection of each pet crate is operable to be nestably received by the pocket of one of the other pet crates when the pet crates are interconnected in the vertical configuration.