Pet cleaning utensil

Abstract

A cleaning utensil suited for pet cleanup includes a scoop and a stopper removably connected to the scoop.

Claims

1. A cleaning utensil suited for pet cleanup, which includes: scoop having a bottom panel, having a back edge, side edges, and a leading edge, upwardly extending side walls connected to said side edges and an upwardly extending rear wall connected to said back edge and interconnecting said side walls, each said side wall having an inwardly extending detent surface; and a stopper which includes a panel having a trailing edge, a leading forward edge, a-two lateral spaced edges spanning a width between said upwardly extending side walls and wherein said panel is of a thickness to be removably received between said detent surface in a manner to be frictionally held in position by said detent surface and when so held, said trailing edge is disposed adjacent said upwardly extending rear wall and said leading forward edge extends beyond said leading edge of said bottom panel to readily permit manual grasping of said leading forward edge for separation and removal of said stopper from said scoop.

2. The cleaning utensil of claim 1, wherein said panel is one of a rigid and semi-rigid material.

3. The cleaning utensil of claim 1, which includes a wire frame having an inverted U-shape portion forming a handle which are spaced and connected to a pair of lateral spaced arms forming a fork configuration, wherein said arms are spaced apart to receive and connect to said side walls.

4. The cleaning utensil of claim 3, wherein said wire frame is fixed to said said scoop.

5. The cleaning utensil of claim 3, wherein said wire frame has a stepped curved section interconnecting said handle and said arms configured to be as an animal's rear end with said handle providing an appearance of a tail.

6. The cleaning utensil of claim 1, wherein said leading forward edge ich-includes squeegee member connected thereto.

7. The cleaning utensil of claim 6, wherein said leading forward edge is configured with a lip and said squeegee member has a longitudinal complementary shaped recess to frictionally receive and be retained on said leading edge.

8. The cleaning utensil of claim 1, wherein said trailing edge is configured with a brush head spanning a length of said trailing edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present cleaning utensil.

(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of a cleaning utensil of the instant invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a side back perspective view of the cleaning utensil.

(4) FIG. 4 is a side view of the utensil of the invention.

(5) FIG. 5 is a front perspective of a scoop of the invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective of a stopper of the invention.

(7) FIG. 7 is a top view of the stopper of FIG. 6.

(8) FIG. 8 is a perspective of another embodiment of the stopper of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(9) Referring now to the drawings, wherein applied reference numerals indicate parts similarly hereinafter identified, the reference numeral 10 is generally designating a cleaning utensil and includes a scoop 12 and a stopper 14 of the invention which is particularly well suited for pet cleanup.

(10) The scoop 12 includes a bottom panel 16 having upwardly extending side walls 18 connected thereto and an upwardly extending rear wall 20 connected to the bottom panel 16 interconnecting the side walls 18. The bottom panel 16, side walls 18, and rear wall 20 can be curved their juncture to ease debris removal. Each side wall 18 has inwardly extending detents 22 which serve as a catch for a stopper 14 to prevent movement of the stopper 14 until released.

(11) A wire frame 24 is provided having a handle 26 connected to a pair of lateral spaced arms 28 forming a fork configuration wherein the arms 28 are spaced enough apart to receive the side walls 18 and are connected, for example, preferably fixed to the side walls 18. The stopper 14 includes a panel 30, preferably rigid or semi-rigid panel, having a two lateral spaced edges 32 spanning a width between the side walls 18 and wherein the panel 30 is of a thickness to be received between the detents 20 and frictionally held in selected position.

(12) A stepped curved section 40 can be optionally provided interconnecting the handle 26 and the arms 28 and can be aesthetically configured, for example, as an animal's rear, such that when viewed with the handle 26 provides the appearance of a tail end of an animal. The handle 26 of the wire frame 24 may also serve as a hanger for the scoop 12.

(13) The panel 30 can include a leading or forward edge 50 which can preferably include a rubber or thermoplastic squeegee member 52 which is connected to the leading edge 50. In this regard, the leading edge 50 can be configured with a lengthwise lip 54 and the squeegee member 52 can have a longitudinal complementary shaped recess 56 to frictionally receive and be retained on the leading edge 50 of the panel. Optionally, a trailing edge 58 of the panel 30 can be configured with a brush head 60 spanning an approximate length of the trailing edge 58. The panel 30 could be reversed in orientation to permit either the squeegee member 52 or brush head 60 to be oriented out front.

(14) The scoop 12 and stopper 14 may be formed of various materials. A preferred material for the scoop 12 and wire frame 24 can be stainless steel or aluminum construction to perform best for the particular use. It is contemplated that a molded plastic could be one or more part of the invention, for example, the squeegee member 52 or brush head 58.

(15) The side walls 18 can be tapered as seen in the figures with a maximum height of about 1.5-2 inches, preferably, 1 and .sup.th inch, for example and the rear wall 20 can be of the same height. A length wire frame 24 can be about 12 to 13 inches, for example, and the width of the scoop 12 can be about 5 inches.

(16) The instant invention provides an improved utensil which enables the removal of debris commonly associated with pets, such as cats and dogs. This can include throw-up, litter, fecal material, for example, which occurs on both hard floor surfaces and carpet. The stopper 14 provide a unique aspect which is cleverly maintained in the scoop 12 by way of detents 20. One can remove the stopper 14 when the pet either throws up or defecates, for example, and depending on the floor surface use the appropriate edge to aid in removal, such as the squeegee member 52 or brush 58.

(17) While I have shown but one embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied still otherwise without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.