Pet nail caps

Abstract

Pet nail caps cover pets' nails to prevent scratches on surfaces (e.g., hardwood and tiled flooring) and avoid injuries to themselves and others (e.g., pets' eyes and ears, human extremities) while not compromising pet's mobility but rather improving it. The treads on the caps' tips increase the coefficient of friction between the caps (i.e., individual pet's nails) and the hard-surface flooring improving traction and overall pet's mobility. Internal spirals allow the caps to twist onto pets' nails and stay securely attached. A rubber-like material of construction (e.g., thermoplastic elastomers, thermoplastic polyurethane) provides for cap's flexibility and durability.

Claims

1. A method for covering nails of a pet, comprising: attaching one or more tubular elements to one or more of the nails of the pet, wherein the one or more tubular elements each comprises a hollow cylinder having an outer lateral surface, an inner cylindrical surface, an upper end with a circular opening, an enclosed lower end, a rounded edge formed by the outer lateral surface and the enclosed lower end, one or more treads on the rounded edge, and one or more spirals extending from the enclosed lower end to the circular opening of the upper end on the inner cylindrical surface, the attaching step being practiced by twisting a respective one of the tubular elements onto a respective one of the nails of the pet.

2. A method for reducing slippage of a pet on a hard surface, comprising: attaching one or more tubular elements to one or more nails of the pet, wherein the one or more tubular elements each comprises a hollow cylinder having an outer lateral surface, an inner cylindrical surface, an upper end with a circular opening, an enclosed lower end, a rounded edge formed by the outer lateral surface and the enclosed lower end, one or more treads on the rounded edge, and one or more spirals extending from the enclosed lower end to the circular opening of the upper end on the inner cylindrical surface, the attaching step being practiced by twisting a respective one of the tubular elements onto a respective one of the nails of the pet.

3. A method for improving traction of a pet on a hard surface, comprising: attaching one or more tubular elements to one or more nails of the pet, wherein the one or more tubular elements each comprises a hollow cylinder having an outer lateral surface, an inner cylindrical surface, an upper end with a circular opening, an enclosed lower end, a rounded edge formed by the outer lateral surface and the enclosed lower end, one or more treads on the rounded edge, and one or more spirals extending from the enclosed lower end to the circular opening of the upper end on the inner cylindrical surface, the attaching step being practiced by twisting a respective one of the tubular elements onto a respective one of the nails of the pet.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a pet nail cap illustrating the tubular element shaped as a hollow cylinder with internal spirals and the upper end with a circular opening.

(2) FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a pet nail cap illustrating the tubular element shaped as a hollow cylinder with internal spirals and the closed lower end with treads.

(3) FIG. 3 is a bottom elevational view of a pet nail cap illustrating the closed lower end with treads.

(4) FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a pet nail cap illustrating the upper end with a circular opening and internal spirals.

(5) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a pet nail cap illustrating the internal spirals that span the full length of the tubular element.

(6) FIG. 6 is a right elevational view of a pet nail cap removably attached to a pet's nail illustrating the contact region between the pet nail cap and the contact surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the pet nail cap is a tubular element 1 shaped as a hollow cylinder with a circular opening 2 on the upper end 3 and a closed lower end 4. The edge formed by the cylindrical outer surface of the tubular element and its lower end is rounded by a fillet 5 that forms a rounded surface. Referring to FIG. 3, the treads 6 are positioned at an angle to the rounded surface along the tubular element circumference (the example depicted on FIG. 3 has ten treads). Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the spirals 7 are positioned on the internal surface of the tubular element 1 and span the full length of the tubular element (the example depicted on FIGS. 4 and 5 has three spirals). Referring now to FIG. 6, when the pet nail cap is attached to a pet's nail 8, the lower end 4 is slightly inclined to the contact surface 9. The contact 10 is established between the contact surface 9 and the treads 6, rather than the surface of the lower end 4. This leads to an increase in the coefficient of friction between the pet nail cap and the hard-surface flooring improving traction and pet's overall mobility.

(8) The pet nail cap is constructed as a single body of a rubber-like material that provides for the pet nail cap's flexibility and durability. A preferred manufacturing method is 3D printing using flexible filaments such as thermoplastic elastomers or thermoplastic polyurethane. This manufacturing method delivers the precision needed to produce a quality product given the detailed design of the pet nail caps. Also, this manufacturing method allows to produce different sizes of the pet nail caps that range, for example, from a 3 mm to 11.5 mm internal diameter. The size could be gradually increased by 0.5 mm. These sizes correspond to most pets' nail sizes and allow for the pet nail caps to be customized for each individual pet.

(9) A series of tests performed on different configurations of the pet nail caps with the help of a household pet—the 13-year-old basset hound—confirmed the following: When the treads were not present, the coefficient of friction was reduced between the pet nail caps and hard-surface flooring causing the pet to slip and slide. Conversely, when the treads were present and the coefficient of friction was increased, there was a visible improvement in the pet's ability to balance and gain additional traction on the hard-surface flooring. Further, the addition of the spirals to the interior surface of the pet nail caps streamlined the process of attaching and removing the pet nail caps from the pet's nails.