Pet toy with interconnecting grooves and open core

Abstract

The pet toy of the invention comprises a spherical shaped body with eight distinct quadrants formed on the exterior surface thereof. Each section is three sided, similar to an equilateral triangle except each corner of the triangular-shaped is curved or rounded. A central opening is formed through the pet toy. Preferably, the pet toy is hollow and the pet toy has a substantially uniform sidewall thickness, thereby creating an open core. Measured parameters of the pet toy are provided to minimize the potential of the toy becoming caught in an animal's throat yet the pet toy is still configured to maximize play potential. The measured parameters include in various combinations of a weight of the pet toy, a diameter of the pet toy, depths of grooves in the pet toy, widths of the grooves and shapes of the grooves.

Claims

1. A pet toy comprising: a spherical body having an exterior surface and a sidewall having a substantially uniform thickness; a central opening formed through the exterior surface; a hollow core forming an interior of said spherical body; a plurality of sections extending outward from said exterior surface and defined by grooves that bound each of said sections, each of said sections having a triangular shape; each of said grooves having rounded edges and a V-shape when viewed in cross-section; and wherein a depth of said grooves is between about 1/16th to ¼th inch and an angle subtended by the V-shape is between about 30° to 60°.

2. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: the depth of said grooves is between about 1/16th to ⅛th inch.

3. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: a diameter of the pet toy is at least 2.5 inches.

4. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: a diameter of the pet toy is between about 2.5 to 4.0 inches.

5. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: a weight of the pet toy is between about 8 to 11 ounces.

6. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: a weight of the pet toy is approximately 9.5 ounces; and a diameter of the pet toy is about 3.5 inches.

7. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: a width of said grooves as measured near said exterior surface is between about ⅜ to ½ inch.

8. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: a diamond shaped area is present at six locations on the exterior surface of the spherical body where edges of four sections meet.

9. The pet toy of claim 1 further including: a length of rope extending through said central opening.

10. The pet toy of claim 9, wherein: said central opening extends through opposite sides of said spherical body and said rope is routed through said central opening so that respective portions of said rope extend beyond the opposite sides of said spherical body.

11. The pet toy of claim 1, wherein: said pet toy is made of an elastomeric material including a rubber compound.

12. A pet toy comprising: a spherical body having an exterior surface and a sidewall having a substantially uniform thickness; a central opening formed through the exterior surface; a hollow core forming an interior of said spherical body a plurality of sections extending outward from said exterior surface and defined by grooves that bound each of said sections, each of said sections having a triangular shape; each of said grooves having rounded edges and a V-shape when viewed in cross-section; and wherein a depth of said grooves is between about 1/16th to ¼th inch, a diameter of the pet toy is at least 2.5 inches, and a width of said grooves as measured near said exterior surface is between about ⅜ to ½ inch.

13. The pet toy of claim 12, wherein: the depth of said grooves is between about 1/16 to ⅛th inch.

14. The pet toy of claim 12, wherein: a diameter of the pet toy is between about 2.5 to 4.0 inches.

15. The pet toy of claim 12, wherein: a weight of the pet toy is between about 8 to 11 ounces.

16. The pet toy of claim 12, wherein: a diamond shaped area is present at six locations on the exterior surface of the spherical body where edges of four sections meet.

17. The pet toy of claim 12 further including: a length of rope extending through said central opening.

18. The pet toy of claim 17, wherein: said central opening extends through opposite sides of said spherical body and said rope is routed through said central opening so that respective portions of said rope extend beyond the opposite sides of said spherical body.

19. The pet toy of claim 12, wherein: said pet toy is made of an elastomeric material including a rubber compound that is resistant to puncturing by a bite of an animal.

20. A pet toy comprising: a spherical body having an exterior surface and a sidewall having a substantially uniform thickness; a central opening formed through the exterior surface; a hollow core forming an interior of said body, wherein the hollow core comprises a substantially spherical core; a plurality of sections extending outward from said exterior surface and defined by grooves that bound each of said sections, each of said sections having a triangular shape; each of said grooves having rounded edges and a V-shape when viewed in cross-section and an angle subtended by the V-shape is between about 30° to less than 60°; and wherein a depth of said grooves is between about 1/16th to ¼th inch, a diameter of the pet toy is at least 2.5 inches, a width of said grooves as measured near said exterior surface is between about ⅜ to ½ inch, and said pet toy is made of an elastomeric material including a rubber compound that is resistant to puncturing by a bite of an animal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the pet toy of the invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the pet toy of the invention;

(3) FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the pet toy of the invention;

(4) FIG. 4 is an enlarged top elevation view of the pet toy of the invention;

(5) FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevation view of the pet toy of the invention; and

(6) FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevation view of the pet toy in another embodiment of the invention that includes a strand of fibrous material such as a rope.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Referring to each of the figures, the pet toy of the invention 10 is a spherical shaped body with a plurality of quadrants or sections 12 that form the exterior surface of the toy. A central opening 14 is formed through opposite sides of the body. The pet toy preferably has a substantially uniform thickness, also referred to as a substantially uniform sidewall.

(8) A total of eight quadrants or sections 12 make up the outer surface of the toy. Preferably, each of the sections 12 has the same shape and size. The shape of each section 12 is substantially triangular with curved or rounded edges 22 located where two side edges of a section 12 converge. These curved or rounded edges 22 may also be described as chamfered or tapered edges.

(9) Grooves 16 are formed between each of the sections 12. A groove is defined by opposing groove walls 20 that are angled with respect to one another thus forming a distinctive V-shape. The bottom of each groove 24 is defined by a very slight gap 24 between opposing groove walls 20; however, when reviewing a groove such as shown in FIGS. 4-6, the corresponding gap 24 is nearly imperceptible and thus each of the grooves maintain the distinctive V-shape.

(10) At the six locations on the outer surface of the toy where the edges of four sections 12 meet, a diamond-shaped area 18 is present that is a function of the visual presentation of the deepest edges of the adjacent groove sidewalls at that location.

(11) Measured characteristics of the toy, including the depth, width and shape of the grooves 16, are critically important, alone and in combination with one another. Consider the ball as a valve: the throat of a dog is the seat for the valve. One object of the invention is to prevent asphyxiation by preventing the valve from seating or sealing, i. e., cutting off the airway of the dog. Also, throat tissue is semi-soft and wet which makes it easier to seal. During testing of the invention, experiments were conducted with a cylindrical shaped glass of water and prototypes of the invention having varying groove depths. The prototypes were placed to cover the top of the glass. The water glass was tipped upside down to determine the minimum groove depth required to generate an appreciable amount of water flow. The water flow simulated the passage of air through a dog's throat. The testing indicated that 1/16 of an inch was the minimum depth for any appreciable amount of water to flow, thus establishing a minimum amount of air flow through the grooves. The testing further indicated that ⅛ to ¼ inch was optimal to permit flow of the fluid through the grooves. The tapered or rounded intersection areas between the sections 12 reduce the sealing capability as compared to a groove having only straight groove side edges. Grooves that are too deep reduce structural integrity and therefore, while deeper grooves might permit better airflow, the structural integrity of the toy is degraded to an extent in which a dog can too easily chew off sections of a quadrant around a groove edge. The tapered or rounded groove edges function to deflect a dog's teeth therefore reducing a dog's ability to chew and rip the edges. Even with shallower grooves that have a defined sharp edges, i.e., groove edges that are squared-off and have an angle of approximately a 90°, these shallower grooves can be too easily chewed and removed as well.

(12) Grooves that are too wide cause an erratic bounce and it is desirable to maintain the pet toy as a functional ball that uniformly bounces and rolls to optimize play potential.

(13) As compared to a ball with no grooves, the outer surface of the invention with the quadrants and grooves results in a dog being able to reliably grasp and hold the ball in the dog's teeth. There is a high chance that the dog's teeth will penetrate at least one of the grooves during the catching action and therefore, additional frictional resistance results to prevent the ball from penetrating too deep into the dogs throat. A wet round ball certainly raises the risk that the dog will not be able to stop the momentum of the ball in its teeth.

(14) Referring specifically to FIG. 4, according to preferred embodiments of the invention, dimension measurements are provided for the pet toy which enable it to prevent choking and asphyxiation of an animal such as a dog. Preferably, the diameter of the pet toy is at least about 2.5 inches which prevents the pet toy from becoming lodged in a dog's throat. A larger diameter is also contemplated within embodiments of the invention; accordingly, the 2.5-inch diameter can be considered a minimum diameter to prevent asphyxiation for most dogs.

(15) Preferably, the depth D of the grooves is between about ⅛th to ¼th inch and a minimum depth of at least about 1/16th inch, as mentioned. A width of the groove W measured near the exterior surface of the pet toy is preferably between about ⅜ to ½ inch. The angle A subtended by the V-shaped groove is preferably between about 30° to 60°. The diameter of the central opening 14 may be between about ½ to ⅝ inch. As mentioned, the central opening 14 provides an additional path for air to flow when the toy is in a dog's mouth.

(16) Another important measured parameter is the weight of the toy. A toy that is too heavy will become lodged deeper in the animal's throat if the animal catches the ball on the fly. A toy that is too light will not provide adequate play because the owner will not be able to throw the toy a sufficient distance. Additionally, a toy that is too light is typically an indicator that the toy is not made of a sufficiently resilient and elastomeric material and therefore, the toy can be more easily destroyed by chewing. Optimally, the pet toy should be made of a resilient and elastomeric rubber compound which provides sufficient strength for a long-lasting pet toy as well as providing sufficient weight.

(17) According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, a ball that has a diameter of between about 2.5 to 4.0 inches may have an optimal weight between about 8 and 11 ounces. Another preferred embodiment may have a diameter of approximately 3.5 inches and a weight of approximately 9.5 ounces.

(18) Considering the foregoing measured parameters and other characteristics of the invention, it should be understood that the invention does not require each measured parameter to be present. Rather, some improved functionality is achieved with the invention by having parameters provided together in various sub-combinations. Therefore, it should be further understood that the scope of the invention herein is not limited to a pet toy that must have all the measured parameters and one may select any sub-combinations for improved toy performance and to prevent asphyxiation of an animal such as a dog.

(19) FIG. 6 illustrates another preferred embodiment in which the pet toy 10 further includes a rope or strand of flexible material or rope 30 with knotted ends 32. The rope 30 is routed through the openings 14 on both opposite ends of the toy. The length of the rope in one preferred embodiment may be between about 12 to 16 inches.

(20) The rope 30 can be used to further enhance play by tug-of-war with a dog or to enhance a throwing action by the pet owner. Another option is to have the rope 30 only extend through one of the openings 14 in which one end of the rope (not shown) remains in the core of the pet toy as by an enlarged knotted end or an end that is otherwise enlarged so it cannot pass through the opening. The other end can be knotted as shown in this figure. Longer lengths of rope are also contemplated which can be adopted for specific purposes, such as enhanced tug-of-war in which greater lengths of the rope can be more easily grasped by the owner and dog.

(21) By use of the rope 30, this provides additional functionality to prevent asphyxiation of an animal because the rope enlarges the overall diameter of the toy and the rope can be pulled by an owner to release the toy if the toy becomes lodged too deep in the dog's throat. The rope also provides additional play opportunities by tug-of-war action in which the owner can grasp one end of the rope and the dog holds the other end of the rope in the teeth. The rope also enhances throwing of the toy.

(22) According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the diameter of the toy can be less than 2.5 inches if the rope is added. The rope provides additional safety so the toy cannot remain lodged in a dog's throat since the owner can pull the rope to dislodge the toy.

(23) While the invention has been described herein with respect to various preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to such preferred embodiments and the scope of the invention shall therefore be interpreted commensurate with the claims appended hereto.