Pet Toy with Peripheral Groove for Holding Round Objects

Abstract

The pet toy includes two semi-spherical ends or caps interconnected by a curved neck. The curved neck defines a central peripheral channel that enables the curved neck to hold one or more round objects. A noise making device such as a squeaker may be sealed within the pet toy. The exterior surfaces of the semi spherical ends may have a plurality of surface irregularities to include groups of irregular protrusions and grooves disposed between the protrusions. Treats may be selectively secured to the pet toy.

Claims

1. A pet toy comprising: a first enlarged end; a second enlarged end; a curved neck interconnecting said first and second enlarged ends; wherein said curved neck defines an endless peripheral channel that separates said first and second enlarged ends; and wherein said pet toy is substantially symmetrical about an axis extending along said curved neck.

2. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the first and second enlarged ends have semi-spherical shapes.

3. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 1, wherein: at least one of said first and second enlarged ends includes a plurality of protrusions and grooves formed on an outer surface thereof.

4. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said endless peripheral channel substantially bisects said pet toy.

5. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said endless peripheral channel has a semi-circular cross-sectional shape.

6. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said endless peripheral channel includes an overhanging lip formed along substantially all of a perimeter of said endless peripheral channel.

7. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a housing secured to an interior surface within a chamber of one of the first and second enlarged ends; and a noise making device secured in said housing.

8. A pet toy comprising: a first semi spherical end; a second semi spherical end; a curved neck interconnecting the first and second semi spherical ends; wherein said curved neck defines an endless peripheral channel that substantially bisects said pet toy and separates said first and second semi spherical ends; and at least one substantially spherical object placed within said endless peripheral channel.

9. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 8, wherein: at least one of said first and second semi spherical ends includes a plurality of protrusions and grooves formed on an outer surface thereof.

10. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 8, wherein: said peripheral channel has a cross-sectional shape with an arc that is greater than a semi-circle.

11. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 8, wherein: said endless peripheral channel includes a first overhanging lip formed along substantially all of a perimeter edge of said first semi spherical end and a second overhanging lip formed along substantially all of a perimeter edge of said second semi spherical end.

12. The pet toy, as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: a noise maker secured within a housing affixed to an interior surface of one of said first semi spherical end and said second semi spherical end.

13. A method of entertaining an animal comprising: providing a pet toy having: a first enlarged end; a second enlarged end; a curved neck interconnecting the first and second enlarged ends; and wherein said curved neck defines an endless peripheral channel that substantially bisects said pet toy and separates said first and second enlarged ends; placing at least one ball within said endless peripheral channel; and giving the pet toy to an animal for the animal to interact with the pet toy.

14. The method, as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: securing one or more treats to said pet toy.

15. The method, as claimed in claim 14, wherein: said one or more pet treats includes a paste like treat applied to an exterior surface of at least one of said first or second enlarged ends.

16. The method, as claimed in claim 15, wherein: at least one of said first and second enlarged ends includes a plurality of grooves that at least partially receive said paste like treat.

17. The method, as claimed in claim 14, wherein: said one or more pet treats includes at least one treat placed within said endless peripheral channel and retained therein by contact between an exterior surface of said curved neck and a facing exterior surface of said at least one ball.

18. The method, as claimed in claim 13, wherein: said endless peripheral channel includes overhanging lips formed along substantially all of perimeter edges of said endless peripheral channel.

19. The method, as claimed in claim 13, wherein: said endless peripheral channel has a cross-sectional shape with an arc having an angle measure of greater than about 180°.

20. The method, as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: a chamber formed in the first enlarged end; a housing secured to an interior surface of said chamber, said housing extending radially inward within said chamber; and a noise-making squeaker received within said housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the pet toy of the invention;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the pet toy of FIG. 1;

[0027] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pet toy of FIG. 1;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

[0029] FIG. 5 is an off-axis cross-sectional view taken along line 5- 5 of FIG. 3;

[0030] FIG. 6 is another front elevation view of the pet toy of FIG. 1 with cross-sectional line markings;

[0031] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

[0032] FIG. 8 is another cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

[0033] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the pet toy of FIG. 1 showing two different sized balls retained within a peripheral channel of the pet toy; and

[0034] FIG. 10 is another cross-sectional perspective view of the pet toy of FIG. 1 showing two different sized balls retained within the peripheral channel of the pet toy and treats added to the pet toy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] FIGS. 1-8 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention as a pet toy. FIG. 9 illustrates another preferred embodiment of the invention comprising a combination of the pet toy with one or more spherical objects, such as tennis balls. FIG. 10 illustrates yet another preferred embodiment comprising a combination of the pet toy, one or more balls, and selected pet treats.

[0036] First referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8, the pet toy 10 is illustrated in various views. Three primary parts or components may be used, namely, two opposing enlarged or semi spherical ends 12 and 14 that are interconnected by a curved neck 16. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the semi spherical ends 12 and 14 are shown as having similar sizes and shapes, and the interconnecting neck 16 is sized so the pet toy 10 would have a substantially circular shape in cross-section if the neck 16 was eliminated in favor of extending the curved exterior surfaces of the semi spherical ends 12, 14.

[0037] The exposed or exterior surface 28 of the neck 16 defines an endless peripheral channel that is especially adapted for holding round objects such as tennis balls. The cross-sectional shape of the peripheral channel 28 is semicircular with sufficient curvature provided by the corresponding exterior surface of the neck 16 so that the channel may effectively hold one or more balls. The curvature extends so that there is an overhanging lip or ledge 32 when viewing the channel 28 in cross section. Accordingly, in one embodiment, a cross-sectional shape of the peripheral channel 28 is greater than a semicircle. Said another way, in one embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral channel 28 has an arc with an angle measure of greater than about 180°. In another embodiment, the angle measure of the arc is about 270°.

[0038] FIGS. 4 and 5 also provide dimensional identifiers, namely, D1 for the heights of the semi-spherical ends 12, 14, D2 for height of the peripheral channel 28, and D3 for the depth of the peripheral channel 28. Each of these dimensional parameters can be altered to accommodate the desired size and shape of the toy 10, as well as to accommodate holding balls of the desired size.

[0039] The overhanging lip or ledge 32 can be measured by the distance D4 as shown in FIG. 4 which is the distance between the outermost edge of the ledge 32 and the most upper or lower edge of the channel 28 as the toy is oriented in FIG. 4. The overhanging ledge 32 assists in retaining a ball that is seated within the channel 28 by capturing some portion of both opposing sides of a ball.

[0040] The exterior surfaces of the semi spherical ends 12 and 14 are shown with a plurality of surface irregularities to include groups of irregular protrusions 18 and grooves 20 disposed between the protrusions. These surface irregularities 18, 20 may serve many purposes such as dental cleaning, oral stimulation, or to hold paste-like treats to further stimulate an animal. It will be appreciated that the surface irregularities may have any shape. Optionally, the plurality of surface irregularities may include dimples and protrusions in addition to, or instead of, the irregular protrusions 18 and grooves 20. Accordingly, in one embodiment, one of the first and second semi spherical ends 12, 14 may include the irregular protrusions 18 and grooves 20 and the other one of the first and second semi spherical ends 12, 14 may include a plurality of dimples and protrusions.

[0041] The cross-sectional views of the pet toy 10 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate additional interior details, to include various internal structural supports, that can be used to help retain the shape of the curved neck 16 and the shapes of the semi spherical ends 12 and 14. Specifically, these figures show a plurality of first structural supports 22 and a plurality of second structural supports 24 that are disposed at an angle to the first structural supports, such as an orthogonal angle. The offset cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 as compared to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 also illustrates that the first or second structural supports 22, 24 may be further disposed at other angles to one another to best support the exterior features of the pet toy 10.

[0042] A squeaker housing 26 is also illustrated as being disposed within the chamber or interior open space of one of the semi spherical ends 12. As shown, the housing 26 has an open end 27 which receives a noise making element such as a squeaker 30. The other end of the housing 26 is attached and sealed against the interior surface of the semi-spherical end 12. In this way, the squeaker 30 is protected and an animal cannot make direct contact with the squeaker unless the sidewall of the semi-spherical end 12 is penetrated. It is well known that animals may wish to disable the squeaking sound of the pet toy by chewing on the squeaker. The protected squeaker of the invention helps to prolong the ability of the pet toy to produce sound.

[0043] FIGS. 7 and 8 more specifically illustrate the spacing of the internal structural supports 22 and 24 which enhances the structural robustness of the pet toy. These figures also illustrate that the structural supports 22, 24 extend throughout the entire cross-section of the curved neck 16 which therefore enhances the integrity of the pet toy 10 when exposed to the biting action of an animal.

[0044] While these figures illustrate that the structural supports 22, 24 are substantially planar in shape, it should be understood that these structural supports 22, 24 do not have to be rigid or stiff, and may therefore be made from the same or similar material as the exterior surfaces of the semi-spherical ends 12 and 14 and the exposed surface 28 of the neck 16. Accordingly, the pet toy 10 maintains a selected flexible, elastomeric characteristic in which the pet toy can be chewed by an animal without injury to the animal's mouth.

[0045] FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the pet toy 10 in which two balls B are held within the peripheral channel 28. The ball B1 on the left side of the figure is smaller than the ball B2 on the right side. The left side ball B1 has a size which conveniently fits within the channel 28, and there is little or no compression or deformation of the ball B1. The ball B2 on right side of the figure is larger than the other ball B 1, and undergoes some amount of compression/deformation as it is held within the channel 28. This figure is therefore intended to represent the capability of the pet toy 10 to receive and retain balls B of different sizes in which a ball can be manipulated to fit within the peripheral channel 28 by squeezing a portion of the ball to fit within the peripheral channel. Different sized balls B1, B2 placed in the channel may present varying degrees of difficulty for an animal to remove the balls which therefore adds another feature of the invention regarding a method of entertaining the animal.

[0046] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, in order to adequately lock and hold the ends 12, 14 and the neck 16 together, tongue and groove connections 36 can be utilized where the components 12, 14, 16 join one another, along with adhesive or some other bonding agent to secure the connections. As shown at 36, the outer peripheral portions of the ends of the neck 16 include a groove and the corresponding peripheral edges of the semi-spherical ends 12 and 14 include tongues or extensions received in the corresponding grooves.

[0047] FIG. 10 illustrates yet another embodiment of the pet toy 10 in which paste like treats 50 may be applied to the exterior surfaces of the semi spherical ends 12, 14. The protrusions 18 and grooves 20 help retain the treats 50 on the pet toy 10. FIG. 10 also shows one or more balls B retained within the peripheral channel 28 and selected treats 52 that are secured within the peripheral channel by frictional contact between the exterior surface 28 of the curved neck 16 and the facing exterior surface of the balls B.

[0048] From the foregoing embodiments, it can be seen that the pet toy 10 serves numerous potential purposes. One purpose is to act as a retainer or receptacle for one or more balls B. Another purpose is to retain one or more types of pet treats 50, 52. Yet another purpose is for the pet toy 10 to simply serve as a chew toy in which the various curved surfaces 18, 20 of the pet toy 10 may itself stimulate animal play.

[0049] While the foregoing invention has been described with respect to one or more preferred embodiments, it shall be understood that the invention can be altered or modified commensurate with the scope of the claims appended hereto.