GB2310353A - Animal water bottle holder - Google Patents

Abstract

Water bottle (13 fig 2) is held resiliently in holder 11 by clip 2 and top 3. The holder is fitted to an animal's cage by means of securing clips 4. Top 3 stops the bottle being pushed out. Projection 5 prevents the bottle from being chewed.

Description

RECEPTACLE HOLDER This invention relates to a receptacle holder, particularly, but not limited to, a holder for a drinks bottle for pets.

Previous bottle holders have comprised various separate pieces of wire which must be wrapped around the mesh of the cage of an animal in order to secure the holder to the cage. Additionally, pieces of wire have been used to attach a water bottle to the holder. There are disadvantages associated with the use of separate pieces of wire, in that the pieces of wire are frequently lost. Additionally, it is quite a delicate operation to wrap the piece of wire around the mesh of the cage.

Previous bottle holders have had serious disadvantages associated with them because of the lack of protection they provide for the possibility of an animal in the cage gnawing through a section of the bottle, thereby causing the bottle to leak. The dangerous situation may arise whereby the animal causes the water to leak out of the bottle and is left with no water. The animal may suffer greatly in warm conditions.

It is an object of the present invention to address the above mentioned disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention a holder for an animal drinks container comprises a retaining portion, arranged to receive a drinks container; and a guard portion, for location between a drinks container retained in the retaining portion and an exterior wall of the quarters of an animal.

The retaining portion may be arranged to releasably retain the drinks container. The retaining portion may comprise resilient means for gripping said drinks container. The resilient means may be arranged to separate to allow, in use, a drinks container to be received in a retaining portion. The resilient means may comprise at least two arms. Preferably, the resilient means comprises two arms.

The retaining portion may comprise a resilient member arranged, in use, to at least partly surround the drinks container. Preferably, the resilient member surrounds more than half of the drinks container.

The guard portion may be arranged for location between a body portion of the drinks container retained in the retaining portion and the exterior wall of the quarters of the animal.

The guard portion may comprise an opening, arranged to receive a drinking tube of the drinks container. Said opening may be located in a lower section of the guard portion. The lower section may, in use, be arranged to be disposed at an angle to the vertical. The angle may be between 30 and 60". Preferably, the angle is substantially 45".

An upper section of the guard portion may, in use, be arranged to be upright.

The retaining portion may be attached to the guard portion. Preferably, the retaining portion is attached to the upper section of the guard portion.

The retaining portion may extend forwardly of said upper section. Preferably, the retaining portion extends substantially perpendicularly from the upper section of the guard portion.

The holder may comprise securing means for securing the holder to the exterior wall of the quarters of the animal. Said securing means may comprise at least one flexible member. The or each flexible member may be arranged in use, to be deformed around a section of said wall of the quarters of the animal. Where said quarters of the animal comprise a mesh cage, the or each flexible member may be arranged to be deformed around a portion of said mesh. The securing means may comprise two flexible members.

The holder may comprise a secondary retaining portion. Said secondary retaining portion may be disposed above the retaining portion. The secondary retaining portion may, in use, be arranged to deter vertical movement of the drinks container. The secondary retaining portion may be disposed substantially horizontally.

The invention includes a holder as defined above with a drinks container fitted therein.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the drinks bottle holder; and Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the drinks bottle holder holding a drinks bottle and fitted to a cage for pets.

A drinks bottle holder 10 for a pet's cage comprises a main body 11 having upper and lower projections 3 and 5 respectively. A curved bracket 2 protrudes from a central portion of the main body 11. A hole 1 in the lower projection is arranged to receive the drinking tube 14 of a drinks bottle 13 (see figure 2). The body 15 of the drinks bottle is received in the curved bracket 2.

Two lugs 4 protrude from the rear of the main body 11 of the drinks bottle holder 10. The main body 11 is, in this example, made of a sheet of metal and the lugs 4 form protrusions which have been stamped from that piece of metal. The lugs 4 may be bent into a suitable position, in which they are wrapped around the wire mesh of a pet's cage. The spacing of the two lugs 4 can be chosen to suit a particular configuration of cage.

The upper projection 3 extends forwardly of and at right angles to the main body portion 11 from an upper end thereof.

The lower projection 5 extends forwardly of and at approximately 45" to the main body portion 11. The hole 1 is situated in the centre of the lower projection 5 and has a size chosen to receive the drinking tube 14 of the drinks bottle 13.

The curved bracket 2 has a generally semi circular shape and forms two arms 6 and 7 which extend forwardly of the main body portion 11. The distance between the two arms 6 and 7 is chosen such that a bottle 13 (see figure 2) can be pushed between the arms 6 and 7 so that the bottle 13 can be gripped by the arms 6 and 7.

In use, the rear of the bottle holder 10 is attached to a pet's cage 12 (see figure 2) by means of the lugs 4. The lugs 4 are bent around the wires of the cage 12. A plurality of lugs may be provided so that the holder can be used with a variety of mesh sizes of a cage.

Once the bottle holder 10 has been attached to the cage 12, the bottle 13 can be inserted into the bottle holder 10. The drinking tube 14 for the bottle 13 is inserted into the hole 1 in the lower projection 5. The drinking tube 14 is angled to extend into the cage 12 between the pieces of the mesh.

The body 15 of the bottle 13 is then pushed into the bracket 2, where it is retained between the arms 6 and 7. The upper projection 3 prevents the bottle from being pushed upwardly and out of the bottle holder 10 by providing a surface which engages against the bottle 13.

The lower projection 5 also acts as a gnaw guard to prevent the animal in the cage from being able to gnaw at the top 16 or body 15 of the bottle 13.

The drinks bottle holder described herein has significant advantages over prior art drinks bottle holders in that the drinks bottle holder acts to both hold a drinks bottle and to prevent an animal from destroying the drinks bottle. The method of attachment used is very simple and does not require the use of loose pieces of wire which are difficult to fit and are easily lost, which pieces of wire are required by prior art devices.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims (16)

1. A holder for an animal drinks container comprises a retaining portion, arranged to receive a drinks container; and a guard portion, for location between a drinks container retained in the retaining portion and an exterior wall of the quarters of an animal.

2. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in claim 1, in which the retaining portion comprises resilient means for gripping said drinks container.

3. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in claim 2, in which the resilient means is arranged to separate to allow, in use, a drinks container to be received in the retaining portion.

4. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in either claim 2 or claim 3, in which the resilient means comprises at least two arms.

5. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the retaining portion comprises a resilient member arranged, in use, to at least partly surround a drinks container.

6. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in claim 5, in which the resilient member surrounds more than half of the drinks container.

7. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the guard portion may be arranged for location between a body portion of the drinks container retained in the retaining portion and the exterior wall of the quarters of the animal.

8. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the guard portion may comprise an opening, arranged to receive a drinking tube of the drinks container.

9. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the retaining portion is attached to the guard portion.

10. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the holder comprises securing means for securing the holder to the exterior wall of the quarters of the animal.

11. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in claim 10, in which the securing means comprises at least one flexible member which is arranged, in use, to be deformed around a section of said wall of the quarters of the animal.

12. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the holder comprises a secondary retaining portion.

13. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in claim 12, in which the secondary retaining portion is disposed above the retaining portion.

14. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13, in which the secondary retaining portion is, in use, arranged to deter vertical movement of the drinks container.

15. A holder for an animal drinks container as claimed in any preceding claim with a drinks container fitted therein.

16. A holder for an animal drinks container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.