GB2379598A

GB2379598A - Animal excrement collector

Info

Publication number: GB2379598A
Application number: GB0209068A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Scott; Rodney William Smart
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-04-20
Filing date: 2002-04-20
Publication date: 2003-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 2022-04-20
Also published as: GB2379598B; GB0209068D0

Abstract

The invention provides a receptacle for collecting and disposing of the faeces of domestic pets, particularly dogs. A plastic bag 1 is provided for containing the faeces, and secured to the outside of the bottom 2 of the bag is a pair of hinged jaws 3 of a rigid or semi-rigid material, capable of being manipulated from inside the bag by the user, to close round faecal excrement to scrape and lift it from the surface on which the excrement is deposited. The jaws 3 may be of cardboard, the hinge being a fold line in the cardboard or formed by the plastics film of the bag. When the jaws are closed, a cylindrical as shown or square cross-section container (Figures 10 and 11) may be formed. The ends of the container may be closed by end walls of each jaw. The bag and jaws may be biodegradable.

Description

TITLE Pet faeces disposal DESCRIPTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the collection and disposal of pet faeces, particularly but not exclusively dog faeces. The invention provides a receptacle for collecting, and disposing of, such faeces.

BACKGROUND ART The problem of dogs fouling public places is one which affects most communities.

Dog owners are encouraged to pick up the faeces of their own pets, and either place them in a container provided in municipal areas such as public parks, or take them home for disposal. The most common method for achieving this end is for the pet owner to carry a supply of plastic bags, and to remove the faeces by placing one hand into a bag like a glove, pick up the faeces with the fingers through the plastic bag, and then to draw the bag over the wrist to surround the faeces and enclose it.

This method of collecting is unpleasant for the pet owner because it involves the sensation of touching, with the fingers through the wall of the bag, the faeces to be collected. The unpleasantness of the tactile sensation is exacerbated if the stool is soft formed or semi-liquid when the user's finger tips must be used to scrape up the faecal excrement from the ground. In the case of hard and rough ground, this may even involve the inadvertent tearing of the plastic bag, with the result that the user soils his/her fingers during collection.

It is an object of the invention to reduce the unpleasantness of the collection operation and to provide a collection receptacle which more efficiently and reliably picks up the waste material from the ground without leaving excess residue.

THE INVENTION The invention provides a receptacle for collecting and disposing of the faeces of domestic pets, comprising a bag made from plastic film of a size to receive the human hand and a length to extend up a human forearm beyond the wrist and, secured to the outside of the bottom of the bag, a pair of hinged jaws of a rigid or semi-rigid material, capable of being manipulated from inside the bag by the hand of a user, to close around the faecal excrement to scrape and lift it from a surface on which the excrement is deposited.

The addition of the pair of hinged jaws of rigid or semi-rigid material to a conventional plastic bag makes the collection of pet faeces much less unpleasant and greatly reduces the risk of the bag tearing when the collection is from rough or stony ground. It is the jaws, and not the bag, which are used to scrape the faeces from the ground, and the rigidity of those jaws makes it possible to achieve a relatively clean pick-up even when the stools are soft-formed or semi-liquid.

The hinged jaws are preferably made of cardboard and the hinge may be a fold line in the cardboard or may be provided by the plastics film of the bag. Preferably the jaws compromise the two halves a longitudinal cardboard container hinged along one long side or edge to open around the faeces prior to collection. Manipulation of the hinged jaws to open and close such a container is relatively easy because the fingers and thumb of the hand of the user fit between the plastic bag and the sides of the cardboard container, so that two-way movement can easily be conveyed to each of the two halves of the container to open and close it.

The container may have open or closed ends, but closed ends are preferable because they add to the rigidity of the container. The container is preferably a cardboard tube comprising, for example, two semi-cylindrical halves hinged together along a common edge so that they can close together to form a cylindrical container. A cylindrical container is preferred because the circular section gives a longitudinal rigidity to the edges of the two-jaws which close around the faecal excrement, permitting the container walls to be made of a more lightweight material than would

be needed if the same rigidity were to be created in walls of straight rather than curved cross-section. The bottom of the bag is preferably of gusseted construction, so that it can open to accommodate the width of the hinged jaws when spread apart to their maximum extent prior to the collection of the faecal material.

The hinged jaws may be secured to the plastics film material of the bag by adhesive or by ultrasonic welding, and preferably the bag and jaws are both made of biodegradable materials so that after disposal of the collected faeces the package of disposed material does not create a long-term environmental contamination.

Optionally the material of the hinged jaws may be impregnated with dried and therefore temporarily inactive microorganisms which become activated when in contact with the damp faeces to aid the digestion and ultimate decomposition of the faecal material. In addition, for the benefit of the user, the material of the hinged jaws may optionally be impregnated with a perfume or deodorant.

DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a side view of a receptacle according to the invention being manipulated by a user; Figures 2 to 5 are sections through the receptacle of Figure 1 illustrating how it is closed around faecal excrement and subsequently wrapped to contain that excrement; Figure 6 is a plan view from above of the hinged jaws, closed together, of the two halves of a tubular cardboard container which forms one component of the receptacle of Figure 1; Figure 7 is a plan view from above of the tubular cardboard container of Figure 5, but with the jaws opened apart; Figure 8 is a schematic vertical section through a pack of seven receptacles according to Figure 1, showing how they could be packaged for sale; and Figures 9 to 11 are illustrations of three alternative cross sectional shapes of cardboard containers that can be used to form the pair of hinged jaws of a receptacle according to the invention, each of Figures 9 to 11 showing the jaws in both their open and closed conditions.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 9, the receptacle of the invention comprises a plastics film bag I with a gusseted bottom 2 and a pair of hinged jaws 3 secured to the outside of the bottom of the bag. The jaws 3 are hinged at 4.

The cross sectional size of the bag 1 is such that it can receive a human hand as demonstrated in Figure 1, and the length of the bag is sufficient for it to extend up a human forearm beyond the wrist. Typically, the bag could have a width of about 150 mm and a length of 300 mm.

The jaws 3 of the embodiment of Figures 1 to 5 are provided by the two halves of a cardboard tube which is slit along its length and creased at a position diametrically opposite to that slit to create the hinge 4. The cardboard tube is secured to the bag 1 for example by beads of hot melt adhesive 5 along or adjacent to the two long edges where the tube has been slit. If desired, the tube can be adhered to the plastics film of the bag at other locations, for example in the vicinity of the hinge 4 so that the plastics film of the bag can reinforce or even provide the hinge. As an alternative to hot melt adhesive conventional cold setting adhesive may be used, or if the cardboard tube is itself coated with a thermoplastic such as polyethylene heat sealing or ultrasonic welding may be used to secure the cardboard tube to the bag 1.

Figure 2 shows the receptacle with the jaws 3 opened apart, as they are in Figure 1, to encircle the faeces to be collected. Figure 3 shows the jaws 3 closed together around the faeces, prior to lifting it. It will be clear that the scraping of the jaws 3 along the ground provides a clean lifting of the faeces from the ground, and that the jaws 3 protect the hands of the user (not illustrated in Figures 2 to 4) from contact with the faeces and protect the film of the bag 1 from scraping along the ground. Once the faeces have been lifted as shown in Figure 3, the wall of the bag 1 which until then has lain over the wrist of the user is drawn down over the hand and over the jaws 3, as shown in Figure 4. The bag 1 is then simply wrapped around the tubular container formed by the jaws 3, as shown in Figure 5, and the faeces are safely sealed and contained, and ready for disposal.

The tube providing the jaws of Figures 1 to 5 is shown as not having ends. Although this is well within the scope of the invention, it is preferred that the tube is provided with ends, which help to retain the tubular shape and resist crushing or deformation of the tube as the receptacle is being carried prior to use. Figures 6 and 7 illustrate folded tucked ends of the tube, in which an arcuate score line 6 is used to create a fold line along which tucked ends 7 can be folded downwardly to create those closed ends.

Figure 8 shows how the receptacles of Figures 1 to 7 can be packaged for retail sale.

Each tube is closed, and the attached bag wrapped around the outside very much as in Figure 5, and either 7 or 14 of the receptacles (1 week's supply) placed in a polythene sleeve having a header panel with an aperture 9 to permit the pack to be suspended at a point-of-sale location in a store or supermarket.

Figures 9 to 11 show alternative cross sections of cardboard tubes that may be used to create the hinged jaws of a receptacle according to the invention. Figure 9 shows the jaws 3 of Figures 1 to 8. The container comprises two semi-cylindrical halves 3 hinged together at 4 so that they can close together to form the cylindrical container shown in the right hand portion of Figure 8.

Figure 10 shows how the container can be made from two triangular prismatic halves 3'hinged together along a common edge at 4'so that they can close together to form a container of generally square section as shown in the right hand half of the Figure.

Figure 11 shows the container as comprising two rectangular prismatic halves 3" hinged together at 4"along a common edge so that they can close together to form a container of generally square section as shown in the right hand half of the Figure.

Figures 9 to 11 are for illustration purposes only and none shows an end panel to the two halves of the container. It should be understood, however, that in practice the provision of such end panels, one at each end of the container, will help to reinforce the rigidity of the pair of hinged jaws as the receptacle is being carried. It should also

Figures 9 to 10 exactly as illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, although in Figures 9 to 11 the bag has been omitted for reasons of simplicity.

Claims

1. A receptacle for collecting and disposing of the faeces of domestic pets, comprising : a bag made from plastics film of a size to receive a human hand and a length to extend up a human forearm beyond the wrist; and secured to the outside of the bottom of the bag, a pair of hinged jaws of a rigid or semi-rigid material, capable of being manipulated from inside the bag by the hand of a user, to close around faecal excrement to scrape and lift it from a surface on which the excrement is deposited.

2. A receptacle according to claim 1, wherein the hinged jaws are made of cardboard.

3. A receptacle according to claim 2, wherein the hinged jaws comprise two halves of a longitudinal cardboard container hinged along one long side or edge to open around the faeces.

4. A receptacle according to claim 3, wherein the container has closed ends.

5. A receptacle according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the container is a cardboard tube.

6. A receptacle according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the container comprises two semi-cylindrical halves hinged together along a common edge so that they can close together to form a cylindrical container.

7. A receptacle according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the container comprises two triangular prismatic halves hinged together along a common edge so that they can close together to form a container of generally square section.

8. A receptacle according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the container comprises two rectangular prismatic halves hinged together along a common edge so that they can close together to form a container of generally square section.

9. A receptacle according to any preceding claim, wherein the bottom of the bag is of gusseted construction.

10. A receptacle according to any preceding claim, wherein the bag and jaws are made of biodegradable materials.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS

1. A receptacle for collecting and disposing of the faeces of domestic pets, comprising : a bag made from plastics film of a size to receive a human hand and a length to extend up a human forearm beyond the wrist; and secured to the outside of the bottom of the bag, a hinged container of a rigid or semi-rigid material comprising a pair of container halves connected together by a hinge, the container halves extending from the hinge to a pair of ground- engaging jaws and being capable of being manipulated from inside the bag by the hand of a user, to close around faecal excrement to scrape and lift it from a surface on which the excrement is deposited, characterised in that: the bag is attached to the exterior of the container along two lines close to the respective jaws and remote from the hinge.

2. A receptacle according to claim 1, wherein the hinged container is made of cardboard.

3. A receptacle according to claim 2, wherein the cardboard container has a substantially lengthened dimension compared to its other dimensions, the hinge being positioned along this substantially lengthened dimension of the two halves.

4. A receptacle according to claim 3, wherein the container has closed ends.

A 6. A receptacle according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the container comprises two semi-cylindrical halves hinged together along a common edge so that they can close together to form a cylindrical container.