GB2428550A

GB2428550A - A pet bed

Info

Publication number: GB2428550A
Application number: GB0515784A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Luise Janniche
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-07-30
Filing date: 2005-07-30
Publication date: 2007-02-07
Also published as: GB2430343A; GB0515784D0; GB0614221D0

Abstract

A pet bed comprising a hard hollow base 2 and a detachable wall section 3. Soft insulating bedding 4 is placed in the base and covered by a waterproof laminar sheet 2. The sheet is held in position by being held tightly between the base and wall sections. The sheet prevents the animal from gaining access to the bedding. If the laminar sheet becomes damaged it may be easily replaced. An optional cage device may fitted to the unit in order that the cat or dog may be confined.

Description

1 2428550

I DESCRIPTION

3 Title: Chew- and scratch-resistant pet bed.

Background: It is a common problem for dog owners that the dog 6 destroys the bedding that it has been provided with by chewing, biting, 7 scratching or by using the bed to play tug-o-war with their kennel mates.

9 This has several negative implications such as a high cost of frequent replacement of bedding, danger to the dog if it swallows parts of the 11 material and general mess in the house or in the kennel when the 12 destroyed pieces (in particular stuffing) is scattered. Such destructive 13 dogs can be impossible to keep on soft bedding be it in the house or in 14 the kennel and the consequence is often that the dog is confined to live in an outdoor kennel with no bedding. The dog sleeps on a concrete 16 floor, tiles, rubber matting or a wooden slab or pallet. This can cause 17 misery because it is cold and hard. Furthermore medical conditions, 18 such as arthritis, can show clinical symptoms much earlier due to the 19 cold surface and the dog may develop bare, fur-less patches or callus by rubbing on the hard ground.

22 Owners sometimes try to alleviate these problems by providing straw or 23 paper for the dog to sleep in, but this has its own drawbacks: pests 24 (mites) can live and breed in the straw and allergic reactions are sometimes suffered by the dog due to dust. The straw! paper bedding 26 also causes general mess as it gets dragged outside and blown around 27 by the wind causing extra work and irritation to the owner.

2 Another problem for dog owners in general is that most dogs - including 3 the ones who don't tend to destroy their bed - get their soft bedding wet 4 and smelly because they go on their bed with wet paws and/ or wet coat whereby the bed-material absorbs the water. Once the water is deep in 6 the bed, it takes long to evaporate. This means that the dog's bed 7 remains clammy, cold and smelly long after the dog itself has dried up.

8 The warm, damp bed also causes formation of condensation on the 9 underside, which faces the floor. Mould often grows in these conditions.

Owners are forever washing and drying dog bed covers and dog bed 11 stuffing in an attempt to keep the dog bed dry and hygienic. This is time 12 consuming, expensive and environmentally unfriendly.

Statement of invention: According to a first aspect of the present 16 invention there is provided a pet bed comprising: 17 a laminar sheet; 18 abase portion; 19 a wall extending upwardly from the base portion; wherein in use, a portion of the laminar sheet is held between the base 21 portion and the wall and an enclosed void is defined therebetween.

23 Thus a pet such as a dog may rest on the laminar sheet, may be 24 provided with shelter from draughts by the upwardly extending wall, and I may be provided comfort and insulation by the laminar sheet and/ or the 2 void and cannot gain access to the void.

4 Typically the wall extends circumferentially around the base portion as well as extending upwardly therefrom.

7 Preferably bedding such as hollow fibre, kapok, down, wood-wool is 8 provided in the void to increase the comfort and/ or insulation provided to 9 the pet.

11 Preferably the laminar sheet is a waterproof laminar sheet. The laminar 12 sheet may be a textile sheet such as waterproof-coated fabric, 13 waterproof-coated artificial fur of fleece, reinforced rubber, Kevlasail 14 cloth or laminated textile.

16 Preferably the pet bed comprises a release mechanism to release the 17 wall from the base portion.

19 Thus a user can separate the wall from the base portion and release and replace the laminar sheet should it be soiled or for any other reason.

22 Preferably the pet bed comprises attachment means for attachment to 23 the cage.

1 Thus certain embodiments of the invention comprises a cage, typically 2 connected to an upper end of the wall.

4 Advantages: This pet bed ensures that pets (in particular dogs), which tend to chew their bedding, can sleep in a safe, warm, draft free and 6 hygienic environment without destroying this.

8 Detailed description: An embodiment of the present invention will now be 9 described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: 11 Fig.1 is a front sectional view of a pet bed in accordance with one 12 embodiment of the present invention; 13 Fig.2 is a top view of the Fig. 1 pet bed; and 14 Fig.3 is an end view of the Fig. I pet bed with a cage; Fig.4 is an enlarged view of a release mechanism of the Fig.1 pet bed.

19 The rigid base (item 2) is a round or oval bowl-shaped structure with a flat bottom to make it sit sturdily on the ground. This is made from plastic 21 or other reasonably hard material. The round shape of the base means 22 that the dog cannot grip it with its jaws in order to chew. The size of the 23 hollow area in this bowl-shape is sufficiently big to, when filled with 24 insulation material, give support, warmth and comfort to the resting dog.

The thickness of the sides of the bowl-shaped base is sufficient to give it I strength even during rough handling and transport. The top edge of the 2 bowl-shaped base is wide enough to secure attachments (item 7) for the 3 laminar sheet (item 1). These attachments should be secured evenly on 4 the upper edge of the base in sufficient number to keep the laminar sheet in place. The attachments can be in form of any gripping or 6 hooking device.

8 The laminar sheet (item 1) is cut to fit the attachment devices on the 9 edge of the rigid base. When the laminar sheet is attached, it covers the void, which may contain insulating filling (item 4) in the hollow bowl- 11 shaped base.

13 On the edge of the bowl-shaped base are also devices that are used to 14 firmly attach the wall (item 3). These devices are preferably a hooksnap system, which grip the wall when this is pressed down upon the base. A 16 release channel allows a screw driver or similar tool to release the snap- 17 hooks when pushed in from outside of the bed.

19 The wall (item 3) is shaped to fit the top-edge of the base and when it is in place, it firmly jams the laminar sheet (item 1) between the base (item 21 2) and the wall (item 3) forming a watertight seal that keeps the filling 22 (item 4) underneath dry from wet paws, wet coat and during cleaning.

23 The seal also prevents dirt and pests from accessing the filling.

I The wall (item 3) has enough height to give the dog draft protection. The 2 waIl is made from an extremely tough material such as hard plastic or 3 similar, so that the dog's attempt to destroy this by chewing will be 4 unsuccessful. The very top part of the wall can be reinforced with a metal mesh or sheet to withstand chewing attempts. The wall is partly 6 hollow to accommodate the attachment devices (item 6 & 7) and in order 7 to have some insulating effect.

9 Some pets, particularly dogs, are obsessive "diggers" in the sense that they spend a large amount of time digging at the place where they are 11 going to lie down. This can be very wearing on the laminar sheet (item 1) 12 and may finally cause damage to it. In the event that such a dog ruins 13 the laminar sheet with its claws by digging or for any other reason it is 14 desirable to the owner to be able to replace the cover without having to replace the whole bed. The lock-fitting device by which the wall unit is 16 attached to the base unit means that a person can access the hook (item 17 6) through the push-release channel by using a screw driver or similar 18 tool and quickly separate the wall from the base. A new piece of laminar 19 sheet can be fitted and the wall and base reassembled. The release hooks (item 6) extend from the base of the wall unit into the upper 21 surface of the base unit, where they click into one slot each and tightly 22 jam together the two units (items 2 and 3).

24 As an optional extra or further alternative embodiment to this dog bed, a cage can be attached so that the dog can be confined to its bed at I certain times, such as night time or other times when it can not be 2 supervised be the owner. The cage (item 5) fits on top of the wall (item 3 3) and the base (item 2) and has a door for the dog to go in and out. The 4 cage is preferably attached to the dog bed by hooks that slot in to the push release channels in the base.

6 This means that the owners have a choice: they can have the pet bed on 7 its own or they can have the additional cage to confine the dog. Often 8 dog owners will want to use the cage during the dog's puppy stage and 9 then use the bed on its own at the later stage of the dog's life.

II

Key to drawings page 1/1 W: Holes for laminar sheet fasteners.

X: Slots cut for lid catches. Channels cut for push release mechanism.

Y: The cage hooks into the release channels.

Z: Channel in base for push release.

V: Cloth-hooks fit in to hole in base

Claims

I

2 CLAIMS: 3 1) A pet bed comprising: 4 a laminar sheet; a base portion; 6 a wall extending upwardly from the base portion; 7 wherein in use, a portion of the laminar sheet is held between the 8 base portion and the wall and an enclosed void is defined 9 therebetween.

11 2 A pet bed as claimed in claim I wherein bedding, such as hollow 12 fibre, kapok, down, wood-wool, is provided in said void.

14 3 A pet bed as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the laminar sheet is formed substantially from a waterproof material.

17 4 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a 18 release mechanism to release the wall from the base portion.

5 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising 21 attachment means for attachment to cage.

23 6 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, consisting of a lower 24 body and an upper body joined together and in so doing captures a sheet of material, such that a dog or other animal, cannot rt 1 access the edges to lift the material to scratch, rip, chew or bite, 2 thus providing a safe, non chewable, draft-protected wall around a 3 sleeping area that contains, beneath the captured sheet, a void in 4 its centre, filled with insulating material.

6 7 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, which has a round, 7 square, rectangular or oval shape.

9 8 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the draft protecting walls are of any height.

12 9 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the draft 13 protecting wall is of varying height.

10 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the base and 16 wall units are made from any robust material.

18 11 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the wall is 19 further reinforced by metal sheet or metal mesh.

21 12 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the base part 22 and the wall part are jammed tightly together and hence holding 23 the laminated sheet in place without any further attachment of the 24 sheet.

1 13 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the laminated 2 sheet is secured on to upper or lower embodiments before 3 assembly of the pet bed.

14 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the wall part 6 and base part are fitted together by any device, be it hook-snap, 7 screw action or any other method which can be easily undone by 8 a person.

15 A pet bed as claimed in any preceding claim, where the wall part 11 and the base part are fitted together permanently by use of glue, 12 nails, screws or other techniques that are not intended to be 13 parted again.

16 A pet bed as in any preceding claims, where the top and base 16 part fit together by any device being hook-snap, shrew action or 17 other device, which can be opened easily by a person.