GB2627293A

GB2627293A - An animal transport device

Info

Publication number: GB2627293A
Application number: GB2302363.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ramsey Kimberley; Agyei-Mensah Michael
Original assignee: Michael Agyei Mensah
Current assignee: Michael Agyei Mensah
Priority date: 2023-02-20
Filing date: 2023-02-20
Publication date: 2024-08-21
Also published as: GB202302363D0

Abstract

An animal transport device 99 which comprises of an upper housing 1 that defines the pet transport volume and a lower platform 2 having an open face A to allow the placement of the animal into the volume from below. The upper housing comprises of two parts 3 and 4, which are hinged and clipped 13 together. The side faces have perforations 7 (fig.1:5) with at least one mesh window to allow the animal to see out. Two handles are provided to either carry using handle 10 or pull using handle 9 along the ground on wheels or casters 22. The lower platform has a substantially planar part 21 to receive an animal, which is adapted to slide into the upper housing and has padding 14 on the inner surface of the platform. The closure between the upper housing and lower platform may comprise of a ferromagnetic means (fig.4:41), clips, or thumbscrew connection.

Description

ANIMAL TRANSPORT DEVICE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an animal transport device, in particular a device for transporting animals such as pets; more particularly but not exclusively a transport device for transporting small pets such as cats.

Background

Many people enjoy ownership of pet animals in increasing numbers of societies.

These pets, in particular cats, can be difficult to transport, for example during travel of an owner, or for attendance at the veterinarian.

In particular it can be very problematic for the owner to insert the cat into a container, as the cat is liable to refuse to enter a door into a small volume. As a result the owner is liable to be scratched as the cat resists entrapment.

Prior Art

WO 2018 017 787 (DEPAULIS) discloses a pet carrier having a removable bottom which allows a shell to be placed over the pet from above, after which the bottom is slid beneath the shell and secured thereto, wherein the shell comprises a flexible cover 25 such as a canvas cover removably attached to a stiff frame.

EP 0 720 949 (RADOT) discloses a removable base container, having a bottom and a peripheral wall, characterized by the fact that the bottom is constituted by a sliding panel between two glissieres connected rigidly to the runners of the peripheral wall and movable between a closed position closing off the bottom of the container and a disengaged position outside the container releasing the bottom.

CN 210 492 083 (XIA et al) discloses an iron wire hamster cage with drawers, and relates to the technical field of hamster breeding cages. The novel pet cage comprises 35 a cage body, an opening, sliding grooves, limiting plates, a sliding plate door, supporting legs, a drawer and balls. The cage body is fixedly connected to the position over the two supporting legs. An opening is formed in the middle of the front surface of the cage body; the two sliding grooves are formed in the left side and the right side of the opening. The positions of the two sliding grooves correspond to each other. The limiting plate is fixedly connected to the bottoms of the two sliding grooves. The sliding 5 plate door is connected between the two sliding grooves in a sliding mode. The positions of the two supporting legs at the bottom of the cage body correspond to each other; the hamster cage has the advantages that the hamster cage is simple in structure, the cage body is made of the iron wires, accordingly, summer hamster breeding environments can be guaranteed, the drawer can be additionally arranged at 10 the bottom of the cage body, and sundries in the cage body can be cleaned without changing the hamster cage or opening the drawer.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided an animal transport device comprising: an upper housing and a lower platform; wherein the upper housing defines an internal pet transport volume, having an open face lowermost allowing placement of the animal into the volume from below, and side faces arranged to allow the animal to see out of the volume; and the lower platform comprises a substantially planar part arranged to receive an animal and adapted to slide into the upper housing.

In some embodiments of the device the device comprises a bipartite upper, advantageously such that a user is enabled to easily access the animal once in the volume, so as to attend to it or release it from the volume.

In some such embodiments of the device the upper comprises a hinge, advantageously such that the upper parts may hinge open to access the volume.

In some embodiments of the device the device comprises perforated walls, 30 advantageously such that the volume is ventilated for the animal.

In some embodiments of the device the upper comprises a handle to transport the device and some such embodiments of the device the device comprises a hinged handle and wheels to transport the device. For example the handle may be elongated and extend above the device in manner similar to wheeled luggage. Advantageously this may allow for the device and animal to be moved easily by most users.

In some embodiments of the device the device comprises transparent side faces, for example formed in plastic, so as to allow visibility of the animal to check its welfare, as well as provide interest for the animal itself.

In some such embodiments of the device the device comprises one or more transparent monolithic moulded part and/or the device comprises windows and/or mesh panels.

In some embodiments of the device the lower platform provides a closure for the lower face of the upper housing, advantageously such that the tower face may be used to place the animal in the volume, and the platform used to close the volume.

In some embodiments of the device the device comprises a connection means between the upper housing and lower platform. This connection means may be easily formed, as it advantageously may not need to support weight, for example wherein the platform is supported on the housing and the platform is slidably engaged into the housing. The connection means may comprise a locking means acting to prevent or limit reverse sliding after engagement.

In some embodiments of the device for example the connection means comprises a slide interference connection means, and which may comprise a ferromagnetic connection means.

In some embodiments of the device the connection means comprises a clip connection means.

In some embodiments of the device the connection means comprises a thumbscrew connection means In some embodiments of the device the device comprises padding on the platform.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the Figures in which:

Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in 10 Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a reverse exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 shows a second isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; and Figure 13 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the device as shown in Figure 1.

Detailed Description of Figures

With reference to the figures there is shown an embodiment of a animal transport device 99 generally comprising: an upper housing 1 and a lower platform 2; wherein the upper housing defines an internal pet transport volume, having an open face A lowermost allowing placement of the animal into the volume from below, and side faces arranged to allow the animal to see through all sides of the volume; and the lower platform 2 comprises a substantially planar part 21 arranged to receive an animal and adapted to slide into the upper housing.

With particular reference to the pictured embodiment the upper housing 1 is formed as two monolithic parts 3,4, formed in a transparent plastic or polymer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate or acrylic or similar.

The upper comprises a basal part 4 and a lid part 3, which parts may be hinged together at a hinge, such that the lid part may be hinged open on the hinge and the animal held in the internal volume may be lifted out. Alternatively the upper may be clip together.

The lid part 3 includes an indented top face 8, into which indented top face there is located a pivoting first handle 10, such that the first handle pivots upwards for use, and pivots down into a recession 11 in the indented top face 8. The first handle 10 is centrally located and extends longitudinally along the device axis, so as to allow a user to carry the embodiment easily, with a central balance point.

A second handle 9 is a square U shape, and a has elongated legs, so as to provide a long handle, hinged at one end of a rectangular indentation in the top face.

The second handle may therefore be pivoted upwards to allow the embodiment to be pulled along the ground for example. When pivoted down it may be envisaged that the 15 second handle bump or friction, interference or tolerance fits into a further indentation 12 having a chamfered end to aid in gripping.

The second handle 9 pivots through approximately 110 degrees, coming to a rest and supported when in the position, such that the second handle may be left at an angle to 20 vertical, for use when and as needed.

The lid part 3 and the basal part 4 in the pictured embodiment both comprise mating annular lips, which mate and limit lateral movement when mated, comprising male and female flange parts.

Two pivoting clips 13 are arranged to pivot on the basal part 4 of the upper, on either long side, and clip onto and over the lips of the lid part 3 of the upper, thereby holding the upper 1 together.

The basal part of the upper comprises four wheels 22 in the corners, such that the embodiment may be wheeled about.

The wheels 22 are indented into the corners of the basal part of the upper and comprise caster wheels, to allow greater movement.

The basal part of the upper and the lid part of the upper both include perforated sidewalls, so as to allow ventilation to the internal volume. The perforations 5,7 are triangular, narrowing to a rounded point as they extend away from proximate the lips.

The lower platform 2 is substantially rectangular and slides into and out of a rectangular hole in the lowest surface of the basal part of the upper. Such hole continues upwards to provide an engagement lip for the platform.

The inner surface of the platform comprises a padding 14 covering, for added comfort 10 for the animal. It may be envisaged that the padding is covered with a wipeclean surface, for minimal friction when sliding the platform under the animal in use.

The engagement lip of the platform allows for easier grip for the user when manipulating the platform, and includes an indented handgrip open downwards to aid 15 the user in pulling the platform.

The platform 2 slides into the upper laterally, whereby the platform and lower part of the upper comprise mating flanges, such that the platform is vertically supported by an interference fit when in place in the upper, so as to prevent the platform displacing 20 vertically, forming a vertically adapted connection means.

In order to prevent the platform displacing or returning laterally the platform and forming a laterally adapted connection means, the platform and the upper share a ferromagnetic connection means comprising multiple small ferromagnetic parts 41.

In use the user will: Remove the platform from the upper and place the upper over the animal, passing the animal through the hole; Slide the platform under the animal, and into the upper; and Transport the embodiment and the animal.

As shown in the figures, the castor wheels cause the platform to be elevated by 10-20mm from the ground. It may be envisaged that the platform may thereby be slid towards the animal, such that the animal is prompted to lift their legs, and the platform may be slid under the legs. In other embodiments the platform may be near to or at ground level in use, for example where the castors are spring loaded, retractable or not present. In still further embodiments the platform may engage into the housing at an incline to the ground to allow for clearance of the wheels at a lowest point.

The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of protection as defined by the claims.

Claims

Claims 1. An animal transport device comprising: an upper housing and a lower platform; wherein the upper housing defines an internal pet transport volume, having an open face lowermost allowing placement of the animal into the volume from below, and side faces arranged to allow the animal to see out of the volume; and the lower platform comprises a substantially planar part arranged to receive an animal and adapted to slide into the upper housing.
2. An animal transport device according to claim 1 comprising a bipartite upper.
3. An animal transport device according to claim 2 wherein the upper comprises a hinge.
4. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising perforated walls.
5. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising a handle to transport the device.
6. An animal transport device according to cany preceding claim comprising wheels to transport the device.
7. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising transparent side faces.
8. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising a transparent monolithic moulded part.
9. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising one or more windows.
10. An animal transport device according to claim 9 wherein the windows comprise a mesh panel.
11. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim wherein the lower platform provides a closure for the lower face of the upper housing.
12. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising a connection means between the upper housing and lower platform.
13. An animal transport device according to claim 12 comprising a slide interference connection means.
14. An animal transport device according to claim 12 or 13 comprising ferromagnetic connection means.
15. An animal transport device according to 12, 13 or 14 comprising clip connection means
16. An animal transport device according to any of claims 12 to 15 comprising thumbscrew connection means.
17. An animal transport device according to any preceding claim comprising padding on the platform.