JP6479121B1 - Pet toilet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pet toilet capable of decomposing pet excrement, which can reduce the manufacturing cost, reduce the overall weight of the apparatus, and does not require a power source for driving a motor or the like. A toilet for pets that is highly versatile in several respects and that is easy to use even in ordinary households.
SOLUTION: A pet support 6 provided with an opening 6A for excretion, a decomposition treatment tank 8 disposed below the pet support 6, and a decomposition treatment material in which excrement Q is accommodated in the decomposition treatment tank 8. A pet toilet comprising a stirring means 10 for stirring and mixing with 40 and a drive mechanism for driving the stirring means 10, the drive mechanism including a power conversion means 14 for converting the operation of the pet P into a driving force of the stirring means. It was.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a pet toilet capable of decomposing pet excrement.

  Conventionally, there is Patent Document 1 shown below as prior art document information related to this type of pet toilet. The pet toilet described in Patent Document 1 includes a container having an open top, an auger having a stirring shaft and a stirring blade is disposed inside the container, and pet excrement is disposed at the bottom of the container. The structure which accommodated the pellet-shaped processing material which decomposes | disassembles this.

  Furthermore, when a pet such as a cat excretes excreta above the container, the sensor senses the presence of excrement that has fallen onto the pelletized material, and the auger is rotated by the first motor disposed outside the container. Thus, there is an explanation to the effect that the excrement is mixed with the pellet-shaped processing material and the decomposition process of the excrement proceeds.

  A bellows-like lid for sealing the container during the decomposition process of excrement is provided above the container so as to be openable and closable. A second motor for opening and closing the lid is provided outside the container. Is provided. In addition, a plurality of rakes are provided on the lower surface of the lid, and by repeating the opening and closing operation of the lid several times, the rake causes the solid organic matter in the excrement to fall to the pulverization start point in the container, and at the same time the pellet It describes that it plays the role of leveling the surface layer of the surface treatment material.

JP 2005-124544 A (paragraphs 0022 to 0027, FIGS. 1 and 4)

  However, in the pet toilet described in Patent Document 1, a bellows-shaped lid for opening and closing the upper part of the container, a first motor for rotating and driving the universal auger, and a second motor for opening and closing the lid Because there are many components such as a microprocessor for controlling the operation of the second motor and the safety system, the manufacturing cost is inevitably high, and the weight of the entire device is increased, so that it is difficult to use in a general household. There was a problem.

  In addition, the pet toilet described in Patent Document 1 requires a power source for driving a motor and a microprocessor, so that there is an inconvenience that places where the pet toilet can be installed are limited.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its object is to reduce the manufacturing cost, reduce the weight of the entire apparatus, and can be installed because no power supply is particularly required. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a pet toilet that is highly versatile in several respects and that is easy to use even in ordinary households.

The invention of claim 1 is a pet toilet capable of decomposing pet excrement, a pet support having an excretion opening, a decomposition treatment tank disposed below the pet support,
Agitation means for agitating and mixing the excrement with the decomposition treatment material accommodated in the decomposition treatment tank; and a drive mechanism for driving the agitation means, wherein the drive mechanism controls pet operation of the agitation means. look including a power converting means for converting the driving force, the stirring means is constituted by a stirring blade that is rotatably supported by said decomposition treatment tank, the power conversion means, the one end of the rotary shaft of the stirring blade A friction surface for receiving movement of a limb tip or a nail of a pet is formed on an outer periphery of the operation body, the operation body being connected and rotatably supported outside the decomposition treatment tank; This is a toilet for pets.

The invention of claim 2 is the pet litter box of claim 1, wherein the stirring blade is characterized in that it is a spiral screw blade.

A third aspect of the present invention, the pet toilet according to claim 2, wherein the helical screw blade, the inner and outer ends of the spiral member cut out from a single flat plate, the rotary shaft The screw blades are three-dimensional truncated cones that are fixed in the vicinity of both ends.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pet toilet according to the third aspect , the direction of the rotation axis is arranged substantially horizontally, and the decomposition treatment tank extends along a generatrix of the frustum-shaped screw blades. An inclined bottom surface is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the pet toilet according to the fourth aspect , a discharge port for discharging the contents of the decomposition treatment tank in the vicinity of the small-diameter side end portion of the truncated cone-shaped screw blade on the bottom surface And a cover for opening and closing the discharge port.

The invention of claim 6 is the pet litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the drive mechanism, interposed between the rotary shaft of the stirring blade and the operated member A reduction gear part is included.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the pet toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the other end of the rotary shaft, a manual handle for rotating the stirring blade manually is provided It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, a pet toilet capable of decomposing pet excrement, a pet support having an excretion opening, a disassembly treatment tank disposed below the pet support, and excretion An agitation means for agitating and mixing an object with the decomposition treatment material accommodated in the decomposition treatment tank; and a drive mechanism for driving the agitation means, wherein the drive mechanism drives a pet to drive the agitation means. Since the agitation means is driven by the operation of the pet, all of the motors, microprocessors, etc. that were provided in the conventional configuration are unnecessary, and the production cost is reduced. In addition, the overall weight of the device is small, and there is no need for a power source for driving a motor. Easy pet toilet and was obtained.

  In particular, the stirring means is composed of a stirring blade rotatably supported in the decomposition treatment tank, the power conversion means is connected to one end of a rotating shaft of the stirring blade, and the decomposition treatment tank If the configuration includes an object to be operated that is rotatably supported on the outside, and a friction surface is formed on the outer periphery of the object to receive the movement of the tip of the limb of the pet or the nail, the pet sharpens the nail. The agitating blade rotates together with the object to be operated in order to move the nail near the outer periphery of the object to be operated, or to move near the outer periphery of the object at the tip of the limb. Will do. Furthermore, since the friction surface is formed on the outer periphery of the operated body, the pet operation is easily converted into the rotation of the operated body and the stirring blade.

  Further, if the stirring blade is a spiral screw blade, compared to a non-screw blade in which a plurality of blades independent of each other are arranged in the radial direction, the decomposition treatment material such as a pellet in the decomposition treatment tank is used. Since the rotational resistance in the buried state is small and it is easily driven to rotate even with a relatively weak force, there is an advantage that the operation of the pet can be easily converted into the rotation of the operated body and the stirring blade.

  Furthermore, the spiral screw blades are three-dimensional frustoconical screws formed by fixing the inner and outer ends of a spiral member cut out from a single flat plate in the vicinity of both ends of the rotating shaft. Compared to a cylindrical screw blade with a plurality of screw blades arranged adjacent to each other along the rotation axis, the blade configuration requires a high degree of skill and a special jig to join the screw blades together. Therefore, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost of the helical screw blade can be kept low.

  Further, if the direction of the rotating shaft is arranged substantially horizontally, and the decomposition treatment tank has a bottom surface inclined along the generatrix of the frustoconical screw blade, Since a large volume is obtained in the vicinity of the lowest bottom surface, a large amount of decomposition treatment material corresponding to the volume can be accommodated, and a pet toilet having a high decomposition treatment capacity can be obtained.

  Also, a configuration is provided in which a discharge port for discharging the contents of the decomposition treatment tank and a cover for opening and closing the discharge port are provided in the vicinity of the small-diameter side end of the frustoconical screw blade on the bottom surface. For example, when the disassembly process proceeds to some extent, for example, the administrator opens the cover, and the rotation direction is such that the contents of the disassembly tank approach the small-diameter side of the truncated cone screw blade via the object to be operated. When the frustoconical screw blades are rotated, the fermented soil produced in the decomposition treatment tank (such as substances generated by decomposition of excrement and decomposition treatment materials) is discharged from the discharge port. Moreover, the liquid part of the excrement is inevitably gathered at the place of the lowest bottom surface due to the action of gravity, i.e., the part separated from the discharge port formed on the small diameter side. There is little risk that parts will inadvertently leak from the gap between the outlet and the cover.

  Further, if the drive mechanism includes a reduction gear portion interposed between the rotating shaft of the stirring blade and the operated body, the pet's claw or the extremity may be arranged on the outer periphery of the operated body. Even when the applied rotational torque is weak, the object to be operated and the stirring blade are easily rotated through the rotating shaft, so that the excrement decomposition action can be advanced.

  Further, if the other end of the rotating shaft is provided with a manual handle for manually rotating the stirring blade, the rotation of the stirring blade based on the operation of the pet and the excrement When it seems that the decomposition is insufficient, the stirring blade is manually rotated, or the stirring blade is rotated manually in a predetermined direction to discharge the decomposition treatment material and decomposed excrement from the opening. The administrator can do it efficiently through the manual handle.

It is a perspective explanatory view showing the appearance of the pet toilet according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing the inside of the pet toilet according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is fracture side surface explanatory drawing which shows the usage method of the pet toilet which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is another fracture | rupture side explanatory drawing which shows the usage method of the pet toilet which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the pet support body of the pet toilet which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the procedure which manufactures the stirring blade of the pet toilet which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pet toilet 50 according to the present embodiment has a function of decomposing the excrement Q of the pet P, and includes a generally cubic or rectangular parallelepiped outer box portion 2. .
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the outer box portion 2 includes a cylindrical body 4 having a substantially vertical axis and a square or rectangular cross section, and the upper end and the lower end of the cylindrical body 4 are generally open. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a rectangular plate-shaped pet support 6 is detachably fitted to the upper end of the cylindrical body 4, and an elliptical shape or the like is formed at the center of the pet support 6. An excretion opening 6A is formed. Although the material which comprises the outer box part 2 and the pet support body 6 is not specifically limited, For example, it is good to manufacture with the compression material etc. which compressed the cedar board. Legs 5 made of rubber or the like are attached to the four corners at the lower end of the cylindrical body 4. In addition, a recessed handle portion 4H for use when carrying the pet toilet 50 is formed on a part of the left and right side surfaces of the cylindrical body 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a trapezoidal decomposition treatment tank 8 is disposed below the pet support 6 in plan view. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a flange portion 8 </ b> F projecting laterally outward is formed at the upper end of the decomposition treatment tank 8, and the decomposition treatment tank 8 is connected to the outer box portion 2 via the flange portion 8 </ b> F. It is supported on the flange part 4F which protruded inward sideward from a part of upper end of the cylindrical body 4 of this.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a spiral screw blade 10 (an example of the stirring device and the stirring blade) as a stirring device is rotatably disposed inside the decomposition treatment tank 8.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the screw blade 10 is attached to a linear rotary shaft 12 pivotally supported in a substantially horizontal direction on a pair of front and rear side walls 8 </ b> A and 8 </ b> B facing each other in the decomposition treatment tank 8. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, on the outside of the front side wall 8 </ b> A of the decomposition treatment tank 8, a disk-like object 14 (an example of power conversion means) is provided on a shaft 13 that is substantially parallel to the rotary shaft 12. It is pivotally supported. A friction surface 14 </ b> A is formed on the outer peripheral surface or front surface of the operated body 14 to receive movement of the pet's claw or extremity. The friction surface 14 </ b> A may be formed, for example, by sticking cedar board, corrugated paper, jeans cloth or the like to the surface of the operated body 14.

The shaft 13 of the operated body 14 and the one end 12A of the rotating shaft 12 described above are connected via a first reduction gear portion 18A that reduces the rotational speed of the operated body 14 and transmits it to the rotating shaft 12. Yes.
The operated body 14 and the first reduction gear portion 18A constitute a driving mechanism that drives the stirring means, that is, the helical screw blades 10, and the operated body 14 controls the operation of the pet by the driving force of the screw blades 10. It functions as a power conversion means for converting to.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, a crank-shaped manual handle 20 for manually rotating and driving the screw blade 10 is provided outside the side wall 8B on the rear side of the decomposition treatment tank 8. It has been. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the manual handle 20 and the other end 12 </ b> B of the rotary shaft 12 are connected via a second reduction gear portion 22 </ b> A that reduces the rotational speed of the manual handle 20 and transmits it to the rotary shaft 12. It is connected.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the spiral screw blade 10 cuts out a spiral member from a single flat plate 70, and as shown in FIGS. 6B and 2, the inner end of the spiral member is cut. 10A and the outer end 10B are three-dimensionalized by being fixed in the vicinity of both ends of the rotating shaft 12, respectively, and therefore have a generally frustoconical outer shape as a whole.
Although the material which comprises the decomposition processing tank 8, the screw blade | wing 10, and the rotating shaft 12 is not specifically limited, Considering durability etc., it is good to manufacture from stainless steel, such as SUS304, for example.

  More specifically, for the purpose of giving strength to the screw blades 10, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), two portions of the three-dimensional spiral member are connected by a reinforcing stay 10C having an L shape or the like. The end 12A of the rotary shaft 12 is passed through the through hole formed in the reinforcing stay 10C, and the vicinity of the outer end 10B of the spiral member is bent to form the reinforcing arm 10D. The tip 10E of the screw blade 10 It is good to join to another place by welding.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the direction of the rotating shaft 12 is arranged substantially horizontally, and the decomposition treatment tank 8 has a substantially semiconical truncated cone shape along the generatrix of the truncated conical screw blade 10. The bottom surface 8C is provided. As a result, the bottom surface 8C has an inclination that gradually decreases toward the front.

  Further, on the bottom surface 8C of the decomposition treatment tank 8, a discharge port 8D for discharging the contents of the decomposition treatment tank 8 and a discharge port 8D from the outside are provided near the small-diameter end of the truncated cone-shaped screw blade 10. A closing outlet cover 30 is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the discharge port cover 30 is supported on the outer surface of the right side wall 8R of the decomposition treatment tank 8 so as to be swingable in a flap shape via a hinge 30A, and in the vicinity of the right side wall 8R. It is possible to manually switch between an open posture and a closed posture by using an operation lever 30B extending backward from.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the base end portion of the operation lever 30 </ b> B is rotatably supported near the tip end of the shaft member 30 </ b> C extending horizontally from a part of the right side wall 8 </ b> R of the decomposition treatment tank 8. ing.
A part on the front end side of the operation lever 30B and the vicinity of the central portion of the discharge port cover 30 are connected by a linear connecting rod 30E having ball joints at both ends.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the outlet cover 30 can be opened and closed by operating the tip of the operation lever 30B protruding from the slit 4S formed in a part of the cylindrical body 4 up and down.
The discharge port cover 30 is opened by a coil spring 30F that connects the vicinity of the center of the discharge port cover 30 and a part of the decomposition treatment tank 8 (corresponding to the “open” position of the operation lever 30B shown in FIG. 1). And a closed posture (corresponding to the “closed” position of the operation lever 30B shown in FIG. 1). In FIG. 5, the coil spring 30F is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the processing object storage tray 45 is disposed below the discharge port 8 </ b> D so as to be able to be drawn out, so that the discharge port 8 </ b> D is discharged from the discharge port 8 </ b> D with the discharge port cover 30 opened. The fermented soil (the substance generated by decomposing the excrement Q and the decomposition treatment material 40, etc.) is stored in the object storage tray 45. The workpiece storage tray 45 may be manufactured by resin injection molding or the like.

  Moreover, in the decomposition process of the excrement Q by the decomposition processing material 40, although water vapor | steam generate | occur | produces by the heat_generation | fever around 50 degreeC accompanying fermentation, this water vapor | steam inhibits fermentation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, an exhaust hole 8E is formed in a part above the decomposition treatment tank 8, and the exhaust hole 8E and a ventilation fan (not shown) are connected by an exhaust duct 60 or the like. It is recommended to forcibly exhaust water vapor and odor from the decomposition treatment tank 8.

Here, an example of a specific method for using the pet toilet 50 will be described.
What the administrator does as a preparatory work is to place the pet toilet 50 in a space where a pet P such as a cat lives, confirm that the outlet 8D is closed by the outlet cover 30, and It is only necessary to remove the rectangular plate-shaped pet support 6 from the upper end, put an appropriate amount of the decomposition treatment material 40 into the decomposition treatment tank 8, and return the pet support 6 to the upper end of the outer box portion 2.

  As the decomposition treatment material 40, commercially available materials may be used, but dead leaves, bark, sawdust, rice bran, rice husk, etc. may be substituted. The decomposition treatment material 40 contains bacteria that ferment the excrement Q and decompose it.

Since the decomposition treatment material 40 is generally in the form of pellets or powder and has a certain degree of fluidity, it naturally settles on the bottom surface 8C of the decomposition treatment tank 8 as shown in FIG.
Note that the decomposition treatment material 40 may be introduced from the excretion opening 6 </ b> A of the pet support 6 while the pet support 6 is attached to the upper end of the outer box 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the pet P gets used to the existence of the pet toilet 50, it can be expected to ride on the pet support 6 and excrete. The excrement Q falls onto the decomposition treatment material 40 in the decomposition treatment tank 8 through the excretion opening 6A.

  Since the liquid portion (not shown) of the excrement collects at the position of the lowest bottom surface 8C due to the action of gravity, the clearance between the discharge port 8D and the discharge port cover 30 formed on the small diameter side of the decomposition treatment tank 8 There is little risk of leakage of liquid parts from

  The pet P that has finished excretion descends from the pet support 6 onto the floor and the like, and, as shown in FIG. 4, a nail sharpening operation that applies a nail to the friction surface 14 </ b> A of the operated body 14, or It can be expected to move around the outer periphery. Since the screw blade 10 rotates together with the body 14 to be operated by these operations, the excrement is stirred and mixed together with the decomposition treatment material 40, and the decomposition of the excrement proceeds.

Since the rotation of the operated body 14 is transmitted to the screw blade 10 via the first reduction gear portion 18A, it is generally sufficient to rotate the screw blade 10 even if the operation of the pet is weak.
Moreover, decomposition | disassembly of excrement advances even if the rotation direction of the screw blade | wing 10 via the to-be-operated body 14 is forward / reverse.

  If it seems that the decomposition of the excrement has progressed from the situation in the decomposition treatment tank 8, the administrator operates the operation lever 30B to switch the discharge port cover 30 to the open posture, thereby opening the discharge port 8D. When the handle 20 for manual operation is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the rear, the fermented soil (the substance generated by the decomposition of the excrement Q and the decomposition treatment material 40, etc.) is discharged from the discharge port 8D by the screw blades 10, It is collected in the workpiece storage tray 45.

The recovered fermented soil (not shown) can be used as a fertilizer for gardening.
In addition, when it seems that rotation of the to-be-operated body 14 by operation | movement of the pet P is inadequate, the administrator may assist the decomposition | disassembly of excrement by rotating the manual handle 20 suitably.
In addition, two drop prevention bars 7 are parallel to the front-rear direction as a means for preventing the pet P from dropping from the excretion opening 6A inside the decomposition treatment tank 8 and below the excretion opening 6A. It is stretched over.

  In addition, the administrator pulls out the operation target 14 and the manual handle 20 and removes the flange portion 4F as necessary to take out the decomposition treatment tank 8 from the outer box portion 2 and inspect it. Can be cleaned. The object storage tray 45 can be used as a container for temporarily storing the extracted manual handle 20.

  If the ambient temperature is too low, the activity of bacteria contained in the decomposition treatment material 40 is weakened. Therefore, it is recommended that the pet toilet 50 be placed in a warm environment throughout the day and night.

  By the way, as a conventional pet toilet, a method of spreading cat sand etc. in a container is also known, but it is necessary to change cat sand frequently, and the treatment of cat sand scattered around is troublesome. There were some problems. The pet toilet 50 according to the present invention is very advantageous in that it is not necessary to use such cat sand.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, this is merely an example, and the present invention is implemented in other forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Is possible.

  The present invention is an invention that can be used as a technique for solving the problems conventionally found in pet toilets that can decompose pet excrement.

P pet Q excrement 6 pet support 6A excretion opening 8 decomposition treatment tank 8C bottom face 8D discharge port 10 screw blade (stirring means, stirring blade)
10A Inner end 10B Outer end 12 Rotating shaft 12A One end of rotating shaft 12B The other end of rotating shaft 14 Object to be operated (power conversion means, drive mechanism)
14A Friction surface 18A First reduction gear part (reduction gear part, drive mechanism)
20 Manual handle 30 Drain cover (cover)
40 Decomposition treatment material 45 Material storage tray 50 Pet toilet

Claims (7)

A pet toilet that can disassemble pet waste
A pet support with an opening for excretion;
A decomposition tank disposed below the pet support;
Agitation means for agitating and mixing the excrement with the decomposition treatment material accommodated in the decomposition treatment tank;
A drive mechanism for driving the stirring means,
The drive mechanism is seen including a power converting means for converting the pet operation to the driving force of the stirring means, said stirring means are constituted by a stirring blade that is rotatably supported by said decomposition treatment tank,
The power conversion means is connected to one end of a rotating shaft of the stirring blade, and includes an object to be operated that is rotatably supported outside the decomposition treatment tank.
A pet toilet, wherein a friction surface for receiving movement of a tip of a limb or a nail of a pet is formed on an outer periphery of the object to be operated . The pet toilet according to claim 1 , wherein the stirring blade is a spiral screw blade. The spiral screw blade is a truncated cone screw blade that is three-dimensionalized by fixing the inner end and the outer end of a spiral member cut out from a single flat plate in the vicinity of both ends of the rotating shaft. The pet toilet according to claim 2 , wherein the toilet is for pets. The direction of the rotation axis is arranged substantially horizontally,
The pet toilet according to claim 3 , wherein the decomposition treatment tank includes a bottom surface that is inclined along a generatrix of the frustoconical screw blade. A discharge port for discharging the contents of the decomposition treatment tank and a cover for opening and closing the discharge port are provided in the vicinity of the small-diameter end of the truncated cone-shaped screw blade on the bottom surface. The pet toilet according to claim 4 . The pet drive according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the drive mechanism includes a reduction gear portion interposed between the rotating shaft of the stirring blade and the operated body. toilet. The pet toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein a manual handle for manually rotating the stirring blade is provided at the other end of the rotating shaft.

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